tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-211536042024-03-13T07:53:06.797-04:00Adventures in Mama-LandA new adventure every day...Tziviahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11828930310967808828noreply@blogger.comBlogger3118125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21153604.post-87115900254845456232021-11-02T04:53:00.000-04:002021-11-02T10:56:43.392-04:00Are Jews an "underrepresented community" in children’s publishing?<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YwT5XPKYjJI/YYD4mYqtxtI/AAAAAAAAt4g/UHw3MvSEY5cxNgowoU7_BA4afnVFDOR3QCLcBGAsYHQ/s500/morediversity.jpg"><img title="image" style="display: inline; background-image: none;" border="0" alt="image" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YwT5XPKYjJI/YYD4mYqtxtI/AAAAAAAAt4g/UHw3MvSEY5cxNgowoU7_BA4afnVFDOR3QCLcBGAsYHQ/s500/morediversity.jpg" width="504" height="504"></a> <p>I applied for a writing award yesterday. I'm not going to get it, but that's not what I wanted to share with you.</p> <p>Here's what I wanted to share. <br>This box:</p> <a href="https://drive.google.com/uc?id=1w6-JesNL-alvlSu5M_IUidu_jeYuNJjZ"><img title="image" style="display: inline; background-image: none;" border="0" alt="image" src="https://drive.google.com/uc?id=1d54ns9eAb9xOxglEeAKadifyzfECQxhd" width="672" height="331"></a> <p> </p> <p>I stared at this box for a long, long time. And then I decided not to check it. Even though I believe people like me truly <em>are </em>underrepresented, we probably wouldn’t fit the definition in other people's minds.</p> <p>Why?</p> <p>Well, because we're European. <br> Because we are white. <br> Because as everybody knows, Jews control the media. (do we???) <br> If anything, some people say, Jews are <em>over</em>-represented in publishing.</p> <p>And yet.</p> <p>Some definitions are careful not to include people like me. Like <a href="https://www.sos.ca.gov/business-programs/underrepresented-communities-boards">this random definition from the State of California</a> which defines <em>underrepresented</em> for some very specific business purposes as: "an individual who self-identifies as Black, African American, Hispanic, Latino, Asian, Pacific Islander, Native American, Native Hawaiian, or Alaska Native, or who self-identifies as gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender."</p> <p>Sorry, I self-identify as an Israeli-Canadian Ashkenazi Jew. Any room for me on that spectrum?</p> <p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Underrepresented_group">According to Wikipedia</a>: <br>“An underrepresented group describes a subset of a population that holds a smaller percentage within a significant subgroup than the subset holds in the general population.”</p> <p>Hmm. Does that sound like me? </p> <p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish_population_by_country#:~:text=At%20the%20beginning%20of%202019,of%20the%207.89%20billion%20humans).">As of 2019, Jews are only 0.2% of the world population</a>. Even that sounds super-high and probably includes many, many Jews who'd be surprised to hear they'd been counted. But thinking of all the books I’ve seen and read in my life, including children’s books, I would say far fewer than two in a thousand characters were recognizably Jewish. Mayyyybe…</p> <p>Then again, in the U.S., according to the <a href="https://www.pewforum.org/2021/05/11/the-size-of-the-u-s-jewish-population/">latest Pew polls</a> (which, again, include Jews who’d probably be surprised to hear that they are classified as Jewish), Jews comprise 2.4% of all U.S. adults. Are two (point four!) in a hundred people in every American picture book you pick up Jewish? Every graphic novel? Every middle-grade novel? And let’s be clear: I mean the kind of Jewish you can pick out from a crowd; the kind of Jewish where the home, practices, child’s behaviour are notably different from their peers’ simply because of being Jewish. Seems like we’re underrepresented for sure.</p> <p>Yet I've been told repeatedly that </p> <a href="http://www.mamaland.org/2021/11/are-jews-underrepresented-community-in.html#more"></a>Tziviahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11828930310967808828noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21153604.post-11295261569217179692021-10-26T08:54:00.000-04:002021-10-26T09:02:01.236-04:00Grow Old Along with Me: Why care that Avraham Avinu was the first to get old?<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-grJ6iIhRVl8/YXf4VQSi9jI/AAAAAAAAt38/YciUWZIalkADNM7cjInGL3I22xFR5-CfQCLcBGAsYHQ/s0/onaging.jpg"><img title="image" style="display: inline; background-image: none;" border="0" alt="image" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-grJ6iIhRVl8/YXf4VQSi9jI/AAAAAAAAt38/YciUWZIalkADNM7cjInGL3I22xFR5-CfQCLcBGAsYHQ/s0/onaging.jpg" width="504" height="504"></a> <p>(to download a print-friendly PDF version of this dvar Torah, which was adapted from a shiur by Dr. Tova Sacher, <a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/ztoaghekjtw05d0/DTchayei_aging.pdf?dl=0">click here</a>)</p> <p>There’s a very well-known midrash that in his old age, Avraham requested… well… to age. It seems like an odd request. He lived not long after the generation of people like Methuselah, who lived 969 years. Certainly, people aged before Avraham. Or… did they?</p> <p>In fact, this midrash suggests, lots of people before Avraham were old – sometimes, very old – but nobody actually <i>got</i> old at all.</p> <p><a href="https://drive.google.com/uc?id=14ALc74BmUZJB3wB7fwj2DJFzzpadNk-a"><img title="clip_image002" style="margin-right: auto; margin-left: auto; float: none; display: block; background-image: none;" border="0" alt="clip_image002" src="https://drive.google.com/uc?id=1QztEqlzMIpX3sdq5khUzGcgb2IkuF5xp" width="628" height="127"></a></p> <p>This whole midrash arises due to a problem with the passuk:</p> <p align="center">וְאַבְרָהָם זָקֵן בָּא בַּיָּמִים</p> <p align="center"><em><font size="1">And Abraham was old, advanced in days.</font></em></p> <p>Rabbi Nachman of Breslov said Hashem never makes the same day twice. “Every day is an entirely new creation.” Even if you wake up and today seems exactly the same as yesterday – it’s not.</p> <p>So, too, whenever there’s a redundancy in the Torah, it should catch our eye. Because there are no redundancies in the Torah. If something <i>looks like</i> a redundancy, it’s there to tell us something extra.</p> <p>In this passuk, we learn that </p> <a href="http://www.mamaland.org/2021/10/grow-old-along-with-me-why-care-that.html#more"></a>Tziviahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11828930310967808828noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21153604.post-59540898581432025012021-09-04T16:05:00.001-04:002021-09-04T17:10:53.826-04:00The Jewish kids’ book YOUR family has been waiting for (I hope?)<a href="https://drive.google.com/uc?id=16juRgkAgwdgt7dWvB2goEUsncNXjt2Vp"><img title="image" style="display: inline; background-image: none;" border="0" alt="image" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-StQhe_HlW3I/YTPSFwx8VXI/AAAAAAAAtx0/-cHitF2ohRIUub10Agn7e1Ia4qQQXj01gCLcBGAsYHQ/s16000/banner_whenyoucame.jpg" width="504" height="504" /></a> <p> </p> <p>Last year, <a href="http://tinyurl.com/whenucame">I wrote a book</a>, just before I found out our older daughter was pregnant. It's a book all about the way families grow - through birth, through adoption, through fostering, and how all the ways are magical and lovely.</p> <p>AND HERE IT IS!!!</p> <a href="http://tinyurl.com/whenucame"><img title="image" style="display: inline; background-image: none;" border="0" alt="image" src="https://drive.google.com/uc?id=1PWhsSgvfEa8xcBs1U2EhbDmVIUJM6nJ0" width="404" height="404" /></a> <p>But the process wasn’t as straightforward as with other books I’ve created, in part because I felt so, so strongly about this one. This is a book I have wanted to create for a while, after knowing people who had either adopted or fostered children and seeing that there weren't really many Jewish books to support these also-miraculous ways of growing families. </p> <p>As I have seen from other aspiring writers, however, the more strongly you feel about a project, the more likely it is to come out very, very badly. Because you are so passionate, you write garbage – overly sentimental tripe - and send the book out into the world LONG before it’s ready.</p> <p>I didn’t want that to happen. Yet I had big dreams for this book. I pictured a book that would share the wonder of a child's arrival without making any assumptions about HOW that child had arrived. And I realized, as I sat down to write, how very many things every single child's arrival has in common: a period of waiting, davening, anticipating; a period of getting to know one another; a welcoming of some kind into the Jewish community that will help the child grow up.</p> <p>I also realized that I wanted the book to be diverse in other ways. Let's be honest: there are lots of books out there showing all-white Ashkenazi families, and not a lot showing a range of skin shades and abilities, along with older kids and other relatives.</p> <h1>Step 1: Create & edit the text</h1> <p>In order to make sure the book didn’t turn out terrible, like so many I’ve seen, I knew there weren’t going to be any shortcuts.</p> <p>First, I had to make sure the text was just right: specific enough that it would be helpful to Jewish families; general enough that families could enjoy it no matter what their situation happened to be. To do that, I ran it past my critique group again and again until they were basically sick of it. Ha, I kid, but seriously, my critique group partners are heroes, who do everything possible to weed out errors, remaining enthusiastic and supportive about the messages the text conveyed through multiple drafts, some better than others.