Summary: With the bris over, real life with Rafael begins. Tzipora continues to grapple with her conviction to live with – and understand – emunah and bitachon. A jarring incident at a secular support group helps her realize that she should not judge the way others process grief, just as she doesn’t want others to judge her. Financial matters also come to the fore. While Rafael receives free once-a-week physical therapy from Baltimore City, the family faces mounting co-pay bills for services covered by private insurance. Maryland state law did not yet recognize the needs of families with children with disabilities, and in the Jewish community, too, there was little acknowledgment of or help for disabilities. The Fragers consider moving away from Baltimore.

Life finally settled into some semblance of normalcy. My schedule, as well as that of my toddler daughter, now revolved around Rafael’s therapy sessions. I did not go back to college to finish the BA I was working on. (I had planned to become a high school history and English teacher.) I also stopped teaching limudei kodesh at Bais Yaakov and various Hebrew schools. Instead, I attended three 90-minute physical therapy sessions per week at Mt. Washington Pediatric Hospital. That was in addition to the hour of physical therapy he received from the City once a week in our home. Each physical therapist gave me homework to do with Rafael, in hopes that he would meet the first year’s physical milestones in a timely fashion.

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.”

After years of anticipation and speculation, the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) is now officially in effect. The health insurance marketplace has experienced a dramatic metamorphosis and will continuously evolve as the effects of Obamacare are sorted out. There are many components of the new laws that are still murky to most people, and I will do my best to shed light on some of those issues and concerns.

At the end of 2013, most people were faced with three options:

I grew up with a loving, sheitel-wearing mother. My mother always looked put-together. Despite raising nine kids, being “a lady” and looking beautiful for my father was priority for her. She used to tell me the story of how a certain Rebbetzin walked into our home early on in her marriage, and found her looking a bit disheveled.

The Rebbetzin scolded her. “This isn’t the way a Jewish mother looks when her husband comes home.” My mother said “But my make-up is upstairs. I can’t leave the children in the middle of everything that’s happening to put myself together.”

The wise Rebbetzin gave her sage advice: “Keep some make-up downstairs.”

When my mother told me the story, I was quite young and I didn’t really understand why it was a story. It had no plot, no climax. All I knew was that our bathroom cabinet had cosmetics in it and that, of course, who wouldn’t want to look great.

Now I realize that my mother, ever the teacher, was telling me something important. She was sharing with me wisdom of womanhood – not that you always need make-up but that your appearance matters. And it doesn’t stop mattering once you’re raising a family. It’s an integral part of your marriage and, more than that, of your self -image.

 Every job has a dress code, according to what the job is. When you dress in a lovely, put-together way as you show up for motherhood or wifehood, you’re letting the world know –you’re letting yourself know – that these jobs are important.

Throughout my life I have met wonderful and talented people who have made a significant impression on me. Rabbi Binyamin Steinberg, z”l, was such a person. With his 23rd yahrzeit coming up on 11 Shvat/January 12, it is a fit time for those of us who knew him to honor his memory. And for younger Baltimoreans who were not privileged to know him, it is an appropriate time to learn about this special Baltimore personality.

Rabbi Steinberg’s engaging personality, simchas hachaim (a joyous happy spirit), Torah learning, and hashkafa (religious outlook) had a definite impact not only on me but on all with whom he came in contact. Most likely, Rabbi Steinberg never even realized the huge influence he had on them.

Here was a genuine, sincere, kind, warm, joyous man, highly educated in both limudei kodesh and secular studies, a great talmid chacham who possessed a chein (charm) and smile that captured everyone’s attention. He was a scholar, a renowned Jewish historian, an expert in Tanach and in dikduk (Hebrew grammar). Principal of Bais Yaakov high school, he was a master teacher and administrator. With all that, he was one of the most humble people you could ever meet. He possessed tremendous common sense and an ability to communicate clearly with all who sought his advice and counsel. He was a wonderful husband, father, and role model, and a mentor, to many individuals in Baltimore.

You’re a young parent or an old parent, and you’re passionate about raising your children in the best possible way. You’ve attended parenting classes, read books, and have been conscientious about being a good Mom or Dad. There’s one key ingredient that you might have forgotten, and that’s the relationship with the one who helped make you a parent in the first place, your spouse. Yes, working on your relationship with your husband or wife may be the most important thing you’ll ever do to ensure the emotional health of your children. Here’s how:

Here is a common scenario we all have experienced: You are working on a long-term project. It’s due today, and you’ve been at your computer for hours trying to beat the deadline. You’ve been holding off on eating, waiting for the delicious taste of something you crave. Finally, you take the first bite; it tastes delicious, just as you imagined it would. You take the second bite: a little less intense than the first bite but still wonderful and definitely worth it. Suddenly you get caught up in the text you’ve created on the computer. You look down, and the

Did you know that cranberries, a botanical cousin to blueberries, are the third most-studied fruit, after grapes and strawberries? Nutrition researcher Paul Gross, PhD, who calls himself the “berry doctor,” points out in his book Superfruits that cranberries have been the subject of more than 500 studies in the past century. Researchers have focused on cranberries’ phenolic compounds, which are plant chemicals that protect against a wide range of health problems. Based on the findings, Gross places cranberries seventh in his list of the world’s top 20 superfruits.

In a study published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, cranberries beat 19 other common fruits for phenolic content, surpassing red grapes, apples, strawberries, blueberries, and other fruits. It is because of these compounds that cranberries may help lower heart risk, strengthen the immune system, reduce inflammation, slow down some aging processes in the body, and heal ulcers.

Burglary is always a serious issue, but if it does happen, we all hope we are not at home at the time. In a recent rash of burglaries in our area, some of the break-ins occurred in the middle of the night while the homeowners were asleep! Pretty terrifying!

As with many problems, the main pain stems from the recognition that perhaps it could have been prevented. Let’s see what we can do to protect ourselves and minimize any damage. In this article, I will first discuss thwarting a burglar who gets in. Next, I will suggest ways to keep him out in the first place.

CHAI is Assisting Homeowners to Retain Their Homes

by Rochelle C. Eisenberg

Anyone who’s read the news in recent years has been aware of the rising numbers of home foreclosures. Job losses, often followed by underemployment, resulting in lower wages, have made a number of individuals unable to pay their existing mortgages.

It’s a trend that has unfortunately touched homeowners in all communities, including the Baltimore Jewish one. But just because it may be difficult to pay an existing mortgage, doesn’t mean one has to lose one’s home