the "a" word

i have always wanted to be a mother. even as a kid i always thought that if i couldn't have a child biologically that i would most certainly adopt a child. 

though i know many frum couples who have opted for adoption when they were unable to have a biological child i have yet to see any mention of the possibility of adoption on any frum dating website. i  know that there is  a "willing to adopt " box on e harmony .com,  so i know that there is at least one dating website that includes this "radical" option. obviously it is optimal to have a biological child , but what is wrong with putting it out there that one is willing to adopt ? nothing on frumster prevents anyone from writing this on their profile but i haven't noticed anyone who has listed this option. including myself. i suppose i should . but it is a shame that willing to adopt is not an automatic question in the multiple choice section of one's frumster profile. 

Raid on Entebbe - Yoni Netanyahu fights Arab hijackers

follow me, the yoni netanyahu story

monday night i saw the documentary film  follow me : the yoni netanyahu story at the jewish film festival . i always knew about what happened during operation thunderbolt (raid at entebbe) but i didn't know a lot about the mastermind and and only israeli soldier who lost his life during this brave mission. now i do.
this movie explores yoni the son and brother, yoni the writer and yoni the warrior. this 35th anniversary tribute includes interviews by yoni's brothers bibi and ido as well as his father ben-tzion. many israeli dignitaries were interviewed as well. the most fascinating interviews were that of his ex-wife  as well as his girlfriend. there were interviews of the young men he led during raid on entebbe.  there were even home movies from childhood . i felt like i really got to know yoni netanyahu through this movie. who knows what he would have added to the world had he lived past operation thunderbolt.
follow me is the story of a young man's love and devotion of his country. its the story of a very handsome young man who was a great warrior as well as a sensitive writer. this was one of the most amazing films of this  year's new york jewish film festival.

Tribute to Yoni Netanyahu

DOXA 2009: Inside Hana's Suitcase

i recently watched one of the most incredible stories ever on netflix. the name of the documentary is inside hana's suitcase.  this film begins as the story of a japanese woman named fumiko ishioka  who is an educator at the japanese holocaust education center in japan. ms ishioka taught  children about the holocaust and in 1999 she requested artifacts from the holocaust museum in auschwitz . she especially requested artifacts from children so she would be able to help the children she was teaching be able to relate to it better. one of the artifacts she recieved was a suitcase of  a little girl name hana brady. ms ishioka and the children wondered what hana's fate had been as well as what her life had been like before the war.
after much research ms ishioka found out that hana spent time in terezin and died in auchwitz. she also found out that hana had a brother george who did survive the war. ms ishioka also managed to find pictures that hana had drawn in auchsiwitz that acutally had her name on them. she also managed to locate george brady who was livning in toronto at the time.
george was very happy to tell ms ishioka about his sister. he felt such deep survivor's guilt. he wanted to share his sister's life with others so she would not be forgotten. he sent ms ishioka pictures of his sister. he eventually went to japan and spoke to children about his sister and about his life. his sister always wanted to be a teacher and now through her so many learned about the holocaust. all because of a suitcase that had her name on it.
a childhood friend of hanna's had gone to the holocaust memorial in auschwitz in 1962 and took a picture of herself with hann'as suitcase. she did this with much sadness as this was all she had to remember her friend. at some point it was realized when george saw this photo that the suitcase that he saw was not the same suitcase as the one he saw in the photo. hanna's real suitcase had gone to a holocaust museum in birmingham  , england to be displayed there and in 1984 neo - nazis burned the facility where the suitcase was kept. the museum in poland wanted to replicate hana's suitcase  because there were so few children's suitcases that survived. they replicated the suitcase from hanna's friend's photo. through this replica so many lives were touched by this little girl.
george brady saw his sister's artwork from terezin and was able to remember why she would have drawn these pictures. this helped other children learn about his sister's life , not just her demise.
this film intersperses commentary on hanna's life from children in japan and toronto who have learned about her life.
karen levine was inspired by this story to write a children's book called hanna's suitcase that has been translated into many languages.
this film is such an amazing journey about how teaching about the holocaust and tolerance for others that has  brought so many people from  around the world together. i highly recommend it.

LEA & DARIJA

today i saw the most awesome film at the jewish film festival. the film was lea and darija  which is a historical fiction about the life of lea deutsch the croatian jewish shirley temple.  who's that you say? and if you are me you will say "there is a jewish community in croatia? " well.there still is a small jewish community in croatia and there was a much larger one before world war two .
lea deutsch was a famous tap dancer from croatia who travelled all over europe acting and dancing from the age of five. she was forced to stop dancing in 1941 when croatia was taken over by the nazis . many tried to help her and her family to no avail. she died in transit to auchswitz in 1943. only her father survived the war.
darija was a croatian german girl who danced with lea. she survived the war. she and her family fled croatia when the nazis took over croatia.
the filmmaker branko ivanda is the son of a  croatian partisan whose father survived three years in a concentration camp. he came to make this film after joining some of his friends who are jewish in a jewish coffee house in croatia. in this coffee house there was a striking painting of lea deutsch . he was intrigued by her life story which inspired him to first compile a documentary and then a historical fiction film about her. he felt it important for people to remember her life. even now there are still those in croatia who fondly remember her. she was a shining star and beloved by all at the time.
when the film lea and darija premieres in croatia it will be screened in the theatre lea performed in.
it is incredible that branko ivanda has created this tribute to lea deutsch so her memory can live on.

p.s. i have included a clip from the documentary that was created by branko ivanda and not the film that i actually saw. i would like to eventually see the documentary, but i think that the historical fiction version is amazing. it really brings the story to life.

now i am one of "them"

 i have had a cell phone for ten years and i have finally updated to the iphone. i had resisted updating my phone service for various reasons. number one on my list of course was cheapness. i did not want to have to pay for  a data plan. the only thing is that  so many of the better phones require a data plan with their phone. and of course i wanted a better camera. the better phones have better cameras. i have a camera that i love and use, but for everyday i don't always want to lug around a camera , so its nice to have a cell phone with a good camera for those occasions when i spontaneously need a camera.
another reason i resisted getting a phone with internet service is that i was afraid i'd get too addicted to it. of course this has happened but i'm still glad that i have the data plan. it has already made my life better . i have weight watchers online at my finger tips and easier access to my e-mail when im at work.  i don't have a job where i sit in front of a computer all day. there is free wifi access at work which is a plus.
though i have gotten a little addicted to the internet portion of my phone i know that the novelty will wear off a little over time
 now i have joined the twenty somethings at work who are constantly checking their phones. the difference is that  they are checking and texting and i am checking and web surfing.
oh and the iphone has incredible reception when i make phone calls. the most important feature for a cell phone.