It’s a scene I’ve witnessed many times in my life. Only this time it took a painful twist. I’m talking to a coworker, playing Jewish Geography. “Do you know Raizy Finkel? I think she lives right near you?” I nod. Read More »

They’re moving around all the people in my department soon, and I kind of hope that I wind up very, very far from the lady who currently sits next to me. It’s not her abrasive nature that makes me want to distance myself from her. Read More »

Ten years ago today, I sat in my classroom, learning about Rosh Hashana. Chaya came in late that day, her brother’s bris had been that morning. If Chaya looked nervous or anxious when she came in, I didn’t notice. She was always a “goody-goody,” not the kind of girl who would disrupt the class. Not even to relate news of this magnitude. Read More »

Looking around the world,We forget what it’s about,Yes there are some troubles,But we are comfortable, no doubt.We look around at life,At the good times that we see,We look at all the wealth we have,Every luxury that could be. So we become complacent,Our Galus-cast away.Minor problems crop up,And only then we pray. Read More »

A couple of years ago, I wouldn’t have thought it was an issue at all. Nowadays, I’m older and (sadly) wiser and I’ve come to learn how important this issue really is. I remember the first discussion I had on the topic. It was with a girl(? Woman?) a number of years older than I am, and she’d just experienced the switch. Read More »

Let’s talk about pictures.And by that, I don’t mean taking pictures. There are numerous places online to find a wide variety of photography advice; this isn’t one of them.I refer, naturally, to the infamous shidduch picture. Read More »

Today’s post started, innocently enough, with a tweet. As usual, I was complaining about something. In this case, it was a nasty smell coming from a coworker’s desk. I noted that certain foods should be illegal in a closed office setting. Immediately, people started to agree. Read More »

Presented by Stam here . Go read her pearls of wisdom! Read More »

I’m driving along the Garden State Parkway, trying to get to my sister’s house for yom tov. As I drive, I’m trying to think of something to write about shavuos. And suddenly, a beautiful idea lands in my lap in the form of a strange driver in a red pickup truck motioning violently in my direction. Read More »

We’ve discussed the Sibling Angle of Shidduchim in a previous post, but there’s loads more to discuss. Let’s start with a reminder of the gravity of a phenomenon I like to call The First First Date, or FFD. As I’ve previously mentioned, this is the first date for a family, not an individual. This is, thankfully, a one time experience. Read More »

As you may have read yesterday, I’m kinda sick. But I wanted to do a Top Ten Tuesday (for a change…) so here goes.Some of these pictures might look familiar, especially to those who follow me on twitter, but for the rest of you, enjoy. Read More »

I’ve marveled before at the differences between being an adult and a child, but today, as I crawl back into bed coughing and sneezing and feeling like a truck is parked on my lungs, I have to comment on this phenomenon once again. You see, as a child, and then as a teenager, a sick day was decided on by my mother. Read More »

“I have a great boy for you!”It’s half hour into our first meeting ever, an the first mention of dating or marriage. I try to protest, to save her the words, but it’s difficult. She’s a lawyer by trade, and obviously prepared to plead her case. “What makes you-” I start asking, but she cuts me off. “Let me tell you about him. Read More »

I wasn’t going to post about the events of the last week, but it struck me that someone would read my blog many years from now, and not know that some monumental events have recently occurred. And so I will sum it all up this way, (via twitter.)This past week, there was a birth certificate, a marriage certificate and a death certificate. Read More »

I was with my three year old niece in a local grocery store. Out of the blue, her happy face fell. “Uh oh!,” she breathed, obviously distressed. I was concerned, “What is it?”Cutie is not known for being shy. “There’s MUSIC!” Tiny kid, huge voice; people turned to look. I wasn’t sure where she was going, and I wasn’t going to guide her. Read More »

The idea for this post has been floating around the outer recesses of my mind even before I discovered Dear Blank Please Blank. (No link because I’m on my iPhone, and more important because I’m not going to endorse the contents of this very funny but not always 100% kosher site. Read More »

In parshas Ha’azinu, the posuk says: (I apologize for the English letters. I’m on my iPhone, which is an excuse for being terrible at Hebrew typing.)”Kel Emunah ve’ein avel.”Describing Hashem, the pasuk says that He is a faithful King who causes no injustices. That seems to be repetitive. Read More »

I was having a discussion with a woman I know about the idiocy of shidduchim and shadchanim, when she mentioned the following gem of a phone call. It started when the Nosey Shadchan thought of a Shidduch for the woman’s daughter. Read More »

It’s no secret that I hate weddings. I won’t enumerate the various things I dislike about them; I’ve done that many times in the past. (Sorry, no links. I’m writing this on my iPhone.)Tonight’s wedding is worse than usual though. You may think I’m referring to lack of familiar faces I anticipate seeing, but you are mistaken. Read More »

All this talk about why people should get married, I think it’s about time somebody points out the number one reason: To get out of shidduchim… Read More »