Author Archives: hadassahalderson

I remember a children’s poem about a little boy “sick-abed” playing with his toys over the covers in his room. I am not going to quote the poem, except to tell the reader that the name is “The Land of Counterpane,” and it is by Robert Louis Stevenson. I am fully recovered or will beContinue reading “The Land of Counterpane”

I sent two sets of short stories, Maybe the Meek Shall Inherit the Earth and Poor Folk to the agent who is selling my 4-book The Bible According to Eve. My agent has commented more on Maybe the Meek Shall Inherit the Earth. And thinking about it I think of the first (and my favorite)Continue reading “The Tale of Juan the Bear”

In this age, it could be said that Religion is met with a great deal of cynicism. Some of the reasons are not that surprising: when religious people back leaders like Donald Trump, a skeptic might ask, “If these people are supposed to speak for God, who is good, why do they support a manContinue reading “Religion: Its Earthly Costs and Rewards”

This December 16 occurs the evening before Shabbat. The significance is that December 17 is my birthday. The unhappy irony is that during this time I am recovering from COVID, and however I have improved I cannot go to shul tomorrow. However, I can contemplate the meaning of the Holiday which will begin on SundayContinue reading “This Evening Before My Birthday”

Having COVID, however mild a variant (and mine is mild) causes a person to think about illness. If it were a worse variant than I have, I am sure my mortality would come to mind… Instead, my favorite Biblical quote about illness comes to mind, The spirit of a man will sustain his infirmity; ButContinue reading “The Storm of COVID”

I have COVID and am recuperating… I have had it since Saturday, I think, and went to the hospital to be diagnosed with it yesterday or Tuesday… Because of that I have not been doing much writing. Because of that I also consider myself quarantined through half of next week, though I hope I willContinue reading ““We must listen carefully to what the candles are saying.””

All this week Aunt Clara was here… and on December 8, 2022, we celebrated my 43rd birthday… At a bookstore called Eighth Day, Clara bought me 4 books and Mom bought me 3. Then we went to Barnes & Noble, where we had a snack and looked around the bookstore–but bought no books. After thatContinue reading “Searching for the Light”

I am thinking of the man I love, how he is so kind and brave and strong. Yet he may not know how I feel… and while I guess I am willing to tell the world, I cannot tell him. I won’t go into why I keep my affections private (trust me, they are goodContinue reading “Star of David, Shine for Me”

There was a time when I had a prejudice against Chassids and the Amish.  I know this is not nice to admit, but I saw them as both unfriendly and anti-intellectual.  However, this changed in my taking a class Religion in America.  The teacher wanted each of us to study a religion in America outsideContinue reading “Meeting New People”

It has been a long time since I read The Feminine Mystique. I don’t always connect well with feminism in general with its emphasis on sexual “freedom” and its occasional anti-religious tone in the cases of some feminists. In those dreams I have had of love, I have never wanted more than one man–and IContinue reading “On Reading Betty Freidan”