The Play: “I’ve Lost My Job”

Posted on: May 24th, 2013

Scene One: After noticing that you can’t log into your computer, your pulse quickens as you are called into your supervisor’s office. S/he has some bad news. You are being laid off. You have 15 minutes to clean out your desk and surrender your cell phone before security escorts you out of the building. Job termination, especially in the corporate world, can be heartless.

Before The Deluge: The Jews Of Holland (Conclusion)

Posted on: April 24th, 2013

Under the influence of the Age of Enlightenment, the cultural union “Toalet” was formed, which published a number of works of by Hebraic scientists and works of fiction. In recent times, the Jewish-scientific movement has found its stride with the “Union of Jewish Science,” which was founded by S. Seeligmann, a historian and a bibliophile. In its university library, Amsterdam possesses a most valuable Jewish section, the so-called “Rosenthaliana,” which was named after the philanthropist Leiser Rosenthal, who was the father of the Baron von Rosenthal.

Informational Interviewing – Your New ‘Best Friend’

Posted on: April 19th, 2013

One of the best aspects of the frum community is our dedication to chesed. From a myriad of organizations to shul committees to neighbors doing whatever they can do to help those in need, chesed is one of the main pillars of our community.

‘He Had A Vision And Was Always Right’: The Life Of A Ukrainian Jewish Leader

Posted on: April 18th, 2013

Single-minded and dutifully on a mission, Leah Shmist is sitting at her mother’s kitchen table in Ashdod, sorting through a box of papers. Her father, Dr. Aharon Arkady Shmist, was among the first Jewish lay leaders in Ukraine who began to rebuild the Jewish community as soon as Mikhail Gorbachev initiated Perestroika and Glasnost in the mid 1980’s – allowing for greater freedom to religious groups. Much has been written about Shmist, documenting his work as a Jewish lay leader, and now his daughter Leah says she wants to complete the last project he was in the middle of before his untimely death.

A Show Without a Camera

Posted on: April 17th, 2013

On my third visit to the annual New York Botanical Garden Orchid Show, I did not take any pictures.

Machon Ayalon – Pre-State Clandestine Bullet Factory

Posted on: April 12th, 2013

About four years ago a group of orthodox senior citizens from Bnei Brak arrived to tour the Ayalon Institute. One woman seemed to be exceptionally moved and cried a lot. Nearly two week later, she sent a letter to the Institute explaining why. She wrote that she was a Holocaust survivor and between 1943 and 1945 she had been a forced laborer making bullets to help the Nazi cause – bullets that were used many times against Jews. After the war, she had concentrated on raising a frum generation, suppressing all the terror of those horrendous years in order to do so.

Unsung Heroes: A Behind The Scenes Look At The Jewish Music Business

Posted on: April 5th, 2013

I know this is supposed to be a consumer column, but let's face it. We have all just spent the last few weeks preparing, cleaning and shopping until our credit cards begged for mercy and our family members have started wondering if Windex is our new signature scent. The last thing anyone wants to be thinking about right now is buying more stuff, making home improvements or otherwise planning ahead.

The Hazan Family: Formerly Of Neve Dekalim; Now Of Nitzan

Posted on: April 5th, 2013

“My name is Itzhak Hazan. I was raised in a traditional Jewish family in France. I initially came to Israel in 1977 as a lone backpacker and felt an immediate attachment to the people and country. I realized that there was a difference between the French culture in which I was raised and Jewish culture.

Reading Emma Lazarus In Hong Kong

Posted on: March 29th, 2013

It started as my daughter’s third grade assignment: choose a person to write about, preferably an American, preferably a Jew. We were going to do just that. I intended to help my daughter choose the topic and then to back away yet, Emma Lazarus ended up drawing me in.

The Jews Of Iran & Afghanistan

Posted on: March 25th, 2013

The present kingdom of Persia, which recently officially took the name “Iran,” encompasses a region of over 1,640,000 square kilometers with about 15 million inhabitants. The most important cities are the capital Tehran as well Tabris, Mesched, and Isfahan (the former capital).

A Special Winery’s Special People

Posted on: March 20th, 2013

JERUSALEM – Since he was a kid growing up in the town of Kiryat Tivan, Roy Itzhaki would regularly see them in the street, on their way to work, in coffee houses, as free as anyone else in the village to live their lives.

Chol HaMoed Walking Tour

Posted on: March 15th, 2013

We will start our tour at Agripas No. 12, exactly where the first round stone pot-plant of pansies stands, on the same side of Binyan Klal, but walking towards King George Street and opposite the traffic circle. Entering HaRav Chaim Elboher Alley, we find ourselves in Even Yisrael.

Akko: Yesterday, Today And Tomorrow

Posted on: March 8th, 2013

Always seeking to increase our knowledge of Israel's tourist sites, from time to time, us tour guides take refresher tours.

The Fascinating Hula Valley

Posted on: February 25th, 2013

The crane is the king of the Hula Valley with welcoming squawks and shrieks of sheer delight from the thousands on the ground and the many hundreds in the skies above. They are surely calling out “Shalom aleichem, my friends, alechem shalom, so glad you arrived,” for it is known that cranes inform each other of favorable domiciles.

Prayer and a Smile

Posted on: February 21st, 2013

Williamsport, Pennsylvania, the home of Little League Baseball, is also the home of the Ohev Shalom Congregation and Rabbi Shaul and Michal Rappeport.

Before The Deluge: The Jews Of Iran & Afghanistan

Posted on: February 20th, 2013

The present kingdom of Persia, which recently officially took the name “Iran,” encompasses a region of over 1,640,000 square kilometers with about 15 million inhabitants. The most important cities are the capital Tehran as well Tabris, Mesched, and Isfahan (the former capital).

One Blessing Leads To Many More: G-d’s Hand Can Even Be Found In Batches Of Cookies

Posted on: February 20th, 2013

In 2001, David Ehrlich, an Israeli promotional filmmaker originally from New York, was down on his luck. He and his wife, Gail, a pre-school teacher, had recently moved their family from Jerusalem to Efrat, but the Second Intifada and a dip in the finances of non-profits had thrown a wrench into his business.

‘Accidental’ Mitzvahs

Posted on: February 14th, 2013

Two weeks ago I found myself at the International Conference of Chabad Shluchos in Crown Heights running a program together with my friend Rivka Kotlarsky for 120 Guests of Shluchos – many of them not yet especially observant.

After Long Feud, Shul Evicted From 16th St.

Posted on: February 1st, 2013

What may be the final chapter in a long standing debate between a real estate developer and a Manhattan synagogue has been written, as a New York State appellate court judge ruled in favor of developer Jack Braha, owner of the building, and denied the Sixteenth Street Synagogue's interim stay of eviction, enabling Braha to oust the synagogue from its home of 67 years.

Rivka Shech – Formerly Of Moshav Gadid; Now Of Be’er Ganim

Posted on: February 1st, 2013

The family: My name is Rivka (Teitlebaum) Shech. I have 3 grown children and I’m divorced. Background: My parents, my sister and I came to Israel from Hungary in 1950. We entered at Haifa Port and were taken to the Bat Galim immigrant transit camp. I was 1½ years old at the time and my sister was 4.