HOME & FAMILY

The Vaad Halacha of the Maayenei Hayeshiva Hospital in Bnei Brak has issued a call to the public to exercise great care in purchasing food, especially eggs which can cause salmonella infections. The letter was signed by HaRav Shmuel Wosner, HaRav Nissim Karelitz and HaRav Yitzchok Silberstein, senior members of the Vaad Halacha.

PREPARING FOR THE FUTURE
There is More to Singing than Songs
by R' Zvi Zobin

Parents should sing and talk to even the youngest infants, because the auditory stimulation is crucial to how well a child develops thinking and language skills.

YERUSHOLAYIM OF YESTERYEAR
Open the Gates of Charity...
by Yisca Shimony

This story reflects life over a hundred years ago and is based on facts and real people, a Bikur Cholim society where men tended male patients and women -- female -- in their homes. There was one exceptional woman called Mamke mentioned in several sources, and Batya, in others. There was a male nurse, R' Yona, a Greek doctor and a London-based missionary hospital, whose services were rejected by most.

The times that heralded a need for a Jewish hospital...

What a Miser!
by R. Chadshai

Part II

Selective Miserliness

The so-called miser may surprise everyone at times. The same mother who saves on buying a dress for her child, and is regularly getting help from gemachim, might suddenly give very expensive presents at a simcha.

"The Best Thing That Happened All Day!"
by Helena Scholnick, Jerusalem

When things go right, is it because WE are in control? And when they don't, is it always our fault? Keeping a proper perspective, we welcome a newcomer to our writers' ranks.

PARENTING WITH MENUCHA
The Importance of Report Cards --
How to React When the Child Brings it Home
by Menucha Fuchs
Parenting counselor, author of dozens of books for adults and children

Different children have different ways of relating to their report cards. There are children who, even two weeks prior to receiving their reports, will discuss it with reverence and awe and from the marks they got on tests, will try to anticipate the actual ones on the card. When they receive it, they will bring it home tremblingly. Many may cry when something falls short of their expectations; others will not even dare examine it until they are home.

CREATIVITY CORNER
Preschool Arts and Crafts
by Devora Piha

A guide for mothers and for women who run nurseries in their homes

Poet's Corner
You Should Take it With You
by Naomi Knobel

"I love reading the Home and Family section every Erev Shabbos after candlelighting, and enjoy it time and again.

Having been a House Mother in two seminaries in Yerushalayim, I wrote this poem for the girls at the end of the year"

[Mother:]

Listen my dear, I have something to say
Now that you've been for the whole year away,
To Sem. in Eretz Yisroel, how lucky you are
I feel so distant, so near, yet so far,
Yes, near enough to speak on the phone
For us to talk, to laugh, to kvetch and to groan,
You tell me how you're feeling, how things are going
Yet, as I listen, I hear and I'll be knowing
That I'm only getting a one-sided report
(Especially when "they" call to say you've been "caught"
Coming home late or something else minor,
That doesn't quite suit a "Bais Yaakov feiner")
And I laugh, and then sigh
Find myself wondering why
I want so badly for you to be more than "O.K."
To enjoy and to learn, accomplish something each day.

[Housemother:]

You say you're open minded, that means: to see
That there are two sides, there's YOU and there's ME
We both have a point, both claim we are right,
No, cool it, take it easy, don't get so uptight.
Calm down and think in a rational way,
Is there a nice respectful way for you to say?
To explain, to express what's important to you
And then LISTEN -- there's another side too.
Communicating is hearing, hearing is a sign
Of maturity, please bear it in mind.

*

Open your heart -- that's why you are there,
So many people to learn from, so many who care,
About your individuality, each and every one
Trying to protect you, not let you become
Just one of the: mob, melting into the pot
Of those girls who just don't seem to care a whole lot.
I shudder to think that maybe you are one
Of those who think Sem. is camp -- just to have fun.

*

Please enjoy! Have a marvelous time,
But not at the expense of another person's dime.
Taking advantage, robbing one's sleep -- what a terrible thought
Not you! You're from a good home, you've been taught
To take other people into consideration
To be kind and caring -- it's a basic obligation
A Bais Yaakov girl should never be rude
Even when you're upset or just not-in-the-mood.

[Mother]

When you were young, your idea of a teacher
Was: an authority, another childhood feature,
Have you indeed changed? Do you yet know
That a teacher is there to help you to grow?
To help build and mold the YOU that's inside,
Are you truly an accepting vessel, my child?
Great people are reflected in small anecdotes,
Do you aspire to learn, to enhance your middos?
Giving, accepting, striving to be more,
Experiencing the fullest -- that's what Seminary's for.

*

I hope you understand what I'm trying to say
We've been far apart 25 hours a day,
Soon you'll be home, I'll observe you again,
As will so many yentas, Im yirtze Hashem --
For a job, for a shidduch, let's face it, dear,
The little pieces that make the person will have to appear.
Marriage, a job, it's always the same,
Consideration for others is the name of the game.
That's what it's all about -- the effort we've made,
In life, that's what counts -- surely not the grade.
If that is the lesson you've absorbed, you have learned,
Then your round ticket you certainly have earned.