On Our Own/Cheryl Kupfer

Visitors have to be mindful when they are visiting family in a private house, that they are not in a hotel, where they feel it's ok to leave a mess for someone else to clean up.

Ruth knew that Torah was the fount of all spiritual and emotional growth. And like the sage Hillel,... Ruth too was willing to suffer both physically and emotionally to honor her vow to be a Torah Jew.

The teacher was so distraught and horrified, both by the murder and his undeniable failure to get through to his students, that he packed up and left.

There are dissenting opinions by health experts globally, especially now, a year later, but it’s not that simple to uproot yourself and go to a less hysterical jurisdiction.

As a consequence of these negative thought processes, opportunities to achieve one’s goals are flitted away, having never been given a chance to develop.

If one can’t watch the simcha live, there is the option to view it in its entirety at a more convenient time.

The city decided to have a forum at which people could express their opinion for or against Sunday closures. My parents had a shoe store and I decided to argue on their behalf as to why they should be allowed to open on Sunday.

A situation that I’m sure happens way too often is when a friend or relative pressures someone who can’t afford to lose money to “invest in a sure thing.”

Without fail, as I would approach the curve and continue on the sidewalk that was near the road, there would be one or two squirrels recklessly darting into the road, pausing and darting back as they sensed a car driving by.

In the book of Ruth, we learn that Boaz married his late kinsman's childless widow. King David was a descendant of this union – and Moshiach.

Uttering this plea is my verbal version of going after rodfei Yisrael. In Jewish law, one can initiate pre-emptive self-defense, and "take out" someone before they do it to you.

It was the mask. A very cute mask with a witty message – but nonetheless, I realized that the mask represented something deeply distressing. Forced separation.

We tend to eat too much; smoke, and under exercise. For some, the only significant movement they do is walk to shul and back – but only because driving is forbidden on Shabbat.

Tthe kids will become creative and inventive and innovative. One teenage sibling I know, with a talent for sewing, is teaching her younger siblings how to use a sewing machine, including the boys.

Like an oversized umbrella it covered the entire land.

The consensus was that it had become exorbitantly expensive to be a frum Jew.

I always feel that it’s important to fight back – even if you are going down, at least the opponent will have a scratch or bruise as well.

Whether there is a medical issue, a mental health illness or an addiction, it must be confronted. The first step to "fixing what is broke” is facing reality and admitting that something is broke.

She is afraid to ask for the going rate for her skill set, aware that she is replaceable – and she needs the income from her job to help support her family.

She would not focus on what she didn't have, but on what she did have.

It’s important to be mindful of changes not just in yourself, but in the activities, habits and personality of family members and close friends.

There is another element to mindful walking that I want to point out – being on guard against those who deliberately want to disturb or cause harm.

Remember how as children we were told to look both ways before crossing the street?

When parents insist that their children, especially their daughters, wait for an older sibling to get engaged/married before green-lighting them to enter the “parsha,” they are sabotaging their futures.

Truth be told, if you were to ask graduate students in ancient history who Amalek was, you’d likely get blank stares.

Being positive and upbeat is a valuable weapon in the battle to stay healthy.

Looking at the story, one could argue that Mordechai was somewhat responsible for what happened and it was only through Esther’s heroic sacrifice that the Jews were saved.

Young children observe and absorb even the tiniest details of their parents behaviors.

Every choice comes with potentially life damaging risks.

In cyberspace, the virtual sky's the limit in the game of one-upmanship.