Among the many Baltimoreans who made dramatic changes in their lives when they began to keep the mitzvos are two women who rejected the drama – literally. I recently had the opportunity to speak with Sheina Ettel Menda and Lindsay Feldman, both of whom were immersed in theater and headed for careers in that exciting field.

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Sheina Ettel Menda

Last winter, our many women participated in putting on a spectacular performance of Mary Poppins. One of the main actresses and singers was Sheina Ettel Menda, who gave up gave up a career in singing and acting to become a frum Jew.

Sheina Ettel comes from a very musical family. Her father played in a band, and her mother played the piano. Living in an upstate New York town called Schuylerville, she was part of the Child Community Theater and acted and sang in several musicals. She started voice lessons when she was eight and was always singing and acting from a very young age. In fact, she was in 50 musicals from age six to 21 and was the star in half of them.

Recently, my two brothers and I were reminiscing about our childhood years. My brothers started to sing some old songs; I noticed that almost all of them were Seder songs. My mind drifted back over the years to our family Sedarim. To my father, the Seder night was of supreme importance. In one of his recorded shiurim, he said:

As we sit around the magnificent table, we relive the birth of our nation together with our children. In the process, we impart to our children their spiritual genetic makeup. Everything that they will accomplish in life, the success of their individual missions in life, the people that they will grow into – everything! Everything depends upon the way that we transmit our mesorah to them.

But what is that “way”? How does the Seder transmit the mesorah? What do such lofty ideas as the “birth of our nation,” our “genetic makeup,” and our “mission in life” have to do with whether we use potatoes or celery for karpas? Whether we tip the cos or drip the wine with our finger?

Pesach is a holiday with many halachos but it is also, perhaps more than any other Yom Tov, replete with minhagim. They are the conduit through which the mesorah is passed down, the audiovisual/kinesthetic/culinary spectacle that makes the Seder memorable. Here are some memories of our family’s minhagim as well as those of the people I spoke to.

Have you and your children ever started a Chol Hamoed morning with the question, “Where should we go?” and ended up still debating the issue at three o’clock in the afternoon? Where to go is the universal question for families with children. I do not have young children anymore, so it is not my dilemma, but it was interesting to gather ideas for young families or grandchildren interested in trips.

I have not been to most of these places, so I can’t vouch for them, but seeing the ideas may ring a bell and remind you of places you enjoyed in the past. I’ll start by mentioning some businesses that advertise with us specifically to attract the Chol Hamoed trip goers.

In this, our annual “organizations” issue, we bring you profiles of some new Baltimore organizations as well as some old stalwarts. All organizations are established to serve a need. Sometimes, fulfilling the need takes a lot of money and a lot of people; sometimes it takes no money and just one or two people. All organizations show thought and caring for those around us. Browse through this article and be inspired.

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Nismach Maryland

“As the organization’s name implies, Nismach is a group that encourages happiness,” says Margie Pensak, who often hosts get-togethers in her home. “It’s patterned after the international group, Samchainu, which supports over 2,700 widows throughout the world. The activities are uplifting and fun with the intention of reminding the participants that, even though their husbands have passed away, they need to continue seeking happiness and enjoy life.”

Nismach Maryland, a program of Yad Yehuda of Greater Washington, was founded in 2015 by Stephanie Savir-Perlman, to afford over 175 Maryland almanos the opportunity to experience some of the same enjoyable and meaningful friendship-building activities as their Samchainu “sisters’” who primarily reside in the New York area. The group serves Orthodox Jewish widows in Baltimore, Silver Spring, and the Metro Washington, D.C. areas.

Most readers of the WWW keep Shabbos and have learned from their youth that Shabbos is a special day, when we look forward to eating special foods, inviting guests, and learning the parsha. As parents, we try to make our children look forward to Shabbos, too. But enjoying Shabbos is not always easy, especially these days, when we are connected to electronics the whole week and are used to being distracted. What can families do to make Shabbos special?

Advice from a Rebbetzin

Miriam, a rebbetzin, told me that she sometimes gets phone calls from people whose children are struggling with Judaism. Miriam said, “The first thing I ask them is if they make their Shabbos table fun. Each family is different, and what is fun for one family may not be fun for another one. It takes thought and effort to find out what your family enjoys and to plan that activity. When my children were young, we had a special spot where we all hung out together on Friday nights. It was cozy and warm, and everyone read their own book. For us, that was fun, and my children looked forward to our weekly get-together.

“A teenage boy I know once told his mother that he hates erev Shabbos because it was full of screaming,” Miriam adds. “When the mother heard that she tried to make Friday afternoons more pleasant. Especially when it comes to Yiddishkeit, it is important to make your children’s memories positive. Then they will grow up and do the same for their families.”

I don’t have much experience with going to camp, and whatever experience I have is from a very long time ago. My parents sent me to an overnight camp when I was nine years old in hopes I would learn not to be shy. At least, that is what my parents told me when I asked them why they sent me at such a young age. I don’t remember much about camp, but I don’t think I liked it very much.

To learn more about camps, I had to ask others who had more positive experiences. It was a privilege to speak to my sister’s husband, Rabbi Yitzchok Schwarz, who has been the head counselor of Camp Kol Torah in Cleveland for almost 50 years – ever since before he and my sister were married. Their children are born and bred campers. I asked Rabbi Schwarz how campers have changed over the years. “When I was a camper, I used to come to an activity 10 minutes early in anticipation,” says Rabbi Schwarz. “Today, the boys are much more distracted. Many of them have devices to listen to music and lots and lots of nosh. The boys are not so eager for activities because they have other interests.” It seems that kids in camp have changed just like the rest of society.