יום שלישי, י״ט אלול תשפ״וTuesday, September 1, 2026
Follow Us
By Yoni Glatt
This past week I saw a video preview of an upcoming iPod app that excited and inspired me to the point of near tears. It was for RustyBrick’s jaw-dropping ArtScroll Schottenstein Talmud app. Unfortunately that app won’t be out for another few months (but take the time to check out the preview at www.rustybrick.com), yet I realized after months of writing this column that I had yet to give the due attention to RustyBrick’s Siddur app.
US medical device company Covidien has acquired Israeli respiratory systems maker superDimension for approximately $300 million, winning a bidding war to purchase the company for its bronchial tube endoscopes which reduce the invasiveness of surgery.
The Hebrew-English haggada provides a wealth of photographic evidence of the lives led by Ethiopian Jews. The pottery, the unembellished homes, school, and synagogues, the gaunt Jews in modest clothing and head coverings portray dedication to Torah values despite harsh political and topographical conditions.
Pia Levine, victim of last year's suicide bombing at Jerusalem’s International Convention Center (Binyanei Ha’uma), has rebounded from the horror with classy style. Less than two days after the 2011 attempt to end her life, she completed the Jerusalem Marathon in 2 hours and 10 minutes. She returned for this year's Jerusalem Marathon.
By Yitta Halberstam Mandelbaum
I know I’m going to be crucified, but if the appeal I make below helps even one girl in shidduchim, then it will be worth all the fury and outrage that shall inevitably descend upon my soon-to-be beleaguered head.
Our understanding of Autism Spectrum Disorders has advanced rapidly in recent years. Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are a family of neurodevelopmental conditions characterized by unusual patterns in social interaction, communication, and range of interests and activities. While this profile is generally applicable for the entire ASD population, much variation actually exists. No two individuals exhibit the exact same symptoms and as such, ASD is a heterogeneous disorder.
The college of yesteryear is not the college of today. Students with disabilities comprise the most rapidly growing student population on many campuses.
Fundamental and far-reaching changes are coming that will have a profound effect on every individual in New York State who receives services under the current system for caring for individuals with developmental disabilities.
Traveling to Disney World with your kids? If you are a typical Jewish family, there are concerns about the availability of kosher food, events that take place on Shabbos that you may have to schedule around, and the availability of a minyan. Traveling with a special needs child creates an added level of complexity.
I love coffee, but I cannot drink it. This has been the case since my doctor issued the verdict last month - no coffee and no milk. I was quite disappointed to hear that as I love coffee, but I was determined to follow expert medical advice. That conviction, however, did not last more than one week into a new semester with a full course load.
It was Yehudah’s third birthday party. Instead of calmly interacting with his guests, he either ignored them or bossed them around with his limited vocabulary of ten words. He ran around nonstop and elbowed every person in his path. Then, his mother, Shoshana, decided he needed some time to himself so she asked him to play quietly in the den for a few minutes.
By Blimie Basch
Tanya Rosen is the owner of Shape Fitness. She recently released a kosher, home-workout DVD for women. Dr. Natalie Zelenko is employed as a radiologist at the Cancer Center at Maimonides Medical Centers. Igor Lempert works as an actuary for New York Life. What they and thousands of others share is a life of Torah Judaism, despite having been raised in secular environments and due to the education and warmth they received at Be’er Hagolah Institutes.
Dear Dr. Yael: I read the March 2 letter from A Lonely Wife who feels unappreciated and neglected as she seeks more attention from her husband. It is necessary for her to receive a reality check – in other words, mussar. While apparently having it all, she is unfulfilled. Well, how would she feel if […]
When people hear the term "lashon hara", they automatically associate it with gossip. Speaking about someone behind their back to others, usually in a manner that is denigrating and unflattering, often describing alleged activities or doings that put the subject of the discussion in a rather negative light. This is the ultimate interpretation of lashon hara.
