Wellspring Issue #44

SEPTEMBER 2019 // ELUL 5779 // ISSUE 44

When

Fountains of Love Is the essence of Elul what you think it is?

How health coach Bashy Halberstam transforms her clients’ relationship with food

danger is just a

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How can school become a safer place for children with food allergies?

Tamar Feldman on

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From the Editor shiffy@wellspringmagazine.com

First, Understand Yourself One of the many benefits of living in Eretz Yisrael as a chutznik is the constant reminders we get of the transience of life.

Every so often, someone who has become near and dear to us picks up and relocates to their country of origin, leaving us with an ever-shrinking social circle, which, when living far away from family, makes a profound impact on our daily life.

Right before one of my close friends left for America this past summer, I spent some quality time with her at our favorite cafe down the block. Over lunch, we spoke about the hardships that accompany a transatlantic move as momentous as this one — leaving behind Eretz Yisrael, settling herself and her growing family into a new life, saying goodbye to so many friends who have become like family. Still, the hardest part of it all, my friend admitted — the part that left her feeling constantly on edge — was that she didn’t give herself the space to feel weighed down.

“Until last week,” she confessed, “I was so hard on myself. I would tell myself, ‘Why are you being so nervous? You’re not the first person to do this move, and be grateful that you’re moving for a good reason, that your family is waiting for you back home, that you have a house to move into.’”

While all of this may have been true, she reflected, her inability — or unwillingness — to also feel the difficult emotions didn’t allow her to truly appreciate the blessings. It caused her to keep lashing out at everyone around her.

Then, in a conversation with her wise older sister, everything changed. My friend related, “She said to me, ‘First, you have to understand yourself. What you’re doing is not simple. It’s okay for you to feel nervous, anxious, and tense. There’s a lot on your plate right now.’”

“Could it be,” my friend pondered aloud, “that this is root of anxiety? That we simply don’t let ourselves feel what we’re feeling?”

Yes, my dear friend, it certainly could be. That’s what I see in my own life, and in the lives of the women I work with.

Well-Put! Real health is about feeling in harmony and at peace.

Especially during a hectic season like the one we’re in now, approaching Yom Tov and heading back to school, our level of pleasure and calm is vulnerably dependent on how much space we allow for the less-pretty emotions that surface within us. How okay are we with the butterflies in our stomach?

The back-to-school season is one of hope and anticipation for all parents. We want this to be a year of success and growth for all of our children; we daven that they find chein in the eyes of their teachers and peers, and that the school environment fosters in them a love for learning, for growing, and for being the best people they can be.

At the same time that we look forward to and hope for a beautiful year, we may be feeling anxious as well. There’s a lot on our plates, both physically and emotionally.

As this back-to-school issue’s cover feature explores, for parents of children with food allergies, the start of a new school year may be wrought with tension. Written from the perspective of one such mother, and peppered with anecdotes from other parents of children with food allergies, the article explores what sending off a child with serious food allergies to school entails. The picture that emerges is intense. Will my child’s peers be considerate of their needs? Will the educators be mindful of the severity of their allergy? Will they know what to do in case of emergency?

The new school year may evoke trepidation not only for parents whose children have medical conditions or food allergies — every parent wants so much for their child, and the new beginning requires taking a step into the unknown. Will this year’s teacher relate well to my daughter? Will the newly mixed class be good for her? Will the rebbe be understanding to the individual needs of my son? Will my child be able to rise to the challenges of homework, tests, social pressure, and more?

Just as my friend pointed out, “First, understand yourself.”

The more I am able to allow myself to feel this part of me — the part that feels tense and nervous — the more I will welcome a sense of calm into my life.

May this be a beautiful beginning for all of Klal Yisrael.

Kesivah v’chasimah tovah,

Shiffy Friedman

Bashy Halberstam, INHC, Cup of Tea

Elul 5779 | Wellspring 9

Contents

SEPTEMBER 2019 ELUL 5779 ISSUE 44 The expanded Yom Tov issue of Wellspring will appear iy”H on Friday, October 8th.

50

WELL INFORMED 16

TORAH WELLSPRING

By Rabbi Ezra Friedman

20 SPIRITUAL EATING

By Rabbi Eli Glaser, CNWC, CWMS 22 DENTAL HEALTH

By Dr. Jacques Doueck, DDS 24 SECRETS OF A KOSHER DIETITIAN

By Beth Warren, RDN 26 HEALTH UPDATES IN THE NEWS

By Esther Retek 32 FIGURES

By Malka Sharman 34 HEALTH ED Arthritis

By Laura Shammah, MS, RDN 40 DEDICATED TO HEALTH 10 Questions for Lea Davidson

By Gila Arnold

93

46 LIVING WELL 44 IN GOOD SHAPE Back to Fitness

By Esther Fried, PFC 46 ASK THE NUTRITIONIST Student Sustenance

By Shani Taub, CDC 48 HEALTH PROFILE Client: Chumie B.

By Rachel Esses 50 COVER FEATURE When Danger is Just a Morsel Away

By Ruchy Reese 60 AT THE DIETITIAN Female Hormones

By Tamar Feldman, RDN, CDE 62 CUP OF TEA With Bashy Halberstam

By Esther Retek 68 MEMOS FROM A KINESIOLOGIST The Taste of Success

By Miriam Schweid 69 DIY Dandruff Solution

By Miriam Schweid

72

WELLBEING 72 FEATURE Unwrapping the Gifts

By Rabbi Ezra Friedman 82 CHILD DEVELOPMENT

By Friedy Singer & Roizy Guttman, OTR/L 88 SERIAL DIARY

By Zahava List

HEART TO HEART will return next month.

Springboard

Letters

On Acupuncture, Inner Child, Gut Health, and More

Kashrus Status of Acupuncture Issue #41: Cover Feature

Firstly, I thoroughly enjoy your magazine. It is highly informative and fills a void in the frum community, providing appropriate updates and knowledge in the health realm.

invites readers to submit letters and comments via regular mail or email to info@ wellspringmagazine. com. We reserve the right to edit all submissions and will withhold your name upon request. We will honor requests for anonymity, but we cannot consider letters that arrive without contact information.

12 Wellspring | September 2019

I especially enjoy topics on alternative approaches to health, such as the articles on pelvic floor therapy and craniosacral therapy, and the most recent one, on acupuncture. It opens the mind to other options when conventional methods have failed or have limitations in effectiveness, besides for the side effects of many medicines.

As for acupuncture, you mentioned meridians.

Meridians are a basic principle in traditional Chinese medicine, not only in acupuncture. I just wanted to share an interesting study that Korean researchers conducted, ultimately providing scientific evidence for the existence of meridians. They injected an ink-based fluid into a meridian point, where the fluid would be tracked via ultrasound.

Indeed, they saw that the fluid traveled along the meridian paths, but when there was a blockage in the path, the fluid could not pass through. Even more interestingly, if they injected the fluid anywhere else in the body — not on a meridian point — the fluid just dissipated and did not continue moving. Western medicine is beginning to recog-

nize the value of — and dedicate resources to the study of — traditional Chinese medicine.

As for the “kosher” status of energy treatments, readers may be interested to know about Rabbi Refoel Szmerla’s book Alternative Medicine in Halachah, which has numerous rabbinic endorsements. In exploring this topic, he cites the concept discussed in the Gemara of “babua d’babua,” the shadow of a person’s shadow, referring to the aura each person emits. This book is available in local Jewish bookstores.

Thank you very much for your wonderful magazine.

Sincerely, Mrs. E. G.

Thanks for the Free Session Issue #42: Cover Feature

I would like to thank you for a most beautiful magazine. Wellspring is the only magazine I treat myself to every month. I especially enjoy the articles related to emotional health. Wow to the last month’s free inner-child session. It made such an impact on me and I look forward to continuing to nurture myself.

Thank you, R. Mayer

These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, prevent or cure any disease.

Why Aren’t Vegetables Good for Gut Health?

Issue #43: At the Dietitian

My August issue of Wellspring just arrived and I’m looking forward to reading it from cover to cover.

I’ve been suffering from digestion discomfort for a while now, and I recently learned that the cause for it is the high-fiber, healthful food I was consuming, such as my green kale-spinach smoothies and side dishes of broccoli, cauliflower, beans, and whole-grain rice.

To say that I’m disappointed is an understatement. My question is: How can I heal my gut? I am now taking a daily probiotic.

In Tamar Feldman’s excellent article on the topic, she lists five steps to a healthy gut.

However, most of the foods it includes are those I can’t eat.

Someone suggested that I eat white rice, simple carbs, and lots of fruit, but I know that in the long run those will be detrimental to my health. How can vegetables be bad for one’s gut? In addition, aside from taking a multivitamin, is there any way to make up for the loss of vitamins and nutrients that I won’t be getting if I avoid vegetables?

I would appreciate an explanation as to why these kinds of foods don’t agree with every digestive system. Any suggestions on how to heal this kind of gut issue would be very helpful.

With appreciation, M.K.

New York

P. S. I also can’t thank you enough for your recipes that don’t include margarine and other MSG mixes that may taste amazing but are not good for us and are often not intended for us to eat.

Tamar Feldman, RDN, CDE, responds: Dear Reader,

Thank you for your appreciation of my column. I am sorry to hear that you are intolerant of many foods and that it is affecting your quality of life. As is the case in many articles, general recommendations often do not work for individual cases, due to a variety of factors. In your case, it may very well be that you have SIBO (small intestine bacterial overgrowth), in which bacteria over-

grow in the small intestine, feasting on carbs and fibers from “healthful” foods you eat.

The resulting gas buildup and post-meal bloating can be quite debilitating, and can often also cause constipation or diarrhea.

The most effective treatment, after diagnosis via breath testing, is a round of herbal antibiotics, followed by a special diet that is low in fermentable carbs. A low FODMAP diet may not even be effective enough to fully starve out all bacteria in many cases.

The good news is that after proper treatment and guidance from a knowledgeable functional medicine dietitian, those bacteria will be gone, and most foods that you used to be unable to tolerate will now be tolerable.

Even if you end up testing negative for SIBO, there are other factors that may cause an intolerance to vegetable fibers. Gut damage that has depleted the enzymes that break down the cellular plant wall can be one cause. Taking a good-quality digestive enzyme before meals and a Beano enzyme before legume intake would be helpful if that were the issue. These enzymes can serve as a temporary supplement to use while healing the gut, until your enzyme production im-

Elul 5779 | Wellspring 13

Letters

Quick Question

Q

Are there any natural steps I can take to help ease nausea during the first trimester of pregnancy?

A

Nausea, also known as morning sickness, is typically one of the most common symptoms that women report feeling during the early stages of pregnancy. It can affect you at any time of day or night. Up to 70 percent of expectant mothers experience nausea at some point during early pregnancy. While the cause of nausea is not completely understood, it has been linked to the production of HCG (human chorionic gonadotropin hormone), the pregnancy hormone.

Despite the uncomfortable feeling, nausea is a good sign that the pregnancy is progressing as it should. The most serious complication can be constant vomiting and the inability to keep fluids down, which may lead to dehydration. Here are some suggestions for you to try: • Eat small quantities of food every two to three hours.

• Do not drink during meals.

proves on its own.

I should also point out that the cruciferous veggie family, such as broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, and kale, as well as sulfur-containing foods such as meat, eggs, onions, and garlic, can produce excess gas buildup in some individuals, even if there is no serious gut damage present. Many strains of bacteria in the large intestine like to ferment the compounds found in these foods, and even excess gas buildup in the lower large intestine can cause discomfort.

If this is the case with you, try eating them only in cooked form, using minimal onions and garlic in your cooking. In addition, experiment with different types of probiotics to manipulate the strains living in your large intestine, supplementing with less commonly known strains such as s. boulardi (a good yeast), spore-forming strains (such as bacillus coagulans), and other types of strains that have been demonstrated to decrease gas production.

Again, any functionally trained dietitian will be able to guide you to some of the lesser-known strains of probiotics for your case, and will help you establish a proper dosage.

In most GI cases, we have the tools to treat the underlying condition and greatly improve quality of life, so I strongly urge you to keep researching and experimenting

14 Wellspring | September 2019

• Start your day with dry crackers, pretzels, or toast.

• Ginger supplements combat nausea by calming the digestive system. Ginger ale works, as well.

• Avoid coffee, chocolate, citrus, and fried foods.

• Essential oil mixes, such as Nausea Relief, can help when they combine ginger, patchouli, and lemon. This combo soothes the digestive system and eases nausea.

• The homeopathic remedy ipecacuanha has proven to be helpful, as well as vitamin B12.

Try taking your mind off the nausea by keeping yourself occupied and maintaining a positive attitude. That’s what will get you through this in the end.

May it be b’shaah tovah, Miriam Schweid, health kinesiologist

until your digestive issues are fully resolved.

Wishing you the best of health.

The High Blood Pressure-Stress Connection Issue #43: HealthEd

In “Too Much Pressure,” Laura Shammah writes that it is false that high blood pressure can be caused solely by emotional tension. I would like to add that from my experience, there are times when high blood pressure does occur solely as a result of stress — albeit not permanently, such as when white-coat

syndrome arises.

I recently accompanied someone to a doctor’s appointment, where she was told that her numbers were too high. This woman was otherwise well and wasn’t prescribed any medications. At a different appointment, at which I was also present, the doctor remarked to this woman, “Your blood pressure reading is like a young girl’s.” This woman felt afraid at the first doctor’s office, so her numbers increased there.

Thanks for the quiz and all other segments of the magazine,

R. S.

These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, prevent or cure any disease.

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Well Informed

Torah Wellspring: Spiritual Health By Rabbi Ezra Friedman

Fountains of Love Why do I dread Elul?

We have now entered the month in which Hakadosh Baruch Hu showers Klal Yisrael with fountains of love. This is revealed in the explication of the famous Elul acronym: “Ani l’Dodi v’Dodi li, I am to my Beloved and my Beloved is to me.”

In Yeshayahu, we are told, “Seek Hashem when He is found, call Him when He is near” (55:6). And the Gemara notes that now — this time of year — is the time when Hashem’s Presence is amongst us (Rosh Hashanah 17a). The sefarim compare this to a king who leaves his palace once a year to mingle with his subjects, providing them with a much easier opportunity to connect with him. Out of His great love for us, Hashem chooses to reveal Himself to us in a more accessible way. This is our chance to strengthen the bond, to intensify the relationship.

Being Present We don’t immerse ourselves in teshuvah on Shabbos. As commentators explain, this is because Hashem says to us, “On this one day of the week, you’re with Me. I’ll be meisiach daas from your aveiros, and you should, too.” Shabbos is a day on which it’s as if we haven’t committed any sins. Hashem wants Shabbos to be a day of only connection and love.

In explanation, Rav Dovid Moshe of 16 Wellspring | September 2019

Tchorkov offers a parable of a mechutan, who, prior to his child’s wedding, exerts every effort to pull together the funds to marry off that child, but on the night of the wedding, doesn’t think about all those debts. He just dances with his son.

Yes, he’ll have to repay them later, they didn’t go away, but right now he’s at the wedding, fully present. The chassan’s father realizes that now is not the time to focus on his debts — only to be mindful of the tremendous joy he’s experiencing together with his son.

In the same vein, as unexpected as it sounds, the sifrei Chassidus tell us that while Elul is a month of preparation for the Yamim Nora’im, this should not be a month of din, judgment, but a month of preparation through ahavah, love. This is what is known as the month of ratzon.

Elul is a time when the King is in the field. Hashem wants us to come close to Him, to foster a deeper relationship with Him, to not get weighed down by the deeds that distance us from Him. A Month of Mercy

The Panim Yafos, Rabbi Pinchas Halevi Horowitz, notes that Elul is not the time to focus on the debts — only on building a relationship. Now is the time to act as if we haven’t sinned at all. In the same vein,

the Tur tells us that in Elul Hashem forgives us for a third of our sins. In other words, Elul is a month of mercy.

In L’Dovid Hashem Ori, the perek of Tehillim we say throughout this special month, Dovid Hamelech conveys just how loving our relationship with Hashem is and should be, which makes its daily recitation so appropriate for Elul. Dovid refers to Hashem as his Light, his Savior.

“Hashem is the One Who helps me, He’s the One in Whom I trust,” Dovid Hamelech says. “He takes care of me, He hides me in his sukkah.” In conclusion, Dovid writes, “Kavei el Hashem, Hope to Hashem” (Tehillim 27:14). You don’t need to rely on anything else, because Hashem is at your side. This is the essence of Elul.

This concept runs so deep that in Teshuvas Maharil, a halachah sefer, we find a ruling that conveys to what extent it holds true. On Erev Shabbos and Erev Yom Tov, one is allowed to daven earlier than the zeman — and it’s even considered virtuous to do so — in order to accept the Shabbos or Yom Tov prior to nightfall. But on Erev Rosh Hashanah, the Maharil writes, one should not accept the Yom Tov earlier, and should do so only at the zeman. The reasoning is that since Elul is a month of rachamim, mercy, and Tishrei is a month of din, judgment, we don’t want to leave the period of compassion and clemency even

Yes, I may have done something wrong, but there’s a pure place in me that even the greatest sin can’t tarnish.

a moment before we must. We still want to bask in the sheer love that Hashem showers us with during this time.

Love and Longing

Why is Elul, the month that precedes the Yemei Din, a time so completely saturated with love and longing? To answer this, let’s first delve into a beautiful explanation the Vilna Gaon gives on the order of tefillah. Whenever a Yid says the verse, “Shema Yisrael Hashem Elokeinu Hashem echad,” during which he accepts the yoke of Hashem’s kingship and commits to carry out His command, he first recites the tefillah that precedes it.

Ahavah Rabbah (or Ahavas Olam, depending on your nusach) is a prayer that discusses the yearning between Hashem and Klal Yisrael. In Shacharis, we conclude that beautiful tefillah with the brachah, “Habocher be’amo Yisrael b’ahavah,” asking that Hashem chose us out of His love for us. At Maariv, we conclude Ahavas Olam with a different brachah, “Ohev amo Yisrael, the G-d Who loves His nation.”

Why, when we’re makabel Ol Malchus Shamayim, are the prayers we recite focused on the longing that Hashem feels for us? Wouldn’t it be more appropriate to prepare ourselves for accepting that yoke by reiterating the Creator’s might and power?

No, says the Gra. Hashem of course wants us to be in awe of Him; we must live within the bounds of His command-

ments. However, what Hashem wants most is for us to observe the Torah out of love, knowing that He gave it to us because He cherishes our relationship. This is why it’s so important to highlight this yearning before we accept Ol Malchus Shamayim twice a day.

Immediately after accepting Hashem’s yoke with the six first words of Shema, we say, “Ve’ahavta,” which evokes a feeling of warmth toward Hashem, Who expresses in this passage how much He wants us to yearn for Him. Yes, Hashem says, as great and powerful as I am, I want you to love Me. In order to be connected to Torah and mitzvos, appreciation of this relationship must be present.

Real Feelings

Yirah, awe, may steer a Yid in the right direction, but it’s not a connecting factor in any relationship. Only if I love Hashem can I feel connected to His Torah. Why? In order for a person to feel connected to something, he has to first long for it.

Wanting it, of course, means loving it.

I could perhaps observe each and every mitzvah and not transgress a single prohibition, but if that practice lacks true longing, it’s in a different category, as described by the passuk in Yeshayahu, “With his mouth and his lips he honored Me, and his heart was far from Me” (29:13). We were sent into galus for that kind of “relationship.” When the Yidden kept the Torah like “mitzvas anoshim melumadah,” like

some kind of unfeeling regimen, Hashem said, “That’s not what I want. That’s not the point, My dear children.”

Perhaps the Gra’s explanation of the order of tefillah enables us to understand the proper approach to entering Rosh Hashanah, the day in the year on which we coronate Hashem as our King. Rosh Hashanah is the day on which a Yid stops and says, “Yes, all year I’m busy with technical matters, but today is the day when I take the time to think, ‘What is my purpose in this world? Why am I here at all?’” And he realizes that it’s for a higher purpose — to foster a relationship with Hashem and serve Him from a place of love.

That’s the way to coronate Hashem as our King. And in order to do so, to come to this place of accepting His yoke the way He wants us to — out of love — we need an entire month that’s overflowing with His affection for us. It’s a month-long stretch of Ahavas Olam ahavticha.

“I’m showering you with so much love,” Hashem is telling us, “so that you’ll be able to shout out, ‘HaMelech,’ to coronate Me as King, with a heart full of love as well.” If I come to this day only with awe, I might say the word HaMelech, but it’s with resistance; it lacks yearning. I don’t really want this King.

Hashem wants us to say it with joy, with excitement, from the depths of our heart, to be really connected to the words we’re saying, to be truly wanting it.

This can only happen when Rosh Hashanah is preceded by

Elul 5779 | Wellspring 17

Well Informed

Torah Wellspring: Spiritual Health

the month of love that is Elul. It’s the most beautiful month of a Yid’s year, when we get to feel His unconditional love to the greatest degree.

Teshuvah With Love

Elul is a time when we have the potential to tap into the great love Hashem showers us with, in order for us to be able to properly accept the yoke of Hashem’s Kingship on Rosh Hashanah. Following this momentous day is the time that’s designated for teshuvah, for returning to Hashem.

Let’s look at why teshuvah can also only be done out of love. Although the opportunity to return to Hashem is one that reflects on His kindness, and it should fill our hearts with anticipation, for many, teshuvah is a very arduous process. What lies underneath the difficulty that teshuvah could engender?

Teshuvah obligates a person to deeply consider his actions and confess the sins he has committed. Doing teshuvah is having the ability to say, “I see that I did something wrong, I feel remorse, and I don’t want to make this mistake again.”

When does the main part of teshuvah — accepting that I’ve done something wrong — become difficult for us? It’s when we don’t wholeheartedly believe that our essence is good.

If I don’t know in my heart that I am a part of the etzem hatov, that no matter what deeds I committed, I am essentially a being of good, I will find it very challenging to own up to my errors. Acknowledging my aveiros becomes a confirmation of the unpleasant way I feel about myself — a very difficult thing to face.

On the other hand, if I believe that I am in essence a neshamah tehorah, a holy being created in the image of Hashem, a person who truly seeks to do and be good, admitting that I committed an offense does not affect the way I feel about my very self. My self-esteem is not dependent on this confession, because I can differentiate between who I am and what I did. I don’t see them as one entity.

Self-Perspective and Repentance

In other words, the way I feel about myself

is directly correlated to my ability to repent.

As long as I don’t feel good about who I am as a person or as a Yid, it’s simply too difficult for me to take responsibility for the wrongs I committed. Even if I end up confessing them verbally, I’m afraid to really look, to take to heart the wrongfulness of my misdeeds.

For example, when a child hurts his sibling, if an adult shouts at him, “How dare you do such a thing? Don’t you realize this hurts? Don’t you know this is something we don’t do?” the chances that this child will take responsibility for his actions are close to null. He may halfheartedly apologize. Or perhaps he’ll say, “I’ll never do it again.”

Those words are simply lip service. He wants to circumvent punishment, which may be more frightening, but he finds it difficult to feel real remorse. Experiencing such an emotion would require acknowledging that he was mean. It’s only human that he wouldn’t want to feel this way, because it’s counter to his true essence.

But, if the adult approaches this same child and says sincerely, “You’re such a sweet kid.

You have a lechtige neshamah, and I know you want to do the right thing. Do you think such a deed is appropriate for someone like you?” the chances are great that the outcome will be different. Very likely, this child will say, “You’re right. I shouldn’t have done this. I feel bad about what I did.”

What makes the difference in the child’s reaction? The child’s self-perception. In the latter example, the child clearly understands that the deed he committed does not reflect on him and his essence. He is able to separate his essence — which stays good irrespective of his deed — from his action.

He is able to take responsibility and repent more easily.

(This, as a side point, is a crucial facet in chinuch. When adults associate a child’s deeds with his essence, he builds his self-perception accordingly. The more we differentiate between his essence and his actions, the more opportunities we give the child to appreciate the good person that he is and to conduct himself accordingly. Children who are raised like this will, be’ezras Hashem, have the ability later in life to more easily admit to their wrongs, something that’s crucial to the growth and development of every person.)

The same is true for us, as adults. In order to do teshuvah properly — which requires taking full responsibility for our deeds, we must first grasp Hashem’s love for us, to realize that He loves us irrespective of our deeds. “Af al pi shechata Yisrael heim.” Yes, I may have done something wrong, but there’s a pure place in me that even the greatest sin can’t tarnish, as we say every morning, “Neshamah shenasata bi tehorah hi.” This purity, we clearly state, is not dependent on any factor. It’s my precious neshamah, which is my essence.

The Best Intoxication

When I come to the Yamim Nora’im with this perspective — “Hashem wants me to do teshuvah because He wants me to feel close to Him. He wants this because He loves me unconditionally and I am pure” — my teshuvah is not only more real, but it’s also the only way I can truly repent.

Rav Moshe of Kobrin, zt”l, used to say, “A Yid could get intoxicated from the ‘Ani l’Dodi v’Dodi li.’” Perhaps we can understand this by thinking about alcohol intoxication: The reason an individual feels happier when he drinks wine is not because the wine actually transforms his essence and emotions. Rather, in his intoxicated state, all of a person’s fears and negative self-perceptions fall away. Free of the heavy layers that overwhelm him, he feels good about himself deep within.

The love a Yid could feel for and from Hashem during these days does exactly that.

If a Yid is zocheh to truly connect to the ahavah Hashem sends his way, he could feel impassioned, electrified, or even intoxicated with joy. In such a situation, he can actually see his own beautiful essence, which is his true self. It is then that he can sincerely examine his misdeeds and open his heart with remorse to do teshuvah properly.

This is why Hashem showers us with love in Elul — and why it’s so vitally important for us to see Him as the loving Father that He really is, a Father Who awaits our return with longing. This is the necessary preparation for crowning Him as King and for doing teshuvah from the depths of our heart.

May we be zocheh to truly connect to the unconditional love Hashem sends us during these days and merit to be mekabel Ol Malchus Shamayim with longing. Kesivah v’chasimah tovah!

Rabbi Ezra Friedman can be reached via Wellspring.

18 Wellspring | September 2019

You probably learned to make do, to an extent, with the pareve variations of “milk”. When you’re tired of the phony stuff that clouds over in your coffee or tastes like vanilla-flavored water in your cereal, you might indulge a little anyway, and then experience after-effects of bloating, tummy aches, or even skin irritation. Are your only options to avoid life’s little blessings or suffer because of them?

WHO’S THE REAL VILLAIN?

Here’s what no one's ever told you: The problem is not always lactose, or even all cows.

Another stealthy culprit? A1 beta casein, a protein found in the majority of cows bred in Europe, North America, and Australia. People who are intolerant to this protein may exhibit symptoms such as digestive discomfort, abdominal pain, and bloating. “The body breaks this protein (A1) down into a protein fragment BCM-7, which can cause inflammation of the GI tract,” says dietician Bonnie Johnsohn, in an interview with the Reader’s Digest.

MILK THAT AGREES WITH YOU IS BORN

In the year 2000, A2 milk was first sold in New Zealand. While traditional cows generally contain a mix of both A1 and A2 protein, A2 milk is from cows that were genetically tested to be naturally free of the A1 protein, just like sheep and goat milk. The best part? There’s no taste difference between A2 milk and standard cows’ milk with A1 protein, save for a delicious wholesome drink that your body can digest.

