Isaaco was almost four when his parents fled Italy in 1939. His parents had moved from Poland to Milan 15 years earlier when his father was given a coveted post as cantor of the Sefardic synagogue. The family’s years in Milan had been idyllic, but then Mussolini came to power, and everything changed.

Isaaco was the youngest of three children, and he was close with his sister Hinda and his brother David. They came to America by boat with no friends and no knowledge of English. There was no use complaining; they were happy to get out of Europe alive.

?In ancient times – whether it was Abraham defeating the five kings, the conquest of Jericho led by Joshua, or the victories of King David, and later the Maccabees – Jews were warriors. At the conclusion of the Purim story, we learn that Jews took up arms to defend themselves and defeat their enemies. Unfortunately, after many centuries of exile, most often in hostile environments, Jews learned to keep their heads down and maintain a low profile.

Reviewed By Rabbi Mordechai Shuchatowitz, Head of the Baltimore Bais Din

In past articles[1], we explored various scenarios that arise relating to carpools and what guidance we can learn from the appropriate halachos. We will now explore a different scenario, that of bullying, and see how it impacts the obligation of a carpool group.

The unfortunate reality is that bullying exists among our children.[2] It is obvious that the optimal situation is where the bullying can be stopped. But the goal of this article is to explore one specific angle of this issue: When the bullying persists within a carpool setting, may the other carpool families expel the bully from the carpool? We will illustrate this situation through a fictitious case study.

As I wrote a month ago, Israel’s religious and rightwing parties won a major victory in Israel’s November 1 elections, winning 64 out of 120 seats in the Knesset (53 percent versus 47 percent), and this after three years of stagnation and stalemate. When one considers that 10 of the losing seats went to Arab parties, who will never be a part of the rightwing, and that four politically prominent rightwing Knesset members (Avigdor Liberman, Gideon Saar, Matan Kahane, and Dov Elkin) were part of the losing side, the rightwing victory within the Jewish population was much more pronounced than 53 percent (58 to 42 percent or, arguably, 61 percent to 39).

Driving with some friends in the Binyamin region of Eretz Yisrael, just a few short minutes north of the Yerushalayim neighborhood of Neve Yaakov, we pass by the hilltop outpost of Giv’at Asaf. It consists of several houses, built using light construction materials. These structures made of panels of insulated sheet-metal are commonly known in Israel as caravanim. Though you probably won’t find this definition in an English dictionary, an English speaker in Israel who uses the word caravan is more likely to be referring to one of these than to a mobile home.

The wonderful holiday of Purim is once again on the horizon and, along with the feasting and fun, comes the yearly challenge of teenage drinking. Many of us would like to say to our teens, “If you are offered alcohol, just say no,” and if they listened, there would be no need for this article. The reality, however, is that teenage drinking on Purim is common and perhaps even encouraged (or at least accepted) in some parts of our community. The purpose of this article, therefore, is to present harm reduction strategies for teenagers who choose to drink on Purim.

There is nothing more infuriating than the feeling that someone is deliberately trying to ruin your day by saying or doing something to trigger you on purpose. Maybe you were even in a good mood (for a change) before your friend/coworker/partner decided to bring up an issue that you deliberately asked them to avoid. Life is hard enough, right?! 

There is no shortage of beautiful, interesting, and fun dating venues in Maryland, but what’s a dater to do when the mercury drops and the great outdoors is no longer a comfortable option? I polled matchmakers and daters for their best “Baltimore and beyond” winter dating ideas.* Mind you, they did include some outdoor suggestions for those more tolerant of the cold, but no worries for those who aren’t – spring is right around the corner!

Have you ever felt that there was an emotional concern that you were facing and didn’t know if it needed to be addressed? Do you have an emotional concern or diagnosis that you want to see a mental health professional for, but don’t know whom to go to?

Find RELIEF

Relief Resources is a mental health referral service that can be of benefit to you. Finding the “right” mental health clinician can be challenging. Unlike searching for other types of professionals or services, where it is common for neighbors or family to discuss where to go, in mental health, people are often not comfortable reaching out to their acquaintances for suggestions.

RELIEF has one goal in mind, to get you to the best mental health clinician for you in your specific circumstance. What may work for another person may or may not work for you. There are many variables and considerations that make therapy successful. Just because someone else went to a clinician and was successful doesn’t mean it is the best match for you. Similarly, just because someone had a negative experience with a clinician, doesn’t mean that you can’t be helped.

Editor’s Note:

A shortened version of this article appeared in the Where What When print edition. Here is the complete article.

 I would like to thank the WWW for printing an article about infant tongue ties in the last issue. It was refreshing to see an article presenting the matter as a real issue and not a fad. As a mother who has personal experience with this, I feel that it is important for the readers, and the community as a whole, to know that, unfortunately, in many cases of infant tongue tie, parents go through a lot before getting the proper diagnosis and treatment for their babies. 

