Nutrition Confusion

For years I've been reading books and articles on nutrition and for years I was trying to get a clear idea of what constitutes an optimal healthy diet. One would think it should be simple enough to find an answer to this question. Yet there are so many schools of thought on the subject, varying in their degree of radicalism, that to find a straight answer is quite a daunting task. I was also looking for something that could be reasonably implemented in an average household, that went well with and didn't contradict the Torah ideology and was based on sound evidence. So here are the conclusions on the principles of good nutrition in a nutshell and hopefully I'll come back to this topic in the future. A)It's important what you eat - your food choices and the quality of food B)It's also important what you don't eat - sometimes just removing some foods from your diet, even if you don't change anything else makes a tremendous difference C)It's important how much you eat - I just read in an interesting book the Life-Transforming Diet that sometimes even if you eat the "wrong" food but in the "right" quantities it doesn't affect you adversely D)Sometimes it's also important when you eat - what food to eat and in which combinations and how heavy or light the meal should be in the particular time of day. The benefits of proper nutrition are many. Good health, longevity, high energy level and self-discipline are just a few. But even from the educational point of view, it's important to give our children a good foundation for life both physically and emotionally. To teach them the basics of good nutrition, to appreciate the intricacy of the design of the human body, how to relate to food in a healthy way, how to exercise self-control and the health and medicinal properties of various foods. Having a child with allergies brings all of the above into sharper focus for me. I really learned to appreciate food as medicine, because due to many sensitivities my son often does better with natural rather than conventional medicines. Here are a few books I found particularly helpful and informative.
Life-Transforming Diet by David J. Zulberg - a really interesting book on health and nutrition based on traditional jewish thought and the teachings of the Rambam.
Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon- a cookbook with a lot of interesting information based on the research of Weston Price who went around the world to discover what an optimal diet should be.
Gentle Healing for Baby and Child by Andrea Candee

Yom Kipur inspirations

Here is a wonderful short video about the meaning and power of Yom Kippur. A nice thought on tshuva for mothers, an article to make Yom Kipur prayers more meaningful and a beautiful song. Have a G'mar chasima tova, may we all be sealed for a truly GOOD year!!!

Some preschool links

Generally the preschool years don't require too much formal instruction. However early childhood education is very important because it sets the foundation for all the future learning that a child will do. It also sets the foundation psychologically and emotionally and will effect the child's outlook on life, so it's crucial for parents to invest a lot of effort at this time in their child's development. Most of the learning at this stage takes place just doing the regular everyday things. And many basic skills are learned just fine through interaction with parents, siblings and friends, through a lot of play, through reading and discussing, looking closely and analyzing what one sees. Children develop and mature at different rates so instruction of any sort has to be appropriate for the particular child. But with a lot of love, patience, flexibility and enthusiasm, a tremedous amount could be accomplished during this stage. Here are a few links with some useful stuff for preschoolers.
www.first-school.ws -lots of worksheets, games, crafts and more for young children
www.letteroftheweek.com - a preschool curriculum with lots of interesting things, I really like the journal section. There are also good ideas for introducing science and history among other things.
www.carlscorner.us.com - more stuff for teaching basic skills

The Bris

Yesterday I went to my nephew's bris. It was a beautiful family event and it brought back many memories of brisim past, particularly that of my firstborn. I remember the vulnerability of new motherhood, the roller coaster of emotions and the intense love I felt for this tiny human being that I was finally privileged to meet. I remember how I felt I just couldn't get enough of my baby, how I wanted to just bottle up all the sweetness of those new beginnings, to keep it with me forever and ever, to capture it in all its' pristine and fathomless beauty. And then I thought about the most beautiful baby card I ever received. It was kind of plain looking without smiling fat babies or booties and such on top, on the front in old- fashioned type a list appeared. It read "so sweet, so cute, so cuddly, so soft, so wonderful" and then you opened the card and in the same type it read "and yours." Then the giver of the card wrote that he hoped that we would always remember and feel the same love for our baby as he grows as we felt when he was new and small. I still have this card somewhere and I have this warm feeling whenever I think of it. The road we take as parents is often not smooth, there are many bumps and twists and turns and we need this love, that we feel so strongly for our children to keep us from going off track into places we don't want to go as we raise our kids. It's also very relevant when we talk about the bris, the covenant, that we make with Hashem. I used to wonder why the Torah talks about our relationship with Hashem as a covenant so much. Why so much emphasis on the covenantal nature of our relationship? Then it occurred to me that perhaps it's to impress upon us the strength of the relationship and the obligations that come with it. When we forge a relationship like that, it's not a contract that could be terminated at will, we pledge to cherish the relationship and all it stands for, to be loyal, to do everything to nurture and improve the relationship, to make it better as time goes by, to live up to our obligations, to go the extra mile. It's not surprising that marriage is also referred to as a covenant. But I think our relationship with our children is also a covenant. May we stay true to this covenant and may the special love that we feel for our children propel us further and higher in our mission as parents, our relationship with our children and each other and of course our relationship with Hashem Himself.

Songs of hope, optimism and faith

Artistic musings

Art presents a special challenge to a Jewish parent. Mostly it's the issue of tznius (modesty). The Jewish idea of what's appropriate, even for art and self expression purposes, is very different from that of the secular world. There is also the issue of shmiras einaim, being careful not to look at things that are spiritually detrimental to one's soul, which is at least as important as eating kosher food. There are a few reasons though why teaching art is important. First, there are the technical aspects, of which there are many, that develop many practical skills that could be later applied, transferred or combined with other disciplines. Secondly, it teaches one to pay attention to detail and beauty in the world. Thirdly, a beautiful piece of art has a potential to be as moving and inspirational as a piece of music or a poem. Finally, it allows the individuals with artistic inclinations, latent or otherwise to develop their creativity. However, as far as I have seen there is no one art program or package that could be used by a religious Jew without modifications. So it's up to the parent or a teacher to come up with appropriate materials and present them to the student in a proper way. Luckily there are many sources of artwork available on the Internet (reproductions that could be bought or printed out) so one can pick and choose and select what is appropriate. Post cards and art from calendars or old books can also be used. One can even use picture book illustrations to explain various elements of art. For the Charlotte Mason system fans, picture study is a good way to introduce students to art. From the Montessori crowd, the idea of utilizing child sized masterpieces also offers a good way to introduce art. The book, Mommy It's a Renoir or How to use child sized masterpieces by Aline Wolf, explains the details (the books with the actual postcards are not all Jewish child friendly so you are better off making your own selections). As for the technical aspects there are myriads of books available on all different types of art, one just has to pay attention and make the necessary modifications. For the Jewish parent teaching art is more of a practical matter rather than cultural, even though some art can be taught in its historical context. There are also ways to combine art with teaching science and math or foreign language. Also, art could be a practical skill that could be used effectively in many venues in the home or otherwise. Art is a subject that could incorporated in home learning in many, many ways. It's also something that parents and children can do together. So if you or your child are artistic or like art, make it a part of your home education.

Taking control

Recently, I read a few great articles about how keeping a personal journal and writing in general can increase self-awareness and with proper introspection can help one do tshuva. It is something that has been used and recommended by the mussar greats. But journal keeping and letter writing are not just for the giants. In fact, it used to be widely practiced by many regular folks in the past. However, with the advent of modern technology these practices are unfortunately in danger of becoming a lost art. There are social,spiritual and sociological ramifications to this state of affairs as well. So here is an article by Rabbi Jonathan Rosenblum about how the modern media overload has a tendency to take over our lives and how to regain control.