יום רביעי, כ״ד חשוון תשפ״זWednesday, November 4, 2026
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For such a complex word, it has a real simple etymology – it comes from the word pack, which means… pack! Add a diminutive, pluralize it, and you get pekalach!
When a loved one passes, we don’t wish we could trade them for someone else, even if an illness took them from us in a horrible way or much too soon. Only because we cannot isolate pain from pleasure, love, and meaning is it true that we would not trade away our suffering.
The same word morphed from childish sweetness to an adult weight. And for a while, I thought that was the whole story: that growing up meant swapping candy bags for burdens.
Perhaps we should not sweat the small stuff – the pekalach – but be grateful and feel blessed that we do not have to deal with a life-draining pekel.
We must learn to be grateful for our pekelach in life – our personal lot – because, as the saying goes, if everyone were to place their own bundle of challenges in the middle of the room, each person would ultimately choose their own back again.
From a life-altering accident to the world’s biggest tournaments, Sasson has become one of Israel’s most compelling sports figures – powered by resilience, faith, and fierce national pride.
Once your child’s playdate arrives, don’t just leave the room. Instead, suggest some activities that will get things going. Taking out puzzles, musical instruments, or blocks are great ways to break the ice. Once the children begin to play together, take a backseat, but be available in case they need you.
The good news is that while we cannot remove technology from our homes entirely, we can create a healthier and more boundaried relationship with it.
Sharabi watched the people around him carefully. He tried to engage them, not by way of sympathizing with them but to make the best of the awful situation.
When we misuse our free will, we become a kli (a "vehicle" or a "vessel") whose role shifts to supporting those who are fulfilling their primary Divine purpose (Rabbi Eliyahu Dessler, Strive for Truth, Vol. II, 75-76).
By Mendi Glik
Yativ has always understood that music is a key to the soul. His goal is to create music with messages of emunah and closeness to Hashem.
It was also therapeutic for Rikki to confide in Zahava during their long hours lying on lounge chairs by the pool, justifying her divorce by laying out the full panoply of her ex’s indiscretions and faults.
While I realize that your question is post marriage, it’s worth pointing out that a couple’s approach to money should be in sync and laid out BEFORE they tie the knot.
The food is thoughtfully executed, the environment is welcoming, and the restaurant lives up to its name: the meal feels crafted, not just prepared.
By Irwin Cohen
Once, while chatting in the late '80s, he eyed my World Series ring. I took it off and he looked at it closely and said softly, I don't have one yet.
What is different today is that the expulsions will be not by government edicts, which could be appealed in court, but, with government and public cooperation, through violence, termination of employment, boycotts of Jewish-owned businesses, bans on attending public events, and so on – in other words, social pressure.
Do you also notice those flaws? Do they bother you? If they do, why don’t you take steps to change them?
In Tanach, Achithophel was King David’s brilliant counselor, so sharp in judgment that Scripture says seeking his advice was like inquiring from the word of G-d.
Behavioral science shows how powerfully environment shapes us. Who exercises, overspends, smokes, or shows up for family is often less about conviction than we like to believe. We are social creatures. If your friends go to the gym, you are more likely to go. If your colleagues drink heavily or live beyond their means, you may drift with them.
Growing up, we loved watching the Food Network and its various cooking shows. I have two sisters and two brothers and we are all food-centered. My youngest brother whips up delicious food now too! I’m so proud!
The lack of previous entanglement with the Mandate or with Jewish–Arab issues was precisely why the British government selected him: it wanted someone perceived as impartial, with no record of favoring Zionist, Arab, or imperial political positions.
I took one bite, said, Blech! and washed it down with the only drink I had, extremely sweet Manischewitz.
I remember growing up, gefilte fish looked different. The traditional old school look of it was football shaped and the size of your hand, not logs.
At 17, I had previously encountered gefilte fish, but I didn't understand that it was a common first course for Shabbos lunch.
I like mine with chrayonaise – that’s a glorious mix of chrain (horseradish) and mayonnaise. Once you try it, you’ll understand. It’s the perfect blend of spice and smooth – like a good marriage.
Gefilte fish, dips, chopped liver, sweet and sour meatballs – no. Serve the meatballs and the liver as part of the main meal. You can even put out some dips. But skip that first course.
Be truthful even if it is painful. In such tenuous situations, children sense gaps in the story or can begin to mistrust their parents if they find out later that information has been concealed or distorted.
We turn to You, the G-d of mercy, You, who we fear and adore, Please heed our prayers and pleas and bring relief, For our battered souls cannot take too much more.
If someone grew up feeling inadequate, unseen, or unworthy of love, it can be difficult to internalize love and appreciation later in life.
By Mendi Glik
While there are so many wedding songs out there in the Jewish music world (which I wouldn’t be able to cover in one column), I’d like to recommend one which might not be the most well-known wedding song but is really beautiful.