</p> <p>(Some critiquers in the group thought I'd written the book in honour of our first grandchild's imminent arrival, but as mentioned - that news came along as a bonus, after the story was already written.)</p> <a href="https://drive.google.com/uc?id=1DAhXF-8qXjvNtwCfpmsvEL2C1zcryFBa"><img title="image" style="display: inline; background-image: none;" border="0" alt="image" src="https://drive.google.com/uc?id=1CEazdgufCx42PnDL9vBhihb-gRru0OcZ" width="364" height="484" /></a> <p><em>(grandkids: what a neis, really – and a sabra, to boot!!!)</em></p> <h1>Step 2: Create the illustrations & look of the book</h1> <p>Then, once the text had reached a level that I could be proud of it, I had to find a talented illustrator with a style that was free-form enough to feel organic and not too cheesy. Hiruni Karayawasam, a design student in Sri Lanka, had the talent and dedication, along with an openness to learning enough about Judaism to create accurate representations of shuls and Jewish homes. She was a pleasure to work with.</p> <a href="http://tinyurl.com/whenucame"><img title="image" style="display: inline; background-image: none;" border="0" alt="image" src="https://drive.google.com/uc?id=1P7rH8PBkCJtdc-k1ItEWi4mswaWuYQmh" width="644" height="484" /></a> <p> </p> <p>Additionally, coming from a traditional (okay, I'll use the word Orthodox) perspective, I wanted the families in my stories to represent the kind of families in my communities - men who wear kippot; women who cover their hair in some way. </p> <p>However. One of my goals was to make sure the book would suit families who were coming from a range of Jewish backgrounds. There's not really anything prescriptive in there except some basics: welcome your kid, bless your kid, give them a name, involve them in your community. As I worked on this book, I also happened to have been editing a book of Jewish parenting wisdom by a writer I really admire from a non-Orthodox background, and I admit that some of her views may have rubbed off -- for the better.</p> <p>Finally, at the last minute, I also decided to weave in actual sources in the Torah, Tanach, and other traditional writings, to support the massive life transitions shared in the text and pictures. These pesukim (verses) appear as a colourful, organic part of the book, but they're absolutely not required to understand the flow of the story. Readers can choose to focus on them, or ignore them, as the mood strikes.</p> <p><a href="https://drive.google.com/uc?id=1QNBPKdnf-UQi62U3DXDwGpDZkqaNlDDp"><img title="image" style="display: inline; background-image: none;" border="0" alt="image" src="https://drive.google.com/uc?id=1jAn20LnhtLpzHkxK-_r4c0zZV87LI9Hv" width="644" height="355" /></a></p> <p>(All verses included have plain text with vowels as well as full translation on the same page. In this case, I have also removed the vowel from the final ת / letter tav of the verse so it works for boys or girls…)</p> <p> </p> <a href="http://tinyurl.com/whenucame"><img title="image" style="display: inline; background-image: none;" border="0" alt="image" src="https://drive.google.com/uc?id=1TgLrnKIoHlefq9lPzI6FYw55fhGzappf" width="644" height="484" /></a> <p>To give you an even deeper peek behind the curtains, as I worked with Hiruni on the illustrations, I decided to create three families, who’d be depicted in 5 spreads each:</p> <p>1) FAMILY 1: A European Ashkenazi-looking family pregnant with their first baby (yes, I started with this family, because this was my own experience…)</p> <a href="https://drive.google.com/uc?id=1vzB-kCyKYArWLC7ylwp3PGyUMcYA55Ll"><img title="image" style="display: inline; background-image: none;" border="0" alt="image" src="https://drive.google.com/uc?id=1lis1-5Bi86FfCpjUxYAcNPKuFkO7QsMQ" width="404" height="400" /></a> <p> </p> <p>2) FAMILY 2: A mixed-race family adopting a baby internationally</p> <p><a href="https://drive.google.com/uc?id=1BXRA-EolUm0Pg85smG9EPP-wfJjosTMZ"><img title="image" style="display: inline; background-image: none;" border="0" alt="image" src="https://drive.google.com/uc?id=16pYDBep057dbe-3mjfM24O1DZeaYqgwQ" width="296" height="404" /></a></p> <p>(this sketch was later changed because the mom is bringing the baby, so Dad is there alone with older kids…)</p> <p>3) FAMILY 3: A mixed-race family adopting or fostering an older child with a disability</p> <a href="https://drive.google.com/uc?id=1jZ2x2T7hMLz8VYWb2mmElXE5HmDyrANB"><img title="image" style="display: inline; background-image: none;" border="0" alt="image" src="https://drive.google.com/uc?id=158MKokXHxmXQ4uQJFMKrp_1x_DMv6Uq_" width="330" height="404" /></a> <p>(in this book, the older child has Down Syndrome, or Trisomy 21, and I worked with the illustrator, with lots of reference photos to make sure that the child was representative of real children)</p> <h1>Step 3: (the hardest step) Marketing!</h1> <p>As a self-publishing writer, marketing is the toughest piece of the puzzle for me. That’s where you come in, and this post. <br /> And as I said in my last post, sometimes the toughest part of those of us who aren't marketing-minded is the ASK. So in the next line, I'm going to break the fourth wall or whatever and come right out and ASK you to buy the book.</p> <p>Buy the book here: <a title="http://tinyurl.com/whenucame" href="http://tinyurl.com/whenucame">http://tinyurl.com/whenucame</a> <br />Buy it if you care about how Jewish families are born; if you care about representation in Jewish kids' books; if you want to tell your kids that not all Jewish families are alike and that's more than okay. It's part of Hashem's plan.</p> <p>There - not such a tough sell after all, I think.</p> <a href="http://tinyurl.com/whenucame"><img title="image" style="display: inline; background-image: none;" border="0" alt="image" src="https://drive.google.com/uc?id=1Iq33YkKbAw_eR8hYSHkgLG2pcurB400Y" width="644" height="484" /></a> <p>I’ve written a LOT of kids’ books. But this experience, more than almost any other, has been quite a lot like bringing a beloved child into the world. And as with any child, after all this labour, I’d love to see it succeed.</p> <p>To do that, I believe this book should reach as many families and communities as possible. If you can think of any ways to help me do that, I'd really appreciate it. I've made the book available as both a high-quality hardback, an affordable paperback, as well as a super-affordable Kindle version, so if you can think of anybody who might need something like this for their family, library, or school, please feel free to send them the link and suggest it.</p> <p>I'm excited to be part of creating something new where I think there's a genuine need. And I'd love to hear from you about your Jewish family and what makes it unique so I can get started thinking about future projects and other needs for Jewish books that might be out there.</p> <p>I know my site isn't allowing comments at the moment. I wish I knew why. In the meantime, feel free to get in touch. Just hit "Me & My Books" in the menu above and you'll find my official site with WhatsApp, email, and so many other great ways to contact me. OK, not many. But still - I'd love to hear from you!!!</p> <h2 align="center"><span style="font-size: large;">Tzivia / צִיבְיָה</span> <!--Begin MailChimp Signup Form--><link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="//cdn-images.mailchimp.com/embedcode/slim-081711.css" /><style type="text/css"> #mc_embed_signup{background:#fff; clear:left; font:14px helvetica,arial,sans-serif; } /* Add your own MailChimp form style overrides in your site stylesheet or in this style block. We recommend moving this block and the preceding CSS link to the HEAD of your HTML file. */</style> <div id="mc_embed_signup"><form id="mc-embedded-subscribe-form" class="validate" method="post" name="mc-embedded-subscribe-form" action="//blogspot.us8.list-manage.com/subscribe/post?u=f002f002b644188d5fb4f35ae&id=32062f1f6f" target="_blank"><label>I write books!  Jewish kids & families love them!  Sign up now for discounts, inspirations, and who knows what else? (no spam!)</label><input id="mce-EMAIL" class="email" required="required" name="EMAIL" /><!--real people should not fill this in and expect good things - do not remove this or risk form bot signups--> <br /> <div style="left: -5000px; position: absolute;"><input name="b_f002f002b644188d5fb4f35ae_32062f1f6f" /></div> <div class="clear"><input id="mc-embedded-subscribe" class="button" type="submit" name="subscribe" /></div> </form></div> <!--End mc_embed_signup--></h2>Tziviahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11828930310967808828noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21153604.post-16061692505775791022021-09-03T09:14:00.002-04:002021-09-03T09:20:47.754-04:00Speaking of Yom Tov… (here are some BOOKS!) <div class="separator" style="text-align: center; clear: both;"><a style="margin-right: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EhU6ezacErc/YTIgXW3PwhI/AAAAAAAAtxk/3f-_OrryEZc60RUFDyGBY_64nnS4ulOIQCLcBGAsYHQ/s800/disgustface.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EhU6ezacErc/YTIgXW3PwhI/AAAAAAAAtxk/3f-_OrryEZc60RUFDyGBY_64nnS4ulOIQCLcBGAsYHQ/s16000/disgustface.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="536" /></a></div> <br />Here’s a rhyming riddle: <p><em>Rosh Hashanah’s almost here: which of my books will you buy this year???!?</em></p> <p>I know; pretty tacky, right? I’ll be honest; that’s how I feel about marketing my books in general.</p> <p><a href="https://drive.google.com/uc?id=1bm8k-kVT0k7jxy1fQ-LVOI3Cx7z3J52R"><img title="image" style="display: inline; background-image: none;" border="0" alt="image" src="https://drive.google.com/uc?id=1To2SFSwqkPPhAvW57PrGFt_P-8zwqVqo" width="504" height="344" /></a></p> <p>(disgusted baby © <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/morganmorgan/">iwishmynamewasmarsha</a> via <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/morganmorgan/3675951676">Flickr</a>)</p> <h1>What’s the secret to self-publishing success???