Kveller – Mom Advice & Community for Jewish Parenting, Relationships, Babies, Pregnancy, Toddlers, Raising Jewish Kids

Jewish Stuff!

Home Delivery

Get Kveller By Email

Eat Already!

Baked salmon garnished with asparagus and tomatoes with herbs

19 Shabbat Recipes for Families with All the Allergies

11 Delicious Ways to Use All the Food Your Kids Waste

RECIPE: Challah Pizza Roll-Ups

Home made Chicken Rice Soup - from above Horizontal

Instant Pot Chicken Soup Recipe That's Just Like Bubbe's

8 Jewish Comfort Food Recipes You Need for the Hard Times

More Recipes

Prior to joining 70 Faces Media as the Social Media Editor, Lior Zaltzman was a digital fellow at the Forward, where she wrote about funky yarmulkes and short Jewish men, made comics of bad date stories in a series called #OyDate, created animated-gif, illustrations and drafted thousands of social media posts. Lior is a cartoonist and illustrator, her work was featured in exhibitions from Israel to Canada and has been honored by the Society of Illustrators.

jewish celebrities

Meghan Markle’s Jewish BFF Jessica Mulroney is Throwing Her an Epic Baby Shower

Lior Zaltzman

Meghan Markle is lucky to have a Jewish BFF like Jessica Mulroney (honestly, we're kind of jealous!). In case you missed our previous reporting about this snazzy lady, the Jewish Canadian stylist and… mother of three (who, by the way, had a prominent role at the royal wedding) has been close to the Duchess of Sussex since she was her stylist on the show Suits. So it's no surprise that she's throwing her best friend quite the baby shower (we're still waiting for our invitation...). Apparently, this NYC bash, thrown… >> Read More

Marriage

Ina Garten and Jeffrey Are Total Jewish #CoupleGoals

Lior Zaltzman

We all need that couple that helps us believe in love. For me, that couple is, without a doubt, culinary genius Ina Garten and her husband, Jeffrey. After more than 50 years together, this Jewish… duo seems just as in love with each other as on they were on their wedding day (and those wedding photos, BTW, are adorable). I mean, when your wife writes an entire cookbook for you, Cooking for Jeffrey, you know it's the real deal! https://www.instagram.com/p/BOUc970Bb7t/?utm_source=ig_embed In episodes of Barefoot Contessa and on Ina's Instagram, you… >> Read More

jewish celebrities

Everything About Andy Cohen’s New Baby Is Giving Me Feels

Lior Zaltzman

I don't know what is with Andy Cohen's baby but every time I read about his journey to fatherhood, I get so emotional. (Cue the Whitney Houston.) In a People magazine cover story. the Bravo… host, who recently became a father via surrogate, opens up about becoming a dad. He also shared THE most adorable first picture of his newborn, Benjamin Allen Cohen (ahh... what a wonderfully Jewy name!) I don't know exactly what it is, but everything about Cohen's baby is seriously adorable to me. Maybe it's that "Semitic"… >> Read More

celebrities

Dear Megyn Kelly: Sarah Silverman Is a Role Model for Kids, Expletives and All

Lior Zaltzman

Dear Megyn Kelly, Hi. Hello. How are you, Megyn? I hope this letter finds you well. I opened my Twitter this morning and saw that you apparently have a problem with Sarah Silverman's language. So… offensive is the Jewish comedian's tweet in reply to the president's denial of climate change, you think she should not be allowed to star in children's movies. In fact, you were so disdainful of her that you couldn't even use her name, and instead called her "this woman." Which, I have to say, is kind… >> Read More

anti-semitism

Chelsea Clinton Is Fighting Anti-Semitism on Twitter and We Love It

Lior Zaltzman

If I had to describe Chelsea Clinton's Twitter persona in one word, it would be "mensch." (I know, it's a gendered word, but it totally fits.) The former First Daughter and bestselling author of… She Persisted has a knack for responding directly to her Twitter trolls and throwing them off their guard with kindness. She even thanks her trolls and wishes them a nice day — in an endearing way that somehow feels more genuine than snarky. Clinton is a mother of two children with her husband, Marc Mezvinsky.… >> Read More

abuse

Aly Raisman Inspired This Hasidic Rabbi to Speak Out About Surviving Sexual Abuse

