There is a well-known story about Reb Yissachar and Reb Shmelke of Nikolsburg that is used to show the extent to which anger can be controlled. (Many versions of this story are in print; one is by Hanoch Teller, who heard it from the Bostoner Rebbe, zt”l.) After R’ Yissachar’s death, R’ Shmelke was asked to become the Rabbi of Nikolsberg. As he walked through R’ Yissachar’s empty house, which was to become his home, he smelled a beautiful fragrance. He knew that this heavenly smell meant that a wonderful good deed was performed there, and he asked around to find out what it was, but no one knew.

One day, an elderly gentile woman approached him on the street. She told him she heard he was searching for the remarkable event associated with the house, and she thought she knew what it was. When she was a young girl, she became a maid at R’ Yissachar’s house shortly before Pesach. One morning (erev Pesach), the parents and all the older children left the house, and she was alone with the younger children. The children began to cry because they were hungry. The maid looked all over the house but could not find any food for them. She finally found some crackers in a box in the closet, and fed these to the children.

I have to laugh when I hear the current wisdom about sound business management. Executives nowadays are supposed to be friendly; they are supposed to inspire and empower employees rather than boss them. In this respect, my father was way ahead of his time. Although Dad was owner, president, and later chairman of Castle Food Corporation, our family business, he never considered his position in the company to be very significant during the almost 55 years he worked in the business. Dad didn’t enjoy rank or power. To him, everyone in the workplace was important, and the main thing was that each employee did the very best at his or her particular job.

In his quiet and humble way, Dad regarded himself as a salesman. He loved people and loved the interaction with his customers and employees. With the twinkle in his eyes, his European charm and class, his fabulous sense of humor, and his fascinating stories, he captivated those around him. He was ehrlich and unassuming, and had a sweetness about him not typical of a hard-driving, aggressive businessperson. Yet when he combined all these personal qualities with the detailed and superior knowledge of his product and a strong resolve to be successful, Dad possessed everything a good salesman needed. Dad was a fabulous sales professional who made himself and his company very successful, with Hashem’s help. 

Mr. Finkel, we are having some trouble with our son. He doesn’t fit in at a regular Talmud Torah any more, and he’s been influenced by some of the lower elements in our neighborhood. He’s really such a sweet kid. And he’s smart. He doesn’t dress chareidi anymore. He’s wearing jeans, he’s listening to goyishe music, and he’s hanging out. We want to save him while there’s still time. He’s turning 14.

What do you want from me? What do I know about these things? By the way, every time you talk to me, you are complaining about your husband. It makes me very uncomfortable. I hope you don’t do that in front of your children…. You do? Don’t you think that hurts them?

Have you heard of Kav La’Noar in Jerusalem? You’ve been to them already? What about the vocational school in Kfar Zeitim in the Galil? I had suggested it to you and you cancelled at the last minute … Oh, you heard that they don’t do much Torah learning up there? That it’s really meant for kids who are hanging by a thread?... I was very impressed by the place. The kids who came up with me with their moms were actually excited when they got there. It was facing Mt. Arbel near the Kinneret – stunning views. They have all kinds of therapeutic activities, including a stable of horses for the kids to ride on.… You don’t like the fact that they encourage their graduates to enroll in the army, Nachal Chareidi?… You think your kid still has the potential to learn Torah?… You’re sending him to Blumenthal in Geulah? I wish you good luck!

The first time I heard of the word “hospice” was in 1980, just six years after Connecticut Hospice, the first hospice in the U.S., opened in Branford, Connecticut. It was there that my mother, a”h, spent the last days of her life when it became too difficult for my father to care for her.

In August I sat in on a training program for volunteers at Gilchrist Hospice Care, Maryland’s largest hospice organization. It gave me a fascinating glimpse into both the world of hospice care and Gilchrist’s new Jewish outreach initiative. Mrs. Chaya Lasson, recently hired as Jewish Hospice Program Manager, arranged the training, and approached Jewish Caring Network and Bikur Cholim of Baltimore to cosponsor it.