</h1> <p>Don’t bother asking me…</p> <p>I’m told one secret to success in business is not being afraid to ask. So there it is, the ASK. If you’re reading this, we’re connected in some obscure way. And therefore, you or someone you know might really enjoy one of my books, if only you let yourself try.</p> <p>Scroll down for a list you might like!</p> <p>Whenever people find out that I’m a self-publishing writer, they sometimes ask about – gasp – the marketing side of things. Because one of the things that commercial book publishers do pretty well is market and distribute your book. They go through well-trod channels to make sure that sellers, libraries, schools, and other interested folks have a physical copy of your book in their hands – or a Kindle copy on their Kindles.</p> <p>I feel like they’re always quite disappointed to find out I do almost NO marketing for my self-published books. The flipside of that, let’s be honest, is that I make almost no money from my self-published books. If your books are good and you invest in them, whether that’s time or money or whatever, then you tend to get back at least a little return. But it’s HARD WORK. And even though I’m not averse to hard work, I already have hard work in the form of a job.</p> <p>(The one time I dabbled in a MLM, they came right out and told us that J-O-B is a four-letter word, or at least it <em>should </em>be. But let’s imagine a job is a decent way to get money to feed your family, compared to betting on a less-sure thing when the rent is due.)</p> <p>But sometimes I shock myself with how little I talk about my own books. I think the last time was in <a href="http://www.mamaland.org/2017/10/sharing-timeless-jewish-messages.html">this post about the Jewish Nature series</a>, which I’m so proud of I can barely even put it into words.</p> <p>So I decided to share a list of yom tov related books that I’ve created that you might want to enjoy with your families. No pressure. These are affiliate links, so if you click through and buy something, I get a few pennies that way, too.</p> <h1>A List of Awesome Books You Should Know About</h1> <table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" border="0"><tbody> <tr> <td valign="top" width="307"><img src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51vq9uSp6aL._SX389_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg" width="217" height="277" /> <br />Get it here: <a title="http://tinyurl.com/sigdbook" href="http://tinyurl.com/sigdbook">http://tinyurl.com/sigdbook</a></td> <td valign="top"><strong>Pumpkin Pie for Sigd</strong> <br />This one actually is NOT self-published, but was released by Apples & Honey at the beginning of August. And – true to form – I totally neglected to do any marketing at the time. It’s great for the fall if you’re looking for stories about a whole bunch of OTHER things that you don’t get in most books. Plus, there’s an amazingly diverse cast of characters, beautifully brought to life by illustrator Denise Damanti.           <br /></td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="314"><a href="https://drive.google.com/uc?id=1M6WkjpnG5vr87MTyyKzYZx4eF-O_9zxR"><img title="image" style="display: inline; background-image: none;" border="0" alt="image" src="https://drive.google.com/uc?id=10LoEXwbDyJn18GskAQw15jDwoMEPWsSH" width="221" height="215" /></a> <br />Get it here: <a title="http://tinyurl.com/SharingShmittah" href="http://tinyurl.com/SharingShmittah">http://tinyurl.com/SharingShmittah</a></td> <td valign="top"><strong>Sharing Shmittah</strong> <br />Did you know that the upcoming new year, 5782 (הבא עלינו לטובה / haba aleinu l’, as people say here in Israel), is a shemittah year? Even if I’m not sure anymore why I chose this spelling for “shmittah” (I usually spell it “shemittah”) – this is probably the only kids’ book out there that will help you get prepared for the upcoming shemittah year in Israel which starts in just a few days.           <br /></td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="321"><a href="https://drive.google.com/uc?id=1DKH5xIcMsa3ZfvHIhwjxIcfTROgKh8If"><img title="image" style="display: inline; background-image: none;" border="0" alt="image" src="https://drive.google.com/uc?id=15zKSTUyNuBUIxcslCU8D4X84Cq2xSjuB" width="222" height="222" /></a> <br />Get it here: <a title="http://tinyurl.com/fourlittle" href="http://tinyurl.com/fourlittle">http://tinyurl.com/fourlittle</a></td> <td valign="top"><strong>Four Little Holiday Books</strong> <br />Yeah, Rosh Hashanah is only one of this mini box set, and okay, the cover is a little cheesy. But it’s only 99 cents and you’re covered for four awesome holidays (Rosh Hashanah, Chanukah, Shavuos, and… I think Pesach). Go get it. <img class="wlEmoticon wlEmoticon-smile" alt="Smile" src="https://drive.google.com/uc?id=1fFjCIYMFrTgNqUnz4zbxYGgF6-85McSg" />           <br /></td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="328"><a href="https://drive.google.com/uc?id=1BmPna0Bb2VyU43PMLcWuFZcSeRG4lOWy"><img title="image" style="margin: 0px; display: inline; background-image: none;" border="0" alt="image" src="https://drive.google.com/uc?id=1TUof8hxIwmNNMUEv6vxd6F1thpdikjho" width="222" height="222" /></a> <br />Get it here: <a title="http://tinyurl.com/PenguinRosh" href="http://tinyurl.com/PenguinRosh">http://tinyurl.com/PenguinRosh</a></td> <td valign="top"><strong>Penguin Rosh Hashanah</strong> <br />This one has awe-inspiring photos of penguins in their natural habitat, no humans around for miles. Nothing to do with Rosh Hashanah, right? Well, <a href="http://www.mamaland.org/2017/10/sharing-timeless-jewish-messages.html">read this post to learn more about the connection</a>. And then – maybe buy the book for your family, for next year, I guess.           <br /></td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="335"><a href="https://drive.google.com/uc?id=1yRtG-oX1aiDjrHK6q0Q6Ov4ITjrPw3GG"><img title="image" style="margin: 0px; display: inline; background-image: none;" border="0" alt="image" src="https://drive.google.com/uc?id=1hFAq12zKQN5kgwmP86qytqvSVQR_Mc6r" width="222" height="222" /></a> <br />Get it here: <a title="http://tinyurl.com/AnimalTashlich" href="http://tinyurl.com/AnimalTashlich">http://tinyurl.com/AnimalTashlich</a></td> <td valign="top"><strong>Animal Tashlich</strong> <br />How do different kinds of animals approach tashlich and the 10 days of teshuvah? Well, they don’t. But as people, we anthropomorphize, and this book does it in grand style, introducing a wide range of animals and the ways they MIGHT do tashlich if they could. Silly premise, powerful book. Trust me.           <br /></td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="342"><a href="https://drive.google.com/uc?id=1Re6IhOzX-LDrRCrVmZozi1pismhx7FBP"><img title="image" style="margin: 0px; display: inline; background-image: none;" border="0" alt="image" src="https://drive.google.com/uc?id=1y48XBG-prp5vMaKDXZRhnh59gpUg2anL" width="222" height="222" /></a> <br />Get it here: <a title="http://tinyurl.com/CaterpillarYom" href="http://tinyurl.com/CaterpillarYom">http://tinyurl.com/CaterpillarYom</a> </td> <td valign="top"><strong>Caterpillar Yom Kippur</strong> <br />Yeah, the caterpillars look kind of gross close-up. But also awe-inspiring, right? And again, this book shares a powerfully simple message that we could all use about growth and transformation – see how it really DOES fit the theme? – during the 10 days of teshuvah.            <br />           <br />          <br /></td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="349"><a href="https://drive.google.com/uc?id=121xSGMJz_AzjsdLe1lSTlYCdKnnuFPBy"><img title="image" style="margin: 0px; display: inline; background-image: none;" border="0" alt="image" src="https://drive.google.com/uc?id=1Ki8-AXQlXm07ERReG713RwtRkhaML8c0" width="244" height="244" /></a> </td> <td valign="top"><strong>Turtle Sukkos</strong> <br />The cover is done but the book isn’t QUITE yet. Let’s say coming soon and maybe it’ll be ready for 5783! <img class="wlEmoticon wlEmoticon-smile" alt="Smile" src="https://drive.google.com/uc?id=1fFjCIYMFrTgNqUnz4zbxYGgF6-85McSg" /></td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="356"><a href="https://drive.google.com/uc?id=1cZa4ekkSO4mvv39FnE1-QjK4GusGfkRl"><img title="image" style="margin: 0px; display: inline; background-image: none;" border="0" alt="image" src="https://drive.google.com/uc?id=1KknOZ7ubL-9sjlOM6cKLM-JyZnbLyLOA" width="244" height="244" /></a> <br />Get it here: <a title="http://tinyurl.com/getrog" href="http://tinyurl.com/getrog">http://tinyurl.com/getrog</a> </td> <td valign="top"><strong>We Didn’t Have an Etrog! <br /></strong>Short, easy rhyming story ties together some themes of Sukkot / Sukkos, however you pronounce it.           <br /></td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="363"><a href="https://drive.google.com/uc?id=1zyM_d9YlcgwFIrD8c9GuDyu1O7bWTt9u"><img title="image" style="margin: 0px; display: inline; background-image: none;" border="0" alt="image" src="https://drive.google.com/uc?id=1Wp-_8DhP1Vzb25wDP0IypxAXDQ2AcK2P" width="222" height="222" /></a> <br />Get it here: <a title="http://tinyurl.com/familytorah" href="http://tinyurl.com/familytorah">http://tinyurl.com/familytorah</a></td> <td valign="top"><strong>The Family Torah</strong> <br />Just in time for Simchas Torah and starting the parshiyos all over again – the beloved classic The Family Torah. Great for homeschooling, youth groups, or around your family’s Shabbos table. And I’m not just saying that because it’s <em>my </em>book. Try the Look Inside feature on Amazon and see for yourself.           <br /></td> </tr> </tbody></table> <p> </p> <p>To see all my books on Amazon, it’s pretty easy. Just click here: <a href="http://tinyurl.com/JTMAuthorPage">http://tinyurl.com/JTMAuthorPage</a></p> <p>I also have an amazing new book release that I’m excited to share with you, but Shabbos is coming and my family and our food needs my attention more. As always, marketing is the last thing on my priority list. But I’d like to take this chance to wish you and your entire families an amazing fruitful year of growth in 5782.</p> <p>STAY TUNED!!!</p>Tziviahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11828930310967808828noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21153604.post-67033330883662203472021-05-11T07:48:00.000-04:002021-05-11T14:49:35.134-04:00What's in your quiver? The very mixed blessing of grown-up kids<span class="fullpost"></span> <div style="text-align: left;"><a style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em;" href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rvA4J7fzUTw/YJpsqKdAyWI/AAAAAAAAtjk/bGcpbj2EDrw7ydq2SUIaq5rSialVZmGJACLcBGAsYHQ/s500/quiver.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rvA4J7fzUTw/YJpsqKdAyWI/AAAAAAAAtjk/bGcpbj2EDrw7ydq2SUIaq5rSialVZmGJACLcBGAsYHQ/s16000/quiver.jpg" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="500"></a></div> <p><em>What are you blessing your children with today?</em> <br>It’s erev Rosh Chodesh Sivan, which is considered an "eis ratzon," a time of grace, for the prayer of the Shelah Hakadosh, a prayer for righteous children, which is quite lovely and humbling and all.</p> <p>(<a href="https://beyondbt.com/2021/05/10/shelahs-prayer-for-parents-on-behalf-of-their-children/">English</a> | <a href="https://www.yeshiva.org.il/midrash/7717">Hebrew</a>)</p> <p>But as a parent of adult children, especially one who has chosen a very different path when it comes to Judaism, it's also perplexing. <br> What do we do when our children don't turn out the way we had hoped and dreamed and prayed, day after day, year after year, at countless and innumerable times of grace?</p> <p>Back when I was homeschooling, I came across a number of parents who identified themselves as "Quiverfull." <br> I had no clue what this was so I had to look it up. It seems it's a Christian parenting philosophy whereby you have as many children as possible. The term actually comes from Tehillim 127:5, so they borrowed it from us, and I'd like to reclaim it for a minute:</p> <p>אַשְׁרֵ֤י הַגֶּ֗בֶר אֲשֶׁ֤ר מִלֵּ֥א אֶת־אַשְׁפָּת֗וֹ מֵ֫הֶ֥ם <br>Happy is the man who fills his quiver with them</p> <p>What is THEM? Well, "banim," meaning sons, but let's just say children.</p> <p>And what does it mean, having your quiver "full" of children? <br> On the surface, as these Christian parents assume, it does seem to mean lots and lots and lots of children. <br> And why not? Children are so joyous and wonderful - right?</p> <h1>Grosse Tzuros</h1> <p>Not always. Sometimes, when you have big children, it comes with a lot of pain, as they make life choices that... well, they hurt.</p> <p>In Yiddish, there's an expression I've always laughed at - albeit uneasily: "Kleine kinder, kleine tzuros; grosse kinder, grosse tzuros." Little kids, little problems; big kids, big problems. Little-kid problems: skinned knees and late-night baking to bring thirty cupcakes to school the next morning. Big-kid problems: intermarriage, drug addiction, divorce, choosing a lifestyle heartbreakingly distant from Judaism.</p> <a href="http://www.mamaland.org/2021/05/whats-in-your-quiver-very-mixed.html#more"></a>Tziviahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11828930310967808828noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21153604.post-56531395385420699482020-11-25T16:25:00.000-05:002020-11-25T16:25:34.823-05:00Cranky Complaints-Lady Buys BOOKS! (or tries to)<span class="fullpost"></span> <div class="separator" style="text-align: center; clear: both;"><a style="clear: left; margin-right: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;" href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nXnmbVlYK78/X77K07BFRcI/AAAAAAAAtJ0/D5XbrDEtRsUGCYsANf77ngr1JanJRRRJQCLcBGAsYHQ/s500/heartbreak.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img style="display: inline;" border="0" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nXnmbVlYK78/X77K07BFRcI/AAAAAAAAtJ0/D5XbrDEtRsUGCYsANf77ngr1JanJRRRJQCLcBGAsYHQ/s16000/heartbreak.jpg" data-original-width="500" data-original-height="500"></a></div> <p>Blame it on COVID-19. </p> <p>Like the ENTIRE WORLD, I probably have a lot of pent-up frustration right now, which I should probably turn to writing here and on my other sites about constructive things, but there you go. I’m not. Instead, tonight I found myself returning to one of my all-time favourite pursuits: kvetching. </p> <p>I used to have a regular feature of this site where I’d fire off letters giving people pieces of my mind. But I got tired of it. Kvetching is exhausting. So I promise, I’m not going to do much of it.</p> <p>But tonight was an exception.</p> <p>Because I was checking out at the Better World Books site this evening when all of a sudden, a survey popped up about how my experience was. And it just so happened that I had had a pretty bad experience on their site.</p> <p>Before you say anything, I know, I know – first world problems.</p> <p>In the grand scheme of things, there’s a pandemic on and I had a problem at an ecommerce website. It’s not exactly life-threatening. But seriously, I used to like their site quite a bit. Heck, I used to even ask for BWB gift certificates as the perfect trashless gift for every occasion.</p> <p>But lately, their site feels like it’s taken a huge step backwards.</p> <p>In fact, a few weeks ago, I emailed them because the ability to sort and filter search results seemed to have disappeared from the site. Thinking I must be mistaken, because this is 2020 and how the heck are you SUPPOSED to shop online at a site that doesn’t let you get at the data you need.</p> <p>Here’s the full reply I got from Better World Books:</p> <a href="http://www.mamaland.org/2020/11/cranky-complaints-lady-buys-books-or.html#more"></a>Tziviahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11828930310967808828noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21153604.post-70482726643165804722020-06-01T15:52:00.000-04:002020-06-01T17:04:37.257-04:00Poem o' th' Week: Which would YOU rather have?<div class="separator" style="text-align: center; clear: both;"><a style="clear: left; margin-right: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em; float: left;" href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qDpNNkemzZU/XtVTsRLj2lI/AAAAAAAAsiA/s28In90CZPoYkSEOR98dfUbWTs9eCF95wCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/pome.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qDpNNkemzZU/XtVTsRLj2lI/AAAAAAAAsiA/s28In90CZPoYkSEOR98dfUbWTs9eCF95wCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/pome.jpg" data-original-width="500" data-original-height="500"></a></div> <div class="separator" style="text-align: center; clear: both;"> </div> <div style="text-align: left;">How are you doing for poems lately? <br>Craving a really good one?</div> <div style="text-align: left;"> </div> <div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;"><a href="https://amzn.to/3drNmUU"><img title="image" style="float: right; display: inline; background-image: none;" border="0" alt="image" src="https://drive.google.com/uc?id=1mMo4t_raYdAX18ekQUG31H4jrc3vK1qt" width="161" align="right" height="244"></a> <p> </p> I first came across this poem in Garrison Keillor's anthology <a href="https://amzn.to/3drNmUU">Good Poems for Hard Times</a>, which we've been choosing poems out of to read randomly at family dinnertimes since corona hit -- for no reason whatsoever.</div> <div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;"></div> <div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;">And as a sometime </div><a href="http://www.mamaland.org/2020/06/poem-o-th-week-which-would-you-rather.html#more"></a>Tziviahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11828930310967808828noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21153604.post-45549326052052519702020-04-21T17:01:00.000-04:002020-04-21T17:12:30.021-04:00Literally TWO MINUTE no-sew easy coronavirus mask from an old hankie (video + step-by-step guide)<div class="separator" style="text-align: center; clear: both;">
