five places i've been this week

it's been a long and busy week. i've been barely keeping up...and definitely not reading/writing/responding to comments. sorry! but i've been out and about a little...so here are five places i've been this week...and here's to a new week of far more sleep and therefore far more motivation!

Using Unsharp Mask

Wooden Car Mezuzot (I have one of these and I want another one for my new car)

60 Things this Very Funny Guy Likes About Israel...from 60bloggers

Postville...are you following this story?!

Can I make these? Actually, I just want to eat them. But making them leads to eating...go click. Trust me.

From my del.icio.us...where have you been this week?

And thus begins Numbers...

"In the wilderness"
that's how "bamidbar" translates
not really "Numbers"*

Our parsha opens
with a census of the folks
how many - each tribe.

Tribes were directed
in what order they should camp
and what part of town.

The rules for Levites
are delineated here
all the tasks for them.

*Numbers is the English name for the fourth book of the Torah, called Bamidbar in Hebrew. The word Numbers gives an excellent explanation of what is contained within the book...and so does Bamidbar. Taken together, the words give a very full picture of what is to come in the book!

Shabbat Shalom!
See more haikus here (even though it's a theme week, I stuck with my usual...)

I'm Having a Quickie too!

One person in my house likes to take looooooooonnnngggg showers.

Guess who.

It's not me.
It's not my husband.
It's not the little ones.
It's the 6 year old.

Yep, he likes to take long, steamy showers.

(Me, I can go from pre-shower to fully dressed for work in about 15 minutes!)

So when I saw that the Crunchy Domestic Goddess has a Quickie Shower Challenge, I knew this was the way to do it!

I told David all about my friend Amy, who lives in Colorado, and that she had a challenge for him. He was very excited, he even wanted to do it in under five minutes (which we did). And not only did David take a shower in about 2 1/2 minutes, he did it with his brother Sam!

Aren't you impressed that I showered two of my children in under 5 minutes?
They were really clean too.
Who knew that all it took was a timer challenge!? The allure of a challenge for a 6-year-old.

The only downside? Since Sam didn't quite get the idea of the "challenge" (2 years old is a little young to get it, right?), he was pretty upset at the abrupt end to his shower. We'll work on it.

Later in the evening, I even showed David Amy's blog and had him read the headline on the post. I introduced him to her children and we talked about all the ways that we can help the environment. He even told me that in his Kindergarten class they have cups with their name on them instead of throwing them out each day. I had no idea they were so environmentally-aware in his school.

I'm quite excited about this opportunity to cut down on our water usage.

According to Amy, "reducing the length of your shower by just one minute could save you up to 1,825 gallons of water each year." Wow! You can join the challenge too....

There are even cool shower timers available, although we used the kitchen timer. (Later, we timed toothbrushing too. I think I'm getting a bathroom timer.)

This is what is working for me this week!

P.S. The Kosher Cooking Carnival is up...take a peek!

Tuesday Torah: Flags of Memory

I drove by Wisconsin Memorial Park this weekend.
They had their annual Avenue of the Flags...for Memorial Day.


I had to stop and try to capture a few pictures.


We're not good at Memorial Day here in the U.S. It's not like in Israel. And maybe it should be.

That's my torah this week. What's yours....leave a link.

Camera-Lust, My Deer...

So my dad got a new camera.

I actually have a little taste now of how it must feel to use some of the really cool cameras that so many of you have. It's not an SLR but it is really really cool.

I got to play with it this weekend while we were there. Here are some of my favorite pics that I took using his really great new camera:




We spent a lot of nice time outside on Sunday, in my parents' backyard. Even though they live near a busy street and in a relatively noisy suburban area, there is a large deer population. Someone noticed a really cute little fawn curled up and resting in the "forest" area of the yard, which has been cut back recently. We all walked over to see him (her?) and quietly observe our own little Bambi.

