Adventures in Mama-Land

(to download a print-friendly PDF version of this dvar Torah, which was adapted from a shiur by Dr. Tova Sacher, click here ) 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? In fact, this midrash suggests, lots of people before Avraham were old – sometimes, very old – but nobody actually got old at all. This whole midrash arises due to a problem with the passuk: וְאַבְרָהָם זָקֵן בָּא בַּיָּמִים And Abraham was old, advanced in days. 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. 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 looks...

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. 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 total presence. 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. 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? This is actually a very modern question. Throughout most o...

You know how we're supposed to be modest and not go shouting our accomplishments from the rooftops? 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. Sitting around the Shabbos table, I mentioned that I'd finally finished my book of parsha poems, The Rhyming Torah .  And she asked the obvious question:  “So are you going to let people know?” 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. “I don’t know…” I said.  “I hadn’t really thought about it.” “Well, you at least have to tell your blog,” she announced. So that’s where this post comes in. 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...

My mother recently spent two Shabboses (Shabbatot) with us here in Israel.  In her honour, I actually put together an unprecedented TWO divrei Torah in a row.  This is the second one, which was not too fancy because I was just planning to say it over privately over lunch but then we ended up having guests, and I think it went over nicely.  Sorry it’s too late for this year – I was too busy visiting to post! ----- Last week’s parsha, Vayeitzei, ended in sort of a cliff-hanger, as Yaakov set off to reunite with his brother Eisav. As this week’s parsha opens, we see that Yaakov is preparing for his meeting with Eisav – and he is very, very afraid. This fear reminds us, as it should, of several parshiyos from now, when the shevatim go down to Mitzrayim and are afraid of Yosef when they realize who they have been dealing with there. There are many similarities here anyway: parting on bad terms, a separation of decades, a reversal of fortunes (Yaakov, the mild-mannered son...

My mother recently spent two Shabboses (Shabbatot) with us here in Israel.  In her honour, I actually put together two divrei Torah.  This is the first, which I said over at a kiddush we also made in her honour.  Sorry it’s too late for this year – I was too busy visiting to post! ----- So my mother is here visiting Israel, and I actually felt more like talking about last week’s parsha instead of this week’s, because of a line we mentioned in our shiur that says so much about motherhood: כח וַיֶּאֱהַב יִצְחָק אֶת עֵשָׂו כִּי צַיִד בְּפִיו וְרִבְקָה אֹהֶבֶת אֶת יַעֲקֹב: "Isaac loved Esav because he ate his game; but Rebecca loved Jacob." (Genesis 25:28) The actual Hebrew of this verse reads that Rebecca "loves" Jacob, in the present tense. According to Rabbi Isaiah HaLevi Horowitz, we can understand this verse according to a teaching of our sages in Chapters of the Fathers (5:16). "Any love that is dependent on something will vanish when that thing vanish...

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...

Someone once told me, “If there is a God, then certainly he is much too busy with wars and everything to care whether you eat kosher food.” This is interesting, but it is not what I believe about Hashem. Many more people say, “There is no God, because if there was, he wouldn’t allow ____ to suffer.” With the blank being whoever in the world is currently suffering, whether it is Yezidis or Tibetans or Sudanese, or, in this week’s parsha, us. But this week’s parsha tells us he did indeed allow us to suffer. It says that, right there in the pshat. For years, and years, and years, we suffered as slaves. Some say until we cried out, until we begged him in exactly the right way. But as a parent, this feels petty to me. Sure, sometimes I make my kids apologize “properly” – no sarcasm allowed. But I’d like to think Hashem is a lot less petty than me. My friend Nina pointed out that twice, Moshe calls Hashem on this, face to face. Asking Hashem what kind of God he is that he’s doing this ...

  How many dreams does Yosef have in this week’s parsha? I’ve always thought it was two. Maybe you did, too? But if you look very carefully into the actual text, you’ll notice something funny. (Or, if you’re like me, you won’t – at least, not at first.) Here’s how Yosef’s dreaming begins: What’s the sequence here? 1. Yosef has a dream, tells his brothers, and they hate him more. 2. Yosef begs his brothers to hear his dream. Huh? Didn’t they just hear him tell a dream? Of course they did, because the Torah says right there that hearing his dream made them hate him more. After this, the Torah goes on: 3. Yosef tells his brothers a dream where they are gathering sheaves (wheat). This is often called his first dream. (Is it really???) 4. Yosef tells his brothers a dream where the stars, moon and sun are bowing down to him. This is often called his second dream. I’m sure you see the obvious question. What did Yosef tell his brothers in #1? According to most interpretation...

