Tastes kind of... squeezy

There's an online shopping service in the Jerusalem area that sends out occasional emails with their latest deals. I received this from them last week, and within 3 minutes had received additional copies from my friends Ricky and Dena. Thanks, guys! 

It's a good one... are you ready? Here goes:

I have a hard enough time getting good tights for my daughters - this is really a great opportunity! Get them while you can!

Or, if you've already provided your fowl with stockings, you may still need some kits for your pet fish - they're further down in the ad.

Have a great week, everyone!

Haveil Havalim - The Almost Summer Vacation Edition

Yes, I know - most of you are already deep into summer vacation. You're probably reading this right now on your laptop on the beach. Wait, I think I can hear the ocean spray! But alas - some of us still have kids in school until the very last day in June. Sigh. Soon, soon I'll join you all....

To help us pass the time until then, here's another edition of Haveil Havalim! My last edition didn't go over so well - in my enthusiasm, I forgot to include categories. But this time I think I've got the hang of it. To remind you all: Haveil Havalim is a weekly roundup of blog posts from all over the world, written by Jewish and/or Israeli bloggers. Bloggers take turns hosting, and this week is my turn! Or, in official lingo:

Founded by Soccer Dad, Haveil Havalim is a carnival of Jewish blogs -- a weekly collection of Jewish & Israeli blog highlights, tidbits and points of interest collected from blogs all around the world. It's hosted by different bloggers each week and coordinated by Jack. The term 'Haveil Havalim,' which means "Vanity of Vanities," is from Qoheleth, (Ecclesiastes) which was written by King Solomon. King Solomon built the Holy Temple in Jerusalem and later on got all bogged down in materialism and other 'excesses' and realized that it was nothing but 'hevel,' or in English, 'vanity.'

And so, with no further ado, Haveil Havalim!

Humor (it's always good to start with humor, don't you think?)

Jacob Richman has a great new educational tool at Good News from Israel: New Website: Learn English with Jokes and Riddles at Good News from Israel.

Ilana-Davita has another great Weekly Interview: Robin at Ilana-Davita.

Heshy Fried has an interesting list of Stuff old Jewish people like at Frum Satire.

Mrs. S. would like A little consideration, please at Our Shiputzim: A Work In Progress.

Benji Lovitt is still blogging! Check out Hey, America: It's the World Cup! GO! FIGHT! WIN! at What War Zone???.

Oh, and I posted a silly bus stop sign at A Time of the Signs. 

Israel

Rahel has a great story at More Citizen Activism (or, The Squeaky Wheel Gets the Shekel) at Elms in the Yard.

Ben-Yehudah shares with us his Response To Israel Online Ambassadors' "3 Minutes To Israel" at Esser Agaroth.

Lady-Light shares a video at Jerusalem is a Jewish Emotion at Tikkun Olam.

Joel Katz presents Religion and State in Israel - June 21, 2010 (Section 1) and Religion and State in Israel - June 21, 2010 (Section 2) at Religion and State in Israel.

David Levy found some wacky videos: Israeli Crazy Chef occupies YouTube at Jewschool.

Harry reports a bizarre news story: Desert survivalist defies the odds a second time at ISRAELITY. He then tells us a more personal story at Accepting responsibility for Israel’s security. And last but not least, an interesting observation: Hollywood stories.

Jewish Israel gives us some interesting news: Interfaith Jesus resort to open on shores of Galilee at Shiloh Musings.

Jacob Richman shows us the cool New Israeli Educational Stamps Posted Online at Good News from Israel.

Eric invites you to Join the Team or Guest Post at IsraelSituation.com at The Israel Situation. He then presents us with the Top 10 Quotes About Israel.

Personal

Susan Barnes reflects on Distracted Driving at To Kiss A Mezuzah.

Lady-Light gives us a relaxing story and some helpful videos at Good Company, Good Weather: A Lovely Shabbat at Tikkun Olam. She also brings us Father's Day Outing and Our Father's Day Outing (Part II) at Tikkun Olam.

Batya appreciates her community in Shiloh, the Greatest Neighbors at Shiloh Musings.

