יום שישי, כ״ב אלול תשפ״וFriday, September 4, 2026
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Now and then my Bubby would open up about what she went through in the camps, of what she witnessed... From time to time she would talk about her baby sisters - twins - and how she would sew them identical dresses and braid their hair the same way challenging everyone to guess who was who.
The parallel lives of my father, Shlomo Ben Dovid Schlesinger, whose name was once Severin and that of his first cousin, Severin F., diverged exponentiallys shared a maternal grandmother, Raisel Schlesinger, a frum balabusta, who lived and practiced the traditional ways of her forefathers. along different lifestyles and choices. Each of the Severin
Dear Dr. Yael: How do I express my opinion in an appropriate way? There are some aspects of my sister’s parenting that I do not agree with, and feel that her methods in these areas are harming her children. I do not claim to be the best parent in the world, but I am confident that my instincts in my sister’s situation are correct.
Your son has a big vocabulary test this morning. He’s really anxious and studied with you last night for over an hour. Now, at breakfast, he is talking about how nervous he feels and how he hopes he doesn’t fail. You are trying to think about what is best for him. He has ten minutes before he needs to leave for school. Should you go over the words with him one last time? Should you encourage him to take deep breaths and realize that he knows the material? Or, should you get him to take a run around the living room, ending with jumping jacks and push-ups in the kitchen?
By Hinda Herzog
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.
Modern life can keep us isolated from reality. Our homes are well lit, temperature controlled, sound proofed and sealed off from our environment. We never sweat or shiver. We sleep soundly through the greatest of storms. We neither feel nor hear the wind or rain.
South Florida’s Mitzvah Chapter of Hadassah recently held a meet and greet at The Mexico Bravo restaurant, located at 16850 Collins Avenue, Sunny Isles.
Southern NCSY announced the appointment of Josh Geller, of Hollywood, Florida, as the new South Florida NCSY director of institutional advancement. Geller, an NCSY alumnus, will serve as an integral member of Southern NCSY development department. His focus will be to reach out to the thousands of alumni who participated in Southern NCSY as far back as the 1950s and reconnect them with the organization and its mission.
Students at the RASG Hebrew Academy in Miami Beach started off the school year with a great mitzvah project with a fun-filled theme. The school’s annual food drive was dedicated to the Miami Dolphins football team and dubbed “The Fins Frenzy and Food Drive Day.”
The Federation of Jewish Labor by the end of the 1920s consisted of some 125,000 members, of whom 60 percent were employed in the confections industry. After 1929 there was a further rise in the level of Jewish participation in workers’ unions. There were 134,020 Jewish members of the fifty largest trade unions, 34.1 percent of the total number of organized workers, which roughly reflected the level of the Jews in the population of greater New York. In the remaining centers of the garment industry, in Chicago, Philadelphia, and Rochester, almost all the owners were Jews and the workers they employed were mainly Jewish.
Besides commemorating Israel’s sojourn in the desert, the mitzvah of sukkah has spiritual and educational significance. We are commanded to leave the comforts of our permanent home and move into a hut without routine luxuries, prompting us to reflect upon the spiritual aspects of existence.
By A. B.
17 July I hope you all had an enjoyable and meaningful fast and now sit satisfied and full as you think back to your inspiration. I wanted to share one thing I gained this year.
If all of us recognize that any oversights or unintended slights are just that, a huge step toward practicing ahavas Yisrael would be taken.
Cindy is 43, successful, attractive, a dedicated mom, extremely caring... and she hates herself. She doesn't readily admit this, but spend a minute inside her head and you’ll discover the resounding messages revolving around negative rants – everything from "I failed" to "I should've done better." You wouldn't know it from her behavior. She's a high functioning, regular member of society.
Your mother just knitted a beautiful pink hat for your seven-year-old daughter. The hat, unfortunately, is also extremely itchy. To be honest, you wouldn’t even want to wear it yourself. But you tell your daughter, “Say thank you. Tell your grandmother how much you like the hat.”
After several years of negotiations, Yeshivas Bais Toras Menachem of Los Angeles and ORT-College of Los Angeles are joining forces in an educational endeavor.
“Hyman Bloom: Paintings and Drawings (1940 – 2005),” currently at White Box (the cutting edge international art space on Broome Street), is a rare opportunity to observe the creative process of one of the most important practitioners of 20th century Jewish Art in America.
Our community has a very different mindset - we live to have children. Each child is considered a bracha - a priceless commodity to cherish and nurture.
By Sandy Eller
There is nothing like three sets of three-day yomim tovim to strike terror in the hearts of meal planners everywhere as they struggle to plan a staggering quantity of delicious, varied and attractive meals for potentially large numbers of people.
