Baltimore Jewish Home 9-10-26 Rosh Hashana Edition by Baltimore Jewish Home

WISHING OUR READERS A SHANA TOVA! Vol. 12 Issue #30 | Sept. 10-16, 2026 | ‫ ה׳ תשרי תשפ״ז‬- ‫כ״ח אלול‬

Agra Dpirka Labor Day Program In Baltimore

HaRav Avrohom HaLevi Schorr, Shlit"a, Inspires Baltimore During Whirlwind Two-Day Visit

Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur Zmanim 5787

Parenting Pearls: Rosh Hashana Reflections

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COMMUNITY Around the Community

Greater Washington Community News

Greater Washington Minyanim

Yom Tov Zmanim 5787

Community Calendar

Baltimore Minyanim Guide

JEWISH THOUGHT Rabbi Zvi Teichman

Torah Sparks

Daber Davar

Living Kiddush Hashem

Sparks Of Light

FEATURE Your Mission, Your Calling: Rabbi Ken Spiro Connects Jews To Their History And To Their Purpose

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Parenting Pearls

This year, the first day of Rosh Hashanah falls on Shabbos, and the shofar will remain silent. There has been much discussion about what this means for Klal Yisrael. Is it a cause for concern that we will not have the zechus of tekias shofar on the first day of Rosh Hashanah? Or is the kedushah of Shabbos itself able to accomplish what the shofar ordinarily achieves? Perhaps, beyond that discussion, there is a powerful message in the silence, one that speaks directly to Klal Yisrael at this moment. The sefarim ask a compelling question. Chazal suspended the mitzvah of shofar when Rosh Hashanah falls on Shabbos out of concern that someone who is not proficient might carry the shofar in a reshus harabim. But how can one understand this? Tekias shofar is among the most elevated moments of the year. Through its blasts, we proclaim Hashem as our King, awaken ourselves to teshuvah, and draw down the shefa for the coming year. Why should all of Klal Yisrael give up such a precious mitzvah because perhaps one Jew might make a mistake? Perhaps, it can be explained that on Shabbos, the spiritual effect of the shofar is already accomplished through Shabbos itself. The shofar awakens, so to speak, Hashem’s pleasure in His people and His desire to reign over them. When Rosh Hashanah falls on Shabbos, this is accomplished through the holiness of Shabbos itself. Only because the deeper purpose of the shofar has already been achieved could Chazal suspend its blowing. Yet the reason they give

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remains remarkable. An entire Klal Yisrael puts down the shofar because of concern that one Jew might stumble. Perhaps that itself is part of our avodah this Rosh Hashanah. Every Jew comes before the Ribono Shel Olam carrying his own struggles, background, level of knowledge, and place in Yiddishkeit. Some are deeply connected. Others may be standing at a distance. But we are not separate individuals appearing before the King. We are one nation. If the greatest talmidei chachamim and tzaddikim can forgo the exalted mitzvah of shofar out of concern for a Jew who may not know the halachah, then surely we must be prepared to look beyond our differences and feel an achrayus for one another. The silent shofar may therefore sound a call of its own. It reminds us that the coronation of Hashem cannot be separated from our concern for His children. We cannot ask Hashem to look upon Klal Yisrael as one beloved nation while we look at one another as separate groups and individuals. This Rosh Hashanah, perhaps our shofar is the Jew we reach out to, the person we judge more favorably, and the fellow Yid whose burden we help carry. In that zechus, may Hashem look upon all of us as one, inscribe us together in the Sefer HaChaim, and grant Klal Yisrael a year of brachah and shalom.

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The Baltimore Jewish Home is an independent bi-weekly newspaper. All opinions expressed by the journalists, contributors and/or advertisers printed and/or quoted herein are solely their opinions and do not reflect the opinions of BALTIMORE JEWISH HOME, their parent company or affiliates, and may have been previously disseminated by them on television, radio, Internet or another medium. The Baltimore Jewish Home is not responsible for typographical errors, or for the kashrus of any product or business advertised within. The BJH contains words of Torah. Please treat accordingly.

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First Day At Lev Hatorah!

hat an exciting day it was! Our halls were filled with happy faces, lots of energy, and so much excitement as our students reunited with familiar teachers and friends and had the opportunity to meet new teachers and classmates. Here’s to an amazing year at Lev HaTorah!

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Agra Dpirka Labor Day Program In Baltimore By: Eli Sofer

lmost 50 participants came together for a morning of Torah, inspiration, practical halacha, and much-needed clarity at the Agra D’Pirka Labor Day program. Rabbi Boruch Fried of Beis HaVaad, Lakewood, addressed some of the most relevant and complex issues facing today’s business community, including poaching employees, competition, and the halachic parameters of fair business practices. With tremendous clarity and depth, Rabbi Fried explored the various opinions of the Rishonim, explained the underlying sugyos, and presented the practical applications and psak halacha. Complex issues were broken down in a clear and engaging manner, giving participants a deeper understanding of the halachic guidelines that govern everyday business situations. The second shiur was delivered by Rabbi Eichenstein, the Ziditchover

Rebbe, who empowered the audience with a powerful perspective on the kedushah of Shabbos, particularly when Shabbos coincides with Rosh Hashanah. He explored how the unique kedushah of Shabbos can stand in our favor and help us merit a favorable judgment on the Yom HaDin. It was a morning filled with Torah, inspiration, and practical guidance, giving participants both greater clarity in Choshen Mishpat and a renewed appreciation for the kedushah and power of Shabbos.

First Day Back At Torah Institute/Yeshivas Kochav Yitzchak!

orah Institute welcomed its Talmidim back to school today, marking an exciting start to a new year of learning and growth.

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As the halls filled once again with Torah, Tefillah, and friendship, construction of the new campus continued in the background—a powerful reminder that the future of Torah Institute is taking shape before our eyes. With renewed energy and enthusiasm, Rebbeim and Talmidim look forward to a year of tremendous achievement and Hatzlachah.

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Around the Community

HaRav Avrohom HaLevi Schorr, Shlit”a, Inspires Baltimore During Whirlwind Two-Day Visit By: BJLife Newsroom

aRav Avrohom HaLevi Schorr, shlit”a, visited Baltimore this week for an extraordinary two days of nonstop harbatzas haTorah and divrei hisorerus in preparation for the upcoming Yemei HaDin. With tremendous energy and selfless dedication, Rav Schorr traveled throughout the community, delivering powerful words of chizuk at more than 18 stops, along with several personal and private visits. On Wednesday, Rav Schorr addressed students and mispallelim at Bnos Yisroel, Bais Medrash D’Pikesville, Mechinas Ner Yisroel, the Toras Simcha Middle School, Yeshiva and Mesivta of Baltimore, and Kol Torah. He also delivered a shiur to Kollel Zichron Yehoshua Heschel, followed by Mincha.

A special gathering featuring divrei hisorerus for members throughout Baltimore’s local kollelim was arranged by Rabbi Shaul Sofer, and hosted by Kollel Avreichim. Thursday began with Shacharis at Aish Kodesh, followed by visits to Bais Yaakov High School, Rabbi Yonah Sklare’s morning kollel at Mercaz Torah U’Tefillah, Torah Institute Middle School, Yeshivas Kesser Torah, Talmudical Academy, Shaarei Chaim, and Ahavas Chaim. The remarkable visit culminated Thursday evening with a community-wide drasha at Mercaz Torah U’Tefillah, where Rav Schorr inspired attendees with timely guidance as the community approaches the Yemei HaDin. The entire visit was arranged by noted local askan Reb Mendel Rosen, whose tireless efforts enabled

thousands of community members, talmidim, and kollel yungerleit to hear directly from Rav Schorr. The Baltimore community was

HaRav Avrohom HaLevi Schorr, Shlit”a, Visits YTS Ahead Of Rosh Hashanah

he talmidim and staff of Yeshivas Toras Simcha were privileged to welcome HaRav Avrohom HaLevi Schorr, shlit”a, for a special visit today, as the Yeshiva prepares for the upcoming Yamim Noraim.

During the visit, Rav Schorr asked the talmidim to join him in a heartfelt song. The room came alive as the talmidim enthusiastically sang “Vezakeini,” creating a meaningful and memorable moment together with the Rav.

Rav Schorr addressed the talmidim about Rosh Hashanah, sharing insights into the significance of reciting the bracha of Shehechiyanu and focusing on the importance of emes. He explained the close connection between living with truth and the judgment each person faces on Rosh Hashanah.

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deeply uplifted by Rav Schorr’s visit and is profoundly grateful for his extraordinary dedication to inspiring and preparing an entire community for the Yemei HaDin.

HaRav Avrohom HaLevi Schorr, Shlit”a, Visits Torah Institute

orah Institute was privileged to welcome HaRav Avrohom HaLevi Schorr, shlit”a, on Thursday, September 3rd, for a special visit with the talmidim and staff. Rav Schorr shared divrei bracha and words of chizuk, inspiring everyone to approach the new school year with renewed enthusiasm and a commitment to continued growth in Torah and avodah.

His warm words encouraged the talmidim and staff to make the most of the year ahead and strive for a year of tremendous hatzlachah and shteiging.

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Melodies And Mesorah: A Chinuch Tool By Rabbi Dr. Avichai Pepper

here is a particular sound to Fridays at Yeshiva of Greater Washington. Walk into the Yeshiva’s main campus on a Friday and you may hear Rabbi Laifer and his twelfth-grade talmidim singing together. Visit the Middle School and you might find yourself drawn into a heartwarming kumzitz with the Rabbeim. At other times, you may stumble upon thirty boys sitting around a fire and singing before Selichos, their voices as one with feeling and inspiration. Or maybe on Friday nights, in the homes of Rebbeim, around Shabbos tables, those same voices and tunes continue. Different ages, different Rebbeim, different settings, but something very much a part of the culture of our Yeshiva. It would be easy to view these moments simply as something enjoyable, a nice way to end the week, or an opportunity to create some ruach before Shabbos. But I believe that there is something much deeper taking place. So much of what we do in education is focused on building skills. We want our talmidim to learn how to learn, analyze, question, understand, and ultimately become independent learners. Those skills are essential and the primary purpose of the Yeshiva system. But chinuch cannot stop at what a talmid knows or what he can do. We are also trying to shape what he feels connected to. We are developing a depth of our talmidims’ Neshama.

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That is where the niggun has a remarkable power. Singing is one of the great equalizers in a Yeshiva. It does not belong to the strongest student academically. It does not require a particular set of skills, or even a particularly good voice. There is no test afterward and nobody is grading the singing. One boy may sing at the top of his lungs. Another may sit quietly humming along. A third may be simply listening. And there is always the boy that is slightly off-key singing “hormony”. Yet all of them are part of the same moment. Each talmid can experience it and connect in his own, personal, unique, and individual way.

Perhaps that is why song has always occupied such an important place in our Mesorah. A tune can reach somewhere that words alone sometimes cannot. We experience the impact of niggun and melody powerfully during the Yamim Noraim. Reflect on the opening moments of Yom Kippur. The room stands together and the familiar and daunting tune of Kol Nidrei begins. There is an indescribable emotion that is tangible in the room as the Chazan sings and the Kehilah sings along. And yet, interestingly enough, the words themselves are not necessarily the words we would have chosen to introduce the holiest day of the year. Kol Nidrei is primarily a declaration dealing with vows and commitments. The words themselves do not seem to explain the overwhelming emotion that fills the room. And yet, from the first notes, something happens and everyone begins to feel Yom Kippur. The tune carries with it previous Yom Kippurs. It carries memories of parents and grandparents, the shuls in which we grew up, and years of hopes, challenges, successes and disappointments. Somehow, that familiar melody reaches deep within us and brings forward emotions that the words alone may never have been able to access. The tune has become part of the tefillah because the tune has become part of us. Perhaps that is exactly what is happening on Fridays throughout Yeshiva of Greater Washington.

A Rebbi singing with his talmidim is doing more than creating ruach. He is building memories and associations. Torah, Shabbos, Yiddishkeit, a Rebbi and a group of friends become connected with warmth, joy and belonging. And when that singing continues around a Rebbi’s Shabbos table, the relationship extends beyond the classroom as well. The talmid experiences not only something that his Rebbi teaches, but something that his Yeshiva lives. Those connections can last much longer than one’s time in Yeshiva. Years later, a talmid may not remember exactly what sugya he was learning on a particular Friday morning. He may not remember the question his Rebbi asked or even the answer that seemed so important at the time. But he may hear a familiar niggun and suddenly he is back. Back in the classroom on a Friday

afternoon. Back at a kumzitz. Back standing shoulder to shoulder with his friends singing Selichos. Back around his Rebbi’s Shabbos table. He remembers the voices. He remembers his friends. He remembers his Rebbi. And perhaps most importantly, he remembers what it felt like to be there. The Neshama of his Yeshiva days is alive again. That is chinuch too. At Yeshiva of Greater Washington, we rightfully place tremendous value on the Torah our talmidim learn and the skills they develop. But some of what we give our talmidim is much harder to measure. Sometimes Torah is transmitted through a carefully prepared shiur. Sometimes through a question, a conversation or the example of a Rebbi. And sometimes, it is carried by a melody deep into a talmuds’ Neshama.

Infusing Baltimore With the Spirit of Ameilus B’Torah

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The Week In News

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The Week In News

Germany’s AfD’s Historic Victory Germany’s far-right Alternative for Germany party (AfD) scored a historic victory in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt on Sunday, delivering a major setback to Chancellor Friedrich Merz and sending a warning to established political parties across Europe. The AfD captured roughly 44% of the vote, more than doubling its support from the previous state election and winning 39 of the state parliament’s 83 seats. Although the party fell just short of an outright majority, the result marked its strongest-ever performance in a German state election. On Monday, Merz acknowledged that the result had shaken his conservative Christian Democratic Union “to its

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million people, has struggled with population loss and the lingering economic effects of German reunification, even as unemployment has fallen and industries such as chemicals, logistics and green energy have expanded. For Merz, who took office in 2025 promising major economic reforms, the vote underscores the difficulty of convincing Germans that change is underway. Germany continues to grapple with slow growth, high energy costs and concerns over the future of its industrial base. The AfD, meanwhile, has cast its Saxony-Anhalt victory as a stepping stone toward Germany’s 2029 federal election, ensuring that the political shockwaves from Sunday’s vote are unlikely to fade quickly.

Bolsonaro Supporters Rally Thousands of supporters of Brazil’s conservative opposition rallied in São Paulo on Monday, using the country’s Independence Day to protest President

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and a powerful Supreme Court justice as Brazil heads toward a closely contested presidential election. About 28,500 people gathered along Paulista Avenue, according to researchers at the University of São Paulo, where Senator Flavio Bolsonaro sought to rally support for his campaign against Lula ahead of the October 4 vote. The demonstration focused heavily on Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who prosecuted Bolsonaro’s father, former President Jair Bolsonaro, over an alleged attempt to overturn the 2022 election. Jair Bolsonaro was convicted in 2025 and is barred from seeking office. “This consortium of Lula and Moraes will come to an end,” Flavio Bolsonaro told the crowd, attempting to tie dissatisfaction with the court directly to the president. The rally came as Brazil’s Supreme Court faces an unusual internal crisis involving Moraes and fellow Justice André Mendonça, a Bolsonaro appointee. Mendonça recently disclosed a report raising questions about Moraes’ alleged

Greater Washington Weekday Minyanim Guide

6:15 am Young Israel Shomrai Emunah

M-F

Woodside Synagogue/Ahavas Torah

T, W, F

6:20 am Ohev Shalom Talmud Torah OLNEY

M, Th

Young Israel Ezras Israel of Potomac

T, W, F

8:00 am YGW (High School; School-Contingent) Young Israel Ezras Israel of Potomac

S-F S

6:25 am Southeast Hebrew Cong., Knesset Yehoshua M-F

7:05 am Kesher Israel

M, Th

Young Israel Shomrai Emunah (Sfardi)

6:30 am Beth Sholom Congregation

M-F

7:15 am Kemp Mill Synagogue

M, Th

8:05 am Ezras Israel Congregation of Rockville

M, Th

Beit Halevi (Sfardi)

M, T

T, W, F

8:15 am Ohr Hatorah

Chabad of Silver Spring

M-F

Ohev Shalom Talmud Torah OLNEY

T, W, F

Young Israel Shomrai Emunah

YGW

M, Th

6:35 am Ohr Hatorah

M, Th

6:40 am YGW

S, T, W, F

Magen David Sephardic Congregation 6:45 am Beit Halevi (Sfardi)

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very foundations,” while again ruling out cooperation with the AfD. The vote reflected widespread frustration with Germany’s political leadership, particularly over the cost of living, pensions and economic uncertainty. An Infratest dimap survey found that 87% of voters in Saxony-Anhalt were unhappy with the federal government. AfD candidate Ulrich Siegmund, 35, built a particularly strong following among younger voters, men and working-class residents, campaigning on promises to restore what he called “our good, old, safe Germany.” The party’s showing came despite warnings from business leaders and economists that its anti-immigration positions could discourage foreign investment and make it harder for Saxony-Anhalt to attract skilled workers. The outcome also reverberated beyond Germany. French Finance Minister Roland Lescure called the result a “very, very worrying signal,” saying it pointed to what he described as a growing global “populist wave.” Saxony-Anhalt, home to about 2.1

M-Th S, T, W, F

Kemp Mill Synagogue

M, Th

Ohr Hatorah

T, W, F

Young Israel Shomrai Emunah

M, Th

6:50 am Woodside Synagogue/Ahavas Torah

M, Th

Silver Spring Jewish Center

M-F

Chabad of Upper Montgomery County

M-F

6:55 am Young Israel Shomrai Emunah

T, W, F

7:00 am Kemp Mill Synagogue

T, W, F

Southeast Hebrew Cong., Knesset Yehoshua S Silver Spring Jewish Center BETHESDA Magen David Sephardic Congregation [S] 11215 Woodglen Dr, North Bethesda, MD 20852 GAITHERSBURG Chabad of Upper Montgomery County [Ari] 11520 Darnestown Rd, Gaithersburg, MD 20878 OLNEY Ohev Shalom Talmud Torah (OSTT) 18320 Georgia Ave, Olney, MD 20832

Kesher Israel Ohev Sholom Talmud Torah/The National Synagogue Ohr Hatorah 7:30 am Chabad of DC

M-F

Ezras Israel Congregation of Rockville

S, T, W, F

Kehilat Pardes / Berman Hebrew Academy

S-F

Silver Spring Jewish Center

M-F

Chabad of Potomac

M-F

JROC

M-F

Kemp Mill Synagogue

T, W, F

8:30 am Chabad of DC

Chabad of Potomac

S S

Young Israel Shomrai Emunah

JROC Ohev Sholom Talmud Torah/The National Synagogue Silver Spring Jewish Center

Young Israel Shomrai Emunah (Sfardi)

