“It’s an exciting time in federal politics,” says Rabbi Ariel Sadwin, Executive Director of Agudath Israel of Maryland. That is because the President of the United States and the U.S. Congress are considering tuition assistance for private education. A historic $5 billion dollar scholarship tax credit proposal is part of a reconciliation budget package – also known as the “one big beautiful bill” – that has been making its way, first through the House of Representatives and then the Senate for approval. (It passed the House as I submitted this article!) The excitement began in September 2024, when members of the Ways and Means Committee passed the Educational Choice for Children Act (ECCA) with a vote of 23 to16. It has passed before, but this time, Republicans are the majority in Congress, and they are supporting President Donald Trump’s agenda for “universal school choice.”

As Pesach approaches, I often think about my Great Aunt Cele and the Seders she held for my family in the 1950s on Cylburn Avenue. Aunt Cele was never married, but she was the matriarch of our family. She treated her nieces and nephews like they were her own children. And her great nieces and nephews were a special joy for her.

With great passion, Aunt Cele held on to the tradition of her parents, who came from Kovna Geberna in Russia. I don’t know what Seders were like for her growing up, but for me they were the highlight of every year. At the Seder, adorned in my favorite dress and shiny, black Mary Jane shoes, I sat on one side of Aunt Cele, while my brother Julian, in his brown suit-like attire, sat on her other side. Across from us were my mother and father, and at the head of the table sat my Uncle Nate, Aunt Cele’s brother, who led the Seder in his lyrical Hebrew.

Each of us had our own kiddush cup. My brother’s and mine were tiny glass ones. Each cup sat on a white plate with a painted flower design in the middle. I believe those plates had belonged to Aunt Cele’s parents, my great-grandparents. Also, we each had our own Haggadah. For Julian and me, they were small booklets with colorful pictures to make the story come alive.

On January 24, in Annapolis, Dalya Attar (D) was sworn in as senator for the 41^st District in the Maryland State Senate. Previously a member of the Maryland House of Delegates, where she was the first frum person to serve, she is now the first frum state senator in Maryland. Senator Attar may also be the highest-ranking Orthodox Jewish woman in politics in American history.

Senator Jill P. Carter, of the 41^st District, resigned on January 3 to take a position with the Maryland Board of Contract Appeals, which handles state contracts. Whenever a Democratic vacancy occurs in Maryland’s legislature, the Democratic Central Committee is responsible for recommending replacements to the governor. After interviewing Delegate Attar, Delegate Malcolm P. Ruff, and six other candidates for almost two hours on Zoom, the eight committee members voted five-to-three to recommend Attar to Governor Wes Moore.

“Anything Can Happen” is my favorite song in the play, Mary Poppins. The first line of that song is “Anything can happen if you let it.” Something happened when Meira Berendt (Levi) decided she wanted to do a production with women. With the help of Hashem, after eight months of hard work, supported by her musical directors, choreographers, cast, and crew, it happened: the women’s play Mary Poppins. The result was a spectacular production that could have been on Broadway.  

As a teacher, I always loved the character of Mary Poppins. For many years in Atlanta, I dressed up on Purim as Miriam Poppins (a Jewish Mary Poppins) and visited Morah Dena Friedman’s kindergarten class at Torah Day School, bringing joy to the children (and myself) as I marched around with my bird head umbrella and sang “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.” So when my daughter was practicing for the play, I bought tickets for both nights’ performances, December 22 and 23, at the Panther Theater. I sat at the edge of my seat during this all-woman professional performance. After the play, I went to sleep singing the songs and got up singing them. The acting, singing, dancing, scenery, costumes, special effects, and more were beyond what I expected. It was so enjoyable that I wish I could watch it again!

As soon as I got my driver’s license at 18, I drove to my friend Ruthie’s house to celebrate. But as I was parallel parking, a skill I had just learned to pass my driver’s test, I hit a car. “I’m not getting back in there,” I told my friend’s mother.

“Oh, yes you are,” she said, and the owner of the car I hit agreed. Through their kindness, I got back into the car, and, b”H, I’ve been driving ever since, even teaching my children how to drive when they were teenagers. Still, through the years, I’ve avoided parallel parking and mostly park my 2012 Camry at the curb in front of our house or between the white lines in parking lots. Now that I’m a senior (not a high school one, of course) my new problem is maneuvering my car between the white lines in those parking spaces.

 Every time I walk into a voting booth and pull the curtain, my heart races with the responsibility of making the best decisions. Unfortunately in the past decades, I missed a few primary elections, but I’m more careful today. Although I prefer the excitement of voting on Election Day, sometimes I vote early. It’s easy to say, “My one vote doesn’t really count,” but that’s not true. Whether I cast my ballot early or on Election Day, I am aware that my vote does count among all the others in our Jewish community.

A good voter turnout impresses leaders in government, and that makes a difference for our community’s needs being met. This is why some people are concerned about a low voter turnout in the presidential primary this past May. Sandy Rosenbluth, Chief of Staff for Dalya Attar and member of the Maryland Democratic State Central Committee, along with her husband, Ronnie Rosenbluth, a former member of the State Central Committee, are upset that very few people in our district voted. “Poor voter turnout gives us less influence with elected officials,” says Mrs. Rosenbluth.