"Good Morning, Women of Precious Zion"; The Opinion Columnist from New Jersey in a Humor-Filled Interview

Talking to Shari Zinger makes you laugh from the beginning of the conversation to the end. It's not just laughing, but until your stomach hurts and you're completely exhausted.

Shari, originally from Israel, who arrived in the USA after her marriage, manages to describe everything happening around her in the most humorous way possible. No wonder she has become an ambassador for many orthodox women who wish to peek and understand what’s happening abroad. She writes in various platforms like the orthodox newspapers 'Katifa' and 'Within the Family', with all her columns having the common factor of being written with endless humor and a lot of charm and sweetness. They also provide a charming glimpse into the orthodox community beyond the sea, making them (and her) particularly popular.

Women of Precious Zion

When I ask her to introduce herself, she clears her throat for a moment and decides to address our dear readers: "Good morning to you, women of precious Zion. I am reporting from New Jersey. We have here green expanses and a large house, three floors and a basement. There is a residential department where we spend the nights, a couple with six children, *b'li ayin hara*, and a bit tidy it up during the days. In other words, the help does her job faithfully, while I flee to shopping and errands, depending on the weather and local mood."

To the question "What's happening in the USA today?" Shari insists on responding with a humorous description of the weather, which she reads from one of her columns recently published in 'Katifa': "In America, like in America, snow falls in the winter. It usually starts when the forecasters dryly announce snow that may fall at the weekend.

"The newsmakers, who are weary of uttering the word 'corona', reporting on it, and its antics, and the vaccine. They are happy to change the subject slightly and report on something else, even if it’s just the weather. Of course, on the morning when the snow is supposed to appear, there is no trace of anything. A few bored clouds and that's about it. The children go to their place of study, whether they want to or not. I start the morning, with a certain tension felt in the air, and a calm before the storm.

"In the afternoon the celebration finally begins. Soft and cute flakes start to fill the skies and the earth, and everything on it. As the hours pass, the celebration only grows and intensifies. The white becomes deep and high, the children beg to go out to build a snowman or two. I protest, I do not need any more sneezing children in the corona times that still have not passed from the world."

Shari pauses for a moment. "You don’t really want me to continue and tell you exactly what happens, because with us anyway, the children manage to convince their father, and he, who always has a little child left in him who wants to play with the snow and make up for the days his mother didn’t allow it, goes out with everyone to the white snowman that will soon stand outside. To say I'm okay with it? It’s a bit hard for me, but I know they’re making childhood memories that will accompany them when they make snowmen with their own children, and if so, how can I resist?"

And what's going on politically? What about your new president?

"Well, really, maybe it should have occupied me, but Toms River is Toms River everywhere and in every situation, so there wasn’t any excitement during the entire election period. Maybe except for one sign on our street that remained on its post, and no one thought of shaking it a bit, even if he is an ardent Biden supporter. Everything here was quite sleepy, and so it is to this moment. Ultimately, I believe that the heart of kings and rulers is in Hashem's hand, and also my heart and the heart of the people with me at home are in His hands."

Life of Humor

Shari lives in Toms River, along with her husband and their six children. "This place is surrounded by grass, trees, and stunning landscapes," she shows me pictures that arouse deep feelings of envy. "The houses are very large, although not luxury estates like the impression they create. Because the land here is relatively cheap, every family has a very large area around the house that also includes a huge yard and a private pool. We live in a relatively new community that exists for only five years. Our community is mixed, including Hasidim, Lithuanians, and Jews of all kinds. In general, the area is constantly expanding, more and more Jews are buying here, as the prices are negligible compared to the city, and the expanses and size are definitely tempting.

Shari Zinger's house in New Jersey

"Did you want to hear about experiences?" she recalls. For some reason, the first experience that pops into her mind is the birthday she recently celebrated. "Guess what gift I got from my husband and the kids? Besides the table with the jelly bean licorice and potato chips, the birthday cake and the song 'Happy Birthday?'" She doesn’t expect me to answer but continues: "I received a medium-sized box wrapped elegantly. My hands trembled as I took it, while the eyes of all the students were watching me with excitement and the camera was capturing the significance of the moment. I took a picture with the box and with everyone, and also alone, and finally, the wrapping was torn. I opened the box slowly, as always my husband hit the mark – inside the box was the holy air of Toms River. Pure air for breathing, without a mask, air I missed so much..."

