Reviewed By Rabbi Mordechai Shuchatowitz, Head of the Baltimore Bais Din

In a previous article, we discussed a case in which a carpool group committed to including a family in their carpool for the coming year. Although this family lived a mile-and-a-half away from the other families, they were needed to complete the carpool, so they were accepted. Later, a new family moved in within a few blocks of the other drivers. The group then wished to back out of their commitment to the far-away family.

We discussed the halacha of mechusar amana, one who is not trustworthy for backing out of a verbal commitment. If someone gave a verbal commitment to another, halacha says that the commitment must be honored.

We will examine some new scenarios that involve the question of backing out of a commitment, and we will see whether the halacha changes in these new cases.

As a grandmother, I raised my children quite a few years ago, and I never heard of tongue tie. These days, I hear about it often. What is tongue tie? And is it a new problem, or has it always been an issue but people were unaware of it?

Heather McCormick, a speech therapist and certified lactation counselor who works at the Tethered Oral Tissues Clinic (TOT) at Kennedy Krieger Institute, explains that tongue tie (or ankyloglossia) is a term used to describe functional impacts when the tongue does not move freely in the mouth because the frenulum, that thin strip of tissue connecting the tongue and the floor of the mouth, is tight or shorter than normal. “Tongue ties can also occur with lip ties (under the upper lip) and buccal ties (in the cheeks),” she says. “The term Tethered Oral Tissues (TOTs) is the umbrella term that includes all of these. Assessment of TOTs is based on how the baby is functioning, not how the frenula look.”

 ?I’m not sure when it happened, but at some point, I grew up. The special thing about growing up 50 or 60 years ago is that growing up meant taking responsibility for yourself. If you were a guy and you wanted to get married, the first question your perspective father-in-law asked was “How do you plan to support my daughter?” These days, the question commonly asked to parents and prospective in-laws is, “How do you plan to support the young couple?”

Dear Dr. Kidorf,

Recently, I was talking to my friend about the recent law making marijuana legal for 21-year-olds. She said, “So what? It’s not worse than alcohol. If we don’t outlaw alcohol, why should we outlaw marijuana?” To me, this is a ridiculous statement. As a parent of middle- and high-school-age children, I am very concerned about what this means for my children and the children of the community. As if alcohol were not bad enough, what’s to stop teens from using it? What’s to stop them from driving “drunk”? What about peer pressure, addiction, and the long-term consequences for their mental and brain health? It could even happen that small kids will consume marijuana unknowingly in the form of brownies, candy, or even pizza! The horrific possibilities just blow my mind. I even worry about my married children and their kids, who are dealing with marijuana smoke from someone else in their building.

I don’t even know how to start to process this change. I never thought that I would have to have this conversation with my kids. In summary, what should we parents be thinking about regarding this law and how should we talk to our children about it?

Blew your budget? Outta cash? Depleted your checking account? Maxed out on your credit cards?

Chanukah is coming, and like most of our wonderful Jewish holidays, it takes money for all those gifts and Chanukah gelt that you are hoping to distribute. Or perhaps you have a more mundane financial obligation coming up and simply don’t have the money to fund it. Hopefully, this article will give you some recommendations to get money quickly. Remember, these are only suggestions, which may or may not work for your family situation. But even if only one or two of these tips work for you, it will translate into found money.

As a child, Baltimore resident Jaclyn Sova loved school – so much so that she pursued a teaching career as an avid supporter of formal education. Yet it was the informal instruction she received outside the four walls of the classroom that most resonated with her and had the greatest influence on her commitment to Yiddishkeit.

Today, the Chumash and Machshava teacher at Bnos Yisroel and Bais Yaakov of Baltimore is imparting the same passion and skills she developed in her youth to students at both high schools through BGCUBED (Building Girls to Gain and Grow), a unique program of Atlantic Seaboard NCSY and the Orthodox Union (OU). 

Just over one year has passed since we pulled away from our house for the last time in a rented pickup truck packed with 11 suitcases, five carry-ons, five personal items, a stroller, car seats, toys, activities, and snacks. With our home and cars sold, we and our three children left our beloved Baltimore behind.

My husband and I are native Baltimoreans. My mother, Cindy Futeral, a”h, graduated from Bais Yaakov in 1980, and I followed her 26 years later. After high school, I attended Maalot, Towson, and University of Maryland at Baltimore. My husband had been a student at Talmudical Academy, Rambam, and Ner Yisrael, followed by University of Maryland at College Park. We loved Baltimore with its calm lifestyle, where keeping up with the proverbial Cohens was not central to our success.

I grew up in a different time. The lines between adults and children were drawn with precision. I called adults Mr. or Mrs., and it never occurred to me to answer back to my parents. When I ate with adults other than my parents, my siblings and I sat at the children’s table. We never felt left out; that’s just the way things were back then, and we accepted it without question.

Mostly everyone I knew learned proper manners. We said please and thank you, ate with our mouths closed, and were taught not to interrupt adults when they were speaking. My mother insisted we speak correctly, using correct diction. In my small town, my friends all said, “I’m going over my friend’s house” and “It was so fun.” I learned to say, “I’m going over to my friend’s house” and “It was so much fun.

Doni, a friend of mine since high school, sidled up to me in the supermarket one day and said he wanted to talk. He related that years ago he had been visiting Israel and saw a man outside Yericho who was giving camel rides. He approached the man and asked, “How much do you charge to go up on the camel?” The man replied good-naturedly, “It is free.” The price was right, so Doni took a deep breath and courageously proceeded to participate in local culture. He mounted the camel, and the camel rose. Led by its owner, the camel began to walk, as Doni held on tightly with a mixture of joy and trepidation. Eventually, he had enough and decided it was time to come down. He called to the owner that he wanted to stop. The owner called back, “To go up on the camel is free, but to come down is 20 shekel? Okay?” Doni didn’t find it funny, but he did agree.

Autism is a challenging – and more and more frequently diagnosed – condition. In fact, as of 2018, the CDC estimates its prevalence as 1 in 44 children. While we might think of a child with autism as being non-verbal and exhibiting hand flapping and other odd behaviors, he could also look like any other child yet be struggling with many life skills. Children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, or ASD, differ widely. What they have in common are deficits in communication and social interaction, and 2) restricted, repetitive behaviors, interests, or activities.