M-F

YGW (Summer Only)

S-F

7:45 am YGW (Yeshiva Session Only)

S-F

8:45 am Young Israel Shomrai Emunah

S-F

8:00 am Beth Sholom Congregation

9:00 am Chabad of Silver Spring

Kemp Mill Synagogue

Kesher Israel

Ohev Shalom Talmud Torah OLNEY

Southeast Hebrew Cong., Knesset Yehoshua M-F

Southeast Hebrew Cong., Knesset Yehoshua S Chabad of Upper Montgomery County

Woodside Synagogue/Ahavas Torah

POTOMAC Beth Sholom Congregation 11825 Seven Locks Rd. Potomac, MD 20854 Chabad of Potomac [Ari] 11621 Seven Locks Rd, Potomac, MD 20854 Young Israel Ezras Israel of Potomac 11618 Seven Locks Rd, Potomac, MD 20854

ROCKVILLE Kehilat Pardes / Berman Hebrew Academy 13300 Arctic Ave, Rockville, MD 20853 JROC 11304 Old Georgetown Rd, Rockville, MD 20852 Ezras Israel Congregation of Rockville Ring House TV Room

For edits or additions email ads@baltimorejewishhome.com

mincha

S S

mincha/maariv

Before Shkiah (15-18 minutes), S-TH Beit Halevi (Sfardi) Beth Sholom Congregation Chabad of Potomac Chabad of Silver Spring Chabad of Upper Montgomery County Ezras Israel Congregation of Rockville (20 min before, S-F) JROC Kemp Mill Synagogue Kesher Israel Magen David Sephardic Congregation Ohev Sholom Talmud Torah/The National Synagogue Ohr Hatorah Silver Spring Jewish Center Southeast Hebrew Congregation Woodside Synagogue/Ahavas Torah Young Israel Ezras Israel of Potomac Young Israel Shomrai Emunah (Asheknaz) Young Israel Shomrai Emunah (Sefarhadi)

maariv 8:45 pm YGW 9:15 pm Silver Spring Jewish Center 9:30 pm YGW 9:45 pm Ohr Hatorah 10:00 pm YGW

2:00 pm Silver Spring Jewish Center 2:10 pm YGW

S-F

2:45 pm YGW 3:00 pm YGW Middle School

S-Th

SILVER SPRING Beit Halevi [Sefardic] 1009 North Belgrade Rd., Silver Spring, MD 20902 Chabad of Silver Spring [Ari] 519 Lamberton Dr, Silver Spring, MD 20902 Kemp Mill Synagogue 11910 Kemp Mill Rd, Silver Spring, MD 20902 Ohr Hatorah 1009 Kersey Rd, Silver Spring, MD 20902 Silver Spring Jewish Center 1401 Arcola Ave, Silver Spring, MD 20902

Southeast Hebrew Congregation, Knesset Yehoshua 10900 Lockwood Dr, Silver Spring, MD 20901 Woodside Synagogue/Ahavas Torah 9001 Georgia Ave, Silver Spring, MD 20910 Yeshiva Gedola of Greater Washington (YGW) 1216 Arcola Ave, Silver Spring, MD 20902 Young Israel Shomrai Emunah (YISE) [Ashk + S] 1132 Arcola Ave, Silver Spring, MD 20902

M-Th School Days M-Th School Days

S-Th S-Th S-Th S-Th S-Th

WASHINGTON Chabad of DC [Ari] 2110 Leroy Pl. NW, Washington, DC 20008 Kesher Israel 2801 N Street, NW Washington, DC 20007 Ohev Sholom Talmud Torah/The National Synagogue 1600 Jonquil St NW, Washington, DC 20012

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The Week In News contacts with a banker accused in a multibillion-dollar fraud scheme. Moraes, in turn, called for Mendonça to be investigated for alleged abuse of authority. The controversy has quickly become campaign fuel. Bolsonaro and his allies portray the case against his father as political persecution, while Lula and his supporters have argued that Brazil’s institutions must be protected from attempts to undermine democracy. The presidential race, meanwhile, appears exceedingly close. A Quaest poll released Monday showed Lula and Flavio Bolsonaro tied at 41% each in a hypothetical second-round matchup. The runoff, if necessary, would be held October 25. Monday’s turnout was significant but smaller than demonstrations led by Jair Bolsonaro in previous years. Some protesters waved Brazilian, American and Israeli flags, while speakers repeatedly called for both Lula and Moraes to leave office. Lula attended the traditional Independence Day military parade in Brasília but did not speak at the event. In a tele-

vised address the previous evening, he stressed national sovereignty and democracy. “Defending Brazil’s independence is defending our sovereignty and our democracy,” Lula said. With less than a month until voting begins, the rallies highlighted a familiar feature of Brazilian politics: a deeply polarized electorate and a presidential contest in which battles over the courts, Bolsonaro’s legacy and Lula’s record are nearly as prominent as the candidates themselves.

Houthis Target Saudi Arabia On Tuesday, operations at some energy facilities in Saudi Arabia, the world’s top oil exporter, were halted following attacks by Yemen’s Iranaligned Houthis. The attacks wounded 73 people, in what Saudi authorities described as a dangerous escalation. The Houthis attacked the southern cities of Abha, Khamis Mushait, Jazan

and Najran. Women and children were injured in the attack. Fires erupted at the sites and several people were injured as firefighting and other emergency teams rushed to contain the blazes and assess the damage. The flare-up in violence between Saudi Arabia and the terror group came as tensions mounted between the United States and Iran. The wider Middle East conflict sent oil prices soaring and diplomatic negotiations stalling. The Houthi military spokesperson announced what he described as a broad offensive with ballistic missiles and drones against the de facto OPEC leader, targeting Saudi oil giant Aramco facilities in Abha, Najran and Jizan, as well as an air base in Khamis Mushait. The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen vowed to respond firmly to the latest outbreak of hostilities, saying the latest escalation was “dangerous.” Spokesperson Yahya Saree said on Monday that Riyadh had taken “escalatory steps” by conducting airstrikes on Yemen, and warned that the latest strikes would not go unanswered.

“The coalition will take all necessary operational measures to deter this terrorist militia and resolutely confront its hostile approach,” Colonel Turki al-Malki said in a statement on X. The Houthis, who control the most populous parts of Yemen and much of the north, have been launching attacks towards Saudi Arabia since declaring a naval blockade against Riyadh in July, with strikes targeting its vessels in the Red Sea.

Eiffel Tower Tensions On Monday, the Eiffel Tower was closed due to a staff strike. The strike was implemented after staff at the French landmark said managers told female workers to retreat out of sight during a religious group’s visit. The iconic attraction reopened on Tuesday. Ariel Weil, the president of the Eiffel Tower Operating Company (SETE), told France’s BFMTV on Tuesday he consid-

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ered the incident “totally unacceptable.” The incident follows a visit from Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS), which describes itself as a “volunteer-driven fellowship” within the Swaminarayan sect, a branch of Hinduism. SETE said it had been asked to limit “interactions with women” during the visit, which took place on Saturday. Female staff said they were told to “make themselves invisible,” including by leaving their posts or withdrawing to other areas. BAPS apologized in a statement on Monday, saying: “To the best of our

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knowledge, at no point was anyone prevented access to the Eiffel Tower,” in a post on X. “Nevertheless, we sincerely apologize for any pain or inconvenience caused.” The issue sparked criticism across the political spectrum. Paris Mayor Emmanuel Grégoire said in a post on X on Monday, “Equality between women and men will never stop at the foot of our historical monuments.” France’s equality minister, Aurore Bergé, said equality between the genders is “neither negotiable nor variable.”

Jewish Prisoner Released in Iran

Kamran Hekmati, a Jewish Iranian American citizen who had been held in Tehran’s Evin Prison, was released on Saturday. Hekmati was arrested in July 2025 while visiting Iran for a brief trip. He was “tried” and imprisoned after a Tehran court convicted him over a visit to Israel 13 years earlier, when he traveled there to attend his son’s bar mitzvah celebration. According to his family and organizations assisting with the case, the trial lasted about 10 minutes. Hekmati’s family and the organizations assisting him have said the legal proceedings were conducted without legal representation and without witnesses being heard. His visit to Israel, which took place more than a decade before his arrest, was central to the conviction that led to his imprisonment. According to family members, Hekmati was stopped at the airport when he sought to return home to New York in May 2025. He was living in Great Neck at the time. Authorities seized his passport and searched his phone and social media accounts. Hekmati was blocked from leaving the country and interrogated. Despite Hekmati regaining his freedom, he is not allowed to leave Iran and return to the United States.

Nine Days Underground

For nine days, Kabir Maharjan lay trapped in darkness beneath the wreckage of one of Nepal’s worst natural disasters in decades, surviving on muddy

water and an air pocket deep inside a hydropower tunnel. Then, rescuers heard something. At first, they could not tell whether the faint noise coming from the tunnel was a person or simply an echo. Crews repeatedly shut off their machinery and called into the darkness. Finally, a light revealed a hand. Maharjan and fellow worker Sanjay Sah were pulled alive from the tunnel on the 10th day after a glacier collapse sent a massive wall of mud and water through Nepal’s Trishuli Valley on August 26. The disaster killed more than 1,300 people and left thousands missing across Nepal and neighboring Tibet. Hundreds of workers at hydropower projects along the valley were believed to have been buried. Maharjan and Sah had taken refuge inside a sloping cable tunnel at the Upper Trishuli 3A hydropower station, where an air-filled chamber protected them from the floodwaters. For days, there was little reason to believe anyone inside had survived. Maharjan drank the muddy water surrounding him to stay alive, according to his wife. Sah later told rescuers that he recited prayers to keep up his courage. Above ground, rescue crews battled unstable mud, heavy rain and debris buried as much as 30 meters deep. It took nearly six days just to reach the tunnel entrance. At one point, rescuers drilled a narrow borehole from above to determine the tunnel’s location. Later, they used high-pressure water to clear several meters of mud-packed passage. Around 4 a.m. on the 10th day, crews began hearing noises. “We would call out, ‘Where are you? Are you there?’” rescue leader Ganga Baral recalled. Several hours later, soldiers broke through a small opening and confirmed the impossible: the men were alive. Neither survivor could stand when they were brought out. Sah was carried on a rescuer’s back, while Maharjan, who had a serious infected leg wound, was removed on a stretcher. When Maharjan’s sons heard the news, they shouted, “Mummy, Papa is back!” At the hospital, Maharjan was so disoriented that he initially did not recognize his wife. For her, that hardly mattered. “He is blessed with another life,” she said.

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The Week In News

20K New Olim As Jews around the world prepare to welcome a new year, thousands spent the past one making Israel their new home. Some 20,000 new immigrants arrived in Israel during the Jewish year 5786, according to figures released on Monday by the Immigration and Absorption Ministry. The total, that covers arrivals from September 23, 2025, through September 3, 2026, represents a decline of about 6% from the previous year. Still, immigration from several Western countries rose sharply, even as the number of arrivals of those coming from Russia continued to fall. France saw one of the largest increases, with 4,364 immigrants arriving during the year — a jump of 65%. Immigration from the United States rose 15% to 3,333, while 975 newcomers arrived

from the United Kingdom, the highest figure from there in 40 years. Russia remained the largest single source of immigrants, with 5,685 arrivals, though that was down sharply from 9,282 the previous year. Russian aliyah had surged after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and has gradually declined since. Other newcomers arrived from Ukraine, Belarus, Canada, Australia, Argentina, Georgia, South Africa, Germany and Brazil. The new immigrants also skewed young: 35% were between 18 and 35, while nearly one-quarter were under 18. Aliyah truly spanned the generations. The two oldest immigrants were both 102 years old — one from Russia and one from France — while the youngest was a two-week-old baby from Mexico. “Especially in a complex and challenging year, the choice to immigrate to Israel and build a future here is a strong Zionist and national statement,” Immigration and Absorption Minister Ofir Sofer said. Among the year’s arrivals were 414 doctors, a particularly welcome boost as Israel grapples with shortages in the

medical workforce. Tel Aviv attracted the most newcomers, with 2,762, followed by Netanya, Jerusalem, Haifa and Ra’anana. Interest in future aliyah is also rising. More than 28,000 Jews worldwide opened immigration files through the Jewish Agency, with sharp increases from Jews in Britain, France, the United States and Australia.

Israir Takes Flight

Next week, Israir will become the third Israeli airline to operate nonstop flights between Tel Aviv and New York, bringing more competition into the mix against flagship carrier El Al and the smaller Arkia airline. After completing all the necessary

approvals to operate the Tel Aviv-New York route, Israir will launch the first flight from Ben Gurion Airport on September 15, and not in October as initially planned. The first flight in the opposite direction, from New York’s JFK to Israel, is scheduled for September 17. Israir’s flights will be operated using wide-body Airbus A330 aircraft. The local carrier is expected to start with three flights per week between the destinations and ramp up to daily flights by the end of October. The low-cost carrier’s debut on the Tel Aviv-NYC route comes at a pivotal moment, as U.S. carriers are just starting to resume fights this week, having most recently suspended their services following the outbreak of the U.S.-Israel war with Iran in late February. Delta Air Lines restarted daily nonstop flights from New York’s JFK on Monday, as its Airbus A330-900neo aircraft touched down at Ben Gurion. United Airlines is scheduled to resume nonstop flight services from New York to Tel Aviv on September 8. American Airlines has suspended the route through March 27, 2027. While the return of Delta and United

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A sweet new year to look forward to. With gratitude for the families, homeowners, real estate professionals, and community partners who trusted us this year

To all the families we’ve had the privilege to serve — and those we hope to meet in the year ahead —

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The Week In News and the introduction of Israir will add much-needed seats and flight options, fares are not expected to start descending in the coming peak travel weeks. “Israir is entering competition on the direct route when ticket prices are kept outrageously high by a few airlines,” noted Mark Feldman, CEO of the Ziontours Jerusalem travel agency. “Many travelers have already booked their tickets for the upcoming holidays and demand is still high.” Israir is expected to start selling tickets on the TLV-NYC route late Monday with one-way fares expected to cost $950. Arkia one-way fares on the route departing next week start around $1,099. Depending on the dates, El Al sells roundtrip tickets to New York from around $2,700, United from around $2,200, and Delta from around $2,600. Hungarian low-cost carrier Wizz Air is expanding its Israel operations with the addition of 46 weekly flights departing from Ben Gurion Airport. Starting Monday, Wizz Air is resuming flight op-

erations from Ben Gurion to five destinations, including London Gatwick, Venice, Catania, and Cluj. The budget carrier is also adding flights to existing routes from Tel Aviv to 11 destinations in Europe, including Budapest, Bucharest, Bratislava, Rome, Milan, Naples, Athens, Warsaw and Vilna.

Adidas One-Shoe “Uproar”

Adidas is facing boycott calls after featuring a former Israeli soldier in a campaign promoting a service that allows amputee athletes to purchase just

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one running shoe instead of a pair. The controversy centers on Shalev Biton, a former soldier in the IDF’s Nahal infantry brigade who lost his left leg after an anti-tank missile fired from Gaza struck his military vehicle in May 2021. After extensive rehabilitation, Biton returned to running with a prosthetic limb. He was one of 11 disabled athletes featured in posters displayed at Adidas stores in Israel promoting the company’s Single Shoe service. The initiative, which launched in Europe earlier this year and later expanded to the Middle East, is designed for amputees and other athletes who need only one shoe. Biton also posted a homemade video on Instagram describing what the program meant to him personally. The video did not mention his military service or the circumstances in which he lost his leg. Still, the campaign sparked fierce criticism on social media, where pro-Palestinian activists called for a boycott of

Adidas and circulated images of Biton alongside photographs of amputee children in Gaza. Some posts falsely claimed Biton had lost his leg while fighting in Gaza during the recent war. He was injured in 2021, more than two years before the war that began after Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel. Biton later wrote that he was facing a “crazy wave of hate and reports all over the world,” adding that he was receiving “a lot more hate than love.” Adidas pushed back against claims that the service was created specifically for Israeli soldiers. “We are aware that interpretations in recent days have misrepresented the purpose of the service,” the company said. “It is important to clarify that this is a global initiative intended to expand choice and accessibility for athletes and consumers around the world.” The posters featuring Biton were used only in Israel, though the Single Shoe service itself is international.

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The Week In News Blood Test Detects Cancer Israeli researchers have developed a simple blood test that can detect many cases of lung cancer with striking accuracy – at a cost of about $60. The test, developed by scientists at Tel Aviv University together with JaxBio Technologies and doctors at Bnai Zion Medical Center and Sheba Medical Center, accurately identified 93% of stage 2-4 lung cancers in a peer-reviewed study involving 103 participants. It also correctly ruled out cancer in 90% of the healthy control group. Unlike many existing liquid-biopsy approaches, the test does not rely on expensive DNA sequencing. Instead, researchers examine chemical changes in tiny fragments of DNA circulating in the bloodstream and use fluorescent light to reveal patterns associated with cancer. “We invented a chemical reaction that lights up these chemical changes,” explained Dr. Yuval Ebenstein of Tel Aviv University. The DNA fragments are placed on

a specially developed glass chip, where different spots emit different amounts of light depending on their chemical makeup. Ebenstein compared the resulting pattern to “a tiny QR code.” The goal is to make lung cancer screening faster, cheaper and more accessible — particularly because the disease is often discovered only after symptoms appear and treatment options have narrowed. “Most people arrive in the last stages of the disease,” said Dr. Abed Agbarya, director of oncology at Bnai Zion Medical Center and the study’s lead author. “If we can discover the disease in its early stages, we can go to surgery. We can go to a full cure.” Lung cancer remains the world’s leading cause of cancer death, killing an estimated 1.8 million people annually. Researchers hope the test could eventually become part of routine blood work, especially in places where advanced imaging and genetic testing are less accessible. Still, there is an important catch: The study was small, and the test has not yet demonstrated the same success with stage 1 lung cancer, when treatment offers the best chance of a cure.

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“The real challenge ahead is proving it works at Stage 1,” noted Dr. Ari Raphael of Rabin Medical Center, who was not involved in the research. A larger trial is now underway at hospitals in Israel and Europe and is expected to conclude by mid-2027. For now, the results offer an encouraging possibility: detecting one of the deadliest cancers with something as routine as a vial of blood.

