First Person

On Shabbos, The New Labor Pains

07/26/2011 | Talia R. Cohen | Special To The Jewish Week | First Person

Recently, my 20-month-old son asked for cookies for breakfast. “No,” I said, “it’s not time for cookies.” “Yeah,” he agreed. “It’s Shabbat.” (It was in fact, a Tuesday). How had he concluded — already (!!!) — that Shabbat was a day of no? I had felt relatively comfortable that Shabbat in our house was more a day of togetherness and play. But once again, he knew better.

Farewell, Stories

07/12/2011 | Debra Orenstein | Special To The Jewish Week | First Person

I have been a little blue lately, and it’s embarrassing to admit why. I am mourning the end of “All My Children” and “One Life to Live.”

The Jewish Heart Of A Navy Man

06/14/2011 | Sandee Brawarsky | Jewish Week Book Critic | First Person

I was born on Father’s Day. Many times over the years, we celebrated my father’s day and my day as one. But this year is different: our day falls just after I finish saying Kaddish for my father.

When The Danube Really Did ‘Run Red’

04/27/2011 | Susan J. Gordon | Special To The Jewish Week | First Person

When the Hotel Astoria in Budapest opened in 1914, it imparted an aura of old-world style and tradition. Even today, the hotel evokes elegance and decorum, until you think about its more recent past.

Siblings And The Seder, Then And Now

04/12/2011 | Talia R. Cohen | Special To The Jewish Week | First Person

When I think about the Passover seders of my childhood, I remember the giddy preparations: setting the table with my grandmother’s tablecloth and dishes, rolling the matzah balls and making place cards for each of the guests.

Birthdays As Stairway To Heaven

09/14/2010 | Ted Merwin | Special To The Jewish Week | First Person

This year, she went rock climbing.

My eldest daughter, Hannah, who turned 9 at the end of August, chooses a different theme for her birthday party each year. Last year, she had a havdalah (end of Shabbat) party at our home in Harrisburg, Pa. After a scavenger hunt, 10 of her friends were invited to sleep over in the basement. At 3 a.m., with the girls still fighting and complaining, and no one getting any sleep, Hannah gave up in tears and climbed into bed with me and my wife. That was the last big sleepover party in our house.