Mommy Morah

"There are images of dragons carved into the base." "The steps are attached!" "The branches are curved." Relief on the Arch of Titus in Rome My year eight Jewish History class was examining the details on the Menorah depicted on the Arch of Titus. After listing the various descriptions on the board, we turned to a posuk describing the original Menorah. I read the source aloud, "יוצאים מצידי-ה" I read the source aloud, then paused. "Hang on, what parsha is it this week?" "Terumah!" they chorused. Wow! Talk about timing... Rambam's Sketch of the Menorah The posuk we were referencing was in this week's Parsha!!  That was just too perfect. Hence, I have a wee little Dvar Torah to post here. What was the shape of the Menorah' branches? Huge debate. Rashi described the branches as protruding from the center of the Menorah at a diagonal. In his words, "לכאן ולכאן באלכסון". Rambam concurre...

Ever tried scooping the dregs of mayonnaise out of the jar? Never fun. Some useful techniques are spoons, spatulas or turning the jar upside down so gravity can work in your favor.  Mayonnaise - before and after Technique Two requires a bit more time, but saves dinner every day. Just grab the vinegar, olive oil and some spices and turn an "empty jar" into a gold mine! Dietitians hate it, men love it... it's the  mayonnaise-based dressing. Preparing a salad is part of my daily dinner preps, so having a dressing handy is a great bonus. I'll give you the official recipe that I follow, though I generally just pour 'till I'm bored. Turns out different (but yummy) each time. 1/2 cup mayonnaise  1/4 cup olive oil 1/4 tsp. lemon juice (vinegar is a good substitute) 2 Tb sugar (I usually skip) Freshly crushed or powdered garlic salt and pepper to taste Oregano or 2 Tb soy sauce* *This dressing is really a two-for-one. If you want Caesar Salad...

Australians use the word nappy  for diaper . When D was little I insisted on calling it diaper. Since he started creche (there's another word!) Australian words are slowly creeping into his speech, and mine by extension. At first I thought the word nappy was related to the word  napkin. You know, keeping clean and all. Then I noticed another new Aussie word: serviette (pronounced so-vee-eht) . Serviette is the British term for napkin, adopted from the original French. Sounds rather glamorous for a piece of disposable cloth, I would think. Formally, the napkin  is the term employed by the upper class, whilst serviette  was firmly lower or middle class. Funny, no? To my American ears serviette  sounds more pretentious than the plain  napkin.  I've heard people call it serviette'kah,  but that is just a yiddishism for the originally French word. Either way, serviettes, napkins and diapers all serve to keep my children clean and home tidy....

I am torn. Truthfully, I wish I was still torn. During the year, I spent lots of time out and about preparing for lessons / teaching / grading papers etc. I always felt like the time invested in school was being stolen from my children. So I constantly complained that I felt torn. I got excited watching the calendar near summer. Finally, I  would be able to focus on my kids, craft, drive toy cars around the house, cook nice meals, tidy my closets, laze around at home... Not quite. Instead, I am busy hopping from park to park when I'm not wasting time at the computer and scattering clutter across my home. I was starting to doubt my mothering. I finally have the time to spend with my kids, yet.... Then I read  this post  and I realized that I'm doing something right. Sure, I am out frequently and my toddler is in day care almost full-time (something I really dislike, but we'll leave that for another time...). Thing is, when he is home and awake I aim to be 10...

Daniel loves drawing. I am careful to compliment him on his scribbles, providing specific praise at every opportunity. It might sound funny to you  when I say "look at that line!" or "you drew 'round and 'round in circles!" but Daniel beams!  Once, I drew a car while he was hard at work with his sketches. He was impressed, and since then has insisted that I draw cars on most of his pictures.  He has grown rather fond of his name (as I would assume most people are).  I found myself labeling his drawings several times over. As I did, I was careful to say the name of each letter as I wrote it in order to increase his familiarity. Today I suggested that he give it a try. Have a look: Daniel's first "Daled" Mind you, that was his first attempt! Oh, the pride... Sure, he's seen it a number of times. Nonetheless, I am confident that the fact that daled [ד] is the letter that starts his name is what prompted him to get it right....

In the old days, kings ruled the world. The king was the be-all and end-all. Say something contrary to his views? Into the fiery furnace/lion's den/hangman's noose. As the centuries evolved, the people did too. Absolute Monarchy gave way to governments populated by numerous lawmakers, representing various segments of the population. Each citizen had a leader who represented their personal views. Each citizen, then, had a voice of sorts. As the grains of sand passed, so did communication. Once, the only way to keep posted on world-wide affairs was through the statements read at town squares. The king dictated laws etc. and the populace listened and accepted. The king's word was final. Later, printing presses provided a sorely-needed medium for reporters to spread ideas, news and information. No longer government sponsored, there was more freedom of press, many more viewpoints shared and hopefully greater accuracy. Now, more than ever before, we live in the "In...

"Stay focused, Mimies!" What? Did he really say that? I laughed to myself and grabbed a pen to jot down Daniel's latest line for future reference. What a riot! *** When my firstborn was an infant, he loved to eat. He would feed for a full hour until he fell asleep contented in a drunken stupor. His younger sister did not follow his lead. Sure, she liked to eat, but there were too many exciting things going on around her. Foremost amongst the distractions were her older brother's antics. She would turn towards him when she heard the pitter-patter of his little feet, breaking out into a huge grin each time. I was constantly after her to "stay focused!" Seems Daniel picked up the lingo! He continued using the term - usually within context - for several months following. *** Daniel really got me pondering my activities. He would warn me to "stay focused" while I was climbing a chair, reading a book, mixing cake batter, sitting at th...