Features
The Therapy Gym’s Tips for Tots: What Is Stereognosis and Why Is It Important?
When you reach to find and turn off your alarm clock while your eyes are closed or when you reach into your purse and find your house key, you are instinctively using the very important sense of stereognosis. What is it?
Stereognosis is the ability to identify the shape and form of a
It Was Supposed to Be Option A
A couple of days ago, I had what was likely my last visit of the summer to the beach. While the chairs will sit in my trunk until about Chanukah, the towels have actually been washed and put away. As I was putting them in the container that gets stored in the way back of the coat closet, I thought about all the things I was supposed to do
Why Is My Wife Critical of Me?
Dear Dr. Chani,
It pains me to write about a relationship issue I have with my wife. Although we have what I would consider to be a pretty good marriage, I feel that in many ways she is critical of me. It really demotivates me to help out at home and hang out with my family.
The Clarion Call of the Shofar
For those who have followed my screeds over the past few months, you will have hopefully gained some insight into how to successfully plan your financial future. Professionally, I am in the business of providing investment advice and I generally stay in that lane on these pages. But like many of you, I ponder the messages
Judgment on Rosh Hashanah: A Mediator’s Perspective
For those with courtroom experience, the Judgment Day of Rosh Hashanah might feel more frightening, as we can viscerally imagine ourselves standing in judgment in front of the ultimate King, Ruler, Judge, Jury and Executioner. As an attorney and mediator, I often think about the pleading that we do on Judgment Day and how it compares with
Preparing for the New Year
Generally, this is the time when we are wrapped up in the excitement of the preparations for Rosh Hashanah and the thoughtfulness that goes into the serious nature of preparing for Yom Kippur, and what our destinies will be in the coming year. For many of us, this year there is far less to prepare when it comes to cooking and entertaining.
Proud of My Friend Elli
Last year while attending Kosherfest, an annual November event at the Meadowlands Convention Center (although not this year), I had the pleasure of meeting Elli Kriel. She stood in front of several posters advertising her catering service in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, for kosher visitors to the country. Typically she
Power Outages 101
After Hurricane Isaias hit the Bergen County area, causing 100-year-old trees to fall and rip down wires, all the outage precautions you wish you took became a priority.
Here are some guidelines and some FYIs:
(I try to triple check any facts I write about. I met with
I’m Not Mochel
One of the most annoying things about being a teacher around the yomim noraim is that my students keep coming over to me and asking me for mechilah.
Now I know I’m not supposed to be annoyed by people asking me for mechilah. Imagine if Hashem got annoyed. But Hashem, as an infinite being, has infinite
Precious Pomegranates
Normally, Jewish customs do not encourage seedy activity but on Rosh Hashanah there is an exception. With the Jewish New Year comes the traditional eating of the seed-filled pomegranate.
Most experts agree that the term “pomegranate” derives from the Latin terms “pōmum” (apple) and
The Kosher Wine World: Wine Prices and What Is Up With Cabernet?
In one of my in-store tastings, I asked a gentleman to try a wine, priced about $20, to which he responded, “It’s all a scam, all wines taste the same.” He said it with such conviction, that I had to stop and doubt myself, “Wait, do they all really taste the same?”
This might shock the
The Past in the Present
Everyone knows one person who is always on top of their photographs. They take pictures at every important event (like weddings) and every non-important event (like breakfast). They print each photo, label it with detailed information (“lunch, 6/11/18, tuna salad with iced coffee”) and keep their pictures in perfectly organized photo
