This entry is in response to all my friends who have asked me why I haven't written a blog post recently.
Contrary to everyone else's view, I believe that you should only write a blog post if you have something interesting to say. Yes, there are some people that have something remarkable to write about everyday. But the majority of blog posts I read are just worthless musings from unremarkable people.
So what have I got to say that is worthy of being published?
Social media is all about being sociable. It's about chatting, sharing, making people laugh, being outrageous and making yourself into a "personality". But there are some great people in the world that are naturally quiet and serious. The "non-personalities"probably outnumber the so-called "personalities".
My shocking observation is that these "non-personalities" will NEVER be into social media. I am backing this up by my own research on a sample of one - ME!
Yes, for about 3 months I felt very unsociable. Let's call it depressed. During that period of time I couldn't bring myself to write one Facebook update, send out one Tweet or even search YouTube. I was out of the loop of social media and just into unsocial media; reading and contemplation.
So YES, I believe you have to be sociable to be into social media.
Does anyone agree with me? Let's see some real academic research on this subject.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Monday, October 05, 2009
When you reach rock-bottom, laugh or start a facebook group
When you reach rock-bottom, what do you do?
1. Turn to G-d
2. Speak to a Rabbi
3. Cry to your best friend
4. Drink a bottle of brandy
5. Buy a bar of the most expensive chocolate in the world
OK, tried all of that and only reached +0.009% on the happiness scale.
How about writing a blog? Mmm, wrote one version and deleted it.
What am I left with?
The best therapies in the world - laughter and facebook. What about combining both of them?
So here it is, a funny facebook group:
"Jewish Women Like to Laugh"
Ladies, join my group and make me laugh. I need it.
Join: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=167146111536
1. Turn to G-d
2. Speak to a Rabbi
3. Cry to your best friend
4. Drink a bottle of brandy
5. Buy a bar of the most expensive chocolate in the world
OK, tried all of that and only reached +0.009% on the happiness scale.
How about writing a blog? Mmm, wrote one version and deleted it.
What am I left with?
The best therapies in the world - laughter and facebook. What about combining both of them?
So here it is, a funny facebook group:
"Jewish Women Like to Laugh"
Ladies, join my group and make me laugh. I need it.
Join: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=167146111536
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Is the Torah a thinking universe?
Anonymous Questions: I pose my queries to the universe. Peace upon you.
Answers: by Rabbi Moshe Yossef BA (Hons), Jerusalem 97492
Question: Do you believe that the "UNI' has it's own conscious energy? Science has yet to understand this.
Answer: According to Hassidism, as espoused by the holy Ba'al Shem Tov, every entity in the universe, indeed all matter, including inanimate matter, possesses inherent spiritual energy, without which it would cease to exist. This school of thought is a branch of Jewish mysticism.
Question:I don't know what theTorah sez about a thinking universe. Do you have an opinion?
Answer: According to Midrashic sources of the Torah every entity in the universe, including inanimate matter, has a type of spirit associated with, and representing it. Whilst I accept everything the Torah states unquestioningly, I have not yet delved in any depth in the spheres of mysticism. This being the case, I can only attempt to answer questions of this type on a basic level.
Question: Most people don't consider the skin as an organ?
Answer: I suppose that would depend on your definition of what constitutes an organ. In relation to the issues discussed above, it would appear to be true to say that the skin possesses its own intrinsic spiritual energy. As long as it is part of a whole, living body, I think probably it would share the same spirit as that of the whole body. In our faith, a living man has three distinct types of spirit.
May the source of all creation guide and direct you to your full potential.
Monday, July 06, 2009
Ten essential items a Jewish Mummy needs for survival
As voted on by a top team of select experts in Jerusalem
(OK - just 10 intelligent Mummies)
#1 Floorcloth (Smatut in Hebrew)
You need this on hand 24/7 for those very occasional spills and floods. Like the time I took a Shabbat nap, and woke up to see water entering my room.
