Of all the stories to have come out of the terrible World War II years, among the most poignant are those of children who were saved from death by going underground – literally. These young children spent formative years buried beneath a barn floor or confined to an attic, without toys, books, or writing materials, let alone an iPad, to occupy their time. What did they do? How did they play and learn? Were they immobilized by fear? Did they emerge emotionally stunted for life? Here are the stories of three such child survivors with a Baltimore connection.

I’d like to talk to you about my relationship with garbage. I’m not talking about clutter; I’m talking about pure, unadulterated refuse. Surprisingly, it is not only noteworthy but also has a history that, unbeknownst to me, began in my childhood and took on a life of its own only after I married and had children.

My first inkling of the role garbage was to play in my life began when my oldest child mistakenly thought the garbage can was a toy. Please note: She was not a deprived child in any sense of the word. I have to say I was surprised by her interest in our garbage can. I’m not really sure what attraction there is to a container of smelly, stinky stuff – but who am I to judge? As a new mother, I was also under the false impression that my adorable daughter would actually listen to me when I told her not to knock over the garbage can, eat its most recent contributions, or drop our wedding silver into it. After coming to terms with one of my first myths of parenting, however, I relegated the garbage can to the top of the kitchen counter. Now, this made perfect sense to me, since I was spending an inordinate amount of time picking garbage up off the floor. (I quickly got over the yuck factor here.) My husband came on board with the concept after a brief period of time while I was out and he was left at home to literally pick up the pieces (of garbage).

It wasn’t until my daughter started experiencing garbage-can-peer pressure that it occurred to me that maybe she had outgrown this phase. One afternoon after a play date she asked, “How come all the other mommies keep their garbage cans on the floor?” So I decided to give it a whirl and take it down. First, let me say, it took about a week to get used to this. During this time, my husband and I frantically – and frequently – turned left and right looking for the garbage can, since it no longer occupied its prominent position on the counter. More importantly, however, we had reached a milestone. My daughter no longer played with the garbage. The only painful part of the garbage-off-the counter milestone was when I explained to her why we used to keep it there. She peered up at me with a disgusted look on her face, “Eww, who would do that?”

Rav Yisrael Salanter was once in a hotel in France. He went into the restaurant and asked for a glass of water. As he was ready to leave, the waiter gave him a bill for 50 francs. Rav Yisrael was surprised, and told the waiter that he had only had water. The waiter explained that the bill included the overhead, the art, the music, the ambiance of the restaurant, etc. Rav Salanter paid the bill and even left a tip. He wrote a letter to his students, saying that now he knew why we recite “…shehakol nihyeh bidvaro,” that everything came to be through His word. We are not making a bracha just on the water; we are making a bracha on everything! (Rabbi Label Lam on parshas Eikev, torahanytime.com)

My article, “How to Be Married to a Man,” recently published in the Where What When, earned me a lot of head nods and a couple of high-fives from male readers. It also led some women to indicate that perhaps I could offer some comparable tips to the other gender. (That would be the male gender. I am spelling that out for the men, who, of course, need things made explicit for them, because they don’t do things like “infer” from what you said.) In recognition of the great need, I present you with this article about how to be married to a woman. And this time, I can claim a lot more credibility, since I (a man) am married to a woman

I remember the scene well. We are about eight or nine years old, getting ready to go out for recess or some other enjoyable activity. “David” rushes to the teacher and in an excited burst asks: “Can Johnny and me be first in line?”

The teacher’s finger rises. She pauses. She pronounces: “Can Johnny and – I – be first in line?” 

There is a hush as the excitement drains from David’s face, and from the faces of the million other Davids and Susans who experienced the very same reprimand.

Most of us living in Baltimore take it for granted that every night we see “NWCP cars” riding around our streets. After all, doesn’t every frum community have a patrol like we do? The answer is that no other community of any kind in the world has a patrol like NWCP! The Northwest Citizens Patrol is the model and benchmark for citizens patrols globally, and is the largest and longest-running of its kind on the planet. And no, most frum communities do not have any kind of citizens patrol, much less what Baltimore has. NWCP is one of the great and unique assets of the Baltimore Orthodox community.

For 32 years, men in our community have volunteered their time a few hours a night, once every seven weeks to patrol our neighborhood. If they were not willing to participate, give back, chip in, do their part and step up to the plate, there would be no patrol. Imagine if there were no cars patrolling at night in the neighborhood. Would you feel as safe? Personally, I always feel a little safer when I see a patrol car. And although I may not say anything to the person behind the wheel, I’m grateful for his presence.

Health professionals have known for decades about the role of vitamin D in building strong bones, yet an explosion of medical research in the last decade has shed light on the role of this nutrient in many other body systems and health conditions. Researchers now know that vitamin D receptors are found throughout the body. This means vitamin D is involved in a wide range of body functions.

Along with this, research has shown that correcting low levels of vitamin D can help in managing a number of chronic diseases, such as diabetes and high blood pressure. And higher vitamin D levels have been linked to a lower risk for many types of cancer.

So it’s worth boning up on this crucial vitamin. Below are answers to common questions and some guidelines to help you decide whether you need to supplement your intake in order to optimize your levels.

Knowing that I am always on the lookout for a good story, my eldest son Shimon grabbed my attention in a dramatic way: “Ma,” he began on that fateful day, four years ago, “I have an amazing hashgacha pratis (Divine providence) story to tell you. This will make a really good article!” He then broke the to-me-earthshaking news of his intent to move to Eretz Yisrael. He was right about the article, though it was not the one he was thinking of. I called it “Sweet or Bittersweet? – When Children Make Aliya,” and appeared in the January, 2011 issue of the Where What When, (See www.wherewhatwhen.com/authors/view/margie-pensak/page:4.)

We can see Jewish history on every page of the Chumash Mikra’os Gedolos, the Hebrew text of the Torah with its classical commentaries. The Torah was written down by Moshe Rabbeinu in the Sinai wilderness. The Targum was compiled by Onkelos in Eretz Yisrael shortly after the destruction of the Second Temple. In the Middle Ages, Rashi and Rashbam wrote Torah commentaries in France, while Ibn Ezra, Ramban, and the Ba’al HaTurim wrote in Spain. Later, the Sforno wrote in Italy, the Kli Yakar in Prague, and the Ohr HaChaim in Morocco and Yerushalayim.

What is the purpose of the blank margin around the text? That is for later generations to fill in – to add their own insights based on the foundation provided by Chazal and the Commentaries. Patterns in Genesis and Beyond, recently written and published by Baltimore native Rabbi David Sykes makes a significant contribution towards filling in those margins.

Every Yiddle – and non-Yiddle – is familiar with the term “oy vay.” Right? However, the term “fahlsh vee der velt” (false like the world) may be unfamiliar. In the Yiddish world, when the veracity of a statement or deed is questionable, the term fahlsh vee dehr velt may be used. Nu, you may ask, for example? So here are a few examples of some past and present happenings where fahlsh vee dehr velt is applicable:

If you review the current newspapers, you will notice that nation after nation condemns Israel for defending herself. Never mind that Israel has contributed a vast amount of technology that is used by these very same nations. But instead of appreciation, Israel receives criticism. Ahn althe miseh (nothing new under the sun). Truth be told, the more the Jewish people contribute to the nations of the world, the greater they show malice instead of good will. Fahrvoss (why)? you may ask. Because of jealousy, what else?