This week we begin the book of Bamidbar. Literally translated, the title of this book is ‘In the Wilderness,’ but the English name somehow ended up as Numbers. Actually, though, that’s not too surprising. The very first chapter of the book of Numbers is quite simply that — a list of numbers. It’s basically a […]
Take a beat, says God. It’s OK to be overwhelmed.
Talk to the rock, says God. The rock will give you water.
I once got lost in the desert with friends. Not a metaphorical desert, either. A group of us were out hiking in the desert about 30 minutes north of Eilat — near Kibbutz Ketura, where we were living — and we missed a trail marker. We found ourselves on a ledge, looking down at the […]
Have you ever tried to get a toddler to sit still during mealtime? I’ve heard that there are kids who sit at the table and eat what they’re given, but given my recent mealtime experiences, that sounds like fake news to me. I’ve mentioned in the past that our kiddo has opinions, and this extends […]
A few weeks ago, my cousins came to visit us from Boston. It was a joyous day — we hadn’t seen one another for ages due to COVID-19 regulations. We hugged, and caught up, and ate cherry pie. Also, they brought a birthday gift for our little one — magnetic tiles to build with. Our […]
My kid is a risk-taker. While there may have been some question about this (Does he understand what he’s doing? Did I make the boundaries clear?) it’s now undoubtedly true — this kiddo enjoys pushing the envelope. I shouldn’t be that surprised to discover this, I suppose. I wasn’t exactly a shy-and-blushing wallflower myself. I […]
In two weeks, my older sister will basically be my neighbor. Okay, that’s not exactly true — Jersey City is not next door to Brooklyn. Nevertheless, it’s a heck of a lot closer than Chicago, where she’s been living for the last while. And it’s a whole lot closer than Israel, where the rest of […]
Getting a toddler to do what you want them to do is an art form I’m still perfecting. Actually, I have serious doubts about whether I will ever get it right, but I aim to sometimes win one or two skirmishes a day. Like, maybe this time the teeth will get brushed without too much […]
When I first conceived of this column, I ran it by an editor friend who told me it was a bad idea. “Aren’t there a lot of weekly portions that won’t connect to parenthood?” she asked me, obviously skeptical about how long I could keep this thing going. I admitted that this was a concern, […]