When I brought Sam (age 2) over to see it, the conversation went like this:
Me: Sam, look at the deer.
Sam: Is not a deer, mom. Is a cow.
Me: No, honey, it's a deer.
Sam: No. Cow.
Me: Say "deer"
Sam: "Deer." But is a cow.
...walking away...
Me: I have to go get the camera, this is a blog!
Sam: No, Mommy, is a cow!

(My "Best Shot" for the week...)

See more Best Shots here.

Haveil Havalim is UP!

FrumeSarah did her thing and let me tell you, it's great.

Go check it out. So much to read, so little time!

five places i've been this week

Which companies are green?

Ruth Gruber's excellent op-ed remembrance of 1948

Electric Radiant Floor Heating for Basement....mmm....this sounds nice.

Cool Laptop Skins (i'm so getting one of these for my hubby for dad's day...now you all know and he doesn't because he doesn't read my blog!)

Snacktime! *our new favorite musical obsession*


from my del.icio.us - where have you been?

(I promise to return to some normal posts tomorrow:-)

Some Shabbat Reading for you...

In case you haven't seen it, Jewish Week just published their list of 36 people under 36 years old who are the innovators in Jewish life. Check it out, very interesting to see.

I wrote this post on my other blog about learning conformity at a young age. Go check it out and leave me a comment to let me know what you think.

After yesterday's post on Lag BaOmer, check out BZ's post on why he doesn't observe the day. (I mean, he counts from 32 to 33 to 34, but he doesn't observe it as a holiday.)

Naturemoms had this really interesting article on avoiding commercialism with kids. But the header graphic was the most arresting part of it all, I thought. What an image.

Do you get this e-zine in your inbox? If not, you should. It's got really interesting discussions and articles for Jewish women. This month's issue just came out. Go check it out.

Crunchy Domestic Goddess is tackling the issue of obstetric fistula. Go read her article and be properly outraged. Then do something.

As we embark upon this holiday weekend, Leora helped to remind me that Memorial Day has a deeper meaning than eating barbecue...

Have a great Shabbat. May rest and relaxation find their way into your life.

P.S. Haikus will return next week. I was just too tired this week. I'll go back and do Bechukotai another day...

13 Ways to Celebrate Lag BaOmer

We're in the period of the Omer. You may have noticed that counter over there <---- that my dad made for me. We count the days from Passover until Shavuot, from the Exodus to the Revelation. The period of the Omer is considered a time of semi-mourning, in which certain things are not done. Some people don't cut their hair or have parties or weddings.

But the 33rd day of the Omer, Lag BaOmer, is a little different. (and it starts tonight!)

Why "lag"? It comes from the gematria, or counting, for the day: "lamed", ל, (L, value 30) and "gimel", ג, (G, value 3), making up "Lag" (33) לג. You can learn more about the whole thing here.

The reasons for the significance of the day are a bit mixed. Is it the Yahrzeit of the death of Shimon bar Yochai? (or not?) Does it symbolize the success of Bar Kochba's revolt? Or did it all start with Rabbi Akiva? Who knows, maybe they're all right...or wrong...but either way...

Here are some fun activites to try on Lag BaOmer...

1. Learn to shoot a bow and arrow. (to recall Bar Kochba's revolt)

2. Go on a campout, like Robin.

3. Have a picnic.

4. Make a big ol' bonfire.

5. Study the Zohar.

6. Visit Meron.

7. Cut your child's hair. Jody, are you reading this?

8. Get a commemorative t-shirt.

9. Give tzedakah. It never hurts.

10. Get married. You can't get married any other day of the Omer, so this is your choice between Pesach and Shavuot.

11. Shave...if you're not shaving during the Omer. I hope to post pictures before and after of my brother. Since he hasn't shaved since Pesach. He actually looks pretty good with the beard, tho!

12. Make cookies shaped like the alef-bet. After all, Lag BaOmer is considered a "scholar's festival" and so we should celebrate reading. What other shapes could we make? Books, the Torah, pencils...

