Life is full of surprises, changes, challenges – what will 2023 hold for us?  I finally did get Covid, in the last lap of putting together this 215 issue of ESRA Magazine. The Ministry of Health and Maccabi, my health fund, were tremendously solicitous, prescribing the new Covid medication and phoning me daily to ensure I was faring okay. What...

Thank you for responding so well to my article about my transition to a retirement village. Here are my thoughts 6 months down the line. The Move My move was relatively painless. I hired a professional, to shepherd me through the entire process, liaise with the retirement village and arrange movers, and packers. By the time I moved, my little garde...

ESRA Raanana has long had a secondhand English language bookshop (the "Bookshop"). Several years ago, the Bookshop migrated to 88 Ahuza Street because of the relatively low rental cost. Although the Bookshop's book selection was good and its volunteer staff very helpful, the venture never really took off. This was in large measure because of the ph...

A long time ago, at the tender age of 6 or 7 I fluttered and waved my arms as a butterfly would It was my dance to my mother's music that gave me the spontaneity to dance, run and skip around the room as a butterfly would. I used to imagine that I had wings of gold and many other colors, blue, pink and white were favorites too. I danced as I twirle...

Did you know, that if you record yourself on video commanding your will, and it is perfectly clear that you stated your wishes and that there is no doubt about the authenticity of your words, it may still be invalid? Currently, the Israeli Law does not recognize video as a legitimate way to perform a will. The Knesset is currently debating a substa...