Has anyone actually reported a measurable difference after trying the milk? Consider this randomized 2017 study published by the Nutritional Journal[1]: In a study involving two groups totaling 600 people, the group who drank standard milk reported more digestive discomfort than those who drank milk with only the A2 protein. The most remarkable aspect of the study: While both types of milk had the same amount of lactose, results were the same for participants who self-identified as lactose intolerant.

E R M ILK

OV

In less than 20 years, A2 milk has taken over 10% of the milk market in Australia and New Zealand.

Because it was welcomed so favorably, just two years ago A2 milk arrived in the US as well—and consumption just keeps on growing.

SAY HELLO TO A1 FREE MILK. No need to miss out if you only drink Cholov Yisroel. Thanks to Devash, Cholov Yisroel A1 free milk can be in your cereal soon. A1 free milk is from cows genetically tested to be 99% free of the A2 protein.

Unfortunately, A1 free milk is not a solution for everyone. If you’re sure that it’s the lactose or another ingredient in cow milk that you can’t tolerate, A1 free milk probably won’t help. But if you suspect that you’re sensitive to A1 protein or did not experience discomfort after drinking goat or sheep milk, give A1 free milk a shot. Look for the purple Devash milk bottles in the refrigerator section of all your favorite groceries.

Indulge this summer in the heavenly blend of cinnamon vanilla iced latte with milk.

https://nutritionj.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12937-017-0275-0

They might have said that lactose intolerance runs in the family, that your great grandmother passed it down along with her stubborn disposition and fear of bugs. Or you might have always just known that you and cows’ milk simply don’t get along.

RY

[1]

be able to fully enjoy your morning coffee or iced latte again, they were

THE MILKS SUCCESS IS LEGENDARY

D O N’ T C

NEVER WRONG. They said that you would

Well Informed

Spiritual Eating By Rabbi Eli Glaser, CNWC, CWMS

Soveya

is the Difference Between Life and Death — Blessing and Curse On Yom Kippur we are commanded to employ self-affliction to help achieve atonement for our wrongdoings by refraining from five pleasurable activities, including eating. We hope that these will serve as a kapparah for our past transgressions — in other words, to serve as a spiritual preemptive strike.

Avoiding these activities carries with it a tremendous opportunity for selfawareness, prioritization and growth. Our soul is in charge — or at least, it should be.

For 25 hours, we actively remove ourselves from the physical restraints of our body’s demanding desires. Since no food at all is allowed, we are temporarily released from the cravings that create such a powerful pull yet provide such fleeting pleasure. (That’s since pleasure is always ephemeral — we know that as good as the chocolate cake is, it only lasts for a few

seconds.)

On this holiest day of the year, we have the awesome opportunity to reexamine the true purpose of our existence, to reestablish our rightful priorities in this world, and to reconnect to our Father In Heaven, Who is the source and constant provider of true meaning and happiness.

The breadth and depth of a genuine, ongoing relationship with G-d is much sweeter — and lasts infinitely longer — than even the best food imaginable.

When we reengage in our worldly affairs after a 25-hour respite, we can exercise the proper focus and perspective — not to eschew physical pleasures, but to fully enjoy them in the appropriate times, with proper boundaries.

One of the lessons we learn from this is to celebrate satisfaction (soveya) and not yearn for indulgence. Satisfaction in and of itself is a tremendous brachah, not to

be taken for granted; and its opposite is indeed a difficult way to live.

The Talmud in tractate Sanhedrin (94b) makes this point painstakingly clear.

“Rebbe Yochanon asked, what is the meaning of the verse (Mishlei 3:33): ‘The curse of Hashem is in the house of the wicked, but [G-d] shall bless the dwelling of the righteous’?”

The curse is referring to Pekach ben Remaliyahu, who after finishing a meal, used to eat 40 se’ah of young birds (a massive amount) for dessert. The blessing is identifying King Chizkiyah who would be satiated by eating one litra of vegetables for his entire meal (a moderate serving).

Rashi comments that the curse Pekach ben Ramaliyahu received was that even though he ate gluttonously, he could never feel satisfied. In contrast, King Chizkiyah ate the appropriate amount and was therefore blessed with the ability to sense the sensation of satisfaction upon meeting the needs of his guf.

This idea is no more profound than during these days as we passionately pray to be inscribed in the Book of Life. The numerical value of the word death is 446, and the word life is 68. Subtracting the two leaves a result of 378, which just so happens to be the numerical value of the word soveya, satisfied, which teaches us that satiation is literally the difference between life and death.

May we all be blessed with a year filled with complete satisfaction, enabling us to truly live life to its fullest.

Rabbi Eli Glaser is the founder and Director of Soveya. He is certified as a Nutrition/Wellness Consultant and Weight Management Specialist, with 25 years of coaching and counseling experience, and is maintaining a 130-pound weight loss for more than 16 years.

Soveya has offices in Lakewood and Brooklyn, and works with clients via phone and Skype around the world. For more information or to make an appointment, contact Soveya at 732-578-8800, info@soveya.com, or www.soveya.com.

20 Wellspring | September 2019

Well Informed

Dental Health By Dr. Jacques Doueck, DDS

DIABETES AND GUM DISEASE

A FRIGHTENING LINK

Most people with diabetes already know that the condition can harm their eyes, nerves, feet, kidneys, and heart.

But here’s something not everyone is aware of: Diabetes can cause dental and periodontal problems, too.

Recent scientific research, such as a study published in Diabetes Care, has confirmed that diabetics are at a higher risk of developing gum disease. But an even bigger concern is that diabetics with periodontitis are over seven times more likely to die from heart and kidney disease than diabetics with good oral health.

Specifically, type 2 diabetics without gum disease have a 3.7% chance of dying of heart or kidney failure, while type 2 diabetics with gum disease have a 28.4% chance — a 768% increase. Periodontal disease is thus a strong predictor of death from heart and kidney disease.

Periodontal disease is a chronic, low-grade infection of the gums and bone around the teeth. Oral bacteria infect gum tissue, causing it to break down. Because infections and wounds heal slower in diabetics, gum disease represents a worrisome threat to both oral and general health.

A secondary benefit of maintaining good periodontal health is that diabetics who receive regular dental care experience better blood sugar control than diabetics with gum disease. The bad news is that a diabetic whose blood sugar is out of control is more prone to gum disease than a diabetic with good blood sugar management.

This means that diabetics who are well controlled can enjoy the same level of oral health as non-diabetics if they practice good oral hygiene, receive regular professional dental care, and keep their oral tissues healthy.

If you know anyone with diabetes, you can do them a potentially lifesaving favor by sharing this information with them and encouraging them to take care of their oral health along with their diabetes, as people with diabetes and gum disease have a dramatically increased risk of dying from diabetic complications.

22 Wellspring | September 2019

If you have diabetes:

• Talk with your dentist about your diabetic condition.

• Eat before dental visits.

• Inform your physician that you are working with a dentist.

• Use a Waterpik or floss and brush for about two minutes.

• Check your blood glucose regularly.

• If your gums bleed, make an urgent appointment with your dentist.

• Even if your gums don’t bleed, you may still have periodontal disease. Get regular periodontal exams.

If you have not had a recent blood test for diabetes:

• Don’t hide your head in the sand. Diabetes is a serious disease that can be treated.

• Get regular blood tests and speak to your doctor about preventing the disease.

• If you have periodontal disease, you may be at risk for heart and kidney issues. Find out and treat it.

Dr. Jacques Doueck has been practicing family dentistry in Brooklyn, New York since 1977, and is a Diplomate of the Academy of Clinical Sleep Disorders Disciplines. He speaks nationally and trains other dentists in oral appliance therapy and state-of-the-art dentistry. Dr. Doueck is a member of the American Dental Association and serves on the District Claims Committee for the state society.

We save your Life THE QUALITY OF

When the level of care improves the quality of life, you know you’re in the right place. At Bedford Center we tend to our residents with the latest in medical innovations and strong ties to the community.

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Well Informed

Research Based Recommendations By Beth Warren, MS, RDN, CDN

||| SECRETS OF A KOSHER DIETITIAN |||

SECRET

#18

WEIGHT GAIN IN KIDS DURING THE SCHOOL YEAR IS NOT ONLY BECAUSE OF POOR FOOD CHOICES.

about When I speak to parents who consult with me g the durin ly rapid too t weigh d gaine their child who has don’t they “But like, thing some say often they school year, they as t eat that poorly!” Of course, kids will gain weigh t weigh ver, Howe grow and that is normal and necessary. other of y variet a of result gain that’s too rapid can be a factors, not just food.

Food First

or even Skipping critical meals like breakfast, lunch, gain. I t weigh sive exces in role both, plays a significant someeat to better s alway is it that el explain to kids I couns n, optio iest health the not it’s If all. at eat not thing than to from can kids should simply make the best choice they if it’s not whatever is available, and take a smaller portion arguably is all at ing a healthy option. Not eating anyth the day as se increa will er hung worse, because the child’s the into and day the in later ating goes on, causing overe the with ance resist n insuli to lead also can it night. Plus, espe, levels mismanagement of blood sugar and insulin . cially in kids with a predisposed genetic disposition

The Impact of Physical Activity

a lack of Another major cause of excessive weight gain is need ated estim physical activity, which is a grossly under t mean ’t weren s bodie in kids during the school year. Our than more g sittin we’re if to be inactive. It’s logical that need to we’re moving, we won’t expend the energy that we a sedof s effect The t. weigh y health a to in order to keep years. r earlie s child’ a in able notice most are r winte entar y gains t weigh t A study in Pediatrics found that the larges

24 Wellspring | September 2019

in early occurring at what researchers call a “critical time” a 5.8 — leap elementary school, with the most significant g takin — ) (BMI percent increase in the body mass index s. place between first and third grade kids at To account for the scale-tipping, it must be that — or less sing exerci or more eating this age must either be cont almos from go They two. the of some combination g to havin to hool, presc g durin move the on stantly being neleme sit at a desk for most of the school day during the es. tary school years, thereby burning fewer calori it’s not The potential pitfalls are many and even though cal physi that likely not only logical but well proven, it’s ule sched not do ly usual ls activity will be promoted. Schoo even at physical education classes frequently enough, or ed stock ls, schoo our in ines mach ng all. We still find vendi while s, drink and s snack ked e-pac calori with tempting ls. After they have mostly disappeared from public schoo a bag of school, kids either spend lots of time relaxing with home get y chips instead of getting exercise, or they simpl ugh Altho sted. too late and are understandably exhau rtant impo it’s kids, led there’s lots of talk about overschedu to make to make scheduling in physical activity a priority, . more even up shoot sure the kids’ BMI doesn’t for conIf the information in this article gives you cause ian dietit or n tricia pedia s child’ your with it cern, discuss there are who specializes in pediatrics. In the meantime, healthier a changes you can make immediately to create ing tips: follow environment for your family. Consider the 1. Limit electronics time.

2. Limit eating out to no more than once a week.

3. No electronics of any kind while eating.

To schedule a nutrition appointment with Beth in the Brooklyn, NYC, NJ locations or virtually, or book an appearance, email beth@bethwarrennutrition.com or call 347-292-1725. Most insurances accepted. You can also follow her Instagram for healthy eating motivation and recipes @beth_warren

4. Sit down to dinner as a family at least once a week.

5. Model healthy eating and a healthy lifestyle (they’re

watching you!).

6. Remove easily accessible poor food choices (such as bowls of candy or bags of chips) and present positive ones (such as a big bowl of fruit).

7. Downsize plates and bowls (much of portion size ideas are in our brains).

8. Eat breakfast — that means everyone!

9. Eliminate or strictly limit sugar-sweetened beverages.

10. Don’t give up on fruits and vegetables.

Stress

Just like adults turn to food for comfort when they’re stressed, inevitably children will pick up on the unhealthy habit, and use food for self-soothing, too. You can work with your child to see which areas are causing stress, and work on reducing problems, as well as teach a child ways to calm himself without resorting to chocolate or other fatty foods.

Sleep

Adequate sleep will help keep your child healthy. Although it’s often not as simple as saying, “It’s time for bed,” have in mind that insufficient sleep will have unpleasant ramifications. How much sleep is too little? The American Academy of Pediatrics generally recommends that kindergartners get 10 to 12 hours per night. This amount can decrease slightly each year, depending on a child’s activity level. By the teenage years, about nine hours is enough. It’s more often than not that when I meet pediatric clients, they admit to getting only a few hours of sleep per night. Unlike the foods children come across at school (or lack thereof ), a proper bedtime is something that’s within a parent ’s control to adjust and implement.

A study published by the International Journal of Obe-

sity, shows that the amount of sleep a child gets can have a significant impact on his weight. The study looked at 422 children — half boys, half girls — between the ages of 5 and 10. The investigators measured each child’s waist size, height, and weight, and asked each child’s parent how much sleep their child got on an average night. About 20 percent of the boys and 24 percent of the girls studied were overweight or obese. It’s notable that the study indicated that children who slept less than 10 hours a night were three-and-a-half times more likely to be overweight than those who slept 12 hours or more. No other factor analyzed in the study — parental obesity, parents’ level of education, family income, time spent in front of the screen, or regular physical activity — had quite as big an impact on the likelihood of obesity.

Other studies have already linked the lack of sleep with an increase in the hormone ghrelin, which causes hunger, and a decrease in the hormone leptin, which reduces hunger.

How Can You Move Forward?

The pressure that kids undergo, with schoolwork, social influences, and other considerations, are already stressful. Most likely, you need to get involved and work to make healthy habits a smooth process.

You are the parent, and you can set the tone in the home. Suggest going for a walk after dinner (which is also a great way to connect with your child and discuss their day), or eat with your kids and set a good example by starting off with a salad. The goal is that you are there to help the children help themselves.

Your family can work together as a team, and consistently keep to whatever guidelines you set forth that are right for your family. By doing it together, and by you showing that healthy routines are satisfying and enjoyable, you lessen any pressure and anxiety surrounding the topic of weight; as well cause eating healthy and being active to be perceived as a lifestyle versus a job.

Elul 5779 | Wellspring 25

Well Informed

Updates in the News By Esther Retek

GENERAL NEWS

BACK BREAKING LABOR

How much weight can a child carry in his school bag?

Especially in the beginning of the school year, children often lug school bags that are filled to the brim with textbooks, notebooks, and whatnot. Just looking at them makes us wonder if they’re engaging in backbreaking labor. So how much is too much?

Researchers at University of Granada in Spain now think they may have an answer, and these experts have calculated how much a child’s backpack should ideally weigh. Their findings are based on a study involving 49 primary school-aged children in Spain and published in Applied Ergonomics. It turns out the backpack’s ideal weight is based on the youngster’s body weight. The researchers say that schoolchildren, especially between the ages of 7 and 12, should carry a maximum weight of 10 percent of their total body weight when using a traditional backpack, and 20 percent of their body weight when using a rolling backpack.

“For a girl or boy whose weight is 110 pounds, the maximum recommended weight for their backpacks should be 11 pounds,” says Eva Gonzalez, PhD, study author at University of Granada.

Carrying backpacks that are too heavy, both to and from school, will weigh down on a child’s shoulders, neck, and back.

Therefore, their use is very often related to back pain or shoulder discomfort, and even increased fatigue.

According to Dr. Bradley Weinberger, a pediatrician at the Cleveland Clinic, carrying an overweight backpack can have the following adverse effects on a child’s health: • Increased risk of developing neck and back pain due to changes in posture and movement patterns.

26 Wellspring | September 2019

• Muscle soreness from the straps.

• Negative effect on balance, potentially increasing the risk of falls or other injuries.

• Arthritis related problems.

To avoid these issues, Dr. Weinberger suggests that parents find a high-quality, low-weight backpack with adequately padded straps. Gonzalez also advises parents to select a light backpack. If the backpack is already heavy when it’s empty, that doesn’t leave the child with too much weight to add.

Children should also be encouraged to use their lockers or desks to store as many items as possible, especially textbooks. Most supplies are not needed at home and can be left in school in a safe place; and teachers should keep in mind the amount of books their students will have to take home. As the parent, you can suggest to your children to hold these books whenever possible.

As an additional precaution, Dr. Weinberger advises that students “use both straps when wearing or using their backpacks.”

Another excellent suggestion is to do a full cleanup on a weekly basis, getting rid of excess items that builds up in your children’s backpacks throughout the week. Many of the objects are not necessary and simply weigh down the backpacks. Although it is time consuming, this strategy teaches children vital organizational skills and the ability to determine importance amongst objects.

Taking action will allow you to feel confident and secure with the knowledge that you have done your best to ensure your child is not carrying around more weight than they could or should.

‫בעזהשי“ת‬

SAVE OUR CHINUCH Campaign

H ELP SE

UR

E O U

FUTURE!

AT ALL COSTS!

C

R

We will defend our way of life

We will each do our part and fund this critical battle for Torah survival!

Save-Our-Chinuch Campaign

Sep. 23 - 25

Well Informed

Updates in the News

MEDICAL NEWS

GERMS IN “GERM-FREE” PLACES

28 Wellspring | September 2019

Spots in hospitals and clinics to be wary of Whether as a patient, visitor, or health care provider at a medical facility, germs is one thing we all want to avoid. While we tend to consider hospitals and clinics cleaner than other places, research published in Pediatrics highlights places in hospitals and clinics that can actually be full of germs. Since avoiding germs is an essential part of healing, it’s important to know where these germs hide out. Here they are: • Hands Clean hands are most important to control the spread of germs. But surprisingly, research shows that healthcare workers, on average, sanitize their hands less than half the times they should. Patients should be encouraged and supported to speak up and ask for clean hands before doctors or nurses treat them.

• Waiting room toys In your child’s pediatrician’s office or in the hospital’s grand playroom, the books, games, and toys usually carry plenty of germs. Stuffed animals may be the worst offenders because they are hardest to clean. Your best option? Bring along your playthings from home to keep kids occupied, or again, take the courage to request that the toys be sterilized.

• Faucets Researchers at the University of Michigan Health System assessed four different intensive care units and discovered an excessive amount of germs hiding in the sinks and faucets. “The inside of faucets were much dirtier than expected,” says study author Vander Elzen, MPH, CIC. This presents a major problem since having accessible sinks for hand washing is so important to infection prevention. Acting on the information, some hospitals are now trying to replace their faucets frequently to eliminate these germs. Using private sinks, such as those found in the rooms, is also a better option than using the sinks found in public areas.

• Stethoscopes Your health care provider’s stethoscope could be covered in bacteria, including some that are resistant to antibiotics.

In one study published in Journal of Infection Prevention, more than half of workers had never cleaned this standard piece of equipment.

• Charts Many people handle the folder that holds your medical records: doctors, nurses, and other staff members. Studies done in intensive care units, which were published in Journal of Intensive Care found that up to 90 percent of the binders were contaminated with bacteria.

Among the microbes was methicillin-resistant Staphylocccus auresus (MRSA), which causes infections that are especially hard to treat.

• Phones Hospital workers use their phones a lot, especially in the ICU when they check in with other departments. Researchers have found that the devices are covered in a host of bacteria. In one study, a one-minute phone call was long enough to transfer germs to hands that were previously germ-free.

• Pens A study published in Clinical Microbiology and Infection found that when they aren’t typically cleaned between uses, writing instruments used by healthcare workers and hospital patients are covered in bacteria. One with a rubber grip may be the germiest type of all, since bacteria can survive 48 hours on that surface.

What can you do to protect yourself from these germs? The most important step you can take is to wash your hands after you touch surfaces that are likely to be contaminated.

Avoid touching your face, since your mouth, nose, and eyes offer direct entry for bacteria and viruses enter the body. And muster the confidence to ask a doctor, nurse, or other provider to sanitize themselves and their belongings before they examine you or your loved one.

‫בעזהשי“ת‬

Our community

UNDER ATTACK! Our community

united as one!

We will defend our way of life

H ELP SE

Save-Our-Chinuch Campaign

UR

E O U FUTURE!

We will each do our part and fund this critical battle for Torah survival!

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AT ALL COSTS!

Sep. 23 - 25

Well Informed

Updates in the News

GAME TIME FOR BUBBY

SENIOR NEWS

Playing is Not Just Important For Young Ones “Brains turning rusty” is not a phrase merely used when referring to children after their too-long break from school.

The human brain experiences changes as we age, and most seniors experience issues with memory, thinking, and judgment.

Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is a medical condition common with aging, and it’s linked to problems with thinking ability and struggling to complete complex tasks.

However, unlike dementia, MCI does not significantly affect daily life and activities.

People with MCI tend to forget things, lose their train of thought or the thread of conversations, and feel overwhelmed by too much mental activity. According to Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than 16 million people in the United States are living with cognitive impairment.

There are currently no drugs that effectively treat MCI, so there is growing interest in lifestyle factors that may help slow brain aging. Lifestyle choices such as physical exercise and intellectual stimulation have positive effects on the brain.

In recent years, researchers have been conducting more studies to find treatments that may prevent cognitive decline. Now, a new study published in Neurology found that using a computer, crafting, and participating in stimulating activities may reduce the risk of MCI. “Our study took a close look at how often people participated in mentally stimulating activities in both middle age and later life, with a goal of examining when such activities may be most beneficial to the brain,” says study author Dr. Yonas E. Geda.

The researchers recruited 2,000 people in their late 70s who did not have MCI. At the start of the study, they were asked to fill

30 Wellspring | September 2019

out a questionnaire about how often they engaged in five different types of mentally stimulating activity both in their 50s and 60s.

Participants then underwent thinking and memory tests every 15 months for an average of 5 years. During this period 532 people developed MCI. Of these 532 people, only 15 had used a computer in their middle age years. In comparison, a much higher proportion of the 1,468 participants without MCI had used a computer during the same stage. Using a computer later in life was associated with 37 percent lower risk of developing thinking and memory problems. Engaging in social activities, like going out with friends, playing games or joining family outings were associated with a 20 percent lower risk of developing MCI. Craft activities were associated with a 42 percent lower risk, but only later in life.

The number of mentally stimulating activities also played a role in the lowering the risk. Among the people who participated in the study, those who engaged in two or more activities were 28 percent less likely to develop thinking problems, and those who engaged in three activities were 45 percent less likely. Taking part in four or five activities reduced the risk of developing MCI by a whopping 56 percent.

Time and again, research shows how important it is to keep our brains engaged and stimulated. Keeping our brains active as we age is even more important and can prevent cognitive problems, as this new study indicates. Whether Bubby enjoys a deck of cards or a game of good old Scrabble, go for it and make the experience fun and entertaining.

Well Informed

Figures By Malka Sharman

ALLERGY STATS Each year

Roughly

30% 40% 200,000 of American adults suffer from allergies

of American children suffer from allergies

people visit the ER because of allergies

A child with one allergic parent has a

A child with two allergic parents has a

chance of developing allergies

chance of developing allergies

30–50% 1children 13 have food allergies

What are people allergic to?

2.5% 1.5% 32 Wellspring | September 2019

70%

On average

2 20% 2% 1%

children

in a classroom will be allergic

of Americans are allergic to pollen

of babies and toddlers are allergic to cow’s milk

of adults are allergic to fish

of Americans are allergic to eggs

of Americans are allergic to tree nuts

Tree nut allergies are responsible for

50% 40% of anaphylaxis-related deaths

Do allergic children outgrow their allergies?

90% 68% 70% 15–22% of children allergic to eggs will outgrow it by age 16

of children allergic to soy will outgrow it as they mature

of toddlers will not be allergic to cow’s milk as adults

of children allergic to peanuts will outgrow it by their teenage years

Sources: (National Institute of Health, AAFA, AAAAI)

of children with food allergies are allergic to more than 1 food

Elul 5779 | Wellspring 33

Well Informed

Health Ed By Laura Shammah, MS, RDN

Test Yourself: Arthritis, From A to Z Arthritis, a joint disorder, is one of the three leading chronic diseases that affect one in four Americans. Although there are multiple forms of the condition, the common denominator amongst them is inflammation; and arthritis is defined as inflammation of one or more joints. Joints are areas in the body where two bones meet, and their function is to move the body parts connected at the bones.

Although the causes of arthritis depend on the form of the condition, some primary causes include injury and hereditary factors, or it can be the result of infections. How much accurate information do you know about this condition? Take the quiz below to find out.

1

True or False: Arthritis pain can be alleviated with dietary changes.

Answer: True.

Although there is no perfect meal plan to treat arthritis, adding some foods to one’s diet can lessen the pain. Omega-3 fatty acids in salmon, tuna and other cold-water fish can fight inflammation, and help aching joints and stiffness. It is recommended to eat two three-ounce servings of fish each week to get the proper amount of fatty acids.

Fiber can also ease joint inflammation.

Look for breads, crackers, and cereals that list whole grain or whole wheat as the first ingredient.

Another group of foods recommended to incorporate is fruits and vegetables. These are full of antioxidants such as vitamins A, C and E, which boost the immune system and may also fight inflammation.

34 Wellspring | September 2019

Myth: Arthritis can always be prevented by taking good care of the joints.

Fact:

Since most forms of arthritis are inherited to some degree, there is no real way to prevent it. Arthritis that follows joint injury could be prevented by adhering to safety regulations and getting adequate rest. There is also evidence that arthritis as an effect of an infection can be avoided by treating the infection properly.

Myth: Cracking knuckles is bad for arthritis.

Fact:

This bad habit might be awfully annoying, but there’s no proof that it causes arthritis. The sound you hear results from ligaments that snap against the bone or from fluid bubbles that burst around the joints, but that doesn’t cause harm to your joints. Cracking your knuckles may cause hand swelling, and it may even weaken your grip, but not cause arthritis. Either way, it’s good to stop this irritating habit and replace it with a healthier one.

Myth: Avoiding certain foods will not make a difference to arthritis.

2

Fact: Although it is generally believed that avoiding certain foods won’t help arthritis, research now shows that one can reduce inflammation by avoiding trigger foods. Common trigger foods include processed carbohydrates like white flour and sugar, as well as saturated fats such as those found in butter and red meat. With health food stores so well-stocked, and shelves bursting with so much variety, implementing these changes may be worth a try.

See sidebar for more foods to avoid.

True or False: Arthritis is a disease of the elderly.

Answer: False.

Surprisingly, more young people are experiencing the aches and pains of arthritis than once thought. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 60 percent of sufferers are aged 18 to 64. These estimates are much higher than previous reports. It seems that most people underestimate how common this illness is, even among younger people.

3

True or False: Obesity can be a cause for arthritis.

Answer: True.

People who are overweight are more likely to develop arthritis. Research shows that for every pound of extra weight a person carries, his knees have four pounds of stress on them. Extra weight also burdens joints in the hips, back, and feet. Additional weight places increased strain, and wear and tear on the joints.

It also causes the cartilage, the soft material that protects the bones, to be squeezed between the bones and get damaged. The joints, in turn, lose their cushioning, and that results in painful friction when moving.

Elul 5779 | Wellspring 35

Well Informed

Health Ed

Arthritis in Many Forms Believe it or not, there are over one hundred forms of arthritis.

The most common ones are osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.

There are many other forms such as psoriatic arthritis, gout, and lupus. Here is a brief description of the four most common ones: Osteoarthritis is the wear and tear that occurs when the joints are overused. It usually happens with age, but can also come from joint injuries or obesity. Joints that bear weight like the knees, hips, and feet are most commonly affected. The cartilage, the slippery material that covers the ends of bones, gets worn down and gradually breaks down, and that makes movement painful.

Rheumatoid Arthritis is an autoimmune disease. The immune system attacks parts of the body especially the joints, leading to inflammation and joint damage. Often this comes as an effect of an infection where the body continues fighting cells, albeit its own.

Psoriatic arthritis is a condition of inflammation of the skin and joints. Common areas that are affected are the scalp, knees, and elbows.

