Pesach magazines and supplements--tell us your thoughts

ILOVELIFE

Wed, Apr 07 2010, 7:51 am

I know a lot of hard work went into producing each magazine and supplement that we gobble up. Some were meant to entertain, some to inspire, so to provoke thought and discussion. What was your thoughts on some of these?

I'll start in the next post IY"H.

Here's my list (off hand random, left out the kiddie stuff but discuss if u want Smile

-- what did I leave out?)

1. Hamodia Kids of Hope
2. Hamodia Torah
3. Hamodia Story supplement
4. Hamodia regular magazine-- A Fresh Look
5. Hamodia- Places to go
6. Hamodia CD- Yizkereim
7. Main Mishpacha
8. Family First
9. Calligraphy
10. Our Town
11. Kulmus
12. Teen supplement
13. Mishpacha CD- kdai R' Shimon
14. Main Binah (w/ Nachshon theme in center)
15. Redemption
16. Shidduchim
17. Yated center
18. Z'man

don't get the JP so I don't know what they had-- feel free to add.
Do the Yiddish papers/magazines give extra stuff? Please feel free to discuss add as well.

ILOVELIFE

Wed, Apr 07 2010, 8:25 am

[quote="ILOVELIFE"]
Here's my list (off hand random, left out the kiddie stuff but discuss if u want Smile

-- what did I leave out?)

1. Hamodia Kids of Hope By far the most comprehensive thing I've seen on kids at risk. Really brave of them to go against the grain and print David Mandel's article and the one on internet addiction. I have a lot to write to them about. It was so so painful yet important. I think ppl quietly absorbed a lot of it and hopefully it'll lead to l'maaseh. Loved the Mothers Roundtable and wished there was s/thing more substantial on adults at risk (like the ones discussed for a second).I also liked that they discussed girls separately-- they are really a diff breed. Definately a supp. I plan to save IY"H.

2. Hamodia Torah Don't usually read this stuff but did read some of it and thought it was very good. Liked the article on Rabbi Klar from Chai Lifeline and the interview with R' Neuwirth. I liked that it was not all d'var Torah.

3. Hamodia Story supplement Not every year do I love their story supplements but this year I enjoyed the stories a lot. Loved Kressel HOusman's THE LANDSMAN-- I thought the message and the vehicle with which she gave it over were excellent. Cleaning Lady was also cute. Nice, light reading material.

4. Hamodia regular magazine-- A Fresh Look Ok-- I was disappointed. But I'll wait out for part 2 about KJ-- was waiting for some good Hamodia magazine pcs and found that it was a lot on Poland. The story by Ruth Lichtenstein was to blow your mind away and the one on the skin head was great but I find variety is the key and this supplement lacked that.

5. Hamodia- Places to go always useful but when it gets lost in the middle of section A-- I don't find it that useful.

6. Hamodia CD- Yizkereim If u watched Witness to History-- I felt like I saw some of this before.

7. Main Mishpacha The interview with Rabbi Greenblatt, Rosenblum's column and Billionaire against his Will were all SUPERB! My pet peeve though is u really can't keep translating. Saw almost all these and more in the Hebrew..... It was a good magazine but not their best-- they've done better.

8. Family First Beautiful article with roundtable "And You Shall Tell Your Daughter"-- a neglected topic. I think they cld've done with less reptition and more questions but excellent nontheless. Flight to Freedom was inspiring and beautiful. Good theme to do for Pesach. Liked the little graphic suitcases on the bottom. Although each of the Flight stories were amazing-- I felt like we'd heard a lot of this before as so many stories overlap. The short story would've been crazy if it was fiction but the fact that the story about the tea was true is amazing! Felt it was a good magazine but not full enough. I dunno why, I felt like it needed one more thing. btw, I loved their recipe supplement pre-Pesach

9. Calligraphy Best, Best, Best! Always is the best story supplement and this year was no exception-- all non-fiction? Amazing!!!! We want more!!!