The heading of this article is the title of Angelita Valdes’ biography written by her husband, Dr. Robert Dublin. Dr. Dublin was the physician who treated and nursed the young Filipina dancer and TV starlet back to life when she became ill with tuberculosis meningitis - a life threatening disease. Angelita Valdes’ biography is an astonishing story of an amazing woman’s life.
By Alan Magill
What's more important - love or money? Let's hear what a 90-year-old woman sitting in front of two elevators in a nursing home had to say. I asked her, "If both elevator doors opened at the same time, and out of one came the richest man in the world, and out of the other came the nicest man in the world, who would you want to marry?" She thought about it for a good while and then answered, "Both of them."
A quiet monument to the courage and determination of hundreds of thousands of Jews sits vulnerable on the Lower East Side of New York City at 228 East Broadway. This location was the former home of the Bialystoker Center, built in 1931.
By L. Friedman
The medical world and the laws associated with it are changing rapidly, and the focus is on the quality of life. More and more frequently, patients and their families are encouraged to forgo “excessive” or “unnecessary” treatments and therapies so as to maintain a greater quality of life.
Events In The West: This Shabbos Malcolm Hoenlein, executive vice chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, will be the scholar-in-residence at Beth Jacob Beverly Hills… On March 30, Rabbi Dr. Nathan Lopes Cardozo will be the scholar-in-residence at Young Israel of Century City. LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA Mazel Tov – Births: […]
Over the past three months seven groups of NCSY teen leaders researched non-profit organizations, meeting with and learning from these organizations’ representatives about the Jewish perspective regarding philanthropy.
Israel’s scorching-hot desert will soon be home to massive solar energy farms, bringing Israel closer to its goal of reliance on renewable energy. The Public Utility Authority on Monday issued nine licenses to establish Israel’s first large-scale solar energy farms.
This article has been moved to here: http://jewishpress.com/sections/family/purim-and-the-tyranny-of-beauty-a-plea-to-mothers-of-girls-in-shidduchim/2012/03/19/ Sorry for the inconvenience.
As some of you may know, either through my previous articles, numerous online posts, or non-stop chatter about the topic, I recently had the pleasure of attending Yachad’s marathon weekend event in Miami Beach, Florida. I was invited to participate in this incredible experience, both as a writer and as a runner, and to feel firsthand what the words unity, commitment, dedication, and inspiration truly mean.
By Mark Staum
The life of a typical adolescent may often combine difficulties and complexities. Adolescents are often faced with issues related to peer pressure, academic stress, and potential family difficulties. Friendships and relationships often serve as outlets for adolescents during times of difficulty and turmoil.
The worldwide diabetes epidemic and its related precursor, obesity, are the fastest growing public health menaces of the 21st century.
Having twins used to be a novelty. Now, if you think that you are seeing double everywhere you go, it is not your imagination. The National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), under the auspices of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), published a study last month noting the sharp increase in twin births over the past three decades.
The old debate over who has it ‘harder,’ stay–a- home mothers or working mothers, has never been clearly resolved. Some studies claim that stay-at-home mothers are more satisfied while working mothers are plagued with guilt, while other studies suggest the opposite.
By Alti Bukalov
The sudden jerk of the train woke Rena up with a start. She blinked a couple of times realizing she was still on the subway. Her head was pounding from the roar of the tracks. She adjusted her headphones letting the music echo heavily in her ears. Rena closed her eyes again trying to ignore the headache which just wouldn’t go away.
By Pnina Baim
I think if we can be honest with ourselves, most women will admit to enjoying Pesach cleaning - and perhaps to even looking forward to it all year long.
The whole idea of an artful pushka (tzeddakah or charity box) is almost a tease, if not an outright mockery. Isn’t there something pretty backward about investing time and money in an ornate container to hold alms for the poor?
Welcome back to “You’re Asking Me?” where we answer questions sent in by confused readers who thought they were writing in to Dr. Yael. That said, I’d like to thank all the readers who wrote in. I’m going to attempt to address your questions, not so much because I know the answers, but more so that I have an excuse to get out of cleaning for Pesach.
Dear Dr. Respler: I enjoyed your recent column concerning the jealousy a girl had toward her newborn brother.
