In a marriage market where men are scarce, Yitta Halberstam of the Jewish Press advises young women to take care with their appearance. Update: Halberstam Defends Her Stance Ironically, Halberstam noticed the neglected appearance of the Beis Yaakov grads at an event intended to humanize the … [Read more...]
Free Tamar Epstein for International Agunah Day
March 7, 2012 by
Today is the Taanit Esther, a fast day to commemorate the threat of extermination faced by Jews as described in the Megillah. But did you know that it's also "International Agunah Day"? According to Jewish law, a divorce becomes final when a man hands his wife a get, or a writ of divorce. … [Read more...]
Young Families in Israel Pay Twice for Formula Marketing
February 28, 2012 by
The Knesset economic committee met this week to discuss the law limiting formula marketing in Israeli hospitals. Last Friday, Haaretz published an article by Ruti Levi on the arrangements between formula companies and hospital maternity wards. Currently, the companies pay large sums in order … [Read more...]
Inspiring Projects for Your Child’s Bar or Bat Mitzvah
February 14, 2012 by
The best tip I heard for planning a bar mitzvah or bat mitzvah is to hope to have an average one. Of course, no one wants average or ordinary. But when you start off with the expectation that your bar or bat mitzvah is going to be special, you set yourself (and your child) up for failure. By … [Read more...]
Who Will Be Watching Your Kids Next Year?
February 12, 2012 by
Update: I spoke with Shoshana Hayman of the Life Center, who has been meeting with the education ministry to address parents' concerns about the new system. First of all, only 5-year-old kindergarten is mandatory. 3 and 4-year-olds will have free preschool until 2 PM. There will be an option of … [Read more...]
A Tale of Two Purim Costume Ads
February 8, 2012 by
It's only Tu Beshevat, but the marketing for Purim is ratcheting up with advertisements for Purim costumes everywhere. A week or two ago, Hadassah Margolese, mother of 8-year-old Naama of Beit Shemesh fame, opened a haredi weekly distributed for free in her building's mailboxes. She was shocked … [Read more...]
Tragedies Highlight Risks of Homebirth
February 4, 2012 by
Last week in Australia, Caroline Lovell, a home birth advocate. died the day after childbirth. Blogger Mia Freedman reports on the story and adds: When I went to look for information on the death of Janet Fraser’s baby during her freebirth, I found that all the threads on the freebirthing and … [Read more...]
Street Violence in Beit Shemesh
January 29, 2012 by
Last week a Beit Shemesh woman named Natalie Mashiach drove into Ramat Beit Shemesh Bet, an area occupied by extremist haredim. Dressed in a sweater and pants, Mashiach got out of her car to hang signs as part of her job for the national lottery. A group of men poured bleach on her and attacked her … [Read more...]
Misdiagnosed Miscarriage: Side Effect of Good Israeli Healthcare?
January 22, 2012 by
Please welcome Maya from How to Be Israeli for today's guest post. About a year ago, I left an anonymous comment on this blog. In response to the disturbing story about feticide at 40 weeks, I shared myown fears about prenatal testing here in Israel. When should I call my doctor to get his … [Read more...]
Were the Nachalaot Parents Negligent?
January 18, 2012 by
Chana Jenny Weisberg of JewishMom.Com wrote this guest post in response to comments on this site and elsewhere criticizing the parents affected by the Nachalaot pedophilia tragedy as negligent. When parents hear that someone else's child has been hurt, often their first response is to blame that … [Read more...]
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