As a real estate broker, I have witnessed firsthand how thoughtful home improvements can significantly impact a property’s market value. Whether you are planning to sell your home or simply want to enhance its appeal and functionality, understanding which upgrades add the most value is essential. Not all improvements are created equal – some projects yield a high return, while others may not add as much value as expected. Let’s explore how strategic upgrades can enhance your home’s value and appeal.

Homeowners often ask, “Should I focus on structural updates or aesthetic upgrades?” The answer lies in balancing practicality and visual appeal. Buyers are drawn to homes that are move-in ready and visually attractive, but they also value properties that won’t require significant repairs in the near future. Structural and functional improvements may not be glamorous, but they are critical for ensuring your home is safe, efficient, and market-ready.

“Anything Can Happen” is my favorite song in the play, Mary Poppins. The first line of that song is “Anything can happen if you let it.” Something happened when Meira Berendt (Levi) decided she wanted to do a production with women. With the help of Hashem, after eight months of hard work, supported by her musical directors, choreographers, cast, and crew, it happened: the women’s play Mary Poppins. The result was a spectacular production that could have been on Broadway.  

As a teacher, I always loved the character of Mary Poppins. For many years in Atlanta, I dressed up on Purim as Miriam Poppins (a Jewish Mary Poppins) and visited Morah Dena Friedman’s kindergarten class at Torah Day School, bringing joy to the children (and myself) as I marched around with my bird head umbrella and sang “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.” So when my daughter was practicing for the play, I bought tickets for both nights’ performances, December 22 and 23, at the Panther Theater. I sat at the edge of my seat during this all-woman professional performance. After the play, I went to sleep singing the songs and got up singing them. The acting, singing, dancing, scenery, costumes, special effects, and more were beyond what I expected. It was so enjoyable that I wish I could watch it again!

There are two things that I notice when I look down at my hands.

The first is how closely they resemble my mother’s. I never noticed that as much as I have since October 7 because since that fateful day I simply cannot bring myself to polish my nails. My mother never polished hers.

You have to know me to appreciate just how meaningful and significant a change it is. Some things are sacrosanct, and for me, this is one of them.

Since I was a very young teen (and that’s been over three score) and first discovered the intoxicating smell of fresh polish, except for a few hours here or there, my natural nails have not seen the light of day.

by STAR-K

Mazal tov! Whether you have just purchased your very first house, the lot on which you’re building one from scratch, or you’ve finally saved up money to renovate your 70-year-old home, let the buyer/builder/remodeler beware! This is not your grandfather’s house! The average Torah-observant consumer would have to have a thorough understanding of things like electricity and plumbing – and their applications vis-à-vis halacha – to ensure that their newfangled home improvements providing safety, comfort, and convenience are also Torah-compliant. These include everything from comfort pumps to induction stovetops.

Rabbi Eliyahu Krieger was my menahel in high school. Born in Berlin to an Eastern European family, he arrived in the United States when he was young and studied in Yeshiva Torah Vadaas under Rav Shraga Feivel Mendelovitz, who single-handedly created Torah chinuch (education) in the United States. Rav Shraga Feivel created Torah Umesorah, whose mandate was to build Torah day schools in every small Jewish community in the United States. To accomplish this, he rallied gedolei Yisrael from across the spectrum to support Torah Umesorah’s activities and programs. Yet this was a sidebar to his official endeavors, which were to build Yeshiva Torah Vadaas in Brooklyn, Kollel Beis Elyon in Monsey, and various programs to train Torah teachers. He created the yeshiva settings whereby Rav Shlomo Heiman, Rav Reuven Grozovsky, Rav Yaakov Kamenetsky, and many others were able to influence the American Torah scene, and he was also instrumental in the building of several other yeshivos in America.

Returning to Rabbi Krieger, whereas most of his contemporaries who arrived on the American shores as refugees from the Nazis were eager to start businesses or pursue professions, Rabbi Krieger was interested in studying in yeshiva and became a disciple of Rav Shraga Feivel. This meant that he became committed to chinuch, as did the most of Rav Shraga Feivel’s talmidim. As happened to many, he also became the de facto “rabbi of his family,” since he was the first one to receive a yeshiva education and develop that perspective on life.

As soon as I got my driver’s license at 18, I drove to my friend Ruthie’s house to celebrate. But as I was parallel parking, a skill I had just learned to pass my driver’s test, I hit a car. “I’m not getting back in there,” I told my friend’s mother.