10. Our Town This disappointed me. It was s/thing I saved at the bottom of the pile and read only because I have OCD when it comes to reading and feel compelled to read every last thing. I don't know if it was the graphics that were dull but I could barely get through it. It was ok but nothing amazing. And why oh why do I feel every time they interview Rabbi Grylek-- we're getting promotional material about Mishpacha?

11. Kulmus I don't read this generally-- leave it for the men but my father loved it.

12. Teen supplement Teen SIL claim the last one was better-- don't ask teens why...

13. Mishpacha CD- kdai R' Shimongr8 CD playing all Chol Hamoed.

14. Main Binah (w/ Nachshon theme in center) I specified Nachshon cuz I was blown away by some of those stories. Loved the one on dyslexia-- by far my favorite. IN the regular magazine: Making of Shortchanged-- hands down and the short stories by Judy Brown and Yael Mermelstein were both gr8. Loved reading about table linen and china-- gives me the push to set my table really nicely this Shabbos Smile

The only downside-- in general the Binah recipes for pre-Pesach have been far, far better in previous years-- extremely disappointing this year. IN the Pesach issue itself-- I liked the fruit cup but I don't use whip cream so I'll need to save it.

15. RedemptionI think this year surpassed any other year by far. Which was my favorite? hard to judge but the story of the kid from a dysfunctional home was an eye opener, teen at risk was AMAZING and I can't remember what else.

16. Shidduchim Loved the survey between sections. Loved the design-- so different. Really liked Rabbi Wachsman's article and the roundups with diff shadchanim groups. Felt it could've used more stories but extremely useful. Will save cuz it had all those numbers in it that can be of help to so many.

17. Yated center I can't remember much but I think it was good.

[b]18. Z'man This is a new up and coming magazine and I think it's just simply fabulous! I think the first one had more weird stuff in it which I enjoyed but it was great anyway. So diff of a magazine and really good.

Realized I left out:

Shaah Tova- which was ok but nothing special. The interview with Mr. Banda was good and if they fix up their graphics I might actually be able to read a thing or two.

Parents Place- Wow!! An absolute copy of PARENTING magazine (in terms of design and content!) but once I got past the 'copycat' stage-- I really found it to be a well written, fun and great magazine.

Mama Bear

Wed, Apr 07 2010, 8:31 am

1. Hamodia Kids of Hope

very sad, not entertaining at all, but necessary to read.

2. Hamodia Torah

Didnt bother reading

3. Hamodia Story supplement

Great stories. loved it.

4. Hamodia regular magazine-- A Fresh Look

Some of it was very heavy reading, but some of the stories were rather inspirtational. it wasnt the usual fun, light reading. very heavy.

5. Hamodia- Places to go

Didnt bother with it.

6. Hamodia CD- Yizkereim

There was a cd?

7. Main Mishpacha

FABULOUS. Loved all the features. So much good stuff.

8. Family First

a bit 'empty'

9. Calligraphy

Didnt love that it was non fiction but the stories were rather good. the one with itzikl the orphan was chilling.

10. Our Town

interesting but I like fiction or long stories better than profiles/nonfiction.

11. Kulmus

didnt bother.

12. Teen supplement

really good!

13. Mishpacha CD- kdai R' Shimon

didnt listen yet.

14. Main Binah (w/ Nachshon theme in center)

FANTASTIC.

15. Redemption

AMAZING. loved every single story.

16. Shidduchim

Enjoyed it immensely.

17. Yated center

didnt read yet.

18. Z'man

what's that?

There was so much to read. I also read Shadows on the Moon, a fantastic Bracha Goykadosh novel.

Butterfly

Wed, Apr 07 2010, 8:31 am

Der Blatt

Der Yid

Der Tzeitung Very Happy

Mishpacha

Mishpacha CD Kdai R' Shimon Music

bnm

Wed, Apr 07 2010, 8:53 am

[quote="ILOVELIFE"]

ILOVELIFE wrote:

14. Main Binah (w/ Nachshon theme in center) I specified Nachshon cuz I was blown away by some of those stories. Loved the one on dyslexia-- by far my favorite.

