Instead of flowers this year, how about showcasing an original centerpiece that is sure to be a conversation starter on your Rosh Hashanah dinner table?

“The entire project cost under $15 and took less than a few hours to create,” enthuses Rita Brownstein, author of our exciting new home décor column.

The charming “Happy Birthday World” masterpiece is shaped like a birthday cake, decorated with maps and acknowledges that on Rosh Hashanah our world has become another year older.

It’s a great educational craft to do with your children or just for your own enjoyment. Here are the detailed instructions and pictures to get you started. (Hot tip: We’ve lined up other amazing, creative ideas for your home—such as original light fixtures that you can create with simple materials for your Sukkah. Watch for these and other ideas in the coming weeks!)

Do you have an adorable Jewish craft idea? Are you involved in a home décor project that you would like to share with our readers? Is there a special way that you arranged a guest room to make guests feel particularly welcome? Do you have a practical set up for meat and dairy sections in your kitchen to decrease any confusion? Or, do you have a beautiful art gallery wall with pictures that enhance your connection to being Jewish? We’d love see your home décor ideas so that we can all benefit.

Six days before the very first Rosh Hashanah, G‑d created our world. On Rosh Hashanah, G‑d created mankind with the potential to create and, thus, partner with Him, in improving our world.

Wishing you all a very happy—and creative—New Year!

Chana Weisberg,

TJW, Editor

According to Marketdata Enterprises, the self-help industry in the US is a booming industry earning over 10 billion dollars per year. Publishers put an estimated 2,000 new titles on bookstore shelves yearly, promising results such as: “fulfill your dreams,” “unfold the secrets of happiness and achievement,” and “achieve a spiritual awakening.”

But not everyone is so enamored with this genre of books.

Christine Whelan is a professor who did her doctoral dissertation on the self-help industry. She claims that most self-help books fall short because:

1. the anecdotal characters used to illustrate their points are made up and thus the situations are simplified;
2. they promise that change is easy but behavioral change takes hard work;
3. there is no evidence or documentation for claims made, or credentials for the authors making these claims.

This week, we feature a new six-part video series on Spiritual Development by well-known mentor, Nomi Freeman. Topics that will be covered include the Power of the Mind, the Power of Faith and Inviting Joy into our Lives.

Unlike many popular books, however, this course is solidly founded on Divine wisdom passed down for thousands of years. The stories or anecdotes are true and Torah based. And the individual giving these classes is a very dear friend whom I can attest makes learning and growing her personal life’s work.

No one said that change is easy. But no one said that life was a stroll down easy street. And, more often than not, even small steps of change can have huge ramifications.

In these last few days before the New Year, there is no more auspicious a time to undertake constructive change. So, enjoy the series. Share your thoughts. And let us know how you’ve brought positive resolutions into your life.

Wishing you a blessed new year, full of positive growth and true happiness.

Chana Weisberg,

Editor, TJW

When ”Zahava Deer” first wrote to me about her idea of starting a blog on infertility, I was honestly somewhat ambivalent. Would a blog dedicated to this topic become too depressing? Was the topic universal enough for readers to relate to? And most importantly, would she be able to maintain the interest and momentum?

My doubts, however, evaporated as I read Zahava’s sample pieces.

This week, we launch Pregnant with Hope—The Silent Journey of Infertility. The challenge of infertility is often a silent one, suffered in loneliness. This bi-weekly blog aims to help those suffering from infertility.

With her natural optimism and refreshing humor, Zahava leads us through her experiences. Her perspective on challenges is uplifting. As you read, please share with us your thoughts, allow us to encourage one another and, through sharing, lighten the burden of those trying to conceive.

But whether facing infertility or any other of life’s struggles, there is something we can each gain from Zahava’s outlook. And in doing so, Zahava helps us face our own challenges with faith, dignity, and optimism.

And hopefully, even with a smile.

Wishing you an uplifting week.

Chana Weisberg,

Editor

It’s hard to believe that the Jewish month of Elul is already upon us! Since well before the summer months, we’ve been working hard and planning for this week’s relaunch of TheJewishWoman.org site. Elul’s mood of renewal ushering in the High Holidays makes it the perfect time to showcase our newly reborn site.

Sit back, relax and enjoy! We hope you will love our redesign and its many new features as much as we do. As you scroll down the home page, you will notice some of these important changes:

1. We’ve divided our content into “Learning Center” and “Magazine”. As we grow our Learning Center, we hope to encourage more and more women mentors and educators to share with us their teachings, video classes and essays. In doing so, we intend to empower women to keep advancing and graduating in their knowledge and depth of Jewish studies.


2. Some great new features have been added to our Magazine, and more will be added in the coming weeks. This week, we begin Frazzled No More a new column by Rivka Caroline. Life can be hectic and, as women in particular, we tend to be pulled in so many different directions. Rivka’s goal is to help us become more efficient with our time so that we can nurture our inner selves and find the space for the things that really matter to us.


3. Also new is our very exciting Rosh Chodesh site. Watch for this monthly feature which will include articles, recipes, insights, videos, crafts and more, all created so that Jewish women can learn and celebrate together on our monthly Jewish holiday.


4. Another new addition is the wall where we feature Women of Distinction. Here, we will get acquainted with many great women from the past, their beautiful perspective and their enormous contributions to our nation.


5. Finally, enjoy our weekly chuckle. Laughter uplifts. Take a moment to see the lighter side. (And if you read a good joke that you’d like to share, please send it to us by submitting here.)

Thank you to the many of you who wrote to us with your ideas and suggestions helping us to forge the vision for this new site. Your feedback continues to be integral to us. So, please share your comments, likes and dislikes, and suggestions here to help us keep improving and achieve our goal of making TheJewishWoman.org the favorite site of every Jewish woman!

As we prepare for the New Year, I wish you “ketiva vechatima tova” that each of you should be written and sealed for a year full of overflowing blessing!

Chana Weisberg

Editor, TJW