Posted on: March 15th, 2013

It was one of those cold, rain-soaked evenings - the kind that make you look forward to a hot drink, a good book and a soft couch to curl up on. With those happy thoughts in mind, I proceeded to cross to the other side of the street.

Posted on: March 8th, 2013

While Pesach cleaning, I found a whole bunch of questions that were sent in at some point that I somehow haven’t gotten to. So I’m going to address them now, in the hopes that doing so will get me out of Pesach cleaning.

Posted on: March 7th, 2013

They try to manipulate you into thinking that by definition you're a shell and on the inside your dead, you don't exist. They put zero meaning into life. The shell is their focus - that's what they make of life!

Posted on: March 1st, 2013

I have to admit it. I was scared. And I don’t get scared. Or at least I don’t like to advertise when I do. But the wording of the e-mail from the U.S. State Department was so… harsh. Violent armed robberies are on the rise in Peru. In just three days I was going to be a U.S. citizen traveling alone to this apparent hotbed of crime called Peru, starting out in big, bad Lima.

Posted on: February 28th, 2013

The other day I was shopping at a large supermarket and happened to go down the frozen foods aisle, past the endless freezers containing every imaginable flavor, shape and size of ice cream. I rarely buy. Rather I am like a tourist in a museum – gawking at wondrous objects that I know I can’t take home with me.

Posted on: February 27th, 2013

“Sabato Morais was born on April 13, 1823 to Samuel and Bonina Morais in the northern Italian city of Leghorn (Livorno), in the grand duchy of Tuscany. Morais was the third of nine children, seven daughters and the older of the two sons. The Morais family descended from Portuguese Marranos. Morais’ mother, Bonina Wolf, was of German-Ashkenazic descent.”

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Posted on: February 22nd, 2013

"...will the kid say, 'Oh, I'm walking into the strange house, just like Goldilocks?! Maybe the kid will think..” Apparently I had walked into a family discussion of the pros and cons of reading fairy tales to children.

Posted on: February 22nd, 2013

Recently I had the opportunity to spend some times with Bernard (Bernie) Walz and get a glimpse of his war experiences.

Posted on: February 15th, 2013

A little while ago, I was at my friend’s house for Shabbos. Her younger sister, who was in second grade, had a friend over; let’s call her T. According to today’s beauty standards, T was absolutely gorgeous. In addition to being physically appealing, her personality was totally adorable.

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Posted on: February 15th, 2013

I close my eyes and fall back rejoining the strong women of my history

Posted on: February 14th, 2013

He stood his ground despite the intense pressure to do what everyone else was doing. His integrity was more important to him than "fitting in."

Posted on: February 8th, 2013

At the end of 2012, I was in Israel and looking out at the Jerusalem night sky. I was filled to the brim with inspiration and decided to challenge myself to become a more educated young woman. Simply put, I was going to read as many books in a year as possible. I’m not sure if that would actually have made a difference in my level of education but it seemed like a fun goal at the time.

Posted on: February 8th, 2013

But his third birthday was rapidly approaching, and I wanted him toilet trained before our family trip to Israel a couple of months down the line. Giving up wasn’t an option.

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Posted on: February 8th, 2013

I get a lot of questions around Purim, and I don’t always have a chance to answer them all. So let’s get started:

Posted on: February 1st, 2013

There is a wise Yiddish saying that translates into this observation: "Yichus (illustrious ancestors) is like potatoes - they are both under the ground."

Posted on: February 1st, 2013

My relationship with social media is and remains an ambivalent one. Unlike many of my peers, I did not initially embrace social media, from its beginning stages with AOL instant messenger and proceeding quickly on to MySpace and Facebook.

Posted on: January 31st, 2013

In February 1861, Abraham Kohn, one of the founders of Chicago’s Congregation Kehilath Anshe Maariv and at the time the city clerk in the administration of Mayor John Wentworth, presented Abraham Lincoln with a unique American flag.

Posted on: January 24th, 2013

Tommy's eyes were fixed on the screen for the fourth hour that day. He sat there immobile, staring at the people fighting on the TV show. Unsurprisingly, the next day the principal called Tommy's mom - Tommy had beaten up two boys in his class that day.

Posted on: January 24th, 2013

When the train has departed the station, Fresh of food and of saturation, The journey ahead excites, With all the could bes and the might's,

Posted on: January 24th, 2013

I nod my head and smile again, The burning creases brand my skin