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kids"},{"term":"seed-saving"},{"term":"sukkos"},{"term":"health"},{"term":"jewish"},{"term":"Living Learning Books Science"},{"term":"chukas"},{"term":"jhs"},{"term":"balak"},{"term":"kippur"},{"term":"lawn experiment"},{"term":"roundup"},{"term":"shemos"},{"term":"shlach"},{"term":"women"},{"term":"lech"},{"term":"tisha b'av"},{"term":"Song School Latin"},{"term":"grammar"},{"term":"korach"},{"term":"Bright Beginnings"},{"term":"Spelling Workout"},{"term":"ki seitzei"},{"term":"kobo"},{"term":"latin"},{"term":"masei"},{"term":"pinchas"},{"term":"Kriyah v'Od"},{"term":"Migdalor"},{"term":"The Shabbat Book"},{"term":"bereishis"},{"term":"beshalach"},{"term":"bo"},{"term":"devarim"},{"term":"ints"},{"term":"matos"},{"term":"phonics"},{"term":"pwb"},{"term":"A Child's Geography"},{"term":"Singapore math"},{"term":"ambleside"},{"term":"chayei"},{"term":"french"},{"term":"nitzavim"},{"term":"pem"},{"term":"poezy"},{"term":"rave"},{"term":"shoah"},{"term":"terumah"},{"term":"vayeira"},{"term":"vayelech"},{"term":"vayeshev"},{"term":"yisro"},{"term":"yom"},{"term":"MrQ Science"},{"term":"bamidbar"},{"term":"behaaloscha"},{"term":"elul"},{"term":"emor"},{"term":"ki savo"},{"term":"ki sisa"},{"term":"lifecycle"},{"term":"logic"},{"term":"nasso"},{"term":"news"},{"term":"noach"},{"term":"personal"},{"term":"shoftim"},{"term":"summer"},{"term":"tefillah"},{"term":"toldos"},{"term":"tours"},{"term":"tzav"},{"term":"vaeira"},{"term":"vaeschanan"},{"term":"vayeitzei"},{"term":"vayikra"},{"term":"Shalom Ivrit"},{"term":"aging"},{"term":"bechukosai"},{"term":"birth"},{"term":"cheez"},{"term":"diversity"},{"term":"eikev"},{"term":"gender"},{"term":"jbc"},{"term":"jobs"},{"term":"kindergarten"},{"term":"kislev"},{"term":"medical"},{"term":"mental"},{"term":"mishpatim"},{"term":"oddio"},{"term":"politics"},{"term":"reay"},{"term":"shabbos"},{"term":"teshuva"},{"term":"vayechi"},{"term":"Simchas"},{"term":"The Family Torah"},{"term":"adar"},{"term":"aramaic"},{"term":"archives"},{"term":"babies"},{"term":"behar"},{"term":"communication"},{"term":"current events"},{"term":"gadgets"},{"term":"growing up"},{"term":"haazinu"},{"term":"hsgc"},{"term":"inspiration"},{"term":"kosher"},{"term":"little house"},{"term":"loneliness"},{"term":"long"},{"term":"lulu"},{"term":"mikeitz"},{"term":"mikveh"},{"term":"pekudei"},{"term":"promotion"},{"term":"riting"},{"term":"shemini"},{"term":"simchast"},{"term":"sux"},{"term":"tips"},{"term":"vayigash"},{"term":"vezos"},{"term":"weekly"},{"term":"wmcr"},{"term":"yiddish"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Adventures in Mama-Land"},"subtitle":{"type":"html","$t":"A new adventure every day..."},"link":[{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#feed","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.mamaland.org\/feeds\/posts\/default"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/21153604\/posts\/default?alt=json-in-script\u0026max-results=5\u0026orderby=published"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.mamaland.org\/"},{"rel":"hub","href":"http://pubsubhubbub.appspot.com/"},{"rel":"next","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/21153604\/posts\/default?alt=json-in-script\u0026start-index=6\u0026max-results=5\u0026orderby=published"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Tzivia"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/11828930310967808828"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"generator":{"version":"7.00","uri":"http://www.blogger.com","$t":"Blogger"},"openSearch$totalResults":{"$t":"3118"},"openSearch$startIndex":{"$t":"1"},"openSearch$itemsPerPage":{"$t":"5"},"entry":[{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21153604.post-8711590025484545623"},"published":{"$t":"2021-11-02T04:53:00.000-04:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2021-11-02T10:56:43.392-04:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"diversity"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"jew stuff"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"thots"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Are Jews an \"underrepresented community\" in children’s publishing?"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-YwT5XPKYjJI\/YYD4mYqtxtI\/AAAAAAAAt4g\/UHw3MvSEY5cxNgowoU7_BA4afnVFDOR3QCLcBGAsYHQ\/s500\/morediversity.jpg\"\u003E\u003Cimg 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\"\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E   \u003Cp\u003EI applied for a writing award yesterday. I\u0026#39;m not going to get it, but that\u0026#39;s not what I wanted to share with you.\u003C\/p\u003E  \u003Cp\u003EHere\u0026#39;s what I wanted to share.    \u003Cbr\u003EThis box:\u003C\/p\u003E \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/uc?id=1w6-JesNL-alvlSu5M_IUidu_jeYuNJjZ\"\u003E\u003Cimg title=\"image\" style=\"display: inline; background-image: none;\" border=\"0\" alt=\"image\" src=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/uc?id=1d54ns9eAb9xOxglEeAKadifyzfECQxhd\" width=\"672\" height=\"331\"\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E   \u003Cp\u003E \u003C\/p\u003E  \u003Cp\u003EI 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 \u003Cem\u003Eare \u003C\/em\u003Eunderrepresented, we probably wouldn’t fit the definition in other people\u0026#39;s minds.\u003C\/p\u003E  \u003Cp\u003EWhy?\u003C\/p\u003E  \u003Cp\u003EWell, because we\u0026#39;re European.    \u003Cbr\u003E Because we are white.     \u003Cbr\u003E Because as everybody knows, Jews control the media. (do we???)     \u003Cbr\u003E If anything, some people say, Jews are \u003Cem\u003Eover\u003C\/em\u003E-represented in publishing.\u003C\/p\u003E  \u003Cp\u003EAnd yet.\u003C\/p\u003E  \u003Cp\u003ESome definitions are careful not to include people like me. Like \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.sos.ca.gov\/business-programs\/underrepresented-communities-boards\"\u003Ethis random definition from the State of California\u003C\/a\u003E which defines \u003Cem\u003Eunderrepresented\u003C\/em\u003E for some very specific business purposes as: \u0026quot;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.\u0026quot;\u003C\/p\u003E  \u003Cp\u003ESorry, I self-identify as an Israeli-Canadian Ashkenazi Jew. Any room for me on that spectrum?\u003C\/p\u003E  \u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Underrepresented_group\"\u003EAccording to Wikipedia\u003C\/a\u003E:   \u003Cbr\u003E“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.”\u003C\/p\u003E  \u003Cp\u003EHmm. Does that sound like me? \u003C\/p\u003E  \u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Jewish_population_by_country#:~:text=At%20the%20beginning%20of%202019,of%20the%207.89%20billion%20humans).\"\u003EAs of 2019, Jews are only 0.2% of the world population\u003C\/a\u003E. Even that sounds super-high and probably includes many, many Jews who\u0026#39;d be surprised to hear they\u0026#39;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…\u003C\/p\u003E  \u003Cp\u003EThen again, in the U.S., according to the \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.pewforum.org\/2021\/05\/11\/the-size-of-the-u-s-jewish-population\/\"\u003Elatest Pew polls\u003C\/a\u003E (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.\u003C\/p\u003E  \u003Cp\u003EYet I\u0026#39;ve been told repeatedly that \u003C\/p\u003E  \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.mamaland.org\/2021\/11\/are-jews-underrepresented-community-in.html#more\"\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.mamaland.org\/feeds\/8711590025484545623\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.mamaland.org\/2021\/11\/are-jews-underrepresented-community-in.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/21153604\/posts\/default\/8711590025484545623"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/21153604\/posts\/default\/8711590025484545623"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.mamaland.org\/2021\/11\/are-jews-underrepresented-community-in.html","title":"Are Jews an \"underrepresented community\" in children’s publishing?"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Tzivia"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/11828930310967808828"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-YwT5XPKYjJI\/YYD4mYqtxtI\/AAAAAAAAt4g\/UHw3MvSEY5cxNgowoU7_BA4afnVFDOR3QCLcBGAsYHQ\/s72-c\/morediversity.jpg","height":"72","width":"72"},"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21153604.post-1129526156921717969"},"published":{"$t":"2021-10-26T08:54:00.000-04:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2021-10-26T09:02:01.236-04:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"aging"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"chayei"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"dvar"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"parsha"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Grow Old Along with Me: Why care that Avraham Avinu was the first to get old?"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-grJ6iIhRVl8\/YXf4VQSi9jI\/AAAAAAAAt38\/YciUWZIalkADNM7cjInGL3I22xFR5-CfQCLcBGAsYHQ\/s0\/onaging.jpg\"\u003E\u003Cimg 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\"\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E   \u003Cp\u003E(to download a print-friendly PDF version of this dvar Torah, which was adapted from a shiur by Dr. Tova Sacher, \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.dropbox.com\/s\/ztoaghekjtw05d0\/DTchayei_aging.pdf?dl=0\"\u003Eclick here\u003C\/a\u003E)\u003C\/p\u003E  \u003Cp\u003EThere’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?\u003C\/p\u003E  \u003Cp\u003EIn fact, this midrash suggests, lots of people before Avraham were old – sometimes, very old – but nobody actually \u003Ci\u003Egot\u003C\/i\u003E old at all.