A good friend of mine recently asked me when she should tell her son about the Holocaust. She is not Jewish, she homeschools her son, and he is 11 years old. She was asking me because she knows I grew up with a strong consciousness of the Holocaust (and family members who died during the Holocaust) and as a homeschooler, she wanted to present as accurately as possible the historical relevance and significance of the Holocaust in a way that a school might not.

I had to think back to when I learned about the Holocaust. I can’t remember a time I didn’t know about it, in all honesty. From the time I was very young, maybe 6 or 7 years old, I knew that my mom’s mom (my beloved bubbie Sura Perl z”l) had lost her parents and half of her dozen or so siblings during the War. I knew she was orphaned on the shores of Ellis Island and had to grow up with her siblings and my grandfather as her only life guides.  Read more →

One of the questions I get asked most often is, “Is it fun being on The Big Bang Theory?” I am happy to report that I always answer a resounding, “Yes!” But as fun as it is to be Amy Farrah Fowler, it’s more fun to watch the looks on girls’ faces when they find I’m a scientist in real life! In fact, this past hiatus from filming The Big Bang Theory was spent encouraging girls to embark in careers in science, technology, engineering, and math (known collectively as STEM) during National HerWorld Month.

My hiatus was spent, in fact, partnering with DeVryUniversity to speak at its HerWorld event in New York City. Throughout the month of March, more than 7,000 high school girls participated in similar conventions all over the country. HerWorld feature workshops, hands-on activities, and lectures from women in STEM. The idea is to provide information about STEM careers and to give young girls positive role models to learn from so that they can picture themselves as the next generation of scientists, techies, engineers, and mathematicians.  Read more →

This week’s most popular posts from Raising Kvell, in case you missed them.

- My Exodus from Brooklyn. Adina went from stoop living in Brooklyn to suburban living in Long Island. Here’s how it’s gone down so far.

- I Ate My Placenta & You Can Too. When Esther was initially asked whether she wanted to eat her placenta after giving birth, her response was, “Ewwwww.” But soon, she came around, and now she helps other woman encapsulate their placenta for consumption.

- Counting the Omer, Counting the Milestones. We are now in the period of the Omer, where we count down the days between Passover and Shavuot. But parents are used to this kind of counting–like counting down the hours until bedtime, or the years until the next milestone.

- Friday Night: Closer to Freedom than Ever. This Passover, Carla is grateful to live in a country that is striving for more freedom for more of its citizens than ever before, including the fight for gay marriage currently taking place in the Supreme Court.

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Pesach was good! Mid-divorce, I hosted everyone. And it was great.

In addition to my I-still-call-her-my-mother-in-law and Michael, my parents were there and my uncle. My closest and oldest friend and her 7-year-old daughter came and the kids had a blast. Her 7-year-old and my 7-year-old even let my 4-year-old find the afikomen because he was literally having a fit about the possibility of not finding it, starting at about karpas. Thank you, mature 7-year-olds!  Read more →

Two weeks ago, the cast of The Big Bang Theory participated in a panel discussion with the creators and executive producers of our show for the PaleyFest in Beverly Hills. It was an opportunity for us to be interviewed in front of about 500 fans, and the panel was broadcast all over the country and internet as well. We took questions from the audience, as well as from the moderator, Pauley Perrette (from “NCIS”).

There was a red carpet before and the event tends to be on the casual side, but since I don’t wear pants and my idea of casual is a denim skirt, black 3/4 T-shirt and Payless flats, I was nervous about what to wear, since I tend to inevitably look overdressed because of my tznius (modesty) choices. I barely understood why stylist Ali told me to wear what I wore, but my outfit got rave reviews. Go figure. (If I learned one thing from my make-over on “What Not To Wear,” it was to not trust myself in anything fashion-related and listen to someone who can be trusted.)  Read more →

I saw an ad in a Jewish magazine today advertising the 30 minute Seder: The Haggadah That Blends Brevity With Tradition. “Sarah B.” from New York City says (on the ad), that this haggadah makes Passover “a joy to celebrate.” Hmmm.

