I’m always puzzled by the folks pushing absolutist positions who are determined to demonize and refuse engage with practical realities. Read about S.M.A.R.T. goals. Read Getting to Yes. Ask yourself why feeling absolutely righteous is more important than a strategy that achieves something better.

Apparently, one popular author is being vilified because she called an action by her own fictional character “stupid”, and another is being vilified for mentioning that a character attended a concert by an Israeli pianist, who simply played the piano.

Reading through some unhinged posts and I have some confessions: 1. I actually think my kids, now in their 20s, are awesome and I really enjoy them. 2. I don’t think everyone would be a great parent. Actually WANTING to parent is key.

I have absolutely no military expertise, but I do know something about relationships and conflict resolution. I’ve also raised children. I’ve learned that dramatic threats don’t work, but consistently enforcing rules did. If my tots wanted something, they learned to ask nicely if 1/

The next time someone tries to justify attacks on diaspora synagogues by pointing to the Middle East, I’m just going to post this: www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-a...

I kept thinking about this, and a podcast I was listening to on purity culture. I have thoughts. When I was learning the tznius (modesty) rules, I thought it was about promoting respect, protection, and good behaviour, and taught me h to my girls with these goals. 1/ bsky.app/profile/chay...

This is a state investigating what is clearly a miscarriage. 13-15 weeks, no trauma, not born alive. Groups are more obsessed with the possibility that someone could have taken abortion pills than with the reality that spontaneous miscarriages happen, usually in toilets. 1/

For years, I’ve said that my Jewish identity and Canadian identity have some similar elements. Unfortunately, this is the worse one. Can we rewind and focus on stuff like good comedy instead? (It’s all related to being familiar with yet slightly outside the dominant group).

When I had my 2nd miscarriage, I flushed. I was sad about the loss, but there wasn’t anything “sad” about flushing. I knew it wasn’t viable. Miscarriage is common, it generally happens on the toilet. Be sad for the actual woman experiencing a loss and some pain, care more about her than your ick.

Read a blog post by a Birthright co-founder and wow. Two things: clearly, the Israeli government hasn’t been responsive to the views of Diaspora Jews, and it feels huge that Bronfman is both engaging more with Israelis and being so crucial of their government. www.timesofisrael.com/we-backed-bi...

Seeing lion and sun flags, often with Canadian flags as well, all over today. Toronto police say there were around 350,000 at a massive rally near me. They coordinated with police and everything went smoothly. May Iran soon be free,may its brave people stay safe. www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

bad bad bad www.theguardian.com/global-devel...

This is weird. I wondered why someone that I’ve “known” online from when I had a different screen name blocked me, and judging from the timeline it might be that he took offense to a post on….not expecting Canada to magically invade and rescue Americans??

When my kids were growing up, we’d be at services Sat morning, where kids without screens ran around together. When Girl2 was 3 yo, she’d make her own playdates and then inform me of her plans. Kids are in their 20s now but say some of those Saturday skills were useful. Ditto screen-free camps.

On a non-political note: I was listening to a podcast on loneliness and making friends as an adult, and it struck me that this is a big appeal of how our family does Jewish stuff that has nothing to do with God per se.

For starters, we could make sure that members of the regime and their families don’t get to reside here or stash their assets around the world. We could also focus on tech solutions to stop them from being able to cut off communication from their citizens during a massacre. bsky.app/profile/yash...

This is a sort of compound bigotry: mentioning background, saying some real things he did, but then framing it as something bad. I don’t like focusing on Frey being Jewish, but it’s actually a point of pride that he wanted to protect everyone in his city regardless of where they came from.

Too many on BlueSky don’t seem to understand this, but we live and work in a heavily Iranian area. I’m terrified for someone that I know currently trapped in Iran, but I’m hearing “hopefully Iran will soon be free” from so many.

I think people’s actions reflect their character. Sometimes, voting or other political advocacy is part of those actions. Too often here, though, mere identification of loyalty is seen as virtuous without actually doing anything, or despite doing other things.

I think people’s actions reflect their character. Sometimes, voting or other political advocacy is part of those actions. Too often here, though, mere identification of loyalty is seen as virtuous without actually doing anything, or despite doing other things.

Question for anyone familiar with spiraling: Some of mine relates to stuff that was legitimately a problem, that I initially glossed over and put on a smile. Is there a point where it’s ok to revisit stuff and feel all the feels, or do you always needs to distract yourself and snap out of it?

Another example of Ventriloquism Fallacy! Decide to speak for a dead Holocaust victim, ignore Holocaust survivors. bsky.app/profile/chay...

Instead of writing a whole essay, I’m just going to direct folks to this podcast: open.spotify.com/episode/5O2S... @jessebrown.bsky.social breaks down how AntiZionism isn’t classic antisemitism, but is still a hate movement makings things worse for Jews and Palestinians, basically chaos agents. 1/

Imagine victims of a violent terror attack blaming the government of their own country where the attack took place, by other citizens/residents of that country, for failing to keep them safe, and not the leader of another country that doesn’t answer to them.

