Haim Watzman is a Jerusalem-based author and translator. He was born in Cleveland in 1956, grew up in Washington, D.C., earned a B.A. from Duke University, and moved to Israel in 1978. Haim is one of the leading translators of Hebrew works into English, he has worked with many of Israel’s leading authors and scholars. He is the author of three books: Company C: An American’s Life as a Citizen-Soldier in Israel; A Crack in the Earth: A Journey Up Israel’s Rift Valley; and a story collection, Necessary Stories. His short fiction appears every four weeks under the rubric “Necessary Stories” in The Times of Israel. An archive of his stories and more information about his books and translations can be found at southjerusalem.com.
A story, inspired by Rav Shagar's teachings, about whether one can both mourn and rejoice in the Sukkah. It is reprinted with the author's permission from his book of short fiction, Necessary Stories, a collection of some of the stories he has published