<a style="clear: left; margin-right: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em; float: left;" href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ThHV4d8zwCw/Xp9L0TcjlHI/AAAAAAAAsXU/b99ftLTf6KE9UjU3fD3dQSghAe_deRXxgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/easymask.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img style="margin-right: 0px; margin-left: 0px; display: inline;" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ThHV4d8zwCw/Xp9L0TcjlHI/AAAAAAAAsXU/b99ftLTf6KE9UjU3fD3dQSghAe_deRXxgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/easymask.jpg" border="0" data-original-width="500" data-original-height="500"></a></div><div align="left" class="separator" style="text-align: center; clear: both;"></div><p>Do you have a stack of old, clean cotton hankies? Do you have an old t-shirt you can stand to cut up? If so, you have an INFINITE supply of no-sew homemade masks that are simple to put on and take off!!! <p><a href="https://drive.google.com/uc?id=1fIcU7nCwp5Ae-Y7EcH0ylqsSxysIcSjT"><img width="244" height="163" title="image" align="right" style="float: right; display: inline; background-image: none;" alt="image" src="https://drive.google.com/uc?id=1DPxBc2SanSJ3xvHQeijKtAFePIXTfWHI" border="0"></a>Here in Israel, it is literally <em>illegal</em> to go out without wearing a mask. It doesn’t have to be a super-duper high-tech N95 respirator / filter mask. Any old shmatta will do. And that’s where this hankie mask comes in.<h1>Do homemade masks work?</h1><p>First of all, this mask has absolutely ZERO antiviral or antibacterial properties. It just stops us from being human together, and helps me feel like part of the zeitgeist.<p>Seriously, though, wearing a cloth face covering (a term that freely admits that these aren’t really doing all the jobs of masks!) does a number of things (I had to look into this a little, and <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2020/04/03/826996154/coronavirus-faqs-is-a-homemade-mask-effective-and-whats-the-best-way-to-wear-one">this NPR article</a> was helpful…):<ul><li>protects other people in case you’re already infectious but don’t know it</li><li>blocks SOME droplet transmission from others (don’t touch the front!!!)</li><li>visually cue yourself and others that distancing is taking place</li></ul><p>Also – psychologically. </p><p>A mask and gloves are part of the UNIFORM of </p></p></p></p></p><a href="http://www.mamaland.org/2020/04/literally-two-minute-no-sew-easy.html#more"></a>Tziviahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11828930310967808828noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21153604.post-55289148689274581432020-04-14T08:59:00.000-04:002020-04-14T09:17:04.554-04:00Last Days of Pesach: Re-"Storying" the Yam Suf<div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;">
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<p><a href="https://chiefrabbi.org/all-media/dvar-torah-second-days-pesach/">According to Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis</a>, the chief rabbi of England, while the first days of Pesach are a historical commemoration, the last day is all about optimism and looking towards the future. On the last day of Pesach, we read about kriyas Yam Suf, the splitting of the Red Sea.<p>For me, kriyas Yam Suf is about two separate ideas: first, the leap of faith it took to step out into the water, and the celebration afterwards.<p>First, when it comes to splitting the sea, the Torah says:<p>וַיֵּ֨ט משֶׁ֣ה אֶת־יָדוֹ֘ עַל־הַיָּם֒ וַיּ֣וֹלֶךְ יְהֹוָ֣ה | אֶת־הַ֠יָּ֠ם בְּר֨וּחַ קָדִ֤ים עַזָּה֙ כָּל־הַלַּ֔יְלָה וַיָּ֥שֶׂם אֶת־הַיָּ֖ם לֶחָֽרָבָ֑ה וַיִּבָּֽקְע֖וּ הַמָּֽיִם:<p>Moshe </p></p></p></p></p><a href="http://www.mamaland.org/2020/04/last-days-of-pesach-2-re-storying-yam.html#more"></a>Tziviahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11828930310967808828noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21153604.post-75709973518855685442020-04-08T10:50:00.000-04:002020-04-08T10:50:48.006-04:00How is this Pesach different?<span class="fullpost">
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<p>All throughout the haggadah, we find lots and lots of numbers.<p>The number 4 gets a lot of the attention: 4 sons, 4 questions, lots of 4's, but there are plenty of other numbers.<p>And I think for so many people this year, the number they're focusing on is 1.<p>Because 1 doesn't feel like enough.<p>1 is getting us down, making us sad that we can't be together with the people we'd rather be making a seder with.<p>Every year at the seder, we say Dayeinu, even if Hashem hadn't done all that he did for us, it still would have been enough.<p>Really?<p>If he'd brought us to the edge of the yam suf, it would have been enough?<p>It's hard to believe.<p>And then at the end of dayeinu, we say it all almost in one breath, he did all this stuff for us, and we're so grateful.<p>But even if he'd only done one thing, we'd have been grateful -- at least that's what we say.<p>But every year, under our breath, we think, no, no, no, I wouldn't have been grateful to be stranded out in the desert without food and water<p>I wouldn't have been grateful for one miracle without all the others.<p>This is the year, 2020, tav shin pay, is the year our Dayeinu is put to the test.<p>Hashem gave us a chag, but didn't give us all the people we love to celebrate it with.<p>When I look at all those numbers in the haggadah again, the one that really stands out for me this year is – ONE. One is Hashem -- in the heavens and the earth.<p>And that goat. We end the seder not with the big numbers, the fancy arithmetic, but with one.<p>One is Hashem, but this year, for many of us, one is also <i>us</i>, by ourselves.<p>What it ultimately comes down to is the goat -- one only kid, all by itself.<p>That's not nothing.<p>That's quite a lot.<p>And from one, you can build. Just like the verses of Dayeinu build.<p>So that next year we can build on this one to create seders of two, three, four, dozens, or more. With all of am yisrael together, safe and healthy once again.<p>Chag sameach.Tziviahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11828930310967808828noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21153604.post-19951911129989536322020-04-08T08:50:00.000-04:002020-04-08T08:50:11.057-04:00Did you forget to tell your kids THIS about coronavirus?<div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;">
<a style="margin-right: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UvbXyX3U3_M/Xo3GlB-3fcI/AAAAAAAAsHM/NmVsBJY94Eo9tTdMtdLh4HZBp3ZpYbj1wCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/bloghead.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UvbXyX3U3_M/Xo3GlB-3fcI/AAAAAAAAsHM/NmVsBJY94Eo9tTdMtdLh4HZBp3ZpYbj1wCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/bloghead.jpg" border="0" data-original-width="500" data-original-height="500"></a></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;">Is there something you’ve forgotten to tell your kids about coronavirus?</div><p>I realized last night that in all the talk about talking to our kids around coronavirus, there’s one key message I’ve been leaving out: that what’s happening right now is absolutely unprecedented in our lifetimes.<p>The thing is, kids are (almost by definition) very, very young. They don’t have a lot of experience in life, and whenever something happens, it’s new to them. But after a while, they
</p></p><a href="http://www.mamaland.org/2020/04/did-you-forget-to-tell-your-kids-this.html#more"></a>Tziviahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11828930310967808828noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21153604.post-17492603139218851312020-03-23T07:19:00.000-04:002020-03-23T07:19:05.080-04:00Stop telling me you’re sick of homeschooling!<div class="separator" style="text-align: center; clear: both;">
<a style="clear: left; margin-right: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em; float: left;" href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PBJ-YCAL3pY/XniY6AVhICI/AAAAAAAAsFQ/rZQC__n0xi88ZSTsPj19Kco8uwTVXTrdQCEwYBhgL/s1600/isolation.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PBJ-YCAL3pY/XniY6AVhICI/AAAAAAAAsFQ/rZQC__n0xi88ZSTsPj19Kco8uwTVXTrdQCEwYBhgL/s1600/isolation.jpg" border="0" data-original-width="500" data-original-height="500"></a></div>
<div align="left" class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;">I get it. We're all isolated, or at least, most of us are. We're home with kids. It's exasperating.</div><div align="left" class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;"><br></div><div align="left" class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;">How are you holding up?</div><div align="left" class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;"><br></div><div align="left" class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;">If you’re like lots of people I'm hearing from -- and the eerily similar memes they’re sharing – you’re thinking one of a few things:<br>
a) this is why I'm not cut out for homeschooling<br>
b) this is why I didn't homeschool my kids<br>
c) homeschooling is <em>killing me</em>!!!</div>
<p>Sometimes, this disgust / exasperation is cleverly disguised as admiration for people who DO homeschool, but it basically comes down to the same thing -- homeschoolers must be nuts.</p><p>And I totally feel for you. I’m absolutely certain you’re going out of your tree with rangy kids running around begging you for their next snack or meal or whatever it is.</p><p>(I created this helpful guide to aid GZ in understanding what he was allowed to snack on right before supper…)</p><p><img width="200" height="267" alt="No photo description available." src="https://scontent.ftlv9-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/p720x720/90351122_10159644387707782_2769736791857561600_o.jpg?_nc_cat=111&_nc_sid=8024bb&_nc_oc=AQmkgShX_3MK9LuNWCtfXbj_L2ILgi85q6FPo43WZEmkGrhwOcjRwaVOAS03xq-a5hA&_nc_ht=scontent.ftlv9-1.fna&_nc_tp=6&oh=6385bdb73037c3643089daac1ecc6bd5&oe=5E9D9221"></p>
<p>Look, I don't speak for anybody. Heck, I'm not even a homeschooler anymore. So maybe somebody else can say this better, but I still feel it needs to be said:</p>
<h1 align="center">THIS ISN'T HOMESCHOOLING!!!</h1>
<p>What you're doing at home while you're isolated is about as far as it is from homeschooling as it is from school-schooling. Meaning, it simply <em>isn't</em>.</p>
<p>Depending on where you are, and how old your kids are, you may be doing one of a few things:</p>
<ul><li>- Trying to supplement </li></ul><a href="http://www.mamaland.org/2020/03/hs-post.html#more"></a>Tziviahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11828930310967808828noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21153604.post-12555761399543428342020-01-14T10:35:00.000-05:002020-01-14T10:35:02.979-05:00Niftar: How to attend a funeral when there’s an ocean between you<div class="separator" style="text-align: center; clear: both;">