Gout is a buildup of uric acid crystals in a joint, and is usually felt in the feet. In the beginning, it comes up as occasional attacks, but it increases its frequency as time goes on. Very often, gout is the result of a malfunction in the kidneys, in which they don’t process the uric acid the body produces.

5

What’s the best non-drug treatment for arthritis?

A. Essential oils B. Exercise C. Sleep

D. All of the above

Answer: B.

Exercise offers many benefits for people suffering from arthritis, including strengthening bones and muscles, delaying joint replacement, reducing pain, and improving movement. These exercises include swimming, stretching, and other low-impact exercises.

Swimming is a great way to exercise without causing intense joint pain. This is especially true in a heated pool since the warm water helps to relax the body.

Gently stretching the fingers, wrist, elbow, and hips is another excellent way to ease the pain and stiffness of arthritis. Keep to low-impact exercises because high-impact exercises such as running, lifting heavy weights, or jogging put too much pressure on the joints. They can lead to flare-ups and make arthritis more painful and difficult.

36 Wellspring | September 2019

4

Which of these bad habits may contribute to arthritis?

A. Texting with your thumb B. Wearing high heels

C. Carrying heavy items D. All of the above Answer: D. Texting stresses joints in your hands, especially in your thumbs.

Texting with your thumbs puts the joints in awkward and hyperextended wrong positions. Experts say your thumbs are responsible for 60 percent of the functioning of your hands, which means you need your thumbs in good order! Try minimizing thumb texting or use the voice option to keep texting hands-free.

High heels place your feet in an odd position that stresses joints, strains muscles, and can throw your back out of alignment. Wearing high heels also makes your thigh muscles work harder to keep your knees straight. Women who wear heels frequently increase their risk of developing osteoarthritis and foot pain. Time to kick off those heels.

Carrying a heavy load places a lot of stress and strain on your neck, shoulder, and back. It affects your balance and even the way you walk.

This is especially true if you carry your bag on only one side. The result is that it stresses muscles and joints on that side of the body and overworks them so they experience more wear and tear. Lighten your load and try to avoid carrying heavy items. If you can’t, be careful to distribute the weight evenly not to place undue stress on just one side of your body.

Alternative Arthritis Treatment There is no cure for arthritis, but there are treatments to help manage it. Treatment is very dependent on the precise type of arthritis present; therefore, an accurate diagnosis increases the chances for relief. Aside for medication and drugs, alternative treatments are becoming increasingly popular. Below are some recommended treatments:

» Occupational therapy. With the help of an occupational therapist people suffering from arthritis can learn easier ways to do basic activities, since protecting the joints is an important part of arthritis treatment. A therapist can teach the person how to: • Avoid positions that strain the joints.

• Use the strongest joints and muscles while sparing the weaker ones.

• Provide braces to support or protect certain joints.

• Use modified doorknobs, canes, or walkers.

• Use devices to help with tasks such as opening jars or pulling up socks and zippers.

» Apply heat or cold. Ice packs can help reduce inflammation and pain, and may also be effective against muscle spasms.

Cold treatments can be alternated with hot treatments, such as warm baths and hot compresses, to help reduce stiffness.

» Get enough sleep. Since the joints of a person with arthritis work harder than most people’s, the body needs more sleep.

Research published in the journal Sleep shows that a lack of sleep may worsen arthritis symptoms. » Vitamins such as omega-3 and immune boosters are frequently recommended. » Essential oils.

All alternative treatments should be done under the guidance of a health practitioner.

The Essential Oils-Arthritis Connection The joint pain and stiffness that usually comes along with arthritis, especially with rheumatoid arthritis, can be so difficult to handle that one might be willing to try anything to stop it. Thankfully, there’s much information regarding essential oils as part of the treatment regimen, and many doctors will give the go-ahead to try them.

Holy Basil (tulsi) is said to work as an anti-arthritic. Some others are used to ease inflammation and pain such as lavender, turmeric, and ginger.

Using essential oils may be helpful to the treatment process, but always be sure to use them with permission and advice from a healthcare professional.

Elul 5779 | Wellspring 37

Well Informed

Health Ed

Foods to Avoid If you have arthritis, here’s a list of what you may want to stay away from.

Dairy Products Although dairy products are known to aid with increasing bone strength and durability, some individuals with arthritis suffer negative effects after consuming certain dairy products.

Several studies show evidence of proteins within dairy products that cause tissue irritation within the joints of arthritis sufferers. If you notice joint irritation after consuming dairy, it may be worth it to look for alternatives. Many people with arthritis have turned to plant-based foods or milk alternatives to supply their calcium and protein needs, and have experienced positive results. Others speak with a physician about appropriate calcium supplements.

Alcohol Alcohol contains uric acid, which causes a build-up of crystals that gather within an individual’s joints and may cause inflammation and pain. Alcohol can also have a negative reaction with some arthritis medications, such as ibuprofen and naproxen, and can also cause stomach bleeding. Individuals who take methotrexate of leflunomide increase their probability of liver damage if they consume too much alcohol while taking these medications. Gout, a form of arthritis in the fingers and toes, has been linked to the prolonged and excessive consumption of alcohol.

Tobacco Although tobacco is not a food product, it can be easily ingested and that occurs many times when an individual smokes. Studies have shown that smoking can increase the severity of an individual’s arthritis. Tobacco can also have an adverse effect on arthritis medication, making it harder for the medication to control the inflammation and pain associated with the condition. In particular, rheumatoid arthritis is affected negatively by smoking tobacco products. Ingesting anything with tobacco will increase the likelihood of a symptom flare-up, including pain and swelling.

High Salt Load Arthritis medication can sometimes cause an individual’s body to retain more sodium, which can have a negative effect on the inflammation associated with arthritis. Excess salt consumption causes the bloodstream to absorb more water

than is normal, almost swelling the bloodstream itself. Due to the expansion of blood vessels, this will cause increased inflammation in some joints. Nearly all canned, frozen, and convenience foods contain a lot more salt than even healthy individuals should be consuming, which means they are crucial for arthritis patients to avoid. Many individuals with arthritis experience increased inflammation and more severe symptoms if their diet is high in salt.

Omega-6 Oils Not all oils are bad and many of them harness essential acids and fats that actually help with the symptoms of arthritis. However, some oils can be harmful, and thus, individuals with arthritis should pay more attention to which type they are consuming. Specifically, arthritis patients should avoid excessive use of Omega-6 oils such as corn, sunflower, soy, and vegetable oils, due to their high saturated fat content.

American diets are very high in these types of oil, which can trigger the production of chemicals that increase swelling and inflammation within the body.

While these Omega-6 oils need not be avoided completely, reduced intake may have a positive effect on inflammation.

Omega-3 oils such as the ones found in flaxseed and grape oils can be used as a substitute. Omega-6 fatty acids are an essential part of a healthy diet, and individuals absolutely should not cut them out of their diet completely. These acids are necessary to allow cells and the body to develop and grow normally.

In an ideal diet, an individual’s omega-3s and omega-6 acids are balanced. However, individuals, particularly those with arthritis, should avoid having too much omega-6 in their diet. Other foods that contain omega-6 fatty acids, such as many salad dressings, mayonnaise, peanut oil, grapeseed oil, and safflower oil.

Aspartame Aspartame is an artificially-produced sweetener that can have a negative effect on an individual’s pain perception. In the past, many rumors have circulated about the effects of aspartame on the body. Many of them, like the rumor that aspartame causes epilepsy, aren’t based on any scientific fact.

However, there is research supporting the idea that aspartame may increase pain perception by triggering neurons, and this has been associated with arthritis. Many diet sodas use aspartame as a no-calorie sweetener, which can also sometimes be found in sugar-free, low-calorie, or no-calorie mints and gum. There’s a range of less potentially-harmful low-calorie sweeteners that can be used.

Laura Shammah MS, RDN, has been operating a private practice in New York and New Jersey for over 20 years. Her clientele runs the gamut from people with eating disorders to those dealing with hypertension, high cholesterol, diabetes and cancer. She also helps clients who run in marathons or are looking to lose or gain weight in a healthy way. Her nutritional guidance is published in MaryAnne Cohen’s book Lasagna for Lunch: Declaring Peace With Emotional Eating. Laura can be reached at 718-376-0062 or Laurashammah@aol.com.

38 Wellspring | September 2019

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Just stunning sea views.

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What do you see in the morning? I wake to the sight of gentle waves lapping against my

BIKUR CHOLIM ROOM OPERATED BY

porch. The entire facility, from my private room to the common areas, features views worth a second look. Guess I’ll be seeing you soon.

There’s one place like home™

3015 West 29th Street • Brooklyn NY 11224 • 718.266.5700 • seagaterehab.com

Well Informed

Dedicated to Health By Gila Arnold

10 Questions for: Lea Davidson, Executive Director of PUAH US PUAH in a nutshell: PUAH is the original Jewish fertility organization, and it helps couples build families through its expert and unique synthesis of rabbinical and medical knowledge. As the world’s leading expert on fertility and halachah, it provides personalized guidance and support for each individual in need of its services.

1

What motivated the launch of the North American branch of the organization?

Rav Menachem Burstein, shlita, founded PUAH in Israel back in 1980, and I later launched its North American branch. Back then, my family was living in Israel, where I was privileged to work for PUAH. When we moved to New York in 2004, I discovered that there were no support systems in place for fertility treatments in our communities. Halachic supervision services was one of the first vital services we introduced. (Halachic supervision, which was innovated

by Rav Burstein, ensures that a trained person — a halachic witness — is present during all treatment or lab procedures involving the transfer of genetic material, which is vital for preserving halachic yichus.)

I was excited to expand PUAH to the American community. We

40 Wellspring | September 2019

hired our first supervisors, Mrs. Rivky Itzkowitz and Mrs. Ahuva Goldstein, and began introducing the concept of supervision to the major fertility centers. Today, Mrs. Itzkowitz and Mrs. Goldstein are our directors of supervision, and oversee a team of 61 members throughout the United States and Canada, and Rabbi Elan Segelman leads our rabbinical team.

We also developed our special brand of educational outreach. In order to help as many people as possible, we set out to teach the teachers. The PUAH rabbinical advisors are the world’s foremost experts on the halachos of fertility. We started by reaching out to community rabbanim, rebbetzins, and kallah teachers, who are in the position to guide couples coming to them for advice. We brought education about fertility health to the public, raising awareness, and breaking the stigma of infertility. Today, we have lectures, conferences, and awareness events across the country, for rabbis, community members, college students, medical professionals, and more.

2

What is your current role at PUAH US? My official title is executive director.

My real job is what I call “Find the need and fill it.” PUAH US has expanded tremendously over the past decade and a half, as I kept coming across new needs that would help our couples on their journey to parenthood. This includes adding rabbinical counselors to our American team, developing educational workshops and conferences, opening our taharas hamishpachah hotline, and more.

3

What is one great challenge you face in running the organization?

Our main challenge is the same one that all nonprofit organizations face: fundraising. However, a fertility organization has an added dimension of difficulty. As infertility is a particularly sensitive issue, it’s rare to find people willing to share their experiences with the world, and difficult to discuss some of these topics publicly. And, as we know, testimonials and word of mouth recommendations are the cornerstone of most marketing efforts.

Another publicity challenge is to distill what we do into one succinct sentence — the famous elevator pitch. Yes, we help families have babies, but that doesn’t begin to express the huge scope of assistance that this entails.

Elul 5779 | Wellspring 41

Well Informed

Dedicated to Health

4

Can you share a story that highlights the work you do?

One night recently, one of our rabbinic advisors got a phone call from a couple he’d been helping. It was close to midnight, he had already retired for the night, and they had an appointment scheduled for the next day, so it was tempting to decide to wait until the morning to speak. But he was concerned that if they were calling so late at night there must be a reason for the urgency, so he got out of bed and took the call.

It turned out that they were confused about their doctor’s instructions regarding a certain medication, and weren’t sure if it should be taken in the night or in the morning. Our rabbinic advisor clarified the instructions for them, and after that, they were all able to sleep soundly.

This medical expertise combined with a deep caring for every couple’s welfare is exactly what we do best.

5

Can you share a positive story that you’ve recently experienced?

We had an amazing Hashgachah pratis story that happened not so long ago. A woman had gone for a routine ultrasound where she discovered that her baby had a severe form of spina bifida — a neural tube disorder in which the spinal canal is open and the nerves push out of the vertebrae. Her doctor recommended they terminate the pregnancy, and, extremely distraught, she came to consult with one of our rabbinic advisors.

The rav first explained what this condition is and confirmed that, until now, there had been no cure for it.

Then he smiled and said, “But I have some good news for you. Just the other day, a friend of mine came back from a medical course in Brazil, where he learned how to perform in-utero surgery to correct spina bifida.”

The rav got them an immediate appointment with this preeminent surgeon, and he was able to close up the fetus’s spinal cord. Their baby was born perfectly healthy.

Our advisors make it their business to keep up on the most cutting-edge technologies in the field of fertility and prenatal care. This knowledge, together with their connections to some of the world’s top medical professionals (we have a special PUAH referral network for fertility specialists), means that couples who were told elsewhere that they have no hope of having children come to PUAH and suddenly discover that there is hope. This happens every single day.

42 Wellspring | September 2019

6

What do you wish people would know about infertility?

While the statistic commonly cited is that one in seven couples face infertility challenges, it’s important to realize that the vast majority of these challenges can be surmounted — whether it’s through nutrition, medication, or simple medical procedures. Less than five percent of couples end up needing invasive fertility procedures like IVF. The journey is complex, but we are dedicated to help you find a solution. It’s so important for couples to get guidance about any issues they are having, rather than struggle alone. We are here to help for every issue, great or small. Today, in 2019, there are so many medical solutions for infertility; no one should ever feel their situation is hopeless.

7

What was the most interesting request you’ve ever received on behalf of a couple?

Fertility treatments are based on very precise timing, and patients must be ready to run to the lab for a test as soon as they get a phone call. This means that anyone on our team must also be ready to drop everything and travel, sometimes for hours, to supervise these procedures. These wonderful people have even spent Shabbos away from home just to be available for a ten-minute lab supervision.

I think our wildest supervision excursion was when a team member got a phone call one afternoon from Mrs. Itzkowitz, our director of supervision, saying that a supervisor was needed in Panama the next morning. This woman, who’d been in the middle of supervising a procedure at a Manhattan clinic, called her husband to book a flight, and rushed home to pack.

When she arrived at the airport, she was dismayed to see long check-in lines. Afraid she would miss her flight, she pulled out her PUAH ID and announced, “Medical emergency!” She made it on time to Panama and, at the end of the story, a healthy baby was born to the grateful parents.

8

What’s the best part of your work? The toughest?

The best part is, obviously, the babies. The shining faces when we hear that a woman is expecting, the mazel tovs when she gives birth — these are what keep us going.

The toughest parts are the failed treatments and miscarriages. My heart breaks each time. We are here for each person, to offer them emotional support in these painful times.

While the statistic commonly cited is that one in seven couples face infertility challenges, it's important to realize that the vast majority of these challenges can be surmounted.

9

How do you manage the stress that comes along with your taxing work?

I absolutely love what I do; when I’m at work, I never feel tired. The only stress I feel is financial — how will we accomplish everything we need to do? I’ve seen so much siyata d’Shmaya over the years. Time and again, when a couple with a particularly difficult case has a baby, it reminds me that Hashem is the One who gives life. Our job is just to try everything we can to help, and to never give up.

10

What was the best compliment you’ve ever received?

When a woman approached me and cried, “My children are all thanks to you!”

Another woman once introduced me to her kids as “Tante Lea.” It still warms my heart to think of that!

Even months after we run a conference, I’ll have couples come tell me that, thanks to the information we presented, they were able to take appropriate interventional steps. It’s both empowering and humbling to know that Hashem gave us the zechus to be the vehicle for bringing thousands of Jewish babies into this world.

Some details have been changed to protect privacy.

Elul 5779 | Wellspring 43

Living Well

In Good Shape By Esther Fried, PFC

Back to School, Back to Fitness

How to Ease Back Into Exercise If you’re a mother of young children, it’s very probable that keeping up your exercise routine was difficult during the summer season. And even if you’re not, the summer is usually more laid back, and that makes is a bit more difficult to stick to a commitment. While this coming month doesn’t allow for that much routine, the new year is a good time to “get back into it.” Let’s get moving!

Before I offer you some tips on getting back into exercise mode, allow me to preface them with the following disclaimer: There’s no magic formula. If you want a workout to be a part

of your day, you’ll have to shift tasks around, cut from here and there, and do what it takes to make it happen. Time is an elusive element — it doesn’t magically appear before your eyes and beg to be filled. If you want something badly enough, you have to make time for it.

Once you’ve established that you want it enough — that it’s important for you to exercise your muscles and pump up your heart rate in order to do your part in keeping your body healthy and fit, here are the tips:

Schedule it.

Instead of simply committing by saying “I’ll do exercise three times a week,” sit down with a calendar and see when that will happen. On which days do you have more time, which days less? What times of the day work for you to take that half hour or hour break to get moving? In each of these time slots, pencil in “exercise.”

44 Wellspring | September 2019

Within your budget.

Ease into it.

When it comes to budgeting, money is not the only asset that deserves to be handled with wisdom. Time is too.

Once you determine how much time you can carve off for exercise, make a wise decision regarding what you can possibly fit into that slot.

If you haven’t been serious about your exercise in a while, be kind to yourself. Know that it will be more difficult to start again and give yourself the permission to ease into it.

Don’t push yourself more than you can handle, but do build up your resistance with every time.

For example, if some time back, you used to do an intense 45-minute class, you don’t necessarily have to start out with that class right away.

Perhaps you may want to first do a less intense class or start powering up your muscles again on the machines. If you do attend the class you used to go to, allow yourself to take breaks here and there. The key is to stay committed, even when the going gets rough. That’s how you build up your muscles and exercising capacity again.

While going to the gym is highly recommended, and for many of us, it’s also a great social outlet, if spending the time on getting there and back is not convenient for you at this phase in your life, opt for something more convenient. This may mean working out on a treadmill or elliptical at home, or following a class on a DVD.

Keep moving.

Make it fun.

Getting back into fitness mode shouldn’t only happen during the set times a week you commit to actually doing exercise. It means becoming committed to keep yourself moving as much as you can. If you’re looking for them, you’ll find that the opportunities abound. Walk whenever you can instead of using transportation, don’t think twice before taking the stairs, and when you’re in the mood, simply turn up the music and invite the kids to join you for a dance around the kitchen table.

You may know that there are manifold benefits to exercising, but that may not be enough to motivate you to actually do it.

Exercise also involves a lot of sweating. It’s hard work, and that’s the way you want it to be.

Therefore, do what it takes to make the program you decide on to be enjoyable. Whether it’s working out with a friend, listening to good music, or establishing your own little contest to push yourself back into your exercise routine, then go for it. It’s that important.

Elul 5779 | Wellspring 45

Living Well

Ask the Nutritionist By Shani Taub, CDC

Student Sustenance

Fostering an Appreciation for Nutrition in My Students

Question: Working as a teacher in a pre-1-A classroom for several years, I can’t help but notice the significant role my students’ diet plays in their success in school. The girls who eat nutritious snacks and don’t load up on sugar have an easier time concentrating, are much more alert, and are generally calmer. For this coming school year, one of my goals is to encourage healthier eating habits among my students. I would love to hear your take on the topic and how you suggest that I go about it.

Shani’s response: I love this question. Kudos to you for being such a concerned, dedicated, and aware teacher. Your students — and their parents — are certainly lucky.

Since your students are relatively young, you still have the advantage of being able to speak to them about the topic of nutrition in a straightforward way that doesn’t work that well with older children. As children mature, the messages we convey have to be more subtle, whereas while they’re young, our style of educating them, especially regarding this matter, can be more forthright. That’s one benefit you can and should take advantage of. If the curriculum requirements allow, set aside a time on a daily or weekly basis to discuss nutrition. Have the children learn about the various food groups — in an age-appropriate, fun way — and how they impact the body, both positively and/or negatively.

Knowledge is one of the essential components in maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

While education is a great first step, however, it’s not everything. Here’s another way that you can be instrumental in

46 Wellspring | September 2019

helping your students foster an appreciation for taking care of themselves properly: modeling. As your students’ role model at school, know that the way you conduct yourself is the way your students will want to be. Personally, I marvel at how much my children love vegetables, probably because they see how much I do. Of course, they love chocolate and cake too, but because they constantly see me choosing healthy foods as the mainstay of my diet, they end up doing the same. Whenever you have a chance to eat a meal with your students, be aware that you’re in a position in which they’re observing you, and they will make their choices accordingly as well. In the beginning, you may want to point out to them, “You see? Morah is choosing this over that because this food will makes Morah have koach.” Eventually, they’ll pick up on the differences, especially if you educate them about it.

As the teacher, how much of a say do you have regarding limiting the amount of junk food the students bring to school?

If you’re able to set up a system in which only healthy foods are allowed as snacks, that would be helpful. As much as children want to do what’s right and do as their teacher does, if other students are munching on sugar-loaded treats at snack time, they will find it hard not to want that too. At my children’s school,

a no-food-from-home policy is practiced, and I’m very happy about that. In this way, all students are handed out identical treats at every break, and that limits peer pressure and enables the school to regulate the foods their students consume. In general, students are given both a healthy snack, such as a fruit, and one not-so-healthy snack, such as a cookie, during the break. Is that something you could implement in your classroom?

Another way through which you can encourage healthy eating habits is not to use food as a reward. Instead of using candy or chocolate as an incentive, opt for prizes instead. Children enjoy being rewarded for their efforts or success, and contests certainly make learning more fun,

How To Teach Kids About Nutrition Whether you’re in the role of a teacher or parent (or both!), you can teach your kids the basics of nutrition from a very young age. It’s one of the best steps you can take to help support healthy growth. Here are some tips to doing so: Not just a rule, but a routine. Make sure healthy foods are the default setting for your family’s meals, and get everyone involved in choosing some nutritious, tasty options. Take kids with you to the supermarket. Younger kids can pick out fresh fruits and veggies, and older kids can take on larger roles like choosing recipes and making a shopping list.

Show kids what “eating right” looks like. Explain that they should fill half their plate with fruits and veggies that have nutrients that will help their bodies grow. The other half should be whole grains and lean protein, which gives them the energy to run, dance, and play. When you’re cooking or grocery shopping, show them different examples of these key food groups.

Avoid calling foods “good” or “bad.” Kids should learn that

but the reward does not have to be in the form of food. Little prizes from the dollar store, or even privileges like taking a walk with the teacher or being the helper for the next day, give the student something so much more worthwhile.

The more positive associations your students will have with healthy food, the more they will naturally be inclined to choose them over the not-as-healthy alternatives that are available to them. Let it be less about rules and more about positive reinforcement so they will hopefully be empowered to make the right choices even once they leave your classroom and move on in life.

Lots of luck! all foods have a place in their diet. Label foods as “go,” “slow,” or “whoa.” “Green light” foods like whole grains and skim milk, they should have every day; and “slow down” with less healthy foods like waffles. Foods with the least nutrition, such as French fries, don’t need to be off limits, but kids should stop and think twice before they eat them.

Talk about portion size. It’s not just what kids eat that matters, but how much. Even very young kids can learn that the amount of rice or pasta they eat should match the size of their fist.

Protein should be palm-sized, and fats like butter or mayonnaise should be about the tip of their thumb. When you buy packaged foods, have kids help you find the serving size. Then talk about why sticking to it is a good idea.

Limit sweets. Explain to older children that while candy and cookies taste good, sugar can do their body more harm than good.

(You can tell younger kids that too many sweets will make them feel “yucky.”) Then, offer fresh fruit for desserts and limit treats to two or three times a week — such as for Shabbos party — to keep cravings for sweets in check.

Please send your questions to the nutritionist to info@wellspringmagazine.com.

Shani Taub, CDC, has been practicing as a certified nutritionist in Lakewood for almost a decade, meeting with clients in person and on the phone. She also owns the highly popular Shani Taub food line, which carries healthy, approved, pre-measured foods and delicacies sold at supermarkets and restaurants.

Elul 5779 | Wellspring 47

CHUMIE B.

Living Well

Health Profile By Rachel Esses

Age: 25

Gender: Female

Location: Boro Park

Weight: 192 pounds Height: 5'7”

Marital Status: Single

Occupation: Secretary in an elementary school Favorite health food: Broccoli.

Broccoli is an excellent source of vitamins C and K, and also provides fiber and potassium. In addition, it builds collagen, which forms bone and body tissue, and even helps wounds heal.

Favorite junk food: Brownies.

Favorite exercise: Pilates.

That’s a good exercise to like! Pilates helps improve flexibility, muscle strength, improves posture, and tightens abs.

Favorite nutritious dish: Chicken and mushrooms.

Chicken, of course, is a great source of protein. Try adding Mikee sugar-free barbecue sauce. If you use it in moderation, you get excellent added flavor with no health or weight gain drawbacks.

My biggest meal on a usual day: I would say definitely breakfast. I find that if I skip breakfast, I feel groggy and I’m unable to concentrate.

Breakfast is extremely important and they don’t say it for no reason. Having breakfast sets the tone for the day, jump starts your metabolism, promotes weight maintenance and helps you burn more calories throughout the day. I’m glad you don’t leave your house without having it first!

My usual dinner menu: Honestly, I’m not so good with having dinner every night. Lots of times, when I’m very tired, I’ll have a bowl of cereal or a protein bar.

While it can get hard to eat a full meal when you’re tired, it is important to have three meals a day. I suggest having at least one portion of protein such as chicken or fish, along with some vegetables, at dinnertime.

My weight loss saga: I eat junk throughout the day. I love brownies and chocolate cookies — really, anything chocolaty.

Greatest weight loss challenge: I end up eating a little too much junk, and hardly eating dinner.

Everyone has a guilty pleasure. Yours seems to be chocolate and that is okay. I don’t suggest eating junk throughout the day. Rather, eat more healthily throughout the day and save your portion-controlled chocolate cookie or brownie for the nighttime. Chances are, by the time it comes to having it later in the day, your craving may go away.

My weight/lifestyle goals: I would love to lose 27 pounds.

How I would treat myself if I get there: I’d get myself a pair of shoes that I’m wishing for.

Why is breakfast really the most important meal of the day?

Research on breakfast has found that those who eat this important meal display better concentration and memory, have lower levels of LDL cholesterol, and lower their chances of diabetes, obesity, and heart disease.

Skipping breakfast can cause an imbalance of the body’s rhythm for the day. Because our blood sugar gradually decreases overnight, breakfast usually helps “reload” for better muscle and brain activity. Also, eating a good breakfast helps us from eating too much later in the day, and from eating foods we shouldn’t be indulging in.

Rachel Esses is a nutrition counselor at Nutrition by Tanya, a nutrition practice run by Tanya Rosen, which has locations in Boro Park, Flatbush, Lakewood, Monsey, Monroe, Williamsburg, Queens, Five Towns, and Israel. Tanya is the creator of the TAP (Tanya approved products) line available on her website, offices, and at select supermarkets, offering all-natural low-calorie delicious snacks and food. Tanya can be reached through The Wellspring.

48 Wellspring | September 2019

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Living Well

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50 Wellspring | September 2019

When

Danger Is Just

A Morsel Away

For parents of children with food allergies, the start of a new school year does not only herald a (hopefully) new beginning of academic growth, social development, and a fresh chance at success. It may also be fraught with trepidation: How will my child’s new educators and peers deal with their condition?