13. Blog about it, of course.

More Thursday Thirteen here.

Haveil Havalim WINNER

As promised, one lucky commenter on this week's Haveil Havalim post will win a signed CD by The Josh Nelson Project, the new release Lift.

And the winner (thanks to random.org) is commenter #12, Marci B!!!!!! (I'll be in touch.)

Here are your random numbers:

12 

Timestamp: 2008-05-22 04:00:27 UTC

Thanks for playing along.
Submit your posts for FrumeSarah's version of Haveil Havalim here.

Aren't they cute?

I'm not a gardener. Never have really grown or taken care of anything plant-like.

But somehow, I feel a yen to grow vegetables. (I'm still not taken with the idea of flowers, although they are pretty.) It seems a little like a requirement to start becoming greener...to eat some tomatoes that weren't grown halfway across the world.

I've started reading some gardening blogs. Just a few, mind you, I'm not going overboard here! And, thanks to eating lots of Stonyfield Farms yogurt (a whole other post...how much yogurt my kids eat), I now have a free subscription to Organic Gardening magazine.

So I decided to try "container" gardening. I bought a few big bins, put in some soil, and bought these cool plants that come in pots that don't have to be thrown away! That is the part that worked really well, by the way.

So here they are: three different kinds of tomatoes, oregano, basil, chili peppers, and some lettuce seeds.




Grow babies, grow!

So here are my questions, o wise Internet:

1. I used some organic potting soil mixture that had some composty-type things in it. When I flipped over the bags at home to cut them open, it said "not for containers." (Actually, it was after I had loaded almost all the dirt into the containers that I noticed this sign.) Why? Will it be a problem?

2. I bought a "tomato tower" because my dad assures me that they are going to get bigger. When do I put it in?

3. Besides water and sunlight, what else do I have to do? (For my halachically-minded readers, do the laws of first fruits apply to gardens, or only to gardens in Eretz Yisrael, or not to gardens at all? I've never paid a lot of attention to these laws, not being the growing-things-type.)

Hopefully this will all work for me!

Growing My Own...Tuesday Torah

It's amazing how people are impressed by something that you can grow on your own...

This was me, on Sunday morning (okay, the picture was taken Saturday night):

Thanks to some good genes, I have a lot of hair. And it's curly. And I like it...which is something of a change from high school and even college, when I hated it.

But, I digress.

Since I've arrived in Chicago, I have had 2 haircuts (the pulpit) of our synagogue. Each time, I did it with a group of kids and adults who were also donating 10 inches of their hair to Locks of Love.

This time, it was a little different, since we're out of our building.

There was still a group of kids and adults who were doing it with me. But it felt different, somehow, to be standing on the stage of Highland Park High School's auditorium, where we've been holding our Sunday School.

And yet, at that moment of the cut, the whole room felt holy to me.

(btw, my kippah says "ima" for you non-Hebrew readers out there)

Each time I say it's going to be my last haircut of that magnitude. But then I start to grow it...and it just feels so right. After all, how many of us can grow our own mitzvot? It seems almost a shame not to do it.

That's my Torah this week.
What's yours? (Leave your link in the comments)

P.S. Check out my newest crush.

Starting them young...BSM

My daughter does seem to have a bit of an obsession with my Starbucks cups. She always wants them! One day last week we were playing outside and, sadly, I ran out out coffee. Yael, on the other hand, was not sad at all...because she had a new and wonderful plaything: Mom's cup.








I have often wondered about the effects of marketing on our kids. My husband remarked the other day that our now 6-year-old believed that Target and Toys R Us were "toy museums" where he could look but not take things home...until he was about 4 years old (unfortunately, he now knows exactly how shopping works!). My 2-year-old, on the other hand, already understands completely that Target is a magical place from which toys often come. I'm sure in some ways this is due to having an older sibling who is making him wise to the ways of the world!
Would she care if it weren't a Starbucks cup? What if it were a cup from the gas station, or from some fast-food joint? I haven't explored this with her, and I'm not sure I'm ready for the experiment! All I know is this...if I have it, she wants it.

