Naomi bat Sara
My relative teaches at a community college in one of the most depressing cities in America– rampant gangs, drugs, unemployment. As an English teacher, she asks her students to write about their lives. And, she told me, among her female students, the story they share with her is almost always the same. It goes something […]
Read MoreMommy Brain
Early this morning, when my 17-year-old was leaving for high school and I was still half asleep in bed, I called after her, “Don’t forget, Chamuda, that you have an appointment with the dental hygienist today at 6:30.” Hallel stopped in her tracks and stared at me, “Eema, how do you keep all this information […]
Read MoreWhen Tsofia was Sad
My sons’ gan is 7 minutes from our house, and my daughter’s school is also 7 minutes from our house–but in the opposite direction. So every morning I walk my boys to gan, and I pay an older girl to take Tsofia. And this arrangement usually works out extremely well, except when it doesn’t… Like […]
Read More30 Years Later
When I was a student at a Christian private school 30 years ago, it was easy to forget about major Jewish holidays. I barely knew that Succot, Purim, and Shavuot even existed. My Chanukah candles dim in comparison with the bright lights of my classmates’ other holiday. And today, after I sent my big kids […]
Read More6 Gems from the Power Series (9-Minute Mommy Peptalk)
6 life-altering Power Series tips I use every day to work towards my dreams.
Read MoreLive Your Dreams: Dina Friedman’s Incredible Power Series Starts Monday
Last year, I often mentioned Dina Friedman’s life-altering Power Series and the powerful impact it had on my life. Over the course of 20 weeks, she taught us tools to make our deepest desires a reality. I think every Jewish woman should take this class, I could not recommend it more highly. Click here to […]
Read MoreThe Fisherman and Me
Over Chanukah, I travelled up to visit my 19-year-old daughter, Hadas, who is a national-service girl near Nahariya. One morning I sat to pray on a bench overlooking the Mediterranean, and I noticed this fisherman. And this is what I thought: The sea has existed forever. And it will exist forever. Just like Hashem. And […]
Read MoreSearching for G-d in the Garbage by Bracha Goetz
The newly-released Searching for God in the Garbage is an extremely candid memoir of how Bracha Goetz became an observant Jew and overcame anorexia. It is told through her actual diary entries and letters, spanning through the 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s. In the book, Bracha asks the question: Is it possible to recover from food […]
Read MoreMy Chanukah Kiss by Naomi
If you would have asked me yesterday, the 7th day of Chanuka, how Chanuka has been, I would have probably said something like, “Not so great.” I’ve been ill for the entire holiday. Nothing serious, G-d forbid, just a heavy cold, fever, infected sinuses and, today, an ear infection. My girls and I have spent […]
Read MoreDreidel Mom by Rina Jacobs
“Nun, Gimmel, Hey and Shin, watch my Dreidel spin, spin, spin. Nun, Gimmel, Hey and Shin, watch it spin, spin, spin…” I sing this song as I send my Kinder class to go and wash their hands, I sing this song with my own children when we play a game of Dreidel on the first […]
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