Special Chanukah Parody Edition
Question: How do you celebrate Chanukah?
Midwood, Brooklyn
Question: Every year we hear about teenagers overdrinking on Purim, in some cases requiring medical attention. What can be done to combat the problem?
When Little Things Are Not So Little
Trust is something that develops over time. As adults, we give our trust slowly, often only after testing the waters and determining that the person we trust is worthy of it or at least worthy of our chancing it.
Joshua Bell To Perform Benefit Concerts In Poland
The Museum Of The History Of Polish Jews announced that it has signed world-renowned violinist Joshua Bell to perform two concerts in Poland.
Rededication Of Yeshiva Chachmei Lublin in Poland (Part III)
Restoration And Future Plans
Of The Yeshiva
My Answer (Part 2)
Last week I began my response to a letter I received from a former caregiver, Mrs. D. She had befriended a well spouse in a different city who was in a somewhat similar care- giving situation and wanted to help her.
The Guilt That Comes With Freedom
I spoke with a group of former well spouses. They began the support group as caregivers and helped each other navigate the difficult practical and emotional minefields through which they all traveled. As the years passed, many were widowed but stayed on in the original support group to help others. Over time, as more of them lost their spouses to chronic illness, they began to realize that they were now all coping with a different set of emotions.
Commemorating Liquidation Of The Lodz (Litzmannstadt) Ghetto
In September 1939 the Germans started establishing ghettos in the occupied territory of Poland. Ghettos played an important role in the Jewish extermination policy. They were filled with Polish and Western European Jewish deportees. The ghettos differed in times of existence, size, internal organization, and living conditions. The Germans called them " death boxes" (Todeskiste). The city of Lodz belonged to the Wartheland District and the Germans changed its name into Litzmannstadt.
Lancut
On my many trips to Poland, I always heard of the amazing synagogue structure in Lancut.
Once Loneliness Strikes And You’re Unprepared
Last week, in a response to a letter, I wrote about preparing for loneliness.
‘Give Me Your Children’: Voices From The Lodz Ghetto
The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum opened an exhibit last week remembering the children of the Lodz Ghetto.
The Old Shtetl Gostynin
The town of Gostynin was founded in the 13th century. It is located on the Skrwa Lewa River, approximately 60 miles northwest of Warsaw and 14 miles southwest of the city of Plock.
Irena Sendler
When people hear of those honored as Righteous Among The Nations by Yad Vashem, they automatically think of the most renowned, such as Oscar Schindler or Raul Wallenberg.
Poland And WWI
Growing up in the U.S. during the second half of the 20th century, I, along with most people, know very little about the First World War. The little that I did know was about the trench warfare in France and Belgium. The Eastern Front was barely, if ever, mentioned and usually stated that it ended with the Russian Revolution and overthrowing the Czar.
13th Ave., Brooklyn
Question: How do you rate Michael Bloomberg's performance as mayor of New York?
Some Guidelines For Visitation (Part 1)
We are taught that visiting the sick takes away a great deal of their pain.
A Tale Of Two Cities
In one week I had the privilege of speaking to two very different well-spouse support groups.
The Old Shtetl Szczuczyn
The first mention of Szczuczyn, located in northeastern Poland, was in 1466 when it was mentioned in documents as a village that belonged to private owners.
Special Summershpiel Edition
Question: What's on your Summer reading list?
Coping With Depression – The Holistic Alternative
Last week I wrote about well spouses who eventually chose to get a physicians help with the problems they were having coping, with their partners' chronic illness.
Ave. J, Brooklyn
Question: Whom would you rather see as first lady - Cindy McCain or Michelle Obama?
Caring For Our Seniors And Holocaust Survivors: A Conference (Part 1)
I recently attended a workshop that was given by Ahavas Chesed of Montreal for professional caregivers and the institutions they work for.
Balancing A Simcha And A Crisis: My Story
For more than a year now, I have been relating stories from and about well spouses. When these stories reflected a common experience, I wrote about them.
Crown Heights, Brooklyn
Question: Six years after 9/11, do you still fear another catastrophic attack here?
Vishkov
There is no definitive information on when Jews first came to Vishkov, but at the turn of the 20th century, the cemetery was the final resting place of at least four generations.
Touro College, Brooklyn
Question: Do you celebrate the Fourth of July?
When You Don’t Know What To Do (Part One)
In a crisis, few of us know how to act. We desperately want to help, but we are afraid of overstepping or intruding where we shouldn't.
Chanukah Joy And Festivities In Poland
The Jewish community held a candle-lighting ceremony at the Presidential Palace, with the participation of President Lech Kaczyñski.
Preparing For The Loneliness
It is important to remember that there is only one person on this earth with whom you'll spend the rest of your life.
Secular Organizations In Poland
I am often asked what Jewish life in Poland is really like.