Time sometimes allows memories to fade. Sometimes, time causes memories to intensify. The latter is the case with me. This past Sunday was the seventh Yahrtzeit of my mother Leah bas Meir and Ita A” H. My mother’s life was one of the wandering Jew. She lived in various Jewish neighborhoods, which time and time... Read more »
These days, even a quick glance at the news causes pain and anxiety. Suicide bombs in Afghanistan, Hurricane Ida smashing into New Orleans, the Covid pandemic continues with the Delta variant causing death, vaccine deniers, political infighting, who needs to hear it? Today, a week before Rosh Hashanah, I present a nice story. A story... Read more »
Several families were spending a few days in the north of Israel during Bein HaZemanim. They rented a group of cottages in the small Moshav of Safsufa. The group was made up of older parents and some of their married children. It was Friday afternoon, and everyone was beginning their last-minute preparations for Shabbos. The... Read more »
The JDC, The Joint Distribution Committee, was a Jewish relief organization founded in 1914 through a $50,000 donation from Jacob Schiff, a Reform Jew. The JDC was involved in relief work and provided financial help to the great Yeshivas in Europe. Although the organization was founded and run by Reform Jews, they attempted to help... Read more »
The Chazon Ish (1878-1953) lived in a modest home in Bnei Brak. He had no Yeshiva, no children, no Shul and no official position. Yet, he was recognized as the Torah leader of his generation. One day in October 1952 the secular Prime Minister of Israel, David Ben-Gurion (1886-1973), attempted to bridge the chasm between... Read more »
“The only thing certain is that the future is uncertain.” (R.Y. Eisenman, March 1, 2021) Here is a paragraph from the NY Times on March 2, 2020: At a meeting with drug company chief executives at the White House, Mr. Trump said his administration would work to reduce regulatory obstacles for the creation of treatments... Read more »
Over Pesach, I noticed a woman I thought was Baila Friedberg coming out of Shul. “Good Yom Tov, Mrs. Friedberg.” “Good Yom Tov. However, my name is Mrs. Greenstein, and I am the twin sister of Baila. I am staying by her for Pesach.” I knew Baila Friedberg for over twenty years and never heard... Read more »
What am I looking forward to on the day I take off my mask for good? Am I looking forward to breathing again? For sure! Am I looking forward to not seeing the world through fogged-up glasses? You bet! Am I looking forward to not having some irritating cloth stuck in my mouth? You better... Read more »
As I write these words, it is 27 degrees here in Passaic, NJ. On cold days like today, I recall Rav Moshe Feinstein zt”l. Years ago, on freezing days such as today, many homeless people would gather in the corridor outside of the Beis Medrash of Mesivta Tiferes Yerushalayim in the Lower East Side to... Read more »
As the number of infections grew, the Israeli government felt their only recourse was a near-total shutdown. For the first time in the peacetime history of the country, schools were closed. The Chadarim responded in various ways to the closure; however, there was no choice for the girls in Bais Yakov. With class sizes sometimes... Read more »