יום שבת, כ״ג אלול תשפ״וSaturday, September 5, 2026
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By Irwin Cohen
The snow has melted in most parts of the country and here in Florida, where I have my winter dugout in the Orthodox enclave of Century Village in West Palm Beach, I had the opportunity to take in several spring training games.
Everyone is always looking for cute yet simple and inexpensive ideas to enhance their table at special occasions. Here are some attractive ways to create that festive look. Whether you use china or plastic, your guests will surely be delighted with your charming setup.
Wouldn’t it be great if you had a chavrusa working with you, guiding and helping you in your work environment?
What made an M.I.T. scholarship student, taking time off from his doctorate in medicine, to backpack, and then decide to backtrack, chuck it all… and get a haircut? Perhaps it is easier to understand a Harvard law student becoming enamored with the logic of Gemara and settling down to struggle with the intellectual challenges of Aramaic acrobatics.
By Sandy Eller
What do you do with fruit that has turned just a little soft and squishy and that no one in your household wants to eat?
JetBlue flew an empty aircraft from Boston to JFK to assist us. The care and concern of the flight attendants was amazing. They were astounded by our group, so much so that at the end of the flight, the captain related for all to hear that he was truly impressed by the care that the HASC counselors provided for the special-needs campers – all of whom have physical, mental, or emotional disabilities. We did our best to demonstrate a true kiddush Hashem.
Q: What does twice exceptional or 2e mean?
The battle over partnership minyans is just the latest scuffle in the war over women’s roles in the Orthodox community.
Last month’s column outlined some efforts during the first half of the nineteenth century to establish Jewish agricultural colonies in America. In only one case was a colony actually established.
According to Maimonides, the great medieval Jewish scholar, “Gifts for the poor [matanot l’evyonim] deserve more attention than the seudah and mishloach manot because there is no greater, richer happiness than bringing joy to the hearts of needy people, orphans, widows and proselytes.”
Having everyone home on a snow day can be a lot of fun – the first few times it happens. Once snow day number six hits, perhaps not so much and the real creativity has to come out.
Imich was born in 1903 in Poland, where he later earned his Ph.D. in 1927, despite the best efforts of anti-Semitic professors to sabotage his thesis
By Blumie Abend
Never sacrifice the people who matter for anything of lesser importance...
Hannah believed that one must learn about the evils of the past so that they aren’t repeated.
They say the road to hell is paved with good intentions, and that is precisely what almost always happens in situations where a reference knew someone had serious but hidden emotional issues, but did not reveal the information to the person making inquiries.
I had a great figure and dressed well, but the only thing wrong with me was that I had a very long nose with a huge bump.
Have you seen drivers mindlessly block traffic to load or unload passengers and cargo while a huge parking space is only a few feet away?
Shimon quickly shoveled a forkful of rice into his mouth, while attempting to scribble the right math equations into his workbook. “(2 x 34 -11)2” he said between mouthfuls. “Mommy, I got some rice on my paper, but I have to finish this before it is time to go in the shower,” Shimon choked out.
By dvora
Josh is only nine years old, yet he’s an addict. How is that possible? You’re wondering where he gets his drugs from, how does his addiction manifest itself and if there are treatment plans.
This year Valentine’s Day came out on a Friday. Enterprising Jews were quick to step up to the plate to make the day their own.
What began in 1974 as a tiny beis medrash with only ten students has developed into a yeshiva campus that encompasses many buildings spread over a six-mile radius.
His first book, Doesn’t Anyone Blush Anymore? was highly acclaimed and is now in its fourth printing.
By Sandy Eller
The name La Brochette is a nod to Cohen’s Middle Eastern roots, alluding to a shish kabob skewer, but the restaurant is first and foremost a French steakhouse, albeit one with a dazzling sushi menu.
People often ask me why do we need another Holocaust center? The story of Isaac Avigdor is the answer.
By Fern Sidman
For the past 64 years, the Jewish Book Council has spotlighted the best of Jewish books and their authors through its presentation of the annual National Jewish Book Award. On March 5, the winners in nearly 20 categories of Jewish books will assemble at the Center for Jewish History in New York City for a celebratory gathering.
Nothing says winter like a bowl of hot soup – and so many of you responded to our request for recipes back in December. The following are two more recipes we enjoyed.