Fear doesn't just unsettle us; it can help bring about the very outcomes we dread. Worry is a misuse of the imagination that can lead to dire consequences.
They chit-chatted for a little while, speculating on Hennie’s shidduch while carefully avoiding the subject of Effi.
Not every family is fortunate to have extra dollars to spend on non-essential items. Many individuals in our community are just getting by.
By Marc Gronich
Delgado has made clear that he has many differences with Hochul on the issues including housing, energy, education, childcare, utility monopolies, tax credits for businesses, and style of governing.
The right seat is more than a box on an org chart. It is the alignment of someone’s natural strengths with the role they occupy.
For an introvert, dating can be painful, as they struggle to overcome their innate reserved personalities.
Pollard’s recruitment by Israeli handlers and the timeline of his espionage are matters on which documentation is clearer than his motives and consequences.
Children are not nachas machines. Children are human beings, messy combinations of nature and nurture, who are put on this earth to navigate their own journeys.
By Avi Ganz
According to AI, nachas is a Yiddish word that translates to deep pride and joy, especially the kind felt from the accomplishments or meaningful actions of a loved one, particularly one's children.
By Ariela Davis
It’s one thing to have nachat from kids because they get a good grade or follow the path we hope they will follow.
Often, parents view nachas as the payoff for cleaning up diapers and vomit, helping with countless hours of homework and hanging on during the roller coaster that is the teenage years. Even if that payment is not made immediately, it is still viewed as deserved when it comes to fruition in adulthood.
Over the centuries, women have taken on positive time bound mitzvot which bring them nachat such as listening to the Shofar on Rosh Hashanah, shaking the lulav and sitting in the sukkah.
Oppositional defiant disorder is the diagnosis often given to kids who tantrum a lot, often refuse to do what they’re told, and do not follow rules and requests. While the diagnosis refers to specific behaviors, it does not provide any information about the problems and lagging skills that are causing those behaviors.
There are mothers who are looking for a son-in-law who will compensate for all the things their own husbands are missing. They approach the shidduch scene hoping for a do over of their own marriages and live vicariously through their children.
All the good we help bring into existence benefits us in the Next World, to the extent that the soul grows from the experience.
Over salads and pasta in a sleek, dimly lit space, Shulamis shared that she’d received reports from Velvel about how happy they were in the new house in Toms River. But she told Chani confidentially that she didn’t think it was so wonderful that Rikki would be with them for the whole summer.
In life and business, we are often asked only for water. Whether we also draw for the camels is what separates technical competence from moral leadership. Rivka became a matriarch not through words, but through awareness and action.
The announcement of Rivkah’s birth at the end of the previous parsha, preceding the Akeidah, doesn’t necessarily mean that the two events were simultaneous.
The showstopper of the sale was a truly rare silver piece: a hanging Sabbath lamp from England, dating to the year 1726, as indicated by the numerous British silver hallmarks found on the lamp.
The consequences of this election will be interesting (and perhaps scary), but instead of sitting back and complaining about the bad policies, I favor a more proactive approach.
While self-confidence is key, the ability to be humble is vital.
By Irwin Cohen
The Series winning Dodgers were outscored by the Blue Jays over seven games 34 to 26, but the final score in each game, of course, is what matters.
At the center of the storm stood Rabbi Yosef Shalom Abdallah, a distinguished and forceful personality, and a cousin of the Ben Ish Chai.
By Marc Gronich
The emotional scars are still felt throughout the Jewish community, which remains on guard to prevent copycat shooters from mounting a similar attack. The synagogue is in shambles and is in the midst of a $22 million rebuilding effort.
By Mendi Glik
Walking the streets of Hebron is a unique experience. You can see and feel the history from every street corner. Almost every place you walk has a story.
Levy was both admired and criticized within the American Jewish community. Many Jews saw him as a symbol of Jewish pride and accomplishment, proof that Jews could serve with distinction in the highest ranks of American public life, while others were uncomfortable with his duels, his combative personality, and the controversies that surrounded him.
By Maayan Zik
By providing a discreet and respectful way to meet temporary needs, the gemach truly embodies the spirit of practical, ongoing community support. It is a powerful example of how shared resources can elevate the quality of life for all.
By Akiva Kra
Gemachs can beat any company. Amazon Prime promises two-day delivery. A gemach says, “Come now.” And if Mrs. Gemach is not home, her 12-year-old will meet you outside. No membership fee, just a thank-you and maybe a babka later.
When a person gives to a gemach and allows a fellow Jew to enjoy the material pleasures you once had, for free, it’s a form of tzedakah. Through simple physical objects, olam haba is attained.
By Martin Bodek
Do you know what the actual plural for gemach is? That’s right, gemachim. However, calling them gemachs is a minhag of Klal Yisrael, and we’re very makpid to keep to those.
