Homeshuling

It’s better to give than to receive. But hard to remember.

Homeshuling — Thu, 01 Mar 2018 21:03:35 +0000

As a public school child in the 70’s, my Valentine’s Day often ended in tears. I remember digging into my optimistically large brown paper bag in first grade to find only three envelopes, even though my mother had insisted I fill out mass-produced cards for every child in my class.

“No one likes me!” I cried. “Why did I give so many cards?”

“Valentine’s day is ridiculous” my mother snapped, and handed me a foil wrapped chocolate.

As a happily married adult in...

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Teaching the Four Questions to young children

Homeshuling — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 11:36:03 +0000

One of the greatest privileges of being a kindergarten teacher in a Jewish day school is having the opportunity to teach children to recite the four questions. Unlike almost anything else I teach them about Jewish ritual, this is "real work." The candles will get blessed, kiddush will be recited, and birkat hamazon chanted with our without them. But children are needed for the Mah Nisthana. It's their gig, and they know it.

In our school, children have only a modest introduction to spoken...

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Guess what’s Kosher for Passover (this will change your life.)

Homeshuling — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 21:02:27 +0000

I'm not exaggerating.

The bane of my Passover existence has been pareve baking. I cook a lot more meat during the holiday than I do the rest of the year, which means a lot more pareve desserts. Which has, up until now, usually meant margarine made from disgusting ingredients such as cottonseed oil.

Last...

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Why I love the New American Haggadah (and it’s not just because I got to have a martini with Nathan Englander.)

Homeshuling — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 01:25:37 +0000

I'm not a haggadah junkie. I know many Jews whose shelves are overflowing with numerous versions of the Haggadah - from the traditional Maxwell House to the not-so-traditional Santa Cruz - and whose seders are an amalgam of commentaries, poems, and (alas) responsive readings, from these dog-eared, post- it covered books. Maybe it's because my family's seder is geared towards young children; maybe it's because I prefer discussion to recitation; or maybe because I think there's more than enough...

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Best Hamentashen Ever, even better. And, a Purim opera.

Homeshuling — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 00:13:38 +0000

This time of year, I'm always excited when I look at my google analytics and see that people have landed at my blog by searching for "hamentashen recipe". I love the idea of people all over the world making my great-grandmother's fabulous hamentashen, the same ones my mom made with me and that I make with my girls.

The recipe is undeniably awesome, but it can be a little persnickety. So I've re-posted it, improving the directions slightly to make the experience a little more fool-proof. (Not...

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Edible Purim baskets. And, introducing…the cookie fairies!

Homeshuling — Sun, 26 Feb 2012 13:16:28 +0000

My very favorite Jewish holiday tradition, bar non, is the mitzvah of mishloach manot - preparing and delivering gifts of homemade goodies to friends and neighbors on Purim day.

This is a mitzvah which embodies so much of why Judaism is meaningful to me and why I'm sharing it with my daughters. First of all, I love to prepare food for others. Because I'm married to a man who once told me he would rather "take a food-pill" than eat dinner, I don't get a lot of satisfaction from...

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What are your favorite Purim books?

Homeshuling — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 12:16:57 +0000

The Hebrew month of Adar begins next week, which means that Purim is only a few weeks away. (Which means that Passover cleaning begins in only.....oh, never mind.)

Over the next few weeks, I'll be writing about some of the ways our family celebrates this very, very kid-friendly holiday (and some of the ways we don't.)

Oh, and readers? There might just be a very special Purim related giveaway in your future. Stay tuned.

To help us all get in the holiday spirit, would you please share...

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Eshet Chayil – a woman of valor

Homeshuling — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 10:42:44 +0000

Last week I bought a beautiful bracelet on Etsy for my mother for her birthday, with the words Eshet Chayil spelled out in silver beads. It prompted me to finish a post I started a long time ago about this traditional shabbat song. My...

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Wordless Wednesday: Happy Tu B’shevat

Homeshuling — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 12:30:58 +0000

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Even More ideas for Tu B’shevat. Three, to be precise.

Homeshuling — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 14:00:09 +0000

Recognizing that it can be hard to find meaningful ways to celebrate trees in the middle (or, depending on the Groundhog's prediction, almost-the-end of) winter. Last year I posted 15 Other Things to Do for Tu B'shevat. I don't have 15 more, but I do have a few, just in time for the holiday, which starts on Tuesday night.

Do you remember learning "Read the full post here »

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