Genes Of Most Ashkenazi Jews Trace Back To Indigenous Europe, Not Middle East

By Matthew Mientka for Medical Daily

A genetic study of Ashkenazi Jews shows a “whiter” heritage drawn more from prehistoric Europe than from the Levant, home to the modern state of Israel.

A team of international researchers from Malaysia to Salt Lake City found in a study published Tuesday that most variance in mitochondrial DNA — passed from mother to daughter, like Judaism — derives from the indigenous peoples of Western and Central Europe, as opposed to the Levant, as previously thought. Four of the major “founders” of Ashkenazi Jewry derive most variance from European sources, accounting for some 40 percent of the genome. The remaining 60 percent from minor founders, too, comes mostly from Europe.

“These results point to a significant role for the conversion of women in the formation of Ashkenazi communities, and provide the foundation for a detailed reconstruction of Ashkenazi genealogical history,” lead investigator, Martin Richards, and his colleagues wrote. “The origins of Ashkenazi Jews—the great majority of living Jews—remain highly contested and enigmatic to this day.”

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The Ridiculous Reason My Family Was Kicked Off a US Airways Flight

Emily Kaiman for Kveller

I’m pretty sure that no one would ever tell you how much they LOVE traveling with their kids on planes. Particularly when we’re talking about small children, preschoolers, and toddlers.

But when my mom invited me and my four children (5, 5, 3, and 17 months), for a “vacation” in Florida, for some ungodly reason, I thought it was a great idea! Of course, with limited direct flights these days, we had layovers each direction for our “vacation.”

Truth is, my children did incredibly well on the planes to Florida. And, while I’m pretty sure we are still cleaning out the sand from their hair, the beach was, in fact, refreshing and maybe even just a little relaxing. Our trip home however, was another story.

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Maintaining Faith Throughout the Harder Times of Life

Mayim Bialik for Kveller.com

I’ve talked a lot here on Kveller about my religious faith, even in the face of my horrible car accident, and even in the face of doubt and fear. And I think I have realized that it is that sense of faith that helps me get through my moments/hours/days/weeks/months of despair.

Have you heard the fable about the man who complains to the local Rabbi that his house is too crowded? And the Rabbi tells him to add animals to his home one by one? Well, I am sure you can guess that the house gets more and more and more crowded, and the man gets more and more and more distressed, and just when he thinks he can’t handle anything else, the Rabbi tells him to kick all of the animals out. And lo and behold: his house does not seem at all as crowded and chaotic as before.

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What My Parents' Deaths Taught Me About Family

By Rabbi Robert Orkand for ReformJudaism.org

My brother the doctor said the cause of my dad’s death was a “medical mystery.” I claim that he died because he willed himself to do so.

For the past six years, my parents had lived together in the same room in a small nursing home in Los Angeles. My mom, who had a bit of dementia, was content. My dad, who was physically frail but mentally sharp, was miserable, but in his mind, he needed to stay alive to take care of my mom as best he could. He did just that, and at my mom’s funeral, he said, “My job is done. I can now die, too.” And so he did, peacefully and without any regrets.

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Parents Reveal What They Wish They'd Known Before Having A Baby In Tear-Jerking Video

The Huffington Post, By    Caroline Bologna

It's no secret that becoming a parent is a life-changing event, and with it come new challenges and a whole lot of questions. To provide some guidance to new moms and dads and parents-to-be, Extra Space Storage put together a video called "10 Things I Wish I'd Known Before Having a Baby."

The tips range from "make room for the baby" to "hold onto keepsakes and memories" to "take time for yourself."

But perhaps the most spot-on piece of advice is #1: "The one thing you can't understand and prepare for, that you're not going to know until you experience it, is all the love. Be prepared to love something more than you ever thought you could."

Damn onions.

If you cannot view the video, try here.

Our Kids Have Way Too Much Homework–And it Needs to Stop

Rachel Fadlon for Kveller

I am officially the crazy, anti-homework lady at my children’s Jewish day school.

Believe me, you would be too, if your typical afternoon looked like mine: I leave work and pick up my kids from school. We have a nice, calm ride home, and I get to hear about their day. Pretty mellow so far, right? That’s because I’ve purposely avoided the dreaded topic, which I ask as calmly as possible as we walk in the house: “So, what homework do you have today?”

My 9-year-old son immediately tenses up as he pulls out his weekly homework packet, which is due at the end of the week. That is in addition to his Hebrew homework, nightly reading, and online FASTT Math that he has to do three times a week. He goes into his usual routine about how he hates Hebrew (which is precisely why we are sending him to a Jewish day school!) and finally rushes to do the least amount of homework possible so he can go and play.

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How Orthodox Jews in Fiction Hurt the Ones in Real Life

By Yvette Alt Miller for Kveller

“He was so cruel!”

This was uttered–in a tearful, anguished voice–by a cousin my family was visiting when I was 19 years old, in what was possibly the most embarrassing moment of my life.

I’d just transferred colleges at the beginning of my sophomore year, and had met Orthodox Jews for the first time. From my first encounter with this new group at Hillel dinner, I was intrigued: drawn to their passion; their eagerness to discuss weighty questions; their joy in their religious observance. I’d grown up “Conservative,” and in our home, that meant following a few commandments, both real and imagined: eating gribenas and schmaltz on major holidays; having strong feelings for our local Chinese restaurants; and the strict observance of exactly one mitzvah–thou shalt not eat pork. Everything else seemed negotiable. Now that I was getting to know a very different type of Judaism, I’d started keeping some new Jewish rituals, too: attending Shabbat services; eating kosher foods; even saying the traditional “Shacharit” morning prayers each day.

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