Dear Helen I help writing a speech. I am an adult woman (45 in November) who decided to fulfill her lifelong dream of being b’nai mitzvah. Long family drama short: my father died before my 13th birthday and my grandparents and mother were in such shock that the whole celebration was cancelled as inappropriate. In…
A Nosh of Jewish Wisdom: Worries go down better with soup than without. Dear Helen: I may have insulted a dear friend. Long story short she is a wonderful person and a terrible cook. Her mom didn’t learn to cook (a child of privilege) so she didn’t teach her daughter. My friend has always been…
A Nosh of Jewish Wisdom: For the ignorant, old age is winter. For the wise, it is harvest. Dear Helen: I’m the middle of three girls. The youngest lives in Australia and is too far away to be useful, except to vent my frustrations. The elder is retired (I still work) and just moved…
Dear Helen: We’re pretty liberal family except for one loud, curmudgeon uncle who seeks out ways to annoy everyone. For Hanukkah he sent us a box of bright red slogan hats; I’ll let you fill in the details. We opened it and looked at one another in frustration and anger. I’m trying to raise my…
A Nosh of Jewish Wisdom: Every wedding has its worries, but let the joys be more. Dear Helen: I am the youngest of four sisters; one lives near me, the other two back East. Eldest Michelle has always been bossy, controlling and opinionated, the self-designated queen. At 23, her twins, Sarah and David, are far…
A Nosh of Jewish Wisdom: Truth rests mostly with God, and a little with me. Dear Helen: This may seem a strange place for a confession, but I was raped in high school. Assume a bad combination of cheerleader, football team and beer in a culture where “rocking the boat” by a young woman was…
Photo: Helen Rosenau signs a copy of her new book, The Messy Joys of Being Human, at a book launch event in Eugene. A Nosh of Jewish Wisdom: Friendship is the greatest gift. Dear Helen: I’m very concerned that my aging mother is being groomed by a con artist. Long story short: my sister was…
A Nosh of Jewish Wisdom: How lovely is the sun after rain and how lovely is laughter after sorrow. Dear Helen: I’m a single mom with a 14-year-old son. We have a great relationship. I’d like to take him traveling next summer: Europe, Morocco, Thailand and as many cool places as we can explore…
Dear Helen: I lost my dear husband of 30 years last summer. We had many friends we would regularly socialize with as couples. I also spent time with the ladies: shopping, lunches, cards. Since my husband has passed away, my couple friends do not call and ask me to join them for dinner or theater…
Dear Helen: I’m having a relatively small wedding in the fall and want to invite some, but not all, of the people at work. How can I do this without offending those who don’t make the list? Do I have to invite my boss? Yikes Dear Yikes: The only folks who’d be offended by…