Syrian Reactor Was Almost Ready In 2007, Israeli jets destroyed a Syrian nuclear reactor that was nearly completed and would have been able to quickly produce fissile material usable in nuclear weapons, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director-General Rafael Grossi said on Monday. The United Nations nuclear watchdog has described its recent investigation into secret nuclear activities under the Assad family’s rule as a “historic breakthrough.” The investigation uncovered around 73 metric tons of natural uranium metal, mainly in the form of reactor fuel. In a report to member states, the IAEA confirmed its previous finding that the bombed site in Syria’s eastern province of Deir al-Zor was a nuclear reactor under construction, and that fuel for it had been made in Syria, all of which should have been declared at the time to the agency. “This is a reactor that is very efficient in the production of fissile material that could be used directly for the fabrication of nuclear weapons,” Grossi explained, adding that it was “almost completed.” “That was a very serious proliferation concern,” he said, while cautioning that the then-authorities’ intentions “cannot be judged.” Since the ouster of former president Bashar al-Assad in late 2024, Syria’s new authorities have committed to working with the IAEA to answer questions relating to so-called nuclear safeguards, the process of accounting for and monitoring nuclear material. “Having received the necessary access and information from Syria, ...the agency has been able to clarify and resolve the agency’s questions concerning the outstanding safeguards issues related to Syria’s past nuclear activities,” Grossi said in a speech to the IAEA’s 35-nation

board. “I welcome Syria’s transparency and cooperation with the agency, which facilitates the resolution of the outstanding safeguards issues related to Syria’s past nuclear activities.”

UK to Ban Some Israeli Imports Britain announced on Tuesday that it will ban imports from Israeli settlements in the Judea and Samaria and impose sanctions on individuals and companies involved in settlement expansion, marking a significant shift in London’s policy toward Israel. Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband unveiled the measures in the House of Commons, saying the British government now officially considers Israel’s “occupation” of Judea and Samaria unlawful. He argued that economic policy should reflect that position. “I do not believe that the British people want us supporting the occupation by accepting products from settlements in our shops and supermarkets,” Miliband said. The government plans to establish a sanctions regime that will also target companies and individuals providing construction, infrastructure, financing or real estate services connected to settlement expansion. “To those who finance or facilitate illegal settlements, let me say this: you will face the full force of UK sanctions,” Miliband told lawmakers. Miliband, who described himself as a “proud British Jew” with deep family ties to Israel, said he saw no contradiction between supporting Israel and supporting Palestinian statehood. He said the measures were intended to preserve the possibility of a two-state solution, which the British government says has been increasingly threatened by settlement expansion, including plans for the controversial E1 project east of Jerusalem. The move represents a sharp escalation from previous British policy. Until now, the government strongly advised businesses against economic activity involving settlements and excluded settlement products from preferential treatment under the UK-Israel trade agreement but did not outright prohibit their import. The announcement drew criticism from British Jewish leaders and opposition figures, who warned that the

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The Week In News measures could further strain relations between Britain and Israel and potentially have unintended economic consequences. Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis said the sanctions could prove “counterproductive,” according to the report, while critics also expressed concern that restrictions could eventually expand beyond settlement goods. Miliband insisted the policy was aimed specifically at settlements rather than Israel itself. The timing comes as Britain and several other European countries step up pressure over developments in Judea and Samaria. Canada, France and other governments joined Britain on Tuesday in signaling support for restrictions on trade involving settlements.

Israel to Release 5 Lebanese Israel will release five Lebanese civilians from custody after Lebanon helped locate the remains of Jews murdered

during the country’s civil war, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said last week.. The move is part of U.S.-brokered talks between Israel and Lebanon, which formally remain enemy states. One of the five, Malek Kamal Ghazi, was released last Thursday and transferred by the Red Cross to Lebanese authorities at the Naqoura crossing. The remaining four were expected to be handed over on Friday. Netanyahu’s office said the detainees had been questioned and were found to be civilians who were not affiliated with terrorist organizations and had not been involved in terrorist activity. “There is no reason to keep holding them in Israel,” the Prime Minister’s Office said. The decision followed what the PMO described as “significant activity” by both Israel and Lebanon in recent months to locate the remains of members of Lebanon’s former Jewish community. Netanyahu has instructed Israeli officials to continue efforts to recover the bodies of Jewish communal leaders who

were abducted and murdered during Lebanon’s civil war in the 1980s. At the time, Lebanon’s once-thriving Jewish community had dwindled considerably, and several prominent Jewish figures were abducted and killed by Shiite terrorist groups, including groups linked to Hezbollah. A U.S. State Department official said the exchange demonstrated progress in the talks and praised both sides for “demonstrating good faith through these initial steps.” Washington said it hopes the development will lay the groundwork for broader discussions on other civilian and humanitarian issues. The agreement was finalized during a meeting last week in Jerusalem involving Netanyahu, U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa, and U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee. Talks are expected to continue in the coming weeks. Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam thanked the United States for helping secure the detainees’ release while pledging to continue pressing for the release of all Lebanese prisoners and information about those still missing. U.S.-brokered negotiations since April have already produced limited Israeli withdrawals from designated areas, where the Lebanese military has been tasked with dismantling Hezbollah infrastructure.

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Fatal Plane Crash in Miami

A cargo plane barreled off a runway at Miami International Airport on Sunday, crashing through airport fencing and striking vehicles on a nearby road in a fiery accident that left five people dead and five others injured. The Boeing 767-300, operated by cargo carrier 21 Air for Amazon Air and weighing more than 100 tons, was landing on Runway 30 shortly after 2 p.m. when it failed to stop before

reaching the end of the pavement. The aircraft tore across a grassy area at 130 mph, smashed through fencing and concrete barriers, and struck a van and an SUV before finally coming to a halt roughly 1,300 feet beyond the runway. All five people killed were inside vehicles, including a 2012 Ford van carrying seven people on an airport service road and a Toyota SUV outside of the airport fence, according to National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy. No one aboard the plane was killed, though the condition of the two pilots was not immediately clear. Homendy described the crash scene as one of “utter devastation,” with aircraft debris, vehicle parts and destroyed fencing scattered across the area. Investigators are examining why the 32-year-old jet was unable to stop. Flight-tracking data showed the aircraft approached higher than normal speeds before descending toward the runway, and aviation experts said shifting winds during a developing thunderstorm may also have complicated the landing. “From the videos that we have seen, it looks like an unstable approach,” said Francisco Diaz, a Boeing 747 captain and president of Miami-based pilots’ organization, the Captains Council. The pilots did not report any mechanical problems to air traffic controllers before landing. More than 200 firefighters responded after flames erupted around the aircraft. The plane’s black box was recovered, and the NTSB said investigators will review crew training and experience, air traffic control, weather conditions and the airline’s operations. The accident is also raising questions about safeguards at Miami International. Unlike many major airports, Miami does not have an Engineered Material Arresting System, or EMAS, at the end of the runway. The crushable material is designed to slow and stop aircraft that overshoot a runway. “An airport this surrounded by population, they need an arrestor bed system at the end of these runways to stop this from happening again,” said transportation analyst Mary Schiavo. The crash forced two of Miami International’s four runways to close on Monday, causing hundreds of cancellations and delays as investigators continued combing through the wreckage.

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The Week In News Clean Water Not a Hungry Bears Right A federal appeals court ruled last week that the U.S. Constitution does not guarantee the right to clean drinking water. The September 4 decision rejected Jackson, Mississippi, residents’ lawsuit over the city’s lead-contaminated water system. The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court ruling dismissing residents’ 2022 lawsuit.The plaintiffs, Priscilla Sterling, Raine Becker, Shawn Miller and John Bennett, alleged that the city knowingly allowed residents to drink unsafe water. They argued that the water contamination violated their constitutional right to bodily integrity under the 14th Amendment’s due process clause. In the majority decision, Judge Kurt Engelhardt wrote that while the deprivation of clean water was “grievous,” it did “not infringe upon any deeply rooted constitutional right.” “We are skeptical that the right to not be harmed by lead-contaminated water fits within the right to bodily integrity, and Plaintiffs point us to no historical tradition or Supreme Court precedent convincing us,” he wrote. He added that there was no constitutional right to “truthful information from officials during a public health crisis.” The lawsuit against the City of Jackson stemmed from testing conducted by the Mississippi State Health Department between 2010 and 2013 showing rising levels of lead in the water. The four plaintiffs argued that the city failed to take steps to prevent further lead from entering the water supply and gave residents false assurance that the water was safe. The judge found the lead exposure that resulted from the city’s mismanagement was “wholly different” from past examples when governments infringed on a person’s right to bodily integrity, including “from forced surgery, involuntary medicating, and assault.” “The Constitution does not provide redress for every governmental wrongdoing,” Engelhardt wrote. He said that residents should take other paths to redress, including electing better representatives and petitioning the government for remedies. While the right to clean water isn’t included in the U.S. Constitution, or in the Mississippi state Constitution, several states, including California and Virginia, have protected access to safe water.

Patrick Sullivan thought a “crazy neighbor” was leaning on a car horn at 3 a.m. He was only partly right. The noisy neighbor was a black bear that had climbed into a Toyota SUV in Gold Hill, Colorado, gotten trapped inside and spent the night frantically bumping the horn while shredding the vehicle’s interior. “It’s totaled. It’s unfit to drive,” Sullivan said. The incident is one of hundreds of bear encounters reported across the Rocky Mountain region this summer as drought conditions have reduced the nuts, berries and plants the animals normally eat. Colorado officials say bear sightings and conflicts with humans have roughly doubled compared with an average year, while wildlife authorities in Utah and New Mexico are also reporting unusually high numbers of hungry bears wandering into towns, campgrounds and neighborhoods. The bears have been showing up just about everywhere. One was tranquilized after climbing a tree in Denver. Another wandered onto the campus of Colorado State University during student move-in. Four bears had to be relocated from Moab, Utah, after discovering what was apparently an allyou-can-eat orchard buffet. In Steamboat Springs, a bear cub climbed into a contractor’s truck and found his lunch. “It was like, ‘I’m not going anywhere,’” contractor Andy Kerrigan recalled. Wildlife officials say garbage is the biggest attraction, along with bird feeders, pet food and grease left on barbecue grills. Their warning is simple: “A fed bear is a dead bear.” Once bears learn to associate people with food, they can become dangerous and may ultimately have to be euthanized. The problem has been worsened by an exceptionally dry year. Snowpack across parts of the Rockies was at record lows, while wildfires have also damaged bear habitat.

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The Week In News Back in Gold Hill, Sullivan’s brotherin-law eventually freed the trapped bear by tying a rope to the SUV’s door handle and pulling it open from a safe distance. The bear quickly bolted for the woods. “It was just sitting there waiting for someone to help him, basically,” Sullivan said. The bear escaped unharmed. The Toyota, however, was not so fortunate.

Keep Walking According to a recent study, an extra 1,000 steps a day could protect your heart. The study involved 36,192 middle-aged or older British men and women with high blood pressure who wore an activity tracker. Scientists followed them for nearly a decade to see who experienced cardiac problems and then utilized that data to model the likely effects of increased step counts on disease risk. Small steps can have large impacts, they found. For every additional 1,000 steps a day above 2,344 — the low end of average in this group — the risks for any major heart problem fell by about 17 percent, for heart attacks by 9 percent, strokes by 25 percent and heart failure by 22 percent. But adding 1,000 steps at any point did wonders for participants’ heart health. Adding 1,000 steps to a usual daily total of 3,000, 7,000 or 9,999 steps was linked to lowered cardiac risks. The gains plateaued, though, at 10,000 steps, underscoring that “health benefits accrue well below the popularized 10,000-step goal,” according to an accompanying editorial about the study. A thousand steps is about half a mile, an eight- to 10-minute walk, or twice around a standard city block.

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U.S. Schools Disappoint Americans are increasingly unhappy with the country’s public education system, and, if the latest poll were a report card, schools might be asking for a do-over. Just 32% of U.S. adults say they are completely or somewhat satisfied with the quality of K-12 education, according to a new Gallup poll conducted with the Walton Family Foundation. That marks an 11-point drop over the past two years and the lowest level recorded since Gallup began asking the question 27 years ago. Meanwhile, 67% of Americans say they are dissatisfied with the quality of K-12 education, an all-time high.

The discontent crosses party lines, though Democrats have seen the sharpest recent decline. Currently, only 35% of Democrats, 32% of independents and 25% of Republicans say they are satisfied with K-12 education. Politics, however, is only part of the problem. Years of disappointing national test scores following the pandemic, worries about students’ reading and math skills, debates over classroom technology and AI, and questions about whether schools are adequately preparing chil-

dren for college and careers have all contributed to the gloomy outlook. A separate Gallup survey found especially low confidence in schools’ ability to prepare students for the future. Fewer than three in 10 respondents gave schools high marks for teaching critical thinking or preparing students for the workforce. Schools did somewhat better when it came to helping students adapt to new technology. There is one notable twist: Parents tend to feel considerably better about the schools their own children actually attend. About 66% of parents with K-12 students say they are satisfied with their child’s education — roughly double the share of Americans who are satisfied with the nation’s schools overall. Even that figure, however, is the lowest Gallup has recorded for parents. The gap suggests Americans may have a considerably dimmer view of “schools” in general than of the classrooms they see up close. “When people weigh in about the nation’s schools, what they are commenting on are 98,999 schools that they haven’t set foot in,” noted Jack Schneider, director of the Center for Education Policy at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Gallup researcher Zach Hrynowski said the results may also reflect broader frustration with American institutions. “People have a general negative vibe about everything in the country right now,” he pointed out.

The Wounds of 9/11

poll, 77% of registered voters in the five boroughs say 9/11 permanently changed their attitudes or lives. Remarkably, that includes 51% of New Yorkers ages 18 to 34 — a group whose oldest members were only children in 2001 and whose youngest were not yet born. “A quarter-century later, the scar left on New York City hasn’t faded into the background,” said David Paleologos, director of the Suffolk University Political Research Center. For many New Yorkers, the attacks remain close to the surface. Nearly 3 in 10 said they think about 9/11 often or every day, while fewer than 1 in 5 said they almost never think about it. But what they feel has changed. Seven in 10 respondents said sorrow is now their predominant emotion when reflecting on the attacks, compared with 20% who said anger. The findings offer a picture of a city that has rebuilt its skyline but still carries the weight of what happened on that clear September morning. That sense of remembrance will be especially visible on Friday, when New Yorkers mark the 25th anniversary at Ground Zero. New Yorkers also remain uneasy about the future: Half said they expect another major terrorist attack in the United States within the next decade.

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A group of thieves in southern France pulled off an art heist on Tuesday morning in less than five minutes — proving that the art of the steal can take place in the very fast lane. The burglars targeted the Renoir Museum in Cagnes-sur-Mer, where the alarm sounded at 5:48 a.m. Police arrived five minutes later, but by then the suspects had already cut four Renoir paintings from their fixtures and made their getaway.

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The Week In News Their scheme was fast – and furious. Two paintings were later recovered after the thieves were forced to abandon them while fleeing, leaving “Madame Colonna Romano” and “Jeune femme au puits” still missing. Mayor Bryan Masson said the thieves were “well-equipped and well-prepared” and used an electric saw to cut through the devices securing the paintings. This was no sketchy amateur job. Four of the museum’s 12 Renoir works were initially taken, including “Portrait de Madame Stephen Pichon” and “Coco lisant,” both of which were recovered. The break-in has officials calling for stronger museum security, particularly as art thieves across Europe appear to be getting bolder — and considerably less subtle. The mayor’s office warned of “a new form of organized crime targeting works of art” and said local governments cannot afford to shoulder the cost of protecting valuable collections on their own. Masson called the burglary an attack on the city’s history and heritage and promised additional security measures. The museum was closed until further notice.

The incident comes less than a year after thieves carried out another lightning-fast robbery at the Louvre, suggesting that France’s museums may want to rethink their “look, but don’t touch” policy — at least when it comes to criminals with power tools. Europol has also warned that art theft is becoming more aggressive, with criminals increasingly targeting valuable objects that can be quickly resold. The thieves may have gotten away clean — but authorities are hoping they’ve left enough clues behind to eventually frame them.

Silly Science

Science can be serious business. But sometimes it involves stepping on venomous snakes, studying cockroach milk,

and figuring out the aerodynamics of blowing your nose. Welcome to the Ig Nobel Prizes. The 36th annual awards, held last Thursday in Zurich, Switzerland, honored 10 research projects designed to “first make people laugh, and then make them think.” This year’s theme was fungi, so Nobel laureates dressed as mushrooms performed an operatic number. Among the winners of the awards was a study examining exactly what makes a venomous snake bite. Researchers carefully stepped on different parts of snakes to determine which movements were most likely to trigger a strike. Talk about putting your foot in it. The economics prize went to researchers who found evidence that wealthier people may be more likely to take candy intended for children and engage in other unethical behavior. The chemistry prize honored research showing that cockroach milk contains about three times as much energy as cow’s milk. No word yet on whether your favorite coffee shop will be offering a roach-milk latte, but we hope not. The medicine prize went to a paper titled “How to Blow the Nose — An Aero-

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dynamic Study of the Nose Blowing,” finally answering a question humanity has apparently been sneezing around for centuries. Another winner investigated how to design men’s toilets that minimize splashing. That team, presumably, was determined not to let its research go down the drain. Perhaps the most eyebrow-raising project involved using mosquito proboscises as tiny 3D-printing nozzles. Researchers dubbed the process “necroprinting.” “Nobody sets out planning to build a 3D printing nozzle from a mosquito,” said co-author Changhong Cao of McGill University. “We got there by paying close attention to something that seems irrelevant and staying open to where it leads.” And that, researchers say, is the point. Matilda Brindle, an evolutionary biologist at Oxford and co-author of one of the studies, said curiosity-driven research still matters. “It would be a grave loss if we stopped looking at the world around us and asking ‘why?’” she said. The Ig Nobels show that science can still be a laughing matter – and that scientists are really “fungi”s.

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Make your kabbalah just for the 2 days of Rosh Hashana As you stand before the Melech Malchei HaMelachim on the Yom HaDin, there's no greater zechus than your focus and silence. Commit to not speaking during davening, even just for the two days of Rosh Hashanah, and let your tefillos rise, uninterrupted, straight to the Kisei HaKavod. Every kabbalah also enters you into the Power of a Million, a chance to win up to $1,000,000 for your shul.

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‫הגורל הגדול‬ ‫יתקיים יחד‬ ‫עם כינוס גבאי‬ ‫הקהלות‬

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Torah Thought

A Great Celebration By Rabbi Zvi Teichman

e stand poised once again to celebrate the anniversary of Man’s creation and to contemplate how well we are living up to the task of restoring his former stature. We face the reality that we have certainly come up short on many accounts, despite many noteworthy accomplishments, and we still have quite a way to travel before we reach ‘the Promised Land!’ What are we hoping for? Are we simply focusing on being fortunate recipients of G-d’s benevolence, providing us with our checklist of wants and desires? Are we so devoted to His will that all we want is to fulfill His directives, without any expressed concern for our personal needs? What do we really want from life? What are we truly yearning for?

