A few days ago I got this pearl via email. I have no idea who wrote it, but they have really hit the nail on the head. If it had been presented this way I don’t believe any of us would have applied!!! Position: Mom, Mommy, Mama, Ma Dad, Daddy, Dada, Pa, Pop Job Description: [...]
Posts under ‘family’
Remembering Grandpa on V-day
Yesterday was May 9. I know this date probably doesn’t mean much to you, but for anyone growing up in Russia that’s Victory Day, the celebration of victory over Nazi Germany in 1945. As always, Russians celebrated with a military parade (this year’s was the largest ever with over 10,000 soldiers and representatives of veterans [...]
Passover Cleaning with Serenity
Every year as Passover approaches, Rav Shlomo Aviner publishes his Guide to Passover Cleaning in One Day. The motto of the guide is that dirt is not chametz and children are not the Pesach sacrifice. In a similar vein, last week, the Jewish Women’s Project for Ahavas Yisrael, which organizes learning groups for women, sent [...]
Encouragement for Parents
Professionalism has its downside. As a long-time translator, I have great difficulty reading translated literature. Even if I am not familiar with the original, I notice the judgment calls made by the translator and consider how I would have done things differently. I have heard similar stories from other professionals, such as a graphic designer, [...]
Homemade Purim Costume Ideas
Yesterday, while looking through a family album, I spotted some pictures of homemade Purim costumes I have made over the years. I don’t particularly like store-bought costumes, so over the years I have gathered many original Purim costume ideas to dress up my kids. Homemade costumes are cheaper, more versatile, and more fun than the [...]
Family-Work – Is there a Balance?
This week’s Matzav Haruach (a Shabbat newspaper popular in the religious Zionist community) published a story recently related by former Knesset member Gila Finkelstein from the National religious Party. Apparently, before Mrs. Finkelstein decided to take part in the previous Knesset elections, she and her husband consulted Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu. Rabbi Eliyahu started the meeting [...]
Game Theory Exercises for Children
A couple of weeks ago, I picked up an entertaining book on game theory. Game theory studies the strategies people use when making decisions. As I was reading about the various problems considered by the theory, I thought these could make excellent games to play with the children. Here is an opportunity for a fun [...]
Do We Value Children?
A month ago, I visited my relatives in Russia. From the few TV programs I watched while there, it appeared that children are the number one issue on the Russian agenda. Yet, there seemed to be a cognitive dissonance between the declarations about the importance and the value of children and the fact that Russians [...]
First glasses
Do you remember getting your first glasses? I do. I was six when my Mom took me into a dark office, where a doctor placed a gigantic piece of equipment on my nose and told me to read off signs of dogs, boats, and cups from a chart, as he kept changing the lenses. I [...]
A Light for Greytowers – Movie Review
On the first night of Chanuka, I took my 13-year-old daughter to the Jerusalem Cinematheque screening of A Light for Greytowers. Although the Jewish-themed musical was advertised as playing for women only, several men did make their way into the audience (most of them left fairly quickly – the movie was clearly made with women [...]