I know the family featured in that story. they actually went through the whole masse with 2 of their kids, its amazing the effort the mother put in to them since they are little.

bnm

Wed, Apr 07 2010, 8:55 am

I read everything except the yiddish papers.

I was impressed with the Bina-I only buy it before Yomim Tovim but I usually don't find anything substantial to read, this time it kept me busy for a few hours.

Mishpacha Teen section mentioned food and dieting too much for Pesach, they balanced it a little with the story of the girl who couldn't gain weight no matter what she tried

realeez

Wed, Apr 07 2010, 9:12 pm

Crossed out what I don't get

1. Hamodia Kids of Hope
2. Hamodia Torah
3. Hamodia Story supplement
4. Hamodia regular magazine-- A Fresh Look
5. Hamodia- Places to go
6. Hamodia CD- Yizkereim
7. Main Mishpacha
Very interesting articles and lots to read

8. Family First
The personal exodus stories were really good.

9. Calligraphy
I like short stories and really liked the fact they were true and in some cases about the author

10. Our Town
Some parts were good, some not so much. Cover was adorable!

11. Kulmus
Flipped through it at the end and skimmed an article but not my type of reading

12. Teen supplement
Started reading it, put it down and got lost in the jumble. I'll probably dig it up for Shabbos.

13. Mishpacha CD- kdai R' Shimon
Didn't listen to it yet and now will have to wait for Lag baomer but like free CDs. I bought my first Binah when they gave out that hilarious Emes tape by R' Fishel Schachter

14. Main Binah (w/ Nachshon theme in center)
Was very well done. I must admit that Binah has really come a long way since they started and especially in the last year or so (so much so that I have a subscription now). I used to find that they were fluffy but now the articles are really much more real

15. Redemption
I enjoyed it a lot.

16. Shidduchim
Really good - read it cover to cover in one long sitting and was fabulous. I want to save it for when my brother starts shidduchim to give him! I also really liked the one liners in between sections especially the one of what boys are looking for.

17. Yated center
18. Z'man

PinkFridge

Wed, Apr 07 2010, 9:37 pm

1. Hamodia Kids of Hope
This we did NOT leave around. B"H I found it first, kept it in our room and shared with the older kids.

2. Hamodia Torah
Was this the section with the roundtable of Israeli BT academics? Very interesting.

3. Hamodia Story supplement
I'm trying to remember which was Hamodia and which was calligraphy ;-)

4. Hamodia regular magazine-- A Fresh Look

5. Hamodia- Places to go
We don't live near the epicenter (epis center?).

6. Hamodia CD- Yizkereim
Was delivered broken, maybe from when the paper was folded.

7. Main Mishpacha
Fantastic!

8. Family First
Very good.

9. Calligraphy
I'm trying to remember which was Calligraphy and which was Hamodia story...

10. Our Town
Very nice.

11. Kulmus
I can't say I read it all but we all found the idiom article a good read.

12. Teen supplement
It was ok but the emphasis on diet and body... any connection to Pesach? To get the kids nervous about what they'd be eating?

13. Mishpacha CD- kdai R' Shimon
Misplaced. Hope we find it before Rosh Chodesh.

14. Main Binah (w/ Nachshon theme in center)
Let me say now that I'm not a Binah person but I do buy it occasionally. Pretty good.
I'm going to vent here instead of sending my letter. There was an ad for some upscale home decor (the Michalengelo thing). Besides a pretty bad grammar thing - you'd think an ad like this would have been proofed - I was not impressed with the line about being "the talk - and envy - of the neighborhood." How about "your gracious hostessing will long be fondly remembered"?
(No one will do a photo spread of our Shabbos table - "As the stainless clinked against the Correlle...")
Much more offensive than any EGS story could ever have been. I'm almost tempted to buy it over the next few weeks just to see if there are letters.

