Adventures in Mama-Land

We learned in parshas Noach a few weeks ago that one of the condemnations of Noach comes about because he doesn’t leave the Teiva after the flood. He sits there, plays around with sending birds, it’s a very nice story but eventually Hashem has to intervene and tell him, “LEAVE ALREADY.” (I’m paraphrasing.  And speaking of paraphrasing, most of this dvar Torah was heavily inspired by three divrei Torah of Rabbi Jonathan Sacks.  You can find links to them at the end.) Noach didn’t want to leave the teiva. He had seen the world destroyed. He didn’t know how he could go on. And, looking backwards perhaps, he drowned his troubles rather than looking forward. We have all met people who have been through something like that, I think. People who lived through the Shoah, who saw their world destroyed. And yet – most picked themselves up and went on with their lives. Rabbi Sacks calls these people his “mentors in courage.” He spent time asking what allowed them to move on. Unlike...

I shared this post last week on Facebook asking why so many Jewish kids' books are so awful.  Lots and lots and lots of people clicked Like.  Some even shared it.  But very few people actually answered the question, so I’m asking it again here. What do you think?  Why is there so much bad Jewish children’s literature? Before we start, though, here’s another picture from Shmelf the Hanukkah Elf , the masterpiece that kicked off this whole controversy. Yup, a nice Jewish story to share with your Jewish kids for any Jewish time of year! I don’t want to write too much because for once, I really do want to hear what you have to say.  But just to get those brain-thoughts flowing….Here are some comments that a few people did post on Facebook:

Dear Tablet Magazine, I read an article on your site today.  It’s not a common thing, I don’t stop by every day, but as with so much of the great content on your site, I liked the article.  Indeed, I agreed with it, and felt that I – as a Jewish writer of Jewish children’s books - had something to add to the dialogue. That’s why I scrolled down to comment… only to find THIS: And THIS: Commenting Charges!  But I don’t need to tell YOU that, of course.  It was YOUR c̶a̶s̶h̶ ̶c̶o̶w̶  idea. $2 per day.  Ouch. And then I saw THIS – your largely nonsense-based explanation of how there’s so much spam out there that you want to charge me $180 a year for the privilege of adding my text to your site (usually, people pay ME for my content – that’s what being a writer is all about). (Oops – sorry, it’s not a FEE, it’s a commitment to “the cause of great conversation,” as if your site is surely the only place I will be conversing over the next 365 days.) Yo...

Before, I begin, I want to say that there are few people who adore Lego as much as I do.  OK, if you're one of those fans who can tell the difference between a BURP a LUMP and a POOP [ glossary here ], then good for you.  You win. But short of that, well, I adore Lego. REAL Lego. For years, in Toronto, I made a habit of picking up used Lego for the kids at Value Village.  Painstakingly, I'd pick through the sets chucking out any FAKE Lego - all the Megabloks and other imposters, weeding them out like toxins. But here in Israel, Lego is expensive.  Ridiculously expensive.  Like over 100nis for a tiny set that would cost under $10 in the States, and maybe $12-15 in Canada. So, I admit - painfully, reluctantly - I've started buying the fake stuff. It started last summer when I happened to show Gavriel Zev some of the super hero menschies (I know, they're called minifigures – I call them minifigs for short) that were available on AliExpress for 99 cents inst...

Looking for a sukkah craft for slightly older kids that hasn't been done to death? I totally was, because we're making GZ's birthday party in the sukkah and I wanted to do some kind of simple craft that would appeal to the boys without being too fiddly. I eventually found this post about a Xmas craft, and decided that, writ slightly larger, these would make terrific sukkah decorations.  They have all the elements I love - namely, tinfoil, glue and Sharpies (!!!) PLUS they don't take much time for 8-year-old boys' attention span. And I think they look terrific - shiny and bright to light up any family's sukkah. Here’s what you'll need: - Cardboard circles - I used a bowl with a diameter of about 5.5" to cut these babies out.  The originals are much too tiny to see at night in a sukkah!  I used fairly thick cardboard from a box that held a six-pack of soda bottles. - Yarn - original post says fine yarn, but I blew this up accordingly to a medium-wei...

The words Rosh Hashanah never appear in the Tanach. Nor is the chag referred to except as the shofar-blowing on the first day of the seventh month. The first time we see the term Rosh Hashanah being used is in a mishnah: “There are 4 Rosh Hashanahs…” ארבעה ראשי שנים הם. (Maseches RH 1:1) So the very first time we see the words “Rosh Hashanah,” they’re actually in plural form. This mishna teaches us that there are actually not one but 4 rosh hashanas. 1 Tishri (new year for years), 15 Shevat (trees and fruit), 1 Nisan (kings and festivals), and 1 Elul (animals and cattle). [1] It’s a strange phrase, if you think about it: “The new year for years” (ראש השנה לשנים). It doesn’t seem to make much sense, especially given that in the Torah this is the 7 th month, not the 1st. So why is this Rosh Hashanah the big one, the one we all celebrate every single year? We get a hint in the very next mishna, which says, “there are four times when the world is judged: at Pesach for crops, at S...

We’re back to summer schooling, which includes weekly book reports / reviews (I know there’s a difference, but whatever…).  I thought it would be fun to share a list of book reviews my kids have written over the last however-many years, mainly during the summer. Hopefully, I’ll update this list as the kids create new reviews.  I’ve vowed that I’m going to make them write one new review each week for the remaining 7 weeks of summer… (NOTE:  Some of the links are messed up.  I have vowed to fix them but it seems like it’s not going to happen until summer is over.  Forgive me if you hit a broken one!) Almost a Winner (Teddy Mars) - Funny and interesting, a review by GZ, age 8         The BFG – A Great Classic, Review by YM, age 12 and GZ, age 8       The Fourteenth Goldfish -  A fun and suspenseful story, a review by NRM, age 11         Schooled by Gordon Korman, Review by NR, age 11 ...