(I could post another series of all of my kids holding my cell phone. I'm sure all of you could do the same.)

Maybe it's less about marketing and more about "being like the big people." Which is something that I know I need to remember all the time. Not only are my children little sponges, they are also little mirrors. Sometimes it's cute. But sometimes... darn it if I don't always like what I see! I know that if I start with myself, I will improve them too.

For the moment, I guess it's not so bad if she's interested in drinking coffee.

Right?

See more pictures and musings here.

Haveil Havailm #166: The MommyBlogger Edition

Welcome to Haveil Havalim #166, the MommyBlogger Edition.

Thanks to FrumeSarah (I'm sure it's her fault) and Jack (for jumping on my innocent little comment!), I agreed to play hostess to the Haveil Havalim Jewish Blog Carnival.

Read more about it:
Founded by Soccer Dad, Haveil Havalim is a carnival of Jewish blogs -- a weekly collection of Jewish & Israeli blog highlights, tidbits and points of interest collected from blogs all around the world. It's hosted by different bloggers each week and coordinated by Jack. The term 'Haveil Havalim,' which means "Vanity of Vanities," is from Qoheleth, (Ecclesiastes) which was written by King Solomon. King Solomon built the Holy Temple in Jerusalem and later on got all bogged down in materialism and other 'excesses' and realized that it was nothing but 'hevel,' or in English, 'vanity.'

I must admit that it was fun putting it all together, albeit a little nerve-wracking to get it all done around Shabbat and the the last day of Religious School today!

Please please please publicize HH on your own blog and share the news about it!

So without further ado, here goes...

Jewish Life & Times...aka Sammy's Picks


ProfK asks some serious questions about the role of parents vs schools. Are Jewish charter schools the answer? Daled Amos explores this idea.

Jewish Sandwich wrote Losing our Religion, reminding us to be respectful of both Ashkenazi and Sephardi customs.

Strong Jewish Women presents Mirror, Mirror, on the Tabernacle......, an interesting take on the gifts of the Israelite women.

Schvach shares a potentially-davenning Jewish pigeon.

Velveteen Rabbi offers a poetic rendering of Parashat Behar. So do I, with my weekly parasha haiku. The Rebbetzin's Husband gives an excellent drash about heroes, shmitah, and the Nazir.

Did you know that observing one-day Yom Tov can actually be more stringent than two-days? Read BZ's post for much more.

Can we be unaffected by traumatic events? A Simple Jew poses the question.

Life-of-Rubin compares Crown Heights to Israel, for the good and for the bad.

In and On Israel...aka Yael's Picks


We turn our prayers to those injured in the attack on Ashkelon this week and ask...what now? George Bush was in Israel this week, and he had this to say, as analyzed by Yid with Lid.

60Bloggers has played host to some great posts this week. Jameel give us Israel's Youngest Fallen Soldier, Rabbi Daniel Brenner (fellow Badger!) gave us Eretz Yisrael, Gila Weiss chipped in with ?האם תרצו, Leah Jones gave us Postcards to Israel, Leah Koenig was Eating My Way Through Israel. If you haven't been reading 60bloggers, go check it out from start to finish. It's such an interesting conglomeration of various Jewish writers and bloggers from all parts of the Jewish world.

Jameel breaks the gag-order on the Olmert scandal here and gives an examination of The Laundry Man that adds another layer to the news. Batya looks at the NY Post on the same subject.

Batya shared a bit of politics along with the winner of the World Bible Contest as well as thoughts about a Muslim's words.

Think the Israel conversion issue doesn't affect you? Read this from On the Fringe's Shira Salamone. A Rebbetzin's Husband offers an English transcript of the court rulings.

Dr Savta wrote birthday wishes for Israel (so young!).

Ilana-Davita gave us a description of Yom Ha'atzmaut in France....