Leigh Ann Kopans discusses Why is Frugality Important to Me? at The Frugal Ima.

Chaviva tells us about her Adventures in Covering! at Just call me Chaviva.

Susan Barnes tells us a great story: Primal Fear, Primal Awe at To Kiss A Mezuzah.

Congratulations! Mirjam Weiss celebrates 35 Dog Years at Miriyummy.

Ruti Mizrachi shares are funny story: "Anachnu lomdim Ivrit b'yachad." * at Ki Yachol Nuchal!.

Batya gives us an update about My Parents, As Of Now... at me-ander.

Rickismom knows that this should be Never Blasé at Beneath the Wings.

Minnesota Mamaleh gives us a Father's Day tribute: Minnesota Mamaleh: About a Mensch | TC Jewfolk at TC Jewfolk.

RivkA is having a hard time, but is deserving of our Mazal Tovs! Check out her Medical Update and more at Coffee and Chemo.

Culture

Mordechai Torczyner has an insightful perspective on Synagogue Bathrooms at The Rebbetzin's Husband.

Chana Rubin tells us about Exercise - How Much Is Enough? at Healthy Kosher Eating With Chana.

Judaism

Allison Josephs answers an interesting question: Do You Really Believe that Not Eating Pork Brings You Closer to God? at Jew in the City.

Leora has an Interview with Batya about Managing a Shiva House at Here in HP.

Rachel Barenblat anticipates My last rabbinic school residency at Velveteen Rabbi.

Mordechai Torczyner explains Why a rabbi teaches Jewish History at The Rebbetzin's Husband.

Anthony thinks it's Religion Taken Too Far at The Israel Situation.

Ben-Yehudah has Some Thoughts On The Fast Of The Fourth Month (17 Tammuz) at Esser Agaroth.

History

Independent Patriot has an interesting perspective in From Sinai to Philadelphia and Back Again at Liberty's Spirit.

Elisson has a whole new shocking twist on Michael Pollan: A LIFE OF CONTRADICTIONS at Lost in the Cheese Aisle.

Dave looks into the etymology of namel at Balashon.

Antisemitism

Batya discusses Cruelty to Animals, Shechita (Jewish Animal Slaughter) and Hunting posted Shiloh Musings.

Torah

Batya has an interesting observation on the parasha in Twenty-Four Thousand, 24,000 at Shiloh Musings.

Risa helped create More blooming in the desert! at Isramom.

Joshua Waxman looks into True peshat in Petorah at parshablog.

Kashrut

Joshua Waxman presents Anisakis worms are disgusting! From Ravina to Rav Moshe at parshablog.

Politics

Independent Patriot delves into an Alternative Reality, Parallel Universe, Down the Rabbit Hole at Liberty's Spirit. Independent Patriot also presents Irgun Offspring and the Zero Sum Game at Liberty's Spirit.

Lady-Light would prefer to put this in a category called "The Big Lie." Here comes What Do Muslims Have to do with America? at Tikkun Olam. And then an update, at Correction to Previous Post: Muslims Did Contribute.

Yisrael Medad examines an upcoming Harvard Alumni tour: Oh So Notable - Not at My Right Word. Yisrael Medad also presents Leftwing Liberal Thinking, and Example of Alternative History.

