Sadly, as time goes by and I think back to the people who played a role in my life, I don’t know if I really appreciated all of them. This article is a way to show hakaras hatov to someone who was significant in my early years.

In the 1960s, ehen I came up north from Montgomery, Alabama, for yeshiva, I learned, for the first time, that a large share of my fellow students were children of Holocaust survivors. Indeed, the renaissance of Orthodox Jewry is, to a very great extent, due to the impact of those survivors.

In the town where I grew up, there were hardly any Holocaust survivors. I recall Eric Knurr, who came from Germany. He was actually a relative of the Kranzlers of Baltimore. Mrs. Kranzler, a”h, told me he was a physician in Germany and came from a distinguished family. But aside from knowing his two children, Werner and Evelyn, I do not recall him being active in the shul, due to his owning a small grocery store. There may have been one or two other people who came because of the war, but I do not recall them.

by Shani, Dena and Daniella

Shira is having a tough morning. The babysitter canceled, carpool was late, and milk spilled all over the floor. Shira’s head is spinning; still, she whispers, “This is all for the best.” She quickly finds someone to watch the baby, gets the children out to school, and cleans up the spill. She has a meeting first thing in the morning, and now she is going to be late for work! She tries to pull herself together as she drives, thinking gam zu l’tova, while hitting one red light after another as the clock ticks on. By this point, Shira is flustered and preparing to quietly slip into the meeting. She finally pulls up to the entrance of her office building only to see it blocked off. A three-car accident had occurred just 15 minutes before! If not for the hectic morning and the red lights, she could have been involved in the accident and gotten seriously hurt! Stunned, she says out loud, “Baruch Hashem.”

Rochel, from Miami, is visiting New York for a simcha and staying with her friend Sarah. It isn’t easy to watch another friend get married while she is still languishing in shidduchim, but she decides to put her feelings aside and be mesameach (gladden) the chassan and kallah. Rochel is supposed to leave Monday morning since she has a job interview Monday afternoon, but all flights are cancelled because of unexpected weather conditions in Florida. Rochel is trying to arrange a Zoom interview, when Sarah invites her to a single’s event Monday night. Rochel tries to tell Sarah that she really does not have the time to go with her, and besides, she has nothing to wear. Sarah insists she come, and Rochel eventually agrees. Lo and behold. Rochel meets her chassan at that event, and she now jokes that was the best flight she ever missed!

I don’t have much experience with going to camp, and whatever experience I have is from a very long time ago. My parents sent me to an overnight camp when I was nine years old in hopes I would learn not to be shy. At least, that is what my parents told me when I asked them why they sent me at such a young age. I don’t remember much about camp, but I don’t think I liked it very much.

To learn more about camps, I had to ask others who had more positive experiences. It was a privilege to speak to my sister’s husband, Rabbi Yitzchok Schwarz, who has been the head counselor of Camp Kol Torah in Cleveland for almost 50 years – ever since before he and my sister were married. Their children are born and bred campers. I asked Rabbi Schwarz how campers have changed over the years. “When I was a camper, I used to come to an activity 10 minutes early in anticipation,” says Rabbi Schwarz. “Today, the boys are much more distracted. Many of them have devices to listen to music and lots and lots of nosh. The boys are not so eager for activities because they have other interests.” It seems that kids in camp have changed just like the rest of society.

Beth Tefiloh

Moving Schools and People: My Favorite Teacher, Mrs. Cohen 

by Moshe Lewin

My favorite teacher, Mrs. (Megan) Cohen of Beth Tfiloh (BT) Middle School, demonstrates values of hard work, positivity, and love for teaching. After meeting her last September (2023), I knew she would leave a lasting impression on me, from her hard work, dedication, and love for teaching. Mrs. Cohen would work with us as a class and conference with each individual to spark their academic potential. Additionally, Mrs. Cohen would always have her door open for any questions or pieces of news to share. Many students, including me, felt happy to hear Mrs. Cohen’s advice both in and out of class. Mrs. Cohen’s presence elevated the BT atmosphere through teaching, field trips, and even Rosh Chodesh brunches. Our principal, Dr. Schor, even mentioned how Mrs. Cohen’s genuine smile during the interview process helped her win the job. Additionally, her class benefited from valuable advice relating to high school and important future endeavors we will embark on. From discussing Animal Farm parallels to the 2016 election to playing her in an end-of-year Scrabble game, I thoroughly enjoyed having Mrs. Cohen as a teacher. 

