Magazine recipes are all the same. You have a gorgeous picture of how the food is supposed to look but never actually does when you’re finished making it, and they post a cooking time that is totally not realistic, especially since, about 20 minutes into putting the recipe together, you’re going to realize you don’t have

Ah, how true that we’re living in a time of great innovation! If we review the past century and a half, the Orthodox Jewish community has had to adjust in quick succession to the telephone, the radio, the airplane, television, personal computers, cell phones and the ubiquitous internet to name but a few inventions. Our scholars, rabbinic

By the time this article is published, it will have been over one week since a dear friend of mine, Barak Ben-Tor, passed away after a battle with cancer. Barak was an incredible person; a loving husband, father, brother and son to his family; and a wonderful friend to me and so many others. My column this week is

Part I of IV

To an Orthodox Jew, the image of the Sinai Peninsula conjures up vast stretches of endless sand dunes, mountains, infrequent oases, essentially a trackless wilderness through which the ancient Israelites trekked during their 40-year journey to the land of Canaan. I was to discover a

We’ve all felt it, at one moment or another; anyone who ever visited Israel shares the same experience of having it take one’s breath away. It could be emerging from the Old City streets and seeing the magnificent panoramic view of the Kotel; or finding yourself on a bus huddled with a diverse group of Jews from around the world; or

A newly released book offers readers a comprehensive look at what many consider to be the most elite unit in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Israel’s Edge, which was published by Gefen Publishing House in Jerusalem and is available on Amazon, is the first-ever book to examine the Talpiot unit, which until recently was a closely guarded

In recent years, more and more people have caught on to the growing trend of sending Purim cards or small packets in lieu of mishloach manot. There are a myriad of charitable organizations that offer these options at a nominal fee. The money benefits the organization, you get to stay off the road, and

The Torah states in Parshat Acharei Mot, “You shall observe My laws and My decrees, so that you shall live by them.” By emphasizing that “you shall live by them,” we infer that you shall not die by them. Therefore, if faced with a life-threatening situation, a Jew must violate a commandment rather than risk his life. However, there

Almost all parents have dealt with temper tantrums in their children. They are nearly universal and almost always frustrating. What can a parent do?

The first step in dealing with tantrums is understanding what the child is trying to communicate. Children have tantrums because their

Editor’s Note: We welcome our newest, and perhaps youngest columnist, Josh Stiefel, to the Jewish Link. As you will learn, Josh loves to read and talk about books, and we bet you will love to read and enjoy right along with him. We invite you to share your thoughts about Josh’s Reviews by emailing

When I was a non-religious teenager exploring Orthodoxy, I was looking for something different. I had no need for a religion that supported the values I had absorbed from popular culture because I could get that elsewhere. However, I was not going to join a religion from another planet. I needed to be able to relate to a new community in

A short few weeks ago, close friends Scott and Helayne Ference came over for a Shabbos lunch. They brought with them Scott’s nephew Tzvi Yehezkel Ference, a 26-year-old Miami resident, who would be starting yeshiva in Connecticut.

Somehow, our lunch conversation led to the issue of mental