“Hysterics doesn’t seem to be the way to go,” says Mrs. Robin Alberg, recalling a personal meltdown when one of her children acted up in the middle of South Dakota. It was so bad, says this Seattle-based home-schooling mother, that she even threatened to cut short their long-anticipated six-week summer road trip. In her talk at this May’s Torah Home Schooling Conference, in Baltimore, the humorous Mrs. Alberg recommended various constructive strategies for self-care to counteract the common, albeit happy, stresses of home schooling.

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This was just one of many fascinating presentations at this year’s conference, the third one

As I pen this article, just hours before the levaya of Dovid Hess, a”h, one of Baltimore’s biggest askanim, I can’t help but wonder what will become of our community as the proverbial torch is passed to the next generation. After some research, I was reassured to find that the next generation is continuing the mesora (heritage) that Mr. Hess and other exemplary community-minded members have established. Here is just a sampling of some of the acts of chesed our youth perform, 24/7.

WOW!

Batsheva Feldman, 22, is a graduate student at University of Maryland School of Social Work. Although she tutors and babysits on the side, she also makes the time to learn weekly with a young non-observant female at WOW’s learning program for young professionals. She learns halachos of Shabbos, modesty, and other philosophical topics, and answers questions about Judaism. In addition, she learns with two other college students, weekly, through Skype.

   7 Mile Market – The Store that Jack Built

Once upon a time, before Seven Mile Market was even a thought, there was Jack’s grocery store. Little did Jacob (Jack) and Rose Boehm, its Holocaust-survivor owners, dream that their little mom-and-pop store would be the forerunner of the soon-to-be largest kosher supermarket in the nation. In an exclusive WWW interview, the behind-the-scenes story of one of our community’s major institutions is revealed.

Growing up in Czechoslovakia, Jack Boehm was extremely close to his grandfather, and spent a lot of time in his grocery/clothing business. “I remember going to the flea market with my grandfather when I was 14 years old,” recalls Mr. Boehm. “My grandfather taught me a lot about business. I used to buy walnuts and dried fruits for him from the peasants on the farms, and he would give me suits and money, as pay. I took a liking to business. Finding a job is a hard thing; sometimes you have one, sometimes you don’t. But a business keeps on going.”

When Mr. Boehm survived the war – a miraculous story in itself – and arrived in America, he worked at various jobs before going into business for himself. “It was very hard to find a decent-paying job here because of the mentality of the old-timers in America; they didn’t like the newcomers,” explains Mr. Boehm. “When I first arrived, I got paid 75 cents an hour, minimum wage. I did not know the language. I later worked for a good while in the stockroom of a men’s clothing store, receiving goods. Because the pants and jackets were made in different places, I had to match them and put them together. Another worker who was not an immigrant made more than I did, even though I knew that I was worth more than he was. I went to the boss, who spoke Yiddish, and asked for a raise,” continues Mr. Boehm. “He didn’t want to give it to me since I didn’t know English. He offered me half of what he offered the other workers, so I left.”

Between home-showing appointments, house closings, and the hours of research he puts in on behalf of his clients, my son Dovid (aka David, in the business world) allowed me to pin him down just long enough to get this exclusive WWW interview.

Q: What real estate agency are you associated with and what do you enjoy most about your profession?

A: I am a realtor with Prudential PenFed Realty. Although I work primarily in the residential sector, I also help clients with 10-31 exchanges in commercial real estate. I enjoy meeting all types of people and helping them find their dream home.

If you are like me, you have drawers, cabinets, and closets full of “stuff” that you no longer use but can’t bring yourself to throw out. My top excuses, in no special order, are: 1) It might come in handy one day; 2) It is still in good condition; 3) It might come back into style; and 4) It brings back memories.

What’s the answer for holding on to this stuff without looking like a packrat? With a little ingenuity, you can “repurpose” these items, making treasures out of what some people think of as trash! When our great-grandmothers unraveled sweaters for the yarn, crafted fabric scraps into a quilt, or sewed a child’s jacket out of an ancient coat, it was called frugality. Most of us would consider these activities distasteful – certainly nothing to brag about. Yet today, such frugality has returned – with a twist. It is now called “repurposing,” and it is “cool.”

Azriela Jaffe, a writer for Mishpacha magazine, was so moved by an article she read in the Yated about the power of chatzos – being ready for Shabbos by Friday midday – that she has not missed chatzos since. Reorganizing her life and her week has been so life-changing and brought so much kavod Shabbos into her home that she wrote an article about it for Mishpacha. And, judging by the droves of letters the magazine received, the idea obviously hit a chord among readers around the world. They too craved greater serenity on erev Shabbos or were looking for