Jewish Blogs

Having A Hanukkah Party? Make A Mini-Dreidel Bunting!

Make your Hanukkah gathering super cute with this Hanukkah mini-dreidel bunting! Generally used on a cake, mini buntings are popping up all over the place, so I really don’t know who was the originator of this adorable idea…..I made this one today to adorn my husband’s birthday cake, my first mini-bunting, and I’m sold!I’ve been using decorated skewers for cake ...

Have you ever done a Ta’anis Dibbur?

The other night, my facebook status read as follows: May actually do a Ta’anis Dibbur this year because shul for me is one long running commentary on how much this sucks. Of course, someone had to get offended and claim that I was just trying to piss people off – which I most definitely wasn’t. The status was more of a ...

Hasselback Potatoes Simply Elegant Party Fare

At long last I prepared hasselback potatoes, a simple and elegant way to serve baked potatoes that adds that certain special touch to any meal. Last Friday night I served these delicious potatoes together with a main course of Moroccan Yellow Chicken with carrots. I’m always looking for attractive and simple side dishes, and this is certainly one that’s going ...

Has Torah Helped You Find And Define Yourself?

Two posts this week focused on different aspects of finding yourself within Judaism?Has Torah helped you find yourself?Has Torah helped you define your roles?Do you think having the ability to choose your path within Judaism helped your self-definition process?Read More: @ beyondbt.comReaders found more information by searching for:the torah scroll (164)judaism scroll (54)open torah (18)torah definition (18)judaism torah scroll (14)picture of torah scroll (13)bar mitzvah scroll (12)pictures of ...

Harmonizing Torah and Science

If you are a Torah Jew contemplating a career in the sciences, there are three ideas to keep in mind. Truth is essential reality, not reality plus an agenda or will. A person who is tahor is genuinely human with nothing impure inside of him to impede his soul. This divine aspect is what differentiates us from the animal kingdom. The opposite ...

Happy Purim!

Purim isn’t the same since I left yeshiva, I worked all day today and I’m working tomorrow and pretty much every day for the next couple of weeks. So I give to you the lazy mans purim post.I wish you all a happy drunken purim, may you be zoche to get some, eat really good hamentashen or ganjatashen and drink ...

Happy Bloggiversary to Me

Everybody having a fine Pesach week? I always break out my Manischewitz shirt at work to let everyone know not to offer me donuts.Better Jews than I are Counting the Omer this month. Midianite Manna sewed up some absolutely gorgeous cloth counting calendars: You can put chocolate in the little pockets or an inspiration card for each day. I might ...

Happy Birthday Bob Dylan

Bob Dylan celebrated his 70th birthday yesterday. That number has great significance in Judaism. King David lived to be 70 and it is thought that 70 is the lifespan of man. This is the reason that a second bar mitzvah is observed at age 83 (70+13).Dylan, born Robert Zimmerman, is the only songwriter I know to have made reference to Akeidat ...

Happy Archetypal Hanukkah

Whose holiday is Hanukkah? In the mode of examination that we use in our book, “God’s Favorite Prayers,” we answered that it is the “priest’s” festival. The holiday prayer, “And for the miracles…” recounts a narrative of historical figures who serve as “avatars of the priestly archetype”. In fact, we explain there, “The Hanukkah narrative glorifies an actual priest, Mattathias, ...

Happy 101st Birthday to Ruth Gruber: Activist, Rescuer and Chronicler of her People’s Story

More than half a century after the August day in 1944 when Ruth Gruber coaxed reluctant refugees off the bus—told they would be taken to the showers, these concentration camp survivors refused to disembark—I stood on that very spot in upstate New York.In the silence I could feel the spirit of the 982 men, women, and children who had somehow escaped ...

Hanukkah Mad Libs

This Hanukkah enjoy the holiday with more than just latkes and dreidels. MyJewishLearning is hooking you up with a Hanukkah mad libs that you can play with your family. As with all mad libs, these work best when you go with the craziest words you can think of. Enjoy!The Miracle of HanukkahPlace _________Name __________Same name_________Holiday_________Noun ___________Verb _________Plural noun __________Read More: @ ...

Hanukkah Kid’s Craft: Toilet Paper Tube Party Favors!

Got some reluctant crafters in your home? How about enlisting them to paint the treat holders for Chanukah? I think if there are sweets involved, so they may just be motivated. And if you’re gonna give them sweets, so you might as well take advantage of the situation and help your kids build crafting confidence too!I’ve been wanting to tell ...