Interesting Links

In Israel we’ve enjoyed a mild spring and summer so far, with normal humidity and cool evenings. July is expected to get hotter, starting this Shabbat. Between my kids being home from school and preparing for an exam in lactation, things are hectic.

Fortunately life provides unexpected entertainment. At the municipality, the automatic phone system informed me: “You have pushed the wrong number by mistake. Thank you and goodbye. CLICK.” I wonder if things were better back in the days of switchboards.

I hope the following links will help you take your mind off the heat.

 

  1. Jewish couples traditionally enjoy large celebratory meals for seven days after the wedding known as sheva brachot, a major logistical challenge for hosts. If you’ve ever thought of preparing a large dinner party, check out my guest post at Maven Mall: Tips for Preparing Sheva Brachot. Readers share more in the comments and I hope you’ll share yours too.
  2. Yosefa hosted this month’s Kosher Cooking Carnival and offers a giveaway.
  3. A salesman at “Fox Baby,” a clothing chain, kicked out a mother for breastfeeding in a sling. The management said it is not store policy but if so, the salesman should have been informed. Unfortunately, the mom apparently made a bizarre comment to Ynet, protesting that her breasts were small and it’s not like she “had to wrestle with watermelons.” This is a case where size doesn’t matter.
  4. I loved this wacky food label translation from Toby.
  5. Natalie Portman called her baby son Alef.
  6. This next one is long, but well worth the read. She Goes Covered appeared in the magazine Triple Canopy and features a fascinating interview with a haredi woman who moves to South America to harvest human hair for her high-end wig business. Don’t miss the photo slideshows, videos and PDF sprinkled throughout. Hat tip: Yonit.
  7. With summer starting it’s time to revisit this guest post on Free and Inexpensive Family Trips in Israel.
  8. At Cooking Manager, Marinated Beet Salad with Ginger and Garlic.

I wish all readers a cool and peaceful Shabbat.

Image: Seattle Municipal Archives

Comments

  1. aviva_hadas says

    The sheva brachot link appears to be broken…

  2. I think the links are all okay now.

  3. Re. sheva brachos, a nice way top break up the formality of it in the spring or summer or early fall is to have a barbeque. You can even set up in the yard. People forgive you the fancy decorations, and the prep is often a lot less, as is clean up, especially if you’re outside. Big bonus- often, the menfolk will do a lot of the actual cooking, allowing you to relax more. There is plenty of hamotzi to go around, and it’s easy to draw in panim chadashos. Just let people know beforehand, so they can dress appropriately.

  4. Miri from MavenMall says

    Loved your article on MavenMall đŸ™‚
    About the barbecue, it’s a great idea but just make sure it is well organized. I once went to a bbq sheva brachos on the Tayelet in Jerusalem and they brought along a few mangals, forgetting that those things take over an hour to heat up properly once you get them going. We all ate bread and salads and many of the guests had to leave before those steaks were even ready! Meanwhile all the male chefs were getting very tense!

    • Thanks, Miri. We don’t barbecue often but it seems like you might need a lot of meat, raising the price considerably. And yes, advance thought and planning applies to barbecues too!

  5. re the article about nursing in Fox

    Please note that this is about a baby of 1 year and 8 months. (apparently in a sling)

    While a shop should not throw a mother out for nursing,
    on the other hand with your experience, would you nurse a child of that age in the shop, or try to comfort it in other ways.

    At this age, they can generally wait

    • As long as the child is not directly bothering anyone else, why does his age matter?. And who is going to decide when a baby gets too old to nurse in public, or when the mother should start teaching her child that he should wait?

  6. Thanks so much for the link – I’m glad that you enjoyed my post!