By Anat Coleman
These everyday exchanges have not only made life more convenient, but also reminded me again and again of the quiet generosity that lives in a community when people are simply willing to help each other out.
Companies like Enron and Theranos rose on innovation and brilliance but fell to arrogance and deceit. Their failure was not from lack of intelligence but from loss of integrity.
When they are young, children simply want to please their parents and will do their best to live up to even the highest expectations. However, repeated failure to meet inflated hopes can injure children’s self-esteem.
In life we all should focus on what we do have instead of what we don’t have. We should focus on our brachos.
Many readers may not have a background in investing and financial planning. However, you do have intuition.
And at the center of this revolution stood Daniel Bomberg, a Christian printer from Antwerp who opened a Hebrew press in Venice in 1516. Working with brilliant Jewish scholars, proofreaders, and editors, Bomberg became the single most influential printer of Hebrew classics in the early sixteenth century.
Bitachon is not an excuse for recklessness; it does not absolve a person of the responsibility to use the intelligence and discernment Hashem gave him. One who deliberately disregards danger is not relying on Hashem—he is acting negligently.
Hennie and a friend set up a round-the-clock Tehillim chat, and Mindy, never one to miss any action, insisted on driving back and forth to Monmouth Hospital the next day and throughout most of that week during the hours her children were in day camp.
I wanted the movie to be focused on Jewish joy, and I was careful not to include stereotypes as much as I could while still making it feel realistic, Peck said.
By Mendi Glik
One of my favorite singers is Yehuda Glanz, whose album Na’ale, which was released in 1993, has been one of my favorites since I was in high school.
It is not wrong for you to look for a guy who has a solid plan for the future. It is not wrong for you to look for someone who cares deeply about doing whatever it takes to provide for his family. It is not wrong for you to look for a person who is emotionally stable and diligent. Unfortunately, we cannot predict the future.
Elman participated in benefit concerts for Jewish relief organizations during and after the war, raising funds for survivors and displaced persons. In one case, he and his wife assisted in providing affidavits for the Hammberschlag family in Germany and sponsored them (the family arrived in the United States on July 13, 1939).
By Marc Gronich
The impact of the shooting still creates a lingering uneasy feeling at other nearby houses of worship. Located a few blocks from the Tree of Life Synagogue is the Chabad of Squirrel Hill. The rabbi there is doing his best not to have his prayer services interrupted by gunfire.
By Eve Glover
Since Oct. 7, many secular Jewish college students have started exploring their Jewish roots and observing Shabbat. They emulate and are inspired by the incredible stories of faith of these released hostages, many of whom are around their age.
By Rabbanit Dr. Adena Berkowitz
In 2022, Agudath Israel of America circulated on Capitol Hill a legislative memo that pointed out the unique and disruptive challenges permanent DST would present to the Orthodox Jewish community; for example having to pray in synagogues at much later times because of later sunrises and then the challenge of getting to their places of work on time.
As a student in high school, I remember looking forward to the initial “Fall back” where we roll back the clock by an hour and for one or two mornings you felt like you gained an hour of sleep!
By Jordana Baruchov Grreenfield
Hashem builds that spring into our lives; not to break us, but rather to launch us.
On a personal note, those of us with young children know that their bodies don’t respond to the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s manipulation of time.
Perhaps this year we can use daylight savings as an invitation to pay more attention to those we love, and to ensure that we are not overlooking the little ordinary moments that we take for granted.
When is bullying an isolated incident and when is it considered a more serious situation in that parents and teachers should become involved?
We ask for a long life, so why ask for strong bones? I realized that being blessed with many years of life, of a ripe old age – isn’t enough. One needs strong bones – physical well-being.
In my own practice I also see grandparents who were very strict with their own children but undermine their children when they discipline their grandchildren (who are their children’s children). Perhaps these grandparents have mellowed, but they are inappropriate to undermine their children’s parenting techniques.
Healing has taught me something softer. Good does not always arrive loud or dramatic. Sometimes it is subtle, barely noticeable. I just have to slow down enough to see it.
Pachter’s talk, Love Triangles without the Romance: Fixing the In-Law Dynamic, is about mother-in-law/daughter-in law drama and how to avoid it – a universal subject if ever there was one.
When we transgress, either willingly or unknowingly, our soul becomes tarnished, and Hashem allows us to cleanse ourselves of these spiritual blemishes.
A little voice seemed to chirp in his ear: You were upset with Chani for letting her family persuade her to break off your shidduch. Now you let Avraham persuade you to date a young, immature woman, and the result was disastrous. Why didn’t you follow your gut instincts?
hTe truth is that some events are too seismic to plan for in advance. During these situations, we learn the ultimate lesson from Noach, which is to …Walk with G-d (Bereishit 6:9).
October 30, 2026 
