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.

I am a physician assistant who began my medical career in the intense environment of a hospital ICU. I loved the work and the sense of urgency that came with it. As I transitioned into motherhood, however, I found that the demanding hours were no longer feasible. Seeking a better work-life balance, I moved into psychiatry, initially for what I jokingly referred to as “Mommy hours.” Little did I know that this somewhat unconventional move into psychiatry would not only align better with my personal life but also unveil a profound professional passion.

During my early years in psychiatry, I realized something that had been right under my nose: I had been suffering from postpartum depression without recognizing it. Despite having a therapist and being aware of the challenges of life, it wasn’t until I was immersed in the field that I truly understood what I had been experiencing. This revelation was life changing. Effective treatment improved my life immensely and sparked a deep passion for psychiatry, especially for serving women during their childbearing years and beyond. I became particularly interested in how hormonal fluctuations impact a woman’s mental health.

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Former governor of Maryland, Larry Hogan, is running for Maryland’s vacant Senate seat this November and is hoping to become a champion for Israel in the U.S. Senate.

Hogan has not held political office in Maryland since 2022, when his second term as Maryland governor ended. He was the third most popular governor in the United States, with a 70% approval rating when he left office, according to a 2022 Morning Consult poll. Hogan has nonetheless remained active in politics. He briefly considered running for president at the urging of his dear friend, Senator Joseph Lieberman, z”l. Ultimately, he decided not to do so and endorsed Nikki Haley for president instead.

 Every time I walk into a voting booth and pull the curtain, my heart races with the responsibility of making the best decisions. Unfortunately in the past decades, I missed a few primary elections, but I’m more careful today. Although I prefer the excitement of voting on Election Day, sometimes I vote early. It’s easy to say, “My one vote doesn’t really count,” but that’s not true. Whether I cast my ballot early or on Election Day, I am aware that my vote does count among all the others in our Jewish community.

A good voter turnout impresses leaders in government, and that makes a difference for our community’s needs being met. This is why some people are concerned about a low voter turnout in the presidential primary this past May. Sandy Rosenbluth, Chief of Staff for Dalya Attar and member of the Maryland Democratic State Central Committee, along with her husband, Ronnie Rosenbluth, a former member of the State Central Committee, are upset that very few people in our district voted. “Poor voter turnout gives us less influence with elected officials,” says Mrs. Rosenbluth.

The women tentatively walked into the shiva house. It is not easy to pay a shiva call when you know none of the mourners. Some of the women only knew the person for whom the family was mourning by hearsay or had quickly exchanged a few words with her once or twice. Yet, these women came, many of them unable to speak through their tears.

The above scenario occurred over and over during the week of shiva for Rena Baron, a”h. These women participated in Mommy and Me, the free weekly group that Rena organized in late 2022, while taking care of her own family and coping with her diagnosis of Stage 4 cancer.

The creation and execution of Mommy and Me exemplified so much about Rena. After Rena’s shocking diagnosis in the spring of 2021, and after the initial round of surgery and treatment, the Baron/Lapin family had many discussions about what we could do as a zechus for a refuah shleimah. Perhaps a gratitude booklet as being thankful to Hashem was so much a part of Rena’s personality? Perhaps something to do with the bracha of Asher Yatzar as the amazing majesty of one’s body became apparent? One idea after another was suggested, but when her sister Rebecca came up with ideas that would strengthen and honor mothers, everyone realized that was the most appropriate. 

Being single is very painful. In our discussion here, I’m not talking about any individual single. I’m only sharing my thoughts as an individual former single with lots of experience and an evidence-based opinion.

Part of the challenge of being an Older Single is that it makes so many of us feel awkward and uncomfortable because we don’t know what to think, say, or do. It’s kind of like that shiva call – do I talk? What do I say? Maybe I’ll just sit this one out.

I’ve found that singles also hate the awkwardness. They wish they were treated like everyone else. After all, let’s be honest, we all have challenges; some are just more public than others. Singles appreciate constructive assistance, but the hand-wringing and crisis-fying (did I just make that word up?) just isn’t helpful. I hope the discussion below will be. 

We have previously discussed several risks associated with adolescent nicotine vaping and the use of nicotine pouches. These risks include acute and long-term pulmonary and cardiac complications, alteration of healthy neuro-cognitive development, and vulnerability to addiction. Nobody in their right mind would want these problems.

Yet what if there is an upside to teenage vaping?

What I am thinking about is that vaping (or other nicotine use) among teenagers might at times be a primitive way to express feelings of distress. In the old days, we might have called it “a cry for help.”

Rav Chayim Dov Keller and his brother-in-law, Rav Avraham Chayim Levin, zt”l, together started the yeshiva gedola of Telz, Chicago branch, which now is responsible for the education of a grandson of mine and also sports my nephew in its kollel, both of whom are named Nachi Kaganoff, after my father. Rav Keller’s wife was one of the three daughters (and one son, Rav Avraham Chayim) of Rav Eliezer Levin, who had left Lithuania in 1939 to become a rav in Erie, Pennsylvania (very briefly) and then in Detroit for over 50 years, until his passing. The other two daughters were married to Rabbi Yaakov Lipschutz, zt”l, who, in his day, was one of the greatest experts in kashrus, and ybl”c, Rabbi Berel Wein. Rav Levin was probably the last surviving talmid of the Kelm yeshiva. We can hardly even imagine what it was like to have been a true product of what was called the Kelm Talmud Torah.

The U.S. food industry is controlled by 10 companies, all competing for our eyeballs and dollars. Through innovations in food research and technology, these companies have developed ways to prolong shelf life and enhance flavor, resulting in products that taste great but have little, if any, nutritional value, while some may even be harmful to our health. What lies behind the pretty packaging and safe-sounding claims of these processed products? Here is some information I thought you should know that is not included on product labels. 

1) Trans fats, recognized as unsafe in the 1980s and banned by the FDA in 2015, are still lurking in your food even when the packaging says “0 Trans Fats.” That’s because, in the FDA’s dual role to protect both consumer and industry, industry won. Trans fats, created by hydrogenating liquid oil to become solid, preserve the shelf life of foods, an important factor in keeping costs down for the food industry. Through its lobbying efforts, the food industry convinced the FDA to allow .5 grams of trans fats per serving in all processed foods without listing it on the ingredients label. Check out the serving size in your favorite box of crackers that says “0 Trans Fats” and do the math.