“Oh, yes you are,” she said, and the owner of the car I hit agreed. Through their kindness, I got back into the car, and, b”H, I’ve been driving ever since, even teaching my children how to drive when they were teenagers. Still, through the years, I’ve avoided parallel parking and mostly park my 2012 Camry at the curb in front of our house or between the white lines in parking lots. Now that I’m a senior (not a high school one, of course) my new problem is maneuvering my car between the white lines in those parking spaces.

When I settled in Baltimore in 1979, it was understood that “learning in kollel” meant the kollel of Ner Yisrael, established just 20 years prior. Today, 250-plus kollel fellows learn at Kollel Avodas Levi (subsequently named in memory of Rosh Hayeshiva Rav Yitzchak Ruderman, zt”l) in one of the five to seven chaburos (learning groups, see sidebar), with guidance from its Rosh Kollel, Harav Ezra Neuberger. Yet, dozens more men are learning in other local kollels, which seem to have sprung up overnight. Here are just some of them.

Kollel Nachlas Yosef

“There’s a real energy in the beis medrash, and everyone is shtieging,” says Rabbi Aron Tendler, rosh kollel of Kollel Nachlas Yosef. Named in memory of Rabbi Yosef Tendler, zt”l, longtime menahel of Ner Israel’s high school, the kollel was founded to ensure that young men entering the workforce or who are in school have a place to learn with the same intensity and enthusiasm they experienced during their yeshiva years. It is open to those who want to learn long term, short term, or even one seder (session, see sidebar) a day.

The kollel, under the guidance of seder rosh chabura, Rav Shimon Greenwald, started with 12 yungerleit (young married men); another seven, who are learning in Eretz Yisrael, joined for the month of Elul. To create an environment of intense and enthusiastic learning, the kollel yungerleit learn in one chabura (learning group) in one beis medrash, where they can take advantage of the great group dynamic and enjoy the ru’ach haTorah (the atmosphere of Torah) that comes from such an experience.

Morning and afternoon sedarim at Kollel Nachlas Yosef are held in its beis medrash on Smith Ave. For night seder, the kollel joins the many bnei Torah learning in Derech Chaim (Rav Pinchas Gross’ new shul). “Indeed, it is a wonderful testament to the amazing people of our kehilla that so much Torah is being supported throughout our community. And it is inspiring to see how many people come to learn after a long day at work,” says Rabbi Tendler.

?I like the American holiday of Thanksgiving which was just celebrated. Unfortunately, these days, instead of giving thanks to G-d and showing gratitude to others, many Americans think that Thanksgiving is simply a time to shop for bargains.

Giving thanks and showing appreciation are core Jewish values. The Modim prayer of thanksgiving is recited daily in our Shmoneh Esrei/Amidah. As Chanukah approaches, we Jews are reminded to be thankful for the miracles that Hashem performed for our ancestors. Our survival then, as now, has always relied upon miracles. In recent times, though, both of these holidays have become more about getting than giving. It seems that we need to be reminded to give with an open hand, to appreciate, and to be thankful, because our spiritual health and wellbeing require it.

We made aliyah two-and-a-half years ago. As calendar coincidences work, Israel has been at war for exactly half of the time we have lived here. So, what have we learned in the past 15 and 30 months?

First, I should have paid much closer attention to Mr. Pernikoff, z”l, at the Talmudical Academy, and maybe I would not be having as much trouble with conjugating verbs and keeping adjective genders aligned. For those under 55, or maybe even 60, Mr. Pernikoff taught Hebrew language in seventh, eighth, and ninth grades for many years, and he stressed verb and gender issues. But like most teenagers, I only studied for the tests – and not for “hey-you’re-really-going-to-want-to-know-this-in-50 years.”

Mazal tov on your new baby! As you lie in bed, dreamily examining her tiny features, you feel so grateful for this moment. You have been planning for the birth of your baby for at least nine months, maybe years – maybe your whole life! You took prenatal vitamins, got ultrasounds, took a prenatal yoga class, and listened to your OB provider’s advice on how to stay healthy and ensure the best outcome for your pregnancy and baby. You took childbirth classes and infant care classes and nursing classes. You researched your provider. You hired a doula. You have a whole shopping list of a stroller, car seat, bassinet, swaddlers, and more, all waiting in your online shopping cart.

And now it’s over. Your baby is here. What’s next?

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