HOME & FAMILY

Leah bit into the fresh strudel which her neighbor, Miriam, had just baked and whose tantalizing aroma filled the room. "Mmmmm! What a scrumptuous cake!" she complimented her.

The Empty Nest and the Big Pot

There is absolutely no such thing as an empty nest syndrome in our society. Having heard so much about this phenomenon over the years, I was duly anxious about the approach of the day when all or most of the children would have married and settled off somewhere on their own. Now that the time is here, I can reliably report that there is no such thing.

Climbing...
by Adiella Steinhauer, Johannesburg

You are well aware that there is no way around it, as it looms before you very sturdily. The way over it seems protracted, arduous -perhaps even tortuous at times. The choice, however, is yours. You are welcome to remain where you are, overshadowed by its hulking dimensions, and to not go further. You have an equal right, though, to clamber up the steep path that leads towards its summit, where your view is bound to be vastly enhanced and your existence more meaningful.

Pesach Preparations Plus
by Malka Adler

There's something about preparing for Pesach that seems to call up all our reserves, that brings forth a deep physical-spiritual strength of which we didn't think ourselves capable. Sudden surges of adrenalin begin coursing through our veins at the sight of kitchen cabinets and bedroom drawers. This chemical reaction is not initiated until the Pesach Cleaning Period.

Letters, Feedback, Eitzes
And also - Hashgocha Protis.

One reader from the North has this to share with us:

I had a really neat experience. Every year after we moved to Israel, relatives sent us $200 to help with Pesach expenses. One year, they realized that we weren't moving back to the States and were so upset that they stopped sending their help...

Changing Gears
by L.M.W.

Times change and you have to be flexible enough to adapt to new situations. Yesterday, you ran errands for Mom and Dad and got a mitzva note for them in return that would grace the wall in the kindergarten. Today, if you have to run errands for them, you have your own immediate family to tend to and numerous obligations, and you feel you must juggle your time to get out and do them.

Hyperactivity is Not a Disability
by Dr. Ilan Zamir - Homeopathic Doctor (MD)

Every tenth child in Israel is hyperactive. Experiments prove, however, that there is no solution to this problem within conventional medicine and psychology. The brightest doctors in the medical, psychological, educational, and pharmacologic fields are dealing intensively with the subject, but the solution lies in homeopathic treatment.

Do It Yourself With Yosef Krinsky

The old ways are better.

In today's world everything is "super, deluxe, or ultra." But does this really mean that the new "Super Deluxe Ultra 2000 Cleansing Powder" is really better than the old-fashioned methods?

Your Medical Questions Answered!
by Joseph B. Leibman, MD

Dear Teenager,

Being a teenager is an exciting time. More freedom, more responsibility. In many places, a license to drive. More physical powers, more endurance. Dreams for the future. For many older teens, it is also choosing a life partner.

Poet's Corner
Dust
by Ruth Lewis

Success is golden moondust,
Sprinkled by some golden wand,
Touching life with gold,
As snow frosts tips of leaves.
Success turns everything from gray
To dancing rows
Of technicolored, arc'ed rainbows,
Shining all of gold.

Success is golden moondust
That settles on me, till I shine,
And smile of gold,
And everyone applauds,
And everybody knows my name,
And music's playing,
Raising me on high,
Above the lives of ordinary, plodding folk.
Yes, I am raised on high,
Shining of golden gold.

Failure, too, is dust,
Not golden moondust - just dust.
Failure casts me down to the gray dust,
To where all taste of dust.
Until the magic music starts again,
And I can shine again,
On high again,
With joyous golden gold.

Success is golden moondust, yes,
But is its shimmer real?
Or the false glitz, glitter of `fool's gold'?
I want my feet planted on much firmer stuff
Than dust, however golden.
I want a life not based on
Shifting dust of every moment's
Ups and downs, success and failure
Not based on me, at all.
I guess I just
Can't put much trust
in dust.