On Passover and Daughters-in-Law

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 … [Read more...]

The Indispensable Post-Pesach List

This is an update of a post  first published in 2009. The funny thing about Pesach is that you spend weeks getting ready, obsessing about crumbs and making sure that everything in your kitchen has been switched over and made kosher for Passover. No matter how simply you clean, it is still a ton … [Read more...]

Goy Returns Chametz

Last week I reported on the hametz that was given to a non-Jew by the rabbi. Today Rafi reports that the non-Jew called and offered to return the hametz, and suggests that the whole thing was a setup: Rafi writes: Upon reflection, the rabbi probably told the non-Jew to do this whole thing, … [Read more...]

State of the House, Passover 2011

What's Wrong with this Picture? The above picture appeared on the cover of Friday's alon, Matzav Haruach. Anyone notice a slight problem? My husband is convinced Israelis don't realize that the holidays are mentioned in the Torah portion of Re'eh in Devarim (Deuteronomy), as well as in Shemot … [Read more...]

Passover Seder in the Israeli Army

My son won't be home for the Passover seder this Monday. Instead, he'll be leading the seder for about 30 fellow soldiers on his army base. After my son and another soldier (were) volunteered to run the seder on the two neighboring bases, they got to attend a hishtalmut in a nearby city for … [Read more...]

Shmura Matza Forgery Warning

According to the letter from the rabbinate, signed by Rabbis Yaakov Sabag and Rafi Yochai, the packages of hand matzahs pictured above were made in a factory without supervision. Flour was not sifted, "challah" not taken, the equipment not cleaned, and there was actually chametz in the factory. The … [Read more...]

Getting Your Kids to Help with Pesach Cleaning

Image by Chiot's Run via Flickr Passover is coming and we need all the help we can get. Sometimes we forget why kids should be involved in the Passover preparations. They're learning important skills. They're learning about the holiday. Even the most resistant children want to feel … [Read more...]

Four Pre-Passover Questions

Image by Daniel Greene via Flickr Please check out the new banner that Leora of Here in Highland Park designed for CookingManager.Com. She also designed the banner for this blog. Here at "A Mother in Israel" we've been known to poke fun at people who get too worked up about Pesach. But with … [Read more...]

Pesach, Prayer Books and More: Interesting Posts #3

Image by roger_mommaerts via Flickr Pesach is just around the corner and a reader asks for suggestions on how much matzah to order. We get around 1 kg (2 lbs) per person. Organized readers, please share your experience. West Bank Mama asks for pro-Israel posts: Gil Troy has written a blog … [Read more...]

Kosher Cooking Carnival #41: From Matzah to Lasagna

Welcome to the 41st edition of the Kosher Cooking Carnival, founded by Batya of Me-Ander.  Below is a list of previous editions. Write to Batya if you would like to host. #1 #2 #3 Thanks Ezzie #4 Thanks Sarah #5 #6 #7 Thanks Sadie #8 #9 Thanks Sarah #10Thanks, Elf #11 #12 Thanks Renegade KC #13 #14 … [Read more...]