Rebbetzin's Viewpoint

Rebbetzin Jungreis, a”h, though no longer with us has left a rich legacy that never fails to inspire.

We really are a bunch of schnorrers.

A pervasive difficulty when dealing with singles is their failure to be realistic. Today’s successful shadchan not only has to be a matchmaker but often also assumes the role of a “life coach”

Nothing said pertaining to Torah is in vain, even if it seems not to have struck an immediate chord.

Whatever the town or city or world capital our people temporarily call home, a Jew rediscovers himself in Jerusalem.

The treasure that Rebbetzin Jungreis, a”h, left behind is her teaching that continue to guide us.

In my last column I posed a simple question: Why has that short walk down the aisle become such a long arduous trek and so painfully difficult for so many?

"In New York I partied almost every night and the next day I didn’t feel good about myself. But here, after spending the night at the Wall, I feel an exhilaration."

The link between iPod, iPads and smartphones and increased chutzpah and disintegration of families.

Today, the impossible has become our reality. Events are transpiring so swiftly, that we have difficulty absorbing them. Our generation is sleeping, and we have failed to react to that which is befalling us. So I felt compelled to devote my columns of the past month to those events. Nevertheless, despite the critical world situation, personal problems – family, shalom bayis, children, illness, continue to assail us. I receive hundreds of e-mail requests for help weekly from every part of the globe, and while, in the past, I published many of these letters, for the past few weeks I have been responding to them personally. Some of these e-mails, however, do not lend themselves to personal responses, but require the public forum of my column since many people are reluctant to identify themselves and write anonymously, or the letter writer hopes to convey a message that will be read by people involved in his or her problem. So I now return to addressing family conflicts through my column.

The e-mails keep coming in response to my recent columns on compassion. Last week I shared one of them with you; here is another one. We once again see that the readership of The Jewish Press is comprised of many segments of our society with a wide range of opinions, values and traditions.

For the past few weeks I have been writing about the crisis our Jewish community is witnessing, a crisis reminiscent of pre-Holocaust Europe that caught the Jewish community sleeping and unawares.

The eternal wisdom of Rebbetzin Jungreis (a”h) this week on making peace and fostering it in our families, our communities, and our people

I feel privileged to share with you the story of the creation of our new film, "Triumph of the Spirit." For the longest time I have felt that there is a terrible void in Holocaust films and memorials. The epic story of the mesiras nefesh, the boundless sacrifice, that our people made in clinging to Torah and mitzvos - the devotion with which they served Hashem during one of the darkest moments in the annals of mankind has yet to be told.

We want our children to have self-esteem. Can there be a greater generator of self-esteem in children than their knowing they were chosen to be the guarantors of the Torah?

I may be 80 but my memory is as good as it was when I 40.

Dear Rebbetzin Jungreis:Last year, I read your book, "The Committed Life," and ever since, nothing has been quite the same for me.

In this season, when we gather around the Seder table to celebrate the birth of our nation, it behooves us to take a few moments to consider what we have learned - what we are taking with us to guide us throughout the year. Among the many priorities we should consider, surely shalom and achdus - unity - must be in the forefront. Sadly, today these pillars of our faith are missing from our families, from our communities and from the world at large. While we may not be able to influence the world, our communities or even our families, we can and must impact upon ourselves - we must emerge from this Pesach - different.

From the archives of Rebbetzin Jungreis (ZT"L), the conclusion to the story of a family torn apart by an obstinate brother.

The difference between becoming widowed and becoming a divorcee is the former evokes compassion while the latter suffer differently enduring gossip

There's a popular adage that tells us not to sweat the small stuff. I always thought that it meant we should not make an issue out of insignificant incidents that impinge on our kavod. When we are victims, we should categorize all this as "small stuff" and the best way to deal with it is to forgive, forget and move on.

How many of our promises are still throbbing in our hearts and how many have been put away with our Yom Kippur machzorim until next year? Commit to making this year COUNT!

When it comes to divorce, the empathy is not quite the same as it is for a widow. There is no funeral or shiva, no shloshim to recall the life of the departed one. Divorcees suffer differently. There is much whispered gossip. People take sides.

If we regard pain and suffering as mere coincidence, we will feel no motivation to examine our lives

In my last column I wrote about Leiby Kletzky and what I experienced when I made a shiva call to his family. My plan was to continue writing about this tragedy and focus on what we must learn from it and do. In the interim, I received a letter from a non-Jewish reader and felt I should share it.

Special Note: A Kollel young man, while recuperating from illness read my book, The Committed Life, and with great chesed and hakoras hatov, took the time to write an in-depth letter (which will appear in two parts) to explain his views on the book and how it impacted on his life. I am pleased to share with you his analysis and insights. He is right on the mark! I wish him a refuah shleima and mazal and bracha and thank him for the chizuk that he imparted.

How do we become people of chesed & rachamim? By taking action and following the dictates of Torah

In last week's column, I published a very sad letter from a young woman who wrote that two of her sisters were not on speaking terms and had splintered the family with their animosity.

I attended the recent Shabboton for frum divorced people and listened to your talk. You gave me hope to go on. I was very despondent when I came and went home considerably more upbeat. It was all due to your focus on “being a blessing.”

Dear Rebbetzin: Thank you for publicizing the very difficult issues facing our young teenage girls. While the at-risk behavior of boys has leveled off somewhat, there has been a dramatic increase in the at-risk behavior of girls. I have some insights into the problem that may be of interest to your readers.