Virtual learning versus in-person learning. Continuing to fully shelter in place versus expanding the “bubble.” Get the COVID-19 vaccination as early as possible versus wait for more research to be done. These are just a few examples of decisions...

“The Messier Side of Parenting” introduces readers to Taryn Goldstein, 43, a St. Louis Jewish mother of four sons, ranging in age from 9 to 15. In her video blog, Goldstein will offer her no-holds-barred take on parenting, with topics ranging from...

(JTA) — Do you want to know one small but powerful way we could make Jewish life more inclusive? Stop telling fat people about your diet and asking if they’d like to join you. Last year I launched Fat Torah, with the aim of confronting weight stigma...

Usually, an adjective that describes something which is overly ornate, busy, ridiculously over-decorated, kitch, and garnished to the point of distaste. Doing senseless things. Example:  "That outfit looks ungapatchked."

(JTA) — With summer coming and COVID-19 vaccines being deemed safe for children as young as 12, some camps are talking about the possibility of a mask-free summer for vaccinated campers. But one Jewish camp being planned for the summer is taking...

Do you remember all the hub-bub one Jewish grandfather caused back in July when he took to song with the single goal of getting all of us to mask up? His name is Michael Kramer, and his song was called "You've Got to Wear a Mask.” Kramer's lyrics...

This article first appeared on Alma. After being sent home from school, a life of relative COVID-ignorant bliss, I arrived in the ravaging chaos of the pandemic. My mother — the head of infection control and epidemiology for the largest public hospital...

Etymology: from Yiddish שלעפּן (“to drag”); from High German schleppen (“to drag”)– “to carry”- schlepper (plural schleppers) 1) a servant who carries things 2)  a porter 3) a pejorative insult for an individual who wanders...

When Aaron Feinblatt moved to Israel in late February 2020, just as the first signs of the worldwide coronavirus outbreak were emerging, only one person wore a mask on his aliyah flight. Feinblatt had no idea that masks would soon become the norm for...

(Israel21c) When Ofir Aharon was finishing his Ph.D. in electro-optics engineering, his mother was diagnosed with melanoma, a serious form of skin cancer. He decided to channel his knowledge into inventing a potentially lifesaving device that could...

We love the cast of Shtisel so much. These brilliant actors have had us very deep in our feelings, especially as we binged season 3 of the show about the eponymous Haredi family, which premiered on Netflix in March. We really cannot get enough of...

As a busy parent, my to-do list is a mile long, from A to Z – Z  being Zoom meetings, of course.  Many of the tasks on my list are things I do for others: picking up a few groceries for my grandmother; taking my son to see his pediatrician; shopping...