By Pnina Baim
She wasn't talking about folding the regular loads of laundry, she was talking about huge plastic bins.
This month, we’re going to dive right into the questions, because it seems like everyone who sent one in is in a rush.
He goes far beyond the scope of his duties as a medical expert and gives his patients much more than one could ever expect. For you see, he gives his heart.
The captain teaches a form of Krav Maga that is very simple, effective and easy to remember. The end result is that he creates a very steep learning curve with many students feeling more confident. Many are able to fend off a bully after only one lesson.
I was recently approached by a mother whose daughter had been diagnosed by an audiologist, two years before with auditory processing disorder (APD). Her daughter, let’s call her Basya, had been making progress in her academic environment. Her grades had been rising and her teachers had noticed a significant improvement in her listening skills.
Parental conflict affects children in varying ways, depending on their age. For example, teenagers around the age of fifteen or sixteen are most likely to involve themselves in their parents’ battles. Younger children may keep their feelings hidden inside and may only show signs of depression in late childhood or early adolescence.
This past summer quite a few family members vacationed in Israel, some of them with young children. I remember how difficult flying from New York to Israel can be with small children, so with this in mind, I advised all of my family to book Isroyal VIP service along with their flight.
Last week, Diana Nyad emerged from the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Key West and walked to the beach. Onlookers cheered and blew conch shells. Nyad had finally fulfilled her dream. She was the first person to swim from Cuba to Florida without the aid of a shark cage. It had been a long struggle.
Dave Crystal is a vibrant young man who is used to working hard. Crystal grew up in Staten Island and attended Yeshivah of Flatbush and Poly Prep High School. He is a graduate of Penn with degrees in philosophy, politics and economics. He has an MBA in finance and marketing. He has worked as a Wall Street analyst, a licensed financial adviser, an entrepreneur, and is the founder of Crystal Clear Tutors.
Ohev Shalom Congregation of Miami Beach held a Selichot night melavah malka on Saturday, August 31. A delicious dairy buffet was served. Pizzas, salads, tuna, chips, dips and ice cream made up the perfect menu.
Hebrew Academy (RASG) high school faculty member Mrs. Tirtza Schapiro has been named as one of the winners of the thirteenth annual Grinspoon-Steinhardt Awards for Excellence in Jewish Education.
By Irwin Cohen
Rewind eight decades to 1933. That year marked the rise of the greatest villain of our time and the biggest Jewish sports hero of all time.
I had to believe that things were going to be ok. They just had to be ok. We had gone through so much, had sacrificed so much and were doing everything the doctors told us to do. I remember speaking to a hesitant professor in my Ph.D. program about getting an incomplete in her class. The conversation stands out in my mind because, looking back, I can see how odd it must have seemed as I matter-of-factly told her I was too busy for coursework because my twins’ amniotic sack was bulging through my wife’s cervix.
Tikkun Olam, “Perfecting the World,” is a central objective in Judaism. A recent best-seller entitled, Activate Your Goodness, focuses on the concept of Tikkun Olam by calling on the readers to be in touch with their innate gifts of kindness and reach out to help others.
Dear Dr Yael: I loved your answer to Confused Mom (“Should Children Voluntarily Help Their Parents,” August 23). It was a bit unrealistic of the writer to expect her children to do things voluntarily for her and her husband. Even my husband, a good and loving man, does not do anything unless I ask him to, several times. I have spoken to my friends, and this seems to be the norm. This woman is blessed with an amazing marriage, but her daughter is correct: al pi halacha a child gets more sechar if he or she is asked by a parent to do something and then fulfills the request.
By Sandy Eller
Given that this is a consumer column, you can rest assured that I spend countless hours coming up with creative and innovative money saving ideas, but for a change, I am going to try something different and share some of my pet peeves, those moments when you can't believe how much you are paying and how little you are getting in return, when you find yourself shaking your head in disbelief and wondering aloud, "Are they serious?"
When we come to the Kotel we may be so engrossed in our tefillos that we don’t notice the numerous birds flying close by and the plants growing out of her stones. But the Kotel—spiritual home to millions — is built of stones that serve as the physical home for various animals and plants.
Dena was the star of her nursery class. All the kids loved her and the teachers gushed to her mother, “Dena is so kind. She shares with everyone and is so inclusive. When we have circle time, she sits attentively and she is always ready with a detailed and fun answer.”
By Andrew Friedman and Tova Friedman
Alex Shloime Friedman, 93, departed from this world on August 18, 2013 (13 Elul 5773) to meet his Creator.
