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Vote for YALDAH to win $100,000!

Yup, that's the right amount of zeros!! We won't ever bug you about fundraising again if we win!

Vote for "Evelyn from MA" at www.wellsfargo.com/somedaystories!

Attention Teens!

ATTENTION TEENS!

Although YALDAH is for ages 9-15, we're now looking for observant Jewish TEEN girls (ages 13-19) to contribute to a book of advice for teens that will be published by YALDAH! 

What areas do you need advice in? What areas would you like to share advice with other girls? Ever wish you had a wise older sister who had 'been there, done that'?  

Please send us your questions, problems, thoughts, comments, advice and more on any of the following topics (or suggest a topic!):

-My parents drive me crazy: Relationships with parents

-Why can't I hang out with guys? Boys, tznius, shomer negia

-I'm stressed out from school: stress & other school-related issues

-I am a nothing: depression

-If I am, who am I? Finding yourself

-Who says I'm peer pressured? Issues with friends & peer pressure

-Should I start planning my future? How? Thinking about the future

-Do adults know how I feel? Feeling like no one understands you

-I'm ashamed to be different: Being Jewish around the rest of the world

-How do I resist the temptations of the modern world? TV, movies, music, magazines, books that we should stay away from

-They say I'm bummed out: reputations & what others think

-Am I fat? Healthy eating, exercise & eating disorders

-What can I do to help my friend? When your friend needs help

-I feel limited: expressing ourselves & our talents in a kosher way

All responses will be kept anonymous. You can e-mail yaldah@comcast.net, or if you want to submit anonymously submit on the YALDAH website at http://www.yaldahmagazine.com/submit.html. 

What Now?

Hey, this is the 100th post! Pretty cool, huh?

So, as you can see, Girl Fun has been pretty quiet for a while. I was at camp for three weeks and had an unbelievable, unforgettable, inspiring, fun filled summer - hope to see you there next year! ;-)

I was home for a short while, and now I'm back at school - as a SENIOR! 

So now my question for you is...

WHAT NOW?

What do YOU want to see? Should we continue posts everyday like we had before? Weekly posts? Games on the website? What do YOU want to see that will make the YALDAH website fun (besides a forum...sorry)? 

Post your answers/comments. 

Dvar Torah for Parshat Matos

"When are we going to finally get to go to Mount Rushmore?" Josh asked for the hundredth time.

"We have to drive up just one more mountain," his father answered patiently.

"But dad," said Naomi, "we just drove up a mountain."

"You're right, Naomi. We drove up one mountain, but there is still some more mountains to go."

"Dad, we keep doing that over and over again," Josh whined. "Every time we reach the top, we keep having to climb even higher."

"You don't know how right you are!" exclaimed Mrs. Levy.

"What do you mean, Mom?" asked Naomi.

"Well, let's think about what Josh just said. We read in the Torah about the travels of the Jewish people. The Torah tells us about the many destinations through which the Jewish people passed as they traveled in the desert. The Torah begins by stating, 'These are the journeys of the Jewish nation as they came out of the land of Egypt.'

"The verse says 'the journeys', but it only took one journey, the very first one -- from Ra'amses to Sukkot -- for the Jewish people to get out of Egypt. Sukkot is already out of the boundaries of Egypt. Then why does the Torah say 'journeys?'...

to read the rest of the article, visit http://www.chabad.org/parshah/article_cdo/aid/385641/jewish/Matot-Parshah-Lesson.htm

The content on this page is copyrighted by the author, publisher and/or Chabad.org, and is produced by Chabad.org. If you enjoyed this article, we encourage you to distribute it further, provided that you comply with the copyright policy.

Joke

Why was the baby ant confused?

because all it's uncles were ants!

Thought of the day

People are like stained glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed only if there's a light from within.

Game

Answer:

because he wanted to get his teeth crowned.

Easy shmeezy granola

Ingredients:
1/2 cup oatmeal
1/8 cup cinnamon
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup crushed graham crackers
1/4 cup melted butter

What to do:
Mix together all the ingredients. That's it! Enjoy!

Decorated mirror

Supplies:
any kind of undecorated mirror, preferably with a wooden frame
scrap pieces of pretty cloth, buttons, beads, coins, silk flowers, ribbon, etc- the choices are endless
glue

What to do:
Cover your work surface with a piece of newspaper so glue doesn't get all over.
Spread a layer of glue on one part of the mirror at a time. Stick on your decorations. You can overlap them or keep them separate. Don't worry about getting glue on the glass, it can be scraped off after it dries.
When you're done decorating, let the glue dry (it will become clear) before hanging the mirror.

Survey

What's your favorite quote?
Post your answers in the comment section.

Dvar Torah for Parshat Pinchas

Little Moishy was going to shul for the first time. His family lived far from the shul. But he had just turned five and his mother felt that the long walk would not be too much for him.

“I know I can make it,” Moishy said excitedly. “And I promise I’ll sit quietly, right between Yanky and Daddy, and I’ll look in my siddur.”

Moishy was true to his word. He watched and listened carefully to the davening and to the Torah reading. On the way home, Moishy commented: “When I grow up, I want to be a kohen,” Moishy said dreamily, “Then I could be called up to the Torah first!”

“Oh Moishy!” exclaimed Yanky. “You can’t grow up to be a kohen! You’re either born a kohen or you’re not and we’re not.”

The boys’ father smiled. Then, with a twinkle in his eye, he asked Yanky, “Can you think of someone who was not born a kohen but became one?” Yanky thought hard.

