In September of 2005, my husband and I contacted the Jewish community of New Orleans and offered to visit at our own expense the children of New Orleans. But Katrina had just been too devastating and the community was still living with distant family, friends and in relief centers, and…
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Premiering on PBS January 31
My award winning book Reach for the Stars, A Little Torah’s Journey recounts the travels of a small Torah that passed from the hands of a dedicated rabbi to a young Holocaust survivor, and finally to Israeli astronaut Ilan Ramon, who carried it into space on the doomed space shuttle…
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A New Journey Begins
Someone either said or wrote, “Life is a journey, not a destination”. A “Google search” linked me to a site that said it might be authored by Ralph Waldo Emerson, but more likely Aerosmith – who knew? Over three decades spent with three year old children from 9 am to…
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Creating a Safer World for Our Children
This past Friday, I heard about the elementary school shootings in Newtown, Connecticut. The news commentators reflected on the recent mass shootings in Oregon, Tucson, Wisconsin, and Virginia Tech. Some talked about where it all began—Columbine High in Colorado. For me, a mother and now a grandmother, the horror evoked…
Read More“Two” Young for School?
I am aware that there is an ongoing debate about the wisdom of having two year old children in a nursery school drop off program. I looked on line to see if there have been any conclusive studies done that would lend credence to either side of the debate. While…
Read More“Sammy Spider’s New Friend” is a sweetly spun tale
By now, young fans of the Sammy Spider series are well acquainted with the formula that makes these warm, sweetly spun tales so endearing. Whether discovering the true meaning of the Jewish holidays or, as in his latest adventure, observing the Shapiro family bake a cake to welcome their new…
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