During the past few years Los Angeles has experienced a changing landscape in the area of Jewish education. Older institutions changed formats, such as Shalhevet – which expanded its doors to include a lower school and then reformatted back to a high school. Recently, educators experimented with new models; Yeshiva High Tech and Chabad of South La Cinega each have their own Jewish Montessori preschool. And the latest challenger to L.A.’s educational paradigm is Darko, a Jewish Montessori elementary school.
As this is our third column on the Reverend Dr. Henry Pereira Mendes, we’ll begin with a summary of his life.
The outward orderliness of the new circumstances of life was not without inner quakings of a spiritual crisis. Mixed marriages were extremely frequent in the southern and western states, where Jews were sprinkled in among the Christian populations. They came to about a third of the marriages Jews entered. But after 1881 the picture changed, with the flood of Jewish immigrants into New York. From 1908-1912, only 1.17 percent of marriages involving Jews were mixed.
By Perel Skier
Once a week for the past seven years, New York State Supreme Court Justice Martin Schulman has made the trip from his courthouse chambers in Jamaica, Queens to Yeshiva University’s Philip and Sarah Belz School of Jewish Music on YU’s Washington Heights Wilf Campus.
Enjoy this” sweet” new idea for a “Sweet New Year”! A refreshing and very simple idea to finish off any Yom Tov meal.
I’m excited to introduce my new Sukkos decoration concept. I couldn’t help but notice the variety of interesting leathers and vinyls available on the market. Sorting through the many different colors and textures, it dawned on me that I could easily create Sukkos décor using one of my favorite combinations, leather and nail heads.
I was entering 3 months in which my connection to my Judaism would be up to me, and I feared I would lose everything.
By Pnina Baim
To some people, the sounds of rustling backpacks and starched uniforms brings feelings of sweet relief; it’s the sound of children going back to school and the household returning to a normal schedule.
By Rhona Lewis
In a pinewood paneled roof studio in Ramat Beit Shemesh, Israel, Avraham and Rachel Kolberg, Breslover chassidim, teach yoga classes to groups of men and women. Purple and blue exercise mats are neatly folded on wooden shelves. Purple foam blocks, weights of up to twenty kilos and ropes as thick as a man’s wrist are all stacked neatly along the sides of the studio. Plenty of light floods the room from large windows that face the Judean Hills. The sense of peace in this studio comes from more than just the pleasant surroundings.
I read an article recently that described the fascinating phenomenon of mainstream, well-educated, responsible men and women deciding not to have children. According to the article, these people have given the matter a great deal of thought and have come to the conclusion that parenting is not for them.
Dear Dr. Yael: I am sending my oldest son to a Pre-1A this year and am very anxious about inappropriate touching. I do not know if I should speak to my son about this and, if I choose to, I do not know what I should say. I want to protect my son from any kind of inappropriate situation, but I also do not want to scare him. My goal is for my son to have a warm and loving relationship with his rebbe. How do I balance my wish to protect him with the desire to provide him with a successful school year? An Anxious Mother
In her book Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking, Susan Cain relays the story of Rosa Park and the Montgomery Bus Strike during the Civil Rights Movement.
When parents come to talk to me about a troubled child or teenager, I often find it helpful to explore whether or not their marriage is causing their teenager to be at risk.
A dreadful local incident has made national and even international news. A South Miami man finally obtained the attention that he so feverishly sought. The event has caused shock waves and led to a serious examination of the phenomenon of social media.
The summer is over. The kids are back in school and the high-holiday season is upon us. Rosh Hashanah is a week away
Chabad of South Broward will be hosting an inspiring Selichot service featuring world-renowned chazzan Rabbi Yossi Lebovics on Saturday night, August 31 (September 1) at 1:15 a.m. The rabbi will be joined by the talented Lebovics Boys Choir.
Ron Dermer, set to replace Michael Oren as Israeli ambassador to Washington, was born and raised in Miami Beach. He attended the local RASG Hebrew Academy. His father, Jay Dermer, was mayor of Miami Beach in the late 1960s. His brother, David, won that post in 1984.
By Rayzel Reich
We had just moved to Boro Park, fresh from the DP camps. The community was new and small, but we were settling in nicely. I knew how fortunate I was to have almost my whole family survive; most had so much less. Our family was a draw for many who needed that familiar feeling of home. One Shabbos afternoon I answered the door to find one such friend and a couple I did not recognize.
Sometimes, you see it coming and sometimes you don’t. You move into a community thinking, “We’ll stay here for a while,” and then things change, and your position in chinuch is not as certain as you had believed.
Awake, awake! Dress up in your vigor, Zion! Dress up in your garments of glory, Jerusalem, City of holiness... (Isaiah 52:1)
Students in the Lubavitch Senior School in London were asked to recreate a historical event. Miriam Ives, age 15, wrote a letter to a newspaper in the guise of a soldier during the Crimean War.