“It’s in this week’s parshah, ” his father hinted.

“Pinchas?”

“Yes.”

“But wasn’t Pinchas the son of Elazar the son of Aharon the kohen?”

“Yes,” replied the boys’ father. “Once Aharon and his sons were anointed kohanim, all their children born afterwards would automatically become kohanim. But Pinchas was born before Aharon and his sons were anointed kohanim. Pinchas did not automatically become a kohen when his father, uncle, and grandfather were anointed.”

“Then how did he become a kohen? ” asked Moishy.

“He earned it. A man called Zimri committed a grave sin in front of all the people. Pinchas was very troubled and he rushed to punish Zimri right away so that everyone would see that the words of HaShem must be obeyed.

“It was dangerous. Zimri was a leader, and his tribe might have harmed Pinchas for what he did. Nobody would have expected him to risk his life. But Pinchas thought only about the will of HaShem, he did much more than what anyone would have expected. To reward him, HaShem made him a kohen.

“This is a lesson for us, too,” the father continued. “We can’t become kohanim, but we can be sure that when we do more than what is expected, HaShem will reward us in an exceptional manner too.”

Our Rabbis tell us that Pinchas and Eliyahu HaNavi are the same person. Eliyahu will announce the coming of Mashiach. How can we make Eliyahu and Mashiach come more quickly? By following the example of Pinchas, and serving HaShem in an exceptional way, even beyond the call of duty.

The content on this page is copyrighted by the author, publisher and/or Chabad.org, and is produced by our content partner, Chabad.org. If you enjoyed this article, we encourage you to distribute it further, provided that you comply with the copyright policy.

Joke

What is the smartest state?
Alabama, because it has 4 A's and 1 B.

Thought

Aim at heaven, and you will get earth thrown in; aim at earth, and you will get neither.

Zip zap zop

For this game you'll need at least seven people.

One person starts by jumping up, pointing at someone, and saying "zip."

The person they point to then repeats step 1, but they say "zap."

The third person says "zop."

Keep repeating steps 1-3. The person who messes up first is out and the game is over.

You can't do it right back to the person who pointed at you.

Milkshake

Ingredients:
2 scoops of ice cream
1 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla


What to do:
Mix all ingredients in a blender. Mix on low speed- don't blend for too long or you'll have vanilla milk! :)
Pour into a glass and enjoy.

Variations:
for strawberry milkshake, add fresh strawberries. The more you add, the more flavorful it will be.

for chocolate, use chocolate ice cream.

Rock paperweights

Supplies:
rock
pictures from magazines, little pieces of scrapbook paper, etc
glue, watered down with a little water
paintbrush

What to do:
Clean the rock off.
Cover the rock with pictures! You can either pick one picture that fits the whole rock, or make a collage with little scraps of pretty paper. Glue them on the rock and use as a paperweight on your desk or give as a gift.

Survey

Have you made any of the crafts or recipes posted on this blog? Which ones?
Post your answers in the comments section.

Dvar Torah for Parshat Balak

A king was waiting anxiously with a crowd of people. From afar they were able to see a man walking slowly, as if in a trance. The man looked strange: he could see with only one eye, and that eye had come out of it's socket. As he began to speak, the crowd of people turned away from him. Some were disappointed, and others were angry.

But the man ignored them and continued speaking as if a spell had ben cast over him. The story repeated itself twice more. Each time, fewer people came out to see and listen to the strange man, while others began to mock and laugh at him. The king finally became upset with the man and sent him home in disgrace.

Who was this kind and why was he so disappointed? The king was Balak. He ruled in ancient times, when people believed in magicians and wizards. Balak called the master wizard of his time, Bilaam, to try to curse the Jewish people. But Bilaam did not curse the Jewish people. Instead, he blessed them with words Hashem put in his mouth. His prophecies contain great blessings for the Jewish people and for teh entire world.

Bilaam prophesied about the coming of the Moshiach: 'I see it, but not now. I can gaze upon it, but it will not be in the near future. A star shall go forth from Yaakov and a staff shall arise in Israel."

The Rambam explains," 'I see it, but not now,' is King David. 'I can gaze upon it, but it will not be in the near future,' is King Moshiach. 'A star shall go forth from Yaakov,' is King David, and ' A staff shall arise in Israel,' is King Moshiach."

Why does the prophecy mention King David together with King Moshiach? First of all, to strengthen our faith that Moshiach will come. David was born many hundreds of years after Bilaam;s prophecy. We have be waiting even longer for Moshiach. However, we can be sure that the second part of the prophecy will be fulfilled, just as the first part came to pass.

There is also another lesson. Putting the kings together in the same prophecy shows is that they will do similar things. David spread the study of the TOrah and the observance of the mitzvos among all the Jewish people. He defeated all their enemies and brought peace to the land. He brought the Aron HaKodesh to Jerusalem and prepared for the Beis HaMikdash to be built.

These are the type of things Moshiach will do. Moshiach will bring all the Jewish people to keep the Torah. He will lead them to Eretz Yisrael where they will live in peace. And he will build the Beis HaMikdash.

The content on this page is copyrighted by the author, publisher and/or Chabad.org, and is produced by Chabad.org. If you enjoyed this article, we encourage you to distribute it further, provided that you comply with the copyright policy.

Joke of the day

2 jokes this week! :)

What month has 28 days?

All of them!

What kind of cheese is made backwards?

Edam.