By Pnina Baim
People like to say that dirt isn’t chometz, but as Rabbi Dovid Orlofsky says, if dirt isn’t chometz, how can you tell? Besides, are you really going to take apart the whole closet and then not wipe it down before you put everything back? If you’re not going to clean the mess now, when will you?
I know of all Dr. Yael's techniques and I will tell the people in front of me, with derech eretz, that it is my turn.
Neither helpless victims nor able to escape the killer’s clutches, the leaders had to make impossible choices on a daily basis in a never-ending dance with the devil.
First, it is important to establish a diagnosis for your child. Perhaps his struggles with reading are associated with ADHD or a processing disorder.
Bradford has opted to fully exploit the diverse possibilities of the physical surface by concentrating on the three-dimensional application of paint (impasto) and other material.
Almost every year I am invited to attend the grand banquet of the International Shluchos Convention, the climax of a four-day weekend that attracts some 2,500 Chabad shluchos from all over the world – from Argentina to Australia, from Thailand to Kazakhstan, and from every state in the U.S. It takes place the weekend of Chaf Bet Shevat, the yahrzeit of Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka, wife of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, zt”l.
If you look like someone they wouldn't invite into their home, they won't invite you into their car.
By Erica Lyons
If your hero is fictional you could be crazy. And if they happen to be real, they are likely human and, unfortunately, inevitably flawed.
When a child is trembling with fear, When guns command him to raise his hands in the air You know beyond a shadow of doubt The World Has Gone Upside Down.
Dear Mordechai, Someone gave me a gift that I don’t like. But I don’t want to hurt his feelings. What should I do? You Shouldn’t Have
By Sandy Eller
While there are those who prefer holding a printed recipe in their hands, Estee has found that a cooking website has many advantages. Aside from the obvious cost factor and the ability to fix the rare mistakes, websites have a far greater ability to offer feedback.
Usually Menachem is very hungry when he gets home, and we have food prepared for him. Though logically, he should sit down happily and eat, when he is in such a hungry state logic flies out the window, and, out of frustration, Menachem will knock over and spill the food. So meal time with him involves a lot of cleaning and coaxing. And always, always, vigilance.
Time never stood still for anyone – why would I be the exception? In my hubris, I thought that somehow I would live forever – and I suspect we all have secretly felt that way, even though we know it’s a fantasy.
Who created the current rules of dating? Why must the guy always pick up the girl by car, and pay for tolls, gas, etc., if things are not guaranteed to work out? After all, I may not be attracted to the girl, or our personalities may not click; thus, it turns out to be a waste of money and time for me.
By Rhona Lewis
Who are the heroes who rush into a hell like this and pull out the wounded and the dead?
Once he thought of what he wanted to say and began to write, he would freeze. That’s why he spent the first hour after dinner doing anything he could to avoid his homework.
By Sarah Massry
The basic approach of the Love and Logic method is to love your child enough to allow her to learn from her own decisions… and mistakes.
Curtis Reeves is a 71-year old retired police captain from Tampa, Florida. Reeve was thought to be the consummate police officer. He helped set up a SWAT team for the department. He was described a man who almost never became angry. He seemed to always be under control.
The RASG Hebrew Academy JUMP (Jewish Unity Mentoring Program) hosted its second annual Israel Awareness Day on Monday, February 3, in the school auditorium.
The Orthodox Union will be presenting the SPIRIT Initiative – Stimulating Program Initiative for Retirees that Inspire Thought – to Congregation Torah Ohr in Boca Raton on Tuesday, February 18 and Thursday, February 20.
Young Israel of Bal Harbour will be presenting the final Scholar-in-Residence Shabbaton of the season on Shabbos Ki Tisa, February 14 -15.
By Irwin Cohen
If you're visiting spring training sites, Arizona has two advantages – fewer games are rained out and the facilities are much closer to each other than is the case in Florida.
By Barry Katz
Today, there are about 40 chevrei kadisha in New York State alone, and hundreds throughout the country.
By dvora
The greatest concern is for the sensitive care, modesty and dignity of the deceased throughout the process. There is even a point during the tahara when crew members verbally, or internally, apologize to the deceased in case there was any inadvertent lapse of dignity.
Jews from this Persian city were not only cruelly attacked by mobs, but also forced to convert to Islam.