Me-ander shows us the newest Israel coin - the shnekel!

A fighting spirit is what it takes, says British Yosef.

Eric dissects an article on Israel from the LA Times. He is awaiting their response.

Post-Yom Haatzmaut Thoughts from Dan at Tzipyah remind us criticism is just as much a part of our celebration as the celebration itself.

Soccer Dad investigates the propagandizing of the term Nakba. Yid with Lid discusses the myth of the term Palestinian, and he attended the UN Nakba Rally and shared his thoughts.

For Toby at A Time of the Signs, strangely translated packaging abounds!

Robin invites us to know hope.

Treppenwitz, whose son Yonah had his tonsils out this week, live-blogged and got a chuckle out of the experience. Glad he's home and doing well!

FrumeSarah brings a musical twinge to her musings on Israel.

Israel is getting on the anti-plastic-bag bandwagon, says the Green Prophet.

Yisrael wonders whose hat is burning now, which mikveh he's really in, and what George Bush is doing with that pushke.

JC@Simply Jews tries to explain some Israeli logic. Is it logical? You decide!

Work-related thoughts from Israel definitely offer a giggle from Benji Lovitt. I'm hooked!

More Interesting Posts...Jewish Culture and the Like...aka David's Picks


Jewish bloggers are lurking everywhere, Schvach thinks. Are we?

Robert Avrech examines the story of a Jewish kid who made it big in Hollywood...not the one you're thinking of, I'm sure.

Miriam takes a personal approach to defending human rights.

Did you know that we have our own Wikipedia entry? I didn't!

The growth and change of our life dreams was the topic for Tuesday Torah by FrumeSarah.

Marci participated in a Rabbis for Human Rights gathering and posted about it.

Jena@BullseyeBaby (subject of this wonderful interview here, btw) writes about the power of seeing the sun.

In case you missed it, The Jew and the Carrot shared this story about Masbia, a soup kitchen serving steaks.

Leora does some beautiful artwork and she shared it with her daughter's kindergarten class.

What can we trust in our children to learn? A Mother in Israel explores this question.

A bonus if you read this far: One lucky commenter on this week's Haveil Havalim post will win a signed CD by The Josh Nelson Project, the new release Lift. His music is really wonderful. Make sure you leave me an email address to get in touch with you. In honor of my hostess-ing, I'll even ship it to Israel or wherever you're from! (Comments will close on Wednesday at 10am Central Time and winner notified shortly afterwards)

From Josh's song L'dor VaDor...
We are words and we are stories, we are pictures of the past
We are carriers of wisdom, not the first and not the last...

May we all be carriers of wisdom...

Please send your posts for the next edition of the Haveil Havalim Blog Carnival via the Blog Carnival Submission Form. If you're interested in hosting or receiving more information about the carnival, please contact Jack at talktojacknow-at-sbcglobal-dot-net

We now return to our regularly scheduled programming...

Parashat Behar...Gimme a Break!

This week's Torah portion is Behar, from the book of Leviticus.

Sabbatical Year
comes after six years of work!
Year Seven: land rests.

The fiftieth year
is the most special of all
the Jubilee Year!

Everyone goes home,
the land reverts back to each
of its ancestors.

The land is all God's,
we are really just settlers,
using it for now.

(There's some more on reversion of land, debts, debt servitude, etc. But I have a lot to do before Shabbat!)

Shabbat Shalom!

See more Haiku Friday here.

Bloggers Unite for Human Rights...

Today is a day for bloggers to come together and stand on one issue, this time it's human rights.

What can I possibly say about human rights? It's overwhelming and unbelievable to me that while I sit comfortably on my couch, there are people around the world suffering from unbelievable abuse.

In Darfur.

In Myanmar.

Even in our own backyard.

Around the world, there is violence against women, violence against children, terror in the streets.

What can we do?

We can sign a petition.

We can vote.

We can make phone calls and write letters.

