One of the proudest, most memorable moments of my life occurred soon after I turned six years old, when my name appeared in our local paper, the New Haven Register. And, thanks to my mom, a”h, who was as sentimental as I am, I have it documented in the original yellowing clipping, headlined, “Register Fresh Air Fund Reaches Total of $18,637.”

The Register Fresh Air Fund was an initiative of our hometown paper to raise money to send local indigent children to camp. Together with my neighborhood friends, Beth, Lizzy, and Lynn, our Lemonade, Cookie, and Candy sale raised $21, a respectable donation, considering we charged a mere two cents per item!

 Efrat, Israel

It was truly a magical moment. On our first Shabbat after making aliyah last winter, we arrived at Shirat David, Rabbi Shlomo Katz’s shul in Efrat, and were showered with handshakes, hugs, and dancing around the bimah by the packed shul, as they sang in unison, V’shavu banim following an aliyah.

Then, on the last two Shabbatot in July, three different new olim had their own magical moments. So many olim in one shul, in one community in Israel, is quite rare. Yet such occasions are becoming more frequent. Nefesh B’Nefesh – the wonderful  handholding Israeli organization that helps new olim navigate the vast Israel systems and requirements, prior to and during their aliyah and for potentially years after – has remarkable statistics showing that over 4,000 new olim from the U.S. and Canada have moved to Israel since October 7^th. That includes 2,000 just this summer, on over 14 group flights. Additionally, there have been over 13,000 requests to opening aliyah files since October 7, 2023, an increase of 76% compared to the corresponding period last year. Our own aliyah in February was part of this record-setting trend and the very positive development that has no end in sight.

In the spring of 1985, I was recruited to lead an NCSY summer program, which at the time was the only one the OU offered teenagers. They called it ISS: Israel Summer Seminar. My reluctance notwithstanding, I was encouraged to do so by a few NCSY regional directors, one of whom requested I take his NCSYers from the West Coast and be their madrich (counselor). Though I had never been to Israel before, a free trip seemed like a great idea. Our group consisted of teenagers from Florida, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Oregon, Maryland, and of course, California. I am happy and proud to say I still have relationships with a good number of those NCSYers to this day, and while I continue to refer to them as “my kids,” they are now thankfully my friends, whom I still love very much.

In my youth, almost every Orthodox shul had a shamash. I fondly remember the elderly shamash who would pinch my cheeks at my grandpa’s shul when I was young. For those unfamiliar with the role and responsibilities of the shamash, I’ll explain. If you google the term, you’ll be informed that Shamash was a Mesopotamian sun god. Actually, there may have been some shamashim who thought of themselves in such terms. Nevertheless, for centuries, until rather recently, the shamash assisted the rabbi, the chazan, the baal koreh, and the gabbayim in the many tasks involved in maintaining and running a shul. In the shtetls of Europe, the shamash, using a special wooden mallet, would knock on the doors of congregants to wake them up and remind them to get to the minyan.

Although summer will be over by the time you read this, I can’t help but reflect on our amazing vacation experience this summer as well as express my gratitude for past vacations grand or simple. I do love summer. It is a great time to explore Hashem’s world and to spend time with family – and even with oneself in self-discovery and introspection. Summer is a break from the mundane stresses that abound in day-to-day living. It is a season that can herald adventures and experiences and can help us refocus on what’s truly important. I have seen many beautiful mountains, bodies of water, sunrises and sunsets, and the occasional bear. I have enjoyed delicious barbecues and night kumzitzes with my children. I have observed their awe of His world at Niagara Falls. Most importantly, I have seen them relaxed and happy to just “be.”

This week, I went to visit my father, who resides with my brother in Passaic. My son from Lakewood called and asked if his son Yosef could come to see me while I was there. Always happy to see a grandchild, I said sure, although I wondered how Yosef would get to Passaic. I was so surprised when the door opened and the whole family popped in. The surprise visit made me smile and gave me an idea for this article. 

Surprises happen to everyone – sometimes deliberate and sometimes spontaneous, sometimes welcomed and sometimes not.

For many Marylanders, the cost of property taxes or rent can be challenging. To help ease this burden, the state offers the Homeowners and Renters Tax Credit programs, designed to provide financial relief to eligible residents.

What Are These Tax Credits?

The Homeowners Tax Credit is available to low-income homeowners, helping reduce the amount of property taxes owed based on income. If your property taxes exceed a certain percentage of your income, the state will cover the difference, making homeownership more affordable.

A prayer offered without kavanah (intent) is like a body without a soul.

When the rabbis taught us that lesson, they were encouraging us that, when we recite our personal and public prayers, rather than merely reciting the words, we should garb them with our own personal meanings and thoughts. Just as our clothing choices help us stand apart, so do our contemplation and intent transform even standardized prayers into deeply personal, unique offerings.

Many in the Jewish community are rightfully concerned about the potential Harris/Walz administration’s policies against the state of Israel. It is known that she is considering an arms embargo on Israel, but I would like to point out something equally important: Kamala Harris’s colluding with the Islamic regime in Iran.

Sometimes a person can hear the same thing over and over again without really grasping its true meaning. I can attest to this as I’ve often struggled with the idea of free choice vs. Divine intervention – that is, until last week. Someone at the Shabbos table explained it so succinctly that I could practically hear his idea clicking into place in my mind. He announced to everyone at the table that Hashem is the One who decides what events will happen to us. We have free choice only in deciding how we will react to what He sends our way.

Wow! To say I was blown away by our host’s pronouncement would be an understatement. Suddenly, it felt like the dawning of a new day. Everything made sense to me, and I realized that this was something I wanted to begin working on as soon as possible. I knew it would not always be easy to achieve, especially when difficult tests came my way, but I was eager to try.