<a style="clear: left; margin-right: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;" href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5wiv5Fcif1o/Xh3cRGCHhJI/AAAAAAAAr6I/_Azdzc1LKy4g_446asX0VVpmApN6AB-zgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/niftar.jpg"><p><img src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5wiv5Fcif1o/Xh3cRGCHhJI/AAAAAAAAr6I/_Azdzc1LKy4g_446asX0VVpmApN6AB-zgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/niftar.jpg" border="0" data-original-width="500" data-original-height="500"></p></a>
<ul></ul></div><ul></ul><p align="left">Even in Canada, I knew there were two ways of saying a person died: מת/<i>meit</i> and נפטר/<i>niftar</i>. In general, religious people use niftar, even when speaking English – it’s the more polite way of saying it, like “passed away.”</p><p>But when my father died, eleven years ago tomorrow, and a taxi came to take me to the airport, I told the driver we were hurrying because I had to get back to Toronto because “<i>abba sheli meit</i>.”</p><p>There are lots of words you use in religious life that aren’t used so much in contemporary Israeli Hebrew, and so I was just taking a stab at the best possible way of saying it.</p><p>But Israel being Israel, the cab driver decided it was time for a grammar lesson. “<i>Niftar</i>. We say he was <i>niftar</i>.”</p><p>Boy, did I know. (And also – is it my imagination, or only in Israel would a cab driver have the chutzpah correct someone who has just told you their father has died minutes before… ?!)</p><p>These days, I have a habit that makes my 14-year-old daughter (“I’m basically 15”) cringe: telling people my life story. I’ll be standing at the meat counter and the person asks where my accent is from, and I say Canada, and she asks me where it’s better to live, and I say here, and we’re off to the races.</p><p>Out comes the life story, to the best of my Hebrew ability, which isn’t much: living as a religious Jew in Canada, constantly swimming upstream, feeling like I had to </p><a href="http://www.mamaland.org/2020/01/niftar-how-to-attend-funeral-when.html#more"></a>Tziviahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11828930310967808828noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21153604.post-41577968454259481752019-12-23T08:24:00.000-05:002019-12-23T14:19:24.140-05:00I'm Coming Home (before my father's eleventh yahrzeit)<div class="separator" style="text-align: center; clear: both;">
<a style="clear: left; margin-right: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em; float: left;" href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-K6--S1pJdZQ/XgC7u1JWYmI/AAAAAAAAr4U/KgctFIqK4vslxjRVw5cvh_ZwQlkenx5zACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/homecoming.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-K6--S1pJdZQ/XgC7u1JWYmI/AAAAAAAAr4U/KgctFIqK4vslxjRVw5cvh_ZwQlkenx5zACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/homecoming.jpg" border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="500"></a></div><p>
How often do you lie down with your kids? When they're little, obviously, it happens all the time, when you're nursing them, or trying to coax them to sleep. These days, with my youngest kids 12 and 14 years old, I don't really have an excuse anymore.<br>
<br>
But really, why don't we?<br>
<br>
Why <em>not</em> lie down with your kids, cuddle them, cherish them? Hold onto them not in a way that's clingy and all about our needs, as parents and imperfect human beings, but about them and how special and unique they are?<br>
<br>
Sometimes, when I start out writing about something, whether it's a blog or story or article, I don't know exactly what it's about until I get to the end. Maybe, if you write, this happens to you, too?</p><p>And then at the end, there’s this "aha" moment, and I realize what was really on my mind the whole time. </p><p>After I wrote almost this entire post, I looked back and was startled to realize that it probably emerged here and now because of the spectre of my father's yahrzeit hanging over the month of Teves, which starts this coming Shabbos.</p><p>(If you read an earlier version of this post, or look at the URL up top, you’ll see that I originally thought this was the TENTH yahrzeit… but it’s not.)<br>
<br>
So you can keep that in mind as you read. This is about the present, about me and my kids, but also about ghosts of the past, about me <em>being </em>a kid.<br>
<br>
One of the things that embarrassed me most, growing up, was that my father used to lie down on the floor seemingly at random. He'd just spread out his arms and sometimes we'd join him, lying down there, even my mother. He didn't have carpet growing up, so he said </p><a href="http://www.mamaland.org/2019/12/im-coming-home-on-my-fathers-tenth.html#more"></a>Tziviahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11828930310967808828noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21153604.post-80814276028048626462019-10-20T08:02:00.000-04:002019-10-20T08:15:51.441-04:00Why I don't live in Canada but I still voted there<span class="fullpost">
</span><br>
<div class="separator" style="text-align: center; clear: both;">
<span class="fullpost"><a style="margin-right: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qToP4Gjrwio/XaxFgEVMnsI/AAAAAAAAryA/Xtg3cF30YMgas3EBYetWvQl6knCTbqyawCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/canada.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img width="320" height="320" style="display: inline;" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qToP4Gjrwio/XaxFgEVMnsI/AAAAAAAAryA/Xtg3cF30YMgas3EBYetWvQl6knCTbqyawCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/canada.jpg" border="0" data-original-width="500" data-original-height="500"></a></span></div><p>In the leadup to Canada's federal elections tomorrow*, there's been lots of talk about whether expatriate Canadians should have the right to vote. </p><p>* (yeah, I know, super-awesome that they did it <em>again</em> on a Jewish holiday!)</p><p>Last time around, we didn't. They changed the law to say you could only vote if you'd been gone less than 5 years and intended to return. We were under 5 years, but couldn't honestly say we planned to return to live in Canada. So our rights were taken away.</p>
<p>But this year, in response to a legal challenge from a pair of Canadians abroad, the Supreme Court reinstated our rights. The 5-year condition, they said, made no sense and hadn't been instituted in response to any particular problem, real or perceived. </p>
<p>Still -- lots of Canadians, including some of my beloved family members, don't think we should be voting. They're not alone. I don't have statistics, so I can't say most, but I know many people back there feel that we shouldn't get to vote unless we sleep on Canadian soil a certain number of days each year. And a few days ago, CBC ran an <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/opinion/expat-voting-1.5320825">op-ed by Mark Reynolds</a>, an expat who claims, "I don't live in Canada anymore. I shouldn't have the right to vote in its elections."</p>
<p>As I'll explain below, the Supreme Court disagreed, and I disagreed. Here are a few reasons why.</p>
<h1>1) Being Canadian didn't stop the minute we moved to Israel. </h1>
<p>If anything, we became more Canadian once we were here. All of a sudden, instead of being "the Jews" in our neighbourhood in Toronto, we were "the Americans" in our neighbourhood in Israel -- and, after we explained to everybody, sometimes more than once, that it's not the same thing, "the Canadians." </p>
<p>It sometimes takes weirdly a long time </p><a href="http://www.mamaland.org/2019/10/why-i-dont-live-in-canada-but-i-still.html#more"></a>Tziviahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11828930310967808828noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21153604.post-7858479404558881932019-10-04T05:28:00.000-04:002019-10-04T05:32:23.509-04:00Mmm... Crispy! Why air-drying towels rocks<div class="separator" style="text-align: center; clear: both;">
<a style="margin-right: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pjBMDgKxSKw/XZcGai6hjXI/AAAAAAAArwI/ilPVS6_RRFUGSCgYhF07CyNt0SUK4hdzACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/crispy.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img align="left" style="float: left; display: inline;" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pjBMDgKxSKw/XZcGai6hjXI/AAAAAAAArwI/ilPVS6_RRFUGSCgYhF07CyNt0SUK4hdzACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/crispy.jpg" border="0" data-original-width="500" data-original-height="500"></a></div><div align="left" class="separator" style="text-align: center; clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center; clear: both;">Fabric softener commercials have convinced most of us that the best, maybe even only good way for towels to be is... fluffy. Just pop them in the dryer with the right product and presto, they're baby soft in minutes.</div>
<p>But why? Why is fluffy the only or better way?</p>
<p>After years of air-drying laundry, I'm going to be brave enough to step up here in this public forum and say it: three cheers for crispy towels!</p>
<p>A crispy towel is STRONG. Sturdy. Tactile. Japanese people apparently love the idea of scrubbing off yinky dead skin. A crispy towel can do that for you. It can practically </p><a href="http://www.mamaland.org/2019/10/mmm-crispy-why-air-drying-towels-rocks.html#more"></a>Tziviahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11828930310967808828noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21153604.post-36832275534044065472019-09-29T08:55:00.000-04:002019-09-29T08:55:24.901-04:00Dear Diversity: Are Jews allowed?<div class="separator" style="text-align: center; clear: both;">