\u003C\/p\u003E  \u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/uc?id=14ALc74BmUZJB3wB7fwj2DJFzzpadNk-a\"\u003E\u003Cimg 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\"\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E  \u003Cp\u003EThis whole midrash arises due to a problem with the passuk:\u003C\/p\u003E  \u003Cp align=\"center\"\u003Eוְאַבְרָהָם זָקֵן בָּא בַּיָּמִים\u003C\/p\u003E  \u003Cp align=\"center\"\u003E\u003Cem\u003E\u003Cfont size=\"1\"\u003EAnd Abraham was old, advanced in days.\u003C\/font\u003E\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E  \u003Cp\u003ERabbi 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.\u003C\/p\u003E  \u003Cp\u003ESo, too, whenever there’s a redundancy in the Torah, it should catch our eye. Because there are no redundancies in the Torah. If something \u003Ci\u003Elooks like\u003C\/i\u003E a redundancy, it’s there to tell us something extra.\u003C\/p\u003E  \u003Cp\u003EIn this passuk, we learn that \u003C\/p\u003E  \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.mamaland.org\/2021\/10\/grow-old-along-with-me-why-care-that.html#more\"\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.mamaland.org\/feeds\/1129526156921717969\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.mamaland.org\/2021\/10\/grow-old-along-with-me-why-care-that.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/21153604\/posts\/default\/1129526156921717969"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/21153604\/posts\/default\/1129526156921717969"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.mamaland.org\/2021\/10\/grow-old-along-with-me-why-care-that.html","title":"Grow Old Along with Me: Why care that Avraham Avinu was the first to get old?"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Tzivia"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/11828930310967808828"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-grJ6iIhRVl8\/YXf4VQSi9jI\/AAAAAAAAt38\/YciUWZIalkADNM7cjInGL3I22xFR5-CfQCLcBGAsYHQ\/s72-c\/onaging.jpg","height":"72","width":"72"},"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21153604.post-5954089858143202501"},"published":{"$t":"2021-09-04T16:05:00.001-04:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2021-09-04T17:10:53.826-04:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"birth"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"bookshelf"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"booky"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"family"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"jew stuff"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"new stuff"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"The Jewish kids’ book YOUR family has been waiting for (I hope?)"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/uc?id=16juRgkAgwdgt7dWvB2goEUsncNXjt2Vp\"\u003E\u003Cimg 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\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E   \u003Cp\u003E\u0026#160;\u003C\/p\u003E  \u003Cp\u003ELast year, \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/tinyurl.com\/whenucame\"\u003EI wrote a book\u003C\/a\u003E, 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.\u003C\/p\u003E  \u003Cp\u003EAND HERE IT IS!!!\u003C\/p\u003E \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/tinyurl.com\/whenucame\"\u003E\u003Cimg title=\"image\" style=\"display: inline; background-image: none;\" border=\"0\" alt=\"image\" src=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/uc?id=1PWhsSgvfEa8xcBs1U2EhbDmVIUJM6nJ0\" width=\"404\" height=\"404\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E   \u003Cp\u003EBut 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. \u003C\/p\u003E  \u003Cp\u003EAs 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.\u003C\/p\u003E  \u003Cp\u003EI 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.\u003C\/p\u003E  \u003Cp\u003EI 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.\u003C\/p\u003E  \u003Ch1\u003EStep 1: Create \u0026amp; edit the text\u003C\/h1\u003E  \u003Cp\u003EIn 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.\u003C\/p\u003E  \u003Cp\u003EFirst, 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.\u003C\/p\u003E  \u003Cp\u003E(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.)\u003C\/p\u003E \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/uc?id=1DAhXF-8qXjvNtwCfpmsvEL2C1zcryFBa\"\u003E\u003Cimg 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\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E   \u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003E(grandkids: what a neis, really – and a sabra, to boot!!!)\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E  \u003Ch1\u003EStep 2: Create the illustrations \u0026amp; look of the book\u003C\/h1\u003E  \u003Cp\u003EThen, 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.\u003C\/p\u003E \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/tinyurl.com\/whenucame\"\u003E\u003Cimg 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\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E   \u003Cp\u003E\u0026#160;\u003C\/p\u003E  \u003Cp\u003EAdditionally, 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. \u003C\/p\u003E  \u003Cp\u003EHowever. 