The first time Rebekah saw Eliza was like poetry. Like the Emily Dickinson description of poetry, feeling like the top of your head has been lifted right off. Eliza had blushed and told Rebekah that she was her first client. “But I’m learning from the best,” she said. “Tova has…

And I do mean “everyday,” at least in this house. You’re not going to be able to keep your hands (or teeth) off this exceptionally good, remarkably easy loaf bread. Bloom one packet of yeast (about a tablespoon) in 3 1/2 cups of warm water. …

When I think of sausage and apple, I think of a perfect blend of sweet and savory, scratching my dinner and dessert itches at the same time. This crumble is exactly that. Thinly slice 3 pounds of apples. Tart ones like Granny Smith are best for holding their shape, but…

Don’t worry. I know you don’t want to know anything about me except how I make soufganiyot, those incredible donuts we eat every year at Hanukah. So I won’t bore you with my life story. Here we go. Bloom 1 packet of yeast in a mixture of 1 tbsp flour…

I consider myself a leftist, but there are a few values I can’t seem to shake when it comes to my conservative upbringing — a deep well of patriotism being maybe the one I wrestle with the most. I don’t mean jingoism — I have no illusions about how crappy…

A glimpse into self-hypnosis — I remember the craze a few years ago of apps that were absolutely guaranteed to replicate the effects of drugs. They were…well, pretty dubious at best. Mostly they had the effect of a slightly-too-annoying setting on a white noise machine to me. Maybe if I’d shelled out for the really…

Distraction is the enemy of meditation. The opposite of it, really. If your mind is wandering, you are not meditating. This is a fact regardless of what type of meditation you practice. The whole idea is that your mind learns to focus on a single thought or lack of thought. …

Several tables had been set up in the middle of the village, and four women were covering the tables with long, broad strips of white linen. Love-of-Family knew, as soon as she saw the strips, that they had been bleached, though she had never owned anything bleached. Her sister, who…

Three ideas to help the anxious mind meditate — Psychologists and therapists prescribing mindfulness meditation is almost a cliche at this point. Every single therapist I’ve ever seen professionally, every self-help book I’ve read in the last few years — hell, every person who’s been in therapy who I’ve had a conversation with has recommended some version of mindfulness…