Just four days after Simchas Torah, one of the most joyous days on the Hebrew calendar, the Baltimore Jewish community lost a gem: Rabbi Dr. Tuvia Meister, z”l. Rabbi Meister, as he preferred to be called, who attained semicha in midlife while still a practicing radiologist, was a man with a plan – actually, two plans. The first was a 20-year plan to learn all of Torah so he could enter the next world as a learned man. His second goal – beginning from when he was diagnosed with cancer, 10 years ago – was to leave this world a good man in the eyes of his wife and children. He accomplished both, in addition to making a tremendous impact in Baltimore and beyond with his caring heart and kind deeds.

Rabbi Dr. Meister’s far-reaching kindness extended to Kiryat Sefer, in Eretz Yisrael, where his bechor (firstborn son) Elchonon lives with his family. During Chanukah, during my visit my bechor and his family, who also live in Kiryat Sefer, Elchonon shared the story of a significant donation his father made to the community.

As we in the United States grapple with widespread flu, alarming headlines about the newest lethal coronavirus, called the Wuhan coronavirus or the new or novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV), initially reported on December 31, 2019, in Wuhan, China, have been appearing daily in publications globally. Although the World Health Organization (WHO) has declared it a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC), is it really a direct threat to us here in the States? The Where What When thanks Dr. Robert Edelman, Professor Emeritus of Medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in the Center for Vaccine Development and Global Health, for graciously sharing his knowledge of this virus and its potential threat to us.

As a writer, one of the perks of being on numerous WhatsApp and email groups is the opportunity to poll fellow members, as I did recently when I requested menorah stories and photos of “creatively made, makeshift, and otherwise unique and special Chanukah menorahs.” It turned into a trip down Menorah memory lane for many. Others shared amazing stories of keeping the flickering flame of Chanukah alive during oppressive times. Some noted interesting menorahs they have seen – constructed of everything from surf boards to skis to Legos to candy, pipes, bottle caps, shot-glasses, baby food jars, sculpted ice, Smores, and donuts.

In keeping with WWW’s Chanukah theme, it was a true miracle that I was able to gather so much interesting material in so short a time!

I couldn’t help but wonder, as I turned into the Seven Mile Market parking lot, how a semi-retired Hopkins nephrologist morphed into an environmental ecologist. Dr. Devorah Rivka Gelfand is not only passionate about her newest life calling; she has inspired others to jump on the bandwagon. The goal of “Cherish the Earth-Bal Tashchis” (www.cherishtheearth-baltashchis), the non-profit organization she founded, is education about and promotion of Torah-based environmental conservation to the Baltimore Jewish community.

When I arrived at the “Cherish the Earth” Environmental Expo booth outside Seven Mile Market on November 3, I was greeted by Jonathan Libber and Dr. Gelfand’s husband Shlomo. It was one of three such booths around town. The others were in front of Market Maven and Shoppers.

Jewish comedy can be traced back much further than the Catskills’ Borsht Belt, where many prominent comedians began their careers between the 1920s to the 1970s. In fact, comedy is actually mentioned in the Torah. The Gemara [Ta’anis 22a] refers to two professional jesters who were – they earned the World to Come through comedy. When they saw people who were depressed, they cheered them up, and when they saw two people quarrelling, they tried to make peace between them. Yet rarely do we come across people, especially in our greater Orthodox community, who have made comedy their profession. Luckily for me, however, I happen to know a few of them.

David Rosen’s family room seemed typical. Actually, I discovered, it is a treasure trove containing 47 years of research into Torah sources, research from which he gleans amazing anecdotes and extraordinarily obscure historical facts. As interesting as David’s ongoing endeavor is, it is even more astonishing considering that he has suffered from severe chronic pain, 24/7, for the last 25 years.

David Rosen’s passion for Jewish history began when he was a 16-year-old tenth grader in 1972. It bothered him that he did not know anything about Jewish history – including the churban (destruction) of the first and second Temples, the Rishonim and Achronim, the Geonim, the miracles of Chanukah and Purim, and the kingdoms of Beis Yehuda and Beis Yisrael.