http://www.articletrader.com/ Articles at ArticleTrader en-us http://www.articletrader.com/society/religion/twinning-opportunities.html http://www.articletrader.com/society/religion/twinning-opportunities.html Fri, 15 Sep 2006 00:00:00 -0500 Twinning with an Israeli AMIT Child – For $250, your child can be twinned with a less fortunate Israeli child in an AMIT school. Your gift pays for an Oneg Shabbat for the Israeli bar mitzvah / bat mitzvah; your child will receive a bronze State of Israel Medal and a personalized certificate. Twins are encouraged to become pen pals. Look Now
Twinning with an Israeli Child through Emunah of America. This organization provides a broad range of social services in Israel including housing, care and education of neglected and abused children and settlement of immigrant families. They sell “Simcha Share” certificates in multiples of $36; a contribution of $360 or more earns a medallion in addition to certificate recognizing the donation. Look Now
Twinning with a Russian Child – The Bay Area Council for Jewish Rescue and Renewal will match you with a child in the former Soviet Union. The twins get to share experiences and learn from each other. When it is time to become a bar mitzvah / bat mitzvah, the American spiritually includes his/her twin in the ceremony. www.bacjrr.org
Twinning with an Ethiopian Child – The North American Conference on Ethiopian Jewry (NACOEJ) matches children worldwide with Ethiopian Jewish children living in Israel. In addition to the personal benefits of the friendships that often develop between twins, your financial gift helps to improve quality of life for all the Ethiopian Jewish children in the community. The council also offers handmade crafts and gifts that can be purchased for the bar mitzvah party. Look Now
Twinning with a Rescuer – This program of the Jewish Foundation for the Righteous allows a child to help the Jewish community repay a collective debt of gratitude. The child selects a particular rescuer to be twinned with and makes a donation to the JFR. The suggested minimum gift is $180. The bar mitzvah / bat mitzvah receives a Twinning Certificate and a presentation can be made from the bimah if your rabbi approves. Look Now
Holocaust Twinning – There is no national program I’m aware of that is available to all, but you could easily do this yourself. Visit the website of the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles for biographies of children lost in the Holocaust (Look Now); choose the child whose story most touches you. Tell his/her story at your child’s service, make a donation in the child’s memory to an appropriate charity, and pledge that you will hold that child’s memory in your heart.
A particularly good charity for Holocaust Twinning would be The Blue Card, the only agency in the United States that provides cash to needy Holocaust survivors and, when necessary, to their psychologically affected children. It was founded over 60 years ago by a group of compassionate people, themselves recent refugees from Nazi tyranny. This financial aid is rendered by check directly to the needy with a minimum of bureaucratic red tape. The Blue Card is a nation-wide organization that fills a need unmet by other agencies and public programs. Visit their website at www.bluecardfund.org.
Another good charity would be the Claims Conference – Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany. Their mission over their “50-year history has always been to secure what we consider a small measure of justice for Jewish victims of Nazi persecution. We have pursued this goal through a combination of negotiations, disbursing funds to individuals and organizations, and seeking the return of Jewish property lost during the Holocaust.” www.claimscon.org
For more information on Holocaust Twinning from an organization running a local project in the Washington, D.C. area, contact Sam Spiegel, coordinator of the “Remember-a-Child Project”, at (301) 881-2454.
MitzvahChic is the #1 bar/bat mitzvah planning book and website! Visit http://www.MitzvahChic.com and be sure to sign up for FREE planning reminder emails.


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Gail A. Greenburg is a life long writer, editor, and crafts artist. She is the creator of http://www.MitzvahChic.com and the author of the book MitzvahChic.

Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/home-and-family/parenting/why-do-we-keep-doing-it-the-same-way.html http://www.articletrader.com/home-and-family/parenting/why-do-we-keep-doing-it-the-same-way.html Fri, 15 Sep 2006 00:00:00 -0500 How can I – a normal non-scholarly person – get interested in what my child is studying?
How can I better connect with my feelings of “Jewishness” at this most Jewish time in life?
Or, presuming I know Torah and feel Jewish, how do I use it in the party... and keep it fun and engaging? How do I do justice, partywise, to this very powerful Jewish experience?
Although parents will probably spend most of their time on the millions of party details, most bar mitzvah and bat mitzvah planning books barely mention the party. Some imply it’s shallow to want to throw a great party! Ha!
How MitzvahChic Makes Success Simple
In the process of writing MitzvahChic, I went from having zero knowledge of the Torah to being in awe of it. I found a trail to take you inside the scroll that is the heart of the bar mitzvah / bat mitzvah and the Jewish experience. That’s how I can promise that, with surprisingly little additional effort, you too can experience the wonder.
Whether you consider yourself religious or not.
And, having experienced wonder, you will inevitably host an event more moving and evocative than most people will ever achieve. And who knows where that will lead you... as a Jew and as a human being.
If you are already in a state of wonder about being Jewish, I can show you how to host an unforgettable party that’s about you, your child, and your faith.
When you pick up a bar mitzvah / bat mitzvah planning book, you should feel like you’re “home”; that you now have all the answers you need. The book should sing to you, “Rejoice! This will be such a special day... let me show you how!” This is the book I hope I have written.
MitzvahChic is the #1 bar/bat mitzvah planning book and website! Visit http://www.MitzvahChic.com and be sure to sign up for FREE planning reminder emails.


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Gail A. Greenburg is a life long writer, editor, and crafts artist. She is the creator of http://www.MitzvahChic.com and the author of the book MitzvahChic.

Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/home-and-family/parenting/why-has-mitzvahchic-become-an-overnight-best-seller-before-its-even-in-stores.html http://www.articletrader.com/home-and-family/parenting/why-has-mitzvahchic-become-an-overnight-best-seller-before-its-even-in-stores.html Fri, 15 Sep 2006 00:00:00 -0500 If you’ve been in the stores; you know. There simply is NOT another book out there that gives so much rich advice on the service AND the celebration! So no other book can offer you the success that MitzvahChic can.
Want to host a bar mitzvah or bat mitzvah that your friends and family – and even total strangers (it happened to me!) – will RAVE about for years to come? Want to be known as the role models for “how awesome it COULD be”?
Want to achieve all this but also have lots of FUN doing it? Feel less stress and more confidence and enjoyment all the way to the big day?
I spent two years researching and writing this book so you can have just that kind of amazing experience. I loaded it up with scholarship so that EVEN IF YOU HAVE EMBARRASSING GAPS IN YOUR JEWISH EDUCATION, you will effortlessly learn about the Torah, the bar mitzvah / bat mitzvah rituals, the service and lots of fascinating things that will make you and your child feel genuinely excited about being Jewish and having a bar mitzvah / bat mitzvah!
Rabbi Harold Kushner calls it “just the right mix of serious content and entertainment tips.”
I also did TONS of research so that – whatever help you’re looking for – you’ll quickly find it: tzedakah ideas, great videos you can watch, timelines and checklists, even fun ideas like directions to make a tallit and a recipe for manna.
And good party advice? MitzvahChic actually started out as a book about how to have a better, more fun and memorable party. A party that really expresses your uniqueness as a family and that feels very intimate and special no matter how big it is!
“Spider-Man” director Sam Raimi calls MitzvahChic “fun, refreshing, insightful and original. Judaism has never seemed so cool. “
You’ll also be thrilled to find in MitzvahChic that the money you have to spend has NOTHING TO DO WITH HOW GREAT THE PARTY IS! My chapter on cutting costs gives dozens of ideas that won’t sacrifice ANY of the fun or special feeling. I also have chapters of spectacular table décor and party favor ideas to buy or make yourself. They’re fast and fabulous and no one will BELIEVE you did it!
First-timers, don’t even THINK of leaving this page without buying this book! Experienced parents who’ve done it before – yeah, I was one myself before I wrote MitzvahChic – believe me, you HAVEN’T seen it all, or even a fraction of the great ideas out there.
Don’t delay – ORDER NOW and you’ll be using my ideas and information within a week! And enjoying that relaxed, confident, excited feeling we all have when we know we’re going to be big winners! I guarantee you will LOVE MitzvahChic or I’ll give you 100% of your purchase price back.
MitzvahChic is the #1 bar/bat mitzvah planning book and website! Visit http://www.MitzvahChic.com and be sure to sign up for FREE planning reminder emails.


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Gail A. Greenburg is a life long writer, editor, and crafts artist. She is the creator of http://www.MitzvahChic.com and the author of the book MitzvahChic.

Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]>