I have long felt that in addition to being a talmid chacham, the next best and most critical quality for a rabbi to have is the ability to be a skilled counselor to the many individuals and families who walk through a rabbi’s door. I have also long believed that all rabbis must have some type of degree, certificate or real training in

As day camps enter their second week, and some of our community’s children head off to sleepaway camps, we pray that each day will bring us only smiling photos and glowing reports of our children. We relish our children’s intense relief at getting the chance to let off the pent-up steam of this unexpected four-month lockdown.

The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), founded in 1998 by former Swedish Prime Minister Göran Persson, is an organization that has done a singular and exemplary service to today’s Jewish community. It has created a working definition of anti-Semitism (

Some leaders are born, not elected.

Mayor Mohammed Hameeduddin has served on Teaneck’s town council for 12 years, and is finishing his eighth year as Teaneck’s mayor.

For our friend Mohammed, what began as community service turned into a display of

In my 20s and early 30s, before I had kids tumbling in, metaphorically—and sometimes actually—clanging cymbals and shaking me awake before I had time to properly get up, I used to think of three things I was grateful for, before I started my day. It was an idea that I had heard someone suggest on a radio station several thousand moons

The coronavirus pandemic and resulting lockdowns and stay-at-home orders upended life as we know it. Yet, as always, our community pulled together. Now, as we slowly emerge from our homes and move toward our “new normal,” we at The Jewish Link have brought on a special cohort of summer interns, who will work remotely to help document our rebirth and renewal in the

It seems that the more letters we print this summer, the more we receive the following week. For now, we are continuing our policy of printing as many letters as we can, provided they are, in broad terms, fact-based, congenial and respectful. We certainly don’t welcome or allow letters that are slanderous or would qualify as lashon hara

It was a spring none of us expected. Our young graduates, poised to catapult to the next stages of their lives and educations, certainly never imagined completing every credit and assignment online, hardly glimpsing a teacher in person over these last three months.

We are sure they also never imagined

On December 8, 2016, Norbert Strauss joined the ranks of The Jewish Link’s regular columnists, writing under the column name “Personal History.” Since then, he has graced our pages with his insights and thoughts, and has become a welcome and beloved addition to our paper. We and our readers have learned a tremendous amount

With COVID-19 impacting almost everything, the last few months have been unprecedented and challenging for virtually everyone on the planet. And it’s been all the more so for those in our community who have been planning family smachot such as a bar/bat mitzvah, engagement or wedding. While it has not been simple, I

Like virtually all businesses, we at The Jewish Link have been terribly impacted by the onset of COVID-19 and all of its attendant restrictions and lockdowns since mid-March. In between worrying about the health of our families and our friends and ensuring that we were still able to print our weekly edition, we were also worrying about the

A foundational principle of Jewish life is “do not oppress the stranger, for you know the very life of the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt” (Shemot 23:9). Our very identity as a Jewish nation is grounded in the reality that we were once enslaved. We are commanded to express compassion for the plight of those who