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In the ‘Portion of Teshuvah’ we just read this past Shabbos, it foretells of the ultimate ‘return’ to Hashem we will experience as a nation, that will take place in two stages. And you will return unto Hashem, your G-d... He will do good to you and make you more numerous than your forefathers... You shall return... Hashem will make you abundant in all your handiwork... for good, when Hashem will return to rejoice over you for good, as He rejoiced over your forefathers... (‫ט‬-‫)דברים ל ה‬ In the first step of return we are promised to be more numerous than our forefathers. But in the second stage we are told that G-d will rejoice over us as he did over our forefathers.

Is that the ultimate reward, that G-d rejoices over us? The verse states that G-d rejoiced over our forefathers. When? Where? Although G-d engaged many times with them, there does not seem to be any recorded display of G-d’s having specifically rejoiced over them? On the first day of Rosh Hashana, we read about the birth of Yitzchok, which was heralded on the previous Rosh Hashana, when G-d ‘remembered’ Sarah. After his birth the Torah reports how Avraham made a ‫ — משתה גדול‬a great feast. This celebrated possibly the milestone of his Bris, or his reaching the age of thirteen, or perhaps the day he was weaned from his mother’s milk. Whatever the occasion, this event attended by all the dignitaries of his time, was a celebration of, and testament to, the miraculous birth of Yitzchok and rejuvenation of his parents, attributed to the sole Creator, the G-d of Avraham. The Midrash says that the world '‫ 'גדול‬here refers to '‫'םימלועה לודג‬, the great One of all worlds, the Creator — Hashem. So here we have the ‘Great One’ participating in this moment of rejoicing with Avraham. This is the moment referenced in the verse ‘as He rejoiced over your forefathers...’ But where is the fulfillment of the first half of this verse, G-d will return ‘to rejoice over you’ for good, as He rejoiced over your forefathers? The Midrash points to another mention of a ‘great feast’, the ‫משתה גדול‬, the party King Achashveirosh threw in honor of his new wife Esther.

Is the Midrash claiming that here too — amid this sad turn of events for Esther, having to submit herself to the clutches of this ignoble king — the '‫ — 'גדול העולמים‬the great One of all worlds, is celebrating and rejoicing? Evidently, Esther had the prescience to sense this was divinely directed and inspired towards bringing to fruition the miracle of Purim, and despite what might seem like an unfortunate circumstance for herself, she reveled in her mission knowing that G-d was rejoicing over her at that moment. Years ago, I quoted an anecdote I heard personally from the great Tzaddik, Reb Gamliel Rabinowitz, how the Gerrer Rebbe, the Bais Yisroel, was once asked by a young enthusiastic chosid at the Kosel, what is the greatest praise one could possibly bestow on our loving and benevolent G-d? The Rebbe responded, “Az der Eibishter lacht nisht!” — G-d never laughs at us. The young man was confused at the response and went to his Rosh Yeshiva for an explanation. He lovingly illuminated him with the depth of what the Rebbe had meant. We come each year before the Almighty beseeching him to bestow us with blessing. Have we changed? Have we taken any steps towards improving our behavior? Don’t we stumble time and again over the same errors and delusions? Yet, we ask for His kindness, for His forgiveness, for His unconditional love. Have you heard anything more comical in your life? Yet, He does not laugh! Now tell me is there a greater Father than the

One we have in Heaven? May I humbly add that there is something even greater. G-d actually ‘rejoices’ over our good choices. How many stories are told about survivors who persevered through the most unimaginable tortures because the image of the parents they knew rejoiced in them and their choices, holding out hope for them no matter what they may face, was branded into their hearts and minds. That encouragement gave them the inner peace and joy that enthused them to survive. Is there truly greater joy than knowing that whatever difficulty we face in life, G-d is pleased and happy with us? Perhaps, to the level we truly sense the ‫ — משתה גדול‬great feast, and privilege of being his chosen one, will we merit to sense the ‫ — גדול עולמים‬the great One of all worlds in our lives. May we each strive to sense, even in the seemingly dark moments, the joy G-d has in our devotion to Him. ‫ויעש משתה גדול ביום‬... — And he made a great feast on the day... The numerical equivalent of the words ‫משתה גדול ביום‬, adding the number of letters and words as well, equal ‫!ראש השנה‬ Let us sense the Shechinah rejoicing in our lives. With that we can conquer all! Let us rejoice and celebrate in a very great way! !‫בברכת כתיבה וחתימה טובה‬ You may reach the author at: Ravzt@ohelmoshebaltimore.com

Rosh Hashanah is a two-day holiday, beginning on the 1st of Tishrei, which marks the creation of Adam HaRishon, the first man! Each year, the entire world is judged, and the fate of the coming year is decided. It is a day of awe and reflection, when we recognize Hashem as King and think about the type of person we want to be in the year ahead. The primary mitzvah of the day is Tekias Shofar, whose powerful sound calls us to wake up, do teshuvah, and return to Hashem.

Inspiration. Everywhere.

Rosh Hashanah

QUICK VORT

Quotable Quote

”

‫ אין שום יאוש בעולם כלל‬- There is no such thing as despair!

-Rebbe Nachman of Breslev

GEMATRIA

The numerical value of ‫ ראש השנה‬is 861, which is the same as ‫בית המקדש‬. The Shofar that we blow is not a just a “blast from the past” (recalling Shofar by Har Sinai), but it is also a “blast from the future” (reminding us of the Shofar that will be sounded at the end of days). Be’ezras Hashem, our hope is that this year will be filled with Geula and the rebuilding of Bayis Shlishi.

His shiurim and other Jewish content can be found on Torah Anytime and Meaningful Minute. He may be reached at rabbistrumo@gmail.com

Thoughts in Chassidus It’s brought in ‫רזין‬/‫אור פני צדיקים‬ ‫ דאורייתא‬that when Rosh Hashanah falls out on Shabbos and it is forbidden for us to blow the Shofar, Hashem blows the Shofar Himself. He is the Baal Tokea! And guess what? He knows all the deep Kavano. This should surely give us tremendous hope to see salvation in the coming year.

Hashem is not an evil king; He’s not out to get us. The heiliga Berditchiver (beginning of Nitzavim) writes that HaShem is ‫דרכו להיטיב‬, He is a bestower of goodness. His Will/Ratzon is to do good. (G-d is good. Gut is gut!) While sometimes HaShem governs us from the concealed and hidden realm of ‫( אחור‬rear, or backward), His true desire is to connect with us from the realm of ‫( פנים‬face, frontward presence), where the goodness is revealed! When we stand before Hashem, the Torah highlights exactly this: we are Lifnei Hashem, in the realm of before/in-front and not behind/back. The Rebbe makes a note that the word ‫ לפני‬means ‫פונה‬, to turn. Hashem isn’t just good, He turns towards us, actively looking for reasons to aim His goodness in our direction. The Torah says: Atem Nitzavim Hayom Kulchem, Lifnei Hashem. We stand before Hashem. He is our G-d, and we are His people. He loves us dearly, and turns toward us, to face us directly and bestow goodness upon us. The Rebbe points out how this word ‫ לפני‬appears again in the Gemara in Rosh Hashanah (34b) which states: ‫ֹאש‬ ׁ ‫ ִא ְמ ר ו ּ לְ פָ נַי ְ ּב ר‬,‫ אָ מַ ר הַ ָּק ד ו ֹׁש ָּב ר ו ְּך ה ו ּא‬:‫אָ מַ ר ַר ָּב ה‬ ,‫ע ֵל י ֶכ ם‬ ֲ ‫ש ּ ַת ְמ לִ יכ ו ּנִ י‬ ֶ ׁ ‫ מַ לְ כִ י ּוֹת ְּכ ֵד י‬,‫ש נָה מַ לְ כִ י ּוֹת ִז כְ ר וֹנ וֹת ו ְׁש וֹפָ ר וֹת‬ ָ ּ ׁ ַ‫ה‬ ‫ ו ּבַ ּ ֶמ ה ְ ּב ׁש וֹפָ ר‬,‫ש יָ ּב ֹא לְ פָ נַי ִז כְ ר ֹו נֵי ֶכ ם לְ ט וֹבָ ה‬ ֶ ׁ ‫ ִז כְ ר וֹנ וֹת ְּכ ֵד י‬. Hashem said: “Recite before Me on Rosh Hashanah: Malchios, Zichronos, and Shofros…Zichronos, so that your remembrance will rise before Me for good. And with what? With the shofar!” The structural bent shape—the turn—of the Shofar perhaps embodies this very message of ‫לפני‬. When the Shofar is blown, two things happen: Hashem turns, facing us with a frontward presence, remembering us for good to continue to bestow goodness upon us. At the same time, it encourages us to face Him directly, not to live with a cold spiritual shoulder, but like the shape of the Shofar, to turn to Him and become a vessel capable of receiving all the goodness.

Did You Know?! Rav Yonasan Eibeshutz says that the shape of the Shofar is like a nose. When we blow the Shofar, we are recalling that first time when Hashem blew into man his soul through his nose. In addition, we want Hashem to show us mercy and have ‫!ארך אפיים‬

Points to Ponder The Gemara says we don’t blow Shofar on Shabbos because someone who doesn’t know how to blow may end up carrying the Shofar and walk through the Reshus Harabim on Shabbos to go and learn. Why are we afraid of a seemingly far-fetched ‫?חשש‬

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Rabbi Ori Strum is the author of “Ready. Set. Grow.” “Dove Tales,” “Karpas: The Big Dipper,“ and “VEYIDGU: The Upstream Jew.”

There was once a self-proclaimed atheist who lived in the town of Berditchev. He explained to the holy Rebbe—Reb Levi Yitzchak—why he doesn’t believe in the cruel and uncaring G-d. The Rebbe turned to him and said, “You know, the G-d you don’t believe in, I don’t believe in him either.”

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YOM TOV STATS

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Baltimore Zmanim for Rosh Hashana & Yom Kippur 5787/2026

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 18 | EREV SHABBOS | PARSHAS HAAZENU

Alos Hashachar ..................................................................................... 5:32AM Mesheyakir ........................................................................................... 6:09AM Neitz Hachama ................................................................................... 6:45AM Sof Zman Krias Shema ............................................................... 9:17/9:53AM Chatzos ................................................................................................ 1:04PM Mincha Gedolah ................................................................................... 1:35PM Plag Hamincha .................................................................................... 6:03PM Hadlakas Neiros.................................................................... 7:03PM Shkiah .................................................................................................. 7:21PM Tzais .............................................................................................8:12/8:34PM

Alos Hashachar ..................................................................................... 5:39AM Mesheyakir ........................................................................................... 6:15AM Neitz Hachama ................................................................................... 6:51AM Sof Zman Krias Shema ............................................................... 9:19/9:55AM Chatzos ................................................................................................ 1:01PM Mincha Gedolah ................................................................................... 1:32PM Plag Hamincha ..................................................................................... 5:54PM Hadlakas Neiros.................................................................... 6:52PM Shkiah ................................................................................................... 7:10PM Tzais ......................................................................................................8:01PM

SHABBOS, SEPTEMBER 12 | ROSH HASHANA DAY 1

SHABBOS, SEP. 19 | PARSHAS HAAZENU | SHABBOS SHUVA

Alos Hashachar ..................................................................................... 5:34AM Mesheyakir ........................................................................................... 6:10AM Neitz Hachama ................................................................................... 6:46AM Sof Zman Krias Shema ............................................................... 9:17/9:53AM Chatzos ................................................................................................ 1:04PM Mincha Gedolah ................................................................................... 1:34PM Beginning of 10th hour .......................................................................... 4:10PM Shkiah ................................................................................................... 7:20PM Tzais & Candle Lighting & Preparation for 2nd Day .............8:11/8:33PM

Alos Hashachar ..................................................................................... 5:40AM Mesheyakir ........................................................................................... 6:16AM Neitz Hachama .................................................................................... 6:51AM Sof Zman Krias Shema ............................................................... 9:19/9:55AM Chatzos ................................................................................................ 1:01PM Mincha Gedolah ................................................................................... 1:31PM Shkiah ................................................................................................... 7:08PM Tzais .............................................................................................7:59/8:21PM

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 13 | ROSH HASHANA DAY 2 Alos Hashachar ..................................................................................... 5:35AM Mesheyakir ........................................................................................... 6:11AM Neitz Hachama ................................................................................... 6:47AM Sof Zman Krias Shema ............................................................... 9:18/9:54AM Chatzos ................................................................................................ 1:03PM Mincha Gedolah ................................................................................... 1:34PM Shkiah ................................................................................................... 7:18PM Tzais (Yom Tov Ends) ...................................................................8:09/8:31PM

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 14 | TZOM GEDALIAH Baltimore: Fast begins .............................................................. 5:26/5:35AM Alos Hashachar ..................................................................................... 5:35AM Mesheyakir ........................................................................................... 6:12AM Neitz Hachama ................................................................................... 6:48AM Sof Zman Krias Shema ............................................................... 9:18/9:54AM Chatzos ................................................................................................ 1:02PM Mincha Gedolah ................................................................................... 1:34PM Shkiah ................................................................................................... 7:16PM Tzais and Fast Ends ............................................................... 8:07PM

If you or someone you know is unable to attend shul to hear the shofar, or if you are able to blow Shofar for those in need, please email BaltimoreShofar+Shomea@gmail.com (to hear) or BaltimoreShofar+tokea@gmail.com (to blow) or call 513.313.4899

Alos Hashachar ..................................................................................... 5:41AM Mesheyakir ........................................................................................... 6:17AM Neitz Hachama ................................................................................... 6:53AM Sof Zman Krias Shema ............................................................... 9:20/9:56AM Chatzos ................................................................................................ 1:00PM Mincha Gedolah ................................................................................... 1:31PM Plag Hamincha ..................................................................................... 5:51PM Hadlakas Neiros.................................................................... 6:49PM Fast begins at the earliest of: candle lighting (when one “accepts” Yom Kippur) or a few minutes before shkiah Shkiah ................................................................................................... 7:07PM Tzais..............................................................................................7:58/8:20PM

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 21 | YOM KIPPUR Yizkor Alos Hashachar ..................................................................................... 5:42AM Mesheyakir ........................................................................................... 6:18AM Neitz Hachama ................................................................................... 6:54AM Sof Zman Krias Shema ............................................................... 9:20/9:56AM Chatzos ................................................................................................ 1:00PM Mincha Gedolah ................................................................................... 1:30PM Plag Hamincha ..................................................................................... 5:49PM Shkiah ................................................................................................... 7:05PM Tzais..............................................................................................7:56/8:18PM Fast ends.............................................................................. 7:56PM Kiddush Levanah: Through entire Friday night, Sept. 25, 1st night of Sukkos

We wish all of our readers a happy, healthy and sweet new year.

THIS INITIATIVE IS DEDICATED IN LOVING MEMORY OF HARAV MOSHE SHLOMO BEN YOSEF ELIEZER JURAVEL, ZT’L, WHO WORKED TIRELESSLY TO ENSURE THE SHOFAR WAS HEARD BY ALL THOSE IN NEED.

We are not responsible for typographical errors.

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SHOFAR ASSISTANCE NEEDED?

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 20 | EREV YOM KIPPUR

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FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 11 | EREV ROSH HASHANA

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‫ראש השנה ויום כפור תשפ״ז‬

Sunday Sunday Elul 24

Tishrei 2 ‫ראש השנה‬

Tishrei 9 ‫ערב יום כיפור‬

Tishrei 16 ‫סוכות‬

Tishrei 23

Monday Elul 25

Tishrei 3 ‫צום גדליה‬

Tishrei 10 ‫יום כיפור‬

Tishrei 17 ‫חול המועד‬

Tishrei 24

Tishrei 25

‫חול המועד‬

Tishrei 18

Tishrei 11

Mesorah Shiur for Yom Kipper see page 3

Tishrei 4

Elul 26

Tuesday

Tishrei 6

Elul 28

at Shomrei Thursday Thursday

Next BJH Issue

Tishrei 13

Next BJH Issue

Tishrei 27

‫חול המועד‬

Tishrei 20

Sukkos Issue

2026 Job Fair

Tishrei 28

‫הושענא רבה‬

Tishrei 21

6:40 PM

‫ערב סוכות‬

Tishrei 14

6:52 PM

Tishrei 7

7:03 PM

‫ערב ראש השנה‬

Elul 29

Friday

Elul/Tishrei

6:18 PM

Tishrei 1 ‫ראש השנה‬

Tishrei 8

7:49 PM

Tishrei 15 ‫סוכות‬

‫שמיני עצרת‬

7:15 PM

Tishrei 29

‫פרשת בראשית‬

Tishrei 22

‫פרשת האזינו‬

Saturday

2026 September/October Elul 27

Tishrei 5 AIM Event

Tishrei 12

Tishrei 19 ‫חול המועד‬

Tishrei 26

Joey Newcomb Concert Celebrating The Launch Of Miriam's Library see page 2

Wednesday

COMMUNITY CALENDAR 7

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Baltimore Weekday Minyanim Guide

Shacharis

Mercaz Torah U’Tefillah: EVERY 15 MINUTES

M, TH

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M-F M, TH M-F M-F M, TH

7:30 AM Agudah of Greenspring S Agudath Israel of Baltimore S, T, W, F Ahavat Shalom [Sefaradi] S Bais Haknesses Ohr HaChaim S-F Bais Hamedrash and Mesivta of Baltimore S-F Bais Medrash of Ranchleigh S Beit Yaakov [Sefaradi] S Bnai Jacob Shaarei Zion Congregation S Chabad of Park Heights S Community Kollel Tiferes Moshe Aryeh S-F Darchei Tzedek S Kedushas Yisrael S-F Khal Bais Nosson S Ner Israel Rabbinical College (Mechina) S-F Ohr Hamizrach [Sefaradi] S, T, W, F Shomrei Emunah Congregation T, W, F 7:45 AM Bnai Jacob Shaarei Zion Congregation Talmudical Academy Darchei Tzedek Mesivta Kesser Torah Mesivta Shaarei Chaim Yeshivas Torah Simcha (school days only) 7:50 AM Derech Chaim Ner Tamid Ohel Moshe 8:00 AM Agudath Israel of Baltimore Bais Dovid-Bais Medrash of Summit Park Beth Abraham Chabad Israeli Center Darchei Tzedek Khal Ahavas Yisroel/ Tzemach Tzedek Kehillas Meor HaTorah Ohr Yisroel Pikesville Jewish Congregation Shearith Israel Congregation Shomrei Emunah Congregation The Shul at the Lubavitch Center Tiferes Yisroel Tzeirei Anash Yeshiva Tiferes Hatorah

