In the late 1960s, when I was a senior at Towson University, then called Towson State College, I was appointed as a student representative to a faculty curriculum committee meeting, where I experienced the only antisemitic slur in my four years at Towson. Because I was very young, I didn’t know what to say when a faculty member who was against bringing a business curriculum to Towson suggested that it would attract more Jews. A few minutes later, I walked out of that meeting and never came back. At that time, the Jewish Students Association, a worthy school club, existed, but it wasn’t a place to report antisemitism.

Today, Jewish students at Towson and other Maryland colleges gain support through Chabad and Hillel on campus. After the massacre by terrorists in Israel on Simchas Torah, that support is needed more than ever.

Shortly after the Simchas Torah war began, I scribbled a heartfelt message to a soldier on a Star-K memo pad sheet. A week later, I was very gratified to see a WhatsApp photo of a smiling IDF soldier holding my note. The initiative to collect letters and children’s drawings for the soldiers was at the behest of my coworker, Adina Michelsohn. She also put me in touch with four young, energetic Baltimoreans who are passionately working day and night to help ensure the chayalim and their families get the help they need. Here is their story.

“…It shall be that when Hashem your G-d gives you rest from all of your enemies – all around – in the land that Hashem your G-d gives you as an inheritance to possess it, you shall wipe out the memory of Amalek from under the heaven – you shall not forget!” (Devarim 25:19).

“Joshua weakened Amalek and its people with the sword’s blade.” (Shemos 17:13) 

Over a half century ago, The Rav, J.B. Soloveitchik, zt”l, speaking about evil, said, “At times, man must not forgive evil but must fight and try to eradicate it. In particular, organized evil must be wiped off the face of the earth. As an example, consider the commandment of destroying Amalek. Amalek represents not a race but a group that is committed to an immoral life, holding that deeds that increase human misery are moral. The Nazi movement was and still is identical with Amalek. In dealing with people so monstrous, gevurah (divine wrath) overrides chesed (loving kindness).”

You have to hand it to the ever-resilient tobacco industry. While the rest of us were focused on e-cigarettes and the dangers of vaping, they were busy creating new nicotine products for our kids to ingest. The latest is called the oral nicotine pouch. It is sold at gas stations and convenience stores for about five-to-ten dollars per package, with brand names like Velo, On!, and Rogue. The brand Zyn is the JUUL equivalent in the nicotine pouch world, accounting for most of the marketing and sales.  

A Maryland State Police employee told me that the highest concentration of legal handgun ownership in Baltimore City is centered in the Jewish community. Yet even though you have never heard of a negligent discharge (inadvertent or accidental discharge of a firearm) nor of a child finding and handling a firearm nor of an illegal use of a legal firearm in our community – there is a great deal of fear and loathing when it comes to firearms and firearm ownership. On the other hand, the current rise in both crime and antisemitism creates an impetus to be licensed to own and carry a firearm – and to do it as soon as possible.

“Having a baby is earth shattering,” says Judy Yankelove, a local lactation consultant. “A new mother needs support. She should eat right, get rest, find friends to talk to, and ask for help from friends and family.”

This advice seems obvious, and this was how new mothers were treated in Europe. My father, who was born in Germany in 1930, told me that women stayed in bed for two weeks after giving birth. However, times have changed, and women today are reluctant to take it easy. Or perhaps our very busy lives make it difficult. Even the healthcare professionals have abandoned the “old-fashioned” ways and send new mothers and babies home after 24 hours, unless there is some complication.

In this article, I will review two government programs that aim to make family life more compatible with work.

Maternity Leave

Maternity leave in Maryland is governed by a combination of federal and state laws, ensuring that new parents have options for taking time off to care for their newborns. Here are the key aspects of maternity leave in the state:

1) Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA): Under the federal FMLA, eligible employees in Maryland can take up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave. This can be used for maternity leave following the birth or adoption of a child.

2) Maryland Parental Leave Act (MPLA):  Maryland has its own MPLA, which provides additional protections. Eligible employees can take up to six workweeks of unpaid leave for the birth or adoption of a child. To qualify, employees must work for an employer with 15 or more employees and meet specific service requirements.

It is well known that Rav Moshe Feinstein used to complain that the halachos of tzedakah were among those about which he was asked too infrequently. Yet some of the most common shailas I get have to do with tzedakah.  

The questions I will answer in this article are: 1) May a parent use maaser money to support married children in kollel? 2) May one can pay tuition out of maaser kesafim funds? and 3) May one ask Hashem to pay him back for the tzedakah money that he gave?

I haven’t had little children in my house for a long time, but one thing I remember is the big mess that toys make. In a very short period, a clean house can look like a tsunami hit it. Pieces of toys are strewn all over the floor, and the children in the house are playing with an empty cardboard box!

Whenever I think of a topic for an article, I ask my son-in-law Avi if it says anything about this topic in the gemara. I didn’t really think there would be anything about toys in the gemara, but to my surprise, there was. Avi told me that in the gemara Yuma it talks about taking care of a young child. Abayah relates that his rebbe (and adoptive father) Rabba would buy cracked dishes for a low price to give to his children so they could have the fun of breaking them. It seems that even children in the time of the gemara liked to make a mess.

When we daven U’nesana Tokef each Yom Kippur, we recite, “Mi yichyeh u’mi yamus – who will live and who will die.” We do not know what the judgment will be, and we pray for a year of life and health. But other than davening to Hashem, what else can we do?

Over the last 40 years, the Baltimore community has helped many widows and orphans after they have unfortunately lost their husband and father, with no plan to replace the lost parnassa that the deceased had been providing for the family. I have been involved, too often, in helping raise these needed funds. Many millions have been raised, and tzedakahs like Avigdor’s Helping Hand, a New York-based tzedakah organization, and our local Ahavas Yisrael Charity Fund have provided tzedakah to these mishpachos. Rabbi Boruch Brull, the executive director of Ahavas Yisrael, has been at the forefront of many of these efforts.