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.\u003C\/p\u003E  \u003Cp\u003EFinally, 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.\u003C\/p\u003E  \u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/uc?id=1QNBPKdnf-UQi62U3DXDwGpDZkqaNlDDp\"\u003E\u003Cimg 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\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E  \u003Cp\u003E(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…)\u003C\/p\u003E  \u003Cp\u003E\u0026#160;\u003C\/p\u003E \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/tinyurl.com\/whenucame\"\u003E\u003Cimg title=\"image\" style=\"display: inline; background-image: none;\" border=\"0\" alt=\"image\" src=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/uc?id=1TgLrnKIoHlefq9lPzI6FYw55fhGzappf\" width=\"644\" height=\"484\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E   \u003Cp\u003ETo 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:\u003C\/p\u003E  \u003Cp\u003E1) FAMILY 1: A European Ashkenazi-looking family pregnant with their first baby (yes, I started with this family, because this was my own experience…)\u003C\/p\u003E \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/uc?id=1vzB-kCyKYArWLC7ylwp3PGyUMcYA55Ll\"\u003E\u003Cimg 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\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E   \u003Cp\u003E\u0026#160;\u003C\/p\u003E  \u003Cp\u003E2) FAMILY 2: A mixed-race family adopting a baby internationally\u003C\/p\u003E  \u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/uc?id=1BXRA-EolUm0Pg85smG9EPP-wfJjosTMZ\"\u003E\u003Cimg 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\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E  \u003Cp\u003E(this sketch was later changed because the mom is bringing the baby, so Dad is there alone with older kids…)\u003C\/p\u003E  \u003Cp\u003E3) FAMILY 3: A mixed-race family adopting or fostering an older child with a disability\u003C\/p\u003E \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/uc?id=1jZ2x2T7hMLz8VYWb2mmElXE5HmDyrANB\"\u003E\u003Cimg 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\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E   \u003Cp\u003E(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)\u003C\/p\u003E  \u003Ch1\u003EStep 3: (the hardest step) Marketing!\u003C\/h1\u003E  \u003Cp\u003EAs a self-publishing writer, marketing is the toughest piece of the puzzle for me. That’s where you come in, and this post.    \u003Cbr \/\u003E 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.\u003C\/p\u003E  \u003Cp\u003EBuy the book here: \u003Ca title=\"http:\/\/tinyurl.com\/whenucame\" href=\"http:\/\/tinyurl.com\/whenucame\"\u003Ehttp:\/\/tinyurl.com\/whenucame\u003C\/a\u003E    \u003Cbr \/\u003EBuy 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.\u003C\/p\u003E  \u003Cp\u003EThere - not such a tough sell after all, I think.\u003C\/p\u003E \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/tinyurl.com\/whenucame\"\u003E\u003Cimg 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\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E   \u003Cp\u003EI’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.\u003C\/p\u003E  \u003Cp\u003ETo 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.\u003C\/p\u003E  \u003Cp\u003EI'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.\u003C\/p\u003E  \u003Cp\u003EI 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 \u0026quot;Me \u0026amp; My Books\u0026quot; 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!!!\u003C\/p\u003E  \u003Ch2 align=\"center\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: large;\"\u003ETzivia \/ צִיבְיָה\u003C\/span\u003E \u003C!--Begin MailChimp Signup Form--\u003E\u003Clink rel=\"stylesheet\" type=\"text\/css\" href=\"\/\/cdn-images.mailchimp.com\/embedcode\/slim-081711.css\" \/\u003E\u003Cstyle type=\"text\/css\"\u003E #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. *\/\u003C\/style\u003E    \u003Cdiv id=\"mc_embed_signup\"\u003E\u003Cform id=\"mc-embedded-subscribe-form\" class=\"validate\" method=\"post\" name=\"mc-embedded-subscribe-form\" action=\"\/\/blogspot.us8.list-manage.com\/subscribe\/post?u=f002f002b644188d5fb4f35ae\u0026amp;id=32062f1f6f\" target=\"_blank\"\u003E\u003Clabel\u003EI write books!\u0026#160; Jewish kids \u0026amp; families love them!\u0026#160; Sign up now for discounts, inspirations, and who knows what else? (no spam!)\u003C\/label\u003E\u003Cinput id=\"mce-EMAIL\" class=\"email\" required=\"required\" name=\"EMAIL\" \/\u003E\u003C!--real people should not fill this in and expect good things - do not remove this or risk form bot signups--\u003E        \u003Cbr \/\u003E        \u003Cdiv style=\"left: -5000px; position: absolute;\"\u003E\u003Cinput name=\"b_f002f002b644188d5fb4f35ae_32062f1f6f\" \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E        \u003Cdiv class=\"clear\"\u003E\u003Cinput id=\"mc-embedded-subscribe\" class=\"button\" type=\"submit\" name=\"subscribe\" \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E     \u003C\/form\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E \u003C!