In this week's parsha, Lech Lecha, Hashem says he'll make Avram's descendents like stars.  We often crow about this – “We're so great,” we say.  “We're just like stars.”  And no wonder.  We get off to a roaring start this week.  You’ll forgive me if I’m thinking about outer space – I just saw the movie The Martian last night, and I think stars are totally awesome right now. But so – obviously – does Hashem. Yet that isn’t the most mindblowing thing about this week’s parsha.  It opens with the most promising beginning, of any story ever told.  Hollywood has nothing on this. Listen to this:  Hashem takes a homeless guy.  Literally.  He’s just been evicted, because he refused to follow the local religion in Ur-Kasdim, where he grew up.  He’s not a young guy, either.  He’s very, very old, and so’s his wife.  They have no children. So Hashem takes this homeless, barren man and makes the two biggest promises of history....

Why were the Jews redeemed from Egypt? I’ve heard 2 answers that seem to conflict, and a third that we’ll look at in a minute. The first answer, from a midrash, is that bnei Yisrael were redeemed by the merit of three things: they kept their Jewish names, clothing and language. Very, very nice. We like this answer. We teach it to our kids. The second answer, from the Zohar, is that bnei Yisrael had reached the 49 th level of tumah, impurity. If Hashem had waited another minute, the Jewish people would have been lost completely. We definitely know that the Jews were comfortable in Mitzrayim. They they did avodah zarah, and it seems like they were almost totally assimilated. So which is it? Were the Jews impure and totally assimilated? Or were they like some kind of holy Chassidim, wearing special Jewish robes and refusing to integrate into Mitzri society? Moshe, by the way, asks the same question. When he says to Hashem at the burning bush, “And Moses said to G-d: 'Who am I ...

How are parsha books like popcorn?  You can’t have just one!  If you’re anything like our family, you already have a preponderance of parsha books.  But it’s impossible to have “enough,” isn’t it?  Especially when it comes to finding great kids’ parsha books that are both appealing to kids and reflect your family’s hashkafa (religious outlook).  And especially if the author isn’t afraid to do something a little different.  So when the chance to review a new parsha book that combines words and pictures in an innovative new format came along, I got a bit excited.  There’s a good chance that this book may be just right for your family. For my review, I received free from the publisher both the hardcover Every Picture Tells a Story Volume One:  Bereishis (Menorah Books: 2014) and the accompanying softcover colouring book : Aren’t those great covers?  They’re bilingual!  And they tell you exactly what you’re going to get inside....

Almost every year, my mother corners me to give a dvar Torah at a ladies’ Shalosh Seudos (Seudat Shlishit) our shul organizes at different homes around the community.  She always hosts the one closest to her birthday, which happens to fall out this week. Weirdly, even though I have done it a bunch of times, it always seems to happen on a different parsha, so I cannot just reuse another one from a previous year.  (Would I do it if I could?  Um, heck yes?) So here’s this year’s.  If you are within walking distance, please come to my mother’s place for party sandwiches and more.  But if you’re coming on Shabbos, please don’t read it!  I wouldn’t want to ruin the wondrous moments of shock and surprise (mainly when you realize just how long this thing is going to be and decide to stay away…) Here’s a list of previous summer divrei Torah, in case you’re vastly curious and/or slightly masochistic: Parshas Re’eh Parshas Chukas (2009) Parshas Chukas (2011...

Somebody at the homeschool conference (maybe it was Rabbi Dr. Pinchas Hayman ? but I’d hate to misquote somebody) pointed out that learning Parsha with Onkelos ( Onkelos was a well-known convert most famous for his “Targum” or translation of the Torah into Aramaic) makes an excellent introduction to Aramaic, ideal for developing skills and vocabulary that can later be used in Mishna and Gemara (Talmud). To test this theory, I have created a 1-page supplement for my weekly Parsha Skills Worksheets , with the same verse broken down three ways:  in Hebrew, in Aramaic, and in English.  There’s also a little “vocabulary” bubble at the top-right corner, with a few new words introduced each week. I’ve done two of these so far, for this week and next:  Korach and Chukas.  Sneak previews:   These were a bit harder than my usual stuff because my knowledge of Aramaic is hovering right around zilch.  If you spot a mistake, please let me know gently.  :-) ...

Doing this early because a) we’re going away, and b) it’s not too hard to do these when I’m on a roll.  Next week’s 6-page workbook focuses on the following Hebrew / English words: הִכָּה- hit יָד - hand סֶּלַע - rock רוּם  - raise מַטֵּה – stick, staff פַּעַם - time (but not telling time!) יָצָא - come out שָׁתָה - drink Grammar notes include suffixes for gender and possession (I describe it in a kid-friendly way, I promise!) and the “ayim” plural for twos. Here’s a sneak preview: As always, if you use these and they work, or don’t work, please let me know how I can make them even better.  And since I am not a professional, please let me know if you spot any booboos – I promise I won’t hold it against you. To download these and hundreds of other free Limudei Kodesh (Jewish) printables – including weekly parsha copywork and holiday resources, click here .  (search for “parsha skills”) For General Studies printables, including science, art and music resourc...

