Lead poisoning? Isn’t that something that happens to poor, neglected children or to people who live in dilapidated houses? Unfortunately, the answer is no. Lead poisoning can happen right here in our community, in our own neighborhoods, to regular people who live regular lives.

Lead poisoning is a serious problem because it can have life-changing repercussions, especially in children under six. It is known to affect IQ, the ability to pay attention, and academic achievement, and its effects are irreversible. Among the symptoms of lead poisoning are developmental delays, irritability, loss of appetite, and weight loss.

Money affects our lives from the day we are born until the day we die. We eat food that costs money, we sleep in beds with pillows and blankets that cost money, we live in houses that cost money, we send our kids to schools that cost money, we wear clothing that costs money, and we drive cars that cost money. We worry about spending money – and also about not spending money. And while we figure it all out (or not), our children watch and learn from us.

No parents want to be accused of spoiling their children. But speaking to parents about the topic, I quickly found that their ideas of what constitutes spoiling vary quite a bit. The definition of “spoil,” according to Webster’s Dictionary, is “…to impair the quality or effect of character by overindulgence or excessive praise.” Of course, that leaves us with the dilemma of what is “overindulgence” or “excessive praise.”

It was a privilege to interview Rabbi Yosef Rosenfeld, mazkir (administrator) of the Baltimore Bais Din. In this article I will try to clarify with Rabbi Rosenfeld how a bais din works and what is its purpose in general. I will also specifically inquire about the Baltimore Bais Din.

How does a young Israeli kollel couple with very little income and four young children get to spend Yom Kippur and Sukkos, all expenses paid, in a hotel on the shores of the Kinneret?

Welcome to the upside-down world of Corona, where amongst all the trauma of quarantining, schools closing, sick people, and all our other worries, something pleasant sometimes happens. A young woman, Chaya, who lives in Afula in northern Israel with her husband and four children, spent Sukkos in a hotel. She was so enthusiastic about the experience that I asked her to share it with the readers of the WWW. Here is her story.

When I finished high school, 45 years ago, one of the dilemmas our family discussed was whether or not to go to college. While many Orthodox Jews were educated in the best universities and worked as professionals, some more right-wing families were unwilling to risk sending their Bais Yaakov-educated daughters and yeshiva-educated sons, raised in our insular community, to a school where they would study in coed classes and be exposed to alien ideas.