--End mc_embed_signup--\u003E\u003C\/h2\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.mamaland.org\/feeds\/5954089858143202501\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.mamaland.org\/2021\/09\/the-jewish-kids-book-your-family-has.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/21153604\/posts\/default\/5954089858143202501"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/21153604\/posts\/default\/5954089858143202501"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.mamaland.org\/2021\/09\/the-jewish-kids-book-your-family-has.html","title":"The Jewish kids’ book YOUR family has been waiting for (I hope?)"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Tzivia"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/11828930310967808828"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-StQhe_HlW3I\/YTPSFwx8VXI\/AAAAAAAAtx0\/-cHitF2ohRIUub10Agn7e1Ia4qQQXj01gCLcBGAsYHQ\/s72-c\/banner_whenyoucame.jpg","height":"72","width":"72"},"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21153604.post-1606169250577579102"},"published":{"$t":"2021-09-03T09:14:00.002-04:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2021-09-03T09:20:47.754-04:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"bookshelf"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"booky"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"money"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"new stuff"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"writing"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"yom tov"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Speaking of Yom Tov… (here are some BOOKS!)"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"  \u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"text-align: center; clear: both;\"\u003E\u003Ca style=\"margin-right: 1em; margin-left: 1em;\" href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-EhU6ezacErc\/YTIgXW3PwhI\/AAAAAAAAtxk\/3f-_OrryEZc60RUFDyGBY_64nnS4ulOIQCLcBGAsYHQ\/s800\/disgustface.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\"\u003E\u003Cimg 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\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E  \u003Cbr \/\u003EHere’s a rhyming riddle:     \u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003ERosh Hashanah’s almost here: which of my books will you buy this year???!?\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E  \u003Cp\u003EI know; pretty tacky, right? I’ll be honest; that’s how I feel about marketing my books in general.\u003C\/p\u003E  \u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/uc?id=1bm8k-kVT0k7jxy1fQ-LVOI3Cx7z3J52R\"\u003E\u003Cimg 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\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E  \u003Cp\u003E(disgusted baby © \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/morganmorgan\/\"\u003Eiwishmynamewasmarsha\u003C\/a\u003E via \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/morganmorgan\/3675951676\"\u003EFlickr\u003C\/a\u003E)\u003C\/p\u003E  \u003Ch1\u003EWhat’s the secret to self-publishing success???\u003C\/h1\u003E  \u003Cp\u003EDon’t bother asking me…\u003C\/p\u003E  \u003Cp\u003EI’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.\u003C\/p\u003E  \u003Cp\u003EScroll down for a list you might like!\u003C\/p\u003E  \u003Cp\u003EWhenever 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.\u003C\/p\u003E  \u003Cp\u003EI 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.\u003C\/p\u003E  \u003Cp\u003E(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 \u003Cem\u003Eshould \u003C\/em\u003Ebe. 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.)\u003C\/p\u003E  \u003Cp\u003EBut sometimes I shock myself with how little I talk about my own books. I think the last time was in \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.mamaland.org\/2017\/10\/sharing-timeless-jewish-messages.html\"\u003Ethis post about the Jewish Nature series\u003C\/a\u003E, which I’m so proud of I can barely even put it into words.\u003C\/p\u003E  \u003Cp\u003ESo 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.\u003C\/p\u003E  \u003Ch1\u003EA List of Awesome Books You Should Know About\u003C\/h1\u003E  \u003Ctable cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"2\" border=\"0\"\u003E\u003Ctbody\u003E     \u003Ctr\u003E       \u003Ctd valign=\"top\" width=\"307\"\u003E\u003Cimg src=\"https:\/\/images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com\/images\/I\/51vq9uSp6aL._SX389_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg\" width=\"217\" height=\"277\" \/\u003E          \u003Cbr \/\u003EGet it here: \u003Ca title=\"http:\/\/tinyurl.com\/sigdbook\" href=\"http:\/\/tinyurl.com\/sigdbook\"\u003Ehttp:\/\/tinyurl.com\/sigdbook\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E        \u003Ctd valign=\"top\"\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EPumpkin Pie for Sigd\u003C\/strong\u003E           \u003Cbr \/\u003EThis one actually is NOT self-published, but was released by Apples \u0026amp; 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.