By Sandy Eller
I take all my challah ingredients, throw them in the breadmaker, turn on the machine and walk out of my kitchen. Ninety minutes later, I have a gorgeous batch of challah dough with no work and practically no mess to clean up.
Who is Rachel Azaria? Would you have guessed that this dynamo is a religious, 35-year-old woman, mother of four children, ranging in ages from ten years to eight months?
When adults cut in front of my child, they are stealing from her and me, as her delay in returning home affords me less help.
By Alanna Fine
I once commented during a lecture that so many guys are just looking to play and not get serious. The speaker responded, “You’re not looking for a guy, you’re looking for a husband.” He was right. Making general statements about all men or women does everyone a disservice.
Anyone who has experienced a panic attack is familiar with the feelings expressed above – paralyzing fear, difficulty breathing, dizziness, and nerves. But, while panic attacks are real and extreme, everyone experiences some sort of anxiety on a daily basis. The question is: how much is too much?
There were very few Jewish farmers in Europe during the seventeenth, eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Indeed, in many parts of Europe Jews were forbidden to own land. Despite this there were some Jews who always felt they should return to the agrarian way of life their forefathers had pursued in ancient times, and that America was an ideal place to establish Jewish agricultural colonies.
HaGaon HaRav Chaim Halpern, rosh yeshiva of Ohr Joseph in Novardok, France, visited Yeshiva Aharon Yaakov-Ohr Eliyahu in the Fairfax District of Los Angeles.
New York City mayors have been outspoken defenders of Israel since its establishment – and of the Zionist cause even before that.
She wrote about everything in a woman's world, from kids to husbands, and feelings including pain and grief. Writing her book, at least in my opinion, was an incredibly brave statement, one that exposed a truth that must be told.
It was a few weeks before Purim and I had just come home from a fabulous day in Ateres Naava seminary. I was inspired. I felt empowered and I wanted to act. I wanted to change the world!
But there's more to us New Squarians. And it isn’t all about blow torches, although we use those too, to light the torches used to escort a chosson to his wedding, to kasher catering kitchens, and to weld iron, sometimes as window bars for our condominium windows, three flights up.
One can argue that forgetting something on a regular basis is a sign of advancing age and it’s time to for a neurological evaluation, but based on the number of young people who need to replace a lost smart phone (too bad it’s not smart enough to warn its owner that that they have become separated – or is there an app for that too?), I safely can say that losing “stuff” cuts across the generations.
She should be grateful that her father is at least talking about his past and that he appears to be taking an active part in his daughter's and her family's life.
A national survey reported that over forty percent of students say that they are afraid to go to a school bathroom because of bullying. One in seven children in America reports acting as a bully or being a bully victim.
Many times when a couple is arguing they may, unconsciously, trigger childhood anger. So much so, that if we would stop and listen to what they are arguing about, it would sounds like two eight year olds fighting in the back yard.
Those who do not live in South Florida probably cannot realize the hatred and fear the mere mention of Fidel generates.
The OU will present its annual community weekend and dispatch speakers to serve as scholars-in residence at Orthodox synagogues in the area.
The SPIRIT Program is a three-day series featuring leading rabbinic, communal and mental health professionals, focused on enhancing the educational opportunities of the Jewish community.
Cantors Avi Albrecht and Yaakov Motzen will join up for a Shabbat Chazzanut, February 7 - 8, at the Palm Beach Synagogue in Palm Beach.
Favored to win his match, Lipsky fell in two tough sets to an Austrian-Romanian duo. After flying to the opposite side of the world, losing a first round match was not the best result.
By Sari Abraham
I stood there on the steps, rather stunned. I couldn’t believe he was serious; surely this was just a chocolate-obtaining-method of flattery. But I sure wasn’t taking a chance.
The relatively young Eitam battalion has become instrumental in IDF Southern Command’s Division 80’s efforts to keep up with the ever-changing security situation in Sinai after the fall of the Mubarak regime – and the entry of terrorist elements to the region.
By Ron Ansel
One way to view a student, or any human being, is as an amalgamation of four components: physical, intellectual, emotional and spiritual.
The ostensible outsider frequently has the privilege of seeing the exclusive inner sanctum with fresh and unbiased eyes. Artists’ initial encounters with the Talmud are equally blessed.
But people who are very embarrassed about their issues will sometimes be more open over the phone.
September 4, 2026 
