Connecting with Yom Hazikaron, Israel's memorial day for fallen soldiers and terror victims, can be difficult for immigrants. Unlike most Israelis, immigrants may not know any families who have lost loved ones. So I was intrigued when my friend Deena Levenstein wrote about participating in a project to bring attention to the sacrifices made by early immigrants to Israel. It's a way of connecting families with no one to remember, to heroes who have no one to remember them. Deena writes: Today, as part of the MyIsrael project, I am going with my mother and sister to visit the graves of three young people (early twenties) who were each lone Holocaust survivors, made it to Israel and were … [Read more...]
On Passover and Daughters-in-Law
March 24, 2013 by 2 Comments
A year or two ago, the haredi magazine Yated published an article in its family section about the plight of the haredi woman in her forties. With a large number of children of different ages, she has to worry about shidduchim (match-making), teenage ups and downs, and elementary school issues. She may even have younger children who wake up at night. She is likely working full time, and might have responsibility for her elderly parents. Yet according to the author, all of this is nothing—not when compared to the biggest challenge of all: Getting along with her new sons- and daughters-in-law. The Mishnah touches on the difficult position of a new daughter-in-law in a discussion of the … [Read more...]
The Orlah Man
January 25, 2013 by Leave a Comment
My daughter made this figure in honor of Tu BiShvat, the holiday known in the Mishnah as the New Year of the Trees. The teacher said it wasn't for eating, but because my daughter stayed home from school with a fever we will enjoy it for our Shabbat dessert. According to the Talmud, the majority of the winter rains have fallen by Tu BiShvat. Israel has had a wet winter. According to predictions by meteorologists, the first part of the winter would be wet, and the second half dry. We haven't seen a drop of rain since the big storm a few weeks ago that brought record amounts of snow and rain to Israel, but we may still have enough extra water to sell some to neighboring countries. The New … [Read more...]
Printable Hebrew Activity Pages for Chanukah 2012
December 10, 2012 by 1 Comment
Happy Chanukah! My neighbor Bruria prepared Hebrew printable activity page for kids, at a first to second grade Hebrew reading level. Each sheet starts off with a chapter of Tehillim (Psalms) and a list of names of sick friends. Bruria gives permission to share, as long as you keep all of the text. I'll be uploading more sheets during the week as I get them. Links for downloading printable Chanukah activity pages Night 1: Hilchot Chanukah (laws of candlelighting) Hilchot Chanukah--solution Night 2: Al Hanisim (Chanukah prayer) Al Hanisim--solution Night 3: Maoz Tzur (Rock of Ages) Maoz Tzur--solution Night 4: Hallel Hallel-solution Night … [Read more...]
Rabbi Elgazi on Breastfeeding, Fasting and Yom Kippur
September 25, 2012 by 8 Comments
In last week's Matzav Haruach, Rabbi Ben-Zion Elgazi's column is devoted to fasting on Yom Kippur. I liked his approach to breastfeeding so I am translating it here. You can find the original Hebrew text in this article I contributed to for the blog of the Israeli Association of Certified Lactation Consultants. Rabbi Elgazi teaches at the Kerem Be-Yavneh yeshiva. The prohibition against eating and drinking on Yom Kippur is more severe than all of the other commandments. One who eats and drinks more than the amount determined by the sages, nullifies the inui and is liable for karet (excision). Therefore, the basic assumption is that pregnant and nursing women fast the entire day of Yom … [Read more...]
Last-Minute Rosh Hashanah Greetings
September 16, 2012 by Leave a Comment
How have your Rosh Hashanah preparations been? After a lot of typical pre-holiday anxiety I just realized that I don't have so much cooking left. When I asked my husband what simanim (symbols) he wanted to see on the table, he said, "Apples and honey." So I decided not to stress about making a lot of special dishes. You can see my Rosh Hashanah menu on Cooking Manager. My foodie friends' menus are putting me to shame, but I'm trying to get over it. You can find a collection of Rosh Hashanah posts here, with the most relevant one at the moment being the Rosh Hashanah Survival Guide. As for my promised post on the teacher's assistants in the preschools, I wrote it but did not yet edit. I … [Read more...]
Erev Pesach 2012: My Passover Mantra
April 6, 2012 by 12 Comments
This was the first year that I got through the Passover preparations without having a panic attack (so far at least). Last year I got up from shiva for my father about ten days before the holiday. So when it came to Pesach cleaning I kept telling myself, "Good enough." Since I usually find myself trying to do just one more little extra thing whenever I find downtime, I repeated this mantra often! "Good enough" for me means no obsessing or comparing myself to others, no doing things twice "just in case," and no unnecessary errands or cooking. Also calling the rabbi to ask whether it was okay not to cover the counters. Last year was a hard year, but this year I succeeded in keeping … [Read more...]
Eight Things to Do with Your Kids on Chanukah
December 21, 2011 by 7 Comments
You may not have noticed, but Chanukah vacation is a day longer this year. We're scheduled to have the day "returned" at the end of August, along with four other days. Passover vacation will start a day earlier too. So what are you supposed to do with the kids during the week? I'll include some indoor and outdoor suggestions. The weather is pleasant, but it gets dark early. You will find loads of festivals and activities for kids, especially small ones, at your local mall. They tend to be crowded, and nothing is really free--once you are in the mall you may find it hard to leave without buying anything. But this one is sponsored by the Israel Antiquities Authority and will have events … [Read more...]
Planning Your Family Chanukah Party
November 29, 2011 by 4 Comments
Chanukah this year falls on Tuesday evening, December 20 through Wednesday, December 28. Please welcome Miryam Elisheva Segal for today's guest post. My “family” Chanukah parties have taken many shapes over the years. Some were successes, some not, but we always had fun along the way. In this post I'll tell you what I've learned and how to make a Chanukah party your family and friends will remember in years to come. Planning: First , you need to figure out who you’re going to invite, if you have enough room, and whether all those people can get along. We’re a blended family, so over the years we’ve had all sorts of different “family” members join us. My … [Read more...]
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