\u0026#160;\u0026#160;\u0026#160;\u0026#160;\u0026#160;\u0026#160;\u0026#160;\u0026#160;\u0026#160;\u0026#160; \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E     \u003C\/tr\u003E      \u003Ctr\u003E       \u003Ctd valign=\"top\" width=\"314\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/uc?id=1M6WkjpnG5vr87MTyyKzYZx4eF-O_9zxR\"\u003E\u003Cimg title=\"image\" style=\"display: inline; background-image: none;\" border=\"0\" alt=\"image\" src=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/uc?id=10LoEXwbDyJn18GskAQw15jDwoMEPWsSH\" width=\"221\" height=\"215\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E           \u003Cbr \/\u003EGet it here: \u003Ca title=\"http:\/\/tinyurl.com\/SharingShmittah\" href=\"http:\/\/tinyurl.com\/SharingShmittah\"\u003Ehttp:\/\/tinyurl.com\/SharingShmittah\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E        \u003Ctd valign=\"top\"\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ESharing Shmittah\u003C\/strong\u003E           \u003Cbr \/\u003EDid 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.\u0026#160;\u0026#160;\u0026#160;\u0026#160;\u0026#160;\u0026#160;\u0026#160;\u0026#160;\u0026#160;\u0026#160; \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E     \u003C\/tr\u003E      \u003Ctr\u003E       \u003Ctd valign=\"top\" width=\"321\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/uc?id=1DKH5xIcMsa3ZfvHIhwjxIcfTROgKh8If\"\u003E\u003Cimg title=\"image\" style=\"display: inline; background-image: none;\" border=\"0\" alt=\"image\" src=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/uc?id=15zKSTUyNuBUIxcslCU8D4X84Cq2xSjuB\" width=\"222\" height=\"222\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E           \u003Cbr \/\u003EGet it here: \u003Ca title=\"http:\/\/tinyurl.com\/fourlittle\" href=\"http:\/\/tinyurl.com\/fourlittle\"\u003Ehttp:\/\/tinyurl.com\/fourlittle\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E        \u003Ctd valign=\"top\"\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EFour Little Holiday Books\u003C\/strong\u003E           \u003Cbr \/\u003EYeah, 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. \u003Cimg class=\"wlEmoticon wlEmoticon-smile\" alt=\"Smile\" src=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/uc?id=1fFjCIYMFrTgNqUnz4zbxYGgF6-85McSg\" \/\u003E\u0026#160;\u0026#160;\u0026#160;\u0026#160;\u0026#160;\u0026#160;\u0026#160;\u0026#160;\u0026#160;\u0026#160; \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E     \u003C\/tr\u003E      \u003Ctr\u003E       \u003Ctd valign=\"top\" width=\"328\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/uc?id=1BmPna0Bb2VyU43PMLcWuFZcSeRG4lOWy\"\u003E\u003Cimg 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\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E           \u003Cbr \/\u003EGet it here: \u003Ca title=\"http:\/\/tinyurl.com\/PenguinRosh\" href=\"http:\/\/tinyurl.com\/PenguinRosh\"\u003Ehttp:\/\/tinyurl.com\/PenguinRosh\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E        \u003Ctd valign=\"top\"\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EPenguin Rosh Hashanah\u003C\/strong\u003E           \u003Cbr \/\u003EThis one has awe-inspiring photos of penguins in their natural habitat, no humans around for miles. Nothing to do with Rosh Hashanah, right? Well, \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.mamaland.org\/2017\/10\/sharing-timeless-jewish-messages.html\"\u003Eread this post to learn more about the connection\u003C\/a\u003E. And then – maybe buy the book for your family, for next year, I guess.\u0026#160;\u0026#160;\u0026#160;\u0026#160;\u0026#160;\u0026#160;\u0026#160;\u0026#160;\u0026#160;\u0026#160; \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E     \u003C\/tr\u003E      \u003Ctr\u003E       \u003Ctd valign=\"top\" width=\"335\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/uc?id=1yRtG-oX1aiDjrHK6q0Q6Ov4ITjrPw3GG\"\u003E\u003Cimg 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\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E           \u003Cbr \/\u003EGet it here: \u003Ca title=\"http:\/\/tinyurl.com\/AnimalTashlich\" href=\"http:\/\/tinyurl.com\/AnimalTashlich\"\u003Ehttp:\/\/tinyurl.com\/AnimalTashlich\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E        \u003Ctd valign=\"top\"\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAnimal Tashlich\u003C\/strong\u003E           \u003Cbr \/\u003EHow 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.