We can put bumper stickers on our cars. (We can drive our cars less!)

We can travel and help and support.

And we must do all these things.

Because we can't stand idly by.

The world can't wait.

See more posts here.
Are you blogging about human rights today?
Leave me your link and I'll update this post to include you.

MomGrind has something to say about homelessness.

Read Marci's post about Rabbis for Human Rights.

Deb, Momof3Girls, has this great Thursday 13.

Amy, the Crunchy Domestic Goddess, is rounding up all the posts (and she promises her own later)

Miriam wrote about her own personal and close-to-home fight for rights.

Tuesday Torah: It's *always* Mother's Day!

Mother's Day has come and gone.

And while I appreciate the gesture, I really feel that we have the obligation to honor our moms (and dads too) all the time, every day.

And while I know how much of a break most moms need, why do they only get it one day of the year, and why do we celebrate motherhood by spending time away from the kids?

And yes, we all have a mom. And yes, we all made someone a mom. So it seems like a rather benign holiday, right? Until things like this. Why is there some insistent need of the media to classify parents in certain ways? Why can't they accept families as they are and want to be, why do we need to create a hierarchy of mom-ness? I am really horrified by this crazy story, horrified that someone approved this project, that someone could really be so ridiculously out of touch with the ways that families are created. ("Adopting mom"? "chairman of everything mom"? Who are these people!?)

One of the problems with mom-land is the "competition"...you know: "my kid is reading at a third grade level..." "well, little Johnny has already completed his black belt..." etc... Perhaps it's one of the things I love and appreciate about the blogosphere -- we are not afraid (most of us) to post our kids successes and failures, we are not afraid to talk about our own successes and failures.

Being "supermom" isn't necessary out here. We can just be ourselves.

And you know what? We are enough.

What's your Torah this week?

How to be a 2-year-old (BSM)

To be a proper 2-year-old, you must have an opinion about everything.

Most especially, about the clothing you wear and the accessories that you add into your outfit.


(oh, and everything is "mine"...)

The joys of parenting:-)

See more great shots here!

P.S. Haveil Havalim #165 is up here (this is the Jewish and Israeli blog carnival) and, as usual, it's great! Next week, I'm the host so stay tuned!

five places i've been this week

Haveil Havalim -- the Jewish blog carnival. I'm the host this week! Submit your post at this link...or email me directly phyl613 at yahoo.com!

Israel's youngest fallen soldier

First and Last Frost Dates...I'm planning to grow me some tomatoes.

Toilet Paper Roll craft ideas - something to do with 'em!

Molly's Kindergarten Journal ...feeling inadequate but also inspired!

from my del.icio.us ...where have you been this week?

flying monkeys?

What's next?

After all, I'm a mom of 3 - and I'm at my 3rd movie in 8 days....<Strong>with my husband and no kids</strong>!!!!

Shocking, I know! So what's next? Cheap gas????

Wow.

PS I'm hosting Havel Heveilim Jewish blog carnival next week....see the sidebar over there on the right....join the fun!

Great Shabbat Opportunity!

Celebrate Shabbat by helping others...leave non-perishable food items by your mailbox tomorrow and your mail carrier will take them for the nation's largest one-day food drive ever!

Read more here: http://www.helpstampouthunger.com/

The Torah is Full of Rules...

In this week's parasha....

There are rules for priests
Don't touch any dead bodies
except your family.

Do not shave your head
or the sidelocks of your beards.
Do not gash your flesh.

Priests have lots of rules
Do not marry a harlot
or a divorcee.

Priests have to be pure
They can't share the sacrifice
with any lay-folks.

Holidays happen:
Shabbat, Pesach, Shavuot
Yom Kippur, Sukkot,

Rosh Hashanah too.
These holidays are holy,
each one on its date.

Light the lights a lot
every day in the Mishkan
an "eternal light."

There was once a man
and he was a blasphemer.
He was stoned by all.