#2 A Packet of Bamba (For the rest of the world Potato Chips)
This bag contains all the nutrition and vitamins your child needs for the next hour. When they say "I want' at least ten times, you can give in and give them a non-sugary healthy snack without feeling guilty of causing hyper-activity.
# 3 A Pacifier/Dummy (Motzez in Hebrew)
A must for every fashion conscious Mummy's handberg. In Israel while you are standing at the checkout with a wailing child everyone screams at you "Where is your pacifier?". Perhaps they mean you need to put it in your own mouth to prevent you from screaming about the store's prices?
#4 Toilet Paper
I don't think I need to spell it out. Toilet paper has many uses, apart from what it was manufactured for. There are always accidents - major and minor - that require a little dabbing. Like a dripping ice-cream all over your favorite white outfit ....
#5 An Ice Pop (Igloo in Hebrew)
This is a serious first-aid instrument for cut mouths, bruises, bumps on the head and tantrums. Child can even enjoy it on route to be stitched-up. No medicine kit should be without it.
#6 Chocolate
A treat hidden away for Mummy on those infrequent "bad days". Like finally getting "little ones" to bed and discovering "big ones" have wrecked your computer. If you really don't like chocolate, you can always donate it to "best friend".
#7 Sachet of Coffee - not decaffeinated
Similar to #6, but can be used in the morning to get going after a hard night.
#8 Tin of Tuna
Some days, an interesting but low-price meal is impossible to dream up. No Jewish kitchen should be without a tin of tuna. It can be turned into quiche, rissoles, spaghetti sauce, and a lot more I am sure. But it is most enjoyable when eaten straight out of the tin.
#9 Toy Giraffe
On so many car and bus trips everyone gets sooh boored. A toy giraffe is a great distraction. There can be endless discussions on whether a giraffe is a kosher animal or not. If it is, then where on the neck can you slaughter (shecht) it?
#10 Two Chewy Candies (Toffim in Hebrew)
Apart from using them as candies, they can be used in many other interesting ways. They are malleable like plasticine and can look great moulded into the shape of pets. They are sticky so can be an alternative to conventional stickers on walls. They also look great as hair decorations, and are imposible to remove from hair or clothes. More?
This is MY list of 10 items. Please comment and add more.
Oh, I forgot #11 - A SENSE OF HUMOR
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Learning to swim - for the second time in my life
I was born in a small seaside town in England. We could smell the sea air from our house. My Mother used to take my sister and I to the beach everyday as toddlers. So from an early age I loved playing in water.
From paddling in the sea, I taught myself to swim at age 7. From then on you couldn't keep me away from water. Every chance that came to me, I jumped in to swim. Even the cold, icy sea water of Ireland didn't put me off. On a vacation to Rome, all I wanted to do was jump in the hotel pool. The tourist sites were of no interest to me!
Then we moved away from the sea. But that was not a deterrent for my father. He just dug up our whole back yard and put a swimming pool in its place. For a suburb of London that was rather strange behavior. Our Greek neighbors just thought we were eccentric Jews....
So for the next 20 years of my life if I ever wanted to swim, I could just jump out of my bedroom window. That's a bit of an exaggeration as my bedroom was on the first floor. You also have to take into account that London's weather is mostly cold and rainy. Anyway I did swim a lot, either at home or in an exclusive pool in a trendy gym.
Then I got married and moved to Israel. After 3 kids, and a few brief dips in the Mediterranean, I decided to take up my swimming career again. Our neighbourhood has a big pool with women-only hours. So every Friday morning I rushed to drop off my kids in school, and did 20 laps in the pool. It was fun, except for my collisions with big fat Russian ladies swimming backwards and Israelis that came in the water just to chat.
Suddenly with very little warning after child number 5, my swimming career came to an abrupt end.
I was hospitalized for 4 months with Severe Ataxic Sensory Neuropathy. In lay terms this means I was disabled as a quadraplegic, with all my senses of balance damaged. To give me encouragement, a top Neurologist in Jerusalem bluntly said to me that there was little chance of recovery.
