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Alan Abrams

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Jul 8, 2018, 7:32 AM

Save my marriage! (plane crashes and going to the hospital)

My wife Minna likes to joke that the first username she chose for our online grocery shopping account was savemymarriage. It’s funny because it reflects an absurdity that happens to be true -- despite our deep love for each...

Jul 4, 2018, 7:28 AM

The mood swings of Shaarei Tzedek — thoughts from the melted couch

Illustrative. Flowers. (iStock)

My health crisis is not over, but I am living it with joy, intentionality, and an eagerness for more

Jun 19, 2018, 1:44 AM

Dissolving without disappearing — a plea about suicide

Screenshot from an ad for a 24-hour hotline launched by Mexico Jewish community to offer support for in cases of suicidal thoughts, domestic abuse, depression and so on.

Suicide might have been the most rational thing I could have done, and what saved me isn't rational at all

Jun 10, 2018, 5:02 PM

Suicide and the pain of knowing there is nothing you can do

I get angry at times like this. When a high profile suicide or two happens and my Facebook feed and cable news channels fill up with platitudes and so-called expert opinions about how to prevent suicide. “Don’t give up,”...

May 24, 2018, 7:38 PM

Learning from Hong Kong — how to punch above your weight

I was never much of an international traveler before I made Aliyah. Back in the States, Hong Kong, for example, seemed so far away that I never seriously thought of going. But, even though the flight is actually only...

May 22, 2018, 10:23 AM

Life during wartime — Spiritual pain and the search for healing when the bullets are flying

“There must be a better way! Certainly צה’’ל with all its incredible technological capabilities can find a better way of handling the Gaza border crisis than just firing live ammo?!?!?!” When I’ve seen people say things like this on social...

May 13, 2018, 5:55 PM

Netta’s big fat light unto the nations

"I'm so happy!,” cried the dynamic, fat 25-year old from Hod HaSharon in English last night after becoming the fourth Israeli in history to win the Eurovision Song Contest. “Thank you for accepting differences between us. Thank you for...

Apr 4, 2018, 8:23 AM

If I were a Jew, what would I do in Gaza?

This is essentially the question that my Jerusalem neighbor and colleague Leah Solomon recently posed in a Times of Israel piece: what, as a true Jew and human being would I do if I, or my relatives, lived in...

Feb 13, 2018, 1:46 PM

Israel as a rainbow of colors, not just black and white

You’ve heard it, right? How contemporary Israel is a land of extremes, part Miami Beach-like hedonistic secular and part Tehran-like super Orthodox religious, with nothing in between. Those of us who live here know the picture is much more complex....

Jan 14, 2018, 3:48 PM

Hawaii missile snafu benefits

The snafu that caused panic on the island wasn't necessarily a bad thing: Israel is a case in point

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About Me

Alan Abrams is a spiritual care educator who make Aliyah in 2014. He and his wife live in Jerusalem with their “sabra” daughter Berniki. Alan is the founder of HavLi, a spiritual care education and research center associated with the Schwartz Center for Health and Spirituality. A rabbi, Alan is writing a dissertation on the theology of pastoral care at NYU. He was a business journalist in his first career.