Lior Zaltzman

When Aly Raisman spoke about being a survivor — not a victim — of sexual abuse during the trial of U.S.A. Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar, her powerful testimony and strength inspired… many. “Larry, you do realize now that we, this group of women you so heartlessly abused over such a long period of time, are now a force, and you are nothing,” the Jewish Olympic medalist said to the court. One of those people moved by Raisman's words was a Chabad Rabbi Avrohom "Avremi" Zippel, who watched her… >> Read More

podcast

11 Parenting Podcasts You Need in Your Life

Lior Zaltzman

Before I became a parent, I was a podcast addict. I listened to them at every possible moment: on the train to and from work, at work, on my lunch break, while I was taking a shower, walking the dog,… when I had insomnia — heck, I was even listening to a podcast when I was trying to give birth. Then came my baby, and now listening to podcasts (much like anything else that I like doing for myself) is a real challenge, like trying to fit a square peg into a round hole on… >> Read More

Music

You Need to Know This Israeli Band of Young Musicians With Disabilities

Lior Zaltzman

In big bummer news: The Shalva Band — a group of talented young musicians with disabilities — will not be representing Israel in the Eurovision song competition this year. The band were… longtime crowd favorites, and they even made it to the final round of The Next Star, the reality TV singing competition that chooses who will represent Israel at Eurovision. (The incredible Netta, was last year's winner — and she went on to win Eurovision!l) Unfortunately, because many of the band's members are observant, they decided to… >> Read More

jewish celebrities

Julian Edelman, Jewish Dad and Super Bowl MVP, Is a Major Mensch

Lior Zaltzman

OK, OK. I really don't know much about football. (And I *know* I'm not the only one, right?) But I know that Super Bowl parties usually have really good snacks, and the televised event is full of… very expensive, sometimes moving and sometimes hilarious commercials. And yes, I know that there are some pretty good reasons to feel icky about supporting the NFL. But I also know that one of the few Jewish players in the entire NFL, the New England Patriots' wide receiver Julian Edelman, was the essential ingredient in his team's winning… >> Read More

holocaust

What Will the Holocaust Mean to My Baby, the Great-Grandson of Survivors?

Lior Zaltzman

On two separate, unseasonably warm December days this year, my infant son met his great-grandmothers for the first time. He was old enough to look them in the eyes and offer the most heartrending of… smiles, but he's nowhere near old enough to understand the magnitude of the moment, which completely took my breath away. Both of my son’s great-grandmothers were alive and in hiding during WWII. Both of them grew up with very little family because of the Holocaust. In fact, all of my grandparents were survivors, one grandmother… >> Read More

Books

18 Diverse Jewish Children’s Books to Read for MLK Day — and Every Day

Lior Zaltzman

As someone just starting to raise a Jewish kid, I'm super aware that I want to give my child a full picture of the diverse spectrum of Jewish life. I don't want him to think that Jews are supposed to… look or be a certain way. And, of course, I want him to know that being a Jew also means looking beyond yourself and fighting for a more just world. As someone who grew up with a house full of books — and who wants to instill a love for reading to her children —… >> Read More

bar/bat mitzvahs

This Amazing Bat Mitzvah Is a Game Changer for Visually Impaired Jews

Lior Zaltzman

Preparing for a bar or bat mitzvah is a challenge for any preteen — it requires hours of preparation and dedication. But for Batya Sperling-Milner, the challenge was even more enormous. First… off, Sperling-Milner, the third of four kids, is blind. Secondly, her family, which belongs to the Ohev Sholom congregation in Washington, D.C., is Modern Orthodox, which means that the standards for her bat mitzvah ceremony had to be a lot more exacting than it would for a kid belonging to a more liberal congregation. Luckily, Sperling-Milner… >> Read More

