On November 1, the Tiger Den of Pack 613, the only Shomer Shabbat Cub Scout Pack in Bergen County, operating out of Congregation Ahavat Achim in Fair Lawn, took part in the Federation of Northern New Jersey’s Mitzvah Day. At Historic New Bridge Landing they saw an American Flag with only 13 stars, learned about a few of the

It’s hard to believe that it has been three years since Hurricane Sandy. Normally I would not remember the exact anniversary, but it is also the anniversary of my minivan lease. How do I remember this when I cannot remember two hours ago? Well, the minivan in question had a battery issue. Our actual lease was up two weeks later but we

Ever since I started writing about the Ig Nobel Prizes (about six weeks into my first year, just as I ran out of topics), people have been wondering if these studies were useful in any way.

I don’t blame them. The Ig Nobel prizes, after all, are an American spoof of the Nobel Prizes, and are given to

Editor’s Note: The Teaneck Chamber of Commerce held its 14th Annual Community Service Awards Dinner on October 29, 2015. Among the awardees for public service was David Barach, for his community service through the Teaneck Volunteer Ambulance Corps. This is his meaningful and moving acceptance speech.

There was a time when it was possible to make a plane reservation in February for a trip scheduled for the following December. It was prior to the days when airlines insisted on having tickets issued at the time of a reservation or within 24-72 hours after booking. Nina in her role as a travel agent in Montreal often spoke

My name is Yair Ashendorf and I am preparing for my bar mitzvah. As part of that preparation, my parents mentioned to me that I might want to start thinking about a chesed project that meant something to me personally. We are going to celebrate my bar mitzvah in Israel, so I started thinking about my last

Elizabeth—Rabbi Avrohom Herman, of the Elmora Avenue Synagogue, recalls his trepidation at the awesome responsibility of following the legacy of Rav Elazar M. Teitz over 10 years ago. It was a transitional time in the Elizabeth-Hillside Orthodox Jewish community, and the leadership roles were shifting in all

Jewish Family Service of North Jersey and the Jewish Association for Developmental Disabilities often collaborate on programs to benefit the community. It was only natural, then, that when a need was identified that directly impacted community families, the agencies decided that sharing their resources would allow them to

During the summer of 1938, with an urgent situation facing Jews in lands under control of the Nazi regime, 32 nations gathered in Evian France to find a solution to the Jewish refugee crisis. German, Austrian and Czech Jewry were desperate to leave but few nations would accept them beyond their meager quotas. At Evian nothing was resolved,

Several days ago, at Shabbat lunch, we had the pleasure of being joined by Dr. Howard and Aydi Levine. Dr. Levine was the recipient of a kidney one year ago on September 11. He and his wife were participants in the Bergenfield Renewal Shabbat and gave testament to the amazing work of Project Renewal. As Aydi said, “September 11th, a

Bergenfield’s Renewal Shabbaton, which featured information about the Jewish kidney donors and recipients and the organization who matches them together, featured at its Friday night oneg a beautiful, remarkably detailed kidney cake made by Butterflake Bake Shop. Kudos to Richie Heisler and cake-decorator extraordinaire Armando

Abraham is commanded, perhaps, at least according to many commentators, with his ultimate test: to bring Isaac as a sacrifice. It is Abraham’s test. Isaac is, to the Almighty, a bystander.

But not so to his father. Walking to Moriah together, Abraham has Isaac shoulder—quite literally—the items