But I didn't cry much. I still had my arms and legs; and could talk, see and eat normally. Believe me, I saw much worse in the hospital.
When I returned home in a wheelchair it took me time to adjust to being a wheelchair-mum. After a year or so, my family convinced me to try swimming again. So a few times I tried swimming with my husband in a regular pool. But for me it was a failure. I had to be held like a baby and I just flapped my hands. The water took away all my sense of balance and I was completely disoriented.
I saw people around me swimming normally, and then I really cried.
I don't know why not being able to swim upset me so much. It hurt more than not being able to walk on my own (I walk with leg casts, a walker and someone behind me). In the end I came to terms with it, and decided to accept it as part of my "new" life.
Then 3 years later, a clever doctor suggested hydrotherapy. But it was winter, I had no careworker, and a dozen other excuses not to go swimming again.
This week the weather suddenly got very hot. So I thought let's go for it, and give swimming a final try. So I took the plunge and went into the water with a professional teacher in a special pool. After slowly easing me to put my head in the water, the teacher gave me a rubber "snake" and told me to swim the stroke I wanted. I chose front crawl, my fave Olympic style of swimming.
Knowing I was in safe hands I gave it my best effort. In less than one minute I swam to the end of the pool. "How was it", she asked in Hebrew. I just burst into tears - tears of joy as it was so wonderful that I could swim again. "Another few sessions in the pool", she said, "and you'll be able to swim on your own".
You can't imagine how happy I felt - and still feel about it. What is the importance of being able to swim? Many people live a very fulfilled life without ever going swimming.
I can't answer this question. All I know now, is that it is a very important part of being "me". So I see that I should never give up trying to be "me", but be the best "me" that I can.
So I truly thank G-d for all he has given me, and hope this inspires others to keep trying to do what they really want to in life.
From paddling in the sea, I taught myself to swim at age 7. From then on you couldn't keep me away from water. Every chance that came to me, I jumped in to swim. Even the cold, icy sea water of Ireland didn't put me off. On a vacation to Rome, all I wanted to do was jump in the hotel pool. The tourist sites were of no interest to me!
Then we moved away from the sea. But that was not a deterrent for my father. He just dug up our whole back yard and put a swimming pool in its place. For a suburb of London that was rather strange behavior. Our Greek neighbors just thought we were eccentric Jews....
So for the next 20 years of my life if I ever wanted to swim, I could just jump out of my bedroom window. That's a bit of an exaggeration as my bedroom was on the first floor. You also have to take into account that London's weather is mostly cold and rainy. Anyway I did swim a lot, either at home or in an exclusive pool in a trendy gym.
Then I got married and moved to Israel. After 3 kids, and a few brief dips in the Mediterranean, I decided to take up my swimming career again. Our neighbourhood has a big pool with women-only hours. So every Friday morning I rushed to drop off my kids in school, and did 20 laps in the pool. It was fun, except for my collisions with big fat Russian ladies swimming backwards and Israelis that came in the water just to chat.
Suddenly with very little warning after child number 5, my swimming career came to an abrupt end.
I was hospitalized for 4 months with Severe Ataxic Sensory Neuropathy. In lay terms this means I was disabled as a quadraplegic, with all my senses of balance damaged. To give me encouragement, a top Neurologist in Jerusalem bluntly said to me that there was little chance of recovery.
But I didn't cry much. I still had my arms and legs; and could talk, see and eat normally. Believe me, I saw much worse in the hospital.
When I returned home in a wheelchair it took me time to adjust to being a wheelchair-mum. After a year or so, my family convinced me to try swimming again. So a few times I tried swimming with my husband in a regular pool. But for me it was a failure. I had to be held like a baby and I just flapped my hands. The water took away all my sense of balance and I was completely disoriented.
I saw people around me swimming normally, and then I really cried.
I don't know why not being able to swim upset me so much. It hurt more than not being able to walk on my own (I walk with leg casts, a walker and someone behind me). In the end I came to terms with it, and decided to accept it as part of my "new" life.
