HOME & FAMILY

Short inspirational pieces by Rabbi Avrohom Schwartz, Kiryat Sefer, author of A Handful of Light, Hearts on Fire and other works on Mussar and Hashkofa

Perfectly Normal
by Bayla Gimmel

A neighbor gave my two-year-old granddaughter Faigy something very special. It is a doll stroller almost identical to the one at the gan that Faigy attends. I say almost identical because there is one tiny, but important, difference...

How to Safeguard Your Home and Protect Your Family in an Earthquake
by Shulamit Rachmanial

"And the Mount of Olives shall be cleft in the midst thereof, toward the east and toward the west; so that there shall be a very great valley; and half the mountain shall be moved toward the north and half of it toward the south. Yes, you shall flee, as you fled from before the earthquake as in the days of Uziah, King of Yehuda" Zecharya 14;4-8).

I Live Alone
by Tzvia Ehrlich-Klein

I live alone. It's actually probably irrelevant whether I live alone because I chose to remain single, or if I was never introduced to the right one to marry, or if I was divorced or widowed and everyone who once lived with me has since married and moved on.

Energy for Shabbos
by Ruth Fogelman

It's Friday morning. I've just finished davening and getting my daughter off to school. I'll take a look at my email and have a cup of coffee before I start my Shabbos preparations.

Erev Shabbos -- A Child's View
by Sue Shapiro, B.A. Psychology

Fridays are never long enough, it seems. But now that the days are beginning to get longer, it is a great opportunity to consider how those extra minutes can best be utilized. Before you get ambitious and add an extra dish to your menu plan, think about it. Twenty years from now, when your children remember Shabbos in your home, will they recall exactly how many kugels there were? Probably not.

The Siddur Party
by Gita Gordon

The exciting thing about being a Bubbie is that fun events come to you without the responsibility that is attached to them. So on Wednesday morning, a busful of first graders and their mothers and a few grandmothers were on their way to the Kosel to celebrate the fact that these young students had mastered reading sufficiently well to be presented with their own siddur. Everyone was remarking about the fact that I had traveled from Netanya to be there for the occasion.

Your Medical Questions Answered!
by Joseph B. Leibman, MD

Continuing to answer more questions from readers. We are asked about tap water: Is it safe to drink?

POET'S CORNER

Pulsating Sapphiree

by Ruth Fogelman

pulsating
sapphire,
through its
deep blueness,
prism of sea and sky,
rays of Divine Light radiate
throughout the prosaic world.
when I tell my story, a thin golden beam
of that Divine Ray gleams through it.
faithful to story uniquely mine,
I connect to the root of my soul,
and in my connection,
I reflect the light of the
pulsating
sapphire.

Newborn

by Rivka Glick

Newborn, the wonder of you!
The beauty!
The cuddly softness of silky hair and skin,
and baby breath and clean, sweet baby scents and sounds.
Newborn, the mint-newness of you!
Your perfection! Your defenseless trust, your unconcern!
Your purity! The Holy Shechina rests, shines, dances on your face.
Newborn, how you speak of Hashem's love for us.
the care He lavishes on every one,
on every eyelash, every fingernail...

Newborn, I would kiss your tiny hands, your feet,
I would cling to you --
not to protect you in your fragility,
but to absorb some of that perfection, trust, that holy purity.
I would gain strength, salvation, from remembering
that these were once my own --
and that (though sullied, blackened)
somewhere deep within me,
that essence yet remains.