American Kiddush
I made my first American kiddush of this trip on Friday night. I found my daughter’s prayer book in her backpack. I found a pretty wine glass with a gold trim among my parents’ coffee mugs. I found a big Kedem bottle in the storage cabinet among my father’s cans of tomato sauce and chickpeas. […]
Read MoreYou have HOW MANY Kids?!
Mrs. Gotthelf rolled down her car window and called out, “Hey Jenny, I heard you’re back home for your sister’s wedding…Tell me, how many kids you got now?” Mrs. Gotthelf lives down the block and has known me since I went to kindergarten at the same elementary school as her daughter Margie. “Seven,” I tell […]
Read MoreThe Rebbe’s Secret: Overcoming Fear
My daughter says that our gracious Baltimore Shabbat hostess is like “Avraham Avinu.” I agree…The abundant food, the uplifting conversation, the welcoming atmosphere that makes me feel like I am doing my hostess a favor by being her guest and not the other way around. And like Avraham Avinu with his tent open on all […]
Read MoreWho Cares?
My sister is getting married on July 4th, so this past Thursday my Dad picked up Hadas, Moriah, Yaakov and me at the airport and drove us down to my childhood home in Baltimore. We took scenic Route 1 down from Philadelphia, and passed many a corn field and a crab-cake restaurant and a be-steepled […]
Read MoreA Charity-Begins-at-Home Miracle by Rabbi Yitzchok Zilberstein
The following story appears in Aleynu Leshabeach: Wisdom, Stories, and Inspiration by Rabbi Yitzchok Zilberstein (Artscroll) It is a person’s obligation to be a person of kindness at home long before going out and performing acts of kindness for those outside. It is impossible to run charity organizations outside the home while the opposite of […]
Read MoreI Cheated My Sons Out of a Jewish Education
In her powerful Kveller article “I Cheated My Sons out of a Jewish Education” New York JewishMOM Alina Adams writes: “My oldest son graduated from the 8th grade last week. His father and I picked this particular school for its academic rigor. By the time his nine years there were up, my son had visited […]
Read MoreThe Blessing of a Thick Skin (10-Minute Mommy Peptalk Video)
Learning to care less what people people think about us. photo credit: seanaes via photopin cc
Read MoreThe 17th of Tammuz Blues (5-Minute Music Video)
In this video, my husband’s student, Ari Lesser, sings the awesome “17th of Tammuz Blues.” The one problem with this song is that it falsely claims that “That day’s never been a good day for the Jews.” But I know for certain that a good thing did happen on the 17th of Tammuz at least […]
Read MoreMy Silent Revolution
Yesterday I completed a 25-hour intensive IMPACT self-defense course. And that means that I now know how to battle an attacker until he is lying flat on his back, and ruing the day who chose to pick on this JewishMOM. The intention of IMPACT is not only to give women the skills to defend themselves […]
Read MoreThe Rabbi Who Conquered the World by Akiva Novik
The following article appears in today’s issue of Yediot Achronot The news of the passing this week of 86-year-old Rabbi Moshe Greenberg z”l made waves throughout the world. In Bnei Brak, where he lived, to Alaska, Texas, Germany and France… That’s how it is when your 17 children run Chabad Houses in 14 cities around […]
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