But just before we think she is content with little, Shari notes that the box also came with a gift card for a jewelry store. "Immediately after I chose a piece of jewelry – my husband was left without air to breathe. They almost connected him to an oxygen mask," she laughs.

Where does this humor come from? Is your real life also full of humor?

"The humor I was blessed with is a gift from Heaven, and it probably also comes genetically. I am the daughter of the famous Eichler family of Yosef Eichler, the renowned comedian, so you can understand where it comes from. Blessed be Hashem, I was blessed with pink glasses. I see the good in everything, and love to laugh even at what seems sad. My life is indeed happy and full of laughter."

And what led you to start writing for the press?

"I came to journalism by divine providence and since then I discovered how nice it is to be an ambassador. The publicity has brought me connections and new friendships, so many women reach out to me and it is really exciting and interesting."

Shari not only became a press reporter but a journalist who deals quite a lot with the corona issue. "Our children will probably be at home forever," she wrote in one of her most amusing columns in 'Within the Family'. "You’ll see that schools will be another page in the history being woven before our eyes. On the next page, all the types of jobs that were once worked will be recorded: teacher and principal – may their memories be blessed, and kindergarten teacher – may her merit protect us. Here the history book will end because you cannot turn back and live life as in ancient times and document it in the honorable book. Days will come in which whoever really wants an accurate description of a school building will have to call in a senior archaeologist, and even then it’s not certain that his request will be fulfilled."

Examples of columns published in 'Within the Family'

She continued to write in the same column: "In days when studies were not yet renewed, I asked my husband if it is possible to hire a teacher for the daughters and a tutor for the boys like in the days of the holy Baal Shem Tov. Thus, there is a chance that our Meir will become a righteous plant himself, in the future, when the tutor’s eyes will be directed solely to him, without any friend to irritate him. And maybe the daughters will finally know how to count down.

"My husband thought maybe it would be better to buy a cow or two, let the daughters learn milking and have a useful and profitable profession in hand. After all, in Israel eggs are lacking, in America maybe milk might be lacking *Hashem* spare us, only he didn’t get masks in the right size for a cow, so he dropped the idea."

And what really happens with you regarding corona?

"Corona ended entirely with us already after the first wave, the frightening and threatening one. From the moment everything reopened, schools and stores returned to operate as usual. Among the non-Jews, there are masks, but Jews each follow the ruling of their rabbi – some wear masks and some don’t use them at all. Of course, in non-Jewish stores and public transportation, as well as in public places like hospitals and such, there is no choice but a mask. In any case, there is no legal need to use it."

The Dream: To Travel to the Western Wall

In which areas do you mainly see differences between Israelis and Americans?

Shari chooses to answer seriously: "I think the differences between Israelis and Americans are mainly expressed in respect for the other, privacy and diplomatic relations and manners – both in business and neighborhood relations, shopping, and waiting for a bus or any other queue. It can be seen that the average American lives for himself, is busy with his family, and will never poke into the affairs of another, unless the other chooses to tell him on his own initiative. The big downside is that there’s no attention to the distress of the other. For example, when I renovated the house, no neighbor offered help with a meal or invitation for Shabbat – which I know in Israel is taken for granted. Don’t get me wrong – we have all the community needs, like meals for new mothers, charity organizations for the needy, etc. But if you don’t ask for help, they simply won’t offer it due to politeness. But there’s one thing common to all Jewish women – the very life and the many tasks required by life. I think all of us, in every place and every condition, always lack hours in the day, and that's for sure."

And she also has a message for Israelis: "Abroad, life is different. Maybe more convenient in many ways, and certainly economically easier to manage here. There is more abundance here than in Israel, the livelihood possibilities are broader simply because America is large and immense in every dimension. But everything has its plus and minus. What I truly miss here is close family and sisters, especially during the long summer Shabbats. It’s obvious and redundant to say that the privilege of living in the land of Israel is a huge plus, despite and even because of the difficulty. I would very much like to travel now to the Western Wall, pour my heart out, and pray close to the heavens."