Sixty years ago, on Rosh Hashanah, my father taught me a lesson about giving. Thirty years later, I learned another valuable lesson about giving. Both apply to Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur – the Days of Awe – when we examine what we have given and taken in our own lives. [Michael Ginsberg]
Lessons Learned about Tzedakah and Chesed Read More »
Lifestyles, Michael Ginsberg
Many phrases are abbreviated and used in all spheres of Israeli life. Two random examples: drishat shalom, or sending regards, has been renamed “dosh,” and Namal Teufah Ben Gurion, or Ben Gurion Airport, is known as “Notbog.” [Gedaliah Borvick]
Israel ACOA (A Country of Acronyms) Read More »
Lifestyles, Middle East, Travel and Food
A scientific explanation for those battles over the air conditioning remote control: Researchers at Tel Aviv University’s School of Zoology offer a new evolutionary explanation for the familiar scenario in which women bring a sweater into work, while their male counterparts feel comfortable wearing short sleeves in an air-conditioned office. The researchers concluded that this phenomenon is not unique to humans, with many male species of endotherms (birds and mammals) preferring a cooler temperature than the females. [Tel Aviv Unversity News Release]
Israeli Biologists: Males, Females Experience Temperatures Differently Read More »
Lifestyles, Middle East, Science, Medicine, & Education
I practice telescope parenting. When my kids were younger, I loved watching them run around in public and got great amusement observing their antics. I let them pick the agenda on the outing, interact with whomever they fancied and climb or explore at will. This worked great on hikes, at the beach, visiting museums or shopping malls, where they could safely wander and express themselves. It was always interesting to see who was charmed by their personalities, who would initiate conversation and who would look around for the irresponsible guardian who set the kids loose. [Sam Glaser]
‘Telescope Parenting’ Means Watching Your Kids from a Safe Distance Read More »
Lifestyles, Sam Glaser
The first time my parents took me on a trip with them I was eight years old and living in Chicago. We were going to Mexico, where I would see, hear, and feel the ocean for the first time (for those that know me, the ocean is one of my favorite temporal experiences in life). But my first memory of this trip — and every trip, henceforth — was sitting before we left. [Danielle Levsky]
Blessings and Borscht: Superstitions of My Ancestry Read More »
International, Lifestyles
Do you want to think big? Focus on what Mahmoud Abbas said in a recorded speech delivered to the United Nations in New York. If Israel doesn’t withdraw completely from the West Bank and East Jerusalem (he also said Gaza, but Israel has already withdrawn from there) within a year, Palestine will charge Israel with heinous crimes before the International Criminal Court. Meanwhile, he’s volunteering to negotiate final borders. The 1967 lines, wherever they are, figure in his threat. [Ira Sharkansky, Ph.D]
Big and Small Controversies in Israel Read More »
International, Ira Sharkansky, Lifestyles, Middle East
In our society, we are often afraid to speak honestly and directly. We don’t want to upset, offend, or step on someone’s toes. We fear being seen as aggressive, pushy, opinionated, demanding, or critical so intensely that we often pussyfoot around and avoid what really needs to be said. And while I applaud our new-found sensitivity to other people’s feelings, effective communication is often needlessly sacrificed. [Natasha Josefowitz, ACSW, Ph.D]
Taking the Risk of Expressing Our Opinions Read More »
Lifestyles, Natasha Josefowitz
Rep. Sara Jacobs, the second youngest woman in Congress at 32, told CNN is an interview published Saturday that she is freezing her eggs this week to concentrate for now on her political career. [Chris Jennewein, Times of San Diego]
Congresswoman Jacobs Freezes Her Eggs to Have a Family Later Read More »
Chris Jennewein, Lifestyles, USA
Erez Raz, who studied Landscape Architecture at the Technion, has assembled some of the projects he has worked on in recent years, presenting them in an exhibition displaying his varied talents and original approach to combining interior and exterior spaces in public life. The projects presented depict his approach to different stages of urban life, ranging from childhood play through adolescence and sport to adult activities such as shopping and driving. [Dorothea Shefer-Vanson]
Integrating Leisure and Pleasure Into Architectural Projects Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Lifestyles, Middle East, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts
This memoir more appropriately might have been titled “The Life of Riley,” except for the fact that title was immortalized in the 1940s and 1950s by radio and television actor William Bendix, who portrayed aircraft worker Chester A. Riley on both media. “Riley” in the instance of this book, is a black Flat-Coated Retriever, who remained very much a puppy even well into adulthood. The Beckerman family–which included the author’s husband Joel, son Josh, and daughter Emily — also owned various goldfish, many of whom they collectively named “Larry” (even those who occupied the fish bowl at the same time); a chinchilla; and a bearded dragon (lizard), but Riley was the star and most beloved of all these pets. [Donald H. Harrison]
Memoir of a Happy, Chaotic Life of a Pet Owner Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Lifestyles, The World We Share, Trivia, Humor & SatireIn any communication between two people, each one evaluates, accepts, rejects, classifies, or assimilates what the other is saying. We all have a tendency to hear what pleases us, or what we think the other will say, preoccupied as we are by our own response—we often don’t really listen. One of the pleasures of conversation is to talk about oneself, each believing that the other is fascinated by the tale. We love an audience. [Natasha Josefowitz, ACSW, Ph.D]
How to Help a Friend Work through Issues Read More »
Lifestyles, Natasha Josefowitz
The Jewish Welfare Board was created on April 9, 1917, three days after the U.S. declared war on Germany. It wanted to provide services to Jewish troops similar to what Catholic servicemen received from the Knights of Columbus and Protestants from the YMCA. In 1919, after the war was over, the JWB printed tens of thousands of these reassuring cards depicting a grinning doughboy and distributed them to servicemen to send to family and friends. [Oliver B. Pollak, Ph.D]
Pandemic Postcard Messages, 1918-1920 Read More »
Jewish History, Lifestyles, Oliver Pollak, Science, Medicine, & Education, USA
John and Anne Paulk were the public faces of the “ex-gay” movement. Married with children, they did the talk-show circuit (Oprah, Springer, 60 Minutes) asserting that Divine Intervention had “delivered” them from their “sexually deviant lifestyles.” [Eric George Tauber]
‘Pray Away’ Reveals Religious Fraud Read More »
Eric George Tauber, Lifestyles, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA
In the August 15, 2021 edition of Israel’s good news, the highlights include:
–Huge positive results from Israel’s mass anti-Covid vaccination boosters.
–An Israeli startup can predict and prevent allergies in babies.
–Israelis are helping Greece fight its devastating forest fires.
–A new Israeli low-cost drip-irrigation system is a game-changer.
–Two endangered species have found safe harbor in Israeli waters. [Michael Ordman]
Good News from Israel (August 15, 2021) Read More »
Business & Finance, International, Jewish History, Lifestyles, Michael Ordman, Middle East, Science, Medicine, & Education, Sports & Competitions, The World We Share, Travel and Food, USA