Tanach

Posted on: October 13th, 2004

As the summer comes to a close and the new school year begins, we are faced with the traditional "shopping for school" phenomenon.

Touch Typing Now !

Posted on: September 8th, 2004

As computers are being used by more and more people, it has become apparent that typing is not just a skill required by typist anymore.

Soncino Classics Collection

Posted on: June 30th, 2004

As the holiday of Shavous rapidly approaches and the days of Sefirah draw to an end, what better way to prepare oneself for the holiday of receiving the Torah than to actually increase one's familiarity with it?

Doro Tree

Posted on: May 26th, 2004

In the past few years, quite a few programs have been released to the public that help make tracing your lineage a lot easier.

An Ancient ‘Obsession’ with Sukkot Iconography

Posted on: October 18th, 2011

In some ways, Sukkot is the most contemporary of holidays. Many pay good money and invest a lot of time and effort to obtain a beautiful etrog-indeed its biblical name is "fruit of the beautiful tree"-and the most visually appealing lulav, hadasim and aravot. There are various schools of thought on whether to refrigerate or not to refrigerate, to wrap in aluminum foil or wet paper towel, all with the goal of preventing the four species from spoiling and jeopardizing their smell and visual appearance. There is no specific requirement that the schach covering the sukkah be alive-indeed it cannot be made of something still attached to the ground-but the entire atmosphere of Sukkot is one of growth, natural living, and disengaging from our comfort zone. Indeed, it is on the extended Sukkot holiday that a prayer is offered for rain, the source of life.

Leonard Everett Fisher’s Challenge

Posted on: October 16th, 2011

Just look at the expression on Yonah's face. It combines fear and incomprehension at his terrible punishment of floating in the belly of the great fish. So too Noah peering out of the ark, perched on the edge of understanding that there might be a future for mankind. Both works point to the genius of Leonard Everett Fisher as an artist and interpreter of biblical narrative.

Leonard Everett Fisher’s Challenge

Posted on: October 16th, 2011

Just look at the expression on Yonah's face. It combines fear and incomprehension at his terrible punishment of floating in the belly of the great fish. So too Noah peering out of the ark, perched on the edge of understanding that there might be a future for mankind. Both works point to the genius of Leonard Everett Fisher as an artist and interpreter of biblical narrative.

Leonard Everett Fisher’s Challenge

Posted on: October 16th, 2011

Just look at the expression on Yonah's face. It combines fear and incomprehension at his terrible punishment of floating in the belly of the great fish. So too Noah peering out of the ark, perched on the edge of understanding that there might be a future for mankind. Both works point to the genius of Leonard Everett Fisher as an artist and interpreter of biblical narrative.

Changing Lanes

Posted on: September 9th, 2009

I am driving along in my small silver sports car. The pace of the cars around me has suddenly become frenzied; the flow of traffic has thickened considerably; I have hit morning rush hour on Toronto's busy thoroughfares. I need to merge into traffic on a very busy main road. But I am stopped, stuck, as the cars whiz past me.

Changing Lanes

Posted on: September 9th, 2009

I am driving along in my small silver sports car. The pace of the cars around me has suddenly become frenzied; the flow of traffic has thickened considerably; I have hit morning rush hour on Toronto's busy thoroughfares. I need to merge into traffic on a very busy main road. But I am stopped, stuck, as the cars whiz past me.

Do You Live In A Fish Bowl?

Posted on: August 19th, 2009

Several months ago, at a children's rally, my 10-year-old son was the lucky winner of a raffle. His prize? A plump goldfish. It came in a plastic bag filled with water.

Do You Live In A Fish Bowl?

Posted on: August 19th, 2009

Several months ago, at a children's rally, my 10-year-old son was the lucky winner of a raffle. His prize? A plump goldfish. It came in a plastic bag filled with water.

Israel’s Children Of Valor

Posted on: March 29th, 2012

Every Friday night at the Shabbat table, Jewish men display their hakarat hatov for their particular "woman of valor", by singing an ode to her that describes in great detail her many meritorious attributes and activities.

Reaching Overseas To Aid Victims Of Domestic Violence

Posted on: March 29th, 2012

Bat Melech, Israel’s most comprehensive network of social service for victims of domestic violence, has reached across the Atlantic for assistance, hoping to create a funding base in America in order to be able to help even more women in crisis.

Before Color Photographs

Posted on: March 26th, 2012

Horses and buggies? Gas lights on streets? Did my mother grow up in the Dark Ages of History? She told me about living in buildings without elevators, where no apartment had its own bathroom. Years later I decided it was like my college dorm in the 1950's when I had to climb stairs to my room on the 4th floor, and a bathroom with showers was at the end of each floor’s hallway; no big deal.

The Power of Human Interaction

Posted on: March 23rd, 2012

Four stories, four sets of relationships, four life lessons. In one short week from January 15-22, 2012, my world was altered forever by the stories, relationships and life lessons experienced on the Center for Jewish Future mission to help build an irrigating tilapia farm for the small Mexican village of Muchucuxcah.

Mendy Sacho – Designing Fashionable Kapotes

Posted on: October 21st, 2009

When one thinks of kapotes, the traditional long suit jackets worn by married Lubavitcher chassidim, one doesn't automatically think of the cutting edge of fashion. Yet Mendy Sacho, a 25-year-old Lubavitch tailor in Toronto, Canada, is pushing the garb into the spotlight.

Traveling In Israel With A 12-Year-Old

Posted on: October 16th, 2009

Seeing Israel is one thing. Seeing Israel through the eyes of a 12-year-old is another, especially when the child is your grandson or granddaughter.