M-F S-F M-F S-F S-F S-F S S M-F S-F S S M-F S S S S S S S-F S S S S-F

8:15 AM Kehilath B'nai Torah S Kol Torah S 8:20 AM Bais Haknesses Ohr HaChaim S-F Suburban Orthodox Congregation Toras Chaim S-F 8:30 AM Agudath Israel of Baltimore S-F Chabad Israeli Center S Machzikei Torah (Sternhill's) S-F Ohel Moshe S Ohr Hamizrach [Sefaradi] S Shomrei Emunah Congregation S-F Shomrei Mishmeres Hakodesh S 9:00 AM Aish Kodesh S Bais Haknesses Ohr HaChaim S Beth Tfiloh Congregation S Bnai Jacob Shaarei Zion Congregation S Moses Montefiore Anshe Emunah S Shomrei Emunah Congregation S-F Suburban Orthodox Congregation Toras Chaim S-F

Mincha

Mincha Mercaz Torah U’Tefillah Gedolah

Khal Ahavas Yisroel/Tzemach Tzedek 1:45 PM Ohel Moshe M-Th Yeshivas Torah Simcha (school days only) 1 South Street, 27th Floor. 1:50 PM Wealcatch Insurance - 37 Walker Ave 2nd floor 2:00 PM Agudath Israel of Baltimore (S-F) Big Al @ The Knish Shop Party Room

Mincha/Maariv Plag

Ohel Yaakov Shomrei Emunah Congregation Suburban Orthodox Congregation Toras Chaim

Mincha/Maariv Before Shkiah Aish Kodesh Agudath Israel of Baltimore Agudah of Greenspring Bais Dovid-Bais Medrash of Summit Park Bais Haknesses Ohr HaChaim Beth Abraham Bnai Jacob Shaarei Zion Congregation Darchei Tzedek Derech Chaim Kehillas Meor HaTorah Kehilath B’nai Torah Khal Ahavas Yisroel/ Tzemach Tzedek Machzikei Torah (Sternhill’s), 5:00pm Mercaz Torah U’Tefillah Ner Tamid Ohel Moshe Ohr Hamizrach [Sefaradi] Ohr Yisroel Pikesville Jewish Congregation Shearith Israel Congregation Shomrei Emunah Congregation Shomrei Mishmeres Suburban Orthodox Congregation Toras Chaim The Adas: Chofetz Chaim Adas Bnei Israel The Shul at the Lubavitch Center Tiferes Yisroel

Maariv Mercaz Torah U’Tefillah: EVERY 15 MINUTES 8:00 PM, 8:15 PM, 8:30 PM, 8:45 PM, 9:00 PM, 9:15 PM, 9:30 PM, 9:45 PM, 10:00 PM, 10:15 PM, 10:30 PM, 10:45 PM, 11:00 PM, 11:15 PM, 11:30 PM 8:00 PM 8:10 PM 8:15 PM 8:30 PM 8:45 PM

Agudath Israel of Baltimore Kol Torah

Khal Ahavas Yisroel/Tzemach Tzedek Agudath Israel of Baltimore Darchei Tzedek Ner Israel Rabbinical College (Mechina) Ohr Yisroel

8:50 PM Mesivta Shaarei Chaim (Etz Chaim Building) 8:55 PM Community Kollel Tiferes Moshe Aryeh 9:00 PM Agudath Israel of Baltimore Arugas Habosem Shomrei Emunah Congregation Suburban Orthodox Congregation Toras Chaim

9:15 PM Kehilas Bnei Yeshiva 9:20 PM Kol Torah 9:30 PM Agudah of Greenspring Agudath Israel of Baltimore Kedushas Yisrael

9:40 PM Ahavat Shalom [Sefaradi] 9:45 PM Bais Haknesses Ohr HaChaim Kollel Erev Birchas Yitzchok (Luries) Kollel of Greenspring Machzikei Torah (Sternhill's) Ohr Hamizrach [Sefaradi] Yeshiva Tiferes Hatorah

9:50 PM Aish Kodesh Community Kollel Tiferes Moshe Aryeh Ohel Moshe

10:00 PM Agudath Israel of Baltimore Darchei Tzedek Kehilath B'nai Torah Kehillas Shaarei Avodah Khal Ahavas Yisroel/ Tzemach Tzedek Ohr Yisrael Shearith Israel Congregation Shomrei Emunah Congregation

10:05 PM Kol Torah 10:10 PM Ner Israel Rabbinical College 10:15 PM Derech Chaim Khal Bais Nosson

10:30 PM Agudath Israel of Baltimore 11:00 PM Agudath Israel of Baltimore Agudah of Greenspring - 6107 Greenspring Ave Agudath Israel of Baltimore - 6200 Park Heights Ave Ahavat Shalom - 3009 Northbrook Rd Aish Kodesh - 6207 Ivymount Rd Arugas HaBosem - 3509 Clarks Ln Bais Dovid-Bais Medrash of Summit Park- 6800 Sylvale Ct Bais Haknesses Ohr HaChaim - 3120 Clarks Ln Bais Hamedrash and Mesivta of Baltimore - 6823 Old Pimlico Rd Bais Medrash of Ranchleigh - 6618 Deancroft Rd Beit Yaakov - 3615 Seven Mile Ln Beth Abraham - 6208 Wallis Ave Beth Tfiloh Congregation - 3300 Old Court Rd Bnai Jacob Shaarei Zion Congregation - 6602 Park Heights Ave Chabad Israeli Center - 7807 Seven Mile Ln Chabad of Park Heights - 3402 Clarks Ln Community Kollel Tiferes Moshe Aryeh - 3800 Labyrinth Rd Darchei Tzedek - 3201 Seven Mile Ln Derech Chaim - 6603 Pimlico Road Greenspring Sephardic Synagogue 6611 Greenspring Ave. Kedushas Yisrael - 6004 Park Heights Ave Kehilath B’nai Torah - 6301 Green Meadow Pkwy Kehilas Bnei Yeshiva - 6700 Cross Country Blvd Kehillas Meor HaTorah - 6539 Pebble Brooke Rd Khal Ahavas Yisroel/ Tzemach Tzedek - 6811 Park Heights Ave Khal Bais Nosson - 2901 Taney Rd Kol Torah - 2929 Fallstaff Rd Kollel of Greenspring - 6504 Greenspring Ave. Machzikei Torah - 6216 Biltmore Ave Mercaz Torah U’Tefillah - 6500 Baythorne Rd Mesivta Kesser Torah - 8400 Park Heights Ave Mesivta Shaarei Chaim - 5415 Greenspring Ave Moses Montefiore Anshe Emunah - 7000 Rockland Hills Dr Neuberger, Quinn, Gielen, Rubin & Gibber One South Street, 27th Floor Ner Israel Rabbinical College - 400 Mt Wilson Ln Ner Tamid - 6214 Pimlico Road Ohel Moshe - 2808 Smith Ave Ohel Yakov - 3200 Glen Ave Ohr Hamizrach [Sefaradi] - 6813 Park Heights Ave Ohr Yisroel - 2429 Lightfoot Dr Pikesville Jewish Congregation - 7644 Carla Rd Shearith Israel Congregation - 5835 Park Heights Ave Shomrei Emunah Congregation - 6221 Greenspring Ave Shomrei Mishmeres Hakodesh - 2821 W Strathmore Ave Suburban Orthodox Congregation Toras Chaim - 7504 Seven Mile Ln Talmudical Academy - 4445 Old Court Rd The Adas: Chofetz Chaim Adas Bnei Israel - 5915 Park Heights Ave The Shul at the Lubavitch Center - 6701 Old Pimlico Rd Tiferes Yisroel - 6201 Park Heights Ave Tzeirei Anash - 6706 Cross County Blvd Wealcatch Insurance - 37 Walker Ave 2nd floor Yeshiva Tiferes Hatorah - 6819 Williamson Ave

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7:05 AM Machzikei Torah (Sternhill's)

Tzeirei Anash 7:20 AM Agudath Israel of Baltimore Beth Tfiloh Congregation Kol Torah Shomrei Emunah Congregation

Kol Torah Market Maven Reischer Minyan - 23 Walker Ave 2nd Floor 10055 Red Run Blvd Suite 295 2:15 PM Pikesville Beis Medrash - 15 Walker Ave 2:30 PM Bais Medrash of Ranchleigh Community Kollel Tiferes Moshe Aryeh Tov Pizza Mincha Minyan Ner Israel Rabbinical College Mesivta Shaarei Chaim (Community Kollel) Shearith Israel Congregation 2:45 PM Kollel of Greenspring Shearith Israel Congregation (S-Th) 3:00 PM Bais Haknesses Ohr HaChaim Mercaz Torah U'Tefillah 3:05 PM Kedushas Yisrael 3:15 PM Hat Box 3:30 PM Mercaz Torah U’Tefillah 4:00 PM Agudath Israel of Baltimore (S-Th) Mercaz Torah U'Tefillah 4:30 PM Mercaz Torah U’Tefillah 5:00 PM Agudath Israel of Baltimore (S-F) Mercaz Torah U’Tefillah 5:30 PM Agudath Israel of Baltimore (S-Th) Mercaz Torah U’Tefillah 6:00 PM Agudath Israel of Baltimore (S-F) Mercaz Torah U’Tefillah Shearith Israel Congregation (S-Th) 6:30 PM Mercaz Torah U’Tefillah 10 Min Before ShkiAh Chabad Israeli Center 14 Min Before ShkiAh Kol Torah

Maariv continued

SEPTMBER 10-16, 2026

Beit Yaakov [Sefaradi] M-F Mercaz Torah U’Tefillah S-F Ohel Yakov S-F Ohr Hamizrach [Sefaradi] S-F 6:00 AM Shomrei Emunah Congregation M-F 6:10 AM Agudath Israel of Baltimore M, Th 6:15 AM Kol Torah M, TH Shearith Israel Congregation M, TH M, TH 6:20 AM Agudah of Greenspring Agudath Israel of Baltimore S, T, W, F Arugas HaBosem (Rabbi Taub's) S-F Bais Dovid-Bais Medrash of Summit Park M-F Bnai Jacob Shaarei Zion Congregation M-F Kehilath B'nai Torah M, TH Pikesville Jewish Congregation M, TH Shomrei Emunah Congregation S, M, TH 6:30 AM Agudah of Greenspring T, W, F Chabad of Park Heights M-F Darchei Tzedek M-F Kehilath B'nai Torah T, W, F Khal Bais Nosson M-F Khal Ahavas Yisroel/ Tzemach Tzedek M-F Kol Torah T, W, F Ohr Yisroel M-F Pikesville Jewish Congregation T, W, F Shearith Israel Congregation T, W, F Shomrei Emunah Congregation T, W, F 6:35 AM Aish Kodesh (downstairs Minyan) M, TH Ohel Moshe M, TH 6:40 AM Aish Kodesh (downstairs Minyan) T, W, F Bnai Jacob Shaarei Zion Congregation M, TH Ohr Hamizrach [Sefaradi] M-F 6:45 AM The Adas: Chofetz Chaim Adas Bnei Israel M, Th B”H and Mesivta of Baltimore (Dirshu Minyan) S-F Beth Abraham M, TH Greenspring Sephardic Synagogue M-F Kehilas Bnei Yeshiva M-F Ner Tamid M-F Ohel Moshe T, W, F Suburban Orthodox Congregation Toras Chaim M-F 6:50 AM Agudath Israel of Baltimore M, TH Ahavat Shalom [Sefaradi] M, TH Bais Medrash of Ranchleigh M, TH Bnai Jacob Shaarei Zion Congregation T, W, F Community Kollel Tiferes Moshe Aryeh M, TH Derech Chaim M-F Kol Torah M-F Ohel Moshe S Ohr Hamizrach [Sefaradi] M, TH Shomrei Emunah Congregation M, TH The Shul at the Lubavitch Center M, TH 6:55 AM Beth Abraham T, W, F Kol Torah M, TH The Adas: Chofetz Chaim Adas Bnei Israel T, W, F 7:00 AM Aish Kodesh (upstairs Minyan) M-F Agudath Israel of Baltimore S, T, W, F Ahavat Shalom [Sefaradi] T, W, F Arugas HaBosem (Rabbi Taub's) S Bais Medrash of Ranchleigh T, W, F Community Kollel Tiferes Moshe Aryeh T, W, F Greenspring Sephardic Synagogue S Khal Ahavas Yisroel/ Tzemach Tzedek S Kol Torah T, W, F Moses Montefiore Anshe Emunah M-F Ohr Hamizrach [Sefaradi] S, T, W, F Shearith Israel Congregation S, M, TH Shomrei Emunah Congregation T, W, F Shomrei Mishmeres Hakodesh M-F The Shul at the Lubavitch Center T, W, F Tiferes Yisroel M-F Neitz

Mincha

THE BALTIMORE JEWISH HOME

M-F: 6:15 AM, S-F: 6:30 AM, 6:45 AM, 7:00 AM, 7:15 AM, 7:30 AM, 7:45 AM, 8:00 AM, 8:15 AM, 8:30 AM, 8:45 AM, 9:00AM, 9:15AM, 9:30AM, 9:45AM, 10:00AM

7:15 AM Kedushas Yisrael S Kol Torah S Machzikei Torah (Sternhill's) S, T, W, F Ner Israel Rabbinical College S-F Shearith Israel Congregation T, W, F Shomrei Emunah Congregation S Suburban Orthodox Congregation Toras Chaim S The Adas: Chofetz Chaim Adas Bnei Israel S

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SEPTMBER 10-16, 2026

Your Mission, Your Calling Rabbi Ken Spiro Connects Jews to Their History and to Their Purpose By Malkie Schulman

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“W

hen they were young, my FFB (frum from birth) kids would ask me, ‘As a Reform Jew, what did you do Jewish?’ I’d answer, ‘I ate ham and cheese on matzah on Pesach.’” That was the Judaism Rabbi Ken Spiro, historian and senior lecturer and researcher at Aish HaTorah, grew up with. Born in Brooklyn and raised in New Rochelle, NY, he attended public school and then Hebrew school in the afternoons. The joke he likes to tell is that if you’re looking to turn your kid off of Judaism, make sure to send them to after-school Hebrew school. “It was torture,” he shares. “I would do anything I could to get kicked out.” Religion-wise, his parents had one firm expectation for their son: “That I marry Jewish. That was their red line. Unfortunately for them, in college, I began dating a non-Jewish girl.” Desperate to prevent the relationship from becoming serious, his parents approached Conservative Jewish commentator Dennis Prager after hearing him speak at their synagogue. “They asked him, ‘How can we get our son to marry someone Jewish?’ ‘Send him to my one-month program.” Dennis Prager’s BCI (Brandeis Camp Institute) program in Southern California combined Jewish learning

with communal living and work. Among its instructors was well-known Modern Orthodox rabbi and educator Joseph Telushkin. Rabbi Spiro’s parents were thrilled when Ken agreed to go.

From Matzah and Bacon to Aish HaTorah “The truth is,” Rabbi Spiro admits, “Dennis Prager had a profound impact on me. He gave me a reason to believe Judaism might be relevant after all.” So, although he did not ultimately leave the program religious, Ken did leave open to religion (and committed to not marrying out of the faith). A year later, Rabbi Spiro had graduated college with a major in Russian language and literature and was on his way to the University of Moscow for six months to bone up on his conversational Russian. “The funny thing was after I finished college, I could read Tolstoy’s War and Peace in the original, but I couldn’t ask how to get to the corner grocery.” Ironically, it was in Moscow where Rabbi Spiro had his first Shabbos experience. “Most Russians in the USSR were scared to talk to tourists, but the Jews were so persecuted anyway that they weren’t afraid and that’s how I ended up being part of my new friends’ clandestine efforts to bring Judaism into their lives.”

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44 In those days, owning Hebrew books was illegal so most Torah teachers memorized seforim and taught their students from memory. Rabbi Spiro would often join members of the underground movement for singing events and Jewish holiday celebrations. “I remember gathering with refuseniks in a tiny Moscow apartment for an illegal Shabbos meal celebration. There was no kosher wine available, so for kiddush, we used water with six raisins sitting on the bottom. I was able to obtain yeast so we could make challah, but there was no meat.” Then there was the time, in the winter of 1981, when, at the end of the semester, the entire program went on a trip to Kiev. After being hassled for taking photographs, they ran into a hotel lobby to escape. The KGB arrived, threw them into a few cars and took them to a police station, where they spent several hours while Rabbi Spiro’s roommate, Jim Cohen, was interrogated. “Jim was always giving mini concerts with Hebrew songs in people’s apartments,” Rabbi Spiro explains. “He was already on the KGB’s radar. The whole thing was really a setup. They already knew who he was before we even got there. The photographs were simply a pretext to detain us so they could interrogate him. While we were there, we witnessed some pretty brutal stuff. The KGB beat someone up right in front of us. Thankfully, a short time later, our teacher arrived with someone from the U.S. Embassy and got us released.” After six months in Moscow, Rabbi Spiro had planned to spend three months on a kibbutz “to get a suntan, pick some tomatoes and learn Hebrew” before returning to the United States for graduate school. Instead, a college friend convinced him to spend a few weeks at Aish HaTorah in Jerusalem. “My older brother was going to meet me in Israel, and we’d planned to travel to Europe together. By the time he showed up in Jerusalem, though I now believed in G-d, I still wasn’t sure Torah was from Sinai, so I knew I wanted to stick around to find out more.” Two Aish rabbis who had a lasting influence on him was Rabbi Tom Meyer and Rabbi Chaim Willis, and of course, Rav Noach Weinberg, Rosh Yeshiva of Aish, was a massive inspiration. Rav Noach’s message that the mission of the Jewish people was tikkun olam resonated very deeply with Rabbi Spiro. Ultimately, this message changed the course of his life. After a few more weeks at Aish, Ken went on with his brother as planned to France. After a short visit, even though it was in the middle of the 1982 war with Lebanon, he returned to yeshiva. He had previously called his parents and told them he was deferring business graduate school for a year. In fact, he never ended up attending business graduate school (his intended career path), although later he did go on for an MA in History, but that’s another story. Mark, his younger brother, and Rebecca, Rabbi Spiro’s baby sister, at different points came to visit him in yeshiva and, much to their parents’ dismay, remained and never returned to finish their college education at all. “Three out of the four of us siblings became frum. When my sister went to Iyaht, my father warned me that I had better make sure to get her back on the plane to New York, back to school. Well,” he says with a laugh, “that never happened. She stayed and became religious too.”

