by Esther Rafaeli 

My Blue Kitchen is a collection of stories about events in the life of Esther Rafaeli's family, while living over the last fifty-odd years in Jerusalem. She describes life in the early years of the State of Israel and in some other Jewish centers in the 20th century. 

These stories were not originally written with the idea of creating a book. They were written over a long period of time because of a strong desire to "catch the moment" and keep it alive. It was only after the author had decided to close up her home five years after the death of her husband, that she saw in her stories a record of events that had happened to the family while living in Jerusalem. The author also found that she had encapsulated in them a record of how life went on in the early years of the State, and also in other centers of Jewish life in the 20th century. 


About the author: 

Esther Rafaeli was born in Tel Aviv (Palestine) and grew up in Australia. She graduated from Melbourne University, and in 1949, returned to Israel. In 1950, she married the late Alexander Rafaeli. After bringing four children into the world, she earned her second degree at the Hebrew University, in English Literature and Special Education. She was a volunteer docent for many years at the Israel Museum, and also researched and wrote a biography of an illustrious ancestor, Reb Aisel Harif of Slonim, and his family, which has been published in English and in Hebrew. Her children and grandchildren live in Israel. 

Hardcover, 320 pages (includes 50 color and b/w photo images) 
ISBN 13: 978-965-524-048-1 
publication: 2011