It’s Fun to Stay-Cation at Home


snow

A cold wind is howling outside, and sleet is predicted for tomorrow. The children are home from school and whining that they’re bored. It’s that time of year again – midwinter break! Time to book a flight to Florida.

But wait a minute… who said we can afford that? And who said it’s even a good idea?

If you find yourself the “only” family on the block not departing for fairer climes, don’t be disappointed and don’t despair. Here are some ideas for stay-at-home activities to entertain everyone and bring you closer together as a family.


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Raise the Rebbi, Raise the Morah: It’s Crucial for Our Mesorah!


school

When Chaya* got back from seminary and started to explore career options, her priorities were that it should be family-friendly, something she enjoys, and that the schooling would not put her heavily in debt. She had worked in office management but wanted something more meaningful. After obtaining a bachelor’s degree, she got a job teaching at Bnos Yisroel’s middle school.

“I decided to teach, having no idea if I would be successful or not,” recalls Chaya. “Teaching was very demanding with a lot of prep work to do at home, but I loved it and found it very fulfilling.”

Bnos Yisroel started raising teachers’ salaries while Chaya was teaching there. She says this made it more feasible for her to teach. But even more importantly, it was a very concrete statement about how the school values their teachers. 


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How to Become a Person


shmuel chaim

Some years ago, while studying the Rambam’s introductory chapters to the Mishnaic tractate of Avos, I came across a paragraph that has shifted the course of my life. You might also find it interesting.

First, some context: The Rambam was explaining how the complete human being doesn’t renounce earthly pursuits, substituting soul for body, quashing self in favor of G-d. Instead, he uses his mind to manage every aspect of his material life and will, directing them toward wellness and wholeness. He notices the temptations to spin right or left but chooses instead to stick with the straight course.

What is the objective that people seek to achieve when they’re well and whole? Where are we headed in life when not looking only for physical pleasure? Sorry, but we’re not going to get into this yet. The spiritual journey doesn’t begin with metaphysics. It begins with becoming a person.


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Searching for Truth and Moral Clarity


truth

 ?After observing the reprehensible lack of moral clarity on display when the presidents of three prestigious universities – Harvard, University of Pennsylvania, and MIT – were  recently called to testify before Congress, it is evident that decades of brainwashing by leftist woke radicals has succeeded. The DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) policies, beloved by woke liberals, which use race and gender as weapons to enforce intellectual conformity, have succeeded in destroying honesty, justice, and morality – so much so that these presidents were simply unable to condemn the antisemitism rampant in their schools. Kudos to Republican Congresswoman Elise Stefanik for exposing the moral turpitude in the leadership of our Ivy League universities.


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Interesting Day Trips in Our Own Backyard


jerusalem mills

Right in our own backyard, within a one-hour drive from Pikesville, there are wonderful places to visit, most at no charge.

Historic Jerusalem Mills Village

This Quaker village, dating back to the late 1700s, is one of the oldest and most intact mill villages in the United States, where grain was milled from 1772 until 1961. The village, which sits along the Little Gunpowder Falls in Kingsville, Maryland, is in the process of a total restoration thanks to a volunteer organization, the Friends of Jerusalem Mills. The village consists of a restored grist mill, the miller’s house, a still functioning blacksmith shop, a tenant house, McCourtney’s general store, the Jerusalem mansion, a springhouse, a smokehouse/dairy, and the ruins of a large bank barn. All buildings were constructed in the 1700s and 1800s. Adjacent to the village is the intact Jerusalem covered bridge, one of only six in Maryland. There is a lot of history in the village. During the Revolutionary War, gunstocks for the Maryland Militia were produced in the cooperage located behind the mill, and during the Civil War, Confederate troops conducted a raid at McCourtney’s general store.


