יום רביעי, כ״ז אלול תשפ״וWednesday, September 9, 2026
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In an attempt to respond to this quirky Word Prompt word, I googled crows and I learned something fascinating. There is actual meaning behind those annoying shrills and shrieks.
Sometimes in life we are like the raven, tested by Hashem in areas that are precisely our very weakness.
By Jason Maoz
An event like this brings the families of our community so much happiness – without any worries about the cost of an afternoon filled with entertainment, and with the convenience of being smack in the middle of their own neighborhood, sparing them a long Chol HaMoed schlep.
As the ego grows and our perspective narrows, unhealthy aspects of our personality begin to surface, filtered through the prism of our insecurities.
Over the years, the Kibbutz movement has produced nearly 1,000 distinct iterations of the Haggadah. Each of these versions carries within it a unique vision of Jewish identity, shaped by the values of the time and the ongoing struggle for national sovereignty.
By Alan Zeitlin
Jeffrey Wiesenfeld, a former aide to Republican Governor George Pataki and former CUNY trustee, said people should be taking Mamdani’s candidacy more seriously.
By Marc Gronich
With Homan in the Capitol building, Democrats hastily rallied together, leaving debates behind in the Senate and Assembly chambers to show their disdain toward the Trump administration and Homan in particular.
Collins was a passionate critic of antisemitism, as to which he advised his troops: “I know that there exists, in some divisions, what your people call antisemitism. It will not be tolerated in my division. Should it crop up, I will hold you personally responsible if I am not made aware of it immediately.
The karpas initiates a curiosity about our redemption and mission in this world. This aligns with the Sefas Emes, which comments that karpas represents the first stage of avodas Hashem.
By the time we get to that portion of the seder, we are so famished, that even a plain potato or bitter parsley and celery taste delicious!
The salt water represents the tears Bnei Yisrael shed while in servitude and the green vegetable symbolizes spring and the renewal of spirit.
Karpas in my home was parsley, although celery was another option. (We did not use potatoes as karpas...)
In Judaism we always have the ability for a fresh new start. The story of Passover depicts us as slaves in Egypt, never giving up the hope of being freed and we persevere, and gain our freedom.
By Mendi Glik
I have a feeling that you’re going to hear about these two a lot in the future. They both grew up in very musical homes and music has been part of their lives since they were born.
As I pull out different suits of his which were stored in our downstairs bedroom, I am quite shocked to discover how many of them were veritable feasts for the moths.
The human tendency to focus on positive memories, while conveniently forgetting about the less positive ones, is helpful.
Pesach is a time of freedom – not just from physical bondage but also from limitations that hold us back. Just as Bnei Yisrael prepared for their journey from Mitzrayim by refining themselves, we too can use this time for self-improvement.
You are likely having anxious thoughts. These thoughts are probably swimming around your mind all day and are exacerbating your anxious feelings. Once you identify your anxious thoughts, you will need to reframe them and create more logical, non-anxious thoughts, which you will use to start getting your anxiety under control.
Rather than feeling threatened by Hillel’s wisdom, the Benei Beteira immediately recognized his superior knowledge and stepped aside, appointing him as the new Nasi.
Preparing grasshoppers for consumption is very easy. No shechitah is required. And while there is a dispute among the rabbis whether they must be killed before they are eaten, this debate can be easily circumvented by freezing and killing them, ensuring that they die painlessly.
If we’re asking questions solely for the purpose of receiving answers, we’ve missed the point.
By Irwin Cohen
Once a week or so an afternoon baseball game was televised. However, there were no captions showing the name of the player, or his batting average, and 75 years ago, the black and white games were covered by mostly one camera in the upper deck behind home plate showing the pitcher, batter, catcher and most of the umpire.
Even with the heavy wear to this piece, I had some competition in the live bidding, but I eventually prevailed and was the piece’s new owner. Now my task was to research the age and origin of this Passover soup tureen, and see how many other examples were known.
The bigger our ego, the greater our need to predict and control our world. The ego is thus inclined to dwell on the worst-case scenario in a futile attempt to protect itself.
Dear Dating Coach, I am not going home for Pesach. Nothing you say will convince me to change my mind. I am dating someone pretty new in the city that I am currently living in and I want to continue dating him over Pesach. My family lives quite a distance away. So, I have […]
Sometimes I felt like I wanted to just know the halacha. But this is a book about emerging technologies, and what it offers are points to consider.
By Ariela Davis
They made aliyah with their six children in 2021 to Efrat. But moving to Israel has come with incredible highs, and also some challenges.
Through its engaging conversational style, this book offers readers profound insights and practical steps to live a joyous Torah life, even amidst life's inevitable challenges.