jewish celebrities

Jewish Mom Jenna Jameson Quits Twitter Over Anti-Semitism

Lior Zaltzman

Jenna Jameson has had it with anti-Semitic Twitter trolls. Who can blame her? “It’s near impossible to just have normal conversations without hundreds of people attacking me for the past I… cannot change,” she tweeted, before deactivating her Twitter account, according to JTA. We can relate. She clarified the exact reason why she was leaving: "My sobriety and faith are the most important things to me. I am being attacked for my faith. Being Jewish. I must protect my love for G-d above everything, my sobriety… >> Read More

Television

The Israeli Show on Netflix Everyone Should Be Binging

Lior Zaltzman

I was surprised at how enthralled I am with Shtisel, the Israeli series that hit Netflix in 2019 but is hardly new (the first season aired in Israel in 2013). The show explores the lives of the… ultra-Orthodox Shtisel family, who live in the Geula neighborhood in Jerusalem — generally, a place where I, as a secular Israeli human, would not really want to hang out. So why does the kugel, the watery soup, and the other Ashkenazi fare often eaten in the show suddenly look so mouthwateringly delicious? Why do the… >> Read More

Music

The Shabbat Version of ‘Baby Shark’ Will Blow You Out of the Water

Lior Zaltzman

If you are a parent to young children, you may have heard the song "Baby Shark" about, oh, some 235,000 to 2.3 million times already. The 60-minute loop of the hit kid song (and dance) has,… impressively but unsurprisingly, over 30 million views. But now, there's a Jewish version of this ear worm that's equally annoy... I mean, catchy. Jewish a cappella group the Maccabeats have put out a parody of "Baby Shark" that's guaranteed to get your kids excited about the holiest day of the week: Shabbat! Called simply, "It's Shabbat!"… >> Read More

How Being on Netflix’s ‘Tidying Up’ Changed This Jewish Mom’s Life

Lior Zaltzman

Ever since I had my son this year, messes have been on my mind. I used to really not care about being organized, but I am learning that parenthood changes how you feel about everything — including… your home. But despite my pre-birth purging half of my closet, and what I think is probably 200 books, my house still feels like a total mess that I can't seem to overcome. This is why I was encouraged when I saw another Jewish mom, Rachel Friend, remove the physical and mental burden of her… >> Read More

Movies

Does Regina King Have a Hebrew Tattoo?

Lior Zaltzman

When actress Regina King won a Golden Globe award last night for her role in the movie If Beale Street Could Talk — a well-deserved nod, in my opinion! — many Jews off and on Twitter couldn't… help but notice her tattoo, which features what looks like three Hebrew letters. (What's the Hebrew tattoo on Regina King's arm?) — Emily L. Hauser (@emilylhauser) January 7, 2019 As a Hebrew speaker myself, I recognized the three letters as "hey, hey, ayin" — a combination of letters that does not mean anything in modern… >> Read More

favorite

15 Reasons Why Alex Borstein Is Our Favorite Jewish Mom

Lior Zaltzman

Alex Borstein is freakin' brilliant. There, I said it. She has the comic timing of a boss, she is an amazingly gifted actress, her impressions and voices are out of this world, and judging by her… interviews and public appearances, she's kind of a badass in real life, too. We've come to love her as Susie Meyerson in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, but Borstein started out her acting career on MadTV. In 2018, she won two Emmys: one for her role as Susie, and the other for her role as Lois in… >> Read More

baby

Gender Neutral Birth Certificates Are Now a Thing in NYC

Lior Zaltzman

Gender neutrality concept. Crossed out woman and man, female and male symbols.

Way back in 2017, a newborn's gender was declared non-binary — neither female nor male — for the first time in Canada (and quite possibly the world). Now, however, as of Jan. 1, 2019,… New York City residents can assign a third and non-binary gender to their babies the moment they are born: Gender "X." NYC is hardly a pioneer in this: Since January 2018, every state in the U.S. West Coast has allowed people to change their gender markers on their birth certificate to "X." Washington D.C. also does. Germany became… >> Read More

Advice

The Ultimate Guide to Dealing With Tantrums

Lior Zaltzman

Photo of colorful drawing: Little girl screaming the word NO

Tantrums can be mortifying for us as parents, especially when they happen in public. And why do they always seem to happen when you're pressed to get out of the house? Sometimes, it feels like the… tantrum came out of nowhere, or like anything you do just further escalates everyone's emotions. Parenting moments like these make you wish you had some kind of parenting hotline to call for help. And while we can't provide you that, we do have the next best thing: some truly top-notch expert advice. Back in November,… >> Read More

baby names

The Hottest Jewish Baby Names for 2019

Lior Zaltzman

In the spirit of the whole "new year, new beginnings" vibe, we're looking forward to a fresh batch of brand-new babies in 2019. Just what will we call these bundles of joy to be? Well, according… to Nameberry, the hottest baby names of 2019 will be inspired by animal names, nicknames, and precious gems. If you're looking for a bit of Jewish flavor on these trends, you're in luck: Many Hebrew names are based on animals, and you can find you can find plenty of unisex and one-syllable Jewish names here.… >> Read More

Israel

How to Travel to Israel With a Baby (Learn from My Mistakes)

Lior Zaltzman

My baby's first flight was a 10-hour flight to Israel from New York. The two of us flew alone. As you probably surmised from reading this, we survived. But, like, barely. That's really how I felt,… as I plopped down in my parents' car when they picked us up from the airport, my baby wailing in the back seat: We survived this in the most primal, basic way. I didn't feel triumphant at all. It was all so incredibly hard, and I was just with one kid. How do people do… >> Read More

Israel

Natalie Portman Called this Israeli Law ‘Racist’ — Here’s Why That’s Important

Lior Zaltzman

In an interview promoting her upcoming film, Vox Lux, Natalie Portman was asked about a Israel's newish nation-state law, which the actress called "racist" and a "mistake". As an Israeli living… abroad — and a hardcore Natalie fan — I'm heartened by her criticism. Let me explain. Israel's nation-state law, which passed in July, defines Israel as a Jewish nation-state — specifically, that Israel is the nation-state of the Jewish people, with Hebrew as the country's only official language. While the law is mostly symbolic —… >> Read More

holocaust

Today’s Google Doodle Honors This Amazing Holocaust Survivor

Lior Zaltzman

If you've Googled anything today, you may have been struck by a harrowing black-and-white Google Doodle featuring a typewriter. It honors Nelly Sachs, an incredible German Jewish poet and Holocaust… survivor. Sachs was born to a well-to-do Jewish family in Berlin 127 years ago, on December 10, 1891. As a teen, Sachs was inspired by the writing Swedish author Selma Lagerlöf, to whom she wrote admiring letters. Much of her early published work was inspired by Lagerlöf's romantic style. As Hitler rose to power, Sachs was only… >> Read More

Hanukkah

This Cover of Matisyahu’s ‘Happy Hanukkah’ Makes Us So Happy

Lior Zaltzman

You may know the Canadian band Walk Off the Earth from their incredibly viral 2012 cover of Gotye's "Somebody That I Used to Know" that featured all five members of the group jamming and singing on… a single guitar. Since then, they've created many other epic covers, though their version of Ed Sheeran's "Shape of You" is seriously the best. Not only are the members of Walk Off the Earth incredible musicians, but apparently they're clever, too: Though they're not a Jewish group, they clearly caught onto the viral video phenomenon that… >> Read More

Load More Articles