In this feature, parents share how they make it work to enable their children with allergies to ease into the school environment as smoothly as possible.

By Ruchy Reese Elul 5779 | Wellspring 51

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Cover Feature

"Can Shloimy have ice pops?" the playgroup teacher asked when I came to pick up my son at the beginning of the new school year.

“Sure,” I answered, “but only the really unhealthy ones — nothing that contains fruit.”

Another mother was passing by. She spun on her heels and stared at me. I just shrugged and smiled.

Only a parent of a child with food allergies would understand.

Having been blessed with wonderful little people who have not-so-wonderful and not-so-little allergies to milk, peanuts, and sesame — and even one who had a rare food allergy disease called FPIES (see sidebar) — our family can easily be labeled food allergy veterans. (And that’s before you factor in my own milk allergy and my husband’s fish allergy.) But we’re not alone. According to the CDC, diagnosis of allergies in children has increased by 50% between 1997 and 2011. With food allergies on the rise around the world, many children today have one or more allergic triggers, making food eaten out of the home a potentially frightening affair.

“What are you most afraid of when you send your child off to school?” I asked a group of fellow mothers of children with allergies, throwing in the caveat that their replies must go beyond the obvious “a reaction.”

Everyone was silent for a moment, but soon the responses flowed. Their answers encompassed both the moments that terrify and those that inspire the parents of children with food allergies, as well as tips for making the school experience safer when danger is just a bite away.

It’s Not an Allergy “My daughter is allergic to sugar. She gets hyperactive when she eats it.”

“I’m allergic to peas; I really can’t stand them.”

Statements like these raise the hackles of those of us with true food allergies. “Allergic” has become a word that’s easily bandied about when referring to foods a person avoids for whatever reason.

Though these kinds of remarks irritate parents of children with food allergies, there’s also — and most importantly — an inherent danger in them. Referring to so many things as “allergies” reduces the natural fear of real food allergies, causing others to take risks at the expense of our children.

For someone with food allergies, exposure to their allergen can cause unpleasant symptoms a best, and can be fatal at worst.

52 Wellspring | September 2019

Allergies occur when the immune system overreacts to a substance that should be viewed as benign but instead is seen as an invader.

(See sidebar for a detailed explanation of how allergens affect the body.) To make matters worse, allergic reactions can become worse with each exposure, meaning that one can never know how the body will react should it encounter the allergen. Since a true allergy can be very serious, it’s important for educators who are informed of allergies in their students to seek clarity as to what a parent means when they label their child as being allergic.

From their end, parents have a responsibility to give each of their children’s teachers full and detailed descriptions of what will happen if their child with an allergy touches, eats, is in the same room as, or is in any way exposed to their allergic trigger. This can help define safety perimeters for a specific child, as the teacher must know and understand how this child will be affected by contact with the allergen. Some children are so highly allergic that they cannot even be in a room with a cold form of their trigger. Many cannot be in the room with a heated trigger, as this causes the food molecules to spread through the air. Other children can be in a room with a heated trigger for a short period of time, but ingestion or skin contact can lead to a reaction.

Of course, the educators must be informed about what to do if there is any exposure or reaction to an allergen. Should they call Hatzolah immediately?

Do they need to check with the parents? Should they administer medication or use an EpiPen? Hopefully, the emergency plan will always remain just a plan — in place, but never needed.

One mother shared a horrifying story to illustrate this threat: “My daughter was in a class with two girls who had a milk allergy, and another child who wasn’t actually allergic, but didn’t tolerate milk

well. Throughout the year, that child had eaten dairy products from time to time and nothing had happened, despite her mother claiming that she was ‘allergic’ to milk.

“The teacher was young and had never been exposed to allergies before, so when she saw that nothing had happened to the intolerant girl, she became lax in avoiding triggers.

One day, she brought milchig ice cream into the class and served it to everyone, including the two girls with severe milk allergies. By the time Hatzolah arrived, both girls were unconscious. Baruch Hashem, they survived with the help of intense medical intervention and a cocktail of medications, but their bodies underwent severe trauma.”

In the Classroom Because severe reactions can result even from simple skin contact, it is important to be aware of ingredients in common products. Allergens can be lurking in places you’d never imagine, such as hand soap. I learned that one the hard way.

“I’m having trouble breathing,” I told my sister-in-law, gasping for breath. “I don’t know what happened.”

While my sister-in-law called my husband, I swallowed Benadryl and set up a nebulizer. Then, with the proverbial “impending sense of doom” setting in, I began to pace the house, wringing my hands in distress. My walking in circles

brought me to the bathroom where I happened to glance down at the soap on the vanity, which I noticed was labeled “Milk and Honey.”

I had just used the soap a half hour prior.

When I showed my sister-in-law the bottle, we were both horrified. The product contained real milk and honey — two ingredients that can cause a severe reaction for a person allergic to either of them.

Many products can contain potential allergens that may be easily overlooked. Craft items, for example, can potentially be full of allergens. Tempera paint can be dangerous for children with egg allergies. Most crayons contain soy, another allergic trigger for some. So too, Play-Doh is made of wheat.

Parents who have children who may be triggered by common classroom products should notify the school and all their children’s educators about this danger. They should provide a list of “safe” products or alternatives to their child’s teacher, and even consider providing those safe items for classroom use. When something may not be common sense, a parent has a responsibility to warn the educators involved. For example, many typical pre-Rosh Hashanah crafts involve honey. Those are probably better off being avoided when a child with a known bee-sting allergy will be in attendance, as that allergy could also trigger a reaction to honey.

Classroom baking activities definitely increase the potential for allergic reactions. Shevy, mother to a daughter with severe allergies, advises being in constant contact with one’s children’s teachers to ensure a safe environment. The open communication helps her stay on top of ways she can facilitate her daughter’s needs — and help the teacher accommodate them. If she finds out they will be baking in class, for example, she sends along an allergen-free dough. “That way, my daughter can fully participate in the activity without feeling different from the other children,” she says.

Dassi, another mother of an allergic child, recommends sending along a stash of safe treats for the classroom and even keeping a supply of baked goods in the school freezer.

Should a food-related event arise at school, her child won’t have to feel marginalized or left out.

Most schools, especially in recent years, have really been trying their best to maintain safe environments for their students with allergies — and to accommodate and include those students as much as possible. Many schools have become more proactive about reaction prevention, often banning common trigger foods such as peanuts and tree nuts from their campuses.

Teachers, too, generally try to have Elul 5779 | Wellspring 53

Living Well

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PLEASE DON’T FEED THE KIDS Sometimes, parents of children with allergies feel so frustrated that they imagine putting t-shirts on their kids that mimic the popular saying, “Please don’t feed the bears.” With so many teachers, tutors, therapists, and neighbors out there — many of whom are the proverbial Jewish mother who love to see kids fed and full — the chances for an allergic encounter can be quite high. Much of this can be avoided if one simple rule is followed: Give prizes instead of nosh.

Many stores carry adorable trinkets for very low prices. Parents can even purchase these on behalf of the educators to ensure that the option is viable for a teacher. Fill up a bucket and let the teacher hand out the rewards. The kids may be even happier with a prize than nosh.

their students in mind. Most are careful to wash sticky fingers and faces to prevent the spread of allergens, and many modify their plans to accommodate a single allergic child. Some go way above and beyond, picking up special, “safe” treats, or even going so far as to plan their yearly mishloach manos around the allergies of a single child. One teacher even took my daughter home with her after a potential allergic exposure occurred right as the bus pulled away from school. She monitored her until my husband arrived and took over.

When parents are proactive about providing their children’s educators with accurate and detailed information, and they keep the lines of communication open, kinks and potential pitfalls can often be avoided.

Meal Times Meal times come with their own complications. From airborne allergens to drips and drops of triggering foods, many a child has to navigate her way through mealtime with extreme caution. When young children don’t have full awareness of what an allergen is and how to avoid it, some schools designate special tables that are completely separate from where their allergen will be served. But that’s not always foolproof.

“I’m not sure exactly what happened, but somehow a cup of milk was placed on my daughter’s separate table. Curious to feel the substance, she stuck her finger into the cup and then tasted the drop on her finger. When her mouth started to tingle, she climbed under the table in fear. I only learned of it later when she drew me a picture of what had happened and the whole story came out,” Shevy shares. “Baruch Hashem, she was okay, but separate tables really have to remain separate.”

Utensils, too, can present a serious problem, and it’s imperative for parents to explain these details to their children’s educators — and to ask teachers to share this information with any substitutes or assistants who will be in the classroom. A spoon that so much as touched cheese can’t be used to serve even plain noodles to a 54 Wellspring | September 2019

child with a milk allergy, for example.

Self-Advocating As parents, we must realize that exposures to allergens will happen despite our best efforts. Even when we — and the school — have done our utmost, our children will sometimes be left to fend for themselves. That means we must train our children to recognize their allergic triggers and teach our kids how best to avoid them. Part of our job as parents of these children is to build their individual voices, teaching them to speak up respectfully but strongly should they find themselves in a potentially hazardous situation.

It’s also important to keep in mind that many children with allergies won’t even recognize what a reaction feels like because it’s been so many years since they’ve had one. If parents educate and inform their children about the signs and symptoms — and share this information with their children’s school and the staff — they are setting up their children for success. Of course, it’s also important to teach kids to know when to say to a teacher or other authority, “I’m having a reaction. Please call my mother!”

Allergies are a challenge — sometimes a great challenge, especially when it makes a child stand out from their peers. But a child should never feel stigmatized or ashamed for having them, and it’s important for children with allergies to realize that other children may have nisayonos in different forms, so they aren’t the only ones facing tests in their lives.

“I appreciate when my child’s teachers are factual about allergies in front of my son and that they don’t become emotional over what he can’t have. I don’t want my child to internalize that feeling, and in turn, feel bad for himself,” says Malky.

Schools can sometimes be a great source of encouragement to their students with allergies. One mother shared that her daughter’s school went out of their way one year to really uplift allergic pupils. They gathered all the children with allergies and gave them a day of confidence-boosting activities and lectures,

PANICKING PEDAGOGS: A BIG NO-NO Food allergies often happen fast and furious, with rapid changes taking place inside the body. While hives or skin redness are outward symptoms that might appear alarming to the bystander, they are of the least concern. The swelling of esophageal tissue is the most worrying, because this swelling can cut off the flow of oxygen, placing an individual’s life in mortal danger. Every second counts in these situations.

If a trigger food was consumed, or a reaction is clearly taking place, a teacher must try to maintain calm, as the child is scared enough as it is. Hysteria and panic will only generate more anxiety for the child, causing their body to tense when it’s already in a state of trauma.

teaching them that their allergies are a nisayon that they’re strong enough to carry. As a special memento of the event and a way to provide ongoing chizuk, each child was given a journal and encouraged to jot down their feelings inside.

“My daughter still has that journal,” a mother tells me. “Every time she looks at it she feels very special.”

On The Bus Even if the day has gone smoothly, the way home can present challenges.

“It’s the bus that scares me,” says Blimy, whose child has a peanut allergy. “My son is too young to really understand that sharing someone’s snack might be dangerous. And, more than once, parents have sent their child on the bus with peanut butter sandwiches, even though the school doesn’t allow it.

What happens if the bus rebbe doesn’t notice one time?”

Even older kids who fully understand the scope of their allergy find that the bus can present specific concerns. With no washing facilities on board the average yellow bus, what’s a child to do should they touch someone’s spilled food or some snack that has smeared across a seat?

Baby wipes can come in handy should a child come into contact with an allergen, though they may not always prevent a reaction. For this reason, Benadryl and an EpiPen should always be carried, even for short stints on the bus.

“My nephew is highly allergic, and when he was in cheder, he carried a pouch around his waist with his medications and exact instructions,” says Pessy.

Other children carry emergency medications in their backpacks. Some kids might even have medical

The more composed a teacher remains, the better he or she will able to implement the emergency plan and care for the child.

WHAT IS FPIES? FPIES, food protein induced enterocolitis syndrome, is a rare food allergy disease that affects mostly infants and young children. Unlike “regular” allergies, FPIES reactions are always delayed, usually occurring two or more hours after ingestion of the trigger food. Acute reactions are characterized by forceful, projectile vomiting that can continue for hours. (My own son once vomited for 20 hours, with only a few minutes between each bout.)

A child in the midst of a reaction may appear drowsy and lethargic, but may actually be going into shock. Blood pressure drops and rapid dehydration often sets in. If the trigger food has reached far enough into the digestive tract, severe diarrhea can occur awhile later, with children filling as many as 30 diapers in an hour.

Unfortunately, there are currently no known tests for FPIES triggers other than actual trials of new foods.

Rice, oats, milk, soy, and poultry are among the most common FPIES culprits, though anything can be — even innocentlooking fruits and vegetables. My son had reactions to many foods, but the worst was when he came close to dying, lo aleinu, after one bite of chicken. Several months later, when he tried pear, he was hospitalized for a week after that 20-hour vomiting bout.

The good news is that many children outgrow their FPIES triggers by the age of three, as did my son.

Elul 5779 | Wellspring 55

Living Well

Cover Feature

bracelets to alert emergency services to their allergens should the need arise.

main teacher to the assistant to substitutes, should be informed of the child’s allergies and the whereabouts of the emergency care plan and medications.

Emergency Plans And Medications

Don’t wait until school begins to have this conversation with staff, because with all the details an educator is responsible for, additional responsibilities and information may prove too overwhelming when they come right as the year begins. Discuss everything in advance with your child’s educators, so they’re prepared to fully care for your child and all the other students in their charge.

Consider preparing paper copies of your child’s emergency care plan and contact information, and asking the teachers to post it on the classroom wall for quick access. Medications should be stored in a safe but accessible location, and all the educators, from the

Allergies: A Look Inside The Body You may know someone with allergies or have allergies yourself.

Or perhaps you’ve never had to deal with them. Whatever the case, allergies are out there — but the knowledge of what causes them is not widely known. Here’s a quick tutorial about what happens inside the body when an individual experiences an allergic response.

Attack Of The Allergen Our bodies are experts at trying to protect us from harm, with the immune system always on guard, ready to rear up and fight should an incoming pathogen prove dangerous. Sometimes, though, the immune system perceives harmless substances that are inhaled, absorbed, or ingested as perilous “intruders.” For example, the immune system may identify flower pollen, in the case of seasonal allergies, or almonds, in the case of a nut allergy, as a dangerous invader, even when there’s nothing inherently dangerous about pollen or almonds.

When the body views something as an allergic threat, it begins producing immunoglobulin E or IgE, a protein custommanufactured to recognize and bind with allergens in future exposures. An IgE created for milk won’t react to fish, for instance, but it will bind to any milk molecule and begin the allergic response process the next time milk enters the body.

When the IgE proteins bind with allergens, they overwhelm the body’s mast cells. Mast cells contain chemicals that are released when the IgE load becomes too “heavy” for the mast cells to carry.

One of these chemicals, histamine, is commonly recognized, as it is associated with itchy eyes and runny noses. Other chemicals are also released.

This sudden influx of chemicals causes inflammation, making tissue swell. This can take place in the nose or eyes, leading to itchiness, sneezing, and tearing. The skin can also develop bumps, called hives. When an allergen has been ingested or injected —

think bee sting or via syringe — multiple body systems can be affected, and a severe systemic reaction called anaphylaxis can occur.

Anaphylaxis most commonly begins with the skin becoming itchy, breaking out in hives, and flushing red. The person suffering from it might feel a sense of overwhelming heat spreading in the body. Shortly after those initial symptoms, the person’s voice can become hoarse as their throat begins to swell, followed by shortness of breath due to the obstruction of airflow and oxygen. Smooth muscles can contract, causing vomiting.

If the reaction isn’t stopped in time, through the use of emergency medications — such as the hormone epinephrine, which constricts the swollen blood vessels and relaxes muscles — then loss of consciousness can occur. This is due to the heart losing its ability to effectively pump blood throughout the body and return it to the brain. Anaphylaxis can be fatal.

If an anaphylactic reaction is suspected, emergency services must be summoned immediately, as loss of consciousness, and lo aleinu, death can occur within 5–30 minutes. (It is rare for reactions to be delayed longer than 30 minutes, but this can occasionally occur.)

Even when the reaction is under control, a secondary flare-up, called a biphasic reaction, can take place hours later. This happens most commonly in children. The most common allergens to trigger the most severe reactions are milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, soy, wheat, and fish.

It is extremely important for a person with an allergy to food, medications, or insect bites to carry an epinephrine auto-injector, called an EpiPen, with them at all times. This can mean the difference between life and death. Most importantly, they should try their best to avoid exposure to their triggers. And, it’s a great chessed when the community can keep these potential dangers in mind when preparing food for a simchah, eating in a communal area, and so on.

Many children with allergies won't even recognize what a reaction feels like because it's been so many years since they've had one.

56 Wellspring | September 2019

Sometimes We Substitute When children can’t have or do the same things as other children their age, they often feel left out. With a little creativity and a bit of expertise, we can sometimes substitute one ingredient for another to make similar snacks and playthings. Here are a few excellent tried-and-true recipes:

WHEAT-FREE PLAY DOUGH

WHEAT-FREE SUPER SNACK

EGG-FREE POTATO KUGEL

This play dough is made from rice flour to protect little ones with wheat allergies.

Surely, you’ve noticed that kids these days have a wee bit of an obsession with Bissli and other deep-fried, crunchy snacks. A child with a wheat allergy usually just looks on, wondering if he’ll ever get to taste the treats everyone raves about. If you try this recipe, he actually can!

What kid doesn’t dream of a hot slice of potato kugel when they come home from school on Friday afternoon? Now your child with an egg allergy can feel that they, too, are getting a piece of tradition. A special thanks to Shevy for sharing this recipe.

Ingredients 1¼ cups rice flour ½ cup salt 2 tsp cream of tartar 1 cup water

Ingredients Brown rice pasta (short shapes work best)

1 Tbsp oil

Cornstarch

¼ tsp vanilla extract

Oil for frying

Food coloring/glitter (optional) Instructions Mix flour, salt, and cream of tartar in a large pot. Add water and oil. Cook over medium heat until the mixture pulls away from the sides of the pan (about five minutes), stirring constantly. Add vanilla extract (for smell, not taste). Mix thoroughly. Put play dough on a clean surface. When cool enough to handle, knead lightly. Store in airtight container.

Add food coloring or glitter, if desired, kneading to integrate.

Published with permission from: Kids With Food Allergies, a division of Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America kidswithfoodallergies.org

Seasoning, such as paprika, garlic, and onion powders, salt, and/or chili flakes, for a savory version, or cinnamon and sugar, for a sweet one.

Instructions Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add a pinch of salt and oil. Boil pasta for three minutes and remove from water. Place on a baking sheet that’s been lightly dusted with cornstarch. Toss the pasta in the cornstarch and spread out, air-drying pasta for at least 30 minutes.

Heat enough oil to fully cover pasta when frying. Add the partially cooked, dried pasta to the hot oil. Fry on medium heat until pasta turns brown and crispy. Remove from oil using a slotted spoon, and place noodles on a baking sheet. Immediately sprinkle seasoning over the crisp, fried pasta.

Ingredients 8 large potatoes 1 squash 1 onion 2½–3 lbs ground chicken ¾ cup oil Salt and pepper, to taste Instructions Preheat oven to 375°F. Peel all vegetables and cut into chunks. Process chunks in a food processor using the S blade. Place the ground chicken in a large bowl.

Add processed vegetable mixture to the ground chicken. Mix until well incorporated. Pour mixture into a baking pan and bake for one hour, uncovered. (Shevy pours the mixture into 2x2 pans, which she freezes and removes for individual portions, as needed. Use a larger pan size, if you’d like.)

Elul 5779 | Wellspring 57

Keeping Clean Without Mr. Clean In addition to food triggers, many allergic individuals react to cleaning supplies. The following substitutes are the least reactioninducing for my family.

GLASS CLEANER Windex is one of the cleaning supplies I most avoid. For really clean, streak-free glass, mix a cup of full-strength distilled white vinegar with a few drops of rubbing alcohol. The smell is strong, but it dissipates soon enough, taking the smears and smudges with it.

COUNTER AND FLOOR CLEANER Mr. Clean is one of the other products that I stay away from, as it causes my throat to swell.

To get super clean counters and floors: • Fill any size container to 50 percent of its capacity with distilled white vinegar.

• Add orange or lemon peels (I usually use the peels of two large fruit per 32 ounces).

• Soak peels in vinegar for 24 hours and then discard.

• Fill container to the top with hot water.

• Use this mixture to wash everything from counters to floors.

NOTE: Essential oils can be substituted for peels. (Peppermint smells really good!)

Ruchy Reese is an editor and staff writer at The Monsey View and The Boro Park View, and contributes to other quality publications, as well. She also runs the Skin Healing Gemach, an information gemach dedicated to helping people find comfort and proper guidance for their skin rashes.

Names have been changed to protect privacy.

58 Wellspring | September 2019

Can Allergies be Cured?

By Tehilla Abelson

Exploring the Work of Dr. Jimmy Scott In his book, Cure Your Own Allergies in Minutes, Dr. Jimmy Scott, a renowned name in the field of allergies, extensively explains the curative method he developed. Despite the peculiarities of his technique, those who implement it report improvements and healing.

ergy flow, to identify and correct allergies. With his unique “allergy tap” technique, he usually eliminates allergies during a single session. It is known to be effective in about 90 percent of cases, an incredible percentage relative to any other curative methods for allergies.

In 1978, Jimmy Scott, PhD, a doctor, nutritionist and psychologist, developed the Health Kinesiology system of Bioenergetics. He then expanded his forte to the procedures of Touch for Kinesiology. His famous procedure, a powerful cure for allergies, is practiced in over 20 countries around the world. According to his understanding, allergies can bring about an array of symptoms. It’s when the allergy problem is eliminated that many previously thought to be incurable conditions disappear, as well. Here’s a very summarized, brief overview of his method:

Allergies are generally defined as an acquired abnormal reaction to a substance that is harmless for most people, but which causes uncomfortable or even dangerous symptoms for the allergic individual. Dr. Scott uses a new definition based on his insight: A disturbance of the normal flow and balance of energy within the body when it is exposed to a given substance. How does his treatment work?

As a means of introduction, within all of us, a proper flow of energy is required to regulate many bodily functions. A disturbance in our energy flow can cause regulation to fail, and that’s when problems, such as allergies, begin to appear.

For years, Dr. Scott used muscle testing techniques to identify people’s allergies, and then would work to correct them through avoidance of the allergic substances, proper diet, and nutritional supplementation. This procedure was effective but too time-consuming, usually taking six months to a year.

1. The allergen is placed in a small bag or container. Then, the practitioner:

Additionally, for a long time, what was considered allergy symptoms was confined to a small group of obvious indicators such as a runny nose, red eyes, sneezing, or skin rash.

Today, health professionals recognize a much wider range of problems including muscle aches, headaches, digestive problems, poor blood sugar control, addictions, and behavioral issues. Since conventional allergy treatment was not sufficient in healing many allergies, Dr. Scott sought a more precise method.

Then, in 1982, he discovered and developed energy techniques, based on the understanding of the human body’s en-

First, allergy triggers are identified (by muscle testing or routine blood work). The practitioner does not work on more than one allergen at a time. Then the following steps are done:

2. Balances the patient’s energy, tapping in a circular motion around the thymus.

3. Taps the inner corner of the eye, beside the nose, about 40 times.

4. Taps on the cheekbone below center of the eye.

5. Taps on the collar points.

6. Taps on the arm halfway between elbow and armpit.

7. Taps the outer edge of the little toe, and outer edge of the big toe below the nail.

8. Taps the center of the foot.

Disclaimer: This summary is intended as an overview and is for informational purposes only. Please refer to the book for more information, or locate a practitioner in your community who practices Health Kinesiology. Do not attempt to correct severe allergies without the supervision of a licensed medical professional.

Elul 5779 | Wellspring 59

Living Well

At the Dietitian By Tamar Feldman, RDN, CDE

How To Naturally Balance Female Hormones “My hormones feel so out of whack,” is a common complaint, probably said by most women at some point in their lives. It’s one that’s heard by doctors and dietitians quite often, since the female hormone system is so intricate, and varies based on the life cycle. Without proper nutrition and lifestyle habits, many women can experience some degree of imbalance at one of these transitional stages.

The good news is that you don’t need to suffer from the symptoms of hormonal imbalance. Our bodies were designed to function with a precise hormonal balance, and although we do not live in an ideal environment, most minor to moderate defects in this delicate balance can be resolved through nutritional and lifestyle changes.

Common symptoms of hormonal imbalances in women include: • PMS

• Monthly weight fluctuation • Swelling or water retention • Bloating

• Mood swings • Depression

• Premenstrual food cravings (especially sugar or salt) • Irregular cycles • Infertility

• Premenstrual migraines • Hot flashes

• Unexplained weight gain, particularly around the middle • Dry skin and hair • Facial hair

As I like to explain to my clients, your body is a physical entity very much affected by the micronutrients and chemicals introduced into it. Simply put, if your body needs a particular vitamin or mineral as part of the process of producing a hormone, and your diet falls short of providing what’s needed, that specific hormone’s production will be compromised. In addition, intake of foods that contain certain negative compounds or chemicals can also compromise the production of hormones. In a nutshell, the saying that you are what you eat is quite true!

Just as you cannot fill a car tank up with orange juice and expect it to have the ability to run properly, the same holds true with providing our body with a poor diet, and expecting hormone production to function properly.

60 Wellspring | September 2019

So what can you do to balance your hormones naturally?

1. Focus on diet.

The right diet is one of your most powerful “hormone reset buttons.” Imbalances in hormones are almost always triggered by dietary issues. If you cannot complete all the dietary changes specified, do whatever you can in the order listed below, and wait two to three months to see if it’s necessary to progress to the next step.

Step 1: Cut out processed carbohydrates and sugar, in order to decrease insulin, estrogen, and testosterone levels.

Step 2: After removing the foods that are bad for you, replace them with a diet high in whole, unprocessed, plantbased foods, with small amounts of organic and grass-fed animal proteins. Increase your intake of hormone-balancing foods, such as flaxseed, chickpeas, healthy fats, and unprocessed soy foods.

Step 3: Remove dairy and gluten, common triggers for inflammation and hormonal imbalances. Dairy in particular is implicated in hormonal imbalances, as women can be affected by the hormone levels of the cows.

Step 4: Work on lifestyle changes to limit your exposure to xenobiotics, such as chemicals in plastics or pesticides in food, because these can act like powerful hormone disruptors and trigger hormones to go out of balance.

3. Reduce stress levels.

Stress raises cortisol levels, and long-term chronic stress and high cortisol can wreak havoc on female hormonal balance. Try mediation, yoga, CBT, and more time in nature, and you can find that these improve your response to normal life stressors.

4. Sleep well.

Insufficient sleep can adversely impact PMS, menopause, and other conditions. Getting seven-and-a-half to eight hours of quality, uninterrupted sleep every night is another vital role player in good hormonal balance.

5. Supplement as necessary.

Consult a dietitian or functional medicine practitioner for the right supplements that may benefit your particular situation. Particularly effective supplements for hormonal balance include: • Fish oil

• Evening primrose oil

2. Exercise.

This factor does not need much elaboration. Suffice it to say that I consider it as vital to normalizing female hormone levels as a proper diet.

• B vitamins

• Magnesium • NAC

• Curcumin

• Vitamin D

If you are living with the effects of hormonal imbalance, start taking the steps to correct the underlying issue at its core by improving your diet and lifestyle, so you can achieve long-term great health.