Pennsylvania Labor Day Trips

Posted on: September 2nd, 2009

If you're looking to sneak in one last day trip before the kids start yeshiva, then the obvious place to look is Pennsylvania, filled with numerous kid-friendly theme parks. Two great ones for all children under the teenage years are Sesame Place in Langhorne, and Dutch Wonderland in Lancaster.

Aleh: Caring For My Little Grandson And So Many Others

Posted on: September 2nd, 2009

There is a very special place in Jerusalem many people have heard of - but how many really know the magnitude of its work? In fact, Aleh is often confused with another facility with a similar sounding name. But Aleh stands alone in its class. Unlike other places, Aleh accepts children who have no chance of rehabilitation, and all the children receive the same loving care.

A Chat With PR Maven Marty Appel

Posted on: July 7th, 2010

Joe DiMaggio, Phil Rizzuto, Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra, Whitey Ford, Thurman Munson, George Steinbrenner - these are just some of the magic names Marty Appel has dealt with and written about.

Non-Perfect Perfect Game

Posted on: June 9th, 2010

It's been all over the news. You had to be in solitary confinement not to hear about umpire Jim Joyce's blown call at first base that should have ended the perfect game by Tigers pitcher Armando Galarraga against the Cleveland Indians in Detroit.

By The Numbers

Posted on: May 12th, 2010

While we're counting the Omer we'll also be counting Alex Rodriguez's homers. When the Yankees third baseman hits his 17th home run this season, it will be the 600th of his career. A-Rod, who'll be 35 in July, is a good bet to hit 800 career home runs - a number never yet reached by anyone - before he retires.

Postseason Picks

Posted on: April 8th, 2010

A huge Mets fan from Brooklyn moved to my town (Oak Park, Michigan.) and settled in a few houses from me. Walking home from shul the other day, he took issue with my picking, in last month's column, the Mets to finish fourth in the National League East.

My Machberes

Posted on: March 22nd, 2012

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Community Currents – March 23,2012

Posted on: March 22nd, 2012

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Living, Loving, and Running: Pia Levine is Full of Life!

Posted on: March 20th, 2012

Pia Levine, victim of last year's suicide bombing at Jerusalem’s International Convention Center (Binyanei Ha’uma), has rebounded from the horror with classy style. Less than two days after the 2011 attempt to end her life, she completed the Jerusalem Marathon in 2 hours and 10 minutes. She returned for this year's Jerusalem Marathon.

Halachic Will Conference In Queens

Posted on: March 15th, 2012

The medical world and the laws associated with it are changing rapidly, and the focus is on the quality of life. More and more frequently, patients and their families are encouraged to forgo “excessive” or “unnecessary” treatments and therapies so as to maintain a greater quality of life.

To A Lonely Wife: Give It A Rest!

Posted on: March 15th, 2012

Dear Dr. Yael: I read the March 2 letter from A Lonely Wife who feels unappreciated and neglected as she seeks more attention from her husband. It is necessary for her to receive a reality check – in other words, mussar. While apparently having it all, she is unfulfilled. Well, how would she feel if [...]

Chronicles Of Crises In Our Communities

Posted on: March 15th, 2012

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Marriage

Posted on: March 15th, 2012

What's more important - love or money? Let's hear what a 90-year-old woman sitting in front of two elevators in a nursing home had to say. I asked her, "If both elevator doors opened at the same time, and out of one came the richest man in the world, and out of the other came the nicest man in the world, who would you want to marry?" She thought about it for a good while and then answered, "Both of them."

Instilling Derech Eretz

Posted on: March 9th, 2012

Dear Dr. Respler: I enjoyed your recent column concerning the jealousy a girl had toward her newborn brother.

Title: The Queen You Thought You Knew: Unmasking Esther’s Hidden Story

Posted on: March 23rd, 2011

Rabbi David Fohrman of the Hoffberger Institute for Torah Study is an engaging speaker and astonishing interpreter of Torah texts, captivating his devoted listeners and readers for decades. The Queen You Thought You Knew: Unmasking Esther's Hidden Story is his most recent publication, unrolling the Megillah with the excitement of a blockbuster.

Title: Families, Rabbis and Education: Traditional Jewish Society in Nineteenth-Century Eastern Europe

Posted on: March 23rd, 2011

For many years now, Shaul Stampfer has been recognized as an authority in all things dealing with nineteenth-century Jewish Eastern Europe. In his newest book we have a collection of numerous essays representing more than twenty years of his scholarship, including one essay published for the first time (The Missing Rabbis of Eastern Europe).

Title: What Do You See on Purim?

Posted on: March 16th, 2011

A healthy Purim treat for very little ones has actually been released. Author Bracha Goetz has added a new volume to her bestselling What Do You See? board book series. This is the seventh bright and colorful word-and-picture book that helps teach toddlers basic vocabulary, while happily familiarizing them with objects they see around them in their own lives.

Title: Purim and the Persian Empire: A Historical, Archaeological & Geographical Perspective

Posted on: March 2nd, 2011

Feldheim's motto, "Torah Literature of Quality," is well-suited to Purim and the Persian Empire: A Historical, Archaeological & Geographical Perspective. Written by Yeshivat Itri graduate Rabbi Yehuda Landy, this magnum opus is wonderfully prepared, informative and valuable to a wide range of readers. Landy teaches at Yeshivat Ohr Yerushalayim and is a certified tour guide in Israel. His credentials served his research efforts well.