Baruch Hashem, my husband and I have a marriage in which we constantly anticipate each other's needs and usually try to help the other even before being asked. We, of course, did the same for our children.
As adults who were children of divorce know, healing does not occur through time alone. In fact, my research found that only 46% said they had a positive relationship with their fathers as adults.
In American culture, there is a large emphasis put on optimism. We are told that we need to think positively and that things will work out. For a lot of people, this type of outlook is beneficial and healthy. However, optimism is not a one-size-fits-all affair. Positive thinking works for some, but not for all. For people who have anxiety, optimism can be very difficult and unproductive. Instead, anxious people can harness that anxiety and use it in order to ensure that they do succeed.
After many Los Angeles high school graduates choose to spend a year studying in seminary or yeshiva in Israel, some return home confused about their next step in life. Some find jobs; others focus on continued education.
By dvora
Earlier this month the Jewish Family Services, Los Angeles City Councilman Paul Koretz, the Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust and numerous L.A. political and community leaders hosted the rededication of the Raoul Wallenberg Statue.
Ohel Sara, a new seminary for women who’ve just completed high school or learning in Israel, will open in October. The program, to be housed at the Young Israel of Los Angeles, already has an enrollment of 19 students from outside L.A. – in addition to local students.
By dvora
Amanda and Akiva Zablocki, Jewish parents on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, are spending the month of Elul on the phone battling insurance companies. Their one-year old son, Idan (“era” in Hebrew), will soon be undergoing a bone marrow transplant for Hyper IgM, a rare genetic immune deficiency disorder that affects only two in a million people. The family’s Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and Sukkot will take place at the Seattle Children’s Hospital as they prepare Idan for the surgery.
By S. Goldfarb
I always knew I wanted to be perfect, but it wasn’t until my seminary year that I decided I wanted to be publicly perfect. It was at that point in my life that the imagery of me as a public figure and a rebbetzin was born.
By Sandy Eller
While there is no doubt that a bat mitzvah is an opportunity to celebrate a milestone date in a pre-teen girl's life, much of the emphasis is on the bat, the guest of honor herself. While many soon to be twelve year old girls focus on their clothing, hair, invitations, menu and color scheme, it is refreshing to see how many spend an equal amount of time addressing the mitzvah aspect of this event, by integrating a special project, designed to benefit others, into the festivities.
By Ron Ansel
Cover letters have long been associated with resumes and the job application process. In a time and a place when people were actually mailing resumes, the cover letter was a vital component that allowed the applicant to introduce himself and spell out why he was applying for a particular job.
Just imagine you are walking through a beautiful garden. Feast your eyes on the colors of the flowers, the grass at your feet, the leaves of the trees in shades from green to silver. Listen to the birds. Let the sunshine caress your face. Smell the perfume.
Now and then you read or hear of a tragedy – typically a car accident - where those involved are suffering from life-threatening injuries or unfortunately have lost their lives. Frequently, in the initial reports, the victims remain nameless “pending notification of next of kin.”
Dear Dr. Yael: Like the seven-year-old daughter of A Heartbroken Mother, last week’s letter writer, my somewhat socially awkward nine-year-old son is also being bullied.
When interviewed about the subject, Carrie Goldman, the author of the book, Bullied: What Every Parent, Teacher and Kid Needs to Know About Ending the Cycle of Fear, explains that bullying comes about pretty equally between the genders, but it happens in different ways.
On our first day in the antepartum unit, one of the nurses mentioned how critical every moment of pregnancy really was. “One minute in is worth two minutes out (in an incubator).” We weren’t really expecting a premature birth, but her comment put a fine point on the importance of the care my wife was receiving.
The Jewish king is required to always have a Torah scroll by his side.
RASG Hebrew Academy, located at 2400 Pine Tree Drive in Miami Beach, will hold a grand opening of the school’s new gymnasium on October 4. The community-wide event will mark the official opening of the multistory center, designed by noted architect Koby Karp.
Children at Camp Gan Israel at The Shul of Bal Harbour enjoyed a fun-filled summer. The campers were treated to seven weeks of sports, swimming, trips, crafts, theme weeks, dress up days and much more.
If you’re looking to get away from the irritations of technology and people in your way, the best place to go is Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.
Karen’s fourth child, a daughter named Abbie, was bright and highly verbal. Abbie learned phonics and loved drawing. But, even at eight or nine years old, Abbie could barely make it through an easy reader. Her mother was at a loss. She had taken her to three different doctors to check her vision.
September 4, 2026 
