The holiday of Passover is many people's favorite on the Jewish calendar by far. The celebration is centered in the home, rather than the synagogue. We hold a seder - literally translated as "order" - really a lengthy ceremonious meal. It is customary to invite friends and relatives, and we are encouraged to share our seder with non-Jews as well. We are also directed to ask questions as to why we do certain things - most famous are the "Four Questions" (Ma Nishtana) that the youngest present asks, but all who are at the table are encouraged to ask their own questions, or add their own words of Torah. Traditionally, we follow along with the hagadah, which outlines the different parts of the... more

I got an email a few weeks ago from Jewish Lights Publishing on a new book they just put out. Jewish Lights is a company that puts out books of Jewish content targeted for people of any background - Jewish or not, observant, religious or unaffiliated. The new book is called What Makes Someone a Jew?, and is geared for ages 3 to 6 years old. The book, by Lauren Seidman, looks at the different things that make us all one people, and how alike and different we are at the same time. The pictures are great - very multiracial. It makes a great starting point to talk to kids who are adopted about their background, and how they are part of the... more

The holiday of Passover (Pesach in Hebrew) is rapidly approaching. There are four weeks between the holiday of Purim and that of Passover, and every year it seems shorter than it actually is. Passover actually starts long before it appears on the calendar with Biblically mandated Spring cleaning. Theoretically, we are cleaning our homes of all leavened things (bread, crackers, cheerios left in the cracks of the sofas) but most people seem to take it a bit further, ensuring that the entire house is thoroughly cleaned before the holiday.

We have a small house and growing family. Actually, I just blame them. The real issue... more

There was a recent article published in The New York Times on dealing with being adopted, Chinese and becoming a Bat Mitzvah. The article is interesting - certainly worth reading, although please be forewarned that the description of the Bat Mitzvah is not necessarily representative of Bar and Bat Mitzvah celebrations in general. The article does bring up very good issues to discuss and to think about - ideas of heritage, history and identity - things that interracial Jewish adoptive families deal with on a daily basis.

Fu Qian, renamed Cecelia Nealon-Shapiro at 3 months, was one of the first Chinese... more

Purim, as I have discovered, is both the best and absolute worst holiday for a four year old. Anna had an amazing time dressing up as Queen Esther, going to synagogue to hear the Megillah and making noise when the villan Haman's name was read. And then she came home.... and the wonderful baskets of mishloach manot started to arrive. And then more came. And more. And soon, our dining room table was teeming with goodies from our friends in town. Usually we deliver our own around town also, but we got lazy this year and took up our synagogue on their offer to distribute on our behalf (for a donation). So, Anna - who is usually out making rounds with my husband delivering our goodies to our friends... more

One of my favorite holidays - Purim - is fast approaching. Purim is a great holiday on the Jewish calendar - it's happy, festive, and yet not filled with the traditional restrictions that come with other holidays (i.e. no work, no driving, etc. Similar to Shabbat). There are four mitzvot (commandments) that accompany the holiday of Purim -

-- Hear the Megillah. The Book of Esther is read Purim night and in the morning (remember that Jewish holidays go sundown to sundown). The book tells the Purim Story which took place in Persia under King Ahashverosh. It's a great story to share with children, and although we celebrate the miracle... more

Adopting a baby or child is an exciting and often overwhelming time in any family, any culture or religion. We are blessed to be in such a great supportive community - the week that Anna came to us (almost three years ago!) members of the community cooked meals for us, and provided us with food for that Shabbat.

And then the questions came. When are you going to convert her? Are you keeping her name? And even - Where are you sending her to school (Anna was all of 15ish months at the time) I guess people around us who had seen their friends or relatives go through the adoption process were used to the domestic adoption process where the waiting period finalization is finite, or the... more

How much of our thought process is governed by where we live and what time and place we are living in? I was thinking about this recently when visiting with a relative of mine. She's in her late sixties and never had any children, though she was married at one time and was pregnant. Unfortunately, she lost the pregnancy in her third trimester and she and her husband were unable to console each other and unable to agree to move forward with looking into adoption, divorced. It took her a long time to be able to move on with her life from that point.

But I wondered recently - if she were living that part of her life in 2007, would she have gone on to adopt as a single woman - something... more

Many of you will remember that I'm a huge West Wing fan and am still in mourning about the fact that the show went off the air. I also don't watch a lot of television (partly trying to set an example for my kids, partly because I'm too busy chasing them around to sit in front of the tube) but I usually make time for about one show a week. This year, I got hooked on a show called Heroes . It's actually really good, although not generally the type of show I'm into.

On the show, there is a teenager - Claire - who is adopted. The fact that she is adopted is discussed and is actually part of the story line. At first I didn't think much of it, but... more

I ran across this article today on CNN.com which describes toys and gadgets that are geared toward getting the 2 - 11 age group on the Internet.

According to Nielsen/Net Ratings Inc., an Internet research company, the number of online users in the 2-to-11 age group rose 19 percent to 15.1 million in December 2006, from 12.6 million in December 2002. The latest strategy comes as the nation's toy industry has been under pressure to bring back children bombarded with other entertainment options from iPods, cell phones and online community sites.

Is there such a thing... more