Nina Badzin

Santa and the Tooth Fairy — in a Jewish Home

Nina BadzinDecember 18, 2013

Nina Badzin resisted bringing Christmas into her Jewish home. Then her kids started losing their teeth — and she realized that her tooth fairy tale was far too close to Santa Claus.

Back to Square One With B’nei Mitzvah

Nina BadzinSeptember 23, 2013

Is there any way to prepare a child for important Jewish rites without allowing Hebrew school to take over the family’s schedule for the week?

The Benefit of the Doubt for The New Year

Nina BadzinSeptember 2, 2013

In Rosh Hashanahs past, I focused on changes that required adding a new practice to my Jewish life. Nine years ago I bought a second set of dishes. Eight years ago I committed to weekly Torah study sessions with a partner. Seven years ago I began using the mikveh. I’ve made less daunting changes, too, like promising to light the Shabbat candles closer to the proper time, which worked well in the winter months, then not as well the rest of the time. The list goes on and on. Some “resolutions” stuck better than others. (The mivkeh lives on; now that I have four kids, the study sessions not so much.)

Stop And Smell the... Boredom?

Nina BadzinAugust 1, 2013

Unplugging from her iPhone has been tough for Nina Badzin. Cold turkey and phone-free Shabbat only go so far toward ending her gadget addiction.

The First World Problem of Prepping for Camp

Nina BadzinJune 28, 2013

There’s a popular hashtag on Twitter called #FirstWorldProblems. People vent about issues lacking true urgency then toss the words #FirstWorldProblems at the end to acknowledge that their problems are the “problems” of the fortunate.

Curing My iPhone Addiction

Nina BadzinMay 21, 2013

Going iPhone-free on Shabbat and turning it off when out with friends has helped one Jewish woman deal with gadget overload. But she still has a long way to go.