David Morris shows us: Gush Katif: "The State of Israel has Totally Failed at Tzedek-Tzedek.

~~~

And so we conclude this edition of Haveil Havalim! If I’ve somehow managed to omit your submission, please send me an e-mail at 321toby at gmail dot com and I’ll be happy to plug it in. Next week, the Fourth of July, we'll be hosted by The Rebbetzin's Husband.  Don’t forget to submit your carefully-selected blog articles to that edition of Haveil Havalim using the handy-dandy Blog Carnival submission form!

Have a great week, all - Happy Summer!

Lithe as always

We went to my brother Aaron's house this past weekend, and had a great time. Good company, good food, and lots of fun. And as an added bonus - I found this bus stop:

Huh? I'm assuming that they were going for alighting here, yet another word that I know to exist, although no one I know ever says it aloud. Answers.com lists their second definition of alight as: To get down, as from a vehicle; dismount: The queen alighted from the carriage. So yes, although that may be a bit fancy, I think that is indeed the word they were going for. But alithing - where did that come from? All I can imagine is that some Israeli saw the ght in alight and decided to "fix" it...


:)

Just baffling - a double post

Well, kind of. There's a sign that I find very funny, but it's in Hebrew. So for those of you who don't speak Hebrew, I'll try to explain.

See this sign?  

It's very common, and can be found all over the country. It means Watch Out! There are Children in the Road!

Not so funny. Yes, I do know. But here comes the silly part. The way that one says "watch out" in Hebrew is sim lev, which literally means "put heart." Why is she bothering us with this nonsense, I hear you sigh. Well, because you need to understand that when you take out the "heart" part, that sign means "Put Children In the Road! As seen here, on a very unfortunately sun-bleached sign in my neighborhood:

Ha! 


It's not really a typo, so I'm doubling it up with a funny sweatshirt that I saw this past week. Check it out:

See, that's funny too! But not necessarily funny enough to post all on its own, so I figured I'd add it in here. One day, I really should do a post with clothing - the English on printed shirts here is astoundingly entertaining.


That's all for now, folks - have a great day!

Back at last - with the latest from Africa!

I'm sorry that it's been so long since I last posted, everyone! It's been a crazy couple of weeks, but things seem to be settling down, now. 


Not too long ago, our good friend (and cousin) Arie came back from an overseas trip, and brought me some funny photos, all the way from... Togo! I'm glad that I finally have a chance to post them here.


Just so you know, Togo holds a special place in my heart - back in sixth grade, I wrote a report about Togo. Why did I choose it, I hear you cry? Well, I remember appreciating the fact that we shared a four letter name that began with tee-oh. But I also liked that it was a small, modest country that I hadn't heard of before. And now, after all these years, to think that I'm coming full circle and featuring it on my blog! Well, it's really something.


Anyway, on to the signs! Here's what Arie found:

I like that one a lot. They seem pretty confident, for that little country that I remember. But check out this one:

Good thing that their typos aren't cause for embarrassment :)


But really, that one is cool. Way to cover their bases - it seems that enough embarrassment occurs on this beach to warrant a sign! We can forgive them the misspellings, right? Come on, I think Togo is even smaller than Israel... oh, nope, I just checked. According to Wikipedia, Togo is about 3 times as large as Israel. Wow, do I live in a small country.


Thanks again, Arie! And have a great week, all!

Caution! Ridiculous Signage Ahead!

.
So, as you may have heard, we have a fuzzy new member of our family. Unfortunately for her, though, the only pet shop in our immediate area closed down last year. (The funny aside here is that a steakhouse opened up in its place. A little creepy, no?) 

Anyway, in order to buy rabbit food and supplies, we now need to go into Jerusalem. And of course, the pet shop that was highly recommended to me is located right in the center of town, which is currently under construction. I went there last Friday, and no, getting there and parking were not easy. In the end it was all worth it, though - check out what was waiting for me:
 

Every so often I wonder how long I'll be able to keep this blog going. And then I find things like this and stop worrying :)

And as one more side note - the pet shop guy said that if I find five families in Gush Etsion who are interested in buying from him, he will deliver to us! If it's at all tempting, he carries Science Diet dog food. Intrigued, anyone?

Have a great week, everybody!

Haveil Havalim - The La"g La'Omer Edition