In a conversation with his grandmother years later, Rabbi Spiro recalls, smiling, that she said, “I wanted you to be Jewish (i.e., not marry a non-Jew) but not that Jewish.” Despite his parents’ initial displeasure with his decision to become religious, at the end, they became the parents that called other ba’alei teshuva parents to encourage them to support their children becoming religious. “There are a lot of older BTs out there today who are very grateful to my mother,” Rabbi Spiro says. “She would tell their parents, ‘Becoming religious is the best thing your kids could do.’” Though his parents themselves never became religious, they koshered their home, became more traditional, and eventually made aliyah. “My mother would often say, ‘We’re counting on you kids to get us into Heaven.’” For Rabbi Spiro, however, his transformation was only beginning. “If someone would have told me 50 years ago that I would be an Orthodox rabbi living in Israel today, I would have thought they were crazy. The word ‘rabbi’ wasn’t even in my lexicon. But Rav Noach had an ability to inspire young people. In his expansive way, he gave over to his core students a larger vision of the Jewish people’s mission – the mission to connect humanity to G-d. He

“Unless you stop to think about why you believe what you believe, you’ll simply inherit the beliefs and way of life of the society you were raised in.”

would say things like, ‘If G-d and His Torah are true and He gave us a unique mission to bring the world back to Him, to do anything else would be crazy. Why would anyone even consider going into business?’” That became the impetus for Rabbi Spiro’s decision to devote his life to kiruv. After four years at Aish, he married and learned in kollel while working in outreach on the side. When the USSR collapsed in the early 1990s, Rabbi Spiro finally understood why Hashem had him study Russian. In 1990, he joined Rabbi Shalom Schwartz’s Aish Russian program. “It was the hottest thing back then to donate money to educate the millions of Russian Jews who were finally allowed to leave Russia. I worked with him for five years until I left to teach full-time at Aish in 1995. Except for short breaks here and there, I basically haven’t left. Aside from Rabbi Asher Resnick, I’m the longest teaching teacher at Aish.” Concurrent with his teaching career, Rabbi Spiro became a licensed tour guide. Today, he teaches in Aish’s Foundations program. “That’s where we try to get guys to commit to learning. It’s not beis midrash. We teach foundational material, not texts. I do the history component.”

He also teaches in the Essentials drop-in program and serves as a tour guide for the Gesher program and Birthright groups and leads private tours. Rabbi Spiro believes that understanding the foundations of Judaism are just as important for those raised religious as for ba’alei teshuva. He recalls meeting a Vizhnitzer chassid years ago who had come on a visit to Israel with his young family. “He told me he literally stood outside the Aish HaTorah beis medrash for an hour, mesmerized by the lecture. He was afraid to come in because he thought we’d throw him out. Finally, he got up the courage to walk inside. He ended up staying for weeks and loved it. He would repeatedly say, ‘We never learned any hashkafah.’” Rabbi Spiro found this young chassid’s observation fascinating because it reinforced what Rav Noach used to teach. “If you were born in Communist China, you’d grow up carrying Mao’s Little Red Book. If you were born in Italy, you’d grow up a Roman Catholic. If you were raised in Mattersdorf, you’d naturally adopt that community’s way of thinking. Unless you stop to think about why you believe what you believe, you’ll simply inherit the beliefs and way of life of the society you were raised in.” The Vizhnitzer chassid, Rabbi Spiro says, realized that although he had been raised religious, much of his emunah rested on what his parents had taught him rather than on a foundation he had built for himself. “He was like his own kind of ba’al teshuva. He became convinced we needed yeshivas like Aish HaTorah everywhere to teach frum people the foundations of Judaism.”

History, the World’s Greatest Teacher Rabbi Spiro’s minor in college was history, a subject that eventually became his specialty. He began teaching history classes at Aish, which led to his first book, WorldPerfect: The Jewish Impact on Civilization, published in 2002. Aish later gave him permission to spend one day a week researching in the Hebrew University library, where he developed a 36-part course on Jewish history. The series was later transcribed and published on Aish.com, eventually becoming his second book, Crash Course in Jewish History, published in 2010. Since 1995, he has traveled on Aish speaking tours, mainly in the U.S. and Canada but in many other countries across the world as well including South Africa, Australia, Mexico, England, Switzerland, and Germany. In 2018, he published Destiny: Why a Tiny Nation Plays Such a Huge Role in History, and in 2020 launched the podcast Remember What’s Next with Ellie Bass. Jewish history is the great black hole of Jewish education today, asserts Rabbi Spiro. “It’s shocking how few yeshiva guys know Nach. Except for maybe the haftarah, not many religious Jews have ever studied it. “But Jewish history is powerful. In Devarim, it says, ‘Zechor yamos olam (remember the days of old).’ We were the first people to teach that history is a continuous process leading to a destination. There’s a Controller and a Director. You can’t know where you’re going unless you know where you’ve come from. Through studying our history, we get to observe the patterns so we can learn the rules. History becomes our guide.”

down the rest of Eastern Europe and now Western Europe, Canada and even the U.S. are shutting us out. The unprecedented rise in antisemitism, the fact that so many Jewish institutions require armed guards, is like the proverbial frog in the pot of water as it slowly heats up. We must start recognizing the signs. As Rav Chaim of Volozhin said that when Jews don’t make kiddush, the goyim make havdalah. If we’re not proactively filling the world with the word of G-d, the world becomes filled with the opposite, with evil, and that brings antisemitism.” All this evil comes from the Jewish people not understanding what they’re here to accomplish. Secular Jews have no idea who they are and Who they’re representing. It’s the religious community’s job to reach out to their fellow Jews because, according to statistics, Rabbi Spiro says, “We’re hemorrhaging Jews through assimilation, with intermarriage now at about 70 percent. The real question each of us should be asking ourselves is, ‘What can I do with my wealth, my talents and my connections to strengthen the Jewish people?’ We are the G-d squad. If we do it right, the world will stop attacking us.” At the end of days, the Book of Yeshayahu says, the nations of the world will recognize Hashem and come to Jerusalem. “They’ll grab a Jew by his tzitzis and beg him to tell them about G-d.” The closest the world ever came to that ideal so far was during the reign of King Solomon, when the nations came to learn from the Jewish people.

eanwhile, Rabbi Spiro sees a silver lining. “Antisemitism wakes Jews up. It forces them to search for the real reason we’re hated so much and, hopefully, brings them back to their true purpose.” Nevertheless, Rabbi Spiro insists that the answer is not to circle the wagons even more. “It’s time to take real action to reach out to our fellow Jews. The religious world needs to be more proactive and less reactive. That’s always the best strategy. In both business and war, you have to stay on the offensive. You have to stand for something, not simply against something. In this case, we have to stand for our mission.” He concludes with a plea for Jewish unity. “We have a unique responsibility to learn from Jewish history. By reconnecting to our past, who we are and where we came from, we can understand where we’re going and what our responsibilities as Jews are. We need to come together no matter what kind of kippah – or no kippah – we’re wearing. In Auschwitz, there was only one line. The Nazis didn’t care what kind of Jew we were.” Rabbi Spiro ends with a message to the world. Quoting Hashem’s promise to Avraham, “I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse,” he says, “What you think of the Jewish people and the Jewish state says everything about you and your values. What’s happened over the last few years has been a clear test of those values. If you’re smart, you’ll line up behind us and help us fulfill our destiny.”

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According to Rabbi Spiro, many Orthodox Jews misunderstand the purpose of Torah and mitzvos. “People think the mission of a Jew is to learn Torah and do the mitzvos. But that’s not really true. Yes, Torah and mitzvos are our lifeblood. They’re our guidance system. But they’re a means to an end. Our purpose as a Jewish nation is to make a kiddush Hashem, to live and act in a way that inspires others to connect to Him. The means through which that can best happen is through Torah and mitzvos. That has always been our mission.” But like the laws of giving charity, he explains, “first you give to your family, then to your neighbor and then to the stranger. We first bring our own brethren back to Hashem and then move outward.” Rabbi Spiro readily acknowledges why the Orthodox

“The real question each of us should be asking ourselves is, ‘What can I do with my wealth, my talents and my connections to strengthen the Jewish people?’”

Today, however, our influence is largely indirect. “Our main impact presently comes through Christianity and liberal democracy, both of which derive a huge portion of their worldview from the Hebrew Bible, which remains the best-selling book in human history, selling roughly 4,000 copies every hour of every day.” In Rabbi Spiro’s opinion, the events of October 7 were a huge wake-up call for Am Yisrael. The world’s reaction to Israel fighting what he calls the most unambiguous evil since the Holocaust, and yet blaming the Jewish people, demonstrates that humanity has lost its direction by thinking Israel is the evil one. He also believes that when we fight among ourselves, it’s as if Hashem is saying, “You’re not getting along with your brothers and sisters. I’ll send the goyim after you.” This pattern has repeated itself throughout Jewish history. To Rabbi Spiro, it was no coincidence that October 7 occurred after a long period of social unrest in Israel. Nevertheless, despite the horrors, or perhaps because of them, Rabbi Spiro says there has been a tremendous groundswell of teshuvah. Many of the released hostages have turned to Hashem, and some have become shomer Shabbos. Rabbi Spiro cites Rav Elchonon Wasserman in his wellknown sefer Ikvesa d’Meshicha who compares, the times we’re living in now to a woman in labor with Moshiach being the “delivery.” “October 7,” Rabbi Spiro says, “was a massive contraction. Antisemitism is now the new normal. Of course, we know we’ll get to the end of the story, to Moshiach. But how painfully or painlessly, and how quickly or slowly, we get there is up to us. We’re approaching the year 6000, by which time Moshiach must come. It’s late Friday afternoon already. We’re running out of time.”

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A Mamleches Kohanim

world has become so insular. The pogroms, the Holocaust and the constant threats to Jewish physical survival over centuries have caused Jews to turn inward. Spiritually, the Reform movement, the Enlightenment, socialism and countless other ideologies pulled Jews away from their tradition, making the frum world increasingly defensive and focused on self-preservation. “But we’re hunkering down in our lifeboats instead of pulling others on board. We live in our golden ghettos with kosher food and our own schools while the rest of the world is falling apart. We’ve become too much like Noach, who spent a century building the ark.” The bottom line, asserts Rabbi Spiro, is that whether we like it or not, we have a mission. “History teaches us that we can never sit back in our little communities ignoring what’s going on around us. When we do that, the world turns to evil, and when it does, we’re always the first target. “Hashem is shutting down the Diaspora to us. The Holocaust shut down much of European Jewry. 1948 to 1967 ethnically cleansed the Arab world of its Jewish population. The collapse of the Soviet Union in 1990s closed

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Rabbi Spiro points to the famous observation of 18th-century English philosopher Henry St. John Bolingbroke that history is “philosophy teaching by examples.” In other words, history is not simply a collection of facts and dates. Its purpose is to teach principles and lessons through real events and human experience. “For example, capitalists and communists can argue all they want, but all we have to do is look at history to see which one works. Communism is the single worst idea in history, responsible for the deaths of over 100 million people.” Rabbi Spiro sees the same principle reflected throughout Torah literature. “The Ramban’s famous statement, ‘Ma’aseh avos siman l’banim,’ teaches that what happened in the past is a pattern for what will happen in the future. It’s all over Tanach. ‘Ein kol chadash tachat hashemesh (there is nothing new under the sun),’ says King Solomon. The lessons of Sefer Bereishis are all laid out. We’re flying blind if we don’t understand where we come from and we’ll completely miss what our mission is in the world. “History is a fantastic way of teaching hashkafah to secular Jews and to frum Jews. It’s the laboratory. For instance, we were told we’d outlast every other nation. We were told we’d be hated by every other nation. We were also told that not only would we survive, but we would transform the world. Does that make sense as a prediction? Yet here we are today in 2026, again the smallest, most despised nation, and even though they’re trying to kill us, we’re still transforming the world. It’s all come true. “History is such a great way of teaching and demonstrating that the Torah is real, that G-d’s words are true because Jewish history is so supernatural.” The truth is, maintains Rabbi Spiro, our role has never changed. Originally, there was no need for a connector between humanity and G-d. All human beings were supposed to directly connect with Him. But humanity blew that thousands of years ago. When Avraham Avinu came on the scene, he took up the mantle of reconnecting humanity to Hashem. “The Ramchal says G-d created the world so He could give. And what’s the greatest gift He can give? A relationship with Himself. Avraham and his descendants were now charged with the responsibility to be a mamleches kohanim and a goy kadosh, to inspire the world to draw closer to Hashem.”

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Tech

Triumphs

Always Available As told to Rebbetzin Sara Gross

s it truly an emergency? That is the question that reverberates through my mind when my kids are begging for my attention, and I get a time-sensitive phone call. I have a demanding job that doesn’t comply with proper office hours. There are constantly time-sensitive emergencies that crop up, but I see the dread in my children’s faces when Mommy gets another one of those phone calls. The calls are generally short and don’t last more than five to ten minutes, but they still require patience from my kids. I long for the days when I couldn’t be reached by cell phone and I could be completely present with my kids when it’s their time. My husband asked me the other day, “What if your phone was broken

and you couldn’t answer? Would the ‘emergency’ wait?” That got me thinking. Maybe I could fiddle with my open availability and make my own choices when to be reachable. How wonderful that would be! TECH TIPS: You get a smartphone for one app, and a year later you’re using ten. You add a device to your home for a medical need, and it’s still there long after the need has passed. An app you trusted for just messaging gets an update and now has feeds, videos, AI, or other features you never signed up for. None of this necessarily happens because you made a conscious decision to change anything. Technology simply changes, and our habits change along with it.

That means a technology decision that made perfect sense a year or two ago may deserve another look today.

seen, or figured out since then. This helps ensure that those who aren’t supposed to have access still don’t.

At least once a year, it’s worth going through the technology in your home, device by device. What access does this device actually have today, not what you originally set it up to have? Do we still need it? Are the safeguards still doing what we thought they were doing? Is there anything we’ve simply gotten used to that we might choose differently today?

Also consider that your family may have changed. A child who barely noticed a device a year or two ago may now be older, more curious, and much more interested in what it can do. The access and safeguards that made sense in the past may need to change along with them.

For each device, consider whether you still need it at all. Maybe it should be removed, blocked, filtered differently, or limited to certain times of the day. It’s also a good opportunity to change the passwords used to access devices. They may have been

Discuss it with your spouse or family. Talk about what’s working, what has changed, and what you’d like to change. The goal isn’t to overhaul everything. It’s simply to make sure our technology hasn’t quietly grown beyond where we intended it to be.

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To Raise a Laugh Use Your Head

he Aseres Yemei Teshuvah is a serious time, and we do a lot of things in all seriousness. But in all seriousness, it’s sometimes difficult for your kids to tell which things are minhagim and which you just happen to do. So you should really take the time to talk to your kids about it. Sooner than later, especially if your minhag is not to talk on Yom Kippur. Here are some things that my kids probably think are our family minhagim: - We have a minhag to polish our silver before Yom Tov, because Rosh Hashanah is the time to polish your silver. Metaphorically. But also physically. - We have a minhag, once we’re paying for seats, to be very conservative over which of our kids will actually sit for all of davening. (“Nah, he doesn’t need his own seat. He’ll just sit in mine and I’ll stand over him. He’s only here for the parts I need to stand for anyway.”) - I have a minhag to wonder why I have to buy seats for Yom Kippur, when on Tisha B’Av I can just bring my own. - My students have a minhag to ask me for mechilah, because in the 5 days of school we’ve had so far, they’ve done so much to me that mechilah is really their only option.

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By Mordechai Schmutter

- I have a minhag that my Hataras Nedarim group somehow ends up being the one with six guys. - We have a minhag to come home on Rosh Hashanah night and entirely butcher saying “L’shana tovah” to the women and toddlers, making it obvious that we have no idea of how Hebrew grammar works (“L’shana tovah tikasavna…Nu?...No?”) while the women all laugh, because they all took dikduk in school and we never make them butcher a Gemara in front of us. We should probably look in the machzor, because the most polite way to say, “Have a good year,” is with our nose in a sefer. - My kids have a minhag on the first night of Rosh Hashanah to say things like, “I’m starving;

I haven’t eaten all year!” “You smell like you haven’t showered since last year!” “This food tastes like it was made last year!”

- My minhag is to forget that we say Baruch Sheim out loud on Yom Kippur until the entire tzibbur launches into it when I’m well into V’ahavta.

- I have a minhag to have no idea how to cut a round challah. Do I cut it like a pie? Do I cut it like a normal challah so that some people get a huuuuuuuuuuuuge slice? There is no good way. I think I’m supposed to cut it horizontally like a bagel, put some honey in the middle, and let everyone else cut their own challos.

- I have a minhag every year to be mekabel that I’m going to start davening with the proper kavana. Then I think, “Just because I have time to daven with proper kavana today, when the chazzan is singing, doesn’t mean that I’m going to have this kind of kavana on work days.” And I go back and forth about it, and then I realize that the chazzan has done like 6 pages without me.

- We have a minhag to leave bits of challah in the honey so it’s less appealing for subsequent meals. - We have a minhag to eat every siman in the machzor, including several with the same Yehi Ratzon. - We have a minhag, as we eat the date, to tease someone at the table about shidduchim. - We have the minhag to try cooking the fish head in all different kinds of sauces and brines, and the fish head has a minhag to always taste the same, regardless. - We have a minhag to make way too many black-eyed peas. (TIP: The proper amount of black-eyed peas is one pea per person per meal.) - I have a minhag to put a piece carrot over the fish eye so he’s not looking at me. - We have a minhag that, by the time we finish eating the simanim, we have no room for the rest of the meal. - We have a minhag to look at the clock as we finish davening, because we just know people are going to ask. - I have a minhag to take a nap on Yom Kippur during the break, despite the fact that I feel worse when I wake up than I did before I went to sleep. I think it’s the nap. - I have a minhag to encourage my kids to say the paragraphs in the machzor that have bigger fonts. I personally have no idea which to pick and choose, but the typesetter probably knew what he was doing. - We have a minhag, when the chazzan sings really long, to count how many pages are left.

- I have a minhag, when I’m saying that paragraph before shofar blowing that I have to say seven times, that I secretly use my fingers to keep track. - My shul has a minhag to give out paper towels for Va’anachnu Kor’im. And to save them from year to year. - I have a minhag to look up after Tashlich and realize I have no idea where any of my kids are. - We have a minhag to not be sure the second night whether we’re also supposed to do simanim too, or just the new fruit. - I have a minhag to define “new fruit” every year as “a fruit that we have never eaten ever in our entire lives,” and to come home with something before Yom Tov that we cannot eat without first printing out instructions. - We have a minhag that, in addition to whatever weird new fruit I buy, we also eat star fruit. - I have a minhag – seeing as experts recommend that we drink 8 cups of water every day – to drink 16 cups right before Yom Kippur. - We have a minhag to break our Tzom Gedalyah fast on leftovers from Yom Tov. (“Blackeyed peas and Fish Head? No thanks. I think I’ll fast another day.”)