The real question is "What is happiness?" We seem to be a very unhappy generation. Even when we say “This makes me happy”, “I am happy”, “I would be happy if you would do this”, “I will be happy to do that”, do we really mean happiness? Do we even know what happiness feels like?
For most physicians specializing in the treatment of infertility, the subject of sexuality - and especially the "how to’s" of sex - are rarely a subject of concern.
Lobos will meet Hawke & Co. in the finals, and attempt to pick up their second consecutive championship title.
By dvora
In her ninety-eighth year my mother beat pneumonia twice. She always said that she would know when her time was up – and she did. People would ask her what she attributed her many years to. Though she was not raised in a religious home, she would always say that Hashem knew what He was doing. We learn in the Torah when one honors parents the reward is a long life. She was certainly proof of this.
By Sandy Eller
I hate to tell you this, but Pesach without pressure is a myth. No matter what anyone tells you (and it’s usually men who tell you that Pesach preparations can be tension free), it just doesn’t exist. To be fair, I don’t know that there is any major holiday or occasion that doesn’t involve some kind of pressure. Eliminating the stress entirely is not a realistic goal. But minimizing it is.
By dvora
More Commentary On Bais Yaakov’s High School Education
Jonathan, who once wondered how he would ever get his son close to Hashem, now knows he wasn’t the only one who wanted it. Hashem had an interest in it as well, and made it all come together.
Dr. Yael replies to a woman who feels like she's playing second fiddle to her husband's myriad phone calls, business deals, medical emergencies, and everyone else who needs him so desperately. Despite the fact that he buys her beautiful jewelry and gifts, that they live in a stunning house and have cleaners and babysitters, all this does not substitute for the intimacy and warmth that she craves from him.
Purim is just a few days away, and Jews young and old are gearing up to celebrate this most festive of holidays, during which all will eat, drink and nosh merrily and in great relief over our come-up-from-behind triumph against a vicious Jew hater whose goal was to annihilate the Jewish people, but who instead had the tables turned against him in a dramatic and unforeseen manner. Sadly, bullying is alive and well in the 21st century afflicting all societies and the individuals that comprise them. For those who think that our heimishe communities have been spared the scourge of bullying - it's time to get their head out of the cholent.
The Jewish Museum’s “Radical Camera” is a thrilling, beautiful exhibition that documents the development of socially conscious photography, primarily in New York City. It was a time of great challenges and great change, uptown, downtown and all around. These intensely creative, sensitive and insightful photographers all had a hand in capturing a time when New York and its people were entering the turbulent heart of the 20th century. Isn’t it interesting that the vast majority of them happened to be Jews?
This Purim centerpiece is sure to keep all your guests “hanging around” until dessert. It can be put together on any level, from simple backyard branches with plain gingerbread man cookies dangling, to curly willow branches with elaborately decorated royal iced gingerbread man cookies – and everything in between! Before you can say all of Haman’s 10 sons in one breath – the cookies will be gone.
It’s hard to believe it’s already here, but Purim is just a few days away. Amidst the hustle and bustle of the myriads of things we do in the days leading up to it, here are a few cute, simple, and fun ideas sure to bring smiles to everyone’s faces and get them into the Purim spirit!
By Elke Weiss
Purim is my favorite holiday, and I love to share the joy. I have spent previous years wandering around my neighborhood in costume. This year, I fully intend to celebrate with full cheer, and I want everyone to know why I plan to spend the day in costume, singing Shoshanat Yaakov at the top of my lungs.
By dvora
There once was a man named Shloime, and he was a Jewish Prince. Or so his mother thought of him, and not many others did, though he was a nice guy and all...
By Moshe Herman
Yishai and Malkah talk about their excitement for snow in Israel, an Arab rock-throwing attack against American Legislators, an ancient Judean palm tree grows today, the expiration of a law allowing ultra-Orthodox Jews to avoid military service, and Yishai’s Tu B’Shevat Seder in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York.
