I am supposed to teach four classes on a Monday but twoo weeks ago I got a notice from the school administration informing me that my sophomore classes would be canceled today due to a double period of health education. My students were scheduled to be warned about he dangers of drinking and driving. This [...]
Entries from March 2008
March 30, 2008
Pre-Pesach (and all Year-round) Tips
In response to a comment by a fellow blogger concerning her aversion to all the pre-Pesach work, I have decided to share some advice I have found useful over the years when gearing up for Pesach.
- Getting a house ready for Pesach is no easy matter, nor is it much fun, so start well in [...]
March 27, 2008
Hasidism: More Questions than Answers
After the wedding I attended two weeks ago, and because I was so amazed at the welcome we got there, I proceeded to buy a used copy of Boychiks in the Hood, by Robert Eisenberg, in order to broaden my knowledge and understanding of the Hasidic community. It arrived last week and I am currently [...]
March 25, 2008
Pre-pesach Period
Last year, on a different blog, I wrote two posts about Pesach. They mentioned the preparation involved as well as the books I was going to read or was in the process of reading at the time.
Now with Pesach only four weeks away, I am beginning to get ready again for this beautiful festival. As [...]
March 24, 2008
Teaching about the Holocaust
As a European Jew, I feel that teaching about the Holocaust is a duty I owe to those who were killed in the camps and to the human race as a whole. I suppose it is a very Jewish reaction, feeling responsible for klal israel (the community of Israel) as well as for other [...]
March 23, 2008
A Few Thoughts about Tibet
Because of the currentt repression in Tibet by the Chinese government, the world seems to discover what has been going on there since the 1950s. As a result numerous journalists and politicians in Europe seem to wonder whether the Beijing Olympics shoud be boycotted. Obviously it is much too late to ask such a question. [...]
March 20, 2008
Ta’anit Ester, Cooking and Consulting
The exchange students and their teachers went yesterday. We had to wake up early as the coach was due to leave at 5.15 am. So getting out of bed before dawn again today to eat before the fast was not easy, to say the least.
I had prepared breakfast last night. Whenever the fast is a [...]
March 16, 2008
Dealing with Difficult Teenagers
This has been a hectic day. It all began last night just after Shabbes after our Swedish guests had arrived for a friendly and relaxing meal.
We host one of the three Swedish teachers and as we had already started eating her cell phone rang. One of her students was on the phone complaining that her [...]
March 12, 2008
A Big Thank You
The wedding is over. The ceremony took place yesterday and as the exchange with our Swedish partners starts in less than an hour, I have very little time to write about it.. Yet I want to say a big thank you to the kallah’s community for their great welcome.
I am not sure why I had [...]
March 9, 2008
Speechless
The rash kiling of 8 young yeshiva students in Jerusalem three days ago has left me speechless as I try to come to terms with the numerous feelings (some quite upsetting) that beset me.
It worries me that a lot of people an equate this murder with the IDF’s retaliation in Gaza, eventhough I think it [...]
