شامي

The phrases I used to write about holiday guilt — أشيل هم، أحس بالذنب، خيّب أمل — pulled out into one place, with short examples.

A Shami Arabic reflection on holiday guilt: learning to ease up on pleasing family out of obligation, and why people who love you want you happy.

Sukkot starts tonight. A short Shami note on the sukkah, why the Torah calls the holiday “the time of our joy”, and a late hunt for a bed to sleep in the sukkah before the shops close.

A viewer reflects on the Gaza Surf Club film, appreciating its hopeful angle while critiquing its selective narrative and omission of Israeli activism and context.

A tired house the morning after Yom Kippur — up at 4am, a 3am snack to break the fast properly, and a plan to hit synagogue for just the morning prayers before going back to bed.

Three Levantine Arabic diary entries from the Jewish New Year season — a late-night Selichot prayer while sick, Tzom Gedaliah (the fast day right after Rosh Hashanah), and a sleepless morning after the kids took over the bed.

A parent takes the bus to school after their son loses the car keys, hoping he learns responsibility.

Life got busy and the daily posts stopped for a while — a quick note explaining the gap, missing readers, and picking the habit back up.

A restless week of insomnia, failed remedies, and accidentally learning Latin American history through a four-hour podcast.

I’m too tired to do anything today — except, it turns out, dishes, job applications, a 2:30 meeting, a walk, and a swim at the nearby spring.