Although summer will be over by the time you read this, I can’t help but reflect on our amazing vacation experience this summer as well as express my gratitude for past vacations grand or simple. I do love summer. It is a great time to explore Hashem’s world and to spend time with family – and even with oneself in self-discovery and introspection. Summer is a break from the mundane stresses that abound in day-to-day living. It is a season that can herald adventures and experiences and can help us refocus on what’s truly important. I have seen many beautiful mountains, bodies of water, sunrises and sunsets, and the occasional bear. I have enjoyed delicious barbecues and night kumzitzes with my children. I have observed their awe of His world at Niagara Falls. Most importantly, I have seen them relaxed and happy to just “be.”

I recently had the privilege of sharing a ride with Mrs. Zahava List, the founder and director of Chazkeinu. Started in Baltimore, Chazkeinu is a mental health peer support network for Jewish woman who are struggling with mental illness, including providing help for the female family members.

I knew a little bit about Chazkeinu as I had attended an event during the winter and was somewhat surprised to see the lightness of the evening and the fun involved! Turning our impressions upside down on the stigma of mental health is one of the missions of Chazkeinu. Its primary mission is to offer support and encouragement and to provide the safe space that is so crucial when one is dealing with mental illness. The group’s most recent initiative, Chill House, is what piqued my curiosity about this far-reaching organization, and when Zahava told me the list of services they provide, I was in awe.

The trip was surreal. I had traveled to Budapest before, but this trip was different. I had visited my grandmother (as well as the rest of my mother’s family who still lived there) many times during her lifetime. I had also been back several years ago to “invite” my father, z”l, to the chasana of his grandson (his namesake). With my father and maternal grandmother, as well as many other relatives buried in Hungary, I was going this time for kever avos. The trip turned out to be more meaningful than ever. In truth, every trip to Budapest – walking the land of my Avos – is its own incredible experience. What made this one even more so was not the what-once-was factor but the what-there-is-now! In order to appreciate this fact, permit me to share some family history with you.

Welcome to Rhodes – the Island of Rhodes, that is, not Rhode Island! Rhodes is a small island near the coast of Turkey. Rhode Island is one of the New England states. Interestingly, there is a connection between the two. An Italian explorer in the 16^th century thought an island off the east coast of America looked similar to Rhodes, for the coastline and beautiful beaches that make up both of these lands. And after seeing pictures of the beaches and castles in Rhodes, I am ready to take a trip there myself! In the meantime, however, I may have to make do with Newport on this side of the world.

Congratulations! You have a child going to school for the first time! What a milestone! Welcome to the exciting world of preschool, where your child will, be”H, continue on his path of growing and learning in his new “home away from home.”

For some children (and parents), this is very thrilling. I overheard a little girl ask her mother in almost every aisle of Seven Mile Market, “Right, Mommy, I’m going to Bais Yaakov? Right, Mommy, that’s what they do? Right, Mommy, I’m going to need snacks?” etc., etc. It was precious (at least for me) to hear her enthusiasm. And that’s what we want to keep in mind and hold onto – that enthusiasm.

The Baltimore community suffered an immeasurable loss. A beloved Rebbe, Rav, and embodiment of ahavas Yisrael in human form returned to the Yeshiva Shel Maaleh on ches Sivan.

Rabbi Peretz Avraham Dinovitz, zt”l, master mechanech (educator) and what I call a rebbe’s rebbe, will be sorely missed by scores of people. Having taught third grade for 30 years, and quite proud of his “job,” Rabbi Dinovitz saw the beauty in each and every talmid. Listening at the levaya (funeral) to the stories from some of those talmidim, now adults spread throughout the world and spanning the Jewish spectrum, was testimony to Rabbi Dinovitz’s love and influence. His acts of chesed were outstanding, reflecting his core belief of being nosei b’ol im chaveiro (carrying another’s burden). Nothing was impossible in his mind, and as such, many people identified with him as their personal rebbe. Yes, he will be sorely missed, and we may never know the full scope of his kindness and greatness. But in truth, that was typical of his humble demeanor and the very person that he was.