<a style="margin-right: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hm-H7wiMT6k/XZCemIz522I/AAAAAAAArvo/g8XiG-IxWs4lnfkd0ipXGJmYkorPS0YQQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/diversity.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img width="500" height="500" style="display: inline;" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hm-H7wiMT6k/XZCemIz522I/AAAAAAAArvo/g8XiG-IxWs4lnfkd0ipXGJmYkorPS0YQQCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/diversity.jpg" border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="500"></a></div><p>Dear Diversity:<p>I’m mad at you and I’m mad at me.<p>I’m mad at you because you’ve slammed the door in my face. On my face: my white, white face. Because Europe was so kind to my people, right? You say privilege like it means something. But believe me, the only gift Europe ever gave us was our lovely pale skin. But for you, diversity, that seems to be enough, because that’s all you see when you look at me.<p>But wait, there’s more, because somehow, you’ve decided that not only are me and my people </p></p></p></p><a href="http://www.mamaland.org/2019/09/dear-diversity-are-jews-allowed.html#more"></a>Tziviahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11828930310967808828noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21153604.post-53486272173539152912019-09-03T06:12:00.000-04:002019-09-03T06:12:06.857-04:00The roundness of a zero at the end -- a big birthday looms<div class="separator" style="text-align: center; clear: both;">
<a style="margin-right: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7D61ia8A0gE/XW46T_OxOqI/AAAAAAAArrY/SKBUQkNgzeMprJisP6phL3mToD2eTqYvQCLcBGAs/s1600/cakenums.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img width="320" height="320" align="left" style="float: left; display: inline;" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7D61ia8A0gE/XW46T_OxOqI/AAAAAAAArrY/SKBUQkNgzeMprJisP6phL3mToD2eTqYvQCLcBGAs/s320/cakenums.jpg" border="0" data-original-width="500" data-original-height="500"></a></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: center; clear: both;"><br></div><p>I’ve been thinking about zeroes quite a bit lately… mostly because my upcoming birthday has one at the end of it. </p><p>If you think about it, it’s strange, how much fuss we make over birthdays that end in 0. So arbitrary. Hashem made us with 10 fingers so we figure the world revolves around that number somehow. </p><p>If my 11-fingered kid ran the world</p><a href="http://www.mamaland.org/2019/09/the-roundness-of-zero-at-end-big.html#more"></a>Tziviahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11828930310967808828noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21153604.post-4516934690357379542019-06-15T18:15:00.000-04:002019-06-15T18:37:57.250-04:00Someone she can look up to: Proud, strong, smart, gorgeous religious women we're not afraid to show our daughters<p><span class="fullpost">
<span class="fullpost"><a style="margin-right: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cvaNHPjHK1U/XQVtuGmKEgI/AAAAAAAArkE/4yxyWpDjNQkFupV2vr6_WrTTiS-20-4twCLcBGAs/s1600/lookupto.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img style="display: inline;" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cvaNHPjHK1U/XQVtuGmKEgI/AAAAAAAArkE/4yxyWpDjNQkFupV2vr6_WrTTiS-20-4twCLcBGAs/s1600/lookupto.jpg" border="0" data-original-width="500" data-original-height="500"></a></span></span></p><p>Not long after we moved to Israel, I found Naomi Rivka, who was 8 at the time, playing with her Barbies. The Barbies were all dressed up, as usual, but there was something new: one the head of one, Naomi Rivka had wound a delicate assemblage of toilet paper and lace, towering high and graceful over the doll's pretty, slender face.</p><p>Here in Israel, we were suddenly surrounded by beautiful, graceful, slender young married Sephardi women, for whom a tichel, piled as high as possible, is the de rigeur headware -- and that was exactly how Naomi Rivka wanted her Barbie to look.</p><p><a href="https://drive.google.com/uc?id=1eePvMmlgWVEkOUzCgRc1XqEvQGjy2mNr"><img width="404" height="217" title="image_thumb[7]" style="margin: 0px; border: 0px currentcolor; border-image: none; display: inline; background-image: none;" alt="image_thumb[7]" src="https://drive.google.com/uc?id=1vG9qMapF_eDpEbWn7u8NX9rFrTd4fQrB" border="0"></a></p><p>And because 8-year-old girls are reasonably transparent, chances were good that that was how she herself wanted to look someday. Tall, slim, high cheekbones, okay... those may be genetic factors. But gloriously crowned in a high, swirling tichel... that's something you learn from your environment. That's something little girls pick up from looking around and role playing years, and even decades, before they're in a position to dress</p><a href="http://www.mamaland.org/2019/06/someone-she-can-look-up-to-proud-strong.html#more"></a>Tziviahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11828930310967808828noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21153604.post-13512452459347592672019-06-05T16:08:00.001-04:002019-06-16T06:16:12.967-04:00Very Wild Things: a Shavuos Dvar Torah for 5779 / 2019<div class="separator" style="text-align: center; clear: both;">
<a style="margin-right: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OBzsnJGRei4/XPjUZHgDUpI/AAAAAAAArgU/beYUQDX2nb8jXA7CWJ5MdgaiWGS0DlttQCLcBGAs/s1600/wilde.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OBzsnJGRei4/XPjUZHgDUpI/AAAAAAAArgU/beYUQDX2nb8jXA7CWJ5MdgaiWGS0DlttQCLcBGAs/s1600/wilde.jpg" border="0" data-original-width="504" data-original-height="504"></a></div>
<br>
<p>Just in time for Shavuos, I want to tell you a very serious, very important story about the Jewish people and yetzias Mitzrayim and our history and Matan Torah. I had a little help with some of the writing.</p><blockquote><p><em>The night Max wore his wolf suit and made mischief of one kind</em><p><em>and another</em><p><em>his mother called him “WILD THING!”</em><p><em>and Max said “I’LL EAT YOU UP!”</em><p><em>so he was sent to bed without eating anything.</em></p><p><a href="https://amzn.to/2Kp2QNY"><img width="244" height="222" title="image11" align="right" style="float: right; display: inline; background-image: none;" alt="image11" src="https://drive.google.com/uc?id=1GhdMHO-v1vLZwaE11wDuPpSl0mEuGlvV" border="0"></a>Now, I guess I should mention that the help with the writing came from <a href="https://amzn.to/2Kp2QNY">the author Maurice Sendak</a>, a giant of a writer in the children’s literature world. But this is not unrelated, because as a Jewish child, growing up in the U.S. in the shadow of the Shoah, there were some very real monsters in Maurice Sendak’s world… and some very Jewish ideas.<p>Like this idea of the WILD THING. In Yiddish, we’d say “vilde chaya.” A wild animal. Max is being wild – but more importantly, he’s being immature, just as Yosef was, we’re told, before he was taken off and sold to Mitzrayim. Okay, Yosef didn’t wear a wolf suit – but you know who did? His father Yaakov. Okay, maybe not a wolf suit. But it does sound more than a little Jewish, if you think about it, putting on this hairy suit, acting more wild than you actually are.<p>And look what happened to Yosef – I mean, Max:<blockquote><p><em>That very night in Max’s room a forest grew</em><p><em>and grew-</em><p><em>and grew until his ceiling hung with vines</em><p><em>and the walls became the world all around</em><p><em>and an ocean tumbled by with a private boat for Max</em><p><em>and he sailed off through night and day</em><p><em>and in and out of weeks</em><p><em>and almost over a year</em><p><em>to where the wild things are.</em></p><p>Now, the Torah says it was a passing caravan </p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></blockquote></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></blockquote><a href="http://www.mamaland.org/2019/06/very-wild-things-shavuos-dvar-torah-for.html#more"></a>Tziviahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11828930310967808828noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21153604.post-14371141790026010502019-06-05T16:00:00.001-04:002019-06-06T04:57:18.853-04:00Shavuos: The Great Equalizer, a short dvar Torah for 5778 / 2018<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qi8T21XE_go/XPjVOluHsnI/AAAAAAAArgg/Xy3usS1ilvQhvvH5Vx7bMYOAO5QBcObSwCLcBGAs/s1600/equal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="504" data-original-width="504" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qi8T21XE_go/XPjVOluHsnI/AAAAAAAArgg/Xy3usS1ilvQhvvH5Vx7bMYOAO5QBcObSwCLcBGAs/s1600/equal.jpg"></a></div>
<p><em>Oops – posting this a little late!</em><p>When a person comes to study Judaism, although I certainly hope they’re welcomed and greeted warmly in shuls and classes, the stark truth is – we don’t need you. The message isn’t quite “go away,” but just, “we don’t need you.”<p>I grew up knowing Jews don’t proselytize: we don’t seek converts. In general, we believe that as long as a non-Jew follows the seven laws of Noach’s descendents, they’re doing okay. “We don’t <i>need</i> you.” <p>But the truth is, the world wasn’t in great shape after Noach’s time. Hashem promised he wouldn’t send another flood, but we know the majority of people were ovdei avodah zara. The world was desperate for a message of truth, a messenger of Hashem.<p>And then, along came Avraham and Sara, the spiritual parents of every geir, every convert, ever. They were originally Avram and Sarai, but they shed their old names as they stepped into the greater role that Hashem had prepared for them: bringing Hashem’s truth into the world.<p>We know that when Avraham had the courage to leave his family and become the first geir, Hashem didn’t just promise to <i>give</i> him a bracha. He said “Veh’yeh bracha” – and you shall <i>be</i> a bracha.<p>What does it mean to be a bracha? It means “we need you.”<p>The entire Jewish world needs geirim and giyoros tzedek. They don’t just <i>bestow</i> bracha, they <i>are</i> a bracha for their energy, their depth of learning, and also perhaps just to make those of us who were born Jewish more aware and more proud of our own heritage. We should never take it, or them, for granted.<p>Whenever a geir or a giyores steps into the waters of the mikveh, they are saying, just as Rus and Naomi promised each other, that their fate, their future, is forever bound up with ours.<p>“Kol Yisrael areivim zeh ba zeh.” All of klal Yisrael are responsible for one another.<p>Rebbetzin Esther Jungreis challenges us with this responsibility. “Will we parrot the infamous words of Kayin, "<i>Hashomer Ochi anochi? </i>- Am I my brother's keeper?" or will we respond like