\u0026#160;\u0026#160;\u0026#160;\u0026#160;\u0026#160;\u0026#160;\u0026#160;\u0026#160;\u0026#160;\u0026#160; \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E     \u003C\/tr\u003E      \u003Ctr\u003E       \u003Ctd valign=\"top\" width=\"342\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/uc?id=1Re6IhOzX-LDrRCrVmZozi1pismhx7FBP\"\u003E\u003Cimg 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\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E           \u003Cbr \/\u003EGet it here: \u003Ca title=\"http:\/\/tinyurl.com\/CaterpillarYom\" href=\"http:\/\/tinyurl.com\/CaterpillarYom\"\u003Ehttp:\/\/tinyurl.com\/CaterpillarYom\u003C\/a\u003E \u003C\/td\u003E        \u003Ctd valign=\"top\"\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECaterpillar Yom Kippur\u003C\/strong\u003E           \u003Cbr \/\u003EYeah, 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.\u0026#160;\u0026#160;\u0026#160;\u0026#160;\u0026#160;\u0026#160;\u0026#160;\u0026#160;\u0026#160;\u0026#160;\u0026#160; \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u0026#160;\u0026#160;\u0026#160;\u0026#160;\u0026#160;\u0026#160;\u0026#160;\u0026#160;\u0026#160;\u0026#160; \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u0026#160;\u0026#160;\u0026#160;\u0026#160;\u0026#160;\u0026#160;\u0026#160;\u0026#160;\u0026#160; \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E     \u003C\/tr\u003E      \u003Ctr\u003E       \u003Ctd valign=\"top\" width=\"349\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/uc?id=121xSGMJz_AzjsdLe1lSTlYCdKnnuFPBy\"\u003E\u003Cimg 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\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E \u003C\/td\u003E        \u003Ctd valign=\"top\"\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ETurtle Sukkos\u003C\/strong\u003E           \u003Cbr \/\u003EThe cover is done but the book isn’t QUITE yet. Let’s say coming soon and maybe it’ll be ready for 5783! \u003Cimg class=\"wlEmoticon wlEmoticon-smile\" alt=\"Smile\" src=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/uc?id=1fFjCIYMFrTgNqUnz4zbxYGgF6-85McSg\" \/\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E     \u003C\/tr\u003E      \u003Ctr\u003E       \u003Ctd valign=\"top\" width=\"356\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/uc?id=1cZa4ekkSO4mvv39FnE1-QjK4GusGfkRl\"\u003E\u003Cimg 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\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E           \u003Cbr \/\u003EGet it here: \u003Ca title=\"http:\/\/tinyurl.com\/getrog\" href=\"http:\/\/tinyurl.com\/getrog\"\u003Ehttp:\/\/tinyurl.com\/getrog\u003C\/a\u003E \u003C\/td\u003E        \u003Ctd valign=\"top\"\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWe Didn’t Have an Etrog!            \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003EShort, easy rhyming story ties together some themes of Sukkot \/ Sukkos, however you pronounce it.\u0026#160;\u0026#160;\u0026#160;\u0026#160;\u0026#160;\u0026#160;\u0026#160;\u0026#160;\u0026#160;\u0026#160; \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E     \u003C\/tr\u003E      \u003Ctr\u003E       \u003Ctd valign=\"top\" width=\"363\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/uc?id=1zyM_d9YlcgwFIrD8c9GuDyu1O7bWTt9u\"\u003E\u003Cimg 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\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E           \u003Cbr \/\u003EGet it here: \u003Ca title=\"http:\/\/tinyurl.com\/familytorah\" href=\"http:\/\/tinyurl.com\/familytorah\"\u003Ehttp:\/\/tinyurl.com\/familytorah\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E        \u003Ctd valign=\"top\"\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EThe Family Torah\u003C\/strong\u003E           \u003Cbr \/\u003EJust 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 \u003Cem\u003Emy \u003C\/em\u003Ebook. Try the Look Inside feature on Amazon and see for yourself.\u0026#160;\u0026#160;\u0026#160;\u0026#160;\u0026#160;\u0026#160;\u0026#160;\u0026#160;\u0026#160;\u0026#160; \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E     \u003C\/tr\u003E   \u003C\/tbody\u003E\u003C\/table\u003E  \u003Cp\u003E\u0026#160;\u003C\/p\u003E  \u003Cp\u003ETo see all my books on Amazon, it’s pretty easy. Just click here: \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/tinyurl.com\/JTMAuthorPage\"\u003Ehttp:\/\/tinyurl.com\/JTMAuthorPage\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E  \u003Cp\u003EI 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.\u003C\/p\u003E  \u003Cp\u003ESTAY TUNED!!!\u003C\/p\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.mamaland.org\/feeds\/1606169250577579102\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.mamaland.org\/2021\/09\/speaking-of-yom-tov-here-are-some-books.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/21153604\/posts\/default\/1606169250577579102"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/21153604\/posts\/default\/1606169250577579102"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.mamaland.org\/2021\/09\/speaking-of-yom-tov-here-are-some-books.html","title":"Speaking of Yom Tov… (here are some BOOKS!)"