Tu B’Shevat, Tiger Parenting, Chesed Meals, and Israeli Budgeting

I had too much to say about some of  the articles I had planned to include, so I pulled them out for separate posts.  Look for them in the next few days. Never miss a post: Sign up for email updates via Feedblitz. Tu BeShevat begins tonight. Read about some of the myths of the … [Read more...]

Remembrance of (Blogging) Passovers Past

Image by roger_mommaerts via Flickr A guest post on Food Processors and Pesach is up at Orthonomics. Recent editions of Haveil Havalim can be found at Ima on the Bima and Yachdus. For some reason, preparing for Pesach inspires me to write. Below, I present the best Passover posts below … [Read more...]

Shavuot, Eruv Tavshilin, Recipes and Carnivals

The holiday of Shavuot begins Thursday evening. Known in English as Pentecost because it takes place fifty days after Passover, Shavuot commemorates the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai. The two main customs associated with the holiday are serving dairy foods and staying up all night to study … [Read more...]

Post Pesach Tips

Here is a summary of post-Pesach tips that I posted two years ago, updated for 2009. Make a list of what you ate. Mine reads something like: Went away for Shabbat. Ate 7+ kg of matzah, 60 eggs, 2/3 liters of oil, 120 potatoes. Make sure to have enough peanut butter in the house for before and … [Read more...]

Pesach Excess

While my house gets turned upside-down in advance of Passover (and no, I won't tell you where I'm "holding"), I've gathered yet more thoughts about Pesach. First of all, it is hard. Even the minimum involves hard physical labor and more important, planning. Not everyone is blessed with … [Read more...]

Working Parents and School Vacation in Israel: Proposal

Next week begins the three weeks of school vacation for the seven-day Passover holiday. The organization Working Parents for Change is working for the government to have fewer vacation days from school and more activities for children during the summer holidays. You can find the Hebrew proposal on … [Read more...]

Simchat Torah Suggestions

Now that we're through kvetching about our Yom Kippur experiences, we can start analyzing Simchat Torah.Simchat Torah is a difficult holiday for Orthodox women. It seems like the men are having the fun, while the women are sitting around waiting, watching, and mostly talking. I don't mind sitting … [Read more...]

Purim Costume Fail?

Image by Getty Images via Daylife I might have given the whole costume problem more thought had my husband not been working 13-hour days for the last two months. Or more likely not. I have a bag of costumes and accessories, and usually the kids can come up with something from there. My 5yo … [Read more...]

Potato Kugel Secrets

If you are coming here from a search, welcome to my blog. I invite you to look at the sidebar to read some more on Judaism, Jewish holidays, Israel, baby names, and parenting. You can find more recent posts on the homepage. If you try the recipe please let me know how it turned out. For more recipes … [Read more...]

The Number One Reason for Making Aliyah

Having just finished two days of marathon eating and praying on Rosh Hashana, I am so grateful that we don't have to do this very often. So in honor of the new year, and to give chizuk (encouragement) to our struggling olim chadashim (new immigrants), here's a comparison of the holidays in Israel … [Read more...]