I urge you to check out two great new blogs recently launched by members of my congregation:

Beyond Zero Sum, by Mark Zivin, is a political blog that largely focuses on Israel/Palestine issues. Mark is a National Board member of J Street, a leader of J Street Chicago, and has been a supporter of major American Jewish organizations for decades.  He’s an enormously savvy and insightful thinker – and in his short career as a blogger he has already cross-posted at +972!

Ya3ni is written by Beth Miller, a young woman who recently traveled to the West Bank to live and volunteer at Aida Refugee Camp in Bethlehem.  She teaches English at the Alrowwad Center, a theater, dance, and arts youth center in Aida – and she hopes to stay in Palestine longer to continue her work with refugees.  As you will see, Beth is a delightful writer who blogs about her experiences with genuine empathy and conviction.

As to the title of her blog, Beth explains:

Ya3ni, is the Arabic word for “I mean…”  It is often abused in the same way “like” is within the US,  though ya3ni is used by one and all, not just teenage girls.  Since it is the word I most often use in Arabic–the word that pops out while I am racking my brains to figure out how to say what I am actually trying to say–it seemed an appropriate title for my blog.

(At the risk of mortifying Beth, I have to say I feel like it was only yesterday that I officiated at her Bat Mitzvah. Can’t a rabbi kvell?)