by Shani, Dena, and Daniella

You’re invited to a simcha – mazal tov! You may think your role in being mesameach (making happy) the baalei simcha starts at the event, but there are many ways to enhance the simcha of your family, friends and neighbors before the special day arrives. Brisim, kiddushim, lechaims, bar/bas mitzvas, and weddings all provide unique opportunities to show love and support to our families, friends, and neighbors. Gifts are always appreciated, but there are ways to help out that go beyond the gift registry. What is important is the gesture. Showing a desire to take an active role means so much to the baal simcha. Big or small, your actions will speak volumes to the family. Here are some ways to enhance someone else’s simcha.

During the course of my career I’ve pretty much heard and seen it all. From the sublime and holy to the ridiculous and insane.

I am reminded of a conversation I had with the late great Rabbi Herman (Naftali) Neuberger, zt”l, in the wee hours of a summer morning 26 years ago in his humble first-floor apartment on Yeshiva Lane. I had just told Rabbi Neuberger that it was almost impossible for me to process all of the amazing things that he had achieved, in so many areas, during his lifetime. Without missing a beat, he half smilingly said, “The greatest accomplishment is when you can stop bad things from happening; those achievements are the most important and the least known.” An incredibly profound statement, which I took to heart and have tried, whenever possible, to emulate.

I hope everyone reading this article had a safe Purim. In a recent article, I suggested several approaches parents might take to help their kids make it safely through Purim, including: 1) educating teenagers about alcohol effects and safe drinking, 2) reaching out to hosts about their plans to supervise drinking and provide transportation, and 3) remaining “on call” to drive kids home as needed. The point was that some teenagers will drink on Purim with or without our permission, and a pro-active approach may mitigate harm.

I live in Rechavia, the same neighborhood of the Prime Minister’s official residence. Every Saturday night they would come – thousands of protesters marching up Ramban Street waving Israeli flags. They are opposed to judicial reform. They call for the protection of democracy, protecting minorities from the tyranny of the majority. I was amazed at the size of these demonstrations and the determination of the marchers, who came week after week to demonstrate. It was literally Tel Aviv converging on Jerusalem – large secular crowds in Jerusalem the likes of which I have never seen, thousands of Israeli flags in the streets. My secular neighbors also joined them, bringing their own flags. I saw Maya and her husband, who live one building over, and the young lady, Shachar, who lives right below me, a physics major at Hebrew University.

Once I learned that you are supposed to put shmura matzah in the oven for a few minutes, I developed a brand-new love of Pesach. But after eight days, I was happy to be reunited with my sourdough starter. (Speak with your rav regarding how you might or might not put it away for Pesach.)

I’ve already baked a lot of bread since the end of Yom Tov. Challah, of course. Sandwich bread, because it only takes a couple of hours – and, it goes without saying, sourdough, because it really is the mother of all bread. My freezer is well stocked.

There are other breads I am yearning to bake. By the time you read this I will probably have made them all. Here’s my wish list: pita, laffa, pizza dough, focaccia, and pumpooshki.

You might think that you know a neighbor of 40 years very well, but I was amazed to hear all the many things I did not know, which were said about Rabbi Moshe Juravel at his levaya. The feeling of loss and of love for the niftar was palpable among the crowds that came to be melaveh him. You could see that people found it hard to fathom that he was gone!

We moved to Baltimore in 1984 and found ourselves right next door to the Juravels. Not only were we neighbors with this special couple, but I have been walking with Mrs. Juravel almost every morning for about 30 years.

Since Pesach, a flurry of unforeseen events has stricken the Middle East. Iran is days away from producing a nuclear bomb and has at the same time incited its Hamas and Hezbollah proxies into stepping up attacks from Lebanon. Meanwhile, Israel is at work cementing regional alliances with Central Asian Shiite countries and Sunni countries neighboring Iran – even with even close-by Arab ones. This in preparation, perhaps, for an attack aimed at denying Iran a nuclear weapon and ending the clerical regime long devoted to destroying the Jewish state.

You feel the air getting thinner as your lungs cry out with each shallow breath. Your legs are burning with the strain, threatening to collapse. Although you’ve been training for this moment for months, your oxygen-starved brain can only follow one command – to put one foot in front of the other. Each step brings you closer to the summit.

It has been 12 years since I was first diagnosed with cancer. I am 76 years old. After fighting breast cancer with radiation, along with a lumpectomy, I now have angiosarcoma, diagnosed at age 71. This is a rare type of cancer coming from the muscle tissue within blood vessels. It began in my right breast and there is the potential to spread to other organs. I am being treated at GBMC (Greater Baltimore Medical Center) in Towson Maryland as well as Sloan Kettering in New York.

by Shani, Dena and Daniella

 Yom Tov is synonymous with fleishig meals – except for Shavuos. Shavuos is a holiday where milchig enthusiasts look forward to showcasing (and eating!) their favorite elevated dairy dishes. This year, however, those who eat all dairy meals for zman masan Toraseinu, will be short two milchig meals, since Shavuos falls on Friday and Shabbos. Fortunately, however, we can look at the overlap of Shabbos and Shavuos as an opportunity to have the best-ever milchig Shavuos shalosh seudos! Use our sample menu below for inspiration on delicious milchig recipes that don’t require reheating. Depending on how many hours you wait between dairy and meat, you may need to have an earlier lunch to be ready for a milchig shalosh seudos. If a milchig shalosh seudos does not work for you, feel free to use these as ideas for other milchig Yom Tov meals.