Gloria Schreiber: Working Below The Radar

Posted on: December 7th, 2011

As the members of the I.D.F. lined up for the daily flag raising ceremony held on the Tel Hashomer Army Base outside of Tel Aviv, Gloria Schreiber approached the flagpole with a mixture of pride and awe. Standing at attention, dressed in fatigues, she grasped the rope, pulled gently and watched the white and blue flag slowly ascend.

80 Hours On The Ground: Parshat Chayei Sarah In Chevron

Posted on: December 5th, 2011

This past week was Parshat Chayei Sarah and I had the good fortune of being in Chevron for Shabbat. I was in Israel for only three days (approximately 80 hours) and was asked many times, “You’ve come to Israel for such a short stay?” Let me explain.

Standing Idly By

Posted on: December 4th, 2011

Presumably, almost all the readers of this publication are Orthodox Jews – those that pride themselves on serving G-d through fulfilling His commandments. Keeping in mind the rabbinical edict, "A mitzvah that comes your way—don't miss it!" (Rashi, Bavli Megillah 6b), it would behoove the readers to know that an oft-missed mitzvah has come their way.

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A New Image

Posted on: November 25th, 2011

Want to improve your marriage? Brush up on the parsha? Find a good recipe for kugel? Listen to a bedtime story? Hear a great song? Don’t adjust your dial; it’s all in one place - KosherTube.com

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Part I: The Beginning

Posted on: November 16th, 2011

This wasn’t supposed to happen, especially not to me. I could give you all the stats: my great-grandfather learned in Radin with the Chofetz Chaim, my grandfathers learned in Slobodka and Novardik, and my father has smicha from Ner Yisroel in Baltimore. Outside of the brief fantasy (which lasted a lot longer than I care to admit) that I would be the star player who takes the Chicago Bears to the Superbowl, I always saw myself in yeshiva. It is what I had always planned to do, and I never really contemplated anything else

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My Hero

Posted on: November 12th, 2011

When my big sister was in fifth grade, she came home one day with a new trick. “You take a paper,” she demonstrated, “and you fold it back and forth, like a fan.” She expertly turned and folded, then pinched and held the “fan” in the middle to form a sort of bow.

Leftovers Exchange Program

Posted on: November 12th, 2011

Welcome to “You’re Asking Me?” where we answer any and all questions -- not necessarily in the hopes that we can make your issues go away by waving a newspaper at them, but more in the hopes that if we make enough jokes, you’ll forget what your problem was, unless you reread the beginning of the article, where we helpfully put your problems in bold face.

Interview With Gittela Welcher

Posted on: November 2nd, 2011

As any graduate student can attest, time is limited. In between writing papers, doing readings for classes, attending seminars, and spending time with family, it’s often difficult to have time for other activities.

Found: Long-Lost Holocaust Hero

Posted on: October 18th, 2011

How does an American Jew go about finding the Ukrainian non-Jew who, 65 years ago, saved his mother's life by hiding her in his hayloft for three years?

You Are Your Child’s Best Advocate

Posted on: October 9th, 2011

When you have a child with special needs, whether it be medical or developmental, you are very familiar with signing those lengthy privacy practice information sheets. At some point we don't even bother reading them because we know that once you have a child with special needs, nothing is ever private. Every professional has an opinion. Still, the ultimate decision is up to you.

You Are Your Child’s Best Advocate

Posted on: October 9th, 2011

When you have a child with special needs, whether it be medical or developmental, you are very familiar with signing those lengthy privacy practice information sheets. At some point we don't even bother reading them because we know that once you have a child with special needs, nothing is ever private. Every professional has an opinion. Still, the ultimate decision is up to you.

You Are Your Child’s Best Advocate

Posted on: October 9th, 2011

When you have a child with special needs, whether it be medical or developmental, you are very familiar with signing those lengthy privacy practice information sheets. At some point we don't even bother reading them because we know that once you have a child with special needs, nothing is ever private. Every professional has an opinion. Still, the ultimate decision is up to you.

The Positive Side of Autism: An Interview with Dr. Temple Grandin

Posted on: October 6th, 2011

For many years, autism was considered to be a rare, mysterious and severely disabling condition. But in recent years, due at least in part to a broadening of its medical definition, the incidence of the diagnosis of autism and related disorders has risen to about 1 in every 150 babies born in this country.

Lucky Seniors: Special Genes Allow Some To Smoke, Drink, Eat Junk And Still Live Past 100

Posted on: October 6th, 2011

Old age is terrifying. When people grow old they frequently lose their memories, their ability to move, to take care of themselves, and then they die. Some people are lucky and do not fit this mold; they will live a very long time, not getting sick, living independently, and die peacefully in their 100's. This is all determined by their genes.

The Greatest Act of Tzedaka – A Lifesaving Kidney Donation

Posted on: October 6th, 2011

What was the biggest single donation to Tzedaka (charity) or greatest act of Chesed (personal kindness) in your life? How much of a difference did it really make? Did it change a life? Did it save a life? How do you know for sure?

Looking For The Perfect Match

Posted on: August 17th, 2011

Fair Lawn, New Jersey's Ezra Fineman is looking for his perfect match. He is smart, has brown hair, and a great smile. Ezra is also two years old and is looking for a bone marrow donor. After contracting a severe case of pneumonia at five months old, Ezra was diagnosed with Hyper IgM syndrome, a rare primary immune deficiency. Affecting only one in every one-two million people, the syndrome keeps his body from producing antibodies, leaving him with a heightened susceptibility to infection.

Recollections Of Rabbi Dr. Aaron Levine

Posted on: May 25th, 2011

Rabbi Dr. Aaron Levine, z"l, passed away on the first day of Pesach, one day before his 65th birthday. He was an erudite scholar who had received semicha from the Rabbi Jacob Joseph Theological Seminary and a PhD in economics from New York University. He was equally at home in the world of Torah and in the secular world, and thus a unique combination of Torah and chochmah, something that is increasingly rare today. Furthermore, this intellectual prowess was clothed in a mantel of extreme humility.

Moshe Rabbeinu Lego: A Hong Kong Pesach Special

Posted on: April 21st, 2011

In Hong Kong, there are certainly some inconveniences involved in finding every last product necessary to recreate the Pesach we had in New York. But, we have found it is merely a matter of mastering logistics and advance planning. Sometimes it involves finding shlepers coming in from the States willing to take a few bulky boxes of tasteless Crispy O’s and Streits Brownie Mix in an extra suitcase. This is all part of the Hong Kong festival ritual.

Sixty-Five Years And Four Generations

Posted on: March 16th, 2011

Sixty-five years is a long time. Indeed, it was not until about 1947 that a person born in that year could expect to live to at least age 65. So when one encounters a couple who have been married for sixty-five years, it is certainly worth noting.

AFSI Founder Herb Zweibon Dies At 84

Posted on: January 26th, 2011

Veteran pro-Israel activist Herbert Zweibon, founder and chairman of Americans for a Safe Israel/AFSI, passed away in New York on Jan. 20 at age 84.