RYNJ Initiates Orah V’Simcha Bat Mitzvah Year Curriculum

By Jenny Gans | March 28, 2019

The bat mitzvah time is an exciting year for middle school young ladies. They never seem to tire from the endless parties, dresses, dancing, swag and food (in no specific order), with each party just as exciting as the one before. What many parents and schools grapple with is the chance to focus on the “mitzvah” part

Simchat Purim: A Look Around Town

By JLNJ Staff | March 28, 2019

To Theme or Not to Theme: Should That Even Be a Question?

By Jenny Gans | February 28, 2019

I still have fond memories of my childhood Purim preparations. We all sat in an assembly line, ready to take directions from my parents. My mother, a creative person in a myriad of areas, would show us her clever poem or song that explained the connection between the items we were about to wrap up. We didn’t always

A Kushner Girl’s Bat Mitzvah Celebration Benefits Camp HASC

By JLNJ Staff | February 28, 2019

(Courtesy of Camp HASC) Rachel Rutner, a seventh grader in the Joseph Kushner Hebrew Academy, experienced the magic of Camp HASC for the very first time in the summer of 2016, when she came with her parents on the Camp HASC Experience Day to visit her sister who was working there as a counselor. The second Rachel walked through the

Forj Is the Modern-Day Solution to Finding the Perfect Jewish Match

By Shira and Joe Teichman | February 28, 2019

Forj today announced the launch of the first AI-powered dating app focusing on finding young Jewish singles meaningful and long-term relationships. Currently available dating apps make finding love in the 21 ^stfeel like an exhausting, painful and even dangerous process by reducing a critical life decision to a

Tips for Planning a High-Tech Simcha

By Jenny Gans | February 28, 2019

These days technology is everywhere, infiltrating all parts of our lives. While some may cringe at its ubiquity and try to escape its spread, others embrace it. Most people, though, are just looking to find the balance of normalcy and acknowledge the trend life is taking while incorporating normal amounts of tech into life. Many

LBK Events Does Urban Chic to Country Casual

By Bracha Schwartz | January 31, 2019

There’s a picture-perfect equestrian center in upstate New York that is helping Deena Greenstein, proprietor of LBK Events, answer a challenging question. “I’m getting many calls from clients asking if I have an unusual, out-of-the-box setting for a kosher wedding,” Greenstein said. “I

Put the ‘Super’ in Your Super Bowl Party

By Jenny Gans | January 31, 2019

Well folks, Super Bowl weekend is here. Everywhere you turn, from ShopRite to Chuck E. Cheese, you can find people in their football finest. At the end of the day, however, kickoff and the food is the center of conversation. Rena Soclof, a Bergen County-based event planner, offers some tips for Super Bowl fans.

The Wedding Gift Query: How Much to Give?

By Nina Glick | January 31, 2019

Gifts are wonderful to receive and always much appreciated. The age-old question, which not everyone is eager to discuss openly, is exactly how much is the correct amount to give, if one is giving a monetary gift. There seems to be no rhyme or reason as to how people decide. In most cases, family members receive more than complete

Leah Rothman Trains for Jerusalem Marathon to Benefit Camp HASC

By Jenny Gans | December 27, 2018

Many members of our communities have a special connection to Camp HASC. Countless couples have met through working there, parents send their children to attend camp and many teenagers and young adults work as counselors there as well.

Naftali and Freida Rothman of Bergenfield both worked at Camp

Weddings and Other Simchas: The More the Merrier

By P. Samuels | December 27, 2018

One night last week, I went to three close family weddings. They all took place in the same Brooklyn neighborhood so at least I did not have to spend any time on the highway. Usually, when a close cousin is marrying off a child, I try to participate fully. Even if I do not get there in time for the Chuppah, I stay for the meal and the

Pamper Your Skin Before Your Next Simcha

By Jenny Gans | December 27, 2018

Everyone knows the importance of a good skincare regimen, but at the end of the day it’s so much easier to just fall into bed without giving your skin all the attention it may need. However, when a family simcha is on the horizon, you may want to step up the TLC you should have been giving your face all along. Much of the advice