Tikkun Olam

(nablopomo day 13) I love books.  I come from a family of book lovers, avid readers, writers and scholars.  My parents, ( zichronam li-vrakhah *) were intellectuals, my mother got her degree in biology, and was talented in the arts, drawing and music.  My father was a Torah and Hebrew teacher and scholar, as well as a Hebrew poet and writer.  He published a book of poetry and many articles in HaDoar, Bitzaron, Ma'ariv and other Hebrew literary magazines and newspapers, as well as translated Shakespeare's Measure for Measure into Hebrew. Me, I'm just an avid reader and writer of run-on sentences.  And I just discovered something called Library Thing !  I recently embedded its widget right here on my blog (scroll down the sidebar).  I remember the days when I kept long lists of books I was reading, had read, and wanted to read.  I kept having to transfer these lists from personal planner to personal planner (in the days of, yes--personal plann...

I was tagged twice, by Miriam and Norma . Problem is, they each tagged me for a different meme. First, was Miriam: I was tagged by her for the Eight-Ball Meme; then , more recently, Norma tagged me for the Seven-Random-or-Weird-Things -About-Me-meme. Oy. What's a blogger to do??! Hey, here's a brilliant idea: how about combining the two! (This is either brilliant, or totally insane.) Okay, let's go for it: I will start with the 8 - Ball questions, and underneath each 8-ball response, I will add one (1) Weird Thing answer. Does that make sense? Never mind - here goes: For the 7 Random/Weird Things, I have to: -first post the rules on my blog. -Share the 7 things about me on my blog. -Tag 7 random people at the end of the post, and link them on my post. -Let each of the 7 know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog. (Again, because I'm combining them, you'll see the 8-Ball meme first, with (as I said above) the random/weird one at the end of e...

OK, I could kick myself. I finally completed my answers for the entire Book Meme, lost my internet connection, saved the copy, forgot to paste it onto a Word document and rebooted. Done gone in cyberspace. Oiy. Trying to remember what I wrote (it was brilliant, mind you), so here we go again( disclaimer: this blogger is not responsible for any errors or lack of brilliance. The computer did it.) : The (*Dreaded = the: -what-if-I-hadn't-read-any-books-all-year-or-what-if-I-can't remember-anything-I've-read-which-is-more-likely -fear? ) Book Meme (thank you for the tag, AbbaGav. I think.): 1. Name one book that changed your life: gosh 'n golly - so many books have made an impact on my life, it's really difficult to choose one. So I'll choose two: Or HaRa'ayon by Rav Meir Kahane*, and Lights Along the Way by Rabbi Dr. Avraham Twerski. (*Actually, it was meeting and conversing with Rabbi Meir Kahane three months before he was murdered which changed my life.)...

Shalom u'Vrakhah, Everybody! I apologize in advance. This blog's intellectual level is about to drop to the depths...of a baby and pre-schooler's! You see what happens when one goes to visit one's married daughter and grandchildren? One's life COMES TO A COMPLETE HALT! I have not been as exhausted as this since my kids were little. I am running around doing a little cleaning, laundry, helping take care of, drive to camp, cooking a bit and feeding and bathing my grandkids - not to mention changing stinky diapers (sorry, mentioned them!). Suddenly, I don't have a life. Actually, in truth? I didn't have a life before I came here; NOW I have a life: Being involved in my daughter's & to a lesser extent, son-in-law's life (and he is like a son to me), getting to know my grandkids and instilling in them (I hope) a bit of Yiddishkeit -"B. V. G." - 'before visiting grandkids' - THAT'S when I didnt' have a life; I just looked ...

This is my first blog, ever. I have never done this before in my life. I was accessing a friend's weblog, when I inadvertently created my own. Out of the blue. Perhaps there was a hidden reason for this... So, I named it "Tikkun Olam". Tikkun Olam is Hebrew for 'Repairing the World'. I welcome your (serious or humorous, but CLEAN) opinions and comments on this subject. Do you agree or disagree, that the world is in dire need of 'repair'? A phrase comes to mind, by Charles Dickens: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times..." My first question is, with regard to that aforementioned phrase, do you believe it is the former, or the latter - and why?? I am eagerly anticipating your comments and reactions! In Friendship, Lady-Light