Mordechai Schmutter is a freelance writer and a humor columnist for Hamodia and other magazines. He has also published eight books anddoesstand-upcomedy.Youcancontacthimat MSchmutter@gmail.com.

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My Israel Home

Rav Mordechai Eliyahu Torah Meets Real Life

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By Gedaliah Borvick

Harav Mordechai Eliyahu Street in Lod

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riving through cities across Israel, you’ll often come across a familiar name: Rav Mordechai Eliyahu. It appears on street signs in Jerusalem, Beit Shemesh, Netanya, Lod, and beyond. The fact that so many streets are named for someone who passed away as recently as 2010 reflects the tremendous impact Rav Eliyahu had on Israeli society and on countless individuals. Rav Mordechai Eliyahu was born in Jerusalem in 1929, the son of a leading kabbalist. At just 28, he became the youngest member ever to serve as a judge in the Israeli rabbinical courts, an early recognition of his remarkable scholarship. He later served as the Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Israel from 1983 to 1993, becoming one of the most influential halachic authorities of his generation. He authored numerous works on halacha, and his teachings and rulings have been published in dozens of books. Rav Eliyahu was respected across a wide spectrum of religious communities in Israel; he was the rare figure whose

authority transcended internal divisions. He did not remain confined to the Beit Midrash, though he spent countless hours there immersed in study. For Rav Eliyahu, Torah was not theoretical; it

a steady stream of people who lined up outside his home each day with real-life questions involving medical decisions, financial dilemmas, and family challenges. Rav Eliyahu was also known for his

For Rav Eliyahu, Torah was not theoretical.

was meant to guide people in the practical realities of life. He grappled with big-picture questions of public policy, security, and the challenges facing Israeli society. At the same time, he made himself available to individuals seeking help with their own challenges. He visited IDF bases regularly, speaking with soldiers and addressing the complexities of observing halacha in the context of military service. He also received

special sensitivity to widows and orphans, making time for people who might otherwise have been overlooked. My business partner, Eliezer Goldberg, once shared an interaction that captures the essence and humility of Rav Eliyahu. A client who deeply admired him hesitated to move forward with the purchase of an apartment in Jerusalem’s Givat Mordechai neighborhood, where Rav Eliyahu lived, without first receiving his guidance and blessing.

When asked whether it was a good deal, Rav Eliyahu refrained from offering a ruling. Instead, he directed the question to his wife, explaining that between the two of them, she had the better understanding of the real estate market. And yes, she gave her approval to the deal. The streets named for Rav Mordechai Eliyahu honor a rabbi who applied Torah to address the practical challenges of building and living in a Jewish state. His life reminds us that building a Jewish state is one achievement; infusing it with Torah and holiness is another. I wish all my readers a year filled with Torah and holiness, and good health, too.

Gedaliah Borvick is the founder of My Israel Home (www.myisraelhome.com), a real estate agency focused on helping people from abroad buy and sell homes in Israel. To sign up for his monthly market updates, contact him at gborvick@gmail.com.

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Forgotten Her es

Yom Tov on the Front Lines By Avi Heiligman

Joseph A. Joel

erving their country in uniform frequently places Jewish servicemen and women in remote locales far from home. For these men and women, observing and celebrating the yomim tovim demands exceptional resolve. Throughout modern conflicts, there have been many accounts of soldiers hearing the shofar, fasting on Yom Kippur, building a sukkah and shaking the lulav and esrog on the front lines. Across the globe – from the American Armed Forces to the IDF and beyond – these stories reflect a dedication to Jewish tradition amidst the hardships of military duty. Historical records detailing American Jewish soldiers observing the yomim tovim on the front lines date back to the Civil War, but evidence suggests these traditions began much earlier. During the Revolutionary War, soldiers – particularly local militiamen – likely attended shul for Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur and may have used Jewish pocket calendars to track the holidays. During the War of 1812, the iconic Battle of Fort McHenry concluded on September 14, 1814, erev Rosh Hashana. At least eight Jewish soldiers were stationed at the fort, where local families from Baltimore sent daily rations of (presumably) kosher food, allowing them to mark the New Year on the very grounds they had just defended. Religious observances are far better

Jewish troops of the U.S. 5th army attending Rosh Hashana davening in Italy, September 1944

documented for the approximately 10,000 Jewish men who served on both sides of the American Civil War. Jewish chaplains were commissioned into the military for the first time, and commanders frequently granted leave or allowed troops to observe their traditions in camp. For example, Private Joseph A. Joel of the 23rd Ohio Volunteer Infantry, along with about twenty other Jewish soldiers, requested and received permission to fast and hold services on Yom Kippur. The 23rd Ohio was famously commanded by future President Rutherford B. Hayes, with whom Joel maintained a lifelong friendship. A European newspaper article from the era details the story of Simon Grün, a European immigrant who fought for the Union Army and steadfastly observed Yom Kippur. While accounts vary regarding his rank as a private or colonel, they record that when another soldier handed him a canteen in the midst of operations, he replied, “Today is Yom Kippur, and as a Jew, I am allowed to consume neither food nor drink.” After being treated at a field hospital for a battle wound, Grün gathered nine other Jewish soldiers to daven Mincha and Neilah “under the thunder of the cannons.” As they finished davening, word arrived from the battlefield that Union forces had secured victory. While the author found no record of a shofar being blown on the front lines

A Jewish American soldier in shul on Rosh Hashana in post-war Berlin, 1945

Lieutenant Elihu Schimmel, M.D., among the officers of the USS Lindenwald in 1956

during the Civil War – likely due to the difficulty of obtaining one – Rosh Hashana services were indeed held in combat zones. Furthermore, historical accounts document soldiers celebrating Sukkos by constructing makeshift shelters or visiting local Jewish communities on yom tov. Documented accounts of yom tov observance in uniform expanded dramatically throughout the 20th century. During World War II, the soldiers stationed stateside often found local places to daven, while those serving overseas gathered together for minyanim when the circumstances allowed. Ralph Goodman of Pittsfield, Massachusetts, was attached to 1st U.S. Army Headquarters as forces advanced through Belgium in September 1944. Having missed communal Rosh Hashana davening due to troop movements, he was determined to organize a minyan for Yom Kippur. Although the chaplain could only supply standard G.I. prayer books, Goodman’s commanding officer authorized pitching a hospital tent on a hillside, complete with generator-powered lights and seating. Two Orthodox soldiers served as chazzan and rabbi for the congregation of roughly 25 servicemen gathered from surrounding units. Goodman later recalled keeping his rifle across his lap while searching through mismatched machzorim to follow Unesaneh Tokef. A chaplain gave a speech, and Goodman kept on davening, “Please, G-d,

bring my buddies and me home.” Thankfully, Goodman survived the war. His story of how he celebrated Purim in 1945 is a story for another article. In September 1956, Navy Lieutenant Elihu Schimmel, a frum doctor stationed on the USS Lindenwald, sought to assemble a minyan for Rosh Hashana. Because the vessel was positioned in the frigid waters of the Arctic Ocean, completing the quorum required transferring men from other ships in the convoy. With the cooperation of his ship’s commanding officer and the Army colonel in command of the embarked troops, Schimmel successfully gathered ten Jewish servicemen for a minyan on both days of Rosh Hashana. From battles on American soil to far-flung locales like the Pacific and the chilly Arctic Ocean, these are just a few of the many inspiring stories of how Jewish servicemen and women observed yom tov while in uniform. Their unwavering devotion ensures that no matter where they are deployed, they remain connected to their heritage even in the most challenging conditions.

Avi Heiligman is a weekly contributor to The Jewish Home. He welcomes your comments and suggestions for future columns and can be reached at aviheiligman@gmail.com.

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Living Kiddush Hashem

Starting With The End In Mind By Rabbi Shraga Freedman

he following beautiful letter was written by a non-Jewish secular teacher at Mesivta of West Bloomfield (in Detroit) to the school administration after one of the school’s annual dinners: Thank you very much for including us in last night’s festivities. We had a wonderful time. It was so good to see the students all scrubbed and dressed up, and to talk with their families. The food was delicious, the setting was elegant, and I was inspired by the speeches and by the beautiful warmth of the Mesivta community. I have gained a great admiration and affection for the Mesivta community and, by extension, for all Orthodox Jews. My life was enriched last night, as it is each day at the yeshiva. Sincerely, Pete

Upon contacting the yeshiva to congratulate them for this, I received the following response: “It’s the boys who truly deserve credit. We also had a nonreligious Jewish teacher who became frum as a result of teaching here and still keeps up with us today. He began keeping Shabbos and learning every day as a direct result of the impression the bochurim made on him.”

example, the author presents the case of a group of people cutting their way through a jungle with machetes. The problem solvers are those who wield the blades and actually clear the path. Behind them are the managers, who provide the machetes, set up work schedules and policies, and arrange exercise programs so that the problem solvers will be capable of performing their work. And then there is the leader, who climbs the tallest tree in the jungle, examines the situation, and then shouts to the group, “You’re in the wrong jungle!” The leader is the person who always keeps in mind the ultimate goal of the work and ensures that everyone is headed in the right direction. In the words of Peter Drucker, “Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things.” In business, leadership – defining and keeping the focus on the goal of a project – must always precede management. And the same concept applies to our personal lives.

“Starting with the end in mind” is one of the commonly taught tools for success. This means that in order to succeed in any endeavor, one must always begin it with a clear understanding of its ultimate goal. Keeping the final goal in mind will ensure that every step that is taken leads in the appropriate direction, and every decision or judgment call is informed by that goal.

Rosh Hashanah is a time for us to pursue the ideal of “starting with the end in mind.” At the beginning of the new year, we must be certain that we are aware of our ultimate goal and the proper focus of all of our efforts. We must begin with a vision of our destination, making sure that we are climbing the right “ladder” or cutting a path through the right “jungle.” Thus, before we begin the arduous work of clearing away our aveiros, we must climb to the top of the tallest tree, so to speak, look all around us, and identify the direction our efforts must take.

According to a popular self-help book, there are three basic elements of any endeavor: leadership, management, and production or problem solving. As an

On Rosh Hashanah, there is no ambiguity as to the purpose of our lives. The tefillos of the day revolve around bringing honor to Hashem and declaring His King-

ship over the world. Rosh Hashanah is a day when we implant the dedication to this ideal into our individual and national consciousness, pledging our commitment to make all of our actions throughout the year consonant with this goal. The Worldwide Living Kiddush Hashem Film is still available to watch throughout the Yemei Selichos. Watch now on LivingKiddushHashem.org We are different. The influences around us are strong. The divisions are real. But we are one family. And there is a way forward. We can be one. A powerful production that will change the way you relate to every Jew.

Rabbi Shraga Freedman is the author of Sefer Mekadshei Shemecha, Living Kiddush Hashem, and A Life Worth Living. Email LivingKiddushHashem@ gmail.com for a free sefer. Visit LivingKiddushHashem.org for more resources Living Kiddush Hashem was founded with the goal of imbuing every Jew with a powerful sense of mission — the mission to be mekadeish Sheim Shamayim in his or her own unique way. We strive to accomplish this by raising awareness of the paramount importance of the mitzvah of Kiddush Hashem and its centrality in everything we do.

When You Step Aside, You Don’t Lose By Rabbi Benny Berlin

lar of us this year, through the story we read on the second day, the Akeidah. Avraham stood at the altar with his hand raised, prepared to give up his son. The malach called out and told him to stop. Avraham lifted his eyes, saw a ram

himself to serve Hashem in one particular way, and suddenly his service would have to look entirely different. He had to surrender his own picture of how the story was supposed to unfold. And then he found the ram.

The ram is the sound of Plan B. And that is where the blessing begins.

What happens next is striking. Avraham offers the ram in place of his son, and only afterward does the Torah tell us that the malach calls to him a second time. It is then that the blessings pour forth. “Because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only one, I will surely bless you and greatly increase your descendants like the stars of the heavens and like the sand on the seashore” (Bereishis 22:1318). Avraham did not let his devotion

Rabbi Benny Berlin i s the rabbi of BACH Jewish Center in Long Beach, New York. For more information, visit www.bachlongbeach.com.

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caught in the thicket, and offered it in place of his son. That detail is easy to read past. Avraham had spent the entire journey preparing himself for one act of service, only to discover at the final moment that Hashem wanted something else from him. Chazal suggest that Avraham did not experience only relief. Bereishis Rabbah records that when the malach told him not to touch Yitzchak, Avraham was also disappointed. He had prepared

disappear with the original plan. He redirected it. The ram is the sound of Plan B. And that is where the blessing begins. That idea carries particular weight this year. On the first day of Rosh Hashana, we will walk into shul wanting to hear the sound that defines the day, the sound we prepare for throughout Elul. And this year, there will be silence. Because Rosh Hashana falls on Shabbos, Chazal instructed us not to blow the shofar, out of concern that someone might carry it four amos in a public domain. We enter the day knowing how precious the shofar is, and precisely because we are committed to serving Hashem on His terms rather than ours, we put it down. Not blowing the ram’s horn reminds us this year that Avraham was also willing to let go of what he thought was being asked of him. Reb Moshe read the Torah that Shabbos because a thirteen-year-old boy was willing to step away from a moment he had prepared for. He saw what the moment required and stepped aside. He could not have known the blessings that awaited him. We will come to shul this year with our own picture of what the day is supposed to look like. Then, on the first day, we will put down the shofar. What sounds like an absence can itself become an act of service. Serving Hashem is not only having the courage to give Him what we planned to give. Sometimes, it is having the humility to surrender the plan itself. And when we can do that, stepping aside is not walking away. It is another way of stepping closer.

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abbi Yisrael Meir Lau, former Chief Rabbi of Israel, tells a story from his own bar mitzvah. He was one of the youngest child survivors of Buchenwald, saved again and again by his older brother Naphtali, who once smuggled him into the camp hidden inside a sack. He was raised after the war by his uncle in Kiryat Motzkin. For months, he prepared the reading of Parshas Shlach for his bar mitzvah, and the shul was packed that Shabbos with guests who had come to support the young orphan. There was an older man in that shul, Reb Moshe, who read the Torah every week. He was a man who loved leining and valued the recognition that came with it. Nobody had told him he was being given off that Shabbos for the bar mitzvah boy. So when young Yisrael Meir approached the bima on one side, Reb Moshe approached on the other. The gabbai explained that today belonged to the bar mitzvah boy. Reb Moshe, hurt and caught off guard, said nobody had told him. Young Yisrael Meir saw how wounded he looked. He walked over and told Reb Moshe that he was young and maybe did not know the parsha so well and that it would be an honor if Reb Moshe read the parsha while he received an aliyah. He told the gabbai that it was fine and that he would have other opportunities to give over Torah in public. Rabbi Lau said that this was the first mitzvah he did as a bar mitzvah. He gave up his spot, and G-d gave him a few opportunities to speak in public, to say the least. Rabbi Lau went on to become one of the most sought-after voices in the Jewish world, called on again and again to teach and lead. The boy who stepped away from one opportunity to read Torah would spend a lifetime speaking Torah before audiences far larger than the one in Kiryat Motzkin. Rosh Hashana asks something simi-

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Sparks of Light

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56 1. *

TJH

Centerfold

Oddly Said

“If the odds are 50/50, I don’t stand a chance!” — Rodney Dangerfield

You Gotta Be Kidding Me! A man walks into shul on Rosh Hashana and says to the rabbi, “Rabbi,

“Ever wonder what the speed of lightning

this year I’m turning over a new leaf.

would be if it didn’t zigzag?”

I’m going to be more patient, more

— Steven Wright

“How come you never see a headline like

“Horses are smarter than people. You never

generous, and I’m not going to argue with anybody.” The rabbi says, “That’s wonderful.”

‘Psychic Wins Lottery’?” — Jay Leno The man says, “Wonderful?

heard of a horse going broke betting on

What’s that supposed to mean? You think I’m not patient and generous?”

people.” — Will Rogers

golf with his boss. He’s the fellow who makes a hole in one and says, ‘Oops!’” — Bob Monkhouse

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E E

Penny has five children. The name

“Between two evils, I always pick the one I

of Penny’s first child is January. The

never tried before.” — Mae West

second is called February. Penny’s

“All you need in this life is ignorance and confidence; then success is sure.” — Mark Twain

Riddle Me This

third child is named March. The fourth one’s name is April. What is the name of Penny’s fifth child.

“It’s a funny old world—a man’s lucky if he gets out of it alive.” — W.C. Fields

Answer to riddle: What is the name of her fifth child.

“You can always spot the employee playing

1. If you put 23 randomly selected people in a room, what are the odds that at least two share the same birthday? a. About 6% b. About 23% c. About 37% d. About 50%

3. You flip a coin 10 times. What are the odds it comes up HEADS all 10 times? a. 1 in 1,450,0001 b. 1 in 1,23,333 c. 1 in 183,485 d. 1 in 1,024 4. You pick a four-digit PIN completely at random. What are your chances of guessing someone’s PIN correctly on your FIRST try? a. 1 in 1,000 b. 1 in 5,000 c. 1 in 7,999 d. 1 in 10,000

7. On April 23, 1999, St. Louis Cardinal Fernando Tatís did something that had never happened before in Major League Baseball and hasn’t happened since. What was it? a. He hit three home runs in one inning b. He stole home twice in one inning c. He got six hits in one inning d. He hit two grand slams in one inning 8. Virginia park ranger Roy Sullivan holds the record for surviving the most lightning strikes. Guiness World Records confirmed that he was struck 7 times between 1942 and 1977. What are the approximate odds of that happening? a. 1 in 24 million b. 1 in 24 billion c. 1 in 24 trillion d. 1 in 24 octillion 9. Imagine a wheel divided evenly into red and black sections. When you spin the wheel, there is an equal chance that it will stop on red or black. The wheel has just landed on

10. A 10-question multiple-choice quiz has four possible answers for each question: A, B, C, or D. The correct answers are randomly placed. What are the odds that the correct answer to ALL 10 questions will be D? a. 1 in 12,384 b. 1 in 102,202 c. 1 in 1,048,576 d. 1 in 100,85,003 Answers: 1-D 2-D 3-D 4-D 5-D 6-D 7-D 8-D 9-D 10-C Wis“D”om Key 8-10 correct: Wait a second…before we get to you: We almost hit for a in 1,048,576!! Had the answer to 10 been D, we would have made Centerfold history… Shucks! Shucks! Shucks! 3-7 correct: You are so middle of the road – never going to hit on the crazy odds. 0-2 correct: OK. Here goes. I’m going to guess your password (Shlomo Levinger has nothing on me!) OK, look at me. Here it is: 1…..1…..1…..1. And I’m in your bank account. And, you are such a genius that there is not even $1 for me to withdraw!

