About

Sababoosh started as a Whatsapp group with daily Israeli song recommednations and a Hebrew slang word or phrase. It started with a handful of friends and grew from there. That was about a year and a half ago. As I got in the practice of consistently choosing Israeli songs and slang, my love for them grew.

I remembered that when I lived in the Diaspora, I had certain points of connection that held Israel at an arm’s length away. I had been to Israel on a lot of different trips over the years, including studying abroad at Hebrew U and working as a counselor on Ramah’s TRY semester program for high schoolers. I realized that while outside of Israel, my constant listening to Israeli music, binging of Israel TV shows like Shtisel, and reading Israeli authors held Israel in my heart. I always felt close to Israel while talking about it or hearing about it on the news, but something about Israeli culture kept that connection strong.

In fact, when someone would ask me why I made aliyah, my answer started with the culture and that led into my excitement to live in the modern story of the Jewish people.

At its heart, Sababoosh is a chance for me to think and write about some of my favorite things. I’d be grateful to have you come along for the ride and share what gets you excited about Israeli culture. Whether that’s music, food, art, sports, etc., I’m happy that you feel that bond.

As important as Birthright and other trips to Israel are, I really believe that a strong longterm falling in love with Israel can come through its culture.