Don't you you hate it when you're trying to write about the Silvan Elves of Nandorin and it autocorrects it to Silan Elves.
I know lots of people who make vegan seders, swapping the lamb for a beet, the egg for potato, but vegan gefilte fish is a new one to me.
https://www.thejc.com/recipe/vegan-gefilte-fish-cakes-for-pesach-ha8d4if4
Are there vegan substitutions you make, or know about?
I think for those of us who grew up in the 80s and maybe the early 90s, we thought that the digital world would enhance everything, and now we realize that what our constantly connected lives give us, they also take away.
In this article on parenting, the author also talks about rules for himself to get away from the interrupt and attention stealing online world
https://www.joshuakennon.com/raising-kids-to-have-an-analogue-childhood-in-a-digital-world/
What tips do you have as a parent, or even just for yourself, to connect with the physical and important parts of life?
Manishewitz has made a food truck with classic American Jewish food, such as knishes and matzoh ball soup, and is driving it around NYC.
https://forward.com/culture/706825/kosher-food-truck-manischewitz-deli-on-wheels/
Instagram influencer Non-Jewish Nanny is now officially the Now-Jewish Nanny
An article by Rabbi Efrem Goldberg on her talks about lessons we can learn from it, including the question of observance and connection being a thing that brings people closer or pushes them away.
I don't think we can necessarily take all of those lessons from one person, since there are dozens or hundreds of other people in a similar situation, but I do think there are other lessons about embracing others, about not being ashamed of our Judaism, of trusting non-Jews.
Your thoughts?
This article from Mishpacha is a collection of craft organizing tips.
https://mishpacha.com/motherboard-craft-without-clutter/
What are your tips/strategies for keeping your art organized?
While the article is mostly about the popularity of D&D streamers and their audience, I think that the question is more poignant than ever.
Twenty years ago I had community in my TTRPG groups, community in my local Linux User Groups. I wasn't involved my local Jewish community then, but that would have been an option as well.
Today it seems there are fewer communal activities and more of us are suffering from loneliness.
What are your sources of in person community? TTRPGS? Jewish groups? Tech groups? Something else?
If you wanted to start a local group like this, how would you begin?
A virtual class on Passover is taking place on April 3rd.
Between 20% and 30% of adults no longer affiliate with the religion which they grew up in many Western countries, including 28% of Americans. But fewer than 1% of adults who were raised as Israeli Jews no longer identify as such, per a new Pew Research Center report on “religious switching."
https://www.jns.org/pew-finds-28-of-us-adults-switch-faiths-very-rare-for-israeli-jews-to-do-so/
Jan Ian is best known for "At Seventeen" and for being an activist songwriter. In her new documentary "Janis Ian: Breaking Silence" (named after her album of the same name when she came out as a lesbian), Ian talks about her Judaism and its influence on her music.
https://forward.com/culture/film-tv/678373/janis-ian-new-documentary-breaking-silence-varda-bar-kar/
Gefilteria is a website about modern Ashkenazi food revivalist culture, and they make a point about how Ashenazi food culture in the US is in the decline with not only assimilation, but the death of Jewish food institutions.
Their solution seems to be to bring back Jewish food culture in the home, and to modernize it, which is something Jews have always done, using modern techniques and adapting to available ingredients.
If you're not ready to tell your employer that you have ADHD and need accommodations, there are still things you can do.
Are there other tips you have for dealing with ADHD at work without using official accommodations?
This site (which used to be Haggadot.com) lets your make your own
haggadah. I've used one from them in the past and it worked well that Passover.
Besides making your own, you can also browse their existing catalog. It's pretty fun!
https://www.recustom.com/Holidays/Passover?subject=Passover&channel=Holidays
"In this distinctive new My Jewish Learning course, we’ll discuss some of the most popular Jewish books written since World War II and ask why they had such an enormous cultural impact on the decades in which they were published.
Your teacher is Andrew Silow-Carroll, a former editor in chief of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency and the New York Jewish Week — and an award-winning writer who often focuses on Jewish books and book culture."
https://my-jewish-learning.teachable.com/p/jewish-bestsellers
Some awesome changes we have that makes the site more usable:
- We now support a Markdown subset in stories and comments
- We support links, both in Markdown, and just a raw url
- We have improved threading
Big changes are coming down the pike soon. Stay tuned!
The YIVO institute, an archive, library and research institution on Eastern European Jewish civilization, recently encountered a novel problem in its 100 year history.
https://forward.com/culture/705433/yivo-institute-for-jewish-research-100-years-yiddish/
This article from the Forward has a collection of free online resource to learn Yiddish.
https://forward.com/yiddish-world/627049/free-online-resources-to-learn-yiddish-and-how-to-use-them/
When you consider that the Forward used to be a Yiddish newspaper, that's high pedigree set of recommendations!
They also still have a section in Yiddish:
This Dutch tv show goes into the history of Gefilte Fish, why it exists, and why the stuff we buy as a loaf (or in a jar) isn't the real thing.
A definite watch if Gefilte Fish is on your plate on Passover (or any time of the year)
"I wanted to showcase excitement, representation, and Jewish joy, and make something that people can see themselves in,” Nathan explains. “And I wanted it to be for everybody.” She envisioned a shelf-stable product, evoking nostalgic Americana for her branding. After 18 months of research and development, a fluffy matzo ball in plant-based soup was created, rooted in natural ingredients and lower in sodium than conventional instant soups.
https://www.foodandwine.com/modern-kosher-food-brands-8776382
There's an attempt going on to erase Queer existence. Erasure is something that we Jews have dealt with since the Hannukah. This guide talks about how to resist.
https://thetransfemininereview.com/2024/11/13/a-practical-guide-to-resisting-censorship/
What other ways are there that we can say from history, or newer ways using technology, can we share?