Tamar Feldman, RDN, CDE is a highly acclaimed and experienced registered dietitian/nutritionist and certified diabetes educator. She maintains a busy nutrition practice with offices in Lakewood and Edison, and via phone/skype to numerous international clients, specializing in balanced and sustainable weight loss and nutrition therapy for autoimmune and gastrointestinal issues. She can be reached at 732-364-0064 or through her website: www.thegutdietitian.com. Follow her @gutdietitian.

Write to Tamar at tamar@thegutdietitian.com to join her whatsapp group for weekly gut health lectures.

Elul 5779 | Wellspring 61

Living Well

Health Personality By Esther Retek

Cup of Tea With:

S

ome people work as nutritionists, others as health coaches. Brooklyn-based coach Bashy Halberstam has successfully combined both of those fields into a unique career. It’s easy to discern how Bashy’s passion for health and her deep understanding of human nature formed the groundwork for her innovative occupation — you can hear the enthusiasm in her voice.

What were the beginnings of Bashy’s foray into these two vital fields? While she was raised by a health-conscious mother, Bashy, in contrast, was rather dispassionate about health during her adolescent years. “During my early adult years, my lifestyle consisted of typical junk eating, little sleep, and no exercise.

I didn’t take care of myself — until I had to deal with the consequences,” Bashy recalls. Today, this same Bashy, who has become so passionate about proper selfcare, sees it as her mission to negate some of the misconceptions people have about healthy living.

“While working on several research papers for classes I was attending, I was neglecting my body by not sleeping, eating, or working out properly. I spent nights awake till the wee hours, cram-

62 Wellspring | September 2019

Bashy Halberstam, INHC OCCUPATION: Integrative Nutrition Health Coach

LOCATION: Brooklyn, New York

PASSION: connecting women to their inner wisdom, recreating healthy recipes, and cooking food everyone will enjoy and love.

WISHES PEOPLE WOULD KNOW THAT: Your health and wellbeing involves a lot more than a focus on food.

Elul 5779 | Wellspring 63

Living Well

Health Personality

ming information and writing nonstop,” Bashy shares. “Of course, I was feeling awful, dealing with fatigue and constipation from the excessive coffee I was drinking to stay alert. I ran from doctor to doctor, trying to relieve my uncomfortable symptoms. I got a host of possible diagnoses, but all were futile. I wasn’t feeling any better.

Eventually, my subconscious began nagging, my inner voice pleading, ‘It’s time to listen to your body.’ On top of that, one doctor diagnosed me with prediabetes, which got me very anxious, since I’ve watched my mother suffer from diabetes all her life.”

The first step in her work, Bashy outlines, is helping people listen to their body’s cues — a fundamental tool in her practice. “At one point, I was suffering from severe bloating. After six months of doctors’ visits without any significant change, I began listening to my body and noticing which foods were causing the bloating.

Once I eliminated the trigger foods — gluten, sugar, and dairy — I experienced immediate improvement. People don’t need others to approve their foods. Rather, we must heed our own body’s sensitivities and work out our diet accordingly.”

So began Bashy’s personal journey toward a new lifestyle, which later led to the evolution of Nurture4Vibrancy, Bashy’s business.

Through this venture, Bashy offers one-on-one coaching, workshops, cooking demos, and more. After realizing that it was up to her to change her state of wellbeing, Bashy used her acquired research skills to explore the world of health, eventually discovering her modus operandi: integrative nutrition.

In this vein, Bashy also teaches her clients other basic body signals and how to interpret them. “Many of us eat more than we actually need. I teach people to listen when their body is satiated, hungry, and so on through the use of a food log. We learn to distinguish between other emotions and the feeling of hunger, which is crucial since most of our eating stems from other emotions.”

With her strong interest in psychology and an intuitive understanding of mental health, Bashy was inspired by integrative nutrition, attracted to its focus on the mind-body connection. ““Most people are not aware of the powerful connection between the mind and body. The vagus nerve, a main component of the parasympathetic nervous system, oversees a vast array of crucial bodily functions, including control of mood, immune response, digestion, and heart rate. It is simultaneously connected to our gut,” Bashy explains. “The connection our emotional health has with the outside world is largely through our mouth, since our gut is linked to our mind, and vice versa—our mind largely affects our body.

“The word health is associated with food for most people,” Bashy says, “but there are many more variables that affect our health.

When I work with a client, I don’t function in the capacity of a dietician; I don’t focus solely on food. We touch all pillars of health, including exercise, sleep, thinking patterns, and spirituality.”

Bashy’s goal, she explains, is to enable her clients to feel the joy and vibrancy in life — to feel alive. Her vitality, effervescence, and joy are evident throughout our conversation, making her the best testimonial for her practice.

64 Wellspring | September 2019

She continues, “The diet culture disconnects us from our intuition. Instead of doing the work on our own, we rely on some program’s dos and don’ts, which in turn make us feel restricted and unbalanced. Real health is about feeling in harmony and at peace.

It’s about knowing which actions will allow you to feel comfortable and content.”

Bashy recalls a scenario that drives this point home. A client was at a wedding, and the discussion at the table was about each person’s dietary restrictions in their weight-loss efforts. “The client continued by saying how different she felt, knowing that the decision was hers, and that she could choose to eat anything, as long as it made her feel good. It’s so ingrained in my clients’ conscious which foods will work for them that they don’t feel deprived. And if they feel they need a piece of dessert, I encourage them to treat themselves. I tell them to look around the smorgasbord, weigh the effects of each food, and decide which one will bring them the most joy. ‘Cheating’ doesn’t exist in my approach. If you crave a certain food and you find it important for the moment, eat it and let it nurture you. And if there’s no cheating, there’s no guilt, and no bingeing. ” But here’s Bashy’s singular caveat: You must enjoy the food. “If you’re eating and not appreciating the food, there’s a deeper need

that’s not being met,” she explains. “People are scared of intuitive eating; they are afraid of relinquishing ‘self-control.’ Interestingly, it’s quite the opposite. When you eat with understanding and compassion toward your needs, you practice real self-control.

“A big part of my work is teaching people to integrate compassion into their lives, specifically, self-compassion. When we keep restricting ourselves, our minds fight a constant battle, which only causes more stress. When you allow the food to nurture you and soothe your emotions, the constant need for food subsides.”

“Eating compassionately,” as Bashy calls it, is a major part of what she teaches. Bashy looks at this idea as the central focus of a healthy life. “Our mindset needs to change. When we view ourselves through the lens of compassion, with the knowledge that our body is here to protect our souls, with a caring frame of mind, then we naturally wish to keep it in good shape, to maintain proper functioning. Hashem gave us food to enjoy. The number of taste buds we have and the quantity of different flavors we can taste testify to this. When we treat ourselves with compassion, we learn to appreciate these pleasures. Innately, we are emotional beings.

Therefore, if we eat with positive emotion, with a loving attitude, we become happier and more content people.” Her message is certainly refreshing in a world in which we are constantly being bombarded with negativity toward eating. “Your body deserves to be treated well,” she explains. It’s not for naught that her clients say, “Bashy brings back the joy in eating.”

Bashy is also very passionate about showing others how healthy food can be delicious. She demonstrates her tips via cooking demos at various food expos. Her innovative recipes include homemade mayonnaise that can be made in 30 seconds, overnight pudding, and many more creative ideas. Viewers are drawn to her enthusiasm when she exhibits her healthy cooking, and participants are compelled to try her recipes on their own.

“Another effective strategy I teach my clients is to read labels and ads properly. So many people are not familiar with basic terminology and, as a result, confuse many products. One example is a label I saw promoting farm-raised fish instead of wild-caught fish. For the majority of the population, the word ‘farm’ is associ-

When we view ourselves through the lens of compassion, we naturally wish to keep our body in good shape, to maintain proper functioning. ated with the concepts of health and organic, compelling people to opt for farm-raised fish in their desire for the ‘healthier’ version. In reality, though, farm-raised means those fish were raised in a pool, outside their normal habitat, without the benefits a natural marine environment would provide. On the other hand, wild-caught fish are those captured in their natural habitat — the ocean — and are thus the healthier option. There are many more common errors people make when choosing products. By learning to read labels properly, my clients become smart shoppers.”

Bashy includes these strategies in her workshops, along with rudimentary discussions about all other pillars of health. “We learn about hydration, exercise, self-care, relationships, breathing techniques, and so many more things. Healthy living is all-inclusive, and all aspects need attention. We focus on the mind-body connection and how that affects our spirit. Over the course of the classes, my clients transform into thriving, vibrant people. For me that’s the best part of my work.”

Bashy sees the mind-body approach as the true path to a healthier life. “I don’t know many people who were able to sustain the ‘diet’ methodology for too long. In contrast, people practicing integrative nutrition learn to manage their eating habits longterm, but even more importantly, to live a happier, healthier, and more meaningful life.”

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Living Well

Health Personality

For Parents

With its range of changes, Yom Tov preparations, and first school days, September can easily tire all of us out. Therefore, it’s important to take care of ourselves, which from Bashy’s perspective means nourishing our mind, body, and soul. Here are some techniques, based on her extensive workshops, to help parents become more compassionate toward themselves, which ultimately leads to more compassion toward their family.

1) Eat breakfast. As much as I emphasized this tip regarding children, the importance for parents increases tenfold. You need a healthy and filling breakfast to start the day, although the meal can take place at different times for different people. One of my favorite tips is prepping breakfast the night before. There’s something magical about sending off your children to school and, before continuing on, enjoying a hearty, prepared meal early in the day. It could be a yogurt mixture, healthy pudding, acai bowl, or overnight oatmeal — anything wholesome that can be made in advance. I also like to have some spreads, like egg or tuna salad, that are prepared, ready to eat with crackers or a healthy roll.

With five minutes of preparation the night before, you can feel cared for and energized at the start of the next day.

SautĂŠ vegetables such as peppers, onions, and mushrooms (in the Betty Crocker, of course) and freeze them in small containers for later use.

3) Supper is not a headache. Healthy cooking doesn’t have to take long to prepare and delicious foods don’t necessarily require a lot of cooking time. With today’s technology, such as the Instant Pot, so many things can be cooked quickly. The Betty Crocker Pizza Maker is another device that helps me tremendously, especially when I’m time-constrained. Everything cooks faster in it — for instance, a slice of fish with a bit of lemon juice and some spices takes just 12 minutes to bake. I use frozen vegetables a lot: spinach, broccoli, green beans, okra, and vegetable blends are just a few of the many simple foods that I make in the place Betty Crocker (or any pizza maker). I simply place them on a piece of parchment paper, and bake, and they’re ready within minutes.

5) Take a break. Although the idea is far from revolutionary, I encourage parents to utilize this potent technique whenever you feel overwhelmed or exhausted. Relaxing, even for a few moments, has the power to energize and strengthen you. Closing your eyes, taking deep breaths, doing short mental exercises, or listening to calming music are just some ideas to try for a few minutes. Some of my clients can’t fathom the idea of taking a five-minute break when they’re racing against the clock. I always tell them that the short break will only motivate them to do their work faster and yield better results. And if you have a hard time finding a spot to relax, I always share a no-fail secret hiding place‌ the bathroom.

2) Follow body cues. As I emphasized throughout the article, integrative nutrition focuses on the mind-body connection.

Therefore, each of us, based on our unique biological makeup will need different nourishment at different times. Learning to be in tune to your body’s signals is the first step to treating your body properly. For some, anxiety can be the voice of fatigue. For others, irritability can be a manifestation of dehydration or hunger.

By paying attention to our body’s messages we learn to interpret them, which results in a cared-for body and soul.

66 Wellspring | September 2019

Other easy, healthy dishes I enjoy include oven-baked white kabocha squash with or without seasoning; sliced, baked sweet potatoes; cubed oven-roasted beets (drizzled with a bit of olive oil and spices); turnip sticks with techina; and Brussel sprouts with salt and pepper, topped with pieces of chicken and cooked in the Instant Pot. Learn to use some of these electronics, get some simple recipes, and allocate a little extra time for yourself in the day.

4) Engage in recreational activities. Allowing yourself to engage in any activity that brings you joy, even for a short time, will invigorate you tremendously. Art proves to be extremely soothing and comforting in times of stress. I like leaving a craft on my table and working on it several times a day. I might encourage my children to join, and often, it turns into a beautiful family project. Since developing strong relationships is a vital pillar of health, these family-bonding moments nurture us and rejuvenate our spirits. Recreational activities involving exercise provide a boost of energy and mental clarity. Find an activity you enjoy and tap into the tremendous benefits it provides.

For the Kids

Introducing her back-to-school tips, Bashy reiterates the goal parents should have in mind as they help their children develop a healthy lifestyle, which is very much in line with her mind-body approach: Children should learn to make healthy choices in the long-run, not just in the moment. “From my experience,” she notes, “children who grow up with a restrictive diet mindset may follow through well in their youth, but they will likely struggle later on. Because children resent this way of living, they usually end up disregarding a healthy lifestyle as adults.”

Instead, Bashy offers some tactics parents can employ to enable their children to live healthily in their youth — and train them for the future.

1) Teach body signals. I strongly advocate for children to learn to pay attention to their body. Teaching children to listen begins as soon as they can comprehend the concept. Children should learn to identify and recognize their mind and body signals. Begin by helping them point out how they feel after eating sugar, gluten, milk, and so on.

If they are feeling lethargic, hyperactive, or tired, encourage them to connect it to the food that possibly caused it. When they keep opening cabinets, saying how hungry they are, challenge them to identify the real emotion they’re feeling. On the same note, urge them to express positive outcomes when they make the right decision, such as after exercising, sleeping well, or eating healthy foods. Knowing the effects of their actions will propel them to make the right choices.

2) Breakfast. Breakfast. Breakfast. No meal is as important as the first. Eating breakfast is crucial for children. Their bodies need the right minerals and nutrients to jumpstart the day. Time and again, studies have proven the benefits of eating breakfast.

Teachers continuously voice the importance of feeding students breakfast before sending them off to school. Breakfast doesn’t necessarily mean a full meal of protein, vegetables, and carbs. For the child who will not eat much, prepare at least one thing that will provide some nutrients.

3) Upgrade ingredients. People can upgrade their foods by changing one ingredient at a time. For example, if you use regular flour, try baking with spelt or kamut flour. If you do so already, challenge yourself to bake some gluten-free foods.

Almost every unhealthy ingredient can be exchanged for a healthier one: maple syrup or coconut sugar can replace regular sugar or corn syrup; avocado oil can replace canola oil or margarine. Gradually swapping and upgrading your ingredients will help you and your children enjoy the same foods with many more benefits than before.

4) Go homemade. The best snacks you can give your kids are the ones you make, because you know what’s inside. Most processed foods are full of unhealthy fats, unnecessary additives, unnatural oils, and many ingredients you’re unaware of. Despite it being easier to purchase snacks in the local store, you might want to consider the trade-off. And best of all, when you include your kids in the baking process, the activity becomes one of bond-

ing and connection, and you’ll have them proudly taking “their” snacks to school.

5) Make healthy foods tempting. Healthy foods must not look unappealing or bland. Take a few extra minutes to present them in a more tempting way. Fruits and vegetables are bursting with color. Take advantage of that. Nutritious foods should be easy to enjoy, so look for handy, easy-to-eat foods, like Persian cucumbers, apples, nuts, veggie sticks, and string cheese (which is much healthier than American cheese and especially fun for kids to peel). As long as foods look fresh, tempting, and easy to eat, your kids will choose these options.

6) Have food ready. For me, school conjures up the sweetest memories of coming home after a tiring day to a properly set table, laden with fresh fruits and vegetables and bite-size sandwiches, ready to eat. Children come home after an exhausting day looking for food. If something healthy is ready and waiting, they’ll eat that rather than combing the pantry for some junk.

7) Allow choices. In chinuch, giving choices (when possible) is often recommended. When it comes to training children to live healthily, giving a child the opportunity to make his own decision is a great way to cultivate independence, confidence, and forward thinking. Some examples of choices children can make are which fruit they would like for snack (which, not if they want), which day they would like to take a junky item to school (yes, I allow that), or if they want their veggie sticks as an afternoon or bedtime snack.

Allowing choices answers the questions I often receive from parents who get upset when their children walk into the house after school with huge bags of junk. My general approach to such a situation is to first acknowledge and express appreciation toward the teacher for the party, incentive, and so on. (This is instead of complaining, “Why in the world is she feeding you such junk?

What is she thinking?”) I don’t want my child’s attitude toward her morah to change because I’m distraught over the junk. Then, I allow the child to choose one junk food item “per day,” knowing that it will last merely two days, either because the child will forget, or because the food won’t be edible past that time. This way, all of us are satisfied. Additionally, if we incorporate the other techniques, the older children will voluntarily give up the junk, knowing that it won’t make them feel good.

Bashy Halberstam can be contacted via Wellspring.

Elul 5779 | Wellspring 67

Living Well

Memos from a Kinesiologist By Miriam Schweid

The Taste of Success A solution for every student

W

hile many families prefer to escape the mountains a bit early in order to beat the back-to-school shopping rush, ours prefers to hang around in the country air as long as we can. Last year, while enjoying a stroll with a few friends who had also opted to sit it out until the end, we approached a group of children who were immersed in what appeared to be a heated discussion.

As we drew near, I heard snippets of conversation that cut me to the core. Here they were, a group of preteen boys, lamenting the coming season, expressing not only their frustration at the summer’s end, but more notably, the approach of the coming school year.

“I’m not going home,” one boy said fiercely. “I’m a failure in cheder. I just make my parents upset when they see my marks.”

“I know,” said another kid, “Here in the country, I’m great. I can play ball really well and I love swimming.”

A quieter voice chimed in, too: “I know how to repair old pipes and restore electricity.”

Then, in unison, they announced, “But in school this doesn’t count!”

I stood there transfixed, awed at these children’s openness, while pained for their sorry state.

“I have no patience,” the first boy continued. “The day is too long, and sometimes I fall asleep. I would love to be like everybody else. All the rebbeim hate me; they only care about the good students. My father thinks I don’t care for learning.”

And then one boy started to chant, “We don’t care, we’re staying here. We don’t care, we’re staying here …”

All we could do was nod to each other in understanding. While it was clear to us mothers that some children have an easier time in school than others, this conversation opened our eyes to just how deeply this issue affects children’s emotional states. This, of course, begged a question: Is there anything mothers can do to help?

I listened as the women discussed the various avenues they’d explored in an effort to help their struggling children — from the private tutors they’ve hired, to the brain gym they’ve tried, to the specialized programs their kids have participated in — and more. Some women had attended parenting classes to first help themselves, in order to facilitate their children’s success.

And then I contributed to the discussion as well — to talk about the success I had seen when tapping into natural solutions to save a child. From my experience, I’ve found that many children see major improvements when their diets get better. Instead of letting your child fill up on foods that don’t provide his body with the energy and nutrients it desperately needs, encourage your child to eat proper meals, consisting of real food. Look out for patterns in his reactions to certain foods. Often, when a child with food sensitivities consumes foods that aren’t good for him, he immediately loses focus and concentration.

In addition, B vitamins are great for providing a boost of energy to children who get tired during class. There are some excellent supplements that improve focus and concentration such as omega-3s, Synaptol, Kid-e Trac, Mastermind, Teen Focus, and multivitamins.

Getting the right amount of sleep will also help a child stay alert during school hours. And, of course, a parent can always be in touch with the child’s instructors, so they know you’re doing your best to help from your end. This can go a long way in helping your child achieve the success you’re hoping and davening for.

May this be a school year of hatzlachah for all children and their parents.

Miriam Schweid is a Brooklyn-based kinesiologist. She can be reached through Wellspring.

68 Wellspring | September 2019

Living Well

Home Lab By Miriam Schweid

DIY

recipes for natural living

Dandruff Solution

Dandruff, those pesky little flakes that are a nuisance to those who are too familiar with them, are most often the result of a dry scalp, although they can also be caused by skin conditions such as seborrheic dermatitis, psoriasis, and eczema. Various shampoos that contain zinc or salicylic acid are said to help reduce dandruff, but if they haven’t been helpful enough for you, here’s a choice of rinses you can prepare on your own. They are safe enough for use on children, but care should be taken that they should not come into contact with the eyes SOLUTION 1 8 oz water 2 Tbsp lemon juice Massage into scalp after shampooing, leave on for 10 minutes, and rinse.

SOLUTION 2 3 drops tea tree oil 5 drops rosemary oil 1 Tbsp shampoo Mix together, and massage into scalp. Leave on hair for 10 minutes, and rinse.

SOLUTION 3 4 oz apple cider vinegar 4 oz water Combine in a spray bottle. Spray scalp well and massage into roots. Leave in hair for 2 hours, then rinse.

For a severe case of dandruff, try this: Wash hair with shampoo but don’t use conditioner. Massage scalp with a paste of coconut oil and baking soda. Leave on for 10 minutes. Rinse with plain water. Use daily until the dryness of scalp heals and dandruff disappears.

Elul 5779 | Wellspring 69

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Unwrapping theGifts Why don’t I feel that Yiddishkeit is the greatest blessing in my life?

Wellbeing

Feature

g n i p p a r w n U s t f i G the Every element of Yiddishkeit is essentially a precious gift from Hashem, presented to us from His great love.

So what may be the underlying cause for apparent disenchantment to Yiddishkeit? How can I connect to Torah observance from the heart?

By Rabbi Ezra Friedman

72 Wellspring | September 2019

Elul 5779 | Wellspring 73

Wellbeing

Feature

The best thing that could have happened to all of us is that we are Yidden.

Simply being a member of Hashem’s am segulah is our greatest, most beautiful gift; one that Hashem presented to us from His sheer love. We recognize and thank for this every morning in the brachah of shelo asani goy, as well as in various others brachos, such as “Asher bachar banu mikol ha’amim,” “Asher kedishanu bemitzvosav,” “hagomeil chasadim tovim le’amo Yisrael,” and so on.

We also know that the Torah — both learning it and its mitzvos that we’re commanded to observe — is an incredible gift for all of mankind. Even the nations of the world benefit tremendously, through us, from the level of morality and dignity that it espouses.

All of the above is common knowledge. We keep hearing about these concepts in lectures, reading about them in seforim and articles, and they may be very clear to us in our minds. However, many of us are not connected to this at the heart level. In my mind, I might know that Yiddishkeit is a gift, but in my heart, it’s possible that I don’t feel an incredible excitement to fulfill a mitzvah, to stay away from transgressions, to be a part of the am hanivchar. This is a very distressing reality — not only can it be difficult to feel the infinite pleasure that’s inherent in Yiddishkeit, but there are times when what should be the greatest pleasure even turns painful, and fulfilling the mitzvos becomes an arduous burden.

While this is often superficially attributed to a disenchantment or a feeling of discontent toward Yiddishkeit per se, it is not the truth. In this article, we will explore how it is actually an emotional blockage that does not enable an individual to tap into the beauty of Yiddishkeit, and which steps one can take to unveil the true pleasure of its splendor. Emotions can’t be changed through reading one article, but a crucial first step in the process is analyzing the underlying roots that lead to the emotional disconnect that deprives us from feeling the greatest pleasure in life.

The Fundamental Underlying Root At the root of most, if not all, of an individual’s perception of everything in life is a concept that is known as associations.

To understand this on a basic level, here’s a short exercise: When you hear the word “airplane,” what do you feel? What comes up for you when you think of the word “party?” Now, what happens when you hear the word “school?” Do you feel the positive sensations of success or camaraderie; or do you tense up and feel afraid, bored, or like a failure? For each of us, 74 Wellspring | September 2019

every word we hear, every thought we think of, generates emotions that are unique to us. If, let’s say, an airplane or a party is the reason that makes one person feel excitement and a rush of other positive emotions, how can it be that for another individual, even a spouse or sibling, this same concept could bring up a feeling of tension, fear, and apprehension?

Because this is so, we understand that it’s not the actual concept — object, event, environment, scene, etc. — that generates the feeling, but rather how our individual emotional world relates to it. The way we feel about things directly influences how we perceive them.

We each possess an inner emotional world that is unique to us, and based on our associations, it will affect the way we feel about everything in our lives.

And how do these associations play out in reality?

In the times of the Alter of Novardok, a new kind of entertainment emerged, in which people gathered in stadiums to watch a bear dance to music. Commenting on this practice, the Alter remarked: Do you think that the bear is dancing because the entertainers were skilled enough to figure out a way to bring up happy feelings in the bear to the extent that it just wants to break out into a dance? On the contrary, so much evil lies behind this. When these bears were younger, they were made to stand on burning coals, which caused them to jump in pain. At the same time, the experts made sure that music was playing in the background. See what happened as a result.

Now that these bears are older, every time they hear music, they start dancing. To them, music is not something that makes them happy, only that it leads them to physically start feeling pain in their feet.

Even when the coals — the true cause of their pain — weren’t present any longer, such as in the stadium, the bears were still jumping in agony because to them, music was directly associated with feeling pain in their feet. Lehavdil, in his famous experiment of the salivating dog, the Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov arrived at the same conclusion.

So it’s clear that every individual has an internal mechanism that associates every object, scene, thought, or situation to another concept that brings up certain emotions for him. Going back to the example with the airplane, this is why for one person, an airplane may evoke positive emotions while for another it may do the opposite.

Perhaps when the first individual flew, it was for a vacation, where he was surrounded by loving family members and en route to a panoramic resort. It’s not the airplane in itself that causes the emotion, only the association he now has with this travel medium. The same is true on the contrary. If the latter individual travelled under pressure to make it on time for a sad event, r”l, and all he wanted was to leave the constricting space of the airplane, this same object may bring

If the Shabbos and Yom Tov a child came to know was presented with a side serving of uncomfortable emotions, he subconsciously views this day as such.

up in him unpleasant emotions that are not inherent to the aircraft at all.

It’s clear that there are two distinct entities here: there’s the actual object, event, or occurrence, etc. and then there’s our emotional world, which is not related to reality at all.

Part of how we operate is that we keep subconsciously connecting the two, forming associations between them that are uniquely individual to us and our experiences. While we continue forming associations throughout life, the younger we are when we do so — since our emotions are more open and cognition is less developed — the associations are more deeply embedded and powerful. They feel more real to the child, and continue to feel this way even as the child matures into adulthood.

Since our perception of entire lives is based on how we feel — about ourselves and others — associations play a tremendous role in our lives. Thus, the more concepts we have negative associations with, when in reality there’s nothing negative about them, the more restricted and less pleasurable our life will be. As in the above example, if an individual harbors negative associations toward an airplane, the outcome will be that he may avoid traveling through this medium, which could impact his life in a very undesirable way. This is just one simple example, but the concept plays out in all areas of life.

How does all this apply to Yiddishkeit? As the examples above illustrate, the power of associations is so strong that even something that in reality should engender positive feelings could evoke unpleasant emotions, because we relate it to something from our personal experience. The same holds true for the ultimate gift, which is that we are the Chosen Nation and that we have the rare opportunity to enjoy a relationship with the Creator of this world, to learn His words and serve Him. It’s when this happens that observing the mitzvos may change from being a joy to not being a joy at all, or even becoming a burden, r”l.

How Did This Happen?

Let’s understand where the negative associations may emanate from in order to eventually succeed in differentiating between them and the reality.

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The reality of Yiddishkeit is that all our positive emotions are derived from it.

Every human being grows up with a need to feel loved and valued. This is what we all feel naturally at birth — that we’re good as we are. This is the joy you see on a child’s face. It’s what opens your heart to want to hug him — the feeling of love he has within that flows outward. A child possesses these feelings naturally and the role of his caregivers is not to take it away from him, to do what it takes to leave the feelings intact by showering him with love and respecting him.

