One Purim, a newly married young couple gave each of their relatives and friends a hamantash and an orange in a paper bag. Their mother laughed and enjoyed the gift, realizing that it reflected that particular couple’s style and attitude about life: simple, with love! Their grandmother, on the other hand, exclaimed, “Somebody should teach them the correct way to send mishloach manos!” One gift – two reactions!

Every year, in the weeks before Purim, the shalach manos decision-making begins in earnest: Many or few? Homemade or bought? Fancy or plain? Sweet or healthy? Themed or not? Ask members of our community what they think is appropriate, and you’ll get dozens of rather vehement opinions.

Finding Light in the Darkness

A Book Review

Who does not feel a sense of dread when hearing of a friend or acquaintance stricken with cancer – especially if they are young, especially if they have children, especially if they are ordinary people, just like us? Could it happen to me or my loved one? we wonder. And how would we cope? Surely, it is a test too great to bear.

It happened to Elana Rosenblatt. She and her husband discovered that she had cancer at the age of 27. They were affiliated with Aish HaTorah in England, and both Elana and her

My friend’s daughter is now married with children, but I remember her twelfth-grade year, when the big seminary decision had to be made. It seemed so absolutely crucial at the time to both my friend and her daughter. The girl wanted to go to Eretz Yisrael, but there was a problem: The one seminary she wanted to attend didn’t want to take her. The school was very pleasant but firm in its refusal. It was quite traumatic for the mother, and I remember our many phone “sessions,” when she lamented why other girls got accepted and her daughter didn’t.

In the

Lowly Job, Lofty Job: A Deeper Look at Babysitting

No matter how old you are, you probably remember your first job. And if you’re a woman, that job was probably babysitting. Some of us loved it, some of us chose to pass. But few of us thought about the “deeper meaning” of babysitting: namely, is it a job? Is it a chesed? Or is it both? This question plays itself out in many homes every night of the week, and is not trivial. The answer often depends on whether you are the one calling for the babysitter, the mother of the

Oh Rubbish!

Just as every child expects food, shelter, and clothing from his parents, residents of a modern city take for granted certain basic services – like mail delivery, emergency medical response, police and fire department protection, and trash removal. We pay our taxes, and we expect to receive these services when we need them without too much effort. When they are tampered with, it causes much stress and anxiety, especially when the changes being made seem unfair and promise to make life more difficult.

Much Ado About Garbage

Many members of our community were first alerted to the City’s impending trash collection

In 1989, when a journalist interviewed Mrs. Faye Porter-Arenzon – the mother of Rabbi Shlomo Porter, director of Etz Chaim Center for Jewish Studies – she told him about the many miracles that saved her life during the war. He asked her, “What about all the other people whom G-d did not save? Why didn’t He do miracles for them?” She answered, “That’s a good question. I don’t know.” He asked, “So, how can you still believe?” She answered, “I don’t know. I believe in G-d, and that’s all. I believe.” Although she did not have the answers, she could