In case you were wondering, it’s also “rabbinically approved,” “refreshingly brief” (hence the 30 minute bit), and “gender-neutral.” Hmmm.

Yep, I’ve got opinions. I’ve also got a lot of reasons to have opinions. (You can check out the haggadah here.)

As a mom of two young boys, I like the idea of a short Seder (and really, who doesn’t!?). By the time the Seder rolls around, most kids are already in bed. What gives? I asked my Partners In Torah chevrusa: Why have a ceremony that kids can’t even stay awake for?

Her answer–and the answer I have come to understand–is sort of up for debate. And you may not agree with it. But here’s what I have come to feel about this matter. And here’s why I won’t be doing a 30 minute Seder. Read more →

Passover is upon us and I am sort of almost ready. Because of my car accident seven and a half months ago and my tendinitis which I am just finally over, my cleaning and cooking will not be as thorough and rigorous as I like them to be, but I am doing things differently this year and that’s a good thing.

Here are the things I am doing differently:

1. Not obsessing as much as I like to. Traditional Judaism is a beloved religious undertaking for those of us on the Obsessive-Compulsive spectrum, with its myriad boundaries, numerical rituals, and things to do and not do in order to be “right” with God and the world. Even our spring cleaning is regimented, to a certain extent, and I usually take this time of year to go totally nutso bonkers with my cleaning. This year, it will be more by-the-books and I will save the super duper magnifying glass-type of scouring for another time when my hand is better. And that’s ok.  Read more →

This week’s most popular posts from Raising Kvell, in case you missed them.

- On Days Like These, I Miss My Mom. Sarah Tuttle-Singer has a lot on her plate, solo-parenting her kids and living in a different country than her family, but the hardest part is no longer having her own mother around to be there for help and reassurance.

- Welcome to My Nursing Brain. We’ve heard about pregnancy brain, but Tzipporah La Fianza lets us know that very real effects of “nursing brain,” i.e. forgetting how to pronounce your own name.

- 10 Ways to Add Some Girl Power to Your Seder. From adding an orange or coffee bean to your seder plate, filling up Miriam’s cup, or asking four alternative questions, Avital Norman Nathman shares some great ways to honor women this Passover.

- Losing My Sex Drive After Having Kids (And How I Got it Back). Ronnie Koenig went from editor of Playgirl to mom of twins. Needless to say, there was a major shift in her sex drive, but she has five great tips for getting your mojo back. 

With the publication of the Sheryl Sandberg’s book, Lean In, and the related decision by Yahoo’s CEO Marissa Mayer to no longer allow working from home (she herself returned to work two weeks postpartum albeit with a nursery built for her son next to her office) there has been a lot of “feminist” stuff swirling around the media and my head. And it’s getting crowded in there.

I want to share some things that I have been considering. Mind you, these are just thoughts. The issues at hand are so broad, so complex, and so overwhelming, that I have decided to just throw out there my initial thoughts and reactions to the media storm swirling and see what happens next.

Here are “Five Things That Currently Don’t Make Sense To Me.” Read more →

This week’s most popular posts from Raising Kvell, in case you missed them.

- Why I Won’t Let My Kids Do the Laundry. It’s important to Pamela to raise independent kids, but doing the laundry is the one chore she can’t bring herself to give up.

- The Pains of Parenting with Arthritis. E.B.’s arthritis made it extremely painful to hold her newborn baby, but she had limited treatment options since she was committed to breastfeeding.

- When Parenting Starts to Feel Like Junior High. When a mom at toddler music class looked Jordana up and down but didn’t return a friendly hello, Jordana was reminded that sometimes, interacting with other moms is a lot like going back to Junior High.

- Returning to the Mikveh After Giving Birth. Rabbi Elianna Yolkut never had a very spiritual experience attending the mikveh. But after giving birth to twins, she found herself craving that special alone time more than ever.