In 1519 Alonso Álvarez de Pineda, Spanish explorer and cartographer, led an expedition into Texas with the goal of finding a passage between the Gulf of Mexico and Asia. He and his men were probably the first Europeans to see the land that became known as Texas.
By dvora
Rabbi Norman Lamm wrote and preserved the hundreds of eloquent and inspiring sermons he had delivered as a pulpit rabbi in Manhattan for 25 years prior to becoming president of Yeshiva University,
Is an Estate Tax in Israel in the works? 30 years ago they tried, but it never took off. Will the new socio-political atmosphere make it possible?
Are you totally bored of today’s uniform dress – that of a shell and pencil skirt? These wardrobe staples have carried you through the past few years’ whether the style was short, low-cut, sleeveless and/or sparkly.
In honor of Purim, Outré EATS presents a new take on traditional Persian fare.
Realizing that there was no backing out of college at this point, I resigned myself to my fate. I was in college, like it or not, but I didn’t believe that I really belonged in college.
Located about nine miles north of Madrid, the Palacio Real de El Pardo (Pardo Palace) dates back to the early 15th century. Devastated by a March 13, 1604 fire that claimed many works from its priceless art collection, the Pardo Palace and its vast gardens were used as a hunting ground by the Spanish monarchs.
By Pnina Baim
There’s nothing like a holiday where one is required to be happy to bring out the grouch in all of us. But we should all be excited to greet Purim. Not only because of the beautiful miracle that occurred, the lessons of emunah and the role of the Jewish woman that Megillas Esther teaches us, but also because it’s the only twenty-four hour holiday that we celebrate here in Chutz L’Aretz, and it has merely four mitzvot! How simple is that?
Thanks to her efforts, domestic violence is now on the national Jewish agenda. But the Rebbetzin didn’t simply raise awareness; she opened safe houses across the country, trained volunteers to provide emotional, physical and financial support and always made herself available for comfort, advice, and direction.
Dear Dr. Yael: As a reader of all of your columns on hakaras hatov, here are my feelings as a child with loving parents.
Asperger’s Syndrome was first described in the 1940s by Austrian pediatrician Hans Asperger, who noticed that he had many patients who were deficient in social and communicative skills even though they had normal language development and cognitive abilities. Professionals still debate as to whether Asperger’s Syndrome is “high-functioning autism” or whether it is its own disorder completely. Regardless, in 1994, Asperger’s Syndrome was added to The American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) as a separate disorder from autism.
By dvora
A Female Member of the Satmar Community in Williamsburg takes Deborah Feldman to task for her allegations in a recent newspaper interview…
If Israeli electric car company, Better Place, only gave the world an electric car that could switch an empty battery for a full one in five minutes that would have been enough! But Better Place is also the key to making renewable energy production practical all over the world. Dai aynu!
By Sandy Eller
“Our goal is not to provide social services,” said Sara Gorfinkel, Director of Tikkun Olam and its only full time employee. “We focus on social change, so that women don’t get to the point where they require social services. We don’t want to fund programs that deal with victims of domestic abuse. We want to prevent domestic abuse before it ever happens.”
Please say Tehillim and daven for: ● Yosef Shalom ben Chaya Mousha (Rav Eliyashiv) ● Aaron Yehuda ben Gittel Feiga (Rav Shteinman) ● Yitzchok Tuvia ben Rikel (Rav Weiss) ● Yisroel ben Chana Tzirel (Rav Belsky) May Hashem grant them all a complete recovery.
Israel is the most likely country in the developed world to provide riskless returns on investments, according to a report in Bloomberg Businessweek.
Welcome back to Simple Home Cooking. Last time we focused on making a large pot of chicken soup. This week, as promised, we will discuss how to use all the cooked vegetables from the soup to create many dishes.
By Ron Ansel
How important is social media to my job search? The Internet has revolutionized the job search process. As recently as 10 years ago, a job search entailed looking through newspaper ads and phonebooks to find appropriate organizations and employers, producing dozens of copies of a resume and cover letter on professional resume paper, stuffing those documents in matching envelopes and paying for postage. It is safe to say that it cost at least $1 for every resume sent, not to mention the investment in time.
