I went on The Doctors last week to discuss attachment parenting, extended breastfeeding, and my book. Check out the segment below!

Time Magazine put a picture of a mother breastfeeding her 3-year-old son on their latest cover, and the whole world started talking. Several news and media sources contacted me to get my opinion on the matter, and here’s what I had to say:

From CNN:

Entertainment Tonight, “The Insider,” May 10th:

Good Morning America:

Entertainment Tonight, “The Insider,” May 11th:

Jane Velez-Mitchell:

The most popular posts from Raising Kvell this week, in case you missed them:

- I Am a Feminist Mother… Who Stayed at Home, by Renee Septimus

- Our Family Nudity Policy, by Alina Adams

- What Maurice Sendak Taught Me, by Jordana Horn

- Actually, I Am Jewish, Even If You Don’t Agree, by Carla Naumburg

I spoke about the mikveh (Jewish ritual bath) at the Silicon Valley JCC last weekend. This happens to be the mikveh that serves people like my adorable mother-in-law (who used this mikveh when she joined the Jewish faith almost five years ago), and it was a real pleasure to speak in front of her and some of my other Bay Area family.

I was asked to speak on the history, meaning, significance, and usage of the mikveh, a talk I have never given before. It’s a daunting task to speak about mikveh in a non-Orthodox setting, largely because I hold to the restrictions and halachos (traditional Jewish laws) known collectively as Taharat HaMishpacha (the laws of niddah), which many people in Reform and Conservative circles reject.

Here’s a rundown of the talk and a little about my personal experience with the mikveh. Read more →

One of the rabbis who hosted me at the talk I gave at the Silicon Valley JCC this past weekend asked if I had heard about a certain legal case against a large Santa Clara hotel chain by several female workers. I had not, and we spoke about it and what, if anything, I could do in my “position.”

Turns out that two female workers’ photographs had been collaged onto images of bikini-clad bodies for “Worker Appreciation Week.” The women protested and took down the photos and were subsequently fired. Read more →

The hip-hop world lost a great last week. Adam Yauch, known as MCA, was one of the triumvirate known as the Beastie Boys, who knocked down so many walls surrounding rap and hip-hop, it’s impossible to even explain in one small post.

But the Beastie Boys broke down another barrier as well, which I remember very distinctly when they became a part of American culture in the 1980s. The Beastie Boys were Jews. All of them. And from Brooklyn, no less! For many of us urban Jewish kids in the 1980s, the Beastie Boys were the first Jewish celebrities we had for us. Our parents had Woody Allen and Bette Midler and Barbra Streisand, and a bunch of old surly men comics who were all products of the Borscht Belt and had changed their names to sound “American.” Read more →

It’s that time of week–here are the most popular posts from Raising Kvell from the past week. Enjoy!

- I Was So Crazy I Wrote a Baby Manual, by Jordana Horn. In which Jordana finds an extensive manual she wrote for how to care for her firstborn, and remembers just how neurotic first-time moms can be.

- Interview with the creators of TheJMom, by Molly Tolsky. In which we learn about a new dating website where Jewish mothers can go to set up their kids.

- Kveller’s got two giveaways going on right now: Win a Mamaleh t-shirt, just in time for Mother’s Day, and a copy of this book you may have heard of, Beyond the Sling.

- The Rabbi-to-Be’s Job Interview, by Patrick Aleph. In which a rabbinical student proves that he would make just about the coolest rabbi, if you’ll have him.

- One Day, Your Kids Will Be Taking Care of You, by Renee Septimus. In which Renee reminds us why it’s so important to raise responsible, empathetic children.

I was honored by the ADL last week with the Deborah award, given to women leaders who embody the qualities of the Judge and Prophetess Deborah. Madeline Albright and Diane Feinstein have gotten it, as well as pretty much every important CEO-type who also does good work outside of their profession.

While I don’t judge as a profession (and have largely tried to eliminate judging from my personal dealings) and God has not (yet) spoken to me in a manner of prophecy, I was honored to be given an award that bears the name of such a great woman. The ADL chose to honor me not at their entertainment awards but as a “regular” person at their Deborah awards because of (I think) my prominent role as a writer and advocate for Jewish living and parenting at Kveller.com, my work with UCLA Hillel and the Jewish Free Loan Association of Los Angeles, and my role-model appeal as a woman in science who is also a mother and also a working actress. Read more →

I have never read Parenting Magazine. Well, maybe I have thumbed through it in a doctor’s office once or twice. I don’t tend to read “conventional” consumer-heavy magazines. Too much molding everyone and their kids to be the same image of “normal” that modern obstetrics and pediatrics wants to sell us: buy this, buy that, you need this gadget and that gadget.

Not my thing, but whatever. There’s something for everyone, and the “natural family living” publication, Mothering Magazine (now Mothering.com) was made for mamas like me, so fine. To each her own.

Read more →

I went to a Creativity and Innovators Summit at the White House last Friday held in the Executive Office building. Bill Prady went with me. He created The Big Bang Theory and is our executive producer. Johnny Galecki was there, too. So were Tim Daly and Richard Kind and a bunch of really intelligent movers and shakers.

I cried when my car pulled up to the entrance. My grandparents arrived to this country on a dingy boat fleeing pogroms and the Holocaust. How did I end up at the White House? And why couldn’t they still be alive to have me tell them all about it?

Left: The Executive Office Building. Right: The bathroom.

I wore super high heels and a conservative dress and blazer. The floors of the Executive Office building are marble and extremely shiny and very slick. I pictured falling on my face. I switched to flats in the third floor bathroom. Read more →