Healthy Passover Pleasures
Most traditional Pesach recipes are high in calories, carbohydrates and fat, but are low in fiber.
Pesach Dieters, Take Note: You Can Have Your Potato—and Eat It, Too!
Q: Potatoes, potatoes and more potatoes … with all these carbs, it’s no wonder I gain a pound for every day of Pesach—and the week before, too! How can I avoid overdoing the carbs? A: As a long-time potato lover, I feel the need to defend one of my favorite tubers. Potatoes get a bad […]
On and Off the Beaten Track in…the Har’el Lookout
During Israel’s War of Independence, the construction of the Burma Road, a bypass to Jerusalem through the mountains, was an extraordinary feat that allowed Jewish soldiers to avoid the dangers of the main road. Photo: Israel Government Press Office As I write these lines, Israel is continuing to battle for its very existence, fighting the […]
Tips for a Pressure-Free Pesach
Make lists of things that need to get done. Put the lists in a notebook or binder with dividers so you can create sections for cleaning, shopping and menu planning.
The Seder Night: An Exalted Evening
The noted writer Nat Hentoff, who describes himself as having “abandoned our God but not abandoned our people,” explained that he remained loyal to “our people” because of a chance encounter with Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik.
Holding God’s Hand
For nearly a year now, Simcha Esther (Shari) Gershan has been looking the Angel of Death in the eye and smiling back at him. She’s also been telling the world about it on her Internet blog, and plans to share more of her story in her forthcoming documentary. The day after Purim 2008, the Passaic, […]
Birkat haChammah: An Evocative Blessing
Why Is This Erev Pesach Different From Every Other Erev Pesach? To a Jew every mitzvah is treasured; each is a source of delight. As expressed by the psalmist, “Happy is the man who fears God, who desires His mitzvot greatly” (Psalms 112:1). Little wonder then that Birkat haChammah, despite its relative simplicity and infrequency […]
In Search of a Stress-Free Pesach? Try Calling Your Local Pesach Organizer
Jewish life, with Shabbat as a weekly benchmark and holidays every few months, could use a dose of organization any time of year.
Helping Kids Heal: When Your Child Needs Psychotherapy
Whether your child is six or sixteen, it’s important to help him understand the underlying reasons he will be seeing a therapist.
The Economic Crisis and the Crisis of Character
As I write, the world is in the midst of the greatest financial crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s. Within the last few months, some of the oldest and best-known names in American finance, such as Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers, have evaporated, while bank failures are at their highest level in decades. […]
Holding on or Letting Go?
Reflections on Hospice in the Jewish Tradition I will never forget Jay. Jay Gold was a high-powered, successful forty-six-year-old Wall Street lawyer with a very warm heart. Though he had an extremely hectic schedule, Jay always found time to help those in need: he did pro bono work for numerous charities and volunteered to represent […]
How To Handle the Financial Crisis: A Trans-Century Phone Call
Ruminating about the economic turndown, I came across a fascinating article in the June 1, 2008 issue of the New York Times, “It’s Not So Easy Being Less Rich.” It describes the financial travails of Manhattan’s super-rich. Although their investments once engendered huge annual incomes, these incomes have now shrunk to as low as $2 […]
What’s the Truth About…Ga’al Yisrael?
Misconception: The modern-day practice of some shelichei tzibbur—communal prayer leaders—of ending the berachah of Ga’al Yisrael in a whisper is a requirement and has been around for generations. Fact: The practice of ending Ga’al Yisrael silently seems to have originated relatively recently. Prior to modern times, the shaliach tzibbur (sha”tz) would recite the entire berachah […]
Chronic Humor
Nearly twenty years ago, Jay Feinberg, a foreign-exchange analyst in Manhattan, had a serious illness, and Lorraine Weiss, an educational coordinator in Brooklyn, had a quandary. Feinberg, at twenty-two, was diagnosed with leukemia; Weiss, who first heard about Feinberg when she read about a bone marrow drive being organized for him, wanted to help. Not […]
Chametz Sheavar Alav haPesach: The Supermarket Controversy
An exciting aspect of Torah study is the application of the age-old principles of halachah to the modern world in which we live. Thus, as an example, there is obviously no Talmudic discussion about the propriety of walking
Spiritual Investment—Capital Gain
Ask most parents how much financial capital they possess and they will think you are on the verge of making an appeal for more tuition dollars. Ask parents how much spiritual capital they have and they will probably look at you in bewilderment. “Spiritual capital” can best be explained by drawing upon a concept from […]