Glowing with happiness for the new couple, the host waits for silence so his heartfelt words can fill the room. Guests quickly refill their glasses, preparing for the inevitable toast that will close his remarks. Whether wine or whisky, everyone raises their drink in unison and shouts “L’chaim,” their sincere wishes of bracha and health imbuing the moment with meaning and warmth.

Low back pain is everywhere. It’s in the grocery line, in the leather office chair, in that wince made when getting out of their car. It’s that nagging soreness that steals sleep, makes stairs feel like a negotiation technique, and turns picking up objects from the floor into a well-choreographed dance. According to the American Family Physician summary of the VA/DoD guidelines, 84% of adults in the United States will experience low back pain at some point, and nearly 40% report an episode within a three?month window. Low back pain is the leading cause of disability worldwide, and it’s become a common, painful reality for far too many people.¹

We often expect our children and grandchildren to inherit our qualities, whether they want to or not. We unconsciously observe and compare them to ourselves to the point that when we see a glaring inconsistency, we start to ponder the age-old question of nature versus nurture. This question hit me squarely in the face when I saw my granddaughter walking around with a sprinkle cookie in one hand and a piece of broccoli in the other. The even more confusing part was that she was munching on each item with an equal amount of enthusiasm. Although you wouldn’t know it, this is contra-indicated for my side of the family.

by Robert Edelman, M.D.

On January 5, the CDC, under the direction of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., released a revised vaccine schedule for children. Instead of 18 mandatory vaccines, there are now 11. The major contagious childhood diseases – such as measles, DTaP, and polio – are still required, while six vaccines fall under the category of “shared decision making” between parents and doctors, centering on such issues as whether the child is “high risk.” This move is laden with controversy, pitting the anti-vaccine views of RFK against those of the medical and public health establishment. As a result, many parents are confused and are looking for guidance.

As a retired Professor of Medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, I will summarize some basic information regarding vaccines, focusing on anti-vaccine myths, which play a central role in the controversy.  I hope the facts presented help parents better clarify their attitudes toward vaccines and vaccination for themselves and their children.   

A young patient of Dr. Sondra Heiligman, a beloved pediatrician in our community, once went to an urgent care for an earache. The PA who examined the child playfully told her that he saw an elephant in her ear. The child was surprised and said that her doctor, Dr. Heiligman, had said the same thing. It turned out that the PA was one of the students who had studied under Dr. Heiligman.

This amusing anecdote shows Dr. Heiligman’s enjoyment of children as well as her desire to serve others, including medical students. These qualities, along with her interest in science, led her toward a career in pediatrics. Volunteering in the hospital playroom was one experience that helped shape her path. She graduated from Albert Einstein College of Medicine in 1985, did her residency and training in Maryland, and later completed a fellowship in pediatric endocrinology.

When was the last time you planned a day trip or vacation and didn’t have to worry about bringing food (aside from Israel and New York)? Surprisingly, the country of Panama is that place; it is frum and kosher friendly.

For the past several years, friends and relatives have visited Panama City and raved about the sites as well as the approximately 40 affordable kosher restaurants – everything from high-end steak houses to frozen yogurt. Several months ago, at my Monday mahjong game, I said, “I’d like to go to Panama.” My friend Phyllis replied, “Me, too!” Finally, in August 2025, we got together to plan our seven-day trip (including two travel days), which we took this January.

Every doctor knows that stress can trigger or worsen physical problems. High blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, headaches, irritable bowel syndrome, skin conditions, and arthritis are just a few conditions that stress can cause or worsen. They are typically treated with medication. The problem is that there is no pill for stress management that is 100% effective. So how do we get rid of stress and its effects?

by Miriam Sidell

When the snow came a few weeks ago, my husband and I were wondering how our sidewalks would be cleared. We are in our early 70s and not really up for the task. A neighbor’s two boys came over and offered to shovel our front walk. We offered to pay them, but they said, “No, it’s fun for us.” (In the end my husband gave them each something, taken reluctantly.) Then another neighbor sent their son over, and he shoveled our back walk.

from the Hamodia 

By Rabbi Avraham Chaim Carmell

One of the many names that describe our generation is perhaps “The Segulah Age.” Never before have so many people desperate for yeshuos tried such a wide variety of segulos with so many successful outcomes.

The segulos range from placing s’chach on a particular Rosh Yeshivah’s sukkah to placing a chicken bone in someone’s pocket at the Seder with a plethora of Tehillim, candle lighting and other kabbalos in between.

But often, the people who have been waiting so long for their good news don’t get excited about the new, foolproof segulah you’ve heard about. They have tried them all, and nothing seems to help.

“Nothing was ready, not our uniforms and not our tanks. I was trained as a driver. No one knew what was happening. The warehouse lacked the amount of supplies needed for the troops, and the tanks hadn’t been serviced for months. The scene was like the Machane Yehuda Market on Friday morning. Everyone shouted out what he needed. Instead of bananas and strawberries, soldiers traded with each other for rockets, grenades, and rifles.”

You would not be alone in thinking that the above is an eyewitness report of the happenings of October 7^th. It is, rather, an account by Rabbi Elchanan Ben Nun during a September 2023 interview, describing what he experienced on the first day of the 1973 Yom Kippur War. But the chaos on the military front on October 7^th, 2023 – 50 years, almost to the day, later – was just as great. 

Describing his experience on the morning of the October 7^th massacre, Guy Itzhaki, a decorated war veteran, said in an Aish.com interview, that he had read a lot of history books about the Yom Kippur War, but this was the first time in his life that he felt he was watching a scene from it before his own eyes. “People were in shock. In those chaotic early hours, there was much confusion. The scale of the attack, the number of infiltrations, the fate of the border communities – everything was fragmented, contradictory, or unknown.”