Beware Of Shidduch ‘Potatoes’

Posted on: February 1st, 2013

There is a wise Yiddish saying that translates into this observation: "Yichus (illustrious ancestors) is like potatoes - they are both under the ground."

Post THIS On Facebook: An NCSY Advisor opens up about how Social Media is transforming communication – and why

Posted on: February 1st, 2013

My relationship with social media is and remains an ambivalent one. Unlike many of my peers, I did not initially embrace social media, from its beginning stages with AOL instant messenger and proceeding quickly on to MySpace and Facebook.

A Special Flag For Abraham Lincoln

Posted on: January 31st, 2013

In February 1861, Abraham Kohn, one of the founders of Chicago’s Congregation Kehilath Anshe Maariv and at the time the city clerk in the administration of Mayor John Wentworth, presented Abraham Lincoln with a unique American flag.

The Big Problem

Posted on: January 24th, 2013

Tommy's eyes were fixed on the screen for the fourth hour that day. He sat there immobile, staring at the people fighting on the TV show. Unsurprisingly, the next day the principal called Tommy's mom - Tommy had beaten up two boys in his class that day.

Destination

Posted on: January 24th, 2013

When the train has departed the station, Fresh of food and of saturation, The journey ahead excites, With all the could bes and the might's,

Small Talk

Posted on: January 24th, 2013

I nod my head and smile again, The burning creases brand my skin

The Luni Muni

Posted on: January 18th, 2013

The New York Muni-Meter system is a disaster! There are many issues that have presented themselves with this new idea and they need to be solved.

It Happened

Posted on: January 18th, 2013

It’s history. You can’t deny it. The Holocaust. Just about the worst six years in Jewish history. The Nazis slaughtered our nation during its journey to world domination. Six million innocent people were murdered. We have evidence. We have witnesses. We have proof. So why are people denying it?

The French Connection: Unique Headscarves From Overseas

Posted on: January 18th, 2013

Judith Levy is a gorgeous French-born woman with a flair for fashion and the written word (she’s an editor for French editions of Artscroll). At the start of her second marriage she found herself in a shaitel vs. tichel predicament very similar to mine.

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Gefilte Fish Gone Hip at The Gefilteria

Posted on: January 18th, 2013

Artisan gefilte fish. For some, the phrase seems like an oxymoron. While salmon, chilean sea bass and tilapia may all be in vogue, gefilte fish, the traditional ground fish mixture that is de rigueur in Ashkenazic Jewish households at Shabbos and Yom Tov meals, is like the Henny Youngman of fish: it gets no respect.

Could You Repeat The Question?

Posted on: January 17th, 2013

You know what I noticed since I started writing this column? That people don’t write in to ask questions so much as they write in to complain.

Shidduch Madness: No Jumping the Queue

Posted on: January 17th, 2013

It truly defies logic when I am told by a relative’s machataynesta that on her block in Brooklyn there are a dozen girls in their mid to late 20’s and even 30’s who are waiting in vain for the phone to ring.

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Living In My World

Posted on: January 11th, 2013

Taking the words from my mouth, Twisting them, stretching them, turning them round and round, Negating their true meaning, as it was meant to be heard, You hear what you want without really listening.

How To Love Going To Work – Every Day

Posted on: January 11th, 2013

The thing about work is that it isn’t fun. If it were, it would be called play. Most people grumble about going to work, and look forward to their time-off – especially when it is paid. And yet, polls show that most people, given the choice, would prefer to work. It’s when we get to the office that we begin to moan and groan. What’s the point in that? If we spend the majority of our waking hours at work, we might as well enjoy it! Here are some ways we can accomplish that.

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Where Technology And Torah Embrace

Posted on: January 4th, 2013

Last month, I had the privilege - and I do mean privilege – of attending an event at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Toronto hosted by the Canadian Friends of Machon Lev, the Jerusalem College of Technology (JCT), at which an honorary degree was bestowed on John Baird, Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister.

Preserving Baltimore’s First Synagogue (Part II)

Posted on: January 3rd, 2013

Last month we dealt with the building of the Lloyd Street Synagogue, the first synagogue to be built in Maryland. This month we look at how the building became a church, then again an Orthodox Synagogue, and finally a historic site.

Distraction On A Board

Posted on: January 3rd, 2013

Picture this; Mr. Smith is driving down on the Brooklyn Bridge, eager to get to work on time. At the corner of his eye, something flashes. He turns to look at an electric billboard. BOOM…CRASH…BANG… he’s been hit. That billboard took more than his attention - it took his life.

More Extracurricular in the Curriculum

Posted on: January 3rd, 2013

Imagine, sitting through nine classes each day, not understanding the material being taught, and failing many subjects. This would be a terrible school experience.

Sister Giovanna

Posted on: December 28th, 2012

The blade of the penknife sliced cleanly into my thumb and a thin stream of crimson blood appeared immediately, getting thicker by the second. I dropped the penknife onto my lap and reached for the green hem of my school skirt. I pressed it tightly against my thumb. Only then did I glance up at Sister Giovanna who was standing, as usual, slightly to the right of the black board. I raised my hand and hoped that she would call on me soon.

The Dating Game

Posted on: December 27th, 2012

They say there’s no bigger nightmare than starting to go out / You’re playing emotional mind games that involve another’s feelings, no doubt / Your hopes atop a roller coaster, but soon to be set in loops / Where you’ll have to make good conversation again, over your cream-of-broccoli soup.