Jonathan Pollard is scheduled this week for release after spending 30 years in prison. He was sentenced to life in prison after pleading guilty to spying on the United States. There are two possible responses to release after such a long sentence. One is to become bitter over the time lost, the life that could have been lived. The other is

Rav Shlomo Chaim Aviner is the French-born head of Yeshivat Ateret Yerushalayim in the Old City of Jerusalem. Rav Shmuel Eliyahu, son of the famed Rishon Lezion (Israeli Sefardi Chief Rabbi) Rav Mordechai Eliyahu zt”l, is the Chief Sefardi Rabbi of Tzefat. Together, they answer around 400 questions every day about

In this week’s parshah (31:30) ,Lavan says to Yakov: nichsof nichsafta le-veit avicha—you longed foryour father’s house. The two words nichsofand nichsaftaare both from the root KSF, the same room as KSF, money.

What

We had the privilege of taking part in a graveside funeral last week. Mordechai was asked in his role as a rav to “officiate” at the funeral.

The lady who passed away had never married. She died at the much-too-early age of 65 from an illness. Unfortunately, since her teens she was faced with many

Both the Huffington Post and Fox News have described them as “Hasidic Hipsters,” but Shlomo Gaisin, Elisha Mlotek and Zach Goldschmiedt, three 20-somethings who share a passion for music, see themselves as melodic emissaries of inspiration whose band Zusha has been captivating audiences of all ages and religions.

My wife and I bought a CD of Shabbos zemiros. To listen to during the week, apparently.

Zemiros. They’re not just for Shabbos anymore.

The reason we bought a CD is that we want our kids to learn zemiros, which they haven’t really been doing until now

The year was 2007 or 2008, I cannot even remember this morning so I cannot remember the exact year. But it was the Shabbos of Purim, of that I am sure. We had company for lunch. The company was our internist and his wonderful family. The meal was lovely, animated, full of intelligent conversation and words of Torah. Okay, I am probably

Let’s face it: these days, keeping up with school tuition, credit card bills, mortgage payments and taxes is getting more and more difficult. For some reason, it seems like the bills just keep coming. What happens when someone is not able to keep current with all of their expenses, namely taxes? Fortunately, the IRS established a program

I never would have imagined that I would have to tear kriah again during the course of my year, having not been at the Kotel for over 30 days after a long lockdown and security precautions, many of which are still in place. It is a new and unnatural feeling for me to walk around in actual fear because my imagination is going into overdrive,

Getting old is not always easy. Seniors rely on their caregivers to help them through the day-to-day aspects of their lives. It can be frustrating for the individual who needs and receives the care and frustrating for the person who is giving the care. To that end, last week the Kaplen JCC on the Palisades hosted a “Toolbox for

The Jewish Link of New Jersey’s new column, Road to Aliyah, is devoted to local individuals and families who are making aliyah. Each aliyah story is unique and inspirational and may perhaps assist others who may be thinking of embarking on this great journey.

Claire and Dov Zakheim

The classic work “Chafetz Chaim” on the laws of lashon hara, damaging language, was written well over a century ago. In the intervening years, the world has changed dramatically. Cellphones, e-mail and social media were not even in the realm of science fiction; they were beyond the imagination. Today they are part of the fabric of our