Shabbat Shalom and a Safe Weekend to All 🔯🙏☮
This week was eventful.
We commemorated Memorial Day, honoring the brave soldiers who gave their lives so we can live free in this Great American Land ❤️🤍💙 We also celebrated Yom Yerushalayim—Jerusalem Day—the city of my birth, the eternal Capital of Israel, the heart and soul of every Jew 🔯
And… I celebrated my 72nd birthday 🌷🎂🎈😍💃🎵🥂 I was deeply moved and honored to receive so many beautiful wishes from around the world. Your love warmed my heart—I send blessings back to each and every one 🙏💐💝
To celebrate the occasion, Asaf, our adorable puppy, Miss Lady Pebbles, and I, went to lunch at our local Arab restaurant.
The owner greeted us with a big smile. We had delicious shawarma sandwiches, fried kebeh, and sweet baklava—it was beyond delicious. When we left, I said Shoukran. He placed his hand on his heart, with that beautiful smile, said, Shoukran.
Peace begins with one-on-one connections, when you speak heart to heart 💝
This special week continues with the holiday of Shavuot, the celebration of receiving the Torah on Mount Sinai. The Torah is a guide to living a wholesome life and creating a better world. We were given a road map, and we chose to accept. Choosing isn’t just a one-time event, but a path you take moment by moment. From sunrise to sunset. The high road is love—to see the other as yourself, I and Thou, and God, walking in the Garden of Eden 🍊💐💞🌴
My grandparents were named Shalom and Simcha—Peace and Joy. My maternal grandparents are Eliyhu and Sarah.
Their names embody their essence—loving, generous souls who planted the roots of a beautiful, flourishing family. I am proud to be part of the Shimoni and Cohen Aslan Tribes, each of us carries a spark of their spirit, choosing in our own way to add Shalom ve’ Simcha 💝
For my birthday, in their names, I wish:
🕊️ For the return of all hostages
🕊️ For a final, lasting peace in Israel
🕊️ And for harmony to blossom across the world—soon in our days
72 is a sacred number in Kabbalah, symbolizing the 72 Names of God and the path of chesed, lovingkindness. Here’s to another year of soul school—may I pass the test, skip #LinkedIn detention, and make it to 73 with extra credit! 😄✨
Here is my birthday reflection at Seventy-Two:
I’ve lived through sunshine, wind, and rain
through love and loss, through joy and pain
The years have flown, both fast and slow
but I’m still here, despite the blows.
I’ve laughed and cried, I’ve loved and played
I’ve watched the world shift, light to shade
And though the mirror shows the years
I wear them now without my fears.
Today I reach a graceful age
today I turn another page
Not old, but full—and this my aim:
to live each day with burning flame.
Time’s gentle brush has touched my skin
I stand with pride for what’s within
With open heart in all I do
still growing strong at seventy-two.
*
Yakira Shimoni Fulks
May 28, 2025 🍊 Citrus Hill, California
Photos: Sunrise and Sunset at our home