One of the most fascinating chapters of Simkovich’s book is an exploration of the origins of word diaspora itself.
Norman seems to enjoy sharing the difficult moments in his life which often became the clearest examples of Hashem’s guidance.
One way to empower your child to succeed is to work with their teacher for the child’s benefit. Communication between the parents and teacher is key.
The trial court denied the shul’s application for a tax exemption, concluding, among other things, that the property was not intimately related to the [petitioner’s] religious objectives.
Even standing on their own without musical accompaniment, Shemer’s lyrics were achingly beautiful and highly emotional.
Speaking of war, the next major offense against free expression occurred early in the Civil War (which ironically happened because the American political system, unlike that of Britain and France, failed to end the enslavement of Black Americans, a deprival of liberty not fully corrected until the 1960s-era civil rights laws).
For generations, a Jewish state in Eretz Yisrael was the great hope – Hatikvah – of countless Jews. In 1948, that hope was realized. Yet, hope did not end there – Od lo avda tikvateinu – nor did the challenges.
By Marc Gronich
For many years this event was highlighted with remarks from Rabbi Shmuel Butman, z”l from the Assembly rostrum in Albany. However, Rabbi Butman passed away last July at the age of 81, due to a heart attack. This year, his son, Rabbi Velvl Butman, 57, took the reins and delivered remarks directed towards the life and legacy of the Lubavitcher Rebbe.
If a person feels like change is impossible, we encourage hope. If they feel like they can't be fixed, we show them their value.
When we focus on this healing future that exists beyond time, we bring tomorrow's comfort into today's pain. Our suffering doesn't disappear, but it changes as the light of our destination brightens our difficult journey.
This Pesach will be the second year of a wartime Seder and so our Hope for Hashem’s protection will be even more pronounced.
Imber’s words testify to the enduring spirit of Am Yisrael. Even in the shadow of loss, our hope remains. Our deep connection to the land, to our people, and to the promise of renewal endures.
Citing the machatzis ha’shekel, Rabbi Mermelstein stated that we all need each other. When we love our neighbor as if they were us, we see them as equally deserving of the same treatment we would want for ourselves.
Three weddings for the same two people, really is two more than necessary.
By Mendi Glik
As Avigdor puts it, from his father, he and his siblings got the military part, and from his mother the music part.
If you need to take out credit card debt to pay for something, it means you are spending too much money.
It is crucial that the couple should not leave the session in a state of anger. Instead, it is best to focus on positive things in the marriage and work on the deeper, more problematic issues separately.
People with anxiety or depression gravitate towards feelings that match their internal emotional landscape. For example, someone with anxiety might repeatedly engage in activities that provoke worry or fear, while a person with depression might immerse themselves in environments that elicit sadness or hopelessness.
Your inability to see past a picture, a number (both height and weight!) your impudence over color preference, and your arrogance in creating a Ken doll just for you, will leave you not only without a date, or mate, but a future based on Torah values.
By Irwin Cohen
I wasn't bored as I cut out articles from The Jewish Press to read while waiting for appointments or at simchas. After all, my table neighbors spent a lot of time playing with their phones.
By Alan Zeitlin
He said based largely on this incident, when people ask him how to fight antisemitism, besides Holocaust education, people should illuminate others on the many Jewish contributions to the world.
By Baruch Lytle
Many of the locals still know the place as Sarah's Brick Oven Pizza, so first, let's explore what brick oven pizza means.
Materially speaking, kosher wine symbolizes our connection and commitment to G-d more than anything else. Unlike kosher food, kosher wine isn't solely defined by specific ingredients or appearance.
Hebrew printing on Corfu was a late development, only taking root in the late 19th century. Before this, the community was forced to send their manuscripts to well-established centers like Venice for publication.
According to most authorities, the family's Judaism was neither religious nor political but, rather, cultural and casual.
But if "all Jews are Jews, except the Jews I really don't like" is your stance, then you don't actually believe in achdut.
By Solly Hess
There have been moments of national unity in the U.S., where Americans banded together after terrifying circumstances. Think of the kindness and care shown to one another after 9/11. Sadly, that grand-scale unity is more of a distant memory than the ubiquitous flags on everyone’s car window.
Let us also remember that the biggest obstacle to achdut is ego. As people strive to defend their image and self-importance, this can become its own type of avodah zarah that undermines the spiritual values that they think they are fighting for.
According to Ohr HaChaim: The kingdom of Israel will only endure if the heads of the people assemble together (keep the peace amongst themselves).
When we look at others, we should recognize that they carry a spark of Hashem Echad within them. When we think about ourselves, we must also remember that we, too, hold a part of Hashem Echad.
