As a very American high school graduate, raised in a frum New York family, I arrived at Ner Yisrael planning to stay one year in full-time yeshiva. My life was all planned out. I already had a scholarship to a good college in New York City and was the winner of a New York State Regents Scholarship, which would provide me with extra money while attending college. I planned to combine my daily college attendance with some yeshiva education while I achieved my B.A. degree, probably with a major in psychology, and then I intended to pursue my professional career: either to attend graduate school and become a psychologist or, more likely, to attend a top law school and become an attorney.

Administrator, Baltimore Bais Din

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

As we approach Yom Kippur, we hope to spend our attention contemplating the theme of the day and how we can each better ourselves. One of the prominent aspects of the davening of Yom Kippur is the Viduy, when we admit to Hashem what we have done wrong throughout the year. Many of the wrongdoings mentioned in Viduy relate to different forms of improper speech.* While we often think of improper speech as being lashon hara or ona’as devarim (comments intended to hurt another), there is another, more subtle aspect to being careful with one’s speech: the obligation to keep one’s word and verbal commitment.

This subject is discussed in halacha, which gives direction as to when one must keep a verbal commitment.  Halacha views giving one’s word with seriousness. We will examine this topic through three situations that often come up in daily living.

Who goes to Iceland? Isn’t it near Greenland?

It wasn’t until recently that Iceland has become a general tourist attraction. It’s in the sub-arctic, sandwiched between England and Greenland. I had been told by people who have been there that it is a land of geysers, waterfalls, and lava fields. Although the pictures they showed me were amazing, I was still hesitant to go. I love trees, but Iceland lost its trees when Viking settlers cut down the forests that covered one-quarter of the countryside. But after being grounded by Covid for two years, and after finding that there were kosher tours of Iceland, I decided to visit two countries in one summer, first Iceland and then Switzerland. I had a vague sense that Iceland, even if it left me breathless, would leave me feeling empty.

Over the last few months, I have received many questions about psilocybin, also known as “magic mushrooms,” a drug that seems to be constantly in the news. It turns out that much of the current research on psilocybin is conducted by my colleagues at the Behavioral Pharmacology Research Unit at Johns Hopkins, led by an excellent researcher named Dr. Roland Griffiths. This group has already established a Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research.

What is psilocybin? Psilocybin is a hallucinogen or psychedelic drug. This means that it can alter a person’s mood, thoughts, and perceptions. Other examples of psychedelic drugs are LSD and mescaline. People who take psychedelics often report a profound mystical experience that transforms the way they think about their life and values. Psychedelic drugs are distinguished from what are called “dissociative” drugs like ketamine or PCP, which make people feel disconnected from their body or environment. The drug MDMA (known as “Ecstasy”) seems to have both psychedelic and dissociative properties.

 When I reflect upon the last three days, I smile with tired eyes and a laughing mouth. My husband and I had the privilege of hosting our granddaughter Dina, and I don’t know what to talk about first. It was a dream come true and something I’ve always wanted to do and had only imagined how wonderful it would be. But I really had no idea. Our daughter came to drop off Dina and to visit for a while. She brought along her two-year-old, who is something else entirely. Leah has these zees, round little cheeks that you want to kiss over and over. It was a delightful time that was enjoyed by all, but secretly, both seven-year-old Dina and I couldn’t wait until everyone left so our special time could begin.

Last week, in early September, I had an opportunity to attend an event in the House of Lords, in the Palace of Westminster, in London. The Palace serves as the British equivalent of our U.S. Capitol building, although it has a considerably longer history. Originally built in 1016, the Palace was partially rebuilt in 1840 due to a fire that started in the basement, underneath the House of Lords. The British Parliament and the High Courts of Justice have been based in the Palace since the 13^th century. The impressive building and its inner courtyards cover eight acres overlooking the Thames River.

My first inkling that my daughter knew how to count was when she was about 20 months old. Most mothers would be impressed by their child’s intellectual prowess. I, however, was shaken to the core. Let me explain: My daughter, who was dressed in an adorable pink dress with a matching bow in her hair, was standing on the couch snuggling up next to me. We were reading a book, or at least, I was reading a book, when, all of a sudden, she yelled, “1-2-3.” The next thing I knew, she rushed to the edge of the couch and tried to leap off. The book went flying into the air as I lurched forward to grab her a moment before she tumbled face forward onto the floor. To this day, I have no idea what precipitated her desire to leap tall couches in a single bound. What I do know is that, thanks to her proficiency with numbers, I was able to save her from physical harm.

 Of all the women who lived in the early 1900s, one of the only ones we know about is Sarah Schneirer, who she saw a need and created a revolution that changed the world.

Here is a description of what she did from the book Rebbetzin Vichna Kaplan, by Rebbetzin Danielle Leibowitz (Feldheim). Rebbetzin Kaplan was a student of Sarah Schneirer and brought Bais Yaakov to the United States after WW II: “Sarah Schneirer took all her life experiences – that of being a Jew among gentiles, a seamstress serving customers, a student at the feet of a teacher, a self-motivated seeker of truth – and melded them together. She returned to Cracow, looked around her beloved town and saw that what had begun before the war was only getting worse. The antireligious movements were stronger, the pull was greater, and the danger to the Jewish people was unfathomable…. She began a campaign that would change the face of klal Yisrael, one girl at a time…. She began with little girls…. She began her daily lesson every day with the same words, ‘Maidelach, remember – I always stand before the Heilege Bashefer (G-d), and He sees everything that I do, and hears everything that I say, and he writes everything in a book.’ She created a revolution that we carry on today.”