Burglary is always a serious issue, but if it does happen, we all hope we are not at home at the time. In a recent rash of burglaries in our area, some of the break-ins occurred in the middle of the night while the homeowners were asleep! Pretty terrifying!

As with many problems, the main pain stems from the recognition that perhaps it could have been prevented. Let’s see what can be done to protect ourselves and minimize any damage. In this article, I will first discuss thwarting a burglar who gets in. Next, I will suggest ways to keep him

After the snowstorm in Baltimore, my brother Shmuel Yaakov asked me if we have snow, too. “Not here!” I thought. “It hardly snows in Yerushalayim.” Little did I know what was in store for us only a few days later. When we awoke on Thursday morning to a blanket of white covering everything, I assumed it would be like a regular Baltimore snowstorm: no school for the day but cleared streets by noon. But in Yerushalayim, the dramatic effects of this storm lingered for almost a week! On Thursday there was no school, and the buses no longer ran on schedule. B”H, the grocery stores were open, so we could get some Shabbos essentials, but many other stores were closed, and most of the adults were off from work.

The children were overjoyed to play in the snow, build snowmen, and throw snowballs. Some cute little boys near our building had a great time constructing an igloo, though they had never heard the term before! Teenagers also amused themselves by throwing snowballs at passing cars, most of whose drivers took it in good humor.

Wherever I see him, either davening at the Gra shul in Shaarei Chesed or walking home, he has a smile permanently affixed to his face. He is of medium height and slightly hunched over, with a tripod walking cane for support, and I had never even bothered to learn his name until someone pointed out to me that Mordechai Ansbacher, 86 years old, was one of the key witnesses in the Eichmann trial in Jerusalem. A search on the internet shows a handsome, dynamic looking man with a black kippa taking the stand at that famous trial, which kept thousands of people in Israel glued to their radios for weeks. He survived the Theresienstadt ghetto, the Auschwitz and Dachau concentration camps, and the War of Independence, where he fought to protect Jerusalem within three years of being liberated from the camps. He was also one of the founders of Yad Vashem and the author of 100 articles on Jewish art and Ashkenazic Jewry in the Encyclopedia Judaica. Quite a resume for such an unassuming man.

Throughout my life I have met wonderful and talented people who have made a significant impression on me. Rabbi Binyamin Steinberg, z”l, was such a person. With his 23rd yahrzeit coming up on 11 Shvat/January 12, it is a fit time for those of us who knew him to honor his memory. And for younger Baltimoreans who were not privileged to know him, it is an appropriate time to learn about this special Baltimore personality.

Rabbi Steinberg’s engaging personality, simchas hachaim (a joyous happy spirit), Torah learning, and hashkafa (religious outlook) had a definite impact not only on me but on all with whom he came in contact. Most likely, Rabbi Steinberg never even realized the huge influence he had on them.

Here was a genuine, sincere, kind, warm, joyous man, highly educated in both limudei kodesh and secular studies, a great talmid chacham who possessed a chein (charm) and smile that captured everyone’s attention. He was a scholar, a renowned Jewish historian, an expert in Tanach and in dikduk (Hebrew grammar). Principal of Bais Yaakov high school, he was a master teacher and administrator. With all that, he was one of the most humble people you could ever meet. He possessed tremendous common sense and an ability to communicate clearly with all who sought his advice and counsel. He was a wonderful husband, father, and role model, and a mentor, to many individuals in Baltimore.

Summary: Tzipora and Yehuda try to manage their reactions to advice-giving and other comments by family and friends in the first weeks after Rafael’s birth, and are helped immensely by their visit to Rav Shmuel Yaakov Weinberg, zt”l, as well as their conversations with other empathetic mentors. The bris is postponed as the baby is hospitalized to stabilize his body temperature. The next step is a urologic examination to determine whether he could have a bris at all. Anticipating trouble, Tzipora brings her father and Rabbi Taub, zt”l, to the appointment, where Rabbi Taub proves to the smug doctor that all is well. The day of the bris finally arrives. It is a happy occasion, full of simcha and brachos.

As soon as the festivities of the bris were over, reality set in. Yehuda’s parents and brother made their exit by highlighting all the special needs supports Rafael Shlomo Boruch could have in a more sophisticated city such as New York. Others wanted to know our game plan for raising Rafael.

This was when I began to focus on the lessons from Tehilim (Psalms) that my twelfth grade teacher, Mrs. Shira Shapiro, taught. One lesson from perek 19 stood out. The perek discusses how the creations in the world give praise to Hashem by doing exactly what He wants each to do, and the creations do Hashem’s will in harmony. No creation is trying to outdo the other or trying to put the other creation in its place. Dovid Hamelech (King David) continues to state that we (klal Yisrael) need to see this as an example of the greatness of the Torah and copy this behavior. Knowing the essence of this perek has been a source of hope for me about Rafael. It made me understand that Hashem created Rafael; therefore, Rafael had a tachlis, a purpose in this world.

Here is a common scenario we all have experienced: You are working on a long-term project. It’s due today, and you’ve been at your computer for hours trying to beat the deadline. You’ve been holding off on eating, waiting for the delicious taste of something you crave. Finally, you take the first bite; it tastes delicious, just as you imagined it would. You take the second bite: a little less intense than the first bite but still wonderful and definitely worth it. Suddenly you get caught up in the text you’ve created on the computer. You look down, and the

Did you know that cranberries, a botanical cousin to blueberries, are the third most-studied fruit, after grapes and strawberries? Nutrition researcher Paul Gross, PhD, who calls himself the “berry doctor,” points out in his book Superfruits that cranberries have been the subject of more than 500 studies in the past century. Researchers have focused on cranberries’ phenolic compounds, which are plant chemicals that protect against a wide range of health problems. Based on the findings, Gross places cranberries seventh in his list of the world’s top 20 superfruits.

In a study published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, cranberries beat 19 other common fruits for phenolic content, surpassing red grapes, apples, strawberries, blueberries, and other fruits. It is because of these compounds that cranberries may help lower heart risk, strengthen the immune system, reduce inflammation, slow down some aging processes in the body, and heal ulcers.

Burglary is always a serious issue, but if it does happen, we all hope we are not at home at the time. In a recent rash of burglaries in our area, some of the break-ins occurred in the middle of the night while the homeowners were asleep! Pretty terrifying!

As with many problems, the main pain stems from the recognition that perhaps it could have been prevented. Let’s see what we can do to protect ourselves and minimize any damage. In this article, I will first discuss thwarting a burglar who gets in. Next, I will suggest ways to keep him out in the first place.

Five years ago, on the day after Chanuka, I got on a plane at JFK airport and landed in Tel Aviv. The courtesy taxi took me to Merkaz Klita (immigrant absorption center) Ye’elim in Ir Ha’Avos, Be’er Sheva. B’chasdei shomayim about two weeks later two teenaged brothers from India, whom I had met at Ye’elim, invited me to Shabbos dinner at a nearby community Beis Midrash called Machon Orot Israel. My feeling of connection to the place was instant, and I asked the hosting Rav if he had time to learn with me during the week. He said start coming in and we will see… Little did I know that I had found my spiritual home of at least the next several years.