I made this post 10 days before the Bondi Beach massacre. It’s even more relevant now. Multicultural liberal democracies have people from everywhere, different groups may be fighting elsewhere but the whole point is that we are equal citizens here and there’s a framework where we live in peace.

Canada has been repeatedly targeted for Bondi-like massacres. @readthemaple.bsky.social publishes lists of Jewish targets they encourage readers to “blame” including children’s schools and summer camps. They call it journalism in the public interest.

@jessebrown.bsky.social To understanding what Canadian Jews have been experiencing since Oct 7, this investigative podcast is a must: open.spotify.com/episode/6nUa... My good friend talks about being spat on while told that Hitler should have killed us, right around the corner from my house. 1/

I always thought this was just obvious, but have learned that it is actually my most Jewish POV.

Everyone is talking about how it’s been 32 years since the Blue Jays won on the World Series. As someone who was at the final game in ‘93, it’s like everyone’s telling me I’m old.

Reminds me of how Friday night dinners at my house and Sat. lunches at our neighbour work. Weekly rituals create space for us to be together with time pressure, standard easy yet yummy dishes reduce the effort.

FINALLY - although I won’t feel relieved until Sunday. It’s been far too long.

I’ve learned not to get my hopes up in the past 2 years, but maybeeee Qatar supporting the U.S. proposal to end the war in Gaza will do the trick?Yes, horrible people making agreements, but if it stops the war and allows rebuilding….. www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/10...

There certainly was discrimination against Mizrahim and the experience of living in tents in giant transit camps. As a talking point though ignores actual Mizrahi Jews today, who slightly outnumber Ashkenazi Jews in Israel and who are far less likely to have diaspora citizenship.

This article feels so heartfelt and necessary today. Her talk of shame and blame, of ascribing powers to less and Mozart, echoes what I have experienced with my pregnancy loss. Also thinking about how we treat moms of kids with autism. blogs.timesofisrael.com/spoiler-it-i...

1. It would be bad if I were killed 2. Therefore any applicable argument for killing me, like "some members of your ethnicity/nationality have done bad things", is bad 3. If it's a bad argument for killing me then it must also be a bad argument for killing anyone else

I read The Blessings of a Skinned Knee when my kids were young, and boy do I think its lessons are even more relevant today. Feel like I’m surrounded by parents in full anxiety meltdowns, micromanaging their kids and unable to cope with their child having any moment of discomfort. 1/

Racism comes most strongly not from those who know they are great, but from those terrified of being treated as though they are not.

When I saw some of the bile spewed at Canadian Jews in The Maple, I worried that it was going to get someone killed. This is a screenshot from the Facebook page of the guy arrested for stabbing a Jewish woman in Ottawa last week. He is following The Maple.

Ditto for voice memos, which I will never listen to.

Just found out this happened to a friend’s sister in Ottawa. Earlier today, my mom’s friend mentioned attacks on Jews in Montreal. Hard to convey just how angry the community is about all the hate. www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/artic...

Essential listening on the reasons to fight against “fetal protection” laws. youtu.be/DFdB5Bg3WPw?...

I was considering starting a Substack but folks keep saying it supports Nazis. What is a good platform to allow me to post articles and put links to them here, that won’t cost me anything? My idea is that some things are better as articles than multi-part threads. I don’t have a newsletter.

Anyone interested in the late Toronto left-wing artist Bill Stapleton? He and my grandfather served together in WWII and became lifelong friends, and my dad was just clearing out a storage locker and gave me a bunch of paintings, sketches and correspondence by him. Not sure what to do with it.

Started listening to Season 2 of The Retrievals podcast from Serial, and it is reminding me of how my last c-section traumatized me enough to say no more babies. The spinal anesthesia paralyzed my diaphragm so I was gasping for breath. The nurse checking my incision screamed I was still bleeding.

Slightly diminish a band: Duran

Ventriloquism Fallacy: Saying “on behalf of group A, you should/shouldn’t do X” when you aren’t part of group A, and most of group A actually supports the opposite and would tell you to STFU.

The 82-year-old Jewish woman was peacefully marching in Colorado for Run For Their Lives, which was formed in collaboration with the Hostages and Missing Families Forum; which has been advocating a deal to end the conflict and bring everyone home and challenging Netanyahu’s plans to escalate.

Just got an email saying “nobody ignores me….for long”. Would have reported it as a threat but it was just Duolingo. Hey, I know I should be practicing my Italian, but maybe don’t be creepy about it?

There's really isn't a way to think that the plaintiff isn't engaging in coercive control here. He claims that his partner was "happy" to be pregnant-so happy that she already aborted 2 "happy" pregnancies and he's afraid she'll abort this "happy" one. Maybe she wasn't so happy? 1/

It occurs to me that this could describe my mother. Who didn’t really have a God belief, but co-founded a synagogue, told my nanny where the local churches were, told the school to recognize Ramadan and Eid, etc.