Then 3 years later, a clever doctor suggested hydrotherapy. But it was winter, I had no careworker, and a dozen other excuses not to go swimming again.
This week the weather suddenly got very hot. So I thought let's go for it, and give swimming a final try. So I took the plunge and went into the water with a professional teacher in a special pool. After slowly easing me to put my head in the water, the teacher gave me a rubber "snake" and told me to swim the stroke I wanted. I chose front crawl, my fave Olympic style of swimming.
Knowing I was in safe hands I gave it my best effort. In less than one minute I swam to the end of the pool. "How was it", she asked in Hebrew. I just burst into tears - tears of joy as it was so wonderful that I could swim again. "Another few sessions in the pool", she said, "and you'll be able to swim on your own".
You can't imagine how happy I felt - and still feel about it. What is the importance of being able to swim? Many people live a very fulfilled life without ever going swimming.
I can't answer this question. All I know now, is that it is a very important part of being "me". So I see that I should never give up trying to be "me", but be the best "me" that I can.
So I truly thank G-d for all he has given me, and hope this inspires others to keep trying to do what they really want to in life.
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Is it permissable for a Woman to breastfeed in Shul?
by Rabbi Moshe Yossef BA (Hons)
It appears that the question of breastfeeding in Shul has not been discussed in the Rabbinic "Responsa", for the simple reason that it was never considered a question!
Breastfeeding in Shul is problematic for the following reasons:
1) Breastfeeding in any public place breaches the boundaries of modesty (tzniut). This would apply even in an exclusively all-female environment. It is true that with caution, it is possible to nurse a baby without uncovering one-self in a way that is at all visible. Even under these circumstances, however, the other issues which will be listed still remain problematic.
2) Breastfeeding in Shul contravenes the laws relating to the preservation of the sanctity of a Shul. These laws are dealt with in Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim Siman 151. You will see there that, for example, even drinking is forbidden in Shul (according to the Biur Halacha, this includes even water). Of course, drinking from a cup does not exposing oneself at all.
3) Breastfeeding in Shul, even when in the most careful and modest way possible, is likely to distract others from having concentration (kavanah) in their prayers. (This issue could arguably be considered an extension of (2) above).
Furthermore, since there is no obligation for a woman to attend Shul in the first place, there are no grounds to apply leniencies in this ruling. This is all the more so since the taking of a young minor to Shul is in itself forbidden on the grounds of their disturbing others from their prayer (by way of their crying etc) - this issue is well documented in Mishna Brura as the well as in Rabbinic Responsa.
In light of the above considerations, there is no permission (heter) in relation to this issue. Be'ezrat Hashem your child will grow up healthy and strong and make his/her own way to Shul, in time to come.
It appears that the question of breastfeeding in Shul has not been discussed in the Rabbinic "Responsa", for the simple reason that it was never considered a question!
Breastfeeding in Shul is problematic for the following reasons:
1) Breastfeeding in any public place breaches the boundaries of modesty (tzniut). This would apply even in an exclusively all-female environment. It is true that with caution, it is possible to nurse a baby without uncovering one-self in a way that is at all visible. Even under these circumstances, however, the other issues which will be listed still remain problematic.
2) Breastfeeding in Shul contravenes the laws relating to the preservation of the sanctity of a Shul. These laws are dealt with in Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim Siman 151. You will see there that, for example, even drinking is forbidden in Shul (according to the Biur Halacha, this includes even water). Of course, drinking from a cup does not exposing oneself at all.
3) Breastfeeding in Shul, even when in the most careful and modest way possible, is likely to distract others from having concentration (kavanah) in their prayers. (This issue could arguably be considered an extension of (2) above).
Furthermore, since there is no obligation for a woman to attend Shul in the first place, there are no grounds to apply leniencies in this ruling. This is all the more so since the taking of a young minor to Shul is in itself forbidden on the grounds of their disturbing others from their prayer (by way of their crying etc) - this issue is well documented in Mishna Brura as the well as in Rabbinic Responsa.
