יום ראשון, ה׳ אב תשפ״וSunday, July 19, 2026
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Ann Diament Koffsky is the award-winning author/illustrator of more than thirty-five books for kids. She also creates free coloring pages which you can sign up to receive at www.annkoffsky.com. Visit https://annkoffsky.com/portfolios/papercuts or Instagram @annkoffsky to see more of Ann’s papercut artwork. For questions about commissions, email Ann at ann@annkoffsky.com.
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Sometimes, I shvitz in worry, wondering when and how my kids will overcome their next challenge. Or how the war in Israel is going. Or the Jewish community here in America is faring.
Showing that reading is a challenge and doesn’t just happen automatically is something that young children will recognize and identify with.
After reading all those sad pages in all those sad books that sit on that very sad shelf, the most profound, deepest wisdom I’ve learned is: we just don’t know.
There were many hespedim written about him, and a book published. But they just don’t do him justice. How could words capture his empathy? Wisdom? The way he made you feel like you were oh-so-important and valued?
The Jewish people weren’t particularly mindful when they left Mitzrayim. They rushed so quickly that their bread had no time to rise. It was a mad dash – they ran! Today, we too have to run when we make our matzahs, like they did. You’ve got 18 minutes: Go!
Gefilte fish, dips, chopped liver, sweet and sour meatballs – no. Serve the meatballs and the liver as part of the main meal. You can even put out some dips. But skip that first course.
Angelic, to the Chumash, seems to mean something else entirely: something that is wildly interventionist – even sometimes violent. Angels do not stand by and passively watch. They engage.
What did they do so well that their legacy is that when I hear their names… I smile?
Spring is also allergy season. Time to stock up on the Zyrtec. For some reason, this always surprises me and feels terribly unjust. Why, oh why, just as things are getting so beautiful do I also have to feel goopy and miserable?
Slow and steady. Bit by Bit. Section by section, I cut out all the shapes in my sketch. I cut through both the sketch and the papers underneath.
The humble grains that mark time in an hourglass are the building blocks that make up our world.
Wouldn’t you think that it would be the easiest holiday that would have the most people celebrating? Something like, say, Shavuot which has no chametz or seder and is just two days long. Shouldn’t easier be more celebrated?
Most importantly, the backyard barbeque is a way for us to just get together and have fun eating and schmoozing.
Maybe it had to be that way. Maybe the lack of emphasis on wealth is baked into sharing Torah and sharing song.
But the key to stickiness is in the sharing. If there is no sharing, nothing sticks. A word can’t become a name. A second question is never asked.
Today, zealots are the ones who refuse to let the people they disagree with speak. They like to cancel comedians and are banning books like MAUS by Art Spiegelman from public school libraries, and writing angry letters to podcasters.
Lots of people who did things that ultimately led to our world being safer, better, and stronger had to put up with much mockery and criticism.
Chulent shows that while our Torah is structured and dictates how and when we cook and how and when we eat, we still have enormous creative choices within its framework.
The issue of identification with a country can go far deeper and far longer past a simple yom tov, too. Immigrants from all over the world come to America, yet still retain the culture and flavor along with them.
Before we become that lion roaring about, we pause and start with gratitude by saying Modeh Ani. We acknowledge all that we are fortunate to have in our lives: our homes, our families, and our very breath.
If you describe someone as salty? It’s someone who is not in the best of moods. A sailor with salty language is not speaking eloquently; a salty person is one who is upset over minor nuisances.
The authenticity of the book is also worth noting. I particularly appreciated that when Sara reaches out with kindness to the classmate who teased her, the classmate is largely unreceptive. This rings true.
Year after year, I strategized: How far in advance should I tell them the kids the dreaded shots were coming? Regardless of when, I always had lollipops in my pocket
July 17, 2026 