15. Redemption
Very nice.

16. Shidduchim
Much better than I expected. Lots of good stuff, especially the texting article.
Elephant in the room alert: no one EVER touches support.
BTW, re Rabbi Wachsman. I respect him tremendously. He did marry English so maybe he did it the European way. For the rest of the olam there may be a middle ground.

17. Yated center
We had so much good reading material I skimmed it. Was it substantially different from a regular week?

18. Z'man
Not familiar with this one. But we did keep to all mandated zemanim ;-)

flowerpower

Wed, Apr 07 2010, 10:34 pm

Hamodia-kids of hope. Read it first and saved it. Very important supplement.

queen

Sat, Apr 10 2010, 11:42 pm

The last story in Calligraphy (Itzik) was very chilling........

downsyndrome

Sun, Apr 11 2010, 1:21 am

I have one big question for all magazine publishers: do you want us to read or keep Yom Tov? I am still reading the Pesach stuff and there is so much new reading material out since then.
Seriously now, when during Yom Tov can busy balabustas cover so much reading material? I was so tempted, but couldn't find the time. Here and there I glanced through some of the stuff, but I also had to catch up on lost sleep...

Mama Bear

Sun, Apr 11 2010, 1:40 am

downsyndrome, I had plenty of time to read over yomtov. I didnt do all that much cooking during yomtov itself. I had plenty of time to read at night bfore the seudah, after the seudah, in the morning once my food was on the burners, in the afternoon while watching the kids and dh slept, etc. DOnt forget also that most of these thigns, except for the binah, came out before shabbos hagodol so I read some of it on shabbos hagodol, when I definitely had a lot more time.

Grandmama

Sun, Apr 11 2010, 1:57 am

I have still not finished reading all the Pesach stuff.
Really enjoyed some of it. Slept from exhaustion....

Butterfly

Sun, Apr 11 2010, 1:25 pm

queen wrote:

The last story in Calligraphy (Itzik) was very chilling........

Yes it was.. and a very sad story indeed:cry:

OldYoung

Sun, Apr 11 2010, 1:34 pm

PinkFridge wrote:

12. Teen supplement
It was ok but the emphasis on diet and body... any connection to Pesach? To get the kids nervous about what they'd be eating?

Ditto. And the comic on the back was SO distasteful. Puke

Marigold

Sun, Apr 11 2010, 2:02 pm

Grandmama wrote:

I have still not finished reading all the Pesach stuff.
Really enjoyed some of it. Slept from exhaustion....

Me neither. (and I'm not even a grandmama yet. Smile

)

Liked the binah very much.
redemption and shidduchim supplements were superb.
Calligraphy is next.

sarahd

Sun, Apr 11 2010, 5:01 pm

Now I'm annoyed. I bought the wrong Binah (the March 22 edition) by mistake and figured I hadn't missed much, but it seems I did. How annoying.

LeahW

Tue, Apr 27 2010, 4:02 am

Butterfly wrote:

queen wrote:

The last story in Calligraphy (Itzik) was very chilling........

Yes it was.. and a very sad story indeed:cry:

I was talking to a relative of mine about that story who doesn't believe it's true. He explained and got me to thinking. Why would a diary like that go up for auction for a lot of money? There are countless diaries out there, not to mention that there was no mention of the story even being verified as true.

Hatemywig

Tue, Apr 27 2010, 5:29 am

BTW, re Rabbi Wachsman. I respect him tremendously. He did marry English so maybe he did it the European way. For the rest of the olam there may be a middle ground.

I will be careful the way I say this as I'm sure there are plenty of women here who follow Rabbi Wachsman's Derech and agree with his views. Personally, I found his article very negative. Instead of focusing on what one is[I][b] allowed to do, the main focus on how so many things are not allowed. A way that would many many youngsters feel like they're going to hell for wanting a couple more dates to decide if its for them.

HindaRochel

Tue, Apr 27 2010, 7:55 am

I've never heard of many of these and wouldn't even know where to get them....
I need a magazine that has intellectual stories...not fluff. I really don't like fluff in general. Which magazine is best?