Taking my Son to Gan on Yom HaShoah
We have a garden full of beautiful, colorful flowers. But the resident of our garden that’s been getting the most attention recently is our strawberry. Yes, I meant to write that in the singular. Just one. A single strawberry. At first it was white, and then it started getting embarrassed from all the attention and […]
Read MoreThe Blessing of Growing Older (9-Minute Mommy Peptalk)
As mothers, we grow older and wiser.
Read More“Modeh Ani” Sung by Elana Jagoda
Since a friend gave me Elana Jagoda’s CD a few weeks ago, my kids and I have been listening to it over and over! This is my favorite song, my favorite line is when she sings to Hashem “Thank you for the soul in me,” which reminds me how thankful I should be that Hashem […]
Read MoreWhy I Was Laughing in the Graveyard
Since I read her biography, I’ve been trying to visit Henny Machlis’ grave about once a week. What do I experience when I’m there? Do I hear the voice of Henny’ soul? Do I hear what I imagine Henny would probably say? Either way, I always leave Henny’s grave feeling more clarity than when I […]
Read MoreA Mother’s Greatness
I have used several nice haggadot over the years, but this year was the first time I encountered a haggadah which is a true page-turner. Which I found so fascinating and inspiring that I read every word, from the introduction to the very last page (even after the seder was already behind me). The Eishes […]
Read MoreSavta Bina’s Passover Blessing
Our dear friend Bina was a child of the Holocaust who lost her parents when she was only 4, and spent the Shoah being moved by strangers from one hiding place to another, always only one step away from the clutches of the Nazi beast. Maybe because of how she grew up, Bina has a […]
Read MoreThe Unopened Gift: Family Togetherness on Passover
One of my favorite writers, a frum mother and introvert, recently shared that her idea of a perfect vacation would be several days spent at a remote ski lodge with a pile of books, ON HER OWN. I let out a wicked, secret giggle. Yep, I can relate. Do not get me wrong. I love […]
Read MoreThe Mother of Emuna
Passover is the “Rosh Hashana for Faith,”* when we Jews remember the miracles Hashem made for us in Egypt, and get a Divine injection of faith to last us all year long. This is why seder night is called seder night, literally “The Night of Order,” since this was the night the Israelites learned that […]
Read MoreMy Personal Exodus from Egypt
Those of you who have been following this blog for a long time will remember that I lived for 20 years in a different Jerusalem neighborhood called Nachlaot. For 16 of those years, we loved Nachlaot. We loved our home, we loved the market next door, we loved the huge collection of friends and neighbors […]
Read MoreMy Good Enough Pesach
Yesterday, by the late afternoon, I was literally crying from pre-Pesach exhaustion. Snapping at my family members. Cursing my fate as a JewishMOM. Thinking inspirational thoughts such as “I can’t take this aaaanymoooore” and “Wouldn’t it be nice to fall asleep like a Jewish Sleeping Beauty, until, like, Shavuos.” And then, after an embittered evening, […]
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