Thoughts

Sarah Faygie Berkowitz Twenty years ago, a superwoman named Azriella Jaffe, mom, wife, college professor, author of two dozen books, business owner, and a frum woman, realised that Fridays were becoming total chaos. After one of her kids said I hate Shabbos! (read: I hate the Friday stress), Azriela said something’s gotta give. She discovered…

Introduction I first spoke with Chani Schreibhand on the phone this past January. Her number reached me through a rather winding route. It began with Professor Daniel Reiser, an Israeli scholar of Jewish thought, who had received her son’s contact details from the Aish Kodesh community in New York. My reason for reaching out was…

Originally printed in the Jewish Tribune I wanted to celebrate this past summer as we slowly progress towards the autumnal months. Many years ago, when our children were young, we rented a beautiful house with an outdoor pool to enjoy some lovely swimming days. The first summer, we had great weather and used the pool…

Nothing is simple as parents age and possibly develop health conditions or illnesses.

Young children have all been practicing going to a bomb shelter or safe room,and they make siren noises in the

We may wonder, haven’t we suffered enough? It seems Hashem wishes to rouse us.

As the sandwich generation, it is up to us to make sure we don’t miss the chance—whether formally or informally—to have these important conversations with the older generations.

Terrified, I reached my breaking point. I looked up to the sky and I said, “Hashem, I can’t… I can’t do it anymore. My bag of fears is too heavy!

Genealogy by Rivka Goldblatt I’m a genealogist, or as my father calls it, a “mishpacha-logist”. It’s a fascinating job, and one of the interesting parts is how history – in particular, our own individual family history – does and does not define who we are today.  In many ways, we think of ourselves in terms…

A kind word, a smile and a laugh are healing. They don’t only to each of our own individual souls; they’re the best salve for our collective one as well.