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5. Joan Ginther, of Texas, won the lotto four times between 1993 and 2010. First, she won $5.4 million, then $2 million, then $3 million, then $10 million. Some people believe that she was just being a “straw person” for other winners who didn’t want to disclose that they won. You decide… What are the chances of someone winning the

6. Norwegian couple Karin and Henry Henriksen had three children: Heidi, Olav and LeifMartin, who were all born on February 29…of different years! What are the odds of one person being born on February 29 (never mind three in the same family!)? a. 1 in 365 b. 1 in 730 c. 1 in 1,033 d. 1 in 1,461

red 20 times in a row. What are the odds that the NEXT spin will also land on red? a. Less than 1% b. 1 in 33% c. 25% d. 50%

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2. In June of this year, Shawn Brown and Trevor Fackrell were golfing together in Ontario, and each got a hole-in-one. What are the odds of two people playing together each getting a hole-in-one on the same day? a. About 1 in 15,000 b. About 1 in 350,000 c. About 1 in 2 million d. About 1 in 17 million

lotto four times? a. 1 in 243 million b. 1 in 147 billion c. 1 in 6.3 trillion d. I in 18 septillion

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Playing the Odds Trivia

Notable Quotes “Say What?!”

The plane is on fire! Put your game face on guys! - What a Miami firefighter screamed as he entered an Amazon plane that was on fire after it crashed near the runway

The mystery of time… What does 60 years mean? It really is meaningless, isn’t it?

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- William Shatner, 95, reflecting this week on the 60th anniversary of Star Trek

He is a bought and paid by AIPAC monkey. With all due respect, and I don’t mean it in a racist way, he is just basically an errand boy. - Left-wing Palestinian journalist Rula Jebreavl referring to House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY)

These blood libels, which have been spread by anti-Israel progressives for decades before the latest war, are meant to distract from the evil that was perpetrated on Oct. 7, 2023, and strip the memory of the Holocaust from the Jewish people and weaponize it against them. The survival rate of Jews under Nazi control in Europe was roughly 30% — and only because they did not have time to finish the job. The survival rate for Arab civilians during the Gaza war was somewhere around 99%. There is no genocide. And there was no famine. There was a war. And the bad guys lost.

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- David Harsanyi, The Washington Examiner

When you talk about socialism here in the U.S., when we look at the demographic of those voters, they are over-educated and under-earning. So these are underachievers who are jealous of those who want to go and work every day. - Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in an interview with FOX Business host Larry Kudlow

I’ve been doing transcendental meditation since 1972. That’s going to calm you down. I am very proud that I have never yelled at my kids and never yelled at my wife. – Jerry Seinfeld, in a recent podcast with Sebastian Maniscalco

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I’m winning ugly right now. It’s a skill to win ugly when you’re not playing great tennis. - Tennis player Alexander Zverev, after consecutive five-set wins at the U.S. Open

Are you twins? - Pres. Trump to the two Satmar Rebbes at a recent meeting at the White House

No, we are brothers. - The Satmar Rebbes in unison

- Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC), who is black, on NBC News saying that he regrets supporting Clarence Thomas in 1991

It is bigger than Trump, because whenever we do the work of ousting the occupant of the Oval Office, the Confederacy is still alive and well. That’s all MAGA is.

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I had no idea that Clarence Thomas would rebel the way he has against his own background and experiences.

- Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA)

If you hate America so much, go live in Egypt. - Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), responding to Michigan Democrat senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed’s continuous bashing of America

- Tom Von Essen, who served as the New York City fire commissioner on Sept. 11, 2001

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has been asked to stay away from 9/11 services in Manhattan. He responded by saying that it’s too late to cancel his flight. -Greg Gutfeld

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It’s a rough day. The families don’t need any more angst, and Mamdani is going to bring angst. Mamdani had the pen for his 9/11 executive order handed to his attorney [Ramzi Kassem] — who once represented an alQaeda terrorist with links to the attack on the Pentagon. He’s a very smart guy. He’s a genius at manipulating people. He’s not big enough to stay away knowing he will be a distraction.

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Israel does not need to worry about a renewed war with Iran. I am the president, and I will take care of Israel. - Pres. Trump in an interview with Kan News

To be clear, there isn’t a non-racist way to call Leader Jeffries—a Black man—a “monkey” or “errand boy”. - From a tweet by the Black Congressional Caucus in response

G-d is love, and I love my families. I love all my families and strangers. - Mabel Dunbar, of Georgia, upon celebrating her 112th birthday

Please remember: You are not responsible for the hatred directed at you. You do not have to conceal who you are to earn the right to belong. Never permit those who hate you to define you. Do not allow anyone to force you into a false choice between your Jewish identity and your place in the wider world. No one should demand that you deny Jewish history, disown the Jewish people or surrender your connection to Israel. Be courageous, but do not stand alone. Find one another. Support the classmate who is afraid or isolated. The future of Jewish life is passing into your hands. Carry it without apology, with compassion and strength. - From a letter by 98-year-old Holocaust survivor and educator Nate Leipciger being sent to thousands of Jewish college students by International March of the Living

Well, I still had the residual. Like, for instance, I still was on the board of Burisma – I took that when my dad was vice president, and then for three years after I was still on the board, and the requirement of the board would be that I would show up for four meetings a year. Even when I was a crack addict and out of my mind, I could show up for four meetings a year.

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- Hunter Biden on a recent podcast

We lose with Mexico $195 billion a year. If I don’t trade with Mexico, they have nothing that we have to have. I mean, hot tamales, tomatoes, a couple of things. - President Donald Trump

The good L-rd put me here for so many years, and it’s His life through me. - Blynda Vidock, of Texas, upon celebrating her 105th birthday

Zeke stretch, the pants & blazers that everyone is raving about!

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1110 Reisterstown Rd | 410.358.2796 S 10:30-6 M-W 10:30-7 Th 10:30-8 F 10:30-2:30 Mincha M-Th 3:15

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BALTIMORE • BROOKLYN • CEDARHURST • CHICAGO • LAKEWOOD • MIAMI • MONSEY • TORONTO

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Dating Dialogue

What Would You Do If… Moderated by Jennifer Mann, LCSW of The Navidaters

Dear Navidaters,

I feel like my life is a series of unfortunate events. Unfortunately, I’ve always been an unlucky person. I got married first in my class, but my husband ended up being terrible despite people saying how amazing he was. Now I’m navigating dating

again, and I don’t know how to trust anyone. How could anyone be who they say they are? Is the guy being genuinely nice, or is he being coercive? If he has requests, is he just a controlling personality? I look at everyone in the lens of my previous marriage. And I don’t think this could ever change. I fig-

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ured I’d ask your panelists because I can really use some help. Thanks in advance. Leah*

Disclaimer: This column is not intended to diagnose or otherwise conclude resolutions to any questions. Our intention is not to offer any definitive conclusions to any particular question, rather offer areas of exploration for the author and reader. Due to the nature of the column receiving only a short snapshot of an issue, without the benefit of an actual discussion, the panel’s role is to offer a range of possibilities. We hope to open up meaningful dialogue and individual exploration.

Kesiva v’chasima tova – may it be an amazing year for you!

Dear Readers, We want to offer YOU an opportunity to be part of the discussion! Please email us at MichelleMondShadchan@gmail.com, subject line “reader’s response,” if you would like to participate in the new “A Reader’s

The Zaidy

Response” columnist spot. We will send you a question and publish your answer in an upcoming Navidaters edition. If you have a question you would like the Navidaters to answer, please reach out to this email as well. Looking forward! Michelle, the “Shadchan”

The Shadchan Michelle Mond ear Leah, I am so sorry for what you have gone through. Please know, however, that just because you had a disastrous first

tween rumination and problem solving. Rumination says, “I trusted someone before and was terribly hurt. How can I ever trust anyone again?” Problem solving says, “I trusted someone before and was terribly hurt. What can I learn from that experience to help me make a better decision next time?” That doesn’t mean becoming suspicious of every man who is nice to you or assuming that every reasonable request indicates someone is controlling. Please consider the possibility that your previous horrific experiences have made your internal alarm system overly sensitive.

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Rebbetzin Faigie Horowitz, M.S. eah, you know your issue and you are turning to the panelists to tell you what you already know. Go to a professional, qualified therapist and learn to read the signals and patterns of other people. What I can tell you is this: divorced individuals often share your feelings. They say, I made a mistake once. How do I know I won’t make a mistake again? This is really what you are asking. You are identifying a normal fear for your situation. The biggest nightmare for divorced people is to divorce again. Invest in therapy for enough time. Learn to explore further what you are seeing and hearing on dates. Check them out. Spend time with your nearest and dearest together. Navigate disagreements. Check out conflict styles. Make sure he can give emotional support and has patience. Spend substantial time with the other person as well as the therapist before you make a tentative commitment.

marriage does not mean you will have a second one. Comparing everyone to your ex is an understandable gut reaction, considering all that you went through. At the same time, you need to do everything in your power to work through these intrusive thoughts so they don’t prevent you from seeing someone new for who he actually is. As a mashal, try NOT thinking of a pink elephant. (I bet you’re thinking about a pink elephant now!) When you’re looking at everything with a magnifying glass, almost anything can start to look like a red flag. I would love for you to be able to date with an open mind and recognize the man in front of you for who he is, rather than constantly looking for signs that he might be like your ex. That doesn’t mean ignoring your instincts or brushing aside genuine concerns. There is a difference between recognizing a real red flag and automatically interpreting a normal disagreement or personality difference as evidence that someone is controlling or coercive. After what you’ve experienced, it may understandably be difficult to tell the difference. I strongly suggest finding an amazing therapist who can help you work through this as you navigate dating again. There will always be things about another person that bother you because we’re human! But with the right internal work, you will iy”H get to a place where you can trust yourself to recognize genuine concerns while also allowing yourself to see the men you date as they are, without the cloudy lens of your past.

divorced people is to divorce again.

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The Rebbetzin

Dr. Jeffrey Galler ou ask heartbreaking questions. Let’s discuss two important concepts. First: Rumination vs. Problem Solving Psychologists use the word “rumination” to describe endlessly replaying negative thoughts, painful experiences, and distressing feelings. The word comes from the way certain farm animals chew their food over and over again. Unfortunately, when we humans do the psychological equivalent, we don’t get any additional nutrition. We simply keep chewing. There is an important difference be-

The biggest nightmare for

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The Panel

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I obviously don’t know the details of the disastrous situation that you experienced. But I would suggest several practical precautions. When seeking information about a potential boyfriend, don’t merely rely upon the glowing references listed on a shidduch résumé. Use your network. Speak with people who have actually observed him over time, including rabbanim, teachers, neighbors, friends, and coworkers. And spend time with him. A lot of time. Everyone can be charming when everything is going smoothly. Watch what happens when the waiter brings the wrong order, the valet takes forever to bring the car, or someone loses his reservation. How does he respond when he’s frustrated or doesn’t get his way? Spend time together in family settings. Observe how he interacts with his family and with yours. Don’t merely discuss the movie you watched together. Discuss your goals, religious values, finances, family expectations, and the kind of home you each hope to build. Pay particular attention when you disagree. Does he listen respectfully, or dismiss your opinion? Is decision-making shared, or does he assume that his preference auto-

matically prevails? You get the idea. I would also consider discussing all of this with a good therapist. An objective person may help you distinguish between genuine red flags and residual fears left over from the past. Second: “Luck is the residue of design.” That wonderful expression is attributed to baseball executive Branch Rickey. What we call “good luck” can often be influenced by preparation, thoughtful choices, and putting ourselves in situations where good outcomes are more likely. Nevertheless, bad things sometimes happen to good, intelligent, and careful people. So, please don’t blame yourself, and don’t believe that you are somehow destined to be “unlucky.” Instead, as we approach the New Year, take the painful lessons of your past and use them to design a better future. Armed with greater wisdom, greater awareness, and renewed confidence in your own judgment, go forward with hope rather than fear. And may you be blessed this Rosh Hashana with a tremendous amount of “good luck.” Let’s prove Branch Rickey right. May that good luck be, at least in part, the log-

ical residue of your renewed efforts, hardearned wisdom, and thoughtful choices. Shana tova, Leah. You certainly deserve it.

Reader’s response

Your previous horrific experiences have made your internal alarm system overly sensitive.

Sara Berger ear Leah, I firstly want to say that I’m reading your letter and I’m really sorry you feel that your life is a series of unfortunate events. You say you feel unlucky because you were the first in your class to get married but it was bad and didn’t last. I would say you’re lucky you got out of it. I don’t know how long it’s been for you, but I was in your shoes and I was divorced for almost four years before I met my husband. In the moments of navigating dating for a second time, it feels really terrible. However, this can also be a growth-filled time for you. You get to work on yourself in so many ways many of your friends didn’t or don’t get the chance to. And you’ll do this so that when you attract your husband (which I hope comes really soon), you’ll have done all of that work and once married you’ll have a bigger appreciation for all of the growth you did. In order to address the trust part of your dilemma, first ask if you can trust yourself. Much of the growth you will go

through will help you to start trusting yourself again, although it may seem impossible or slow at times. It is also your emunah in Hashem being tested. You may need a shift in perspective to help with that. In terms of your more specific questions wondering if a guy’s attributes are legitimate, you can see how he makes you feel. I was recently looking back at some texts between me and the shadchan who set my husband and me up, and I was reading that I was very open with her about how he made me feel and many of his wonderful qualities. Next, are you comparing the men you date to your previous husband even though he was terrible? Maybe try looking at the guys you date (hopefully not too many) as individuals. None of them will be the exact same or the guy you married. Change your lens from a closed one to an open one and be willing to go out of your comfort zone.

to date from. I don’t want to tell you to stop comparing. Your brain has information now that it didn’t have before. Some of that information is valuable. You learned things the hard way, and I wouldn’t ask you to unknow them. I also don’t want your ex-husband to become the measuring stick for every man you meet. Because there will be similarities. There have to be. Your ex probably had good qualities, too. He probably said perfectly normal things. He may have had behaviors that, in isolation, weren’t problematic at all. What made your marriage what it was was likely much bigger than any one comment or request. So rather than asking yourself, “Did

my ex ever do this?” I might start asking different questions. What happens when I say no? What happens when I disagree with him? What happens when I tell him that something he did bothered me? What happens when what I want and what he wants are two different things? That’s where I would pay attention. Can he hear you? Can he tolerate your having a different point of view? Can he own something when he gets it wrong? Can you have a difficult conversation without somehow walking away feeling that you were wrong for bringing it up? Can he repair? I care a lot about repair. Because a good man is still going to annoy you

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ear Leah, You describe yourself as someone who has been unlucky, and reading what you’ve lived through, I can understand why life may feel that way to you. You married someone you believed was amazing. Other people believed he was amazing, too. And then you found yourself in a marriage with someone very different from the person you thought you had married. That does something to your ability to trust. Because now you’re dating again, and you know something you didn’t know

before: you c a n really believe you know someone and still be surprised by who they turn out to be. So of course you’re watching. When a man says something your ex used to say, you notice. When he asks something of you that feels controlling, you wonder. You’re trying to figure out whether you’re seeing something important or whether your history is making something feel more dangerous than it is. And I think that is such a hard place

No set of questions that will guarantee that you know exactly who another person is. And maybe part of healing from what happened to you is accepting that you don’t need that guarantee in order to date. What you need is a growing sense that you can trust yourself. Not to always know. To pay attention. To ask the question you’re afraid to ask. To stop explaining something away if it keeps happening. To say no. To slow things down. To change your mind. And if you learn something about someone later that you couldn’t have known earlier, to trust that you will deal with what you know when you know it. You wrote that you don’t think this can ever change. I’m not going to argue with you about

how it feels right now. And I’m certainly not going to tell you to “just trust again.” Trust doesn’t work that way. You’ve been through something that changed you. You know more now. You notice more now. Some of that will protect you. I just hope that, with time, dating won’t require quite so much vigilance. You can be careful without closing yourself off. You can like someone without deciding he’s wonderful. You can notice something concerning without deciding he’s your ex. You can take your time. And you can let someone earn your trust a little at a time. Warmly, Jennifer

Jennifer Mann, LCSW, is a therapist and certified life coach in private practice in Cedarhurst, NY and via telehealth. She works with individuals, couples, and families, and is a part-time school social worker at Bnos Malka Academy. Her work centers on anxiety, relationships, life transitions, and narcissistic abuse. She integrates attachment-based therapy, cognitive behavioral approaches, and relational work, grounded in the belief that healing and growth emerge through honest, attuned, and meaningful human connection. To set up a consultation or to ask questions, please call 718-908-0512.

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Those are things I would want you to notice. And if something sets off an alarm in you, you don’t have to immediately figure out whether it’s a red flag or your past. You can just wonder about it. What exactly bothered me? What happened when I spoke up? Have I seen this before with him? Am I seeing a pattern? You don’t have to know everything about someone right away. You’re allowed to gather information. I actually think that’s important for you, because I imagine there may be a lot of pressure to make sure you don’t get it wrong again. There is no way for me to promise you that. There is no perfect vetting system. No reference who can tell you everything.

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sometimes. He may get defensive. He may be selfish. He may say something stupid. He may hurt your feelings. You’re not looking for someone who never gets anything wrong. You’re learning what he does when something goes wrong. And I would pay just as much attention to yourself. Who are you becoming around him? Can you speak freely? Can you say no? Can you disagree without preparing yourself for what might happen afterward? Can you tell him something he may not want to hear? Or are you becoming careful? Are you watching his moods? Explaining yourself too much? Letting things go because you don’t want to deal with his reaction?

Mental Health Corner

Paradoxical Reactions By Rabbi Azriel Hauptman Levi, now in the throes of middle age, has begun to succumb to the harsh realities of a sedentary lifestyle. His blood pressure is alarmingly high, his weight has ballooned, and his physical endurance has plummeted. But, heeding his physician’s advice, Levi began incorporating a daily brisk walk into his routine,

a potentially life-saving component of any health regimen. One fateful day, a reckless driver jumped the curb and collided with Levi, leaving him with severe injuries. In a cruel twist of fate, it could be said that Levi experienced a paradoxical reaction, whereby his proactive steps towards better health led to a breakdown in his health.

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A paradoxical reaction describes a situation in which a treatment that was intended to alleviate symptoms actually exacerbates them or causes new symptoms to arise. For example, benzodiazepines, such as Xanax, Ativan, or Valium, almost always help people feel calm and relaxed. There are isolated cases where they trigger a spike in anxiety and agitation. This begs the question: can paradoxical reactions manifest