BARBARA'S TCHATZKAHS

by Teresa McEntire There are many mothers in the world, both good and bad. I have seen mothers that I wish that I could be more like and those that I think should never have had children in the first place. But what exactly makes a woman a good mother? Anthropologist Margaret Mead has spent years studying children, parents, and the methods used by mothers raising children all over the world. When asked what she considered the most "valuable capacities for a mother to have." She replied by giving five qualities that she feels every good mother must possess. 1. Treats each child as an individual. A good mother realizes that every child is not the same. She understands that children are not just an extension of or born to be a helper for their parent, but that each child is an "individual in their own right." 2. A good mother helps their child set out on their own path . Allowing the child to follow that path, regardless of the mother's desires. Yet at...

An interesting article on good vs. bad, the value of pain and suffering and our constant need for the support and love of Hashem in our lives. Article is a good reminder to make meaning of pain, both emotional & physical, in our lives - B. by Rabbi Yitzchok Kirzner When "bad things happen to good people," by what standard does one define "bad"? J udaism begins with the belief in a Creator of the entire universe. The history of our people commences with Avraham's question, "Who created the world?" (cf. Bereishis Rabbah 39:1). That question led him to the recognition of God as the Creator. God existed prior to Creation, and that Creation remains dependent upon Him. Creation came into being as an expression of His will and is dependent on Him; it continues to exist only by virtue of a continued infusion of His creative energy. This is stated in the first of the Thirteen Principles of Faith based on Maimonides: "The Creator, Blessed is...

by Rabbi Michael Berg In this week’s portion, we read about the uprising led by Korach and his follwers against Moshe. They were, as the Torah makes extremely clear, committing a grievous mistake. One of their contentions was against the priests headed by Aharon. Korach, who was a member of the Levite family just as Aharon, questioned why it was Aharon, Moshe’s brother, and Aharon’s family who were chosen to be the priests. Moshe decides on a way to show the entire nation that Korach and his 250 followers are mistaken: All that Moshe had done was only by Hashem’s command. “Moshe said to Korach, ‘You and your entire assembly come before Hashem, you and them and Aharon, tomorrow. Each one of you should take a fire-pan, and place on it incense, and you should bring it before Hashem, each person his fire-pan and you and Aharon should each bring a fire-pan. They each took their fire-pan, placed incense on it, and they stood at the opening of the Tent of Meeting (the Tabernacle), with Moshe ...

The Talmudic text we study here grapples with the meaning of the following three verses. The first verse appears in the Mishnah and the other two verses appear the Gemara. Before you start to read the Mishnah, take a look at these three verses and ponder what new idea each one gives you. Exodus 22:20 You shall not aggrieve a stranger or oppress him, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt Leviticus 25:14 When you sell property to your neighbor, or buy any from your neighbor, you shall not aggrieve one another Leviticus 25:17 Do not aggrieve one another, but fear your God; for I am the Lord your God Now witness how the Talmud through its close reading learns different things from each of these verses. Babylonian Talmud Bava Metziya 58b-59a Mishnah: Just as [it is illicit] to aggrieve someone in business, it is also [illicit to] aggrieve someone with words. One should not say, "How much does this item cost" if he does not mean to purchase it. If a person had once led a sinf...

by Ann Althouse Cathy Young has a nice op-ed in the WSJ , "Why feminists hate Sarah Palin." Excerpt: Left-wing feminists have a hard time dealing with strong, successful conservative women in politics such as Margaret Thatcher. Sarah Palin seems to have truly unhinged more than a few, eliciting a stream of vicious, often misogynist invective.... I disagree with Sarah Palin on a number of issues, including abortion rights. But when the feminist establishment treats not only pro-life feminism but small-government, individualist feminism as heresy, it writes off multitudes of women. I wouldn't have titled this piece "Why feminists hate Sarah Palin." Young never concedes that the feminism that liberals say is the only feminism is, in fact, the only feminism. Nor would I. There was a time -- I was there -- back in the 80s and early 90s, when feminists would speak of "feminisms" and were always promoting some new version of feminism that, we'd ar...

A Short History of Good and Evil and the Good You Can Do by Joan Chittiser Two stories happened in the same town: mine. In the first, a local man of limited mental capacity robbed a bank. Most shocking was that he had a live bomb attached to his body by a metal collar that somebody had locked around his neck. He was carrying a note written by his assailants ordering him to report to four different places after the robbery to receive instructions about what next to do in order to have the bomb defused. He never made it past stop number one. Police intercepted this simple man in a parking lot almost immediately after he left the bank. He clearly was not racing to escape. Instead, he was begging for help. He told the police that he’d been forced to perform the robbery because the bomb locked to his neck was on a timer. But the local bomb squad didn’t reach the site fast enough to defuse it, so, in clear sight, this man blew up in a main street parking lot of a small American city on a sun...

THE POSITIVE POWER OF THE INTERNET We all hear about online predators who prey on children and vulnerable adults online. So it is nice to see a story of how the anonymity of the internet can help people who have a variety of problems - by restoring their sense of self worth & self esteem. CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO OF ONE SUCH STORY.