</p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p><a href="http://www.mamaland.org/2019/06/shavuos-great-equalizer-short-dvar.html#more"></a>Tziviahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11828930310967808828noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21153604.post-80013932085506461902018-12-29T12:44:00.001-05:002018-12-29T12:49:21.144-05:00Hineni: Here I am. A Shemos dvar Torah for my father’s 10th yahrzeit<p><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-BTvN5WqAEYs/XCeyWVaIb3I/AAAAAAAAqsY/7DWBi16yRoktbgz0nzYZfhLpFDshjFpcQCHMYCw/s1600-h/image9"><img width="504" height="504" title="image" style="display: inline; background-image: none;" alt="image" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/--DokwSXf6U0/XCeyYcQZW4I/AAAAAAAAqsc/wonHegBW1swBiUd6dBipCnFLD042BRCTgCHMYCw/image_thumb3?imgmax=800" border="0"></a></p><p>In this week’s parsha, Moshe proves he’s ahead of his time, most strikingly in the first question he asks when he starts addressing Hashem.</p><p>When Hashem calls to Moshe from the bush, Moshe responds with “Here I am,” hineni. In Hebrew, it’s one word, one concept, הנני מוכן ומזומן–I’m here and I’m ready. Not just presence, it’s <i>total</i> presence.<p>But what’s the next thing Moshe says? Hashem first tells him all about the plan, that Moshe’s going to go to Paroh, going to bring out bnei Yisrael. And suddenly, Moshe isn’t so sure. What does he say? “Who am I?” מי אנוכי / mi anochi? He thought he knew, but now all of a sudden… he isn’t so sure.<p>Which of us haven’t been there? In that spot where we thought we were brave, we stepped up, put up our hands, applied to make aliyah or signed up for grad school. Whatever it was, we are about to take that leap, and then suddenly, we wonder. Is this the right thing to do? Is this really who I am?<p>This is actually a very modern question. Throughout most of our history, we didn’t need to ask who we were. Wherever we lived, Poland, Morocco, Egypt, Spain, everybody around us was all too happy to answer: “You’re a Jew.” “You can live in these places, you can do these occupations, you can pay these taxes.” They were happy to show us the fences around our Jewish identity and inside those, we were Jews.<p>That doesn’t mean we always got along. Chassidim and mitnagdim, Ashkenazim and Sephardim, more observant and less observant. In Europe, different professions had their own shuls: carpenters didn’t want to daven with candlemakers, or whatever. There were always lines we put ourselves on one side of or the other. But whether or not to be a Jew—that wasn’t a choice, or rather, non-Jews made the choice for us.<p>Then, all of a sudden, for those of us in Europe, there was. With the Enlightenment, there was the promise of no more fences. After thousands of years, we could ask, Mi anochi? We could be whoever we wanted to be. Things went wrong in Europe, but they kept trying in America, building on the idea that nobody could tell you what it meant to be a Jew.<p>“Who am I?” we asked. Mi anochi? There were so many answers: Zionists, Reform, Orthodox, </p></p></p></p></p></p></p><a href="http://www.mamaland.org/2018/12/hineni-here-i-am-shemos-dvar-torah-for.html#more"></a>Tziviahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11828930310967808828noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21153604.post-76901538810311680142018-12-02T16:07:00.001-05:002018-12-02T16:07:36.510-05:00Hanukkah and the Holocaust: What stories are we telling our Jewish kids?<p><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Seu7I-FpvLY/XARJWjAuKII/AAAAAAAAqmw/0pg6gyTiRiMxnDw68w4b4RcB_iDtHvFiQCHMYCw/s1600-h/image3"><img width="504" height="504" title="image" style="display: inline; background-image: none;" alt="image" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-xMc-zU_oSUg/XARJYmGAnuI/AAAAAAAAqm0/UrJQ4GPI6hkBIqafFAYCDt-i2740AdAjwCHMYCw/image_thumb1?imgmax=800" border="0"></a><p>If, as Jewish parents, we care so much about sharing Judaism with our kids, why aren’t we doing it through the books we read them??? <p>Only slightly frustrated by a flood of Chanukah books coming at me from all sides, I decided to go to my friendly local online library (in Toronto) and search for various keywords of Jewish life, just to rank which categories were most important to us, as parents and readers, based on how many kids’ books turned up in each category. <p>So it turns out we’re telling our kids a whole lot – about Hanukkah and the Holocaust. And not much else.<p>I want to point out up front that this search was never </p></p></p></p></p><a href="http://www.mamaland.org/2018/12/hanukkah-and-holocaust-what-stories-are.html#more"></a>Tziviahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11828930310967808828noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21153604.post-64096584774739479682018-11-25T17:20:00.001-05:002018-11-25T17:20:09.895-05:00Moments of regret: Small, medium, large<p><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-_XFoRtr9FGY/W_sgC9bLdQI/AAAAAAAAqkA/6yw9gKNR_aAmcUIoS4DvL0FvFxIDBT8yQCHMYCw/s1600-h/image3"><img width="504" height="504" title="image" style="display: inline; background-image: none;" alt="image" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-G7hJEeyGB_M/W_sgFQouQpI/AAAAAAAAqkE/UUAliM_dQnczABGfG7xfG73QsPbeeMmlgCHMYCw/image_thumb1?imgmax=800" border="0"></a></p><p>Maybe regret isn't the right word. But I’ll use it here anyway.<br>
Because here in this dark, dark, cold time of year, I'm finding myself deluged with it -- three moments of regret, large and small.</p>
<h3>Regret, small:</h3>
<p>Driving in a hurry to pick up a crying baby from daycare. Rushing and it's clear out, bright sunny sky, middle of the day, but I try to get through a red light and I don't make it. Or rather, I make it but the car doesn't.</p>
<p>That one instant -- there's the regret. The wish that I could turn back the clock, like Superman, just 30 seconds. Not try to make the light. Wait there patiently, even though the baby has a fever; even though she's crying; even though she probably has some kind of horrible infection.</p>
<p>I am constantly scrambling with that baby. I missed her jaundice, failed to notice because we were locked up together in a cold winter bedroom that she was turning colour, turning yellow like a bog man, until her grandmother came over and said, "That baby is yellow." It's been a lifetime of scrambling ever since.</p>
<p>But if only, I think. If only I could turn off the scrambling for just half a minute and sit still. She'll wait.</p>
<p>She did wait. It takes a lot longer to get a tow truck than it does to </p><a href="http://www.mamaland.org/2018/11/moments-of-regret-small-medium-large.html#more"></a>Tziviahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11828930310967808828noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21153604.post-25442800793436050212018-11-18T05:33:00.001-05:002018-11-18T05:33:51.252-05:00Introducing… the parsha book you never knew you needed: The Rhyming Torah<p><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-OmN2MbjrE00/W_E_2NPLeeI/AAAAAAAAqgU/GG0b8WIIyw4g_aKHt1Oy2G4dCYdxFBdJACHMYCw/s1600-h/image27"><img width="504" height="504" title="image" style="display: inline; background-image: none;" alt="image" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-4tlbcseqIRw/W_E_33W1C9I/AAAAAAAAqgY/fC1fEHyL1kQynYrdXM2-_tkOPtRVc8FyACHMYCw/image_thumb11?imgmax=800" border="0"></a></p><p>You know how we're supposed to be modest and not go shouting our accomplishments from the rooftops?</p>
<p>Well, sometimes, I'm a little too modest. And then I need a talking-to from my miniature Social Media Coordinator, aka Naomi Rivka, age 13.</p>
<p>Sitting around the Shabbos table, I mentioned that I'd finally finished my book of parsha poems, <em><a href="http://tinyurl.com/rhymingtorah">The Rhyming Torah</a></em>. And she asked the obvious question: “So are you going to let people know?”</p><p>As a busy little social media bug, she knows all about the ins and outs making your way to fame and fortune on the busy, busy internet of today. And as my kid, obviously she wants me to succeed. But I had to be honest.</p><p>“I don’t know…” I said. “I hadn’t really thought about it.”</p><p>“Well, you at least have to tell your blog,” she announced.</p><p>So that’s where this post comes in.</p><p>I don’t usually do launches for my books, self-published or otherwise, but I probably should. I’ve had a few just in the past year, and I believe each and every one of them is great. Not enough people know about them, but it’s almost literally painful for me to toot my own horn, so I generally don’t.</p>
<p>In fairness, I wrote most of the poems while we were in Toronto (most are still available in their early <a href="http://www.mamaland.org/search/label/ppo">unedited form here</a>), then shelved them here on this site because I didn't think they were worth publishing. But then a couple of years ago, I started thinking, "Why not...?"</p>
<p>You know how you get that little itch and then eventually </p><a href="http://www.mamaland.org/2018/11/introducing-parsha-book-you-never-knew.html#more"></a>Tziviahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11828930310967808828noreply@blogger.com0