Welcome to The Times of Israel’s Daily Briefing, your 15-minute audio update on what’s happening in Israel, the Middle East, and the Jewish world, from Sunday through Thursday.

Editor David Horovitz from Jerusalem and political correspondent Carrie Keller-Lynn from Lviv, Ukraine, join host Amanda Borschel-Dan.

Keller-Lynn reports in after a weekend of escalation in the western Ukraine city of Lviv. She describes the more sober mood of the city since rockets landed on Friday.

It was the Jewish holiday of Purim on Wednesday night and Thursday. Keller-Lynn tells us about attending a unique reading of the Book of Esther in the ruins of a historic synagogue.

Keller-Lynn also visited the site of the Israeli field hospital, which is set to open on Tuesday. After all the hype, what are some of the disadvantages of its location?

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky is set to give a speech later this afternoon to members of Knesset, which is being live-streamed in Tel Aviv. Horovitz give us a little background on the controversies surrounding it.

Horovitz explains his motivations behind his recent oped, "Being a good Jew is meant to be the same as being a good person."

And finally, Israel jumped to 9th place in the United Nation's World Happiness index, its highest-ever ranking. Just what makes Israelis so darn happy?

Discussed articles include:

A day after Russia strikes Lviv, residents find shelter in a political taproom

The Book of Esther is read, against the odds, in the ruins of oldest Lviv synagogue

Israeli flag raised at field hospital in Ukraine as gear, teams begin to arrive

Zelensky speech to Knesset to be live-streamed on TV and in central Tel Aviv square

Russia said to warn Israel not to be ‘unbalanced’ ahead of Zelensky Knesset speech

Being a good Jew is meant to be the same as being a good person

Israel jumps to 9th in World Happiness index, its highest-ever ranking

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This Times of Israel podcast is sponsored by Thirty-Six, in which host Justin Hayet scours Israel to find the 36 most wonderful, interesting people doing the most wonderful, interesting things. Subscribe to Thirty-Six on your favorite podcast platform.

Image: Meylakh Sheykhet, lay leader of the Turei Zehav community, Lviv, Ukraine, March 16, 2022. (Carrie Keller-Lynn/The Times of Israel)

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