The Brisker Rav, zt”l, once entered the beis midrash with his gabbai to find a group of little children frolicking around, laughing freely. The gabbai turned to the Rav and said, “You know why these kids are so happy? It’s because they don’t have any worries yet— no mortgage, no family to feed, no pressure whatsoever.”

Said the Brisker Rav, “No, no. The reason these children are happy is because the Creation Hashem created is a happy Creation, as the entire Sefer Tehillim and our tefillos portray. The clouds, the trees, even the rocks—they’re all dancing and singing. Since our root is happy, the closer we are to that shoresh, the happier we are.

As we distance ourselves from our essence, we distance ourselves from that pure joy.”

A child naturally feels good about himself — loved and respected. But, if he perceives that the feelings he’s experiencing are not true, he’s in deep pain because these vital feelings are being taken from him. If he’s ridiculed or given criticism in a way that it shouldn’t be given (by having others criticize him, rather than his deed), he starts to lose respect of his own self, doubting whether he’s the good person he had felt himself to be. In regards to the feeling of love, which he at first feels naturally toward himself, if he doesn’t feel that this emotion is being mirrored by those around him, he starts absorbing the opposite — that he as an individual is not worthy of love. In a sense, such a child is experiencing trauma. Instead of feeling loved and valued, he starts feeling rejected and worthless. Because he doesn’t like the way this feels, he’ll attempt to circumvent the feelings as much as possible, which is a natural method of defense.

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the extent to which this concept goes. If while the child experiences these unpleasant emotions, another factor comes into play, the child will now associate this factor to the emotion he’s feeling.

Any time he later encounters this factor, no matter how illogical it appears, he will associate it once again with those emotions. Thus, this factor in itself will later bring up the emotion and, in his effort to distance himself from the emotion, the individual will distance himself from the factor when, often, in reality, the factor may be neutral or even positive.

Take a child who ate a banana on the long-awaited day of his Chumash seudah, in which he was supposed to play a prominent role. When he finishes the banana, he starts feeling queasy (which may or may not have been related to the banana). He gets onto stage, feels incapable of performing, and throws up in front of the entire audience. The emotions that come up at such a time are a cocktail of negative feelings like worthlessness, embarrassment, and disappointment. For this child, these emotions now become inherently connected not only to the Chumash seudah, but also to the banana.

Now, what are the chances that this child will never eat a banana again? Even if he will, what emotions will come up for him?

He may feel an intense fear of feeling the emotions he felt then, despite the banana’s complete lack of relation to them. It’s not that he thinks that he’ll throw up on stage again, but because the feelings that he now associates with that food are embedded within him. He himself may not recall why a banana brings up in him such a negative feeling; he just knows that it’s not good for him and he will thus distance himself from it.

This very same chain of events plays out even with concepts that are inherently good, which brings us to the Yiddishkeit connection. If we felt loved and respected, which are feelings we vitally needed, at the time that we were introduced to, or doing an action in relation to, Yiddishkeit, and especially if Yiddishkeit was the element that helped us feel this way, we end up perceiving Yiddishkeit as the gift that it really is. We have no negative emotions connected to it, only the contrary. If, however, we sadly felt

a lack of love and/or respect at the same time that Yiddishkeit was presented and inculcated into us, the opposite happens — as will be explained below.

Where’s Your Siddur?

To illustrate with examples that highlight the integral role associations play in our perspective of Yiddishkeit, let’s start with one of the most significant, beautiful, moving aspects: tefillah.

When you heard the word “daven,” what do you feel? If you feel a heartwarming feeling of connection, of openness, of relationship, of expression and cathartic release, a deep feeling of self-value that you have the opportunity to speak to the Creator of the Universe, then you’re feeling the essence of tefillah.

This is what it is, in reality. Of tefillah, Hashem says, “Ki mi goy gadol asher lo Elokim kerovim eilav...?” Which other nation in the world has this incredible benefit of being able to call to Me and be answered at any time? (Devarim 4:7) Of course, in order to attain these feelings, one must invest himself, and when he’s willing to do so, there’s no limit to how much more intense and genuine these feelings could become.

However, how can it be that there are individuals who don’t feel this way? Furthermore, how is it that some actually feel opposite emotions in regards to prayer? Instead of relationship, they feel rejection. Instead of release, they feel pressure. Instead of feeling valued, they feel worthless. The concept of tefillah is so heavy for them that it’s hard for them to open a siddur or to concentrate while davening.

The answer is very individual, but the way we feel about tefillah in adulthood may very well be related to what else took place at the time when we were introduced, and trained into, putting this incredible gift into practice. Was there pressure?

Was there ridiculing? Was tefillah used as a yardstick of value?

If difficult emotions came up during that time, even if the cause is no longer present, the association the individual has until this day to the gift of tefillah may be tarnished. As ironic as it may sound, even something as precious as tefillah may bring up difficult emotions, sadly depriving the individual of feeling the great sense of comfort and connection that’s inherent in it.

Sweet Like Honey The same is true with Torah. “Tov li toras picha me’alfei zahav vachessef,” the Torah is better for me than an abundance of gold and silver (Tehillim 119:72). When a Yid learns Torah, he’s connected. It’s like reading a letter, kavyachol, from a close friend, as Hashem says, “ana nafshi ksivas yehavus,” (Shabbos 12). With every word we read we feel more loved, more valued, more cherished that we’ve merited to receive this gift. Even just the wisdom of Torah brings a geshmak.

So why is it that individuals find Torah learning so arduous?

Again, it’s wise to look into it and identify our associations, which are very individual. When we were introduced to Torah, was the need for power exercised through it? Did we feel rejected? Was our feeling of failure manifested through learning? The

real point of Torah learning is not to test our IQ, only to connect us to Hashem, but if it was introduced to us in such a way, then even after the rigorous testing or pressure is no longer present, the association may still remain, depriving us of feeling the great pleasure inherent in a blatt Gemara or other sefer. Instead of embracing a sefer with joy, we can sadly feel the opposite.

The Queen Has Arrived Come to think of it, Shabbos is a very unique gift, even on a gashmiyus level. “Matanah tovah yeish li b’veis ginazi veShabbos shemah,” I have a special gift in my storehouse and Shabbos is her name, says Hashem (Shabbos 10b). When someone who is not affiliated with Torah hears of the concept of Shabbos, he is usually in awe. To be able to disconnect, to focus on what’s really important, to spend time with our loved ones while feasting on our favorite foods and taking a well-deserved break for an entire day? Even before delving into the spiritual potential inherent in the day, what can be a greater privilege than that?

But what happens if an individual harbors negative associations regarding this special day? This may occur if, in his childhood, Shabbos was a day when he was most exposed to tension and/or turmoil; or when his feelings of inferiority, helplessness, or of feeling unsafe may have most been evoked.

Rav Moshe Feinstien zt”l was once asked how it happened that so many children of those Yidden in America who were moser nefesh, losing their jobs week after week in order to observe the Shabbos, ended up leaving the fold. He answered that while these Yidden’s mesiras nefesh was admirable, when they used to come home with the pink slip and make kiddush on Friday night, they cried tears of despair. To their children, sacrificing for Shabbos became subconsciously associated with pain, sadness, and unpleasant emotions.

If the Shabbos and Yom Tov a child came to know was presented with a side serving of uncomfortable emotions, he subconsciously views this day as such. It sadly becomes a day he dreads, one he can’t wait to get over with so he can hurry back into his safe space where he can more easily distract himself from the feelings he doesn’t want to face. And all this time, he may erroneously believe that it’s the Shabbos in itself that’s burdensome, when this could not be further from the truth. His day of rest sadly turns into a day of unrest.

Highlight of the Year In the same vein, the reality of the month of Elul, and the beautiful days that follow, is that it’s a time when Hashem showers us with an abundance of love. As discussed in this issue’s Torah Wellspring, it’s our chance to turn a new page in our relationship with Hashem, and an opportunity for a fresh start, in which we could feel how amazing it is that we’re not alone in this world, just because we’re a Yid. If all we feel instead is tension, we may want to discern which associations come up for us at this time of year. What was the atmosphere like when we experienced Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur in our youth?

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Return to Me This brings us to the concept of teshuvah. In reality, this privilege — that we have the ability to repent, no matter in which way we erred — should fill us with a feeling of gratitude and joy. It’s our chance to finally be freed of the sins that weigh us down. We have this incredible opportunity to wipe our slates clean.

If this is so, how is it that teshuvah may bring up unpleasant emotions such as guilt or rejection? Why do some try their best to avoid this territory because it feels heavy and sounds so hard to them? Again, it’s wise to explore what happened in our youth when we erred. Sometimes, it may be related to how we felt when we made even a minor mistake. How forgiving were the adults in our lives? Was repenting a simple process or did we suffer long-term consequences, with multiple rejected apologies, that left us feeling irrelevant and inherently bad?

The associations we have with forgiveness, in general, not necessarily vis-à-vis Hashem, play a significant role in the way we later perceive teshuvah. While begging forgiveness of others may have been a long and drawn-out process, the reality of teshuvah to Hashem is otherwise. The Gemara tells us that teshuvah could happen in an instant. Even if the thought of doing sincere repentance flits through the mind of a rasha for one second, during that time he is already considered a righteous individual, as if he never sinned (Kidushin 49b). Teshuvah is not only instantly relieving, but also incredibly accessible to all. Contrary to how we may have perceived forgiveness from others we have wronged in our past, in relation to Hashem, it’s not as if He does us a favor and forgives us half-heartedly. He actually awaits our return.

He not only rejoices when we repent, but He actually takes the initiative to make it happen, as we will be reciting in our Yom Kippur tefillah, “Atah nosein yad laposhim,” You stretch out Your hand to the sinners. He yearns for us to come back to Him. As we reiterate in our every Shemoneh Esreh “Ki Keil tov vesaloch atah,” Hashem embraces our every effort at repentance, waiting with open arms for our return. It is thus so painful when this tremendous gift becomes a burden and, as a result, we may lose out on the many opportunities we have to come closer to Hashem.

I Believe Yet another aspect of Yiddishkeit that may be fraught with negative associations is emunah. In reality, living with the knowledge that everything that happens is for a purpose, that every single circumstance or occurrence that affects us even in the most minuscule way is directly sent to us for our good — even if it doesn’t appear this way — is one that can fill us with an unparalleled sense of comfort and inner peace. It’s the key to living a life of tranquility.

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if, let’s say, when we’re in pain — whether someone caused hurt or an unfortunate incident occurred, we’re instructed to numb the pain, under the guise of “strengthening our emunah,” and having more belief ? If a child feels that his pain is not given the space it deserves, he may harbor resentment toward the concept.

As the Chazon Ish notes, when Hashem sends us pain it’s not so that we shouldn’t feel it. On the contrary, it’s that we should feel it and recognize that it was sent for a purpose, comparable to when a doctor carries out a painful procedure for the purpose of our healing. This doesn’t mean that is doesn’t hurt.

Emunah is also not about believing that things will turn out the way we want them to work out, but rather believing that yes, what we’re going through may be excruciatingly difficult but we know that it’s for our good. There are tzaddikim who are on the caliber that they can believe with such sincerity that the pain they’re experiencing is good for them, and therefore it doesn’t feel so painful for them. But really, emunah is about calming the pain, not numbing it, and if we didn’t absorb it in this way, a natural outcome may be a lack of connection to the concept.

Fearing the Big Stick As Yidden, we spend our days constantly immersed in fulfilling mitzvos, as well as distancing ourselves from aveiros. The true purpose of the 613 commandments, in addition to making us feel closer to our Father, is because Hashem, in His love for us, wants to be mashpia good. In order for us to feel deserving of our great reward, which makes the good complete — as opposed to eating nahama dechisufa, bread that we didn’t earn — Hashem gifted us with the mitzvos. In the same vein, He commanded us to distance ourselves from transgressions for our benefit — so that we shouldn’t get carried away in this life and instead remain focused on our purpose.

If this is so, why is it that we may feel no joy at best, and pressured at worst, to observe the mitzvos, as well as an intense fear of aveiros, as if Hashem, kavyachol, is waiting from Up High with a big stick, anticipating His next opportunity to punish us and banish us to Gehinnom forever and ever? All of these negative emotions we may feel toward mitzvah observance may be directly rooted in the way we perceived the concept earlier in life: How were these gifts portrayed to us? Did we absorb that they are solely for our good or did we feel that our needs were suppressed? Was our own desire kindled to want to perform the mitzvos because they’re the best thing for us?

Of course, we’re obligated to fulfill the mitzvos regardless of how we feel, because the Creator of the Universe obviously knows what’s good for us even when we can’t see it, but if we don’t feel the joy and privilege of doing the mitzvos, if it’s a matter of “just get over it” or worse, something is clearly tainted in our perception of one of the most central parts of our lives.

We are sadly depriving ourselves from what could be one of the greatest sources of pleasure.

The same is true for minhagim or mesorah like levush and language. They are our connection to the previous generations, another way for us to hold on to that which was precious to those who came before us. While minhag and mesorah are considered Torah and thus must be followed whether we feel connected to them or not, how much of a value they have in our eyes is directly related to how we feel about them. For example, if we were taught about these concepts with pressure — you have no choice but to do it this way, don’t you dare not follow in our footsteps, etc. — even just thinking about them may bring up feelings of insecurity and worthlessness. On the contrary, if the concepts were transmitted in the way it is in reality — with a sense of pride and in a way that left us feeling like the special and unique beings that we really are, we’re happy to look or conduct ourselves in that way. We wouldn’t even want to do otherwise, just as a princess feels pride in wearing her royal garb amongst the peasants.

Complete and Utter Trust A prominent component in authentic avodas Hashem is temimus, as the Torah instructs us, “tamim tihiyeh im Hashem Elokecha” (Devarim 18:13). When Dovid Hamelech cites the qualities of an individual who merits to stand in Hashem’s shadow, the very first attribute he lists is “holeich tamim,” one who walks with temimus (Tehillim 15:2). Temimus could be understood as complete and total subservience to Hashem’s will. “B’emes uvesamim nishanenu,” we say in Shemoneh Esrei, we serve You with integrity and wholeness. Of all attributes that are key to serving Hashem and observing His Torah, this is perhaps one of the most crucial, yet one of the most fraught with negative associations. For starters, especially in the modern era, where assertion and self-determination have become celebrated on a new level, many associate the idea of following the direction of authority with complete and utter wholeness as being simple-minded or naive.

In addition, temimus and trust are interrelated. If, for whatever reason, we grew up feeling wary of others, finding it difficult to put our trust in others and receiving messages that no one is to be trusted, we may have a hard time with this concept. In that case, if we do something with temimus, the emotions that come up may not be pleasant, while this is in essence an integral key in avodas Hashem. It’s essentially one of the greatest pleasures one can experience — to walk in the ways of Hashem on a straight and clear path. There’s a world of a difference when we do a mitzvah with temimus — because this is what Hashem wants from me right now — and when we feel we have to first understand and discern the hows and whys. We may make logical conclusions as to why it’s not worth it for us to conduct ourselves with temimus, but it’s important to notice the underlying fear that’s inhibiting us from feeling this great pleasure.

Who is Hashem?

Every day, we reiterate multiple times what a kind and merciful G-d Hashem is: “Avinu Av harachaman hameracheim,” and that we are the privileged individuals to be a part of His nation: “Ashrei ha’am sheHashem Elokav.” What Hashem wants of us is to serve Him with joy, as we say, “Ivdu es Hashem besimcha.” Hashem is a Being of pure good, and it’s through His service and by being part of His nation that we’re able to access the greatest amount of positive emotion that is available in this world. Merely thinking of Hashem and knowing that He’s our Father who takes care of us, can generate a rush of warm, loving emotions within — a feeling of security and purpose, as Dovid Hamelech says in Tehillim, “Shuvi nafshi limnuchochi ki Hashem gamal alochi. Return, my nefesh, to your rest, for Hashem has dealt bountifully with you” (116:7).

Why is it that for some, thinking of Hashem does not only not evoke these positive feelings, but even brings up feelings of fear, tension, rejection, or failure? If we were introduced to the concept of a Creator in our childhood, most probably, we associated Him with the adults in our lives, because, for a child, the closest analogy to power and might is limited to those that he perceives that way. Since his life is in the hands of these adults, they are the greatest extent that he knows of power. Of course, while Hashem is our Heavenly Father, He can in no way be compared to a being of flesh and blood. When an individual only learns about the Infinite Power in adulthood, he can understand that He can’t be compared to any other being under the sun. Even the most powerful person isn’t infinite.

If a child felt loved and respected in the presence of the adults in his life and he felt that they were there for him to fulfill his needs and to ensure that he’s happy and safe — which is what Hashem wants for us — he will eventually learn that all of this is true of Hashem, only on an exponentially greater scale. He will feel positively toward Hashem and reap the pleasure of being an eved Hashem.

However, if the child feels any kind of unpleasant emotions in the presence of the adults in his life, he will subconsciously associate these emotions with Hashem, as well. This may explain why a Yid may sadly give up on fostering a deeper relationship with Hashem and why he may seek to distance himself from a connection that could bring him all the positive emotions he wishes for in his life.

The Beauty of Bechirah From the various aspects we touched upon in this article, we cull just a glimpse of how profoundly intertwined our perspective of Yiddishkeit is with our emotional world — how our spiritual growth is directly influenced by how much work we invest in our emotional selves, our avodas hanefesh. What we may have thought Elul 5779 | Wellspring 79

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was a logical aversion or disconnection from an aspect of frum life may very well be, and probably is, due to a negative association we’ve been harboring for a long, long time. Even an apikorus, says Rav Elchonon Wasserman, did not arrive to his place because of logical reasoning, even if he may say that it’s so. Rather, it’s his way of dealing — or not dealing — with the emotional issues involved.

What happens once we come to this realization?

When opening our eyes to the concept of associations and its far-reaching impact, we may erroneously deduce that if so many things in our life are contingent on our associations, we’re doomed.

There is no way to help ourselves since whatever happened in the past wasn’t up to us, and the way we feel about Yiddishkeit, and/ or other significant areas of our life such as relationships and our level of happiness, is what it is. If this is so, we may conclude, we have no bechirah at all. The purpose of this piece, however, is not to bring us to despair. On the contrary, its intention is to provide us with chizuk. Through seeing that the reality could be positive even if it brings up negative emotions for me and that it’s not really the reality that evokes the negative emotion, only my association, I’m filled with a sense of hope and clarity that by taking responsibility and investing the right work, I will get to experience the true reality, which is beautiful.

If this is so — that what I may have thought was the reality is really not and there is a way to deal with negative associations so we can see the reality for what it really is — we deduce another crucial point regarding emotional work. If we feel a certain way toward Yiddishkeit due to past occurrences, where does bechirah come into the picture? How can we be expected to make choices when these associations are so deeply ingrained in our hearts, by circumstances that were not in our control? In the world of psychology, we do find a concept, which has unfortunately infiltrated into our society, that an individual is exempt from taking responsibility because of past or present circumstances beyond his control. We Yidden, however, know that this approach is in direct contrast to Torah and emunah. While we may harbor difficult emotions, and being cognizant of them is key, acting upon them is our choice.

The seforim tell us that nothing in this world— no association, no unfavorable circumstance, even no trauma — can take away the ability for a person to make a choice (with the exception of a rasha like Pharaoh who committed so many sins that his bechirah was taken from him). In this vein, the Rambam teaches that “reshus beyad kol adam lihiyos keMoshe Rabeinu,” every individual has the full capacity to reach the heights of Moshe Rabeinu, the Rebbe of klal Yisrael. The Rambam makes no exception—no matter what an individual went through in his life. Furthermore, expounding on the Rambam’s words, commentators note that Moshe Rabeinu was actually born with the most objectionable traits. Circumstantially, as well, growing up in the home of the great apikorus Pharaoh, surrounded by avodah zarah, in an environment most spiteful of Yidden and Yiddishkeit, his chances for reaching the heights that he ended up attaining seemed close to null. Still, it was this individual who became the unparalleled leader of klal Yisrael, the one through whom we received the Torah.

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Why is it that negative associations don’t diminish even an iota from our responsibility to make the right choice at all times?

It’s because as Yidden ma’aminim bnei ma’aminim, we believe that nothing in this world happens by coincidence; nothing happens on its own. Everything that comes our way was sent directly from Hashem for our good — to ultimately bring us closer to Him. It wasn’t our fathers, mothers, teachers, siblings, or spouses that were in control here. It was Hashem behind them who orchestrated the events for our benefit, whether we’re cognizant of it or not. Perpetrators of unjust behavior will certainly need to give din vecheshbon, but from my point of view, everything that I experienced did not happen because of them, only through them. While we can’t see the good in everything with our human eyes, we believe that it is all from Him, for our good. If Hashem wants that everything that happens should be for our good, the last thing He would do is send us a circumstance that would have such a negative effect that it takes away our ability to choose.

If we want to start enjoying the true pleasures in life, to unwrap the gift of Yiddishkeit and finally see it for what it really is and be connected to it with happiness, it will only happen with the awareness that everything we’ve gone through is not a reason to be exempt from the work, only the opposite. Every time we notice that it’s an association that’s hampering our ability to be connected to the reality, it’s incumbent upon us to recognize that Hashem sent it especially for our good and find a way to work with it so that it should end up bringing us closer to Him. This is not to say that this work is easy. To tear ourselves away from associations that we’ve been harboring for years, perhaps decades, is not a simple feat. It involves first noticing the association, as described above, as well as intense inner work and copious tefillah in order to eventually overcome it. As Yidden, we draw comfort from the phenomenon of lefum tzara agra (Avos 5:23), according to the pain is the gain. At times, Hashem sends us a situation that makes choosing the right option arduous. It is when we surmount these challenges that we are rewarded accordingly and we reap an unparalleled feeling of satisfaction.

Dovid Hamelech says in Tehillim (73:82), “v’ani kirvas Elokim li tov.” He was the king, at the height of wealth and glory and respect, and still, he said, closeness to Hashem is what makes me feel good. The reality of Yiddishkeit is that all our positive emotions are derived from it. Through fulfillment of the Torah and mitzvos a Yid is meant to experience the ultimate pleasure, to the extent that the entire tochacha, where Hashem cautions us with the most frightening curses, is not because the Yidden didn’t observe the Torah, but only because they didn’t do so with a happy heart, b’simcha uvetuv leivov (Devarim 28:47).

Hashem tells us, I want you to be happy with My Torah. This is the whole purpose of it. With the right perspective on Yiddishkeit, which happens when we learn to differentiate between the reality and our emotions, may we be zocheh to experience this joy that Hashem has in store for us. May this be the year when we, and our descendants, merit unwrapping His incredible gifts.

I Want to Feel Good It often happens that a child grows up with a feeling of “I’m not good enough.” Because it may be too painful for him to face that this is how he feels, he tries to make sense of it. Why don’t I feel good? he asks himself. If he’s able to answer that, he feels a sense of fleeting calm. It’s his way of telling himself, “This feeling is not me. It’s because of xyz that I feel this way.” Thus, he constantly seeks a “culprit” to temporarily soothe the unease.

One way in which the child, and later adult, may make sense of this unpleasant emotion is to attribute everything that was part of his childhood to the feeling, which may sadly include Yiddishkeit, the derech of avodas Hashem of his parents, the community in which he was raised, etc.

Even as an adult, this child may continue to make logic as to why he’s rejecting the path that he was raised on — and he may very well find substantial evidence — but at the core of his rejection is not the list of pros and cons.

Rather, to him, everything that represents his childhood forces him to face the unpleasant emotions that he experienced all those years and in order not to face it, in his desperation to finally feel good, he chooses another path.

This, of course, does not address the feeling at the core and will not necessarily result in him feeling better. It only comes to show the extent a human being will go to feel the positive emotions he yearns for, the ones that are not only most accessible, but essentially only accessible, through Torah and mitzvos.

“Tov Li Toras Picha!”

Creating Positive Associations for Our Children As parents, when we start to realize the profound influence our environment has on us, especially when we were growing up, we grasp what kochos lie in our hands in regards to chinuch. If, for example, when a child does a mitzvah or when a father learns with his children, the child is treated with a candy, no matter how illogical it seems that the child will connect the sweet taste he feels on his taste buds with the Gemara or with any other mitzvah he’s engaging in, this is what happens.

So many of our deeds or words, which may seem so inconsequential that we don’t pay attention to them, do have a profound impact because associations are not related to logic. Despite not “making sense,” they actually are monumental, molding the way our children will feel about these concepts, often for the rest of their lives.

It’s important to note, however, that this is not related to the concept of giving rewards, which could have a counter-effect, in which the child makes the connection that Gemara is only worth a candy. Here, we’re referring to making the mitzvah geshmak. When we do so, we’re providing our children with the positive associations that will accompany them through life. For example, when we work on fostering a happy, pleasant atmosphere in the home on Shabbos and Yom Tov, even by putting out special treats and singing songs the children like, we’re creating the associations that will remain with them.

While the more positive the environment is, obviously it will be more positive for the child, even the seemingly simple things, like putting out a bottle of their favorite soda, make a profound difference.

Elul 5779 | Wellspring 81

Wellbeing

Child Development By Friedy Singer & Roizy Guttman, OTR/L

82 Wellspring | September 2019

Friedy Singer and Roizy Guttmann are neurodevelopmental therapists and the directors of Hands on OT Rehab Services, Hands on Approaches, and the H.O.P.E. (Hands on Parent Empowerment) Foundation. They are focused on educating and empowering the community to help children with anxiety, processing and learning issues. They can be reached at info@handsonapproaches.com

W

e recently met with 13-year-old Dovid to help him with his significant handwriting challenges. Dovid really couldn’t see the point of working on this — and told us as much.

“As soon as I finish school,” he said, “I’ll never need to write by hand again. I’ll type, use speech-to-text, whatever. Why should I put all this effort into my handwriting?”

We responded by taking the conversation for a turn he wasn’t expecting. “Do you want to drive when you get older?” we asked.

Dovid gave us a quizzical look. “Of course!” he answered.

“You know,” we told him, “the skills used in handwriting are actually the basis of the abilities you need for driving: visual perception, directional awareness, spatial positioning, and more.”

Dovid hadn’t known that. But now that he did, he started working on his handwriting with renewed inspiration.

The Big Picture In this article, we address several areas of academics in which we commonly see children struggling.

We’ll discuss potential origins for those difficulties, and we’ll provide tips and compensation techniques that you can use to alleviate these challenges.

If your child is experiencing any of these issues, don’t begin and end with compensation. Try to determine the underlying factor that may be contributing to his difficulty, and treat it.

As a parent, you may not think a difficulty is of such great import. “Why make such a big deal out of spelling? She lives in a world of autocorrect.” Or, “I don’t put much emphasis on grades. If my son gets 70s in math, it’s okay.”

We agree with you. But the issue isn’t purely about your child’s less-than-stellar performance in spelling or math.

The issue is why your child isn’t doing well at spelling, or math, or any other academic subject. It’s that “why” behind the difficulty that — left unaddressed — may leave a child deficient in life skills as he or she grows into adulthood.

We saw Dovid and his possible challenges in being a proficient, safe driver. Now let’s take a look at 19-year-old Reena, who has always had difficulty with math and other subjects involving spatial skills. After graduating from high school, Reena was thrilled to never have to take a math class again. But Reena’s spatial challenges continue to show up in other ways. Reena often helps her mother clean up the kitchen after the seudah on Friday night. Usu-

ally Reena’s mother is the one to put the leftover food into plastic containers, but one week she has a headache and wants to lie down as soon as possible.

