“Tova Brown,” a student at Maalot, had just watched the film Inspired, which depicts ordinary frum Jews reaching out to unaffiliated ones – and she was feeling, well, inspired. In that frame of mind she went shopping at Barnes and Nobles and noticed an obviously non-religious teenage girl reading an ArtScroll Chumash. Tova passed her a few times and even walked out of the store before finally convincing herself that she just had to approach this girl. This was what the movie was about, after all, and Tova had decided that the next time she got the opportunity she would

It was a sweltering afternoon, the last day of school. Pulling into the TA parking lot, I heard the unmistakable noise of a shredded tire. The lot was teeming with cars filled with boys. I knocked on the window of a big white van next to me. The woman, whom I did not know, rolled down the window. After I made my desperate request, she said, in the spirit of Rivka Imeinu, “Sure, not only can I take home one boy, I’ll take all three. No problem!” Later, I heard that she was planning to buy Slurpies for the whole

We often hear about the high spiritual level of the generations that came before us as compared to our own. So it was refreshing to find out that our community has improved in relation to people with special needs. “It is amazing how much the attitude of the world towards children with disabilities has changed for the better in the last 10 years,” says Mrs. Rochel Vim. “Today, there are many more programs and opportunities, and there is less embarrassment and less stigma involved in having a child who is different. When my daughter was much younger, people clearly had

An elderly woman sits at the table in her small apartment. She is lonely and waits eagerly for company. Pictures of her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren decorate her wall. A bride and groom gaze down from a large portrait in the corner. The bride wears a beautiful gown whose long train surrounds her majestically. If a visitor looks closely, she can see that the woman and the beautiful bride are one and the same. Though pictures cannot talk, this one speaks volumes. It tells of life – of how we are all on a one-way journey to the next world.

Going home for Yom Tov: It’s traditional, it’s expected, it’s the essence of family building over the generations. It is, in fact, one of those unwritten “laws” of Yiddishkeit, which frequently brings the anticipated joy to all concerned but can also, at times, present challenges. Like many things in life, the outcome depends on how it is managed, and the wonderful advantages make it worth the effort.

Take the story of Rivki* and Dovid, who are coming home for Pesach a few weeks after their marriage. Excited to be the “new couple” at the Seder after years of helping entertain her

When I was in sixth grade in a day school in Philadelphia, I had a math teacher whom everyone feared, students and parents alike. Once, I had forgotten my homework and was trembling in my seat, waiting for Mrs. Rummel to discover my sin. I remember hearing her high heels clatter down the hall and trying to figure out how I could avoid her wrath. To my great relief, she said, “Oh, your father just called to tell me that you forgot your homework at home. You can bring it in tomorrow.” My father had saved the day! That was