I recently had the privilege of sharing a ride with Mrs. Zahava List, the founder and director of Chazkeinu. Started in Baltimore, Chazkeinu is a mental health peer support network for Jewish woman who are struggling with mental illness, including providing help for the female family members.

I knew a little bit about Chazkeinu as I had attended an event during the winter and was somewhat surprised to see the lightness of the evening and the fun involved! Turning our impressions upside down on the stigma of mental health is one of the missions of Chazkeinu. Its primary mission is to offer support and encouragement and to provide the safe space that is so crucial when one is dealing with mental illness. The group’s most recent initiative, Chill House, is what piqued my curiosity about this far-reaching organization, and when Zahava told me the list of services they provide, I was in awe.

The trip was surreal. I had traveled to Budapest before, but this trip was different. I had visited my grandmother (as well as the rest of my mother’s family who still lived there) many times during her lifetime. I had also been back several years ago to “invite” my father, z”l, to the chasana of his grandson (his namesake). With my father and maternal grandmother, as well as many other relatives buried in Hungary, I was going this time for kever avos. The trip turned out to be more meaningful than ever. In truth, every trip to Budapest – walking the land of my Avos – is its own incredible experience. What made this one even more so was not the what-once-was factor but the what-there-is-now! In order to appreciate this fact, permit me to share some family history with you.

Welcome to Rhodes – the Island of Rhodes, that is, not Rhode Island! Rhodes is a small island near the coast of Turkey. Rhode Island is one of the New England states. Interestingly, there is a connection between the two. An Italian explorer in the 16^th century thought an island off the east coast of America looked similar to Rhodes, for the coastline and beautiful beaches that make up both of these lands. And after seeing pictures of the beaches and castles in Rhodes, I am ready to take a trip there myself! In the meantime, however, I may have to make do with Newport on this side of the world.

Congratulations! You have a child going to school for the first time! What a milestone! Welcome to the exciting world of preschool, where your child will, be”H, continue on his path of growing and learning in his new “home away from home.”

For some children (and parents), this is very thrilling. I overheard a little girl ask her mother in almost every aisle of Seven Mile Market, “Right, Mommy, I’m going to Bais Yaakov? Right, Mommy, that’s what they do? Right, Mommy, I’m going to need snacks?” etc., etc. It was precious (at least for me) to hear her enthusiasm. And that’s what we want to keep in mind and hold onto – that enthusiasm.

The Baltimore community suffered an immeasurable loss. A beloved Rebbe, Rav, and embodiment of ahavas Yisrael in human form returned to the Yeshiva Shel Maaleh on ches Sivan.

Rabbi Peretz Avraham Dinovitz, zt”l, master mechanech (educator) and what I call a rebbe’s rebbe, will be sorely missed by scores of people. Having taught third grade for 30 years, and quite proud of his “job,” Rabbi Dinovitz saw the beauty in each and every talmid. Listening at the levaya (funeral) to the stories from some of those talmidim, now adults spread throughout the world and spanning the Jewish spectrum, was testimony to Rabbi Dinovitz’s love and influence. His acts of chesed were outstanding, reflecting his core belief of being nosei b’ol im chaveiro (carrying another’s burden). Nothing was impossible in his mind, and as such, many people identified with him as their personal rebbe. Yes, he will be sorely missed, and we may never know the full scope of his kindness and greatness. But in truth, that was typical of his humble demeanor and the very person that he was.

Pesach has come and gone, but most of us can still remember the amount of energy expended into making this special Yom Tov. In case you did forget, or erased it from your memory, I ask you, what does one do the week before Pesach? Some people are kashering their kitchens, while others are shopping and cooking. And then there are those who decide to spend time in a recording studio producing a song just in time for Pesach. This is the story of some local creative individuals who used their G-d given talents and energy to record a beautiful song and make an accompanying video in addition to kashering, cooking, and Pesach shopping.

It started out with two former Simchas Esther cast members, who were itching to do something creative as there hasn’t been a play in two years. One cast member, Michelle Anflick, who released her own single “Please See,” (available on YouTube and Spotify) sung and produced by local artists Pinny Schachter and Moshe Siegel, collaborated with another cast member, Judy Landman, author of Seasons of the Rain (available on Amazon). In a very last moment of insanity and altruism, the two women/actresses joined forces to make a song, which would be fine and fun, but who produces a song the week before Pesach!? Combining their writing and composition talents, this would be a song to honor the Ichud Hatzalah and the Chabad Shluchim in Ukraine who have worked tirelessly and continue to do so as they save hundreds of thousands of people there.