Fishel Gross, owner of O’Fishel Kosher Catering, got his start early. He was cooking and selling hamburgers and other culinary delights even as a bachur in Yeshiva Bais Moshe in Scranton. Yet he is anything but your run-of-the-mill caterer. During his 38-year food service career, Mr. Gross’s creativity has spread well beyond the elegant wedding to encompass a smorgasbord of innovative mitzva-inspiring programs. His numerous Mitzvah Motivator projects have prompted children and adults alike to take on such challenges as memorizing Pirkei Avos, saying brachos out loud, and learning Chumash and mishnayos.

Congregation Ohel Yakov – more fondly known as “Rabbi Dinovitz’s shul” – can be traced back to 1875. In fact, if you visit its cemetery on Bowley’s Lane, you will find all its past rabbanim and their family members interred there. The shul itself, however, is far from lifeless and is in fact as vibrant as ever.

The credit, of course, goes to its devoted rabbi, Rabbi Peretz Dinovitz and his Rebbetzin; its dedicated president of 20 years, Paul Barr, and his “first lady”; and all its faithful congregants. The vitality of the shul will be on display on Sept. 25, Elul 22, when Ohel Yakov welcomes a new sefer Torah purchased with funds from members of its daily, netz, and Shabbos minyanim.

Back in the 1980s, the tongue-in-cheek book, Real Men Don’t Eat Quiche: A Guidebook to All that is Truly Masculine, sold 1.6 million copies and was on the New York Times bestseller list for 55 weeks! Written after a decade of feminist critique of traditional male roles and behaviors, it satirized stereotypical masculinity in an age when men were confused about how they ought to behave.

Has anything changed? While men may eat more quiche these days, it is clear that the confusion continues, as portrayals of masculinity in the media veer wildly between the extremes of brutal machismo and wimpy emoting. What is a man, and how should he behave? What does our Jewish tradition teach us about this subject?

I couldn’t help but think, after taking a peek into the large white VIP tent close to the Men’s 5K finish line in Druid Hill Park, that it typified the way the Jewish Caring Network (JCN) does things. No detail was spared – everything from pancakes to pizza was elegantly set up, waiting for the men-only run/walk participants that Sunday, May 29. It more closely resembled a beautifully catered simcha rather than a 5K repast.

In the tent, before the race, I had the pleasure of meeting Marlene Daniel, who came to cheer on her husband Jack, one of the 210 participants. In her role as a JCN volunteer, Marlene would drive a young, ill mother wherever she wanted to go, whether it was to a shiur, shopping, or exercising.

How many of you think twice before taking a walk because you are afraid of being confronted by a stranger? Especially if you are a female? How many of you feel vulnerable, especially when you are alone, because of your advanced age and/or because of a physical limitation?

Last month, I attended an introductory self-defense class for women in my neighborhood taught by black belt instructor and president of Comprehensive Survival Arts Martial Arts and Wellness School, Jen Lake. Beyond being a terrific neighborhood bonding experience, the class was downright fun, and Jen empowered us to make smart choices.

Jen, who is an instructor at the JCC and in our community for over 25 years, is passionate about teaching self-defense and making it doable for everyone. I would like to share just some of the many invaluable safety tips and self-defense techniques I learned from her.

Daniel Heifetz, the father of Baltimore’s internationally renowned singer and voice teacher, Elena Tal, is not your average violinist. Famous in five continents for his extraordinary virtuosity, he has won national and international violin competitions; performed on stages around the world, including the Lincoln Center; and served as a professor of violin at the Peabody Conservatory of Music in Baltimore, among other fine institutions. Yet he is as humble and unassuming as they come.

I was honored to be invited by Mrs. Tal to attend the after-school duet performance by her and her father, to which she recently treated her Bais Yaakov seniors.