These days it creeps up on me like an ache — the occasional pumpkin in a front yard, the synthetic cobwebs in trees, the subtle turn in the weather and, yes, there’s that feeling in the pit of my stomach, the hollowness of those dreams in which you’re lost in a white tunnel, with nowhere to go but forward, though you know that every step will take you farther away from home.
Everything we build and teach our children, all our investments and dedication to good, all our moral standards, our entire education system, can be wiped out in one fell swoop when we or our children are violated.
Rabbi Julia Weisz found herself in a bit of a conundrum when she became an expectant mother.
There’s been a lot of talk in the news about what to say to children about the massacre at Sandy Hook. A steady stream of experts attempting to provide some sort of parental protocol for addressing this unimaginable tragedy with our kids.
Those parents and teachers looking for a new twist on the story of Jonah (read yearly on Yom Kippur) need look no more. This latest version from children’s author Tilda Balsley sticks to the biblical text but is appropriate for very young children. The clever rhymes demand to be read out loud, such as after Jonah suggests that the frightened fisherman throw him into the sea: “Immediately, the weather cleared. / But things were worse than Jonah feared / ‘I wish I hadn’t volunteered.’ ” The vibrant, bold illustrations are truly stunning, and the artist’s interpretation of a huge, bright orange fish is probably more accurate than the usual depictions of whales. “A giant fish swam to his side / And stared at him all google-eyed. / Its mouth, humongous, opened wide / and, CHOMP! / He found himself inside.” Entertaining fun with a biblical message of forgiveness that is surely important to remember during the High Holy Days.
Santiago Brown calls himself a “cashew.” It’s his way of combining the words “Catholic” and “Jew,” to refer to his unusual religious background. He lived in Colombia in a Catholic orphanage until being adopted into a Jewish family a year ago, at the age of 12. His mother, Lori Brown, a graphic artist and Nashuva member, says Santiago has Jewish music on his iPod and tells his friends, “It’s awesome to be Jewish.”
Today, I stopped home to change my outfit before picking up my kid from day care.
I’ll never forget asking my therapist the following question when I found out I was pregnant: “Who am I going to be?”
A Canadian teenager was arrested for allegedly setting a Jewish classmate\’s hair on fire after making anti-Semitic remarks.
Britain\’s government will fund extra security for Jewish schools. The new funds, for security personnel, will be in addition to the security measures already supplied to government-funded parochial schools, the BBC reported on Thursday. Parents at the Jewish schools until now have been pooling funds to pay for the guards to enhance standard measures, including cameras, fences and gates.
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