By Baruch Lytle
The stigma placed on divorcees can make it unclear where to turn for help. Studies show it's in a community's best interest to take care of its most vulnerable and to nurse them back to good spiritual, emotional and mental health.
Many friends offered their condolences not only on the passing of my amazing Hubby, but also for the time which I would need to wait before the mourning period officially would begin.
It’s true that your daughter might have trouble relating to children her own age, but as she gets older, she will be comfortable in all sorts of situations. Once she enters high school, her peers will have caught up with her and she will do equally well at interacting with her classmates as well as adults.
By Irwin Cohen
Unlike Florida, no one wore a costume and all the men dress as they do year-round, black suit, white shirt, black hat and grayish to whitish beard. Until the grass gets greener, the flowers bloom and the trees grow leaves, living in Country Place is like living in a black and white movie.
The clearer our perception of reality, the more each moment reinforces our emunah. In contrast, those who deny the truth must continually adjust their experiences, filtering their lives through an ego-distorted lens.
By Mendi Glik
The reason that I liked so much to go to the Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue is because of the special nusach that they still daven there, a nusach that goes back hundreds of years. They still pray in the original style that they prayed in when the shul began.
It is very hard to help someone who hoards. People who hoard may not realize that their behavior is potentially unhealthy or dangerous or they may know but feel uncomfortable speaking about it with others.
The most significant of Farissol’s writings is Igereth Orchoth Olam, a comprehensive cosmographic and geographic work based on original research and the studies of Christian and Arab geographers.
Today, besides Hamas, Hezbollah, and Ayatollah Khamenei, we are hated by U.N. officials and innumerable college faculty, students, commentators, journalists, and government officials around the world.
By Robert Isler
Fay shares that not a day goes by without group members voicing how helpless they had felt watching the avalanche of ugliness following October 7 until they discovered this empowering vehicle to fight back.
By Alan Zeitlin
In the debate with Beinart, Lax said the charge of apartheid is wrong and that the status of those who live in what is called the West Bank is not based on race but on citizenship vs. non-citizenship.
By Ben Rothke
With each passing year, more and more Haggadahs are being printed – and that trend continues in 2025. Here are a few that can enhance your Seder.
You like him. You really do. You have had a great time together. You connected. Your parents did extensive research. They know he has qualities that they felt made him worthy of you. You have spent time together. Now, trust yourself. Trust the process.
It is fascinating to note that, notwithstanding his antisemitism, Sherman was a great admirer of Rose Eytinge (1835-1911), a Jewish-American actress and author who rose to become one of the most popular female stars of the 1860s and 1870s and the first American actress to earn a three-figure salary.
By Marc Gronich
The strong showing of advocates in Albany as well as the clear message Agudah presented was met with praise from dozens of state legislators.
We each have our own characteristics and prefer our own path of worship. Our paths are unique to ourselves, but here is where we differ from angels: angels cannot veer from their characters, we can.
By Keshet Starr
In many ways, the twelve tribes are a beautiful symbol of Jewish unity; twelve different groups within a larger nation, each contributing in their own way.
Each of my children has different strengths, weaknesses, and learning styles. With Hashem’s help, they will all find their own individual paths.
The picture will become clearer when Moshiach comes. In the meantime, let’s daven and pray for an easier time and a redemption of mercy for the people of Israel!
By Hillel Fuld
Interestingly, the word shevet is spelled the same way in Hebrew as other words including the month of Shevat, and the Hebrew word for cloning.
Hubby was looking for sympathy. I felt that being sympathetic was not helpful. I wanted him to feel alive and not indulge himself that his end was near.
Over the years, people have shared horrific stories of financial and verbal and emotional abuse from family members and friends, and I ask myself, how could these so called frum people sleep at night.
What is separation anxiety? Most people think that separation anxiety is something our six-month-old infants develop and our toddlers grow out of. Separation anxiety before a child is two years old is completely normal and helps children learn how to master their environment.
By Mendi Glik
Many Jewish songs have been written and composed based on Rabbi Elimelech’s writings and tefillot that he composed. Rabbi Elimelech was also a composer and composed a few niggunim.
By Irwin Cohen
I really admired the Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivas Ohr Someach. As one of the founders of the baal teshuva movement in the 1960s, he affected many future generations.
It behooves all families, but especially folks with a lot of assets, to speak with an estate planning attorney and tax accountant who specialize in these cross-border issues. Failure to do so can wreak havoc within your finances, especially for your loved ones after you pass away.
Of course organization and being prepared will lower your anxiety, but what is just as important is teaching your brain that Pesach cleaning does not have to be anxiety provoking.
When the ego is engaged, it instructs us about what is important. However, in this space, we can’t access it and have little or no connection to the reality into which we have been thrust.
September 4, 2026 