Kill a man - you die.
If you kill a beast - you pay.
The laws are so clear.

Shabbat Shalom!

See more haikus here...

13 Things I Love About Israel

(13 of the 13 bazillion...)

1. Felafel with cheeps and charif and pickles. Mmmmmm....

2. Walking on Ben Yehuda on Motzei Shabbat.

3. Watching kids play in parks that are full of ancient artifacts.

4. The whale sculpture in Old Jaffa.

5. Seeing Israeli kids riding the busses, hanging out, running around, just being kids and speaking Hebrew!

6. Spotting the blue paint in Tsfat.

7. Bumper stickers!!!!

8. The grottos of Rosh Hanikra, especially when the water levels are really high....

9. Watching the faces of first-timers when they really do float in the Dead Sea.

10. Reading Rachel's poems at her graveside.

11. Knowing that the young men and women carrying those big guns are Jewish kids ready to defend their homes and families.

12. Feeling Shabbat as it comes into Jerusalem...the frenzy of activity followed by the lovely calm. (And the shuk - rugelach and tomatoes and hummus and pita and spices and oranges and.....)

13. Feeling like I'm coming home.

Happy 60th Birthday, Israel!

(Read more about my recent Israel trips here and here)

See more Thursday Thirteen here.

Plus, read my 60bloggers post about Israel here.

What doesn't work...

...believing that the tie-dye shirts from the store that say they are color-safe really are.

Even after a few washes.

'Nuff said.

What doesn't work for other folks? Check it out here.

-----
Every spring Jewish Women International's Mother’s Day Flower Project sends beautiful bouquets of flowers to 150 battered women’s shelters across the U.S. in time for Mother’s Day, while it raises funds for programs that help victims of domestic violence throughout the year.

What a fabulous way to honor your mom or any other woman in your life. Click here to make your gift! You can't get an actual card delivered in time for Mother's Day anymore but you definitely can get an e-card...so if you're still deliberating, try this out...I know it will make a difference to your mom and to other moms too.

Disappointed...

I know, I know, I'm not supposed to say things like this. (Which is, I suppose, a different post)

But I was really disappointed with the Walk With Israel on Sunday.

Granted, we missed the "rally" at the beginning. But that was because it took 20 minutes to park the bus and another 20 or so to get through security.

There wasn't really anyone along the walk route to tell us where to turn for the "family walk"...the only person who was really noticeable as a staffer was asking for tzedakah. Each participant signed a JUF pledge card before they came...and you're asking for spare change?

The news coverage was almost nil.

Someone told me that there were 12,000 people there. I didn't really get that impression. But maybe it's true...

Either way, I think that the "Walk with Israel" has lost its purpose, its steam. A nice stroll along the lake wearing a t-shirt with an Israeli flag is nice but doesn't really create connections with Israel.

I think it's time to do something big, to ask people to commit. Why not a 25 mile walk? Or a 60 mile bike ride? (I might not be physically up for it, but we could train right?) Or a big carnival/festival instead of a not-very-purposeful-or-worthwhile-walk...

Maybe American Jews aren't connecting with Israel because we're not making it real enough for them.

What are we going to do!?

That's my torah today. A bit muddled but still frustrated.

What's yours?

The Love of Zeyde....

My dad (who wrote that great Omer counter over there, by the way, isn't it cool?) is known in our home as Zeyde, the Yiddish word for Grandfather. (It's pronounced in a few ways, zay-dah or zay-dee, we use the latter.)

He likes to come and visit us on Tuesdays, my day off, and hang out with me and with his grandkids. Often, it's just Yael and I to entertain him...and he doesn't seem to mind this special time with his youngest grandchild!

Here he is hanging with my girl last Tuesday...(he also brings me Starbucks, isn't that nice of him?)

Hmmm....can I get this on my hand?
Ta-da! I can!

See what other pictures people think are great this week.


