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3 weeks ago | 
jewishstandard.timesofisrael.com | Banji Ganchrow |Deb Herman
I sit before you at the beauty parlor, as my grandmother would call it. As I have written about before, my Oreos, for some reason, do not like when their mother goes gray, so here I am. I would rather be almost anywhere else. But the last time I tried to color my own hair, it turned a lovely shade of orange, so that was the end of that.
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4 weeks ago | 
jewishstandard.timesofisrael.com | Banji Ganchrow |Deb Herman
Purim is over. By now you should have either donated your unopened shaloch manot goodies or eaten them. Or given them to work colleagues. And there is nothing wrong with that. Last week I had mentioned that I didn’t receive any Snickers bars. Fortunately, my surrogate granddaughter let me have the one that she received (because she doesn’t like them. I didn’t bully her into giving it to me, just in case you were wondering). In any event, what does the end of Purim mean?
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1 month ago | 
njjewishnews.timesofisrael.com | Banji Ganchrow
I went to a shiur. For those of you who don’t know what a shiur is, it is a class that involves Jewish texts. These texts can be from the Torah, gemarah, and other rabbinical sources. I usually do not go to these classes. Mainly because I am not very bright and I can never follow what the speaker is saying. But I went to this class because the topic caught my eye. “Misinterpreting Messages: Optimism, Hope and Dreams.” Interesting, right?
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1 month ago | 
jewishstandard.timesofisrael.com | Banji Ganchrow |Deb Herman
I went to a shiur. For those of you who don’t know what a shiur is, it is a class that involves Jewish texts. These texts can be from the Torah, gemarah, and other rabbinical sources. I usually do not go to these classes. Mainly because I am not very bright and I can never follow what the speaker is saying. But I went to this class because the topic caught my eye. “Misinterpreting Messages: Optimism, Hope and Dreams.” Interesting, right?
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1 month ago | 
jewishstandard.timesofisrael.com | Banji Ganchrow |Deb Herman
There are few things better than when you come across a study that validates your belief system. I turned on the television the other day, and Channel 7 was reporting that there was a study done on the benefits of swearing. Yes, you read that correctly. Guess it was a slow news day. Don’t worry, I will not be swearing in this column. I have never sworn in front of any of my adorable pastries, and I think I only slipped up once in front of one of my dils.
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1 month ago | 
njjewishnews.timesofisrael.com | Banji Ganchrow
I don’t have great hearing. I blame this on all of my constant Walkman use in the 1980s; the higher the volume, the better. I would drown out the sounds around me — my mom voicing her disappointment in whatever I had done wrong that day, my little brother being annoying, my sister ignoring me — yes, music has the power to drown out any sound or lack thereof. Music is awesome that way. When I am at my most sad or anxious, music has the power to drown the thoughts in my head.
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2 months ago | 
jewishstandard.timesofisrael.com | Banji Ganchrow |Deb Herman
Every so often, I come across or hear a phrase that I feel needs further exploration: “Responsibly raised meat.” This is the current phrase that has been on my mind. If you are a vegetarian, or a pescatarian, or a vegan, or someone who just doesn’t like hamburgers, you might not find this discussion of any interest. Though if you aren’t one of those, you might not find this of any interest regardless, but here I go anyway.
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2 months ago | 
njjewishnews.timesofisrael.com | Banji Ganchrow
This past weekend was the Super Bowl. I have never been a fan of football, but for years, my house was filled with football fans. Son #1 was a Minnesota Vikings fan, Son #2 was a Rams fan (when they were in St. Louis — now they are in Los Angeles, but that is not the reason why he is no longer a fan of theirs) and Son #3 was a Carolina Panthers fan.
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2 months ago | 
jewishstandard.timesofisrael.com | Banji Ganchrow |Deb Herman
Sometimes, when my brother and I were younger and on vacation with our parents, we would start speaking to each other in another language. It was total gibberish, but it was fun to do. We would use hand gestures, we were very theatrical, and we were convinced that people around us really thought we were speaking some foreign language. Good times.
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2 months ago | 
jewishstandard.timesofisrael.com | Banji Ganchrow |Deb Herman
I have many talents. For example, when I choose a line at the supermarket, it is almost guaranteed that the person in front of me will have some sort of issue and we need to wait 15 minutes before it is resolved. When I was dating, it was almost guaranteed that the last person who I had been dating would marry the next girl he dated. And then there was Cancun. Let me preface by saying I am not complaining. I am grateful to God for all that I have in my life, good and bad. It is all a gift.