“We thought we’d have 15 or 20 participants at the volunteer training event,” says Mrs. Lasson. “In fact, we had 65 and had to close our registration!” She is grateful for the partnership with Bikur Cholim and the JCN and hopes this will be the beginning of many more such collaborations. “Volunteers are vital and essential for the peace of mind of patients’ family members. We hope that this initial training program will encourage the participants to join the Gilchrist volunteer team.”

by Bracha Shugarman

Over 20 years ago, Aryeh and Shoshana (Suzanne) Weinberg were a typical young Baltimore family living on Fallstaff Road. What a surprise it was when they picked up and moved to Israel in 1996 with their six children, aged one to almost sixteen. Aliyah, uncommon today, was a rarity then. Shoshana chronicled the family’s experiences at the time in a series of Where What When articles. I now spend a beautiful Shabbos with the Weinbergs in their desert home and find out what has happened to them over the years.

In the past four decades, my wife and I, together with the staff of Etz Chaim, have met hundreds of wonderful Jews involved in their Jewish journeys. I would like to share their stories. You might know some of these special Jews who changed the direction of their lives and their families to become closer to the Jewish community, to Torah, and to Hashem. Read and enjoy. Shlomo Porter

Jen Kaplan’s Story

As told to Talia Raun

I grew up completely secular. I always knew I was Jewish – we went to shul on the High Holidays or for someone’s bar or bat mitzvah – but I had no concept of kosher or Shabbos. I decided to go to Israel by myself after backpacking with my college roommates all over Europe. I was just going to spend a few days – Masada, the Dead Sea – and continue to Jordan and Egypt. Instead, I wound up at Neve Yerushalayim seminary on my second day in Yerushalayim, learned there for six weeks, then stayed through the chagim.

Dear Neighbor,

Please forgive me for this odd way of getting in touch. I don't know who you are, and I don't think we've met. But I've been thinking about you all morning, wishing that we had the chance to talk face to face. I'm still troubled by what you did on the Monday night before Thanksgiving, around the corner from where I live in Baltimore. I can't make sense of why you jabbed my 8-year-old boy.

I have a daughter too. She's close to 4, and she's learning how to ride a bike. I was walking beside her as she was pedaling along 37th Street that evening, around 6 p.m. She was really excited, it was the first time she'd ever pedaled on a bicycle outside the house. I was trying to help her steer, teaching her how to use the brakes. My son was tagging along a bit further down the street. His grandfather was also nearby. They saw you, but I didn't.

Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake doled out $575,000 in city funds Wednesday to seven Baltimore companies and organizations working in innovation and entrepreneurship.

The money was awarded awarded as part of a one-time funding effort through the Baltimore Development Corp.'s Innovation Fund. The fund was established with the goal of supporting entrepreneurship and job growth in the city. It is aimed especially at helping to build and attract small businesses, which account for almost two-thirds of new job creation, Rawlings-Blake noted.

The seven recipients, including investment groups, incubators and accelerators, were announced during a news conference at City Hall Monday.

Nearly an inch of rain had fallen across the Baltimore region from Tuesday morning through midday Wednesday, helping to slow or reverse a developing drought.

From 5 a.m. Tuesday through noon Wednesday, 0.83 inches of rain had fallen at Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, according to the National Weather Service.

Some parts of the region saw more rain than that on Tuesday alone. More than 1 inch was reported in Reisterstown and Norrisville, in northwestern Harford County, with nearly an inch in Sykesville, according to CoCoRaHS, a network of weather spotters.

More heavy rain is forecast Wednesday afternoon and evening. The weather service predicts more than half an inch could fall by about midnight.

With eight new Democrats joining Baltimore's City Council in December, proponents of a $15 hourly minimum wage relaunched their campaign to hike wages for the city's low-income workers.

After failing by one vote in August, advocates for a higher minimum wage feel more confident now that three council members who opposed the measure are being replaced by new members who've pledged to support the increase.

The advocates and the bill's lead sponsor, Councilwoman Mary Pat Clarke of North Baltimore, held a rally at the Blue Point Healthcare Center to kick off the new effort. Dozens of low-wage workers and supporters attended.

"We have airport workers, heath care workers, home care workers who are all going to let our elected officials know that we demand $15 an hour," said Ricarra Jones, a political organizer for a local health care union. "Last year our bill in Baltimore had a delay, but this year we're back at it. We have a plan to add Baltimore to the growing list of the cities and states that have increased the minimum wage to $15 an hour."