Your home – the space between four walls where you build a life, the rooms that are filled with messes, meals, and memories – tells the story of you and your family. It certainly needs to be functional, but we all dream of a house that also represents our personal style and aesthetic. Realistically speaking, home renovations may not be top priority when planning a budget, but we still want to enjoy the space we live in. Luckily, it doesn't take a full home remodel to love your house. We researched various options to spruce up your space while holding on to your spare change. 

I love nature and I’m also attracted to ruchniyus (spirituality). It was only natural that I made Eretz Yisrael my home, being the place where ruchniyus is natural and where nature is ruchniyus.

Part 1

Despite knowing that you may be at risk (family history, a bit overweight, too much of the wrong foods, etc.) and despite knowing what the symptoms of a heart attack are (foremost among them being chest pain) – when the heart attack appears at your doorstep, it’s still, well, unexpected. Stepping out of the shower Sunday night, December 4 (it was about 9:00 p.m.), I experienced chest pain across my chest; not incapacitating, but significant. My first thought was, “Really – could this actually be a heart attack?” I dried off carefully, got dressed, and then sat quietly in my studio chair waiting to see … well, you know, “maybe it will go away.” I know, I know, this is not the right thing to do if you’re having these symptoms … but I confess, I did it anyway. I popped eight baby aspirin (in lieu of two regular ones, which I couldn’t find), remembering that aspirin (not acetaminophen) thins the blood if the heart is in trouble.

There is a truism in Israeli politics. It relates in particular to the past 40 years since the rightwing Likud party came into power during the great upheaval of 1977 that ended the Socialist Labor party’s hegemony: “Israeli voters vote Right and receive Left.”

As truisms go, there has been a lot of truth to this one. As the country has been growing more religious and more rightwing, its politicians have remained middle of the road. The Israeli voter always wants more religion and more fearless, principled politics than its politicians are willing to provide.

The roots of this story are grounded in the backyard of my childhood home – literally. I grew up in Memphis, Tennessee, in the region called the Mid-South, known for its slow-paced living and temperate climate. Life seemed more leisurely then, less pressured than today. Maybe it’s just the difference between an adult’s and a child’s perspective, but it seemed that people had time to work and time to relax and recharge. The relaxation component is something that’s touted today as essential to our well-being. It even has a name – work-life balance – and nowadays, people actually have to schedule downtime to make sure that it happens.

When I was in college, we were required to read the literary classic 1984, by George Orwell. If you are not familiar with Orwell’s stunning work, here’s a summary: A country called Oceania is governed by the all-controlling Party, which has brainwashed the population into unthinking obedience to its leader, Big Brother. The Party has created a propagandistic language known as Newspeak, which is designed to limit free thought while promoting Party doctrine. The Party maintains control through the Thought Police and is continuously snooping on its citizens. People who dare to think differently are carefully monitored and eventually arrested on bogus charges, and then sent to special “rehabilitation” facilities, until they submit to corrected thought. 

When Sara (Gerstenfeld) Strobel, founder of the girls’ performance program Ratzon, was growing up, large groups of unaffiliated Jews often experienced Shabbos for the first time at the Gerstenfeld home. Sara describes her musically talented family to be “an under the radar family of creative and giving parents.” She adds, “Growing up in my parents’ home showed me that there is something in everyone I can appreciate and that created a larger openness in me to all kinds of people.” It was this home that inspired Sara to identify community needs and attend to them, leading to her latest endeavor, Elevate, a new organization for women.

What does one do when the lights and heat go out on one of the darkest and coldest days of the year – and on erev Shabbos, no less! The responses of community members to the blackout of Shabbos Chanukah, 5783, showed ingenuity and resilience. Here are their stories:

The week of Parshas Vayechi, Dor Yeshorim launched an advertising campaign to promote its new hearing loss panel. As “coincidence” would have it, the bar mitzva of our son, who was born with significant hearing loss in both ears, took place on Parshas Vayechi two years ago. In his pshetl (speech), the first half of which is available on YouTube under the title “Vayechi Bar Mitzva Speech – Deafness,” he notes, based on Rav Chaim Shmuelevitz’s Sichos Mussar, how Chushim’s deafness worked to his advantage, and he was the person who killed Eisav, because he didn’t get sucked into the back-and-forth legal argument that the brothers engaged in with Eisav and was therefore able to perceive the situation more clearly.

My husband and I found some dining room chairs at a lovely consignment store. We were looking to replace our own dining room chairs, which we had found several years ago in a similar shop. We spotted these “new” chairs after debating long and hard about another set of chairs we had discovered in another display close by. Those other chairs were in mint condition but unfortunately had a hefty price to go along with them. It was while we were debating whether to buy them that we stumbled across this other set. These chairs were more in keeping with my husband’s and my taste, and the price was less than a third of the other ones. It was almost a no-brainer, and before we knew it, they were sitting in our dining room.

For most people, a home construction project is a major undertaking. It’s not something you do often, it’s expensive, and the average person does not know much about it. I thought it might be helpful and interesting to hear from the experts about mistakes that homeowners often make so that readers can avoid those issues when planning their own projects. Nobody knows as much about home improvements as the contractors, the people who spend their days doing this work. Here is what they have to say: