If you love Jewish discussions, check out MazelTalk, the first website dedicated solely to that topic. According to their site, “It’s a place for you to talk ‘Jewish’ with other Jewish people. Talk about the latest news affecting Jewish people, books related to Judaism, travel, food, humor and everything else.”   

They don’t shy away from tough topics either—Israeli politics, abortion, Jonathan Pollard, and many others controversies are represented. Because the forum is open to all, expect to see a wide variety of opinions represented.

You do have to register to start talking, but it’s free and takes less than 5 minutes to complete.

In what has got to be a new low, a fifteen-year old boy was charged with murdering a rabbi.

When Hasidic Rabbi Joseph Raksin was murdered last August in Miami, it was initially thought to be a hate crime and Jews around the world were outraged. After a lengthy investigation, we’re now hearing that robbery was the real motive.

What kind of insanity is this when a grandfather is shot down while walking to synagogue at 9:00 AM? The thing that’s so ironic here is that the Orthodox don’t carry money on the Sabbath and the robber literally killed someone for nothing, unaware.

Personally, I wonder where the parents are when youngsters are running wild and have access to guns. That level of family dysfunction can’t be allowed to go unchecked.

Full story can be found here.

Last December, I bought some Hanukkah craft kits at Target when they were 70% off. They sat in the stockpile just waiting for Holiday time. It was so nice to pull them out this year, when we felt like being creative.

Each kit came with felt shapes, stickers, eyes, and glue dots. Everything worked well except the glue. According to the instructions, ages 4+ can use it, but I found little fingers to have a lot of trouble unpeeling the dots and they definitely were not sticky enough (take a look at Yellow Dreidel; he lost an eye).

Since I only paid $1.50 per kit, it was a lot of entertainment for a low price, and I’d buy them again. For the next go-round, however, I’d use regular glue and toss the annoying glue dots.

When the crafts were finished, it was on to the cookies. I wanted to make sugar cookie cut-outs in Hanukkah shapes, but after a long search, the Menorah and Star cutters are still missing. (No idea how or why!) Instead, we made a family favorite, Outrageous Cookies.

These are rich, full of peanut butter and chocolate chips, but very delicious, and yes, all of them were eaten that day.

I love having a quiet holiday at home when everyone is getting along and enjoying each other’s company.

How is Hanukkah celebrated at your house?

Looking for free printable Hanukkah cards? Blue Mountain has 18 different options available. These three are my favorites.