This week’s 6 pages of worksheets focus on the following Hebrew / English words: פָּתַח - opened פֶּה - mouth בָּלַע - swallowed אָדָּם - man, person קרַֹח - Korach רְכוּשׁ - possession, stuff אֵת - [not in English!] אֲשֶּׁר - that,which Points of grammar include feminine prefixes / suffixes and the role of the preposition אֵת.  (In case you didn’t know, it “introduces a semantically definite direct object” – yeah, that didn’t help me, either.)  Here’s a sneak preview: As always, if you use these and they work, or don’t work, please let me know how I can make them even better!  Oh, and since I’m not a grammarian or anything close, please let me know if you spot any booboos.  Yes, it’s been known to happen, even to the best of us. To download these and hundreds of other Limudei Kodesh (Jewish) printables – including weekly parsha copywork and holiday resources, click here .  (search for “parsha skills”) For General Studies printables, including science, a...

Haven’t done one of these in a good while, but at least I have come up with a catchy name for them:  Parsha Skills Worksheets (click to see previous worksheets). My goal with these is to introduce some basic Chumash vocabulary and grammar (to kids AND their parents!), reinforce it through fun activities, and give kids the confidence to read/write an actual passuk from each weekly parsha.  Somebody at the Torah Home Ed Conference mentioned dictation, and although I hadn’t given it much thought in connection with these, it seems like a fairly natural progression, so I have added a note at the end of the last page, following the “spelling test” (which is in itself a form of dictation):  If student is very comfortable with the vocabulary, dictate the copywork verse to him/her. Read it aloud twice first, very slowly. Then, let the student write (on a lined page) as much as he/she remembers. Praise the student for effort, not exact duplication of the passuk. By the way, I ...

I love Naomi Rivka’s take on the concepts in these parshiyos, which are all about our efforts and how Hashem listens and answers our tefillos if we make an effort.  Which translates, in Naomi’s imagination, into “better hairdo.” PANEL 1 - Two girls are sharing their most fervent hopes and dreams:  Girl #1 (hair in a bun):  “Isabell, I wish for your hair to be in a bun, not on your shoulder!” Girl #2 (hair curly and loose):  “Yes, Laura….  I wish rain in Israel!” PANEL 2 – the same two girls, standing in the rain: Girl #1 (hair in a bun):  “My wish came true!” Girl #2 (hair in a bun):  <<silence>> Something in me finds this utterly hilarious, encapsulating perfectly the concept that Hashem answers prayers… and that the most important, most urgent prayer is for Good Hair.  Girl #2 doesn’t need to say anything – standing in the rain, hair in a bun, she is perfectly, perfectly content.  What more of a bracha could she ne...

For more information about these, please click here . Meanwhile, I have uploaded the new workbook for Yisro and will do the same for Mishpatim later on today (done!). Here are samples from Yisro: And from Mishpatim: As before, this is a work in progress at a busy time.  That means I’m very distracted and I want to know if I’ve made mistakes.  I’d even love just a quick note to let me know how old your child(ren) is/are and which bits are most helpful. To download these and hundreds of other Limudei Kodesh (Jewish) printables – including weekly parsha copywork and holiday resources, click here .  (search for “workbooks”) For General Studies printables, including science, art and music resources in Hebrew and English, Ambleside, composer and artist resources, click here .

First Gavriel Zev’s.  We seem to have arrived at a happy place where he will dictate while I type.  At the end, I made a game of it, so when he said “Now, print it out,” I typed “Now, print it out.”  And then, when he said, “Erase that,” I typed, “Erase that.”  After much giggling and fooling around and erasing, I printed it out.  He cut it, pasted it onto the blank page, then did the rest by hand. What blew me away is the fact that it wasn’t crumpled.  When he undertakes an art or craft project, there’s about a 75% chance that it will not meet his bizarrely high standards (apparently, nobody has told this kid he’s only 5!) and he gets frustrated and rips and/or crumples it.  I have begun a campaign to encourage him to a) work in pencil, b) cross things out if they come out wrong, and c) live with mistakes, because we all make them.  All with mixed results so far – perhaps the crumpling ratio is down to around 60%? Anyway, he was pleased enough ...

I have been playing with ideas for a slightly more intensive variation on the parsha copywork we’ve been doing all along and come up with a 6-page booklet that I think might work well not only for us, but hopefully for others.  I will explain the ideas behind the different pages and you can decide if all or part of this would be useful to you. The whole booklet is centred around an excerpt from the parsha.  It may or may not be an entire contiguous passuk – I’ve done two so far and one is, while the other isn’t.  One draws in bits and pieces from several pessukim to create a “complete” passage that is more concise than the original text. The idea is to introduce spelling and vocabulary words through the context of the weekly parsha.  The English words are fairly easy, so this won’t make for very intensive spelling practice.  My thinking behind this is that my kid is feeling discouraged in Hebrew, so if throwing in a couple of easy English words will help boost...