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A traditional Purim in Hong Kong requires an obligatory visit to Pottinger Street in the bustling Central District. Also known locally as Stone Step Street, Pottinger Street is more of a steep, irregularly paved pedestrian stone path (with steps too small for Western feet) than a street. My children run ahead up the stone slabs as I carefully balance my size nine feet on the thin, uneven stairs. My five year old stumbles but quickly recovers and catches up to the big kids.

One of the most popular tourist destinations in the American South, Savannah, Georgia is a world of exciting history and activity. Rich with landmarks from over 275 years, the city boasts unique architecture, Civil War commemorative tours, and a long list of beautiful squares and parks. In addition, Savannah’s Tybee Island provides a beach atmosphere for those who want to relax on and off-shore. Interestingly, Savannah also hosts a small but thriving Jewish community. The Savannah Jewish Federation offers family services and community resources, and there are a number of places to find kosher food. The city has three shuls: one for Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform congregations, respectively. A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to speak with Rabbi Avigdor and Rebbetzin Rochel Slatus of the Bnai Brith Jacob Synagogue.

When a spouse is chronically ill, chances are you may be called to the hospital several times in the course of the illness, to say goodbye.

Before I invite you to peer over my shoulders as I look into the mirror, a basic tutorial in the terms JMW, rigidly enmeshed and angst is in order.

This devastating loss For weeks is the top news, But the assassination of politicians Is squeezed onto page two.

Well, in the good news department, if you have kids, your dreams are about to come true. As veteran cookbook author Tamar Ansh so capably illustrates in her 96-page, kid-friendly volume titled Let My Children Cook!, your progeny can be a valuable asset when Pesach rolls around when time is at a minimum and the cooking demands are sky high.

“Of course, honey. That was the whole point of Yocheved being there in the first place.” my mother stroked my face. “It’s cold outside but sunny. Wear something warm today.”

With 400,000 copies of her popular cookbooks already sold, kosher cookbook queen Susie Fishbein has become a household name. Her full-color glossy photographs and never-ending supply of innovative, upscale, and tantalizing recipes that just happen to be kosher single-handedly changed the face of kosher cookbooks forever. But it is her newly released seventh cookbook, Kosher by Design: Teens and 20-Somethings, that may be her bestselling cookbook yet.

If you are spending the time in the kitchen, make it worth the effort. Make it taste good. Make it look nice.

Recently I had the opportunity to spend some times with Bernard (Bernie) Walz and get a glimpse of his war experiences.

Whenever I have a speaking engagement, I always ask people to turn on their cell phones.

The Jewish community in Poland has been growing both in size and spirituality.

I was eating in a restaurant recently, enjoying both the food (post-Pesach) and the company, when a few minutes into the meal the sound of a baby shrieking shattered the subdued ambiance. I looked around and saw a young mother and father sitting at a table, a baby carriage nearby. To my annoyance, they continued just sitting there, despite the fact that their child's cries had become more strident and ear shattering. They seemed oblivious to the noise, and were not in any hurry to do something about it. It was only after they noticed that people at other tables were eyeing them with mild (to extreme) disgust that the mother stirred herself to get up, pick up the infant - who looked to be about one month old - and try to calm him down.

Perele stretches under the sturdy tree, savoring the calm breeze licking at her ankles, the blessed stillness of her secret retreat. Only a moment longer. These few short snaps of stolen time fill her with a heady sense of pleasure. This is her space. And trees don’t shout.

Karen Greenberg: Where did you grow up and where do you live now? Elke Weiss: I grew up in Manhattan Beach, in Brooklyn. I now...

The British evacuated New York on November 25, 1783, and Congress demobilized the American army shortly thereafter.

It is important to remember that there is only one person on this earth with whom you'll spend the rest of your life.

Last month's column dealt with the observance of kashrus by Jews in America during the 19th century. Up until about 1870 German Jewish immigrants went to considerable effort to make sure they could eat kosher meat and poultry. Almost every Jewish community of more than 15 families employed a professional shochet. Smaller communities were served by volunteer shochtim. However, with the spread of the Reform movement in the latter half of the century, Jews began to abandon kashrus.

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak recently suggested that Israelis are in a “coma” and unless “unilateral disengagement” is implemented now from Judea and Samaria, it will be too late for a peace agreement once they awaken.

We have just completed three sets of three-day Yom Tov/Shabbat combinations, and now with some sadness (tempered with a dollop of relief) we return to "normalcy" and our daily routines.

Last week I shared a chronically ill husband's nomination of his wife for a Caregivers Award.

Will I ever be able to be the mother this little girl desperately needs?

I recently wrote an article about older adults who are single, whether widowed or divorced, who have grown children with their own young families.

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.

Many years ago, I remember talking to a parent of a particularly difficult student. The parent confessed that he often gives into the child because the child threatens him.