iscovering
owntown...

The Max, casinos,
opera, theater

it as much as possible."
The book's goal was to do the same
from an emotional perspective, to
offer a spiritual guide that goes
beyond the medical.
"Whether a woman is experiencing
something joyful like finding out
she's pregnant or something else like
morning sickness or miscarriage, she
might need a spiritual backup besides
the information she hears from her
doctor," said Falk.
She wrote the medical parts as well
as the poetry; Judson wrote the reli-
gious parts. Rapp is a yoga instructor
who adapted his prenatal yoga pro-
gram for the book.

It wasn't hard to find a publisher.
Judson had written an earlier book
for Jewish Lights, The Rituals and

Our Famous Dishes...

Dover Sole, Sauteed Perch,
Baby Back Ribs, Pancho
Burger, Medallions of Beef

Practices of a Jewish Life: A Handbook
for Personal, Spiritual Renewal, pub-
lished in 2003.
Since The Jewish Pregnancy Book
publication, Falk has received feed-
back from women all over the coun-
try. "They really seem to be using it.
I get letters saying, took it with me
into labor and delivery.'" ❑

•

4,

1*

Barbara Pash is assistant editor at the
Baltimore Jewish Times.

* the

Caucus
Club

111

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guard wealth.
Antwerp, New York City, Ramat
Gan in Israel — where you see dia-
mond traders today, you'll see Jews.
But then there's the Africa factor.
Now the richest continent for dia-
mond mining, it accounts for 49 per-
cent of the world's production. There,
the resource has fueled brutal rebel
wars, illegal trading and smuggling.
Revenues from "conflict diamonds"
have purchased weapons and paid for
massacres, prompting Holly
Burkhalter of Physicians for Human
Rights to say: "If the public learns to
associate them with hacked-off limbs
and the rape of children, the notion of
diamonds as a symbol of love could
evaporate forever."
I know the ring on my hand has
nothing to do with civil wars and that
strides have been made to curb the

horrors I speak of.
But do self-right-
eous Berkeley types
know this?
Women who
gawk over the ring
make me uncom-
fortable, but they
don't hold a candle
to those who make
me feel like I
should apologize for
or hide it.
At a recent get-
together, I saw a
Jewish classmate's
eyes bug out of his head when he saw
my diamond. "Don't worry, it was his
grandmother's," I blurted out, before
he could speak. He smiled widely,
reached out for a congratulatory hug
and said, "Good, there's no blood on
that one."
No blood, but when I run my left
hand through my hair, it usually
yanks out a strand.
I didn't need a diamond or even an
engagement ring. I once thought I'd
be equally happy with an engagement
bike. But I tell you, this sparkly thing
is growing on me.
This rock of my people, it makes
me smile. It's a part of him, my
fiancé's history, that is now a part of
me. And in the end, the sentiments
behind it, the significance it carries,
are all that matter.

❑

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