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Needed: Israeli Girl Baby Name Suggestions

September 30, 2010 by 44 Comments
baby girl wearing pink clothes and headphones

Forum for Israeli Baby Name Help Received from reader Clara: I hope that you and your readers will be able to help me choose a Hebrew name for our daughter. We would like a name that wouldn't be out of place in either a secular or modern-orthodox context in Israel or North America. The people that we are considering naming for were named Tzivia, Tirtza, and Eliezer. How are the names Tzivia and Tirtza perceived in Israel? Is there a feminine form of Eliezer that I'm not aware of? Any other solutions? Thanks in advance for your help. My thoughts: Tzivia is rare in religious Zionist circles here, unheard of in secular ones. Tzvia was once popular, but no longer. Don't even … [Read more...]

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Family Trip to Migdal Tzedek

September 29, 2010 by 6 Comments

On Friday, we were looking for a short day trip and decided on Migdal Tzedek in Rosh Haayin. The Parks Authority is in the middle of renovating this castle, found on an important route between Syria and Egypt. Archological evidence shows settlement from the Roman and Byzantine period, as well as Jewish settlement during the Second Temple period when it was known as Migdal Afek. The Jewish settlement was destroyed during the great rebellion against Rome in 67 CE. In the beginning of the 12th century, the crusaders built a castle here and called it Mirabel. Muslims captured it in 1187, and in 1191, they destroyed it in the aftermath of the third crusade. The Muslims rebuilt it … [Read more...]

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Parshablog on “Levels” of Tzniut (Modesty)

September 26, 2010 by 29 Comments
Jewish women hyper-tzniut "frumka" wedding

This appeared on Rabbi Josh Waxman's site, Parshablog: Mother In Israel on a sign urging modest dress in Petach Tikvah, and why it bothers her. One misguided (IMHO) commenter advises: "Don’t feel threatened if you feel that you do your best in your modesty level (for the time being). It’s something you need to be comfortable with too or you might throw it out of the window one day when fed up." I think that this commenter unwittingly hits upon the very problem with the sign -- the assumption that there are "levels" of modesty, and that women dressing in accordance with a certain "level" are not yet reaching the truly best "level" of tznius. This is just not so. For example, … [Read more...]

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State of the House: Erev Sukkot 2010

September 22, 2010 by 23 Comments
Decorations await hanging

This is what's happening chez Mom in Israel: Household laundry is finished. Floor is washed, even though we won't be eating inside. Soldier son #1 is being picked at train station with two dufflebags of laundry. He has to go to Zichron for the day on Tuesday, followed by an obligatory barbecue, and comes back home until next Sunday. Soldier son #2 called yesterday to say he's not coming home this weekend. My husband asked whether he would be on the base, and he wouldn't say. A few weeks ago,when he finished his advance training, he told us that we shouldn't ask any questions about what he's doing because he can't tell us. "But what if there's something you can tell us? Can't we ask … [Read more...]

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We’re All in the Same Boat: Yom Kippur in the Navy

September 21, 2010 by 7 Comments
Israeli Navy boat Saar 45, Nirit

This is a guest post by DR, the father who shared his son's experience during the Marmara incident: Exclusive Account of Gaza Flotilla Violence. We're All in the Same Boat: Yom Kippur in the Navy A large proportion of commanders in the IDF are religiously observant, and the numbers are growing. Some do three years of army service after a year or more in a yeshiva or mechina combining Jewish studies and army preparation. Others go to a yeshivat hesder, combining study and military service for a total of five years. The hesder program sends soldiers to combat units, the Intelligence Corps, and auxiliary divisions of the IDF. For the past three years, the Naval Division has joined … [Read more...]

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Guest Post: Easy and Inspiring Sukkah Decorations

September 20, 2010 by 20 Comments
Children paint walls of their Sukkah

Wondering how you are going to decorate your sukkah*? Your worries are over! Please welcome Mara Strom of Kosher on a Budget for today's guest post on Sukkah crafts. And be sure to check out her site. I love Sukkot. Really, truly love it! I love watching my husband and sons build our sukkah, and hosting friends and family in our humble little home-away-from-home. But every year, the decorating of our sukkah stumps me. I spent an hour today cutting and stapling hundreds of strips of construction paper for our sukkah's paper chain. Such an easy craft to involve the kids in, right? Unfortunately, it ended up being Mommy’s craft, since my sons were too distracted to help and … [Read more...]

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Modesty and Politics

September 19, 2010 by 12 Comments
Article by R. Eliezer Melamed in Besheva, Part I

I removed what I quoted earlier, and have added the original article (thanks to Faith/Emuna for sending it to me). Bloggers have to sleep sometime, but in short, the article is mostly about tzniut and how people are not aware of how they let fashion dictate their styles. If long skirts are out, many religious women will find a way not to wear them. It seems that R. Melamed does not go so far as to blame the girls for Israel's political problems. That part seemed to be tacked on at the end.  I'll quote commenter Sarah: It seemed to me like he’s saying, “If you don’t stick by what you claim to be your principles, how can you ask someone else to stick by what they claim are are … [Read more...]

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Blogging Forgiveness for Yom Kippur

September 17, 2010 by 11 Comments
Yochanan ben Zakkai synagogue in Jerusalem

Blogging is all about communication and relationships: relationships with readers, commenters and other bloggers. Those relationships are important to me, and I haven't always nurtured them the way I should. So I'd like to ask forgiveness . . . For giving incorrect or misleading information, or for omitting important facts. For taking things too seriously, or for being flippant. For not responding to comments, or generally neglecting the discussion. For not participating in the community as much as I would have liked. For any way that I may have offended readers and friends, on line or off. If there is a specific issue you would like to talk about, please contact me … [Read more...]

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Fasting on Yom Kippur During Pregnancy

September 15, 2010 by 49 Comments
pregnant belly with background of clock tower

Yom Kippur begins this Friday evening, September 17, and continues until Saturday evening. According to the Shulchan Aruch, the Code of Jewish Law, pregnant and nursing women are required to fast both on Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement ) and Tisha B'Av (9 Av, a day of mourning for the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem). Also see: Rabbi Elgazi on Breastfeeding, Pregnancy and Fasting on Yom Kippur (2012) As I wrote in 2007 our local rabbi has ruled, based on Rabbi Nachum Rabinovich's ruling, that nursing and pregnant women should not fast completely on those days. Instead, they should eat and drink shiurim beginning in the evening. According to Jewish law there is a minimum quantity, … [Read more...]

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Sign Urging Modest Dress in Central Petach Tikva

September 12, 2010 by 47 Comments
Sign recommending modest dress for Jewish wmoen.

One of the things I love about Petach Tikva is its diversity. We have rich, poor, Russians, Ethiopians, Anglos, religious and secular. Even a few Christians and Arabs. So I don't quite know what to think about this sign posted on Herzl Street near the center of town, on an abandoned building just opposite the Lomzhe yeshiva. Translated, the sign reads: Daughter of Israel! The Torah commands you to dress in modest clothing. [Signed:] Residents of the neighborhood. It's true that a large number of young haredi families have moved into town, taking advantage of relatively inexpensive rentals in older buildings. But the only people I saw walking around last night were two yeshiva students … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Petach Tikva Tagged With: ,
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