A friend sent an email with an article by Walter Russell Mead about Jacksonian Zionists. A curious term, the article didn’t really explain. So I went online and found this article The Jacksonian Tradition by Walter Russell Mead.
Daniel reviews The Once and Future King. Word of advice to parents: if you are recommending this book to your kids, tell them to read The Sword and the Stone. You may not yet want your child reading about the triangle between Arthur, Guenevere and Lancelot (voice of a parent who made this mistake speaking).
Jew Wishes found The Last of the Just by André Schwarz-Bart an enthralling novel.
This article on peanut allergies inspired a lot of discussion on Facebook. Why are there so many peanut allergies among Americans and Brits and so few among native-born Israelis? The article only answers why so few among native-born Israelis (early exposure to peanuts). But the explosion of allergies elsewhere in the past ten years is still unanswered.
Pottery Bell Hanging on My Porch
The bell part of this pottery that I made long ago never worked; it is supposed to chime with the wind. But it makes a pretty ornament on my porch.
Although I usually don’t go the political route on this blog, in some cases I make exceptions. Here is a post by Westbankmama about an anti-Israel week. A good place to start on this topic is Phyllis Chesler’s blog.
A friend wins fundraiser of the year for an organization that provides legal support and counseling to survivors of domestic violence.
I am leaving with my daughter in the morning on a trip, but I’ll be back by Monday morning. So if I don’t get a chance to visit your blog or respond on this one, that’s why. Have a great weekend everyone.
Ilana-Davita posted a recipe for chicken with red peppers, which I made on Friday. I grilled it and then baked it a bit in the oven right before Shabbat. Tasty, though I think next time I should add more garlic.
A disturbing post on Jews Leaving Sweden – talks about Malmo, which I read about in Caldwell’s book (see below).
Books I’m reading: I read most of the stories in The Jew of Home Depot and Other Stories by Max Apple. I would like to write a post on the story called “Stabbing an Elephant.” Can anyone guess what the story about stabbing an elephant is about? Hint: which Jewish holiday?
I started reading My Father’s Paradise: A Son’s Search for His Jewish Past in Kurdish Iraq by Ariel Sabar, a birthday present from a dear friend (thank you). It is a captivating book; Ariel Sabar tells his story and the story of his father with great flourish and engaging description.
I finished Reflections on the Revolution In Europe: Immigration, Islam, and the West by Christopher Caldwell – I highly recommend it, though the topic is a disturbing one.
I finally finished reading Laish by Aharon Appelfeld, which is reviewed beautifully here by Jew Wishes. I cannot even begin to imagine being a 15 year old without parents who is raised by this caravan, but in some ways it is similar to Aharon Appelfeld’s story, who also lost his parents quite young.
Muqata has an eye witness account about the IDF field hospital in Haiti: “A doctor and nurse from Germany came. They heard this is best hospital in Haiti. An emergency room team from Colombia arrived with all their equipment and asked if they could set up next to us to be part of our hospital. England is the enlightened country in Europe, the one which has an academic boycott of Israel; twenty British doctors and nurses asked to work with us.”
Pink Hibiscus Flowers at Cape May Zoo, August 2009
On My Blog
Please read my post on child sexual abuse: Protect Children from Abuse – thank you to everyone who left comments.
Elsewhere in the Blogosphere
Discovered this week that a fellow Highland Parker, Joel Levy, has a blog called Becoming a Black Belt in Life. I discovered it because he stopped me on the street (I seem to have a reputation as a blogger) and told me about it!
Ilana-Davita talks in this post about books she is reading, so I will tell you that I just ordered three books: Stones by Michael Rockland, The Jew of Home Depot by Max Apple, and Flat Belly Diet by Liz Vaccariello. Flat Belly Diet is actually for my father; he is always interested in healthy diets, and someone must have recommended this book to him. If you meet him, you would say, why does he need to lose weight? He doesn’t. He needs to keep any fat he has and to stay healthy. I’m curious about the book.
Red Male Cardinal in a Burning Bush
Mrs. S. pointed out that the burning bush, the name of the shrub that the cardinal is hiding in, was also in the parsha yesterday.
Parsha quiz: Who were Shifra and Puah? Give two possible answers.
Update: See Daniel’s post for three answers.
Attention Jewish Photo Bloggers: JPIX, the blog carnival of Jewish Photo Bloggers, is next Wednesday, December 23. So please send in your links to favorite photos by December 22. You may also send them to jpixcarnival at gmail dot com. And if you are not a Jewish Photo Blogger, you are invited to come back to this blog on December 23 to see the “show.”
Pesky Settler will be hosting a JPIX on February 25. Thanks for volunteering.