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For many Baltimoreans, winter includes motza’ei Shabbos with Rabbi Dr. Dovid Katz. Each Saturday night, starting around 8 p.m., Rabbi Katz continues an ongoing series on Jewish history in the modern era. I have been a faithful attendee for many years. The series started with the end of the Holocaust and the plight of postwar Jewry and continued with Israel’s war of independence. Each year, in about 16 lectures, Rabbi Katz covers several years. Many of these lectures are available online. This year, he is covering the years 2000 through 2004.

When I heard that this issue of the Where What When would focus on children, I immediately thought of Ahavas Yisrael, our incredible local charity run by Rabbi Boruch Brull and his very dynamic staff. Ahavas Yisrael helps children greatly – along with their families – as well as our aged and, really, any community member struggling financially. Next, I thought of two beautiful stories that I love to tell and that include children. Here they are:

Q: When is chesed “smart”?

A: When financial support is accompanied by education, training, and guidance that helps families achieve financial independence.

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The Israeli organization Lema’an Achai, under the direction of former Baltimorean Rabbi Avrohom Leventhal, strives to break the cycle of poverty, one family at a time, using “smart chesed.” Rabbi Leventhal, who volunteered with Ahavas Yisrael when he lived in Baltimore, says that this approach to chesed is, in the long run, more respectful and effective than simply handing people a check.

Here are a few of the thousands of cases Lema’n Achai has been involved with:

?During the past year I have, on several occasions, reprinted articles written by the award-winning British journalist Melanie Phillips. Because she lives in London and is not an American, Melanie has a unique objectivity when commenting on what’s happening in the United States. As mentioned in one of my previous articles, Melanie introduces herself as a “liberal who was mugged by reality.” Her most popular book is entitled Londonistan: How Britain is Creating a Terror State Within. Unfortunately, the United States and most other naïve Western democracies have also created “terror states within.”

On the day after the U.S. elections, Melanie wrote the following article, which appeared in several major British publications.
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by B. Halevi

In today’s world, almost everyone has heard of ADHD, but, sadly, most people don’t really understand what it is. Even in families where ADHD has been professionally diagnosed and they have read much literature on the topic, parents are often still lacking in their fundamental understanding of what ADHD is all about and what life is like for someone with ADHD. I mean, it’s not their fault. If you don’t experience the world through the ADHD lens, it’s difficult to ever fully grasp the full import of life with this disorder.

I have ADHD, and I’ll never forget the impact two videos I found online made on me. (Disclaimer: freely searching around on unfiltered internet is no longer something I would do or recommend to others.) These videos made me think, “Aha! That’s it! That’s how I feel! That’s the message I want to convey to non-ADHDers about my life!”

I’m no historian, but I remembered learning something about soldiers taking over private homes for their own use. The details, however, were elusive. I guess I should have paid more attention in American history class, but thankfully, Professor Google quickly refreshed me on the particulars.

With apologies to my British daughter-in-law, it seems that 11 years before the American Revolution, the British passed the Quartering Act, which required the colonists to provide housing and provisions to the British soldiers in their towns, at their own expense.

While it’s popularly believed that this allowed soldiers to take over citizens’ homes, the Professor tells me that that’s not actually correct. However, the public did need to come up with the funds to provide for the British troops’ needs. In any case, the Third Amendment to the U.S. Constitution severely curtailed the practice of “quartering” soldiers, requiring the consent of the owners.

Enough of the history lesson. If I didn’t pay sufficient attention the first time, there’s no reason why you should have to suffer through it now.