By Yoni Glatt
I haven’t been to Israel in six years. That might not sound like a lot of time to some people, but might sound like an eternity to others
Multi-generational families are making a comeback these days. For some the choice is made out of necessity because of the unstable economy, for others it is due to the physical needs of either the younger generation or aging parents. And then sometimes the decision to live this way is out of a mutual desire to be full and present participants in extended family life. For us it was a combination of factors that brought us to this point.
By dvora
Readers weigh in with their own viewpoints on the subject of the heavy curriculum that is par for the course in a Bais Yaakov high school.
By Erica Lyons
Our Jewish world is small but from his five-year-old perspective it is large, perhaps all-encompassing. The fact that in a population of over 7 million people in Hong Kong (95% of whom are ethnically Chinese) we as Jews collectively account for only about 4,000 or 0.05% of the population can be seemingly irrelevant. Large numbers and statistics don’t play into his worldview.
Hadassa Dubrofsky, a lovely twelve-year old girl from Toronto, Canada decided to forgo bat-mitzvah presents and replace them with something even more meaningful and exciting – an act of chesed (charitable kindness).
We live in a wonderful time for Jewish art. The orthodoxy of 20th century High Modernism has given way to a chaotic but liberated postmodernism willing to try anything, even serious “ethnic” art.
The main reason why we came to Eretz Yisrael was because we are Jews, and as such have no place to live in the world other than Eretz Yisrael. My family knew that living in Israel would not be easy and of course our lives would change in every way from the moment we arrived. Therefore, when we were expelled from Gush Katif we knew that everything comes from G-d, and that there is no reason to be angry at the State or at the soldiers that came to expel us.
If certain elements of the charedi community have issues with the way women dress, let them figure out a way to alleviate their obvious spiritual and mental distress in a way that does not encroach on other people’s rights. It's their problem - they need to resolve it, instead of demanding that a huge segment of society change their lives and the way they do things just to accommodate them.
A worried mother asks Dr. Yael how to deal with her two-and-a-half year old daughter's jealousy of her newborn brother.
The Los Angeles Chapter of EMUNAH’s recent gala dinner at the Sephardic Temple in Los Angles featured Eishet Chayil Award recipient Naomi Vanek’s generous donation to refurbish a classroom at the Torah V'Emunah High School in Jerusalem.
By dvora
Naomi and Chaim Manela, and Lorraine and Steve Spira recently hosted the annual Rofeh Cholim Cancer Society (RCCS) reception in Los Angeles. RCCS supporters throughout the Los Angeles Jewish community were in attendance.
Rebbetzin Esther Jungreis, founder and president of Hineni, the Jewish outreach organization, addressed an overflow crowd recently at Congregation Shaarei Tefila in Los Angeles.
In the initial year of the Yeshiva University (YU) Center for the Jewish Future’s Certificate Program in Experiential Jewish Education, the program’s second seminar, “Creating Experiences,” took place recently at the Camp Shalom institute in Malibu. The group’s participants consist of a cross-section of 20 practicing and emerging educators from across the Jewish denominations, working […]
Anyone interested in meticulously researched writings important to the future of Am Yisrael should add 190-page hardcover Torah Tapestries: Shemos to public and private libraries.
Children of mothers who experienced stress during pregnancy may have increased abilities to cope with mental and physical distress in maturity, according to a study out of the Faculty of Medicine at the Technion and Ha’Emek Hospital in Afula reported by Globes.
Welcome back to “You’re Asking Me?” where we try to answer any questions that you send in at any time. And we do mean any time.
Red By John Logan; directed by Robert Falls; starring Edward Gero and Patrick Andrews Jan. 20 – March 11, 2012 Arena Stage, 1101 6th Street, SW, Washington, D.C. http://www.arenastage.org One morning, Ken, Mark Rothko’s studio assistant, comes into the studio to fulfill his daily duties of stretching and priming his employer’s canvases. When he […]
August 28, 2026 
