On Our Own/Cheryl Kupfer

People have been bitterly complaining about the rising price of gas.

Most Pesach observers - after a week of overdosing on matzah and potatoes - in a myriad of manifestations look forward to when Passover has, well, passed over.

"We were slaves down in Egypt," The young, cheerful mother said, As she knelt on the floor And swept under the bed.

I'm not quite ready yet to shut the door on Purim. Perhaps it's my way of avoiding dealing with Pesach, and the physical and emotional effort that comes with it.

You might think it odd talking about Yom Kippur just days before Purim. But actually that is exactly why I am thinking so fondly of our holy fast day.

You might think it odd talking about Yom Kippur just days before Purim. But actually that is exactly why I am thinking so fondly of our holy fast day.

The poem "The Road Not Taken" by renowned American poet Robert Frost expresses the gnawing curiosity that a traveler knows he will always have about the road that he didn't take.

One of the subjects I was taught as a young child in the excellent day school I attended in Toronto (at the time called Associated Hebrew Day Schools) was Tefillah.

Dear Readers: I want to share a letter I received this week giving me hope that there are some level heads out there in the shidduch world, and that not everyone is caught up in the hysteria and/or ga'avah (arrogance) that accompanies a suggestion for a date.

I hate to say it, but I am coming to the conclusion that that if abocher and a girl actually go on a date - a mazel tov to both sides is warranted.

Just days ago, millions of people all over the world welcomed in the secular new year of 2008.

Chanukah has come and gone, and so have the donuts, the latkes and the celebration of the two amazing miracles that took place at that time.

Two weeks ago I wrote about a culture of self-indulgence and instant gratification that seems to have permeated Western society.

Recently, I came across a talk show whose topic of discussion was about managing personal finances.

I remember a mishap years ago while in first grade and happily swinging on the playground swing during recess.

I grew up in an era where customers were always right - even if they weren't - because it was good for business to accommodate them, even if they were out of line.

With three sets of three-day Yom Tov/ Shabbat combinations behind us, and a return to "normalcy" and our daily routines, now would be a good time to examine our lifestyle habits - and improve them.

It is Sunday, the day after Yom Kippur and everyone you speak to says, "Thank G-d it's over."

In my previous column I wrote about older singles who were undermining their chance at getting married by letting others make decisions for them on as to whether to date a proposed shidduch or not.

This past week I was told two shidduch stories that made me sad and mad at the same time - because it is infuriating and tragic when people sabotage themselves or let others do so to them.

It's the dog days of August, and between the sizzling heat, the numbing humidity, the rain and the never-ending traffic and airport delays, there is a lot to complain about people's actions.

Every August thousands of children ages 17-19 leave the only home they have known, the community they grew up in, the neighborhood they are familiar with - even the country of their birth, and fly thousands of miles to a new and relatively strange environment where they will remain for a year.

Most of us have heard the Talmudic assertion that "He who saves a life, saves a world," and conversely, "He who kills a life, kills a world."

Just the other day, I was commiserating with a close friend about how my life had not gone the way I had envisioned way back when - when I was young and my head was filled with sweet visions of what would be.

Last week, to my deep distress, my cell phone disappeared from my purse. I don't know whether it somehow fell out, or if someone on the very crowded street purposely brushed against me and slipped a hand into my purse.

With the Sefiras HaOmer period behind us, the wedding season is in full swing.

When I was a little girl, I was fortunate to be one of the first of my peers to travel to Israel. It was 1965 and the fledgling state was only 17 years old.

There are many die-hard optimists who are actually Leftists. (I thought I would be generous in explaining why they are reality-challenged.)

Just days ago millions of people's lives across the country were impacted by severe unrelenting weather in the form of snowstorms, torrential rains, hurricane force winds and tornadoes.

Just days ago, the question, "How is this night different from all others?" was asked at Pesach tables around the world.