It is the night after the vort. The happy crowds have gone home. The food is put away, and the floor is vacuumed. But the big Mazal Tov sign still hangs on the wall, and the parents, along with the chasan and kalla, are still smiling at the memory of the kisses, hugs, and brachos that embraced them so warmly the night before.

  Now reality sets in. The parents worry: “How are we going to find the money to set up this new couple? It is not only the wedding expenses that loom on the horizon but also all

Which of these three mitzvos would you say is most important? Visiting the sick, comforting mourners, or escorting guests a few feet when they leave your house?

According to Rabbi Henoch Plotnik, in a recent Mishpacha magazine article, the Rambam offers these three illustrations of vehalachta bedrachav, walking in the ways of Hashem, and says that escorting a guest four amos (about seven feet) is the most prominent. Rabbi Plotnik quotes the explanation of Rav Dovid Kronglas’, zt”l: “Whereas with comforting mourners and visiting the sick you are supplying the recipient with something tangible,” said Rabbi Kronglas, “escorting someone for four

Some things are done a certain way, and we all assume they will always be done that way. But PTA meetings, amazingly enough, have changed dramatically. Twenty-five years ago, I waited in line for two hours to see just one of my son’s two teachers. It was considered normal for parents to spend the entire evening at school, never being able to tell the babysitter when they would be home, because they had no idea how long the wait would be. While waiting in line, the parents would grumble about what an inefficient way it was to do things, but

When Hashem created the world, He created many trees, many fruits, many blades of grass, and many animals, but He created only one man and one woman. Why? To teach us that “Bishvili nivrah ha’olam – the world is created for me”: A person is entitled to believe that even if he were the only person in the world, Hashem would have still created the whole world for him. That makes each of us very special, and means that we can learn from every individual, from the ordinary to the most extraordinary. Some people go the extra chesed mile of

As my fellow writer Margie Pensak mentions in an article in this issue, the average American changes jobs between 10 and 15 times between the ages of 18 and 44, and may change careers between three and seven times. But why? What makes people face the uncertainty of a new job or go to the bother of learning new skills altogether? Mrs. Pensak mentions some of the many reasons, but I thought it might also be interesting to discuss what’s involved in various jobs, including self-employment. What aspects of a job give the worker a feeling of satisfaction? Obviously, this

A new baby is born! A new sister or brother, a new son or daughter, a new grandchild – a new member of the Jewish community! As we rejoice, we all assume that the parents will choose to educate their child in one of Baltimore's many fine day schools, where he will grow into a mensch surrounded by friends who share the same beliefs, celebrate the same holidays, and wear the same kinds of clothes. But sometimes things don’t work out as planned, and a child does not succeed. Some parents come to the realization on their own that the