HOME & FAMILY

Combine painting and cookie making in one activity. These lively and colorful cookies will add color and interest to your Purim menu for mishloach monos and to your Purim table.

True Love - Another VeNehapach Hu
by Rifca Goldberg

"I hate you, Mommy!"

"Because I told you to sit in the corner?"

"Yes! I hate you!"

Reflections on Refrigerators - or - The Iceman Cometh
by Malka Adler

Glug vs. Plug
by M. Steinberg

My kitchen sinks suffer from congenital stoppage. Congenital, as in: from birth. The house was new when we moved in twenty years ago, and from the first, the drainage was slow and sometimes, very, very slow. Most of the time, I just let the water fill up and then patiently wait a while for it to go down before continuing to wash dishes.

Venahapoch Hu
I.C.U. Grin

(A sigh of relief was heard in the Torah community with the public appeal of Gedolei Yisorel and Roshei Yeshiva in Eretz Yisroel for families marrying off children to evenly divide between themselves the expenses of the wedding and purchase of an apartment. In the season's spirit of "Venahapoch hu", we here present a switch in the sort of negotiations which precede the "Mazel Tov" of a completed shidduch.)

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

Diplomate, Board Certification of Emergency Medicine

Chairman, Department of Emergency Medicine Ma'ayenei Hayeshua Hospital

The ear is our subject of the week. The ear is responsible of course for hearing, but it also has within it the apparatus for helping you keep your balance.

Sefer Yesod Hataharo -- The Foundation of Purity
by Yated Ne'eman Staff

When the holy Reb Uri of Strelisk stated that he reviewed the laws of taharo 1,000 times, his intention was to stress the importance of acquiring complete expertise in these laws.

Poet's Corner
Room Enough
by Sheindel Weinbach

In Poland many years ago, There lived a man in a tiny house,
It was so crowded that, you know?
You could hardly fit in a little mouse.

There was Mirel and Tzirel, / Sheindel and Breindel,
Avreme and Getzel, / Zevi and Chezkel.
There was always a baby, / And a poor traveler, maybe.

Chaim the father, / Didn't mind it too much,
'Cause when things got unruly, / He'd deliver a potch.

Getzel would get from behind,
And Zevi -- whatever spot Chaim could find,
Sheindel got a pull on her hair,
But Breindel simply disappeared in thin air.
Rivka, the mother, the girls and the boys,
Contributed equally to the deafening noise.

Then, losing her patience, the mother would shout,
"I've had much too much, now everyone OUT!"
And after the riot / There'd be peace and quiet
And then, by and by, / The baby would cry,
Getzel would sneak in to take a drink,
And hiding behind him, wouldn't you think --
There would be Zevi, smiling so sweet,
And Mirel and Tzirel, good enough to eat.
All would feel sorry, give Mama a kiss,
And thus was restored the family bliss.
Until once again, both sister and brother,

Would be at the throats of one or the other.
And the scene would repeat itself over once more,
Till Rivka would shoo them all out the front door.

One evening as the parents were sitting together,
Making small talk about things like the weather,
Rivka gave a sigh, / And Chaim asked why.
She said, "If you can't guess, / "At least give it a try."
"All this congestion / Gives me indigestion
And a headache besides, /It churns up my insides.
Can't we find a solution / Without a mini--revolution?
Can't all this quarreling cease? / Will we ever have peace?"

In Chaim's sad eyes, / Was a gleam of surprise.
"I know what to do, / As does each troubled Jew.
I will go to the Rebbe / And tell him my tale,
He'll be able to help us. / His advice will not fail."
And so, early next morning, / When the new day was dawning,
With a bright early start, / And hope in his heart,
Chaim went off to the master, / Trotting faster and faster.

Said the Rebbe, "Come in, / Tell your woes from begin,
With the help of Hashem, / Who sends help to all men,
I am sure we will find, / The way to peace of mind."

"My problem," Chaim said, / "Is putting children to bed,
For they lie wall to wall, / And can't turn over at all.

"At the table they bicker, / Grab the food all the quicker,
Oh, they make so much noise... / All my girls and my boys."

The Rebbe thought and he said, / "Now's the time to plan ahead.
But you'll have to think twice, / About taking my advice,
For it's not very easy, / The idea will make you queasy,
But you'll see in the end, / That it will be a G-d-send."

All curious to hear,
Chaim perked up his ear.
But the Rebbe's advice,
Was not pleasant, not nice.

"Take into your kitchen,
Three roosters, a chicken,
And next to the stove,
Tie the goat, lest he rove.
Put the cow in the corner,
But tell Rivka -- first warn her.
And if you're still able,
Fit the goose under the table.
Then come back in a week,
If more advice you seek."

Hearing what it was about,
Rivka gave a startled shout,
"That advice is quite absurd.
It's the silliest I ever heard!"

"But before we reject it,"
Said Chaim, "first inspect it.
We must give it a chance,
And not look so askance.
It cannot be so bleak,
If it's only for a week.
For you see, it's our task,
To obey, not to ask.
If we don't understand
The Rebbe's command
We must still follow through
And not ask -- but just do."

And so, in came the goat,
With the rope at its throat.
And the roosters and hen
Made it lively again.
There was cooing and mooing,
And cock-a-doodle-dooing.
There was jumping and talking,
Thumping and squawking,
Dancing and prancing,
No retreat, no advancing.
There was no room to move,
And how Rivka disapproved.
As if the noise was not enough,
The awful smell was more than rough.
After a week of despair,
It was more than they could bear.

"Rebbe," said Chaim, "what do we do now?"
"What to do, don't you know? Go remove the cow!"

And when the cow went away,
There was new room to play.
And after a week,
More advice they did seek,
With a lump in her throat,
Rivka begged, "Please, the goat."

A week later, again,
The Rebbe said, "Now the hen."
Seven days later -- the goose
Was finally let loose.
And by now there was air,
And room even to spare.
Everything had its place,
Every person his space.
And instead of the riot,
There now reigned peace and quiet.

Rivka had to admit
That the cure really fit.
Through his brilliant insight,
The Rebbe had been right.

The moral is double:
That in times of trouble
We must seek, we must ask,
And obey -- whatever the task.
For our faith in the sages,
Has helped Jews through the ages.

And the second lesson to learn,
Is never to yearn
For what you haven't got,
But be content with your lot.
Never to mumble,
Never to grumble,
For today's suffering and sorrow,
Will look different tomorrow!