Dear Dr. Kidorf,

Our son is starting high school this fall in an out-of-town yeshiva. As I have been reading in the Where What When about the issue of teen drinking and how important it is to talk to your children about it, I am realizing that we never had “the conversation.” I’m pretty sure that the topic has not been presented by his school either. No one in our family is a drinker, and it just never came up. We do have several bottles of whisky, etc., stored on a shelf somewhere that we bring out for Purim and family simchas. In fact, we bought most of those bottles for this boy’s bris! This son is a normal kid and a good student, and I like to think that all our children are being brought up in a wholesome – some might say old-fashioned – environment. While we never felt the need to discuss drinking (or smoking, vaping, and other behaviors that teens might be exposed to), I’m wondering if we should. My friend told me that not giving kids information and direction is like letting your five-year-old cross Park Heights. Is such a discussion a one-size-fits-all imperative, or can each family decide according to their own situation? Should we initiate a conversation on this subject now, before our son gets to yeshiva, or wait until he brings it up? And finally, how should the discussion go?

Response:

in collaboration with the Bamberger Family

Baltimore and klal Yisrael recently lost an ish chesed, an ish emes, a humble and unassuming individual. It is a shame that the younger generation did not know Reb Osher Bamberger, who contributed so much to the Baltimore community – but always below the radar. Reb Osher was an architect who laid the groundwork for the growth of Torah in this community. He shied away from any kavod (honor) even as he expended great effort to build and maintain the infrastructure we still benefit from in this community. He was a rodef shalom (pursuer of peace) and a role model to many.

We lost a great rav and leader last month. Rabbi Pinchas Aaron Weberman, zt”l, passed away in Miami Beach on July 27^th. Rabbi Weberman came to Miami Beach in 1960, established Congregation Ohev Shalom, was the driving force and posek for the Miami Beach eruv and mikvah, founded the Orthodox Rabbinical Council, was active in local and national politics, and was police chaplain for the city of Miami Beach for over 50 years.

With Elul and slichos upon us, it is with trepidation that we begin to evaluate the events of the past year. It is always easier to analyze the actions of others then to focus on ourselves. Nevertheless, there is no question that outside influences can directly affect us and create anxiety. These days, simply reading a newspaper or listening to the news may make us wonder if we are living in a parallel universe. It seems that much of the world has gone mad and that the United States, which is now absent of coherent leadership, is rudderless and descending into moral chaos. One wonders if the voices of sanity and reason will be able to survive the morally corrupt “woke” who seem to be holding (the mostly silent) majority hostage.

Ever since I can remember, I saw the numbers. They aren’t big. They aren’t small. But they are everywhere.

It was the first day of school. School was never my favorite place to be, but I did well enough and had a nice social group. Some would call us cliquey; I just thought of ourselves as good friends. I never felt like I could call anyone my “best friend,” not until this year, at least. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

My favorite subject was always math. Perhaps it was because I had been seeing numbers my whole life. Perhaps it was just because Hashem had granted me a math brain, or perhaps the teachers just liked me! But, suffice it to say, I was busy counting on my fingers and toes when all most kids wanted to do was play Roley Poley.

Inspirational. Uplifting. Emotional. Expression. Connection.

These are the qualities women speak of when recalling the Rosh Chodesh Hafrashat Challa gatherings initiated and organized by Mrs. Penina Lewis over the last months. Come – let’s hear what is happening at 8 p.m. on or near Rosh Chodesh in our community.

It all began last winter when Mrs. Penina Lewis was moved to tears.

Mrs. Lewis, raised in Rosh Ha’ayin by her Teimini parents to radiate awe and love of Hashem, brings the simcha and emuna (faith) of her heritage to all

In my professional practice of mind-body healing, I often tell people that difficulties can be looked at as stones. It is up to them to decide if they view these stones as stumbling blocks or as steppingstones. Aside from the “sunny side” of living in Eretz Yisrael, my own experiences here included such challenges – stumbling blocks that were really steppingstones – as well.

My husband is Israeli, but we met in America and settled in Lakewood. Although I was never exposed to life in Eretz Yisrael, nor did any of my own close family members live there, I knew I wanted to live there. As a Jew, being drawn to Eretz Yisrael was just an integral part of my neshama (soul). When we already had four children, I told my husband that if we didn’t make the move now, we would never. So, on Zos Chanukah 1970, we moved to Bnei Brak.

A good friend of mine in New York took a chance and went on a date with someone I suggested but barely knew. He said he called her, and they had a nice conversation. When they met, he asked her where she wanted to have lunch. She named an expensive restaurant (of which there are many in NYC), at which point he had no choice but to acquiesce. They had lunch. He got the bill. She didn’t offer to share it. And $150 later, he knew he was done. When we spoke later, he laughed and said that this had been the most expensive dating lesson, which he wasn’t going to repeat.

Many Baltimoreans dream of escaping the heavy August heat, even for just a few days. Though their vacations differ in distance and destination, they all seek a change in scenery (and humidity). Some take the opportunity to spend quality family time filled with fun outings, while others just want to relax. But, as much as people enjoy their well-earned time off, there is something special about coming back home. Despite the fear that whatever was left in the fridge will not be pretty, it feels satisfying to finally open your own front door after being away.

As we mark the 78^th anniversary of the Hungarian Holocaust, it is fitting to focus on the summer of 1944 and examine the enigmatic Hungarian leader of that time, Admiral Miklos Horthy. Horthy was a complicated war figure whose Holocaust past is debated. While Horthy is customarily painted by World War II historians as Hitler’s “buddy,” a recent Moment magazine article entitled, “How Anti-Semite Miklos Horthy Saved the Jews of Budapest,” sides with historical revisionists who portray him favorably.

On the one hand, Horthy aligned his country with Nazi Germany and, after the war, lived in seclusion in fascist Portugal. On the other hand, he was not included by the Allies among the Nazi war criminals in the Nuremberg Trials, and he was supported after the war by Hungarian Jews who claimed they owed their lives to him. The question before us is, therefore, was Admiral Miklos Horthy an accomplice of the Nazis or a savior of the Jews?