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Tzivia"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/11828930310967808828"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-EhU6ezacErc\/YTIgXW3PwhI\/AAAAAAAAtxk\/3f-_OrryEZc60RUFDyGBY_64nnS4ulOIQCLcBGAsYHQ\/s72-c\/disgustface.jpg","height":"72","width":"72"},"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21153604.post-6703333088366220347"},"published":{"$t":"2021-05-11T07:48:00.000-04:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2021-05-11T14:49:35.134-04:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"jew stuff"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"kids big"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"raising kids"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"thots"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"torah"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"What's in your quiver? The very mixed blessing of grown-up kids"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cspan class=\"fullpost\"\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E  \u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Ca style=\"clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em;\" href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-rvA4J7fzUTw\/YJpsqKdAyWI\/AAAAAAAAtjk\/bGcpbj2EDrw7ydq2SUIaq5rSialVZmGJACLcBGAsYHQ\/s500\/quiver.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-rvA4J7fzUTw\/YJpsqKdAyWI\/AAAAAAAAtjk\/bGcpbj2EDrw7ydq2SUIaq5rSialVZmGJACLcBGAsYHQ\/s16000\/quiver.jpg\" data-original-height=\"500\" data-original-width=\"500\"\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E  \u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EWhat are you blessing your children with today?\u003C\/em\u003E     \u003Cbr\u003EIt’s erev Rosh Chodesh Sivan, which is considered an \u0026quot;eis ratzon,\u0026quot; a time of grace, for the prayer of the Shelah Hakadosh, a prayer for righteous children, which is quite lovely and humbling and all.\u003C\/p\u003E  \u003Cp\u003E(\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/beyondbt.com\/2021\/05\/10\/shelahs-prayer-for-parents-on-behalf-of-their-children\/\"\u003EEnglish\u003C\/a\u003E | \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.yeshiva.org.il\/midrash\/7717\"\u003EHebrew\u003C\/a\u003E)\u003C\/p\u003E  \u003Cp\u003EBut as a parent of adult children, especially one who has chosen a very different path when it comes to Judaism, it\u0026#39;s also perplexing.    \u003Cbr\u003E What do we do when our children don\u0026#39;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?\u003C\/p\u003E  \u003Cp\u003EBack when I was homeschooling, I came across a number of parents who identified themselves as \u0026quot;Quiverfull.\u0026quot;    \u003Cbr\u003E I had no clue what this was so I had to look it up. It seems it\u0026#39;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\u0026#39;d like to reclaim it for a minute:\u003C\/p\u003E  \u003Cp\u003Eאַשְׁרֵ֤י הַגֶּ֗בֶר אֲשֶׁ֤ר מִלֵּ֥א אֶת־אַשְׁפָּת֗וֹ מֵ֫הֶ֥ם    \u003Cbr\u003EHappy is the man who fills his quiver with them\u003C\/p\u003E  \u003Cp\u003EWhat is THEM? Well, \u0026quot;banim,\u0026quot; meaning sons, but let\u0026#39;s just say children.\u003C\/p\u003E  \u003Cp\u003EAnd what does it mean, having your quiver \u0026quot;full\u0026quot; of children?    \u003Cbr\u003E On the surface, as these Christian parents assume, it does seem to mean lots and lots and lots of children.     \u003Cbr\u003E And why not? Children are so joyous and wonderful - right?\u003C\/p\u003E  \u003Ch1\u003EGrosse Tzuros\u003C\/h1\u003E  \u003Cp\u003ENot always. Sometimes, when you have big children, it comes with a lot of pain, as they make life choices that... well, they hurt.\u003C\/p\u003E  \u003Cp\u003EIn Yiddish, there\u0026#39;s an expression I\u0026#39;ve always laughed at - albeit uneasily: \u0026quot;Kleine kinder, kleine tzuros; grosse kinder, grosse tzuros.\u0026quot; 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.\u003C\/p\u003E  \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.mamaland.org\/2021\/05\/whats-in-your-quiver-very-mixed.html#more\"\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.mamaland.org\/feeds\/6703333088366220347\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.mamaland.org\/2021\/05\/whats-in-your-quiver-very-mixed.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/21153604\/posts\/default\/6703333088366220347"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/21153604\/posts\/default\/6703333088366220347"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.mamaland.org\/2021\/05\/whats-in-your-quiver-very-mixed.html","title":"What's in your quiver? The very mixed blessing of grown-up kids"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Tzivia"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/11828930310967808828"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-rvA4J7fzUTw\/YJpsqKdAyWI\/AAAAAAAAtjk\/bGcpbj2EDrw7ydq2SUIaq5rSialVZmGJACLcBGAsYHQ\/s72-c\/quiver.jpg","height":"72","width":"72"},"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}}]}});