Well, here we are again. I haven't actually participated in Haveil Havalim for quite a while, but hosting is always fun, so I figured I would give it a shot. For those of you who haven't been to my blog before, feel free to take a minute or two and look around! And for those of you who are regular frequenters of my blog (thanks, guys!) but don't yet know what Haveil Havalim is, here's a fast sum-up: HH is a weekly roundup of blog posts from all over the world, written by Jewish and/or Israeli bloggers. Bloggers take turns hosting, and this week is my turn! Or, in official jargon:

Founded by Soccer Dad, Haveil Havalim is a carnival of Jewish blogs -- a weekly collection of Jewish & Israeli blog highlights, tidbits and points of interest collected from blogs all around the world. It's hosted by different bloggers each week and coordinated by Jack. The term 'Haveil Havalim,' which means "Vanity of Vanities," is from Qoheleth, (Ecclesiastes) which was written by King Solomon. King Solomon built the Holy Temple in Jerusalem and later on got all bogged down in materialism and other 'excesses' and realized that it was nothing but 'hevel,' or in English, 'vanity.'

Anyway, it seems I host when barbecuing is involved - first on the Fourth of July, and now on La"g La'Omer. Yes, I know that most of us call one that La"g Ba'Omer, but my dear husband, Balashon, says it might be otherwise, and I like to back him up. 

Oh, and one more thing - I think that people sometimes tend to only visit blogs that they recognize, and skip the ones less known to them. So in the name of equal opportunity, I'm listing the posts by description only, and in the order that they were submitted. I hope you enjoy it, and maybe even find some new blogs! And if you don't enjoy it, sorry - you can host next time and do it the way that you like :)

And so, with no further ado - Haveil Havalim!

Should we be looking for our rewards in this world or in that to come?

What does it take to be Israeli? Here's a great attempt at the chutzpah aspect.

A blogger and his shul were featured on MSNBC.com. How exciting!


Some art and poetry, for a change of pace.


It is what it is: a concise Metamorphosis of a Mother.


When is change in Judaism a good thing? The door to discussion has been opened.


Not one... not two... but 38 interesting links about Lag Ba'Omer!


Is the censoring of "South Park" indicative of worldwide fear?

A nice review of media coverage on issues of religion and state in Israel.

And a little more.


An interesting perspective on volunteering in the IDF.


A difficult Shabat... can you guess why?


An interesting article: Gaza Boat Organizers Endorse Terrorism


One more: Peace yes. Normalization? Not really...


An upcoming chuppah!


How would you choose a mikveh in this situation?


An intriguing view we don't often get to see - stepparenting.


Our security rests in our hands alone.


The glaring omission of Bob.


A really interesting new use for graffiti!


A young Rabbi is trying to dispense with marriage altogether - I haven't heard this one before...

A fast, interesting Dvar Tora about why Shabbos is listed in the middle of the parsha of the Festivals

Women who have taken taharat hamishpacha upon themselves shouldn't let anyone else cheapen it for them.


Don't we want to chat?


Building and Bibi.


A different, insightful definition of "Time-bound."


Do we prefer roller coasters or tea cups? Good question.


Is Israel at peace with Egypt and Jordan? I guess it depends who you ask.


An interesting effect of today's technology on teenagers.


One of many stark differences between 12th grade girls and 12th grade boys.


Do the stories we tell our children set us up for disappointment? Intriguing.


An interesting look at different kinds of Blog Carnivals.


Some nice photos and descriptions of the non-densely populated hills of Judea and Samaria.


How to make a child-friendly, virtual bonfire for Lag B'Omer.


Wow - a Pro-Israel, Zionist Palestinian Organization!


How intriguing - perhaps we should all paint our floors yellow.


A thorough and interesting book review: Unlocking the Torah Text: Vayikra.


How do you feel about saddle shoes? You may find yourself with a new appreciation after reading this.


When do you feel blessed?


Hebrew Charter Schools - Wave of the Future?


It's always easy to blame the victims.


Some bloopers from the Jewish Week and the Jerusalem Post.


And here are a few good ones that I happened to come across, although they weren't officially submitted:


Happy Blogiversary!


Ongoing tensions in Ramat Bet Shemesh (there are a few entries on this one).


Which plotlines do you avoid?


Making lemonade out of lemons, as always.


Women leaving Orthodoxy?


Did you know that brushing your teeth is good for more than just your teeth?


She's back!


Our thieving children... for the greater good?


Seven pounds of black furry love.


A handful of family.


Is Artzot HaBrit singular or plural?


and of course :)

That concludes this edition of Haveil Havalim! If I’ve somehow managed to omit a submission, please send me an e-mail at 321toby at gmail dot com and I’ll be happy to plug it in. And don’t forget to submit your carefully-selected blog articles to the next edition of Haveil Havalim using our handy-dandy Blog Carnival submission form!

Happy Lag BaOmer!