“Could you finish putting away the food?” she asks Reena.

Reena is happy to oblige, but as soon as she looks at the soup pot, her brow furrows. She takes out a few plastic containers of different sizes and shapes, and then stands there for two or three minutes, just looking from the soup pot to the containers and back. In the end, she just picks the largest plastic container.

When the soup is poured in, it fills just a third of the container. Not wanting to waste container and fridge space again, Reena chooses a medium-small container for the leftover rice, but when she spoons it from the pot into the container, it turns out that there is significantly more rice than there is space in the container.

Reena doesn’t have a concrete concept of “volume” and how the same volume can fit into different-sized spaces. This caused her to come very close to failing grades on tests about volume, area, geometry, and other spatial topics. She may be done with academic tests now, but spatial skills are important in the kitchen — and other areas — as well.

Bottom line? It’s not the academics. It’s the underlying skill sets.

Academics may be our first indicator of these skill deficiencies. When we become aware of them, we have the opportunity to help our kids correct and strengthen these weaknesses, preventing them from becoming handicaps later in life.

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Wellbeing

Child Development

Spelling Is your child the bookworm who reads a book a day (at least) and yet still has unbelievably bad spelling?

It’s not uncommon to see a child who is a voracious reader, a good math student — and an awful speller. What’s going on there?

Often, a spelling difficulty has a lot to do with how your child discerned sounds when he was much younger. If a child had an auditory-processing issue during the time when he was learning language (even because of something as simple as fluid in the ears), it can affect his ability to distinguish between different sounds.

Example: Your child wants to write b-a-b-y, but writes d-ad-y instead, because “b” and “d” are very close to each other in sound and frequency.

Alternatively, a spelling difficulty could be indicative of a directionality, or vestibular, issue. If your child does not fully appreciate her position in space, she may end up reversing letters, transforming them to another plane, either when she initially learned it or when she tries to reproduce it.

Example: Your child wants to write b-a-b-y, but writes p-ap-y instead, because “p” is the reverse of “b” on the vertical (upand-down) plane.

Another potential cause for spelling difficulties is a visual-auditory mismatch. When these two systems don’t work in tandem, your child may not recognize that there are multiple ways to represent the same sound.

Example: Your child wants to write b-a-b-y, but writes b-ab-e instead, because to him, the long E sound is represented by E, so it cannot possibly be represented by any other letter or letter combination, including Y. Yet another potential cause is an automaticity issue. After you use the learning centers of your brain enough for any given skill process (including how to spell a word), the skill is supposed to become automatic. When this happens, you don’t need to actively think about each individual step of the process; the process more or less flows, and all you need to do is make minor adjustments.

Take tying your shoes, which is a fairly complex process, as an example. “Pick up one lace. Fold it into a loop. Take the other lace with your other hand. Circle it around the first loop...” When was the last time you needed to think about and focus on each individual step? Not since you were very young. The skill of tying your shoes has reached the level of automaticity.

Spelling works the same way. Once you’ve mastered how to spell the word baby, you shouldn’t need to think out “How do I spell baby? Oh, right: b-a-b-y” every single time you need to write the word.

84 Wellspring | September 2019

Sometimes, however, there’s an automaticity issue. Kids with this issue are great spellers when they’re only focused and not under time pressure. But as soon as it comes to taking spelling tests or writing reports, their aptitude for spelling disappears. The child will often express frustration and confusion: “I don’t know why I got that wrong. I know how to spell it.”

(Note: You’ve probably noticed from all the above examples that an issue that presents the same way can actually stem from entirely different causes. That’s 100 percent correct — not only with spelling, but with most academic and even behavioral issues. That reality makes it all the more important to identify the root cause of any presenting issue before starting treatment.)

Compensations How can we help children compensate when they have trouble with spelling? To reiterate, these compensations are not going to solve an issue; they’re a Band-Aid. While undoubtedly important in helping your child manage the daily challenges he faces, these compensations won’t resolve the underlying issues.

For spelling (and many other academic issues), an effective compensation means getting other senses involved. After all, more senses mean more anchors for the skill.

Which senses can you bring into the picture?

Proprioceptive: Spell out the words while simultaneously performing a physical activity that acts on the proprioceptive system, like jumping or throwing a ball back and forth while saying each letter.

Touch: Form the letters of the spelling word with tactile media, like pipe cleaners, Wikki Stix, or other materials.

Vestibular: Form the letters of the spelling word with your body. (Think of motions to make letter shapes with your arms. You and your child may need to get creative as you shape your arms into a Y, an A, and so on.) When you actually create the letters with your whole body, you’re connecting your visualization of the word to your sense of where your body is in space.

For children who have automaticity issues, we suggest asking for accommodations such as oral tests to allow the child to show that they actually do know how to spell the words, or to minimize the importance of spelling on written assignments such as reports.

Math Spelling is spelling is spelling, all throughout school. The skills you needed to spell correctly in first grade are the same skills you will need in high school.

tem. But what happens when you get to 9,478 + 7,329 and you need to carry numbers over to different columns? Even worse, what happens when you get to long division? If you have a strong sense of directionality, you’ll have no problem with keeping track of where you are, despite the constant moving up and down, right and left.

A child with a weak sense of directionality, however, can easily get lost in the rows. One second she was in the tens column, and then she needed to borrow a one, and then, “where am I?”

Math is different. Much of how we handle math in the younger grades is based on memorization. If your child has a good memory, then simple addition and subtraction are a breeze. The multiplication tables? No sweat.

But math gets more complex, as various concepts are introduced, and an understanding of the big picture becomes imperative to solving equations successfully. What does 4 x 4 =16 mean? You need to comprehend that 4 x 4 means four groups of four. That’s not obvious to everyone.

In the same vein, in order to do well in math, one needs to understand the concept of an equation. The equal sign (=) means that the two things on either side of the “=,” even though they look different, are really the same. Obvious?

Not to everyone. For Reena, who couldn’t figure out which container was equivalent to the amount of soup in the pot, what lay at the heart of her difficulty was a lack of concrete understanding regarding what an equation actually is.

Many of our children have a stockpile of “math facts” in their heads, but they don’t see how all those data points combine to create a whole picture.

When these children hit a word problem, they just don’t get it. They don’t see how their “math facts” create a map to what the word problem is describing.

When these children reach algebra, they don’t understand it. Algebra is about abstracting math concepts using logic, and you need a good handle on the concrete before you’re able to abstract it.

Another, separate challenge for kids who have difficulty with math might be a weak vestibular system. The vestibular system senses where you are in relation to gravity, affecting your perception of where you are in space, including your concepts of directionality: up and down, right and left.

Simple math problems don’t challenge the vestibular sys-

We once discussed this idea with a brilliant actuary we know. Suddenly, it looked as though a light bulb went on in his head. “There are certain components of basic math that I’ve always felt gave me a hard time,” he shared. “Now that I think them over, they’re all tied to directionality. And directionality itself — like knowing my right from my left — has given me challenges ever since I was young.”

Compensations Use cutouts: If your child gets overwhelmed by all the different rows in a math problem, or by the many different math problems on the worksheet, use a cutout board (see photo) to focus his attention and block out unnecessary distractions.

Similarly, you can write each problem by itself on a blank sheet of paper. Have your child solve the problem there, and then transfer the answer back. (If showing the work is important, discuss with the teacher how she would like you to do this. Does she want to see all the individual problem sheets? Only a handful? Does she want you to check the work?)

Use tangible examples: In order to help children move from a pile of “math facts” to a concrete big picture, leverage the concrete. Use physical objects and scenarios to show your child what all these math concepts really mean.

Learning multiplication and division? Take out a package of cookies or crackers and discuss with your child how she would distribute them depending on the number of recipients.

• “Let’s say you and I are having a snack and we each want one cookie. How many cookies do we need?”

• “Now imagine we each want two cookies. How many cookies do we need?”

• “What if your brothers Raffi and Michael come to join us? How many cookies do we need in order to give everyone two?”

• “In the whole package there are 20 cookies. If we’re giving out the whole package to you, me, Raffi, and Michael, how many will each of us get?”

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Wellbeing

Child Development

Learning whole numbers and fractions? Buy a pizza pie and go wild with the pizza cutter.

Learning geometry? Stick uncooked spaghetti (or toothpicks) into marshmallows to form modular cubes, rectangular prisms and pyramids. Discussing how many marshmallows and spaghetti sticks you need to build a pyramid with a triangular base will make much more sense than memorizing numbers of vertices and planes for a list of geometric shapes.

Gemara Gemara is one of the Jewish people’s most important subjects, and at the same time, it’s one that causes many children frustration. What is it about Gemara? Why is it so much harder than Chumash, or any other Judaic subject?

Our first inclination might be the complexity of the material: the thought processes, the logic, and so on. If a child doesn’t have the strongest intellect, or faces attention and focus issues, they’ll have serious challenges concentrating on and processing the material.

That may be the case. But often there is a much simpler explanation that has more to do with the body than the mind.

When reading texts in most secular subjects, your eyes need to look in one place only: at whatever text is being read.

One line, one paragraph, one question — you only need to keep the place in one text.

Judaic studies are a bit trickier. Our children start with Chumash, but very soon progress to Chumash with Rashi.

Now they need to keep the place in two locations: up in the Chumash and down in Rashi. This can be tricky, but most of our students adjust and succeed.

Just when most children have a solid handle on the up and down of Chumash and the commentaries, they progress to Gemara, and there they are thrown for a loop. Gemara and commentaries aren’t up and down — they’re side to side.

Find your place in the Gemara. Now, without losing your place in the Gemara, move right to find the place in Rashi.

Now, go all the way left to find the place in the Tosafos. Now go back to the Gemara. Do you still know where we are?

We haven’t trained our children to read from side to side, and now they’re being asked to do it at a pace that assumes it’s no big deal. Additionally, moving our eyes from side to side involves crossing over the midline (an imaginary line in the center of our body), adding an additional element that some children already find challenging. At the same time, they need to look down at their notebooks, up at the Rebbe, etc. and somehow also concentrate on the actual concepts being taught.

Some children are able to catch on and thrive. Others, especially those with a weak vestibular system have a very hard time. It’s not the Gemara per se; it’s the challenge to the child’s physiology.

86 Wellspring | September 2019

Compensations The winning compensation here is the same one that helped for math overwhelm: the cutout. This might be a more complex cutout, one that has spaces for the relevant passage in the Gemara, the Rashi, and the Tosafos. But it is well worth it when it enables your child to devote 100% of his available concentration to understanding the material, as opposed to 50% to understanding the content, and 50% to finding his place on the page.

Another compensation that can be used at home (or in school with a very accommodating Rebbe) is to have your child do his Gemara reading while standing and rocking back and forth (you can use a rocking board or similar equipment, if helpful). Standing and rocking provides input that regulates the sensory systems that may be involved, making the demands of Gemara learning easier. (And if you think this bears an uncanny resemblance to what you might see in a beis medrash, you’re not wrong. As it turns out, standing by a shtender and shuckling actually helps facilitate learning — physiologically.)

Handwriting Has anyone joked that your child should become a doctor because of her messy handwriting?

One primary issue affecting handwriting is the grasp pattern they use while holding a writing implement. For example, do they use their whole hand or the tips of their fingers?

The way a child holds a pencil can be affected by a weak proprioceptive system (the system that gives parts of your body feedback as to where they are in relation to the rest of your body and the surrounding space). If a child is weak proprioceptively, she may not get the feedback she needs by holding the pencil with the ends of a few fingers. She feels that she needs to grasp the pencil with her whole hand, putting pressure on all the joints simultaneously, in order to “feel” where her hand and the pencil are.

Another possible issue is an unintegrated Palmar grasp reflex. This is an infantile reflex that is supposed to be integrated (i.e., disappear) by four months of age. If it persists, it can interfere with good handwriting patterns, resulting in messy handwriting and a child who gets tired quickly just from writing.

Compensations Use supportive devices, like pencil grips and HandiWriters. When a child has a hard time keeping her wrist in the right position because she doesn’t feel the needed feedback, HandiWriters keep her wrist in place.

Practice writing with broken crayons, pencils sharpened down to a stub, or any other writing implement that she can’t fit her whole hand on. That way she will need to use the tri-

pod grasp.

Have your child write in the vertical plane, which will keep her wrist in extension. Use an easel, or tape the paper to a wall. Let her lie on her belly on the floor and write that way.

Practice writing using a different media to give your child practice and keep her interest. Let her use her finger to form letters in a plate of uncooked rice or a plate of Kool-Aid powder (with licks afterward, of course). Put a marshmallow on a stick and write letters in whipped cream.

A Note About Homework Our kids — and their parents — usually want to finish their homework as quickly as possible and move on to other, more appealing activities. The idea of taking a break and going back to more homework just feels like dragging out the pain.

Often, however, the longer route turns out to be the shorter one.

If your child has been working for a straight 15 minutes of pure frustration, she needs a break that involves physical movement. Put a timer on for 15 minutes.

When that timer rings, get up and jump, or dance, or throw a ball, or have a tickle-fest. After a few minutes, she’ll be able to go back to the homework with renewed vigor.

Help Your Child Succeed There’s certainly more to life than school. But for the next four, eight, or twelve years, school and academics form a very large part of your child’s life and how he perceives himself.

Successful compensation techniques can alleviate the struggles of school and raise your child’s self-esteem.

At the same time, take it to the next level by working on your child’s challenges directly and getting treatment that addresses his issues at their root.

With Hashem’s help, you’ll see the payoff when he succeeds in school. But the true payoff will be when he succeeds in life.

Elul 5779 | Wellspring 87

Wellbeing

Serial Diary By Zahava List

Unveiled

Life with mental illness In March 2016, after doing preliminary work to set up a peer support system for Jewish women with mental illness and their female family members, my partners and I were ready to launch. Our very first Chazkeinu phone conference took place on a Monday night. We had 12 callers on the line, most of who had learned about our new venture through the flyers we’d distributed. We had also been featured in a frum publication, which gave us some exposure, as well.

At our first conference, Tamar, one of our co-founders, served as the moderator. (We now alternate moderators amongst some of our members.) I was the first to share my own story and then other callers had the opportunity to share. From the beginning, it was clear that our mission at Chazkeinu was to offer a give-and-take community, as opposed to a mentorship, so that we could all go through our challenges together.

This is why, after we have a professional or any speaker on the phone, we open the line to allow all participants to join in the conversation and contribute to the discussion based on their own experiences.

With every passing week, which at that point meant one more conference (today we run them twice weekly, one in the evening and one in the afternoon EST), more women slowly joined our circle. Mostly informed by word of mouth, women who were living with mental illness were attracted to the idea of having the peer support they craved. This could be the community that would tell them, “I know how challenging this must be for you,”

88 Wellspring | September 2019

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#

as opposed to, “I can’t imagine how challenging this must be for you.”

After I shared my story in the personal narratives section of the Chofetz Chaim Heritage Foundation’s Chazak hotline, the caller list multiplied exponentially. It wasn’t every day that someone shared an account like mine on such a public forum, speaking of her journey through mental illness in such detail, portraying it just like it is. Way more people than I could have imagined took great comfort in hearing my words.

I did not realize how far-reaching my recording would be, but in no time I was being contacted by women from places like Germany and Mexico, who called me, saying through tears, “You told my story.”

This wasn’t only validating for them, it was validating for me, too. I was experiencing and enduring something that women around the world were struggling with, and thanks to Chazkeinu, we could go through this together. I knew many women coped with postpartum depression, but to hear that others had also gone through full-blown postpartum psychosis like I had was an instrumental part of my healing.

Wow, I thought. I’m so not alone.

Within six months of our very first phone conference, our numbers rose to 40 callers on the line on a regular basis.

(Today, we can have closer to 70 callers on a Monday night conference.) While our biweekly phone conferences are a mainstay of the organization, we’ve since expanded. We now offer an online forum where various mental-health-related topics are discussed, and there is some lighter content, such as games, as well. This is especially geared to those who feel more comfortable with the written word than an oral format.

A few months after Chazkeinu launched, my mother and sister heard Rabbi Bentzion Klatzko speak at the Agudah Convention about the organizations he founded. In his talk, this passionate doer for the klal announced that if anyone wants to open an organization to help any segment of Klal Yisrael, they could reach out to him, because he loves to help.

Being that Chazkeinu was only beginning then, my mother and sister encouraged me to be in touch with him.

When I told Rabbi Klatzko about Chazkeinu and what

I would like to do and where I would like to go with my organization, he was touched by my mission. “I want to get the word out through my network,” he said. And, incredibly, he offered to help us launch our website, recruiting his own design team to make it happen.

“And if you make a Shabbaton,” he added in one of our initial conversations, “you could make it in my house.”

This magnanimous offer planted a seed in my head. Wouldn’t it be beautiful to spend a Shabbos in the company of fellow Chazkeinu mates, basking in the serenity of a whole Shabbos together while connecting in a real, deep way?

That very same year, in December, we had our first Shabbaton in the Klatzko home in Monsey. Altogether, more than 35 women joined us for that Shabbos, our first face-to-face gathering — a courageous step for many.

Spending an entire Shabbos together in such an accepting environment was absolutely extraordinary. Because we cater to a broad audience, we had the honor of connecting with women from across the Jewish spectrum, from Chassidish, to Litvish, to Sephardic, to unaffiliated, from women just out of their teens to women in their 80s.

Some of the older women remarked that if only this organization would have been around 45 years ago, their lives would be so different today.

There was no judging. That Shabbos was all about camaraderie, understanding, and acceptance, which is Chazkeinu’s raison d’être. All the time that I was helping women and enabling them to have this community, I was also helping myself.

In Hindsight Although I stand at the helm of Chazkeinu today, coordinating and overseeing all of our services along with a team of dedicated volunteers for women with mental illness and their female family members (mothers, wives, and daughters), I wasn’t an activist in my “past life.” I see this as one of the gifts my illness gave me. Mental illness, like every nisayon, is definitely difficult, but when we find meaning in a challenge, we grow from it in ways we couldn’t have previously imagined.

In the early days of Chazkeinu, I was invited to speak at a beautiful awareness event in Chicago. Every year, the kehillah runs an event called Life Unexpected. At this special forum, a panel of women speak about their personal experiences regarding a life challenge they’re dealing with, particularly something that arose later in life. They generally tackle issues that are relatively common, such as the challenges women in the sandwich generation face, the struggles of those dealing with weight issues, and so on. One year, they took the courageous step of addressing mental illness. For the first part of the program, three professionals — a psychiatrist, a psychologist, and someone in the healing profession addressed the crowd, and for the second part, I and two other women shared our personal stories with a standing-room-only audience. It was amazing for me to speak about my story so openly, especially being that I had previously been so reserved and inhibited.

Someone in the audience who had taught in my high school approached me afterward, saying, “I hope you don’t mind me saying this, but I can’t believe it’s you who’s doing this.” If someone would have told me as a teen or young adult that I’d be here today, I would not have believed it either.

To be continued...

Zahava List is the founder and director of Chazkeinu, a peer-led support organization for Jewish women who struggle with mental illness and their female family members.

Elul 5779 | Wellspring 89

REA L FRUIT

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for our all-new, all-natural, grab-and-go NUT bars.

Our Nut Bars bring you guilt-free goodness, with just a few pure ingredients, a little bit of sweetness, and a whole lotta wholesome crunch.

ISSUE 44

SEPTEMBER ‘19 ELUL 5779

Finally!

A teriyaki sauce recipe that’s good for you

Fuel Your Brain 8 foods for enhanced concentration and focus

Boost

Here’s your new go-to protein shake recipe

Back to Packing School Bags

Index Page

99

Back to Packing

Page

Page 120 111 129

Page

Have it

School Bags Homemade HEALTHY COOKIE RECIPES

My Table

BACK-TO-SCHOOL

Boost

PROTEIN SHAKE

TERIYAKI SAUCE

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Ta s t e

Dear Cooks, After a summer during which I did lots of outdoor cooking, opting

for grilling chicken on the deck instead of cooking warm soups in my kitchen, it’s back to setting up shop indoors again. With a whirlwind of activity going on at this time of year, though, I can’t devote that much time or energy to concocting complicated culinary delights.

And so, although my food prep now happens indoors, I do take it

easier than during the winter routine. For example, I marinate lots of baby chicken at one time, usually on Monday morning, and use the

grill pan to cook enough for the next two or three nights. One night, I’ll serve it in a salad; another, as part of a sandwich. I also cook up a large pot of quinoa or rice that will last for a few nights. This is

my way of preparing nutritious foods during hectic seasons, while

still leaving myself the time and headspace I need for more pressing

matters — and to be there fully for my kids when they walk through the door during their first few days of school.

Speaking of school, I was super excited to review the incredible

cookie recipes the Levines bring us in this issue of Seasoned. One

by one, they are not only masterpieces in appearance — leave it up to the Levines to do it right — but each of them is packed with

good-for-you stuff, the kind I want to know my kids are eating while they’re enjoying their recess break with friends. Because all of them

are easy to prepare, I’m excited to do just that — prepare all of them and give my kids the options to choose which ones they’re in the

mood of every morning. It’s such a good feeling to send them off with goodie bags that are actually good for them.

May this be a year of success for all of us and our precious children,

Est her

Elul 5779 | Wellspring 97

Flavor f o ays! rd

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F I N D O U R N E W W H O L E M I L K Y O G U R T I N 7 F L AV O R S AT Y O U R L O C A L S U P E R M A R K E T

Back-to-School

Healthy Cookie Treats

Each year, when the back-to-school season approaches, the same question comes to mind: How can I make breakfast quicker, lunch packing easier, and after-school snacks more filling and healthy?

This time of year can get really hectic.

Vacation is over, routine hasn’t yet set in, and getting healthy food on the table (and in the lunch boxes) can be tough. To help out on that end, in this issue, we bring you healthy backto-school cookie recipes that I know you and your family will love. The common denominator here is that they’re all nutritious, easy to prep, portable, perfect for a school snack, and most importantly, super tasty! If you’re sending snack with your kids anyway, you may as well send something that’s good for them.

Also, you can put these cookies out on the table, so that when your hungry brood arrives home from school, they’ll have something good to snack on, and you can avoid an afternoon sugar high.

But don’t let the colored pencils in the photos limit you thinking of them only in terms of back-to-school snacks. Because most of these cookie recipes call for honey as their sweetener, they’re just perfect for Tishrei. And if you’re thinking of stocking up your freezer for those cozy Succos nights or Chol Hamoed snacks, think of these cookies.

Before I got into healthful cooking, I would have never imagined that it’s not only possible to enjoy healthy cookies that taste great, but that they would end up tasting even better than the sugar-loaded cookies I used to eat.

Nowadays, I enjoy experimenting with allnatural ingredients while keeping the flavor and texture to that which we’re used to. And it really works.

Good luck to you and your kids!

Recipes, styling, and photography by Yossi & Malky Levine

No-Bake Cashew Linzer cookies These healthy linzer cookies are gluten-free, and contain no processed or refined sugars. Linzer cookies are traditionally made using ground almonds, but here I used raw cashews as the base.

For the confectioners’ sugar look, I used xylitol and made it powdery using a mortar and pestle. If you don’t have that, pulse it in a blender until powdery.

2 cups raw unsalted cashews

Strawberry Jam

½ cup coconut flour

1 cup frozen strawberries

¼ tsp salt

2 tsp maple syrup (or more, to taste)

⅓ cup maple syrup

1 tsp fresh lemon juice

2 tsp coconut oil, melted

2 Tbsp chia seeds

¼ tsp vanilla extract xylitol, finely ground, for dusting (optional) Place the cashews, coconut flour, and salt into the bowl of a blender or food processor and pulse until it reaches a fine consistency. Add the maple syrup, coconut oil, and vanilla extract and pulse again until the mixture is well combined.

Transfer the mixture into a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and place in the fridge to set for an hour.

Meanwhile, prepare the jam. Place strawberries into a small pot and cook for a few minutes, until the strawberries have softened. Use the back of a fork to mash the strawberries.

Add lemon juice, maple syrup, and chia seeds and mix lightly.

Remove from heat and allow to cool. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Remove dough from refrigerator and place on a large piece of parchment paper. Roll out to approximately ⅛-inch thick.

Use a medium/large cookie cutter to cut out cookies and place them on a baking sheet. Use a smaller cookie cutter to cut out the centers of half of the cookies. Re-roll any scraps, and roll out to make more cookies. Refrigerate cookies for 30 minutes to firm them up.

To assemble, dust the top part of cookies (with the holes) with powdered xylitol.

Spread one teaspoon of jam onto the bottom part (full circle) of the cookie, then place the cut-out cookie over it.

Keep refrigerated until serving.

Yield: 12 cookie sandwiches Kashrus note: Cashews should be checked for insects before use.

100 Wellspring | September 2019

Gluten-Free Chocolate Cheese Cookies There’s something about chocolate cheese cookies that always has me salivating when I see them in the local cafes. I’ve wanted to try and make a healthy version of them for a while now, so working on this feature finally gave me that opportunity! Just as decadent, yet perfectly healthy.

1½ cups gluten-free flour blend ¼ cup cocoa 1 tsp baking powder ¼ tsp salt 4 Tbsp coconut oil, melted and cooled 2 large eggs 1 tsp vanilla extract 1½ cups coconut sugar Cheese filling ¼ cup Greek vanilla yogurt 6 oz cream cheese 2 Tbsp sugar or healthy sweetener 1 egg Preheat oven to 350°F, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Whisk flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. In a separate bowl, beat coconut oil, eggs, and vanilla. Stir in the sugar. Add in flour mixture, stirring until incorporated and dough is formed.

Roll cookie dough into 1-inch balls, and place them 1–2 inches apart onto prepared baking sheet. Gently press your index finger or thumb into the center of each ball to make a well. (I used a small round cover, so I got a consistent size.)

To prepare the filling, mix yogurt, cream cheese, sugar or sweetener, and egg in a small bowl until smooth.

Transfer mixture to a ziplock bag. Cut off a small piece of the corner of bag and pipe filling into each well.

Bake for 7–9 minutes. Cool on baking sheets for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Yield: 25–30 cookies

Elul 5779 | Wellspring 103

Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies These healthy peanut butter cookie sandwiches are everything we need and more.

They’re easy to make, they’re healthy, and of course, they taste amazing.

You’d never believe they were made with no butter, no flour, and no processed sugar, but the kids don’t need to know that! If you’re a peanut butter fan, this will be your new go-to recipe. ½ cup peanut butter ½ cup honey 1 large egg 2 cups old-fashioned oats 1 cup oat flour 1 tsp baking soda Filling peanut butter chopped whole wheat pretzels (optional) Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat peanut butter and honey until smooth. Beat in the egg until well combined. Add the oats, oat flour, and baking soda and beat on low speed until just combined.

Drop heaping tablespoon-sized portions of dough a few inches apart on the prepared baking sheets.

Flatten the tops with the back of a spoon.

Bake cookies for 7-8 minutes or until they are set and just start to crack a bit on top. Let cool on cookie sheets for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

If you’re adding pretzels to the filling, mix it with peanut butter. To assemble, turn over half of the cookies and spread peanut butter on them. Cover each with another cookie to create sandwiches.

Yield: 12 sandwich cookies Note: Please consider allergy-related restrictions before sending your child to school with these cookies.

104 Wellspring | September 2019

Gluten-Free Almond Bars If I would have to choose a favorite butter, without a doubt almond butter would be number one on the list. The rich texture and flavor are incredibly delicious, plus it’s great to know I’m giving myself nutrients that I need to function at my best. These bars will be your next culinary success story.

