Have you ever wondered why some people invest so much time and effort into tracing their family roots? The answer lies in the integral connection between our identity and our ancestral past. In fact, genealogy is not only a pursuit of personal curiosity but also a way to understand our place in the world, forge connections with our relatives, and, sometimes, gain a sense of belonging.

The significance of genealogy can be found in the Torah. It repeatedly emphasizes the importance of understanding our lineage, exemplified by the stories of our ancestors. Take, for instance, the tale of Rus and Dovid Hamelech, which beautifully illustrates the profound connection between individuals across generations. 

As most people are well aware, the state of Maryland legalized recreational cannabis use on July 1, 2023. This new legislation means that adults (21 years or older) can purchase cannabis at licensed dispensaries, ingest cannabis in private settings, and even grow cannabis in their backyard. An excellent summary of this legislation can be found at: mmcc.maryland.gov.

I thought this would be a good opportunity to consider how this law might affect cannabis use in our state and possibly develop hypotheses based on the experience of other states that have already legalized recreational use.

We are in the midst of an epidemic that is hurting our children but that no one seems to be talking about. It’s not caused by a virus, bite, or bacteria. It’s caused by food. The standard American diet, aptly known as SAD, is a diet filled with sugar, seed oils (foreign to the human body), and refined carbohydrates, all packaged in an abundance of highly processed concoctions. This diet is the mainstay of what most American children eat. And it’s making them sick.

Today, 20% of American children are obese or overweight, a number projected to reach 30% by 2030. Ten percent of children aged two-to-five are already fat. The incidence of Type II diabetes and ”pre-diabetes” has risen sharply in children, and 25% have fatty liver disease, a condition previously associated with alcoholics and unheard of in children pre-1980. It’s a new phenomenon in medical literature called non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).

 Most people are not aware of the long love affair between Jews and basketball. In the early half of the 20^th century, basketball was considered “The Jewish man’s game,” and Jewish players dominated professional basketball. In the 1920s and 1930s, a team of Jews, the South Philadelphia Hebrew Association, SPHAs, dominated basketball, playing games throughout the East and Midwest as “The Wandering Jews.” They earned five dollars a game, which was big bucks for city kids in those days.

Jews have also been deeply involved in basketball as college and professional players as well as coaches and team owners. Famous National Basketball Association (NBA) players over the years include Neal Walk, Dolph Schayes, Larry Brown, Rudy LaRusso, Art Heyman, and Max Zaslofsky. An Israeli basketball legend, Tal Brody, was Israel’s first modern day sports hero. In 1965, Brody, an All-American player at the University of Illinois, led the U.S. team to a gold medal at the Maccabiah Games, and in 1969 he led Maccabi-Tel Aviv to Israel’s first Maccabean gold medal. In 1977, Brody led the Maccabi team to the European Cup championship, and in 1999, he was awarded the Israel Prize, the nation’s highest civilian honor.

Karmiel

We moved from Lakewood, New Jersey to Karmiel 11 years ago. Of course, we wanted to live in Yerushalayim, but my sister-in-law, who was living in Karmiel, suggested we would have a “softer landing” in a small community, and an easier time integrating. At the time, our oldest daughter and son were in the ninth and eighth grades respectively. Baruch Hashem, we all acclimated very nicely.

The first six months, though, were very difficult for the kids. Back in Lakewood, they had been very popular in school, and here, not really knowing any Hebrew, they couldn’t understand what was going on. My eleven-year-old son was especially upset. One day, he threw a tantrum and was literally on the floor, complaining, “Why did you bring us here?” and screaming so loudly that the neighbor called the police! It was a very embarrassing scene. If you’d meet him today, you’d never imagine such a thing was possible; he’s totally Israeli, and is learning in Beis Matisyahu, a respected Israeli yeshiva in Bnei Brak. The younger kids also became Israeli, though the ones older than him remained more American.

A frozen landscape stretches out before you, empty in every direction. You feel like crying in despair but don’t dare because your tears would freeze as soon as they were formed. The cold claws of the Antarctic winter grip your throat in an unmerciful vice, trapping your voice with its silent strength.

Although this scenario is both literally and figuratively the polar opposite of the scorching Sahara, they have one thing in common: they are both deserts.

