Let’s face it—the overwhelming task of planning a bar or bat mitzvah ranks right up there with hosting a wedding. No wonder parents need a honeymoon after the whirlwind weekend celebration is over. After all, a bar or bat mitzvah is a sacred rite of passage for moms and dads who witness before their very eyes how their teen in a tallit makes the symbolic transition into adulthood.

If there’s one thing I learned from my son Jack’s bar mitzvah 15 months ago, besides never wear new shoes without breaking them in first, is try not to stress over the small stuff because when it’s over all that’s left is wonderful memories and a box full of satin monogrammed kippots. (more…)

Welcome to the lazy days of summer when final exams are over and teenagers relish a break from the hectic pace of the school year. Their carefree lifestyle in the next few months is enviable, ya know, riding around town with the top down (of the convertible, that is), hanging out at the swimming pool with friends, and playing video games all day long until their world becomes a virtual reality. On the flip side, other teens mix fun in the sun with volunteer work, including building a playground in a war ravaged neighborhood in Israel, teaching a seriously ill child how to shoot a bow and arrow for the first time at summer camp, or exercising homeless dogs at the Missouri Humane Society. (more…)

Shavuot is a major Jewish festival commemorating the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai. Without Shavuot, the Jews still would be wandering the dessert. So this biblical holiday—one of the three pilgrimage festivals from the Torah (the other two are Passover and Sukkot)—represents the most significant event in Jewish history. Although the average American Jew pays more attention to Hanukkah because of the widely recognized symbol of the menorah, the “Festival of Lights” doesn’t hold a candle to Shavuot. (more…)

Every year that my friend Rochelle celebrates her birthday, she gives her mother a gift. Why? Well, why not?

Motherhood is usually a thankless job, so a little token of appreciation makes perfect sense, even if a mom has to wait until her child is a grownup to receive a present. (more…)

It used to be that nobody gave a rat’s patooty about the daily grind of motherhood. After all, nothing’s glamorous about changing poopy diapers, crawling on the floor in search of a pacifier in the middle of the night, scrubbing crayon off walls, and accidentally packing a pomegranate wine cooler in a child’s lunch box. (more…)

It’s hard to believe that a year has passed since Jack’s bar mitzvah, and my son is one year closer to his driver’s permit. Since his passage into adulthood, I seem to have more time on my hands. No more countless hours spent on rehearsing speeches and aliyahs, playing musical chairs with the seating chart, driving to tutor sessions, and making life or death decisions, such as whether to serve chicken versus sirloin kabobs at the kiddish luncheon. (more…)

Each year at Passover time, my goal is to learn something that I didn’t know before and pass that new tradition on to my children so that they better understand their own heritage. In other words, I want them to appreciate who they are and where they’ve come from as Jews. After all, “Whoever expands on the Passover telling is to be praised,” said the Jewish sages, and I need all the accolades that I can get. (more…)

Eating and reading are my two favorite things to do,” boasts Wendy Pace, a gourmet cook and avid reader who blends her culinary and literary passions into every aspect of her life. It’s only natural then that this 38-year-old Kirkwood mom of two, who is a local food broker and the wife of the director of the St. Louis County Library, coordinates a unique Jewish reading group called “Cook and Book,” which heats up regularly at Congregation Shaare Emeth in Ladue. (more…)

Missouri is famous for many things: the pony express, Gateway to the West, Mark Twain, and, of course, caves, to name a few. The Show Me state is also on the map for something not as proud, but rather abominable: puppy mills. (more…)

Canned food drives are plentiful these days. Everywhere you go—at school, temple, grocery store, post office, library, retirement center, shopping mall, movie theatre, and even the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra—a barrel devours your donation of black bean soup or beef stew like an empty belly starved for nourishment. In desperation to fill the sparse food pantries and ease the burden on government support, a can of tuna is as valuable as gold these days. (more…)