In light of the above considerations, there is no permission (heter) in relation to this issue. Be'ezrat Hashem your child will grow up healthy and strong and make his/her own way to Shul, in time to come.
Wednesday, May 06, 2009
Happy Passover again!
No, not a mistake or a joke. Today the 14th of Iyar is "Passover the second" or more commonly known as "Pesach Sheni".
Women, you don't have to clean your fridge again! You have another 11 months left before you need to drive yourself mad with cleaning everything in site.
Thought your tummies could have a break from Matzahs for a while? No, sorry about that. The custom is to eat a little Matzah to celebrate the day.
So what is Pesach Sheni?
There were some people who were ritually defiled at the time at which they would have brought the Paschal sacrifice (14th Nisan), and were therefore exempted from the Mitzvah. They approached Moses with a request – even though they were exempted from performing the Mitzvah. They did not want to miss out. What could they do?
Moses agreed to consult with G-d, and a new Mitzvah was declared: that of Pesach Sheni – the second Pesach.
On this day, the Paschal Lamb is sacrificed (by those so obliged), accompanied by similar conditions to that of Pesach Rishon. There is, however, no prohibition against possessing, or even eating Hametz on Pesach Sheni.
Today, when the holy Temple in Jerusalem is destroyed and we are therefore unable to offer any sacrifices, Pesach Sheni is celebrated by eating Matzah only.
So what can we learn from this? Let's ask the Rabbi - my husband! (Rabbi Moshe Yossef).
He says we should always seek to fulfill our moral obligations. Don't take the easy way out in life.
For example, we should respect and give honor to our parents. Even if it comes to the point that we can no longer care for them, and put them in a Nursing Home, our job is not over. Visit them, pay for extra care and give them back the loving they gave you.
Source for this post:
It states in the verse (Numbers 9:10-11): “…anyone who is ritually defiled, or too far to be able to reach the Temple in Jerusalem on time etc.., shall offer the Paschal sacrifice to Hashem. In the second month, on the 14th day…”. The Sages of Israel in tractate Pesochim inferred that, in fact, this Mitzvah applies to anyone who intended to offer the Paschal lamb at the appointed time, but was prevented from doing so as a result of circumstances beyond their control.
Women, you don't have to clean your fridge again! You have another 11 months left before you need to drive yourself mad with cleaning everything in site.
Thought your tummies could have a break from Matzahs for a while? No, sorry about that. The custom is to eat a little Matzah to celebrate the day.
So what is Pesach Sheni?
There were some people who were ritually defiled at the time at which they would have brought the Paschal sacrifice (14th Nisan), and were therefore exempted from the Mitzvah. They approached Moses with a request – even though they were exempted from performing the Mitzvah. They did not want to miss out. What could they do?
Moses agreed to consult with G-d, and a new Mitzvah was declared: that of Pesach Sheni – the second Pesach.
On this day, the Paschal Lamb is sacrificed (by those so obliged), accompanied by similar conditions to that of Pesach Rishon. There is, however, no prohibition against possessing, or even eating Hametz on Pesach Sheni.
Today, when the holy Temple in Jerusalem is destroyed and we are therefore unable to offer any sacrifices, Pesach Sheni is celebrated by eating Matzah only.
So what can we learn from this? Let's ask the Rabbi - my husband! (Rabbi Moshe Yossef).
He says we should always seek to fulfill our moral obligations. Don't take the easy way out in life.
For example, we should respect and give honor to our parents. Even if it comes to the point that we can no longer care for them, and put them in a Nursing Home, our job is not over. Visit them, pay for extra care and give them back the loving they gave you.
Source for this post:
It states in the verse (Numbers 9:10-11): “…anyone who is ritually defiled, or too far to be able to reach the Temple in Jerusalem on time etc.., shall offer the Paschal sacrifice to Hashem. In the second month, on the 14th day…”. The Sages of Israel in tractate Pesochim inferred that, in fact, this Mitzvah applies to anyone who intended to offer the Paschal lamb at the appointed time, but was prevented from doing so as a result of circumstances beyond their control.
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