1 cup almond butter 1½ cups almond flour ⅔ cup honey 2 eggs 1 tsp baking powder ½ tsp vanilla extract ½ cup slivered almonds

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper.

Place almond butter and flour, honey, eggs, baking powder, and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer and mix to combine. Spread mixture into prepared baking pan and cover with slivered almonds.

Bake for 25 minutes until top is dark golden brown. Allow to cool.

Cut into 4x1-inch rectangles Turn the bars on their sides, and bake in a preheated oven at 350°F for an additional 5–7 minutes.

Yield: 16 bars

Elul 5779 | Wellspring 107

Loaded Jumbo Cookies These delicious cookies are incredibly soft, chewy and loaded with goodness! To preserve their texture, store any leftovers in an airtight container for up to a week — if they last that long!

1 cup oatmeal

Add-ins

1 cup whole wheat flour

¼ cup dried cranberries

1½ tsp baking powder

¼ cup pepitas

½ tsp cinnamon

¼ cup walnuts

¼ tsp salt

chocolate chunks

2 Tbsp coconut oil 1 egg ½ tsp vanilla extract ½ cup honey

Preheat oven to 350°F. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together oatmeal, whole wheat flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.

In a separate bowl place coconut oil, egg, vanilla extract, and honey. Stir well.

Combine ingredients from both bowls, and mix until a dough is formed.

Add in dried cranberries, pepitas, walnuts, and chocolate chunks. Mix until evenly distributed.

Roll dough into 3-inch balls and place about 3 inches apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Flatten balls with your hand or back of a spoon into about 4-inch circles.

Bake for 10-12 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes while still on baking sheet before transferring to a wire rack.

108 Wellspring | September 2019

Truly Outstanding Tabor Winery, winner of 9 medals in the Israeli Best Value Competition 2019

- Better Together

By Yossi and Malky Levine

Teriyaki Sauce Confession: I have always loved teriyaki sauce. It’s both sweet and savory, makes everything more flavorful, and is a great addition to stir-fries, chicken, fish, and pretty much any vegetable. Health-wise, however, teriyaki sauce (like many other sauces), was not really a possibility, since my favorite store-bought versions are loaded with corn syrup and all kinds of ingredients I can’t even pronounce.

After many trials, I finally figured out how to take the classic teriyaki sauce and lighten it up a bit with ingredients that are better for you, but will still give you the classic great flavor.

6 Tbsp coconut aminos

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 Tbsp rice wine vinegar

¼ tsp ground ginger

½ cup date honey

1 Tbsp water

1 Tbsp sesame oil

1 Tbsp arrowroot powder

Place coconut aminos, vinegar, date honey, sesame oil, garlic, and ginger powder in a small pot. Cook over medium heat and bring to a boil.

Meanwhile, combine water with arrowroot powder. Slowly pour it in while stirring, until sauce thickens.

Set aside to cool. Keep refrigerated.

Yield: 1 cup

The New Look of

By Yossi and Malky Levine

KOHLRABI FISH TACOS WITH TERIYAKI DRIZZLE The first time I tasted kohlrabi, it was because I’d purchased it “by accident.” Once it landed in my produce drawer, I figured it wouldn’t hurt to experiment with it. A friend of mine told me that it tastes delicious when sliced, with some freshly squeezed lemon juice and some salt sprinkled over it. I followed her instructions and was not disappointed.

Working on this feature, I wanted to create an all-inclusive taco dinner that’s completely healthy. While brainstorming options for healthy taco shells, kohlrabi came to mind and I thought it would make a perfect substitute. The result was divine!

Whether you serve this dish as an appetizer or dinner, it works beautifully for buffet-style serving. You can arrange the kohlrabi slices, cooked rice, baked salmon, teriyaki sauce and scallions on a tray/ board and have your family or guest create their own tacos.

Alternatively, this can be a picnic dinner to go. Pack up the ready ingredients and assemble the tacos when ready to eat.

1 piece of salmon, width of approximately 4 slices olive oil salt pepper garlic powder 2 large kohlrabi, peeled and thinly sliced 1 lemon 2 cups brown rice, cooked homemade teriyaki sauce (refer to recipe in Have it Homemade) chopped scallions, for topping Preheat oven to 450°F. Drizzle olive oil over salmon and season generously with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Place salmon, skin side down, on a lined baking sheet. Bake until salmon is cooked through, about 12–15 minutes. Allow to cool.

Squeeze lemon juice over the kohlrabi slices.

Once salmon has cooled, cut into bite-sized pieces.

Using the kohlrabi slices as taco shells, top each with a scoop of rice and some salmon. Drizzle teriyaki sauce over it and sprinkle some chopped scallions.

Yield: 12–15 mini “tacos” Elul 5779 | Wellspring 113

By Charni e

114 Wellspring | September 2019

Kohn

Hola from Mexico!

Mexico is close to certain regions of the US geographically, but that’s where our proximity ends: its lifestyle and cuisine is so foreign to us.

When we think of Mexican cuisine, often tacos are the first thing that come to mind, but you’ll be surprised to learn how much more they have to offer.

Mexican food gets a bad rap because it’s often thought of as being fattening and greasy.

In reality, the food is actually quite healthy. Native Mexicans cook with lots of fresh, usually homegrown vegetables and herbs. Ingredients like tomatoes, beans, and avocados are often used in Mexican kitchens. The “Mexican” food chains all over the world that serve deep-fried, cheesy, and greasy food are probably the reason behind the myth of Mexican food being unhealthy.

Maize (corn) is an integral staple in Mexican cuisine. Whether it’s eaten rubbed in butter and spices or ground into corn flour for tacos, chances are that each meal you eat in Mexico will have at least one component using corn.

As is true for many cultures, women in Mexican households are expected to cook all the meals for the family. In fact, a girl in Mexico is traditionally ready to get married once she masters the art of cooking. Comida, which means “meal” in Spanish, is the main meal of the day — what we call dinner. It usually starts with a soup, and then a meat cooked in a sauce, like fajitas, is served. The meat is usually served alongside salsa, beans, a tortilla, and vegetables. The leftovers of comida are often eaten for lunch the next day. Wrap it in a tortilla and voila, you have a burrito filled with last night’s delicious food. Leftovers are usually eaten with coffee and chocolate.

Street food plays an important role in Mexican culture. It’s not simply about a vendor selling food and earning a living, but it’s actually a social aspect that brings locals together over food. The best known street food is the famous taco. Other popular options include quesadillas, pambazos (a specific type of bread stuffed with potatoes and chorizo), tamales (corn husks or banana leaves stuffed with vegetables, meat, etc.) and of course, churros.

Travel Tidbits When you stroll down the canned-goods aisle at your local supermarket, you’ll most likely find an array of canned fruits, vegetables, and beans.

Just a while ago in Mexico, you were able to find canned tortillas too.

Tequila, a beverage made from the agave plant, is by far Mexico’s most famous drink. Much of it is produced in the Mexican city of Tequila, hence its name.

A woman from a little restaurant in Mexico is the one who originally created fajitas. The dish was so popular that other restaurant owners sent spies down to her place to try to get the recipe for it.

Elul 5779 | Wellspring 115

Chicken Fajitas Fajitas are a well-known Mexican chicken or beef dish that is usually served in tortillas. For this recipe, I skipped the tortillas, which leaves you with a healthy and easy to prepare Mexican dish that is packed with flavor.

Total cook time: 45 minutes

4 slices chicken cutlets, thinly sliced 1 large onion 2 Tbsp olive oil 1 red, yellow, green, and orange pepper 1 red chili pepper, deseeded 1 Tbsp salt 1 Tbsp paprika 1 tsp garlic powder ½ tsp chili powder ¼ tsp cumin pinch red pepper flakes juice of 1 small lime

Slice peppers and onions into thin strips. In a frying pan, sauté with olive oil until soft. Remove vegetables from pot. Place sliced cutlets into the pan, and sear until no longer pink. Place vegetables back into pan. (Use gloves to handle the chili pepper.) Add all spices and lime juice and cook for an additional five minutes.

Elul 5779 | Wellspring 117

Mexican Corn Pasta Salad Get a taste of Mexico with this salad. It’s also the perfect dish to have ready for when the kids walk through the door, famished after a long day of school.

While not the conventional dinner, you get your fair share of protein and grain here. Add diced peppers so you get your vegetable in too.

Total cook time: 25 minutes

8 oz raw whole grain pasta 2 cups fresh corn kernels (uncooked) 1 cup lite mayonnaise juice of 1 lemon 1 tsp salt ½ tsp chili powder ¼ tsp black pepper smoked paprika cilantro 8 oz feta cheese, crumbled (optional, if you want to keep this pareve)

Cook pasta as per package instructions. While pasta is cooking, sauté corn in a small frying pan over medium heat until soft and somewhat charred.

In a small bowl, combine mayonnaise, lemon juice, salt, chili powder, salt, and black pepper. Mix well until incorporated. Pour mayonnaise mixture over the pasta, add sautéed corn, and mix gently.

Top with smoked paprika, cilantro and, if desired, feta cheese.

Elul 5779 | Wellspring 119

In the pages of Wellspring, we share expert advice from some of the community’s most popular and competent dietitians and nutritionists. In this column, you get to see how they practice what they preach in their own kitchens. Pull up a chair at “My Table” and join the chat.

This Month:

Back-to-School As someone who is conscious of what constitutes proper nutrition, you do your best to follow a healthy lifestyle. How do you help your children do the same during the hours they spend at school? Do you pack particular foods for them or do you practice a hands-off policy?

Laura Shammah, MS, RDN: Shopping or preparing for kids’ school snacks can be difficult for anyone, even a dietitian.

People expect my children to come to school with only fruits and vegetables, but I believe that can be emotionally damaging. I try to send fruits, vegetables, and junk food — though I am careful with the junk that I buy.

With every passing year, each child and each school bring different challenges that I do my best to overcome. I try not to pressure the kids, because I believe food shouldn’t be a source of worry for any child or family. I aim to be creative, consistent, and calm.

My upcoming goal for this year is to have all snacks and lunches prepared the night before.

Another goal is to have each child ready on time to actually eat a healthy breakfast before school. Let’s pray we don’t miss the bus!

In general, I allow my kids to make their own decisions regarding which foods go into their bodies. I educate them, but I do not pressure them. I believe the bigger you make the issue of eating healthy foods, the more resistant they may be. Playing it cool is my way to go.

120 Wellspring | September 2019

Beth Warren, MS, RDN, CDN: Typically, we pack one “munchie” snack, or packaged food item, and one whole-food snack, such as cut-up fruit or veggies. I feel this gives my kids a balance of a healthier option while still feeling “like a kid.” They’re able to have snacks they want and can share with their peers without embarrassment. Ideally, I try to keep the munchie snack as wholefood as possible, buying products like Hippeas (chickpea puffs). But if they occasionally request a less healthy item, I let them have it, as it’s important for them to know that these snacks are okay from time to time. Otherwise, we risk kids swapping snacks in school or sneaking other foods in another way. Not only is this not helpful for weight and health, it’s bad for their mindset and relationship with food, too.

Shani Taub, CDC: At my children’s school, the rule is that no food from home is allowed. The school serves lunch and snacks that are generally balanced. My children are just like all the others, enjoying whatever is distributed by the school, whether it’s a fruit or a Danish.

Nutritionist Tanya Rosen: I do help my children follow a healthy lifestyle, but I also allow them to eat other foods that they want.

My husband does most of the food preparation and cooking. Every morning, he usually prepares a couple of snacks, which consist of precut peppers, cucumbers, carrots, and either a bag of PopCorners or Herr’s baked potato chips for each child. As for lunch, sometimes they take something from home, and sometimes they eat what’s served in school. However, they know my one-plate rule: fill up half the plate with vegetables, the other half with your best possible choice, and, if necessary, refill the plate the same way.

(For people on my diet plan, the rule is no refills.)

Shiffy Friedman: My children don’t like eating any food (such as cut-up vegetables, fruits, sandwiches, or muffins) that they bring from home, and their schools don’t provide breakfast, only lunch. Because I know they won’t be eating any real food all day except at lunchtime, a priority in our home is to make sure that the kids don’t leave the house in the morning before eating a nutritious breakfast, which they know must consist of a protein, grain, and fruit or vegetable. It’s up to them to choose which kind of food they want from each group.

At a certain point when my children were younger, and their ride to school was coming earlier than usual, I would bring hard-boiled or scrambled eggs to the bus stop so they could finish their breakfast there. One of my neighbors told me that ever since then, her young son has been referring to me as “the mommy with the eggs.”

For snack, every child usually takes a squeezable applesauce and chooses two bags of packaged chips from the snack drawer.

Compiled by Shiffy Friedman

Elul 5779 | Wellspring 121

Try It the

Authentic Way

7184088022 info@tarnegolfarms.com

Cream of Chicken Soup 1 package Tarnegol chicken bones 1 package Tarnegol chicken cutlets 4 zucchinis, chopped 2 potatoes, chopped 5 garlic cloves 1 large onion 10 cups water (or enough to cover) 1 tbsp salt ½ tsp black pepper Place chicken bones in a Wrap ‘N Boil bag.

Add all ingredients to a large stockpot and bring to a boil. Cook for 45 minutes.

Remove the chicken bones and 4 chicken cutlets.

Blend the soup with an immersion blender until smooth.

Use a fork to shred the remaining chicken cutlets and add back to the soup.

Yields: 12 servings

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Eat Well

Nutrition Tidbits in the News By Malka Sharman

Let the

Brain Gain Eight Foods for Enhanced Brain Function Whether you want to help your child get back into the school mode, help yourself shift back into work routine, or simply need an extra dose of concentration (who doesn’t these days?) incorporating these “brain foods” into your diet is a good start. Although there’s no magic button to boost your IQ or make you smarter, these foods can help you concentrate better, and will enhance brain function.

Fish Fatty fish, such as salmon, usually comes up as the number one brain food. Fish is a great source of the omega-3 fatty acids that are needed for brain function. These fatty acids have amazing brain power: a diet with higher levels of these healthy fats has been linked to lower dementia and slower mental decline; as well as playing a major role in enhancing memory, especially as we age.

Dark Chocolate Dark chocolate and cocoa powder are packed with several brain-boosting compounds, including flavonoids and antioxidants. The flavonoids in chocolate gather in the areas of the brain that deal with learning and memory, improving their function.

This is the perfect excuse to indulge in some more chocolate.

Natural Sugars Sugar is your brain’s preferred fuel source — not table sugar, but glucose. That’s why a glass of orange juice or another fruit juice (without additives) may offer a short-term boost to memory, thinking, and mental ability. Of course, whole fruit does the trick just as well.

Elul 5779 | Wellspring 123

Eat Well

Nutrition Tidbits in the News

Blueberries

Eggs

Blueberries help improve memory and are packed with vitamin C and other antioxidants. Seeds from these berries also contain omega-3 fats that help with brain function. To get the most out of this nutritious fruit, choose the darker blueberries, which contain the most nutrients.

Eggs are a good source of several nutrients tied to brain health including vitamins B6, B12, and folate. The yolks have choline, an important nutrient for brain development and mental function.

This might be the reason eggs make the classic breakfast.

Beans

Oats/Oatmeal Oats and oatmeal are excellent sources of energy and brain fuel. Oats are packed with fiber to help keep us feel full, so we don’t feel as strong an urge to snack on junk food. They are also a source of vitamins E, B complex, and zinc minerals that help keep the brain working optimally.

Whole Grains Whole grains, such as those founds in breads and cereals, provide glucose, an energy source the brain needs. Whole grains also contain B vitamins, which are good for the nervous system. Make that switchover to whole grain breads, wraps, and crackers, and get ready to feel the difference.

124 Wellspring | September 2019

Beans, beans, good for the heart‌ so the saying goes.

Now you know they’re good for the brain too, thanks to their dense content of every form of protein, complex carbohydrates, fiber, and vitamins. Kidney beans are a good choice, as they contain more omega-3 fatty acids than other bean varieties.

Is Your Baby Overweight?

“How much food does an infant need?” is a question many mothers have a hard time answering. Often, we interpret crying to mean hunger, and it’s not necessarily so. In a desperate attempt to calm a baby, sometimes we just keep feeding him, whether or not he’s hungry. Or, we can turn to food guides to get a better understanding of how much babies need to eat.

However, a recent study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine shows that the available guidelines may have misled you and caused you to overfeed your infant.

The reason for this is simple. These guides are produced by infant formula makers and other infant health experts. They are meant to guide mothers in starting infants on solid food after initial exclusive milk and/or formula feeding. The new study proved that the recommendations in several feeding guides would likely result in overfed, overweight infants.

“It is very important that children aren’t overfed during infancy because we know that can lead to weight gain and related health problems later on, yet the models used in our study showed that following current established guidelines often lead to overfeeding,”

says study author Marie Ferguson, MSPH.

The study was conducted on computer-stimulated infants, since testing conducted with real infants in a clinical trial would involve ethical issues, given the risk of overfeeding or underfeeding subjects.

In their initial analysis, Ferguson and her colleagues found that following several different guides for just a few months drove the average body mass index of the “infants” into the overweight category — above the 85th percentile. This finding applied even for the scenario in which solid food portions were kept to the lower 25 percent of the guide’s recommended range.

Interestingly, the only guide which didn’t move the theoretical infants to the overweight category were the Similac guidelines, which were found to be most accurate in predicting how much food an infant really needs. Similac’s chart covers the various food groups that infants up to one year of age will require: breast milk or formula, cow’s milk-based foods, grains and cereals, vegetables, fruit, and meat/protein.

Here are the numbers for their feeding guide, from birth to one year:

Breast Milk/Formula

Birth–1 week: 6–10 feedings of 2–3 fl oz each

1 week–1 month: 7–8 feedings of 2–4 fl oz each 1–3 months: 5–6 feedings of 4–5 fl oz each 3–6 months: 4–5 feedings of 6–7 fl oz each 6–9 months: 3–4 feedings of 7–8 fl oz each 9–12 months: 3 feedings of 7–8 fl oz each

Cow’s Milk-Based Foods

10–12 months: 1 serving (½ cup yogurt or ¾ oz cheese)

Grains and Cereals

4–6 months: 3–4 Tbsp

6–12 months 4 Tbsp or more

Vegetables

6–8 months: 1 Tbsp per meal, working up to 4–5 Tbsp per day 8–10 months: 4 Tbsp or more 10–12 months: 4–8 Tbsp

Fruit

6–8 months: 1 Tbsp per meal, working up to 4–5 Tbsp per day 8–10 months: 4 Tbsp or more 10–12 months: 8–12 Tbsp

Meat/Protein

8–10 months: 1 Tbsp

10–12 months: 2–4 Tbsp

Working with a precise guide helps moms feel confident that they’re providing their infant with just the right amount of nutrition to help the babies grow and develop as they should.

Elul 5779 | Wellspring 125

Eat Well

Nutrition Facts in a Shell By Esther Frenkel

Here’s the place to check out nutrition labels for the nutrient-dense produce that come in their natural peels-- just so you know what wholesome goodness you’re feeding your family and yourself !

THIS MONTH:

PINEAPPLE Principle

Nutrition Value

Percentage of RDA

Energy

50 Kcal

2.5%

Carbohydrates

13.52 g

10%

Protein

0.54 g

1%

Total Fat

0.12 g

<1%

Cholesterol

0 mg

0%

Dietary Fiber

1.40 g

4%

Folates

18 µg

4.5%

Niacin

0.500 mg

4%

Pyridoxine

0.112 mg

9%

Riboflavin

0.018 mg

1.5%

Thiamin

0.079 mg

6.5%

Vitamin A

58 IU

2%

Vitamin C

47.8 mg

80%

Vitamin E

0.02 mg

<1%

Vitamin K

0.07 µg

0.5%

Sodium

1 mg

0%

Potassium

109 mg

2.5%

Calcium

13 mg

1.3%

Copper

0.110 mg

12%

Iron

0.29 mg

3.5%

Magnesium

12 mg

3%

Manganese

0.927 mg

40%

Phosphorus

8 mg

1%

Selenium

0.1 µg

<1%

Zinc

0.12 mg

1%

Vitamins

Electrolytes

Minerals

126 Wellspring | September 2019

When you inhale the scent of pineapple, what comes to mind? All it takes is one sniff for me to imagine myself on some tropical island — which is quite a tempting proposition, considering that vacation season is officially over, and in its place comes a whirlwind of activity and endless to-do lists. To make it even better, the taste of pineapple is so amazing that it’s always a good idea to have another portion of this fabulous fruit — that also provides a good dose of vitamin C, vitamin B1, potassium, and manganese, in addition to other special compounds and antioxidants that help prevent disease formation.

Used widely around the world as a natural remedy for everything from indigestion to allergies, pineapples are filled with phytonutrients that work as well as many medicines do. Much of the healing power of this fruit comes from a protein-digesting enzyme called bromelain, which is found in the pineapple stem and fruit.

Bromelain has been used as a natural remedy for many years. It works to break down proteins in order to form peptides and amino acids in the body. Studies have shown that it also acts as an anti-inflammatory and anti-swelling agent.

While there are relatively few calories in a cup of pineapple, one serving has a whopping 131 percent of your daily value of the antioxidant vitamin C, which supports immune function and can minimize coughs, as well as cold and flu symptoms. Those who consume this fruit regularly may experience protection against infections, both viral and bacterial.

Vitamin C is a water-soluble vitamin that plays a role in maintaining the health of the body’s connective tissue. It will act as an antioxidant as well, as it has the ability to synthesize collagen, which is the main protein in the body responsible for maintaining healthy blood vessels and organs. Vitamin C can also help with skin problems, like a sunburn or dried and irritated skin. To get these benefits for your skin, add pineapple to a homemade body scrub.

While many people shy away from pineapple for fear of its sweetness, this fruit may actually be helpful for weight loss thanks to its high fiber content, which makes you feel full with fewer calories. In addition, pineapple can help prevent constipation and promote regularity and a healthy digestive tract, which means it’s helpful for reducing a bloated stomach.

Pineapple also supports heart health because of its fiber, potassium, vitamin C, and antioxidant content. A 2005 study published in

IN YOUR PLATE Medical Science Monitor found that one of the benefits of pineapple juice is that it has cardio-protective abilities. The study concluded that pineapple juice can reduce the risk of coronary heart disease and help establish digestion and absorption.

A high potassium intake is also associated with a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease and stroke, as well as with protection against loss of muscle mass, preservation of bone mineral density, and reduction in the formation of kidney stones. Furthermore, fruits that are high in potassium can help lower high blood pressure.

Pineapples also help improve heart health because of the effects of its powerful bromelain, which can fight blood clotting and therefore may be nature’s answer to those taking an aspirin a day to lower the risk of heart attack. Bromelain has been shown to stop blood platelets from sticking together or building up along the walls of blood vessels — both known causes of heart attacks or strokes.

IN THE KITCHEN Nutritious Pineapple Bars

With so many health benefits to boast of, you may just want to incorporate more of this delightful fruit into your baking. Here’s one great way to do so. This makes for a delicious Yom Tov dessert! ½ cup plain rolled oats 1 cup whole grain flour ½ cup shredded coconut 1 tsp baking powder 2 Tbsp ground almonds or almond flour 1½ cups chopped pineapple 2 Tbsp honey ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a loaf pan.

Place oats in the cup of blender and blend until a flourlike consistency forms.

Pour oat flour into a large mixing bowl. Add flour, coconut, baking powder, and almonds, and mix to combine.

Place remaining ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Pour into dry ingredients and stir to combine.

Scoop mixture into the loaf pan and bake for 20–30 minutes. Allow to cool before cutting into bars. Enjoy!

Note: To make this recipe gluten-free, replace the flour with an equal amount of a gluten-free flour of your choice.

Enjoy pineapple on its own as a snack, dice it into a fruit salad, or add it it to both sweet and savory dishes.

Since pineapple provides carbohydrates and natural sugar, it’s a good food to have as a pre-workout snack for a boost of energy. For a fun, tasty twist on your regular stir fry, add pineapple cubes to your chicken. Grill pineapple skewers for a delicious dessert.

Dip pineapple slices in dark chocolate, then sprinkle with toasted coconut flakes.

Blend pineapple with frozen strawberries for a refreshing smoothie.

PROTEIN SHAKE

BY YOSSI & MALKY LEVINE

Every cell, tissue, and organ in the body relies on proteins for basic biological processes.

Since the protein turnover in the body is constant, it’s essential to replace them by eating protein-rich foods such as dairy and nuts. An easy way to pack protein into your diet is with a shake. Protein shakes are often thought of in terms of expensive protein powders. However, you can make a perfectly healthy, delicious, protein-rich drink with ingredients you already have in your pantry and fridge.

Most people, especially women, are deficient in their protein intake. So any time you can add protein to your diet is a good time. You can have a protein shake for breakfast, drink it right after a workout, or just whip it up when you’re in the mood of a healthy treat!

128 Wellspring | September 2019

1 cup milk 1½ cups Greek vanilla yogurt 1 banana 1 Tbsp cocoa ¼ cup almonds

Why these foods for protein?

Mil

k

contains two major sources of protein — casein and whey. Casein proteins form curds when acid is added to milk, an important step in the cheese-making process.

Casein makes up 82 percent of the proteins found in cow’s milk. Whey proteins are those found in the liquid portion of milk that remains after it has been curdled and strained. Both types of proteins are high quality and provide essential amino acids for protein synthesis. Whey protein, in particular, is very usable by the body. It is a rich source of leucine, an essential amino acid involved in muscle protein synthesis.

Greek yogurt is an excellent source of protein, providing two to three times the amount of protein as regular yogurt. In fact, a cup of Greek yogurt provides about 20 grams of protein — roughly 30 percent of the daily protein requirement for an adult. Greek yogurt is strained three times, contrasting with regular yogurt which is strained twice, and that makes it more concentrated and therefore more protein-packed.

Cocoa powder is one of the world’s oldest-known foods, containing substantial amounts of essential nutrients.

Most of dark chocolate’s magic relies on one of the many naturally-occurring chemicals found in cocoa beans called flavanols, which are compounds that improve health and performance. The darker, less processed, and more pure chocolate is, the higher concentration of flavanols inside.

Recent studies show that when ingested, flavanols lower myostatin, which causes increased muscle growth.

Bananas are an excellent addition to protein shakes because they’re sweet, creamy, and packed with great nutrition. The fiber helps slow the absorption of sugars and keeps you feeling full. A high protein meal plan can lack fiber, so adding a banana to a protein shake helps ensure that you have a balanced diet.

Almonds are a great source of protein, fiber, and hearthealthy fats. Adding 10 almonds to your daily meal plan can help you reach your nutrient needs and maintain a healthy body weight. Eating protein-rich snack foods increases satiety, which helps improve appetite control and leads to a reduced caloric intake.

Elul 5779 | Wellspring 129

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OUR GOALS: Educate parents on child development and preventive techniques Implement school programs that have been proven to improve reading, writing and attention Educate the community as a whole on techniques and therapies to allow parents to receive the appropriate help for their child Provide support groups to parents of children with developmental delays

WHAT WE’VE DONE SO FAR: Community events Implemented school-based programs in yeshivas around the tri-state area Teleconferences on anxiety, preventative care, and educational markers of delay

The H.O.P.E. Foundation has been accepted by the State Department and has currently applied for 501(c)(3) non-profit status.

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For more information and to get involved, please email us at foundation@handsonotrehab.com or call us at 212-884-9101 | www.handsonotrehab.com | Follow us on Instagram @handsonapproaches for “live” conferences.

Farewell

Dictionary

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