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My Friend, Mrs. Broder, a”h


broder

Our rabbis ask: “Why does the Torah begin with the letter “beyt”? If I would have asked this question of Mr. Sam Broder, a”h, the husband of Mrs. Leni Broder, a”h, he might have responded with something like: “That’s easy. The Torah begins with the letter “beyt” because the first word is Bereishit.” Or he might have said, “The Torah starts at the beginning, and beginning begins with a “beyt.

Our rabbis offer a different approach. The Kli Yakar, in his Torah commentary, writes that the Torah begins with a “beyt” because the letter “beyt” is spelled “beyt,” “yud,” “taf,” forming the word bayit, or home. Perhaps what the Kli Yakar is teaching is that if you want to know a person’s Torah, take a look in his or her home.


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Rav Tzvi Pesach Frank, Rav Moshe Feinstein and Rav Efrayim Greenblatt, zt”l


feinstien

Rav Tzvi Pesach Frank, zt”l, the posek of his generation, lived almost his entire adult life in Yerushalayim, and passed away before I attended school and certainly before I had ever visited or moved to Israel. So how could I have a story about him?

Rav Moshe Feinstein, zt”l, was the gadol hador in America, and although I had the zechus to meet him on numerous occasions, I did not have any private conversations with him, nor did I observe any specific events that are not known to those who have read the biographies about him. So, how could I have a story about him?

I did have a close relationship with many of Rav Feinstein’s talmidim, however, and through them, I have a myriad of interesting stories and observations. One of these talmidim, Rav Efrayim Greenblatt, gave me the inside scoop on a fascinating piece of history of Jerusalem that includes these great figures.


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Common Sense and Dollars


money

Many people ask me about investing in the stock market. I tell them, do I know where the Dow will be tomorrow? The answer is, of course not – but then, neither does Warren Buffet. Here is what I do know: Inflation and the Feds raising interest rates have caused turmoil in our IRAs and financial portfolios. It’s unsettling to see a financial statement that is 15% off its high for a conservative portfolio and even more for a Nasdaq high-tech portfolio. There’s a natural feeling of uneasiness and financial concern. We get seasick.

We have seen the markets correct over the last year, b”H, and the markets had a very positive 2023. As interest rates begin to come down, bonds and the markets should hopefully do well. Gold just hit an all-time high at over $2,100 per ounce, and Bitcoin has made a healthy recovery as of late. Real estate, especially office space rentals and shopping centers, have had a rough time coming out of Covid. There is a lesson here to be learned. Come aboard and listen to my advice.


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A Hotline for Teens


cell

My sister, Esther Baila Schwarz, who lives in Monsey, is a well-known speaker for women on Torah topics. Recently, she took a new position with a hotline called Libainu, where girls between 12 and 18 years old are encouraged to call with their questions on hashkafa topics or any problems they have. My sister is the one who answers their questions and often repeats that she is not a therapist or a professional, just a nice bubby who answers questions. Although I am far from my teenage years, I was amazed at the wide variety of questions that the girls asked. I think you will also find them interesting. With Esther Baila’s permission, I am presenting some of the questions and her answers.


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A Report from a Former Baltimorean


efrat

We made aliyah 16 months ago. For the first 14 months, everyone asked: How are you adjusting, and how is your Hebrew? Can you read the newspapers and understand the TV news? And when are coming back for a visit?

The answers to those questions were always quite simple: We are doing fine and not encountering anything that we cannot handle (sometimes with some help from children, grandchildren, or strangers). My Hebrew is better than it has been in 40-plus years, but I am far from fluent. I can manage, though, in almost every normal circumstance as almost all Israelis “have some English” – or so they think. I can struggle with newspaper articles, as long as I have Google Translate and a dictionary for Shabbat. I catch enough of the broadcast news to know what they speaking about – but not to the extent that I would go out and make an investment based on my understanding of what was said. That one is a real struggle, but everyone insists it is the best way to continue to improve your Hebrew. As for the final question, around Sukkot, we were talking about a visit – but that ties into the other questions.


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