Are You 
"on" 24/7?

It's remarkable what you can do with technology today. I'm sitting 35,000 feet over the Pacific reading emails and uploading and downloading files (including this article!) in preparation for our arrival back in Australia early Friday morning.

But is being on 24/7 (or for us Jews 24/6... thank G-d for Shabbos!) really a good thing? 

Are we perhaps so busy learning and interacting technologically that we miss out on other valuable aspects of our lives? More importantly,  how is this impacting on our children who from the youngest of ages are given instruments which provide instantaneous feedback? In this new world can  we still train them to delay instant gratification for a far more satisfying long term goal? While in New York I saw a study that indicates that the wiring of children's brains are affected by their constant exposure to technology from a very young age.

It often seems that celebrities are the modern prophets! On that basis, I would like to share with you an extract of an interview with Mayim Bialik that I have just read in USA Today. Bialik was a child star in the TV series Blossom and currently  plays Amy Fowler in the smash hit TV series Big Bang Theory. She is a religious Jewish woman and has a PhD in neuroscience - so she comes with credentials beyond being a TV star! Mayim is also the mother of two children, 5 & 8, whom she home-schools.

NO TECH AT HOME

"I don't use the Internet, yet, to teach my kids. It's good old-fashioned paper, pens and pencils. I know the Internet is available to me and them, and that it will be useful, but I'm teaching them the way I was taught."

NO VIDEO GAMES, TV OR INTERNET FOR THE KIDS

"I've never turned the television on for them ever, except to watch the Rose Bowl and Thanksgiving parade and Olympics."

This includes Big Bang and Blossom. "They've seen some episodes of Sesame Street on the iPad." It's no Internet at home — except once. "They wanted to see what (singer) Adele looked like, so I showed them."

BLOGGING AND SOCIAL MEDIA

Bialik is a blogger for the Jewish parenting website Kveller, where she announced her recent divorce from Michael Stone and has since written at length about her post-divorce life. She's also a frequent contributor to her Facebook and Twitter pages. "I use (social media) for professional purposes only. I post articles I write and sometimes post other people's articles."

You can read the entire interview here:

With best wishes for a Good Shabbos on behalf of the Rebbetzin and myself,

Rabbi Benzion Milecki OAM 

My Story
Tunisian Jews

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Efraim Halevy served as the Director of Mossad, Israel's national intelligence agency, during the time of the first Lebanon war 

Arafat and the PLO, after their expulsion from Lebanon, established a stronghold in Tunisia where there were about 5000 Jews. Thus Mossad began to work with those Jewish people to try and convince them to evacuate because of the imminent danger. However the local rabbi under instruction from the Lubavitcher Rebbe advised his people not to leave. 

Efraim Halevy was sent to meet with the Rebbe. Read his story here.

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Brookie Reports
Camp Shalom was a Blast 

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With all new activities and sensational weather Camp Shalom brought a huge ray of sunshine where there had been cold and rain before.

The children couldn't believe how fast the week went and nor could we! A huge thank you to all our wonderful counsellors who did a fantastic job that made Camp Shalom the biggest success yet!

Click here for all the great pics.

Embody and to celebrate the "brit" (covenant) between God and the Jewish people as originally revealed in the Torah and as it 

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Children's Services
In Recess 

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Children's Services are in recess this Shabbat and next week and will resume on July 20th when we will have our next Bless the Kids Shabbat.

 

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Bless the Kids
July 20th 

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Children aged 0 - 10 will receive a blessing from the Rabbi and a special treat and make your very own edible mezuzah! Be in Shul no later than 10.15 and be part of this very special tradition!

 

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