Adara Peskin, at The Blogs

Oct 1, 2024, 6:14 PM

Teshuva, Shame, Guilt, and Mental Health

This year hasn't been the easiest one for anyone. For me, preparations for Rosh Hashana and the Day of Judgement have been extra challenging because of the combination of my mental health challenges and physical disabilities. I was trying...

Mar 24, 2021, 7:21 PM

The Spoonie’s guide to Halachic Pesach prep

Spoonies are people that don't have enough "spoons" or energy to do things, often because of physical disabilities or mental illness. After discussion with some friends who are currently dealing with extreme depression and other physical issues, who do not...

Mar 4, 2021, 6:05 PM

The frum community’s problem with women

I have grown up and been educated in the Orthodox, and predominantly Chareidi communities since I was a child. These are known to the people in them as the frum community, from the Yiddish word pious. As an adult,...

Oct 15, 2019, 11:13 PM

Featured Post

Missing the Sukkot of my childhood

Illustrative. S sukkah in the Tel Aviv suburb of Bnei Brak, on October 8, 2014. (Yaakov Naumi/Flash90/File)

No sukkah roofing that I've seen in Israel comes close to the reeds, cattails, and bulrushes that we'd harvest in the middle of nowhere and drag home in my mother's hatchback

Oct 7, 2019, 9:38 PM

When Your Sukka Is an Aveira

There is a discussion in the Gemara about whether or not it is permissible to use a stolen lulav and etrog set, whether or not you can do a mitzva via immoral actions. This concept, of a stolen lulav,...

Jul 14, 2019, 6:17 PM

Mental Illness and Mourning, a Halachic View

With the 17th of Tamuz and then the three weeks and then 9 days of Jewish mourning coming up starting next week, I wanted to give a public service announcement regarding mental health and Judaism and specifically the laws...

Jun 6, 2019, 3:09 PM

Why a Chareidi Woman is Taking Her Kids to Pride

I'm about to post something that is probably more controversial than anything I usually post (and that's saying a lot), and it may cause some people to defriend me, it may cause some people to think less of me......

Mar 30, 2016, 1:08 PM

Why I Don’t Support Israel’s Plastic Bag Ban

Two days ago, the Israeli government passed a bill, requiring stores to charge the consumer for each plastic bag they use instead of the stores covering the cost. People assume that someone like myself, who encourages recycling, upcycling, reducing waste,...

Oct 20, 2015, 5:26 PM

The Absolute Ridiculousness of It All

Do you know what is totally ridiculous about the current situation in Israel right now? I am afraid to think. Afraid to rationalize in my head what is okay and what is not. About 15 years ago, when my family was planning...

About Me

Adara Peskin is a non conformist chareidi feminist single mother of 4 living in Kochav Yaakov, activist for mental health awareness, blogger at PennilessParenting.com about living a life with mindful spending, and foraging instructor, attempting to make a kiddush Hashem every day via her interactions with others.

Contact Me