Marshmallows for Lag B’Omer

Lag B’Omer, which begins tomorrow night, is a huge event in Israel.  While the air is filled with barbecue smoke during the day on Yom HaAtzma’ut, the smoke that lingers in the air from bonfires the night of Lag B’Omer lasts a few days.  (Be sure to bring in your laundry if it’s hanging outside.) [...]

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The ten commandments of women’s self defense

Years ago, a high school classmate of mine forwarded me an email from a friend of hers listing some principles of women’s self defense.  I had learned and taught in the self-defense world for several years at the time, and summoned some wisdom from my experience to write her a response.  In the interest of [...]

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Touch

I read with interest Viva Hammer’s article in the April 16 Jerusalem Post entitled “Every hour a kiss” in which she addresses issues of physical touch according to Jewish law. In the course of the article, she describes an incident in which a manager at work, to illustrate a point, rubbed her shoulder, put an [...]

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Settlements 101

I recently renewed contact with a secular friend from Tel Aviv on Facebook.  He asked if we’re ever in Tel Aviv so our families can meet each other.  I said we’re not there often, and at the moment don’t all fit into our 5-seater sedan to drive there (despite Banana’s helpful suggestion that we strap [...]

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Home again, home again, jiggedy jig

After a 19-hour taxi ride, a 6 hour wait in the Madrid airport, and a flight home on El Al, the Cap’n came home Monday night.  He took the kids to the local Yom HaAtzma’ut ceremony (and saw Beans dance), gave me a cool t-shirt from the official Beatles store on Baker Street, and we [...]

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Reishit smichat geulateinu

I’ve long been a card-carrying religious Zionist—one of the few labels I’ll allow myself.  As such, my tent is firmly pitched in the camp of those who believe that the foundation of the State of Israel in 1948 was not just a happy event, but the work of Hashem and—dare one hope—the beginning of the [...]

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Why Israel should exist

I often read articles, email forwards, and blog posts which seek to defend Israel’s right to exist by evoking the history of the Jewish people, its high moral and ethical standards, its choice to fight only in self defense, or its many remarkable contributions to the betterment of the world.  While I agree that Israel [...]

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Planes, trains, and automobiles

The Cap’n traveled to the UK on business last week, and as anyone who has taken a gander at the news for the past several days can surmise, he’s stuck there now. He missed Shabbat with us, having to make do with the hospitality of strangers in Golders Green.  And he’s due to miss Yom [...]

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Triumph of hope

Yom HaShoah is over, but part of being a Jew is feeling that the Shoah is never over.  It dogs our steps, reminds us constantly of the depths to which humans can sink in their treatment of other humans, and nowadays is alternately denied and celebrated by the Arabs, Iran, and educated Westerners whose heads [...]

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Kosher Cooking Carnival #53

Welcome to the 53rd Kosher Cooking Carnival!  The brainchild of Batya from Shiloh, it is a monthly compendium of blog posts on kashrut in Jewish law, reviews of kosher restaurants and cookbooks, Shabbat and holiday menus, and kosher recipes.  (To submit a post for the next blog carnival, click on the Blog Carnival link here.) [...]

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Guest post: Ilana Epstein’s Mish-kebabs

As I mentioned the other day, Iyar has arrived, bringing with it all the Israeli national holidays.  When my friend Ilana Epstein thinks of holidays, she thinks of the special foods that accompany them.  And if there isn’t a standard fare for a given holiday—think matzo ball soup, hamantashen, honey cake—she makes one up herself.  [...]

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Feminism 101: What’s in a name?

I once knew a girl in school named Susan Smith.  While I didn’t envy her the ordinariness of her name, I did envy the fact that anyone could pronounce it. Not mine.  While I think Schnitzengruben is pronounced exactly like it’s spelled, not everyone can manage it. And since I got married, I have tripled [...]

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The Shoah in film

With Pesach over, a month of national holidays is upon us in Israel.  Tonight begins the Memorial Day for the Shoah (Holocaust) and Heroism. I have had a number of difficulties with this holiday over the years.  The addition of “heroism” to the observance in Israel seems to me emblematic of Israeli Jews’ troubled relationship [...]

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The personal cookbook

When I was slogging through my first year of parenting and was bombarded by unsolicited advice from every quarter, I found myself unloading my frustrations on my OB/GYN at one of my appointments.  He said something to me that I’ve never forgotten: “The best parenting book you could ever read is the one you write [...]

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Seeking KCC submissions

I am the lucky hostess of Iyar’s Kosher Cooking Carnival, a compendium of blog posts and articles including recipes, halacha, Shabbat and holiday food and practice,  restaurant review, and kosher news. Please send submissions to this link (click on the orange box opposite the banner) and share your kosher recipes, wisdom, and stories!

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Nowhere girl

After years of flat refusal, I could refuse no more.  The girl I sat next to in senior English class asked me to join Facebook so I could see the photos from my high school class’s recent 25th reunion.  It was nice to see familiar faces, and how many haven’t changed much in the intervening [...]

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Homebody Pesach

Pesach 5770 is coming to a close soon.  It’s been mellow and lovely. In the past, I’ve envied friends who would go away to a hotel or resort for Pesach and not have to clean quite as vigorously or to do all their own cooking.  But when it comes down to it, I’m happier doing [...]

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