-----
Tulips and brunch are tried and true… but this Mother’s Day, surprise mom with a gesture that shows you care about all women:

Every spring Jewish Women International's Mother’s Day Flower Project sends beautiful bouquets of flowers to 150 battered women’s shelters across the U.S. in time for Mother’s Day, while it raises funds for programs that help victims of domestic violence throughout the year.

What a fabulous way to honor your mom or any other woman in your life. Click here to make your gift! Do it TODAY to guarantee on-time delivery of your cards...

Haveil Havalim is up!

Haveil Havalim is up over at Simply Jews...check it out. It includes this post of mine.

Founded by Soccer Dad, Haveil Havalim is a carnival of Jewish blogs -- a weekly collection of Jewish & Israeli blog highlights, tidbits and points of interest collected from blogs all around the world. It's hosted by different bloggers each week and coordinated by Jack. The term 'Haveil Havalim,' which means "Vanity of Vanities," is from Qoheleth, (Ecclesiastes) which was written by King Solomon. King Solomon built the Holy Temple in Jerusalem and later on got all bogged down in materialism and other 'excesses' and realized that it was nothing but 'hevel,' or in English, 'vanity.'

Please send your posts for the next edition of the Haveil Havalim Blog Carnival via the Blog Carnival Submission Form. I found [me too!] this to be very helpful in organizing your posts this week. If you're interested in hosting or receiving more information about the carnival, please contact Jack at talktojacknow-at-sbcglobal-dot-net.

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Tulips and brunch are tried and true… but this Mother’s Day, surprise mom with a gesture that shows you care about all women:

Every spring Jewish Women International's Mother’s Day Flower Project sends beautiful bouquets of flowers to 150 battered women’s shelters across the U.S. in time for Mother’s Day, while it raises funds for programs that help victims of domestic violence throughout the year.

What a fabulous way to honor your mom or any other woman in your life. Click here to make your gift! Do it before Monday for Mother's Day delivery of your card.

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Five Places I've Been This Week

Sweet Ribbon Valance -- for Yael's room?

How many of me?

Mama Focus Photo Contest

Harry Potter is Jewish?

How to make a coil bowl

from my del.icio.us - where have you been?

It's a Holiday....

May the FOURTH be with you always!

...bwa-ha-ha-ha...

yes, that is me laughing at this joke every year!

...ha ha ha ha....!

pass it on...

You Shall Be Holy...

"The Holiness Code"
is what we call this portion.
"You shall be holy."

We are told to be
as holy as we can be
because God's holy.

Here are some methods
and rules for being holy...
God gives us a list:

Revere your parents,
observe Shabbat and keep it.
Don't bow to idols.

Don't harvest your fields
all the way to the edges -
leave it for the poor.

Don't steal or lie or
swear falsely or cheat others.
Pay workers on time.

Don't insult the deaf,
don't impede a blind person.
Judge everyone fair.

The most famous one:
Love your neighbor as yourself
and observe God's laws.

Don't mix up your cloths,
or cut the side-locks of beards.
Do not turn to ghosts.

Rise before the old
and show deference to them.
Treat strangers nicely.

Don't lie about weights
and measures in your business.
Ani Adonai.*

Don't sacrifice your
children to the god Molech --
you will be punished.

Don't insult your mom
or commit adultery
or consult spirits.

Ani Adonai.
If we do as God says to,
we will be holy.

God says: "I set you
apart from the other folks."
Ani Adonai.

Shabbat Shalom!

See more Haiku writers here.

*I am the Lord.

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Tulips and brunch are tried and true… but this Mother’s Day, surprise mom with a gesture that shows you care about all women:

Every spring Jewish Women International's Mother’s Day Flower Project sends beautiful bouquets of flowers to 150 battered women’s shelters across the U.S. in time for Mother’s Day, while it raises funds for programs that help victims of domestic violence throughout the year.

What a fabulous way to honor your mom or any other woman in your life. Click here to make your gift! Do it before Monday for Mother's Day delivery of your card.