Dr. Morris Mayer works a six-day, 80-hour week as the owner of two pharmacies – the Joppa Road Pharmacy in Parkville and the Harford Road Pharmacy in Carney. You would think that he would want to take it easy on Shabbos, but au contraire! Each Shabbos, in rain, sleet and snow, Dr. Mayer and his 18-year-old son Doni make the approximately four-mile round trip trek – including the steep “killer hill” leading to Pimlico Racetrack – to Levindale Hebrew Geriatric Center and Hospital.

The dynamic duo started their weekly pilgrimage about six years ago, following in the footsteps – literally – of their son/older brother, Adam, now a 23-year-old medical school student in Philadelphia, who still volunteers at Levindale when he is in town. He was the first in the family to volunteer, seven years ago, encouraged by his friends, the Gnatt brothers, Itamar and Michael.

Crime has been a stubborn fact of life. Over the past year, in our little area of Baltimore, there have been well over 1,400 police reports, for crimes ranging from armed assaults and robbery to a seemingly unending stream of car and home break-ins.

As a community, we have been trying to address the problem for quite a few years. We have Shomrim and NWCP, aiming to provide response and patrol services. We ask our local politicians to emphasize the importance of a greater police presence.

The problem is stubborn, however. We have failed to make much of a dent, while the criminals become more sophisticated and more brazen. Many burglaries happen while the family is sleeping. Thieves prey on older residents by impersonating officials of one kind or another. It has become clear that, without taking anything away from existing organizations, there are some significant gaps that can be filled to help make our community a safer place.

Over two years ago, I began a quest for happiness. I read, thought, wrote, spoke, and dreamt about happiness. With the support of the Baltimore Happiness Club, which I founded and coordinate, I worked through just about every major idea out there about how to be happy.

Happiness is a cool topic these days, and lots of people have ideas about how to achieve it, from the mystical (Eckhart Tolle) to the psychological (Martin Seligman) to the religious (Rabbi Zelig Pliskin), and just about every stop in between.

Along the way, I’ve used myself as a living laboratory, trying out techniques and doing whatever the various authors recommended to become happier (positive thinking, exercise, meditation, breathing, humor, diet, nature, self-awareness, mantra, complimenting others, you name it). As I discovered new approaches, I tried them out on myself and the long-suffering Happiness Club (is there an irony there?).

Each year, on the 21st of Kislev, Harav Zvi Dov Slanger, Rosh Yeshiva of Beis Hamedrash and Mesivta of Baltimore, celebrates a seudas hoda’ah (thanksgiving meal) with his yeshiva to commemorate the day in 1944 when he arrived in Switzerland, following his incarceration in Bergen-Belsen. This year, Harav Slanger will celebrate 70 years since that awesome day. In preparation for this remarkable event, Harav Slanger agreed to share his moving story, a story that demonstrates hashgacha pratis (Divine providence), obvious miracles, and, most of all, the fulfillment of the pasuk, “I will not have been revolted by them, nor will I have rejected them to obliterate them, to annul my Covenant with them.” (Artscroll Stone Chumash, Vayikra 26:44)

A year ago, I was spending over $300 per month on telephone expenses. Today, I am down to $100!

How did I do it? By testing some suggestions I made in last year’s article on phone expenses. When I wrote that article, telephone developments were already remarkable. Who could have imagined unlimited long distance 20 years ago? In those days we paid dollars for every minute. Now basic local service and unlimited long distance are cheap. So, why complain? The answer is that it could be even better, folks, a lot better!

When I started my quest, I was spending $45 for my house line, $75 for my work and fax lines, and $185 a month for six cell phone lines. Only one was a smartphone, and it had a very small data plan. Total cost: over $300 a month. My bill now, for all that, plus a generous data plan, is 66 percent less. Let’s look at the details.

As the population in our special Baltimore community grows, its financial needs unfortunately continue to increase dramatically as well. Ahavas Yisrael Charity Fund is called upon daily to assist those who are struggling financially and having trouble keeping up with basic living expenses. Guided by our wonderful Rabbanim, Ahavas Yisrael responds to each call, always preserving the dignity and confidentiality of individuals and families in need. Here are some of Ahavas Yisrael’s newest developments.