Telem writes ♥️

Shalom, shalom! Do you ever feel like whatever you do fails? That although you put effort and time into this thing it doesn't blossom into a tree but stays underground where any progress remains invisible? I have that feeling every so often. Both my passions of being a mom and a writer require lots of work while the fruits could take years to materialize. Everything is trial and error. Worse, even things I thought I figured out can come and kick me in the shin. Recently I came across a memoir that deals with this in the world of shidduchim, Jewish   matchmaking. It's called Unmatched, by Sarah Lavane. We follow Sarah across decades in her struggle to find a husband. The problem? He has to be Orthodox and respectable. I enjoyed this memoir for several reasons. First, it is a time capsule, spanning from the 1980s until today. Second, it's a treasure trove of material for Jewish romance stories. Third, it doesn't sugarcoat and shows a woman having desires. And lastly, it s...

⚠ This post contains some sensitive subjects from the parashah This week's parashah is Shemot which deals with the slavery of the Jewish people in Egypt. You don't need me to retell the entire story. Dayenu ! That's what Pesach is for. I would like to focus on one aspect: Survival. Despite the hard labor, despite the decree ordering the slaughter of the newborn boys, and despite the drowning of those boys, the Jewish people survived. The famous commentator Rashi explains in a later parashah how this survival came about. There, in Parashat Vayakhel (38:8), the Torah tells us the Jewish women donated their copper mirrors for the building of the washbasin in the mishkan , aka tabernacle. Rashi explains that Moshe Rabbeinu had his reservations at first. These mirrors weren't to check for food rests between the women's teeth. The women used these mirrors to seduce their husbands. They would beautify themselves with the help of these mirrors, and meet their husbands in th...

A while ago I pitched my first novel to frum publishers. Frum is the Yiddish word for religious btw. Some years before, a frum publisher had published "Pride and Preference" by Barbara Bensoussan and seeing as my book was a Pride and Prejudice adaptation set in Israel, I assumed I had a shot.  I don't want to reveal who gave me which rejection but be kitzur, in short, they all rejected it. I don't think one of them read the manuscript. But while most rejections were polite, and some even commended me for the idea, one rejection stood out to me. Of course, I can only assume the tone of an email and there's a chance I misinterpreted it. But just so you can read it the way I did, I added emojis and internal thoughts in parentheses to the text:   Dear Tamar, 🧐 Thank you for submitting your book for our review.  As [➖️➖️➖️➖️]'s main clientele is the Chareidi [Ultra orthodox]readership,we don't take on romance books at all.😤😡 [The very thought! The notion!] W...