Today, over 84 years since the start of the Holocaust and 79 years from the end of the Second World War, a multitude of Torah learning and educational vehicles are available to enhance the chinuch of our children and make them bnei and bnos Torah. Many of our parents and grandparents are Holocaust survivors who escaped the horrors of Hitler’s Europe. Many of them unfortunately did not have the opportunity to study in yeshivas but came out of the horror of the war with strong emunah and were firmly committed to halacha and shemiras Shabbos

“Tu b’Shvat higi’ah, chag ha’ilanot….” So go the lyrics of the famous children’s song. Tu b’Shvat, the delightful new year of the trees, is when we eat the sheva minim, the special fruits of the Eretz Yisrael. They are wheat, barley, grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives, and dates, which are mentioned in the pasuk (verse) in the order of their ripening.

Besides being delicious, each of the seven species was associated by the mekubalim (kabbalists) with the one of the seven sefiros. Wheat corresponds to chesed (kindness), barley to gevurah (strength), grapes to tiferes (harmony), figs to netzach (perseverance), pomegranates to hod (humility), olives to yesod (foundation), and dates to malchus (royalty). The kabbalists ate these foods in 16^th century Tzfas at a Tu b’Shvat seder, a custom that has had a revival in our time.

Many people ask me about investing in the stock market. I tell them, do I know where the Dow will be tomorrow? The answer is, of course not – but then, neither does Warren Buffet. Here is what I do know: Inflation and the Feds raising interest rates have caused turmoil in our IRAs and financial portfolios. It’s unsettling to see a financial statement that is 15% off its high for a conservative portfolio and even more for a Nasdaq high-tech portfolio. There’s a natural feeling of uneasiness and financial concern. We get seasick.

We have seen the markets correct over the last year, b”H, and the markets had a very positive 2023. As interest rates begin to come down, bonds and the markets should hopefully do well. Gold just hit an all-time high at over $2,100 per ounce, and Bitcoin has made a healthy recovery as of late. Real estate, especially office space rentals and shopping centers, have had a rough time coming out of Covid. There is a lesson here to be learned. Come aboard and listen to my advice.

Back in 2002, I took a group downtown for a Shabbaton at the B’nai Israel Congregation, where my nephew Rabbi Shraga Goldenhersh was then rabbi. This year, we again came to the Harbor to spend Shabbos with the congregants of this historic Jewish jewel, tucked within sight of Baltimore’s shot tower, the soaring financial building of Alex Brown, the towering Marriot Hotel, and close to Port Discovery and quaint Little Italy and Fells Point. 

B’nai Israel, built in 1876, is the oldest Orthodox synagogue in continuous use in Maryland and still houses a vibrant and active congregation. They provide beautiful services every Shabbat, as well as each Sunday morning and on the religious and secular holidays.

When we daven U’nesana Tokef each Yom Kippur, we recite, “Mi yichyeh u’mi yamus – who will live and who will die.” We do not know what the judgment will be, and we pray for a year of life and health. But other than davening to Hashem, what else can we do?

Over the last 40 years, the Baltimore community has helped many widows and orphans after they have unfortunately lost their husband and father, with no plan to replace the lost parnassa that the deceased had been providing for the family. I have been involved, too often, in helping raise these needed funds. Many millions have been raised, and tzedakahs like Avigdor’s Helping Hand, a New York-based tzedakah organization, and our local Ahavas Yisrael Charity Fund have provided tzedakah to these mishpachos. Rabbi Boruch Brull, the executive director of Ahavas Yisrael, has been at the forefront of many of these efforts.

 Elaine Berkowitz

 Soon, many of us will share our Rosh Hashanah tables with the head of a fish. And that is not so strange; Jews and fish have a long acquaintance with each other.

In fact, Jews have been compared to fish. A Roman asked Rabbi Akiva why the Jews risked death by studying the Torah when the Romans outlawed it. Rabbi Akiva answered with a parable: A fox, seeing the fish in a stream scurrying here and there to avoid the fishermen’s nets, beckoned them to come ashore. He had ulterior motives, of course. But the fish were not taken in. They said, if we are at risk of death by the fisherman, we will certainly die if we come ashore. And so it is with the Jews, who must be immersed in the waters of Torah to survive.