Features
Passover: The Parsley, Sage, Saltwater, and Time
Rocky Ralbag did not plan his pre-seder strategy wisely. He knew he had to find time to eat at some point on Erev Pesach afternoon, but he had been caught at work until late at an emergency planning session for an upcoming project, and the next thing Rocky knew, he had missed lunch. By the time he tied up all his loose ends before leaving
Faith, Brooklyn, and the Power of Seven
“And on the seventh day, He rested.”
Seven.
“And on the seventh year, the land lay fallow.”
Seven.
For the Sassoon family, it was all about seven this past Shabbat: the seventh day of
Five-Star Chrein
There are those of us who have expressed dismay at the amount of work entailed in making Pesach and the total exhaustion caused by just thinking about what must be done. We on the other hand always loved getting ready for Pesach. The anticipation of our children visiting, the planning of activities that could be done during the days of Chol
A Never Ending Love Story
Two weeks ago, my wife, without telling me, wrote in The Link a beautiful love note in honor of our 50 thwedding anniversary. I will put it away together with the many hundreds of notes that she has written to me over the years. On the rare occasion, when she was going away for a trip, she surreptitiously left notes under my
Questioning Single-Gender Schools
Part II of III
In most Modern Orthodox day schools, girls are permitted and/or encouraged to study Torah, yet at many schools, boys and girls have different curricula and texts for Jewish studies. That’s for elementary school. In high school, the numbers increase. TOSHBA sheets instead of
Teaching by Example
While learning the laws of Shabbat with one of my classes, I encountered the following challenge: As important as it is to discuss the values behind and purposes of certain mitzvot, what happens when many details of a mitzvah don’t support its purpose (or at least not in an obvious manner)? I didn’t want my students to get the
Pesach: The Great Search for Meaning
There is an old parable about a young man who lived in a corner of the world not often visited by “civilized society.” This man was arrested and, without the benefit of a legitimate trial, found guilty of having committed a crime. To send a message to the town’s residents, the man was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Mental Health and Recovery in the College Years
I ran the Recovery House at Rutgers for five years and also worked in the counseling centers in two locations. The center in Newark served a campus with 13,000 students and had four full-time clinicians and another six part-time ones. The New Brunswick center served a campus of 55,000 and had about 40 clinicians, most of whom were
A Program for All of Frum Jewry Daf HaYomi B’Halacha Benefits – and Is Embraced – By All
Just several weeks ago, “the clip” of the Chofetz Chaim zt”lmade waves throughout the world. No matter your generation, no matter your background, if you are a Torah observant yid,you could not get enough of it. It sent a
Dirshu – The Power To Unite
When I told my friends I was being sent to Paris to cover the Dirshu Daf HaYomi B’Halacha, Mishnah Berurah siyum - I saw a certain look crossing every face. How should I put this delicately? They were afraid.
Dirshu Daf HaYomi B’Halacha Siyum in Eretz Yisrael. Culmination of Siyumim in Five Countries
Senior Gedolei Yisrael Urge Klal Yisrael to Learn Daf HaYomi
The Consummate Ambassador
Yehuda Avner, who served by the side of five Israeli prime ministers and as ambassador to three countries, died on Tuesday at the age of 86.
Avner, born in Manchester, England, in 1928, immigrated to pre-state Israel in 1947 and fought in Israel’s War of Independence. He was also a founding
