Storytelling
Curbside Prophet
With Baruch and Shayndel. Torah, stories, and whatever is actually going on, which is not always the same thing.
7 years of it, in no particular order. Start anywhere.
Shayndel Plotkin has written for The Times of Israel as a featured guest writer since the winter after October 7th, in essays, poems and letters that follow the Jewish year from the sukkah to Sinai. She writes as a mother, as a volunteer who has gone back to rebuild homes on the kibbutzim along the Gaza border, and as a woman learning, in her own words, to quiet the fear and hear the faith.
Shayndel on The Times of Israel (opens in a new tab)Posts
Originally published in The Times of Israel. Newest first.
- July 27, 2026And Then, I Lie AwakeQuiet the Fear. Hear the Faith. There are moments when I lie awake at night, not thinking about myself, but about my children, my family, my…
- June 24, 2026Woman of Valor – A SeriesMy Beloved Ima, Today I enter a sacred crossing. Not an ending, but a transformation. My body, which has carried me through seasons of becoming, asks…
- May 21, 2026The Sacred Torah of a MotherOn this holy season of Shavuot, when heaven once bent low enough for human hands to touch eternity, we remember that the Torah was never merely given…
- March 4, 2026For Such a Time as This…From the hidden to the revealed Esther then and Esther now Esther wrapped in silk and trembling faith— Yet stronger than the king's unwanted embrace…
- December 4, 2025Have Faith! Because… "God Said So"I slept on the plane pretty well on the way home. That was a first! Part of me wanted to replay every moment and every site and every person that we…
- October 9, 2025My Child, I Love You Close ByFrom far I love Peace and joy and the wisdom of time but you, my child, I love you close by I love you close by and all that you are from far I love…
- July 9, 2025Let's Be Jewish Outside of the LandMy daughter was supposed to be in Israel right now. She had been planning this trip with her youth group for over a year. Her suitcase has been in…
- May 9, 2025Ima, What Do You Want for Mothers Day?"Ima, what do you want for mothers day?" (this piece is dedicated to who we mother and who mothers us?) One of our strongest Jewish values is to be a…
- May 1, 2025Far from HomeFar from home … 77th birthday for the Land we call Home Celebrating the heroic gift of our Soldiers and our Iron Dome Recognizing the struggles of…
- March 13, 2025Esther: In Courage and FaithLong ago, there was a story of a Jewish girl that was meant for glory. She was born into an orphaned home didn't know she was destined for the…
- February 21, 2025Warning! Only Read While Crying!Did you ever wonder sometimes why you cried for "no" reason? A rainy day, looking out at the ocean? a commercial? Even a moment that you felt scared…
- January 1, 2025The Genetic Power of Survival "Part 2": To Build and Be BuiltWhen I returned home from Israel a couple of weeks ago, I was quiet. I was keeping the experience sacred for a bit longer. I knew I needed to share…
- December 25, 2024The Genetic Power of Survival – Maccabee StyleI left Israel with a genetic power "an Earth Shaking" NEW connection to Miracles, Survival and My People. Genetics are a big deal. Genetics are…
- November 28, 2024This Thanksgiving I Am Grateful to LEAVEWe are approaching Thanksgiving here in America and I am very grateful to be Leaving. Well, that is not entirely true. First, I will spend the day…
- October 16, 2024My Temporary Fortress in the WildernessIT'S TIME TO SET MEND AND BUILD MY TEMPORARY FORTRESS IN THE WILDERNESS It's time to enter our temporary home or temporary structures, our fragile,…
- August 27, 2024A Sideline View From the Mothers of Lone SoldiersLone soldiers' parents are largely in the dark about their kids' experiences. It's no surprise that keeps them up at night This is the language of…
- August 5, 2024Dear LamplighterDear Lamplighter, Are you endlessly wandering around? Are you searching for Me? Is it darker than usual? Are the lampposts more hidden, harder to…
- July 12, 2024No More Words (poem)No More Words to the World! Falling upon deaf ears and empty hearts Draining our energy and tearing our clothes Fearing the dawn and Mourning the…
- July 4, 2024Vignettes of War #2Where are my footsteps leading me? I wonder… Today I experienced another War torn neighborhood. Kibbutz Beeri. Today my footsteps lead me to the…
- July 2, 2024Vignettes of War #1I wandered through the streets of Jerusalem allowing my footsteps to carve out a new beginning for myself, all on the cobblestone streets always…
- June 9, 2024Hang on to HopeImagine there is a string that brings heaven and earth together. This is where they kiss. In the moment and we have many of these moments where…
- May 2, 2024The War DanceWiggle and sway and fall and rise and open your arms and close your eyes. We dance wildly without limit, without hesitation and without reserve or…
- March 30, 2024Have You Found the Pieces of My Heart?Brother, Have you found the pieces of my heart? They have shattered into a billion. They are traveling across the sea. They are sifting through the…
- December 29, 2023HaShem is the WIFI Out?HaShem – when will it be back on? I can't believe it's the turn of the year. It seems as if time stood still. We were sitting outside in the sukkah.…
A year of parsha, a minute at a time
Shayndel filmed one of these most weeks through 2020–2021, usually on a phone, usually in one take. Tap any of them.
Monday, November 22, 2021Good Shabbos from Israel!
Monday, March 22, 2021Passover- Courage into the Unknown
Sunday, February 14, 2021Parashat Mishpatim- Love is in the Details
Thursday, January 28, 2021Tu B'Shvat - Hidden Blessings Revealed
Friday, January 22, 2021Parashat Bo - Blessing the Potential We See
Wednesday, January 20, 2021Parashat Va-era, Embracing our Brokeness
Friday, January 8, 2021Our Names, Our Identities, Our Future - Parashat Shmot
Friday, January 1, 2021Parashat Veyechi - Holy Space
Friday, December 25, 2020Parashat Vayigash - Be Strong in Your Truth
Monday, December 21, 2020Parashat Miketz & Chanukah - See Your Vision in the Flames
Tuesday, December 15, 2020Parashat Vayshev & Chanukah - Your Light Within
Tuesday, December 8, 2020Parashat Vayishlach - Embracing Our Challenges
Wednesday, December 2, 2020Parashat Vatetze: One Step At A Time Toward Our Dreams
Friday, November 20, 2020Knowing Our Children - Parashat Toldot
Friday, November 13, 2020Life Lessons From Our Parents - Parashat Chayei Sarah
Friday, November 6, 2020Be the Light Our World Needs - Parashat Lech Lecha
Writing and photographs
Essays, a poem and a podcast, and the dispatches from the summer of 2018, when the gate opened and the beds went in for the first time. Newest first.
Tuesday, November 21, 2023 · WritingHave you found the pieces of my broken heart?
Wednesday, May 11, 2022 · WritingUnpolished Therapy Podcast
Thursday, October 17, 2019 · WritingYom Kippur remarks - Slow Down and Rejoice in HaShem
Friday, July 20, 2018 · 10 photographsAfter Israel the Magic Continues...
Friday, July 13, 2018 · 13 photographsLiumi Takes a Walk Through the Garden
Friday, July 6, 2018 · 12 photographsDiscovering its Beauty Inside and Out
Friday, June 29, 2018 · 10 photographsTo Build and to be Built...
Friday, June 22, 2018 · 13 photographsLiumi West has officially opened its Doors, Gardens and Home!
Thursday, January 5, 2017 · WritingZi Gezundt
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