A desert is defined as any region that receives less than 10 inches of rainfall per year, which means that the continent of Antarctica is actually the world’s largest desert. Both hot desserts, such as the Sonoran and Mojave, as well as cold ones, like the Atacama and Gobi, are included in this category.

?I am writing this article a few days after my recent return from the Czech Republic. I had the privilege of accompanying a group of Jewish Learning Exchange (JLE London) donors on a four-day trip to Prague. My rabbinic colleagues, from London, were Rabbi Dr. Akiva Tatz, Rabbi Aubrey Hirsh, and Rabbi Ben Morgan. We visited many special places, and because Rabbi Hirsh, who is an expert in the history of Prague, was our primary tour guide, we learned an enormous amount.

Q: Hello, Major Boyd. Please introduce yourself to our readers and tell us what brought you to law enforcement?

 A: My name is Major Danita Boyd. I’ve been a Baltimore City police officer for 29 years and major of the Northwestern District since July 10, 2022. My grandfather was a Baltimore City police officer for over 20 years, and my mother was a federal police officer. As a young woman, I wanted to make a difference in the world and hold people accountable for their actions through the law, so I decided to become a lawyer. While in school for public policy, I changed course and decided to join the Police Academy. I was 20 years old at the time. Training in the Academy is very stringent, requiring a lot of upper body strength, so I had a lot of work to do to build the needed upper body strength, which I did. I am very competitive, which helped. I became the best woman shooter in the class, became a squad leader, and was the one woman among four men and the class commander, who was also a man.

My first brush with artificial intelligence was during the 1970s. AI was in its infancy and mostly based upon deducing things from rules, such as “If a person has a headache, then give him Tylenol.” Software called MYCIN could diagnose bacterial infections. I suggested adapting this technology to the treatment of human poisoning and collaborated with the Maryland Poison Center. The software I developed was called The Interactive Poison Expert for Classification and Control (IPECAC). It was a fun project, but it really didn’t do very much except allow me to sit at the Poison Center and listen in on some interesting cases. (Q: “What should I do? My dog ate a whole jar of Tums!” A: “Take the dog out for Mexican food.”)

Recently I was in the hospital with my elderly father when an aide from the hospital came into the room. My brother, who was also there, looked at the aide’s name embroidered on his pocket and greeted him by name: “Hi, Steven, so nice to see you this morning.” You could see Steven’s posture straightened as he beamed at my brother. He shared that he has a good friend who is Jewish and had been invited for Shabbat once. Immediately, the atmosphere in the room changed, and we were all friends!

Style is a way to say who you are without having to speak. Whether you are a self-proclaimed fashionista or are someone who wears whatever is in sight, each of us has a unique style that leads us to make our wardrobe choices. And it represents something about us.

Where does our style come from? How much of it comes from individuality and how much from social influences? Even more intriguing, how do the clothing stores decide what selection of styles they should offer to the public? How do they decide the color, material, and cut that should be going around?

Anger is a powerful emotion that we all experience from time to time. As human beings, it is natural to feel anger in response to various situations and circumstances. In this article, we will explore the importance of properly expressing anger, the consequences of suppressing and not processing anger, and how therapy can be an effective tool in navigating this complex emotion.

Why do we experience anger in the first place? Anger is a healthy response to someone infringing on your space, both psychically and emotionally. It communicates to others that their actions have crossed a line, asserting the need to maintain your space. However, expressing anger in a healthy and constructive manner is crucial. When anger is improperly expressed, it may damage our emotional well-being, strain relationships, and create a barrier to spiritual growth. It is important to remember that the Torah teaches us the value of patience, compassion, and respectful communication.

My husband and I went out to dinner last night with some cousins. We went to a popular Chinese restaurant, which was pretty crowded for a Tuesday night by Baltimore standards. The restaurant had a warm ambiance, from the cloth tablecloths and napkins to the cozy arrangements of tables and booths.

When we get together, my husband and his cousin enjoy reminiscing about the Baltimore of old. “Remember when Greenspring Shopping Center on Smith Avenue used to be a private airport?” I didn’t live in Baltimore then, but I like listening to the stories of those long-ago days. While we were eating our first course, we noticed some familiar faces at the table next to ours. My husband made introductions, and the gentleman recognized our cousin’s name. The next several minutes were spent playing “Jewish geography,” Baltimore-style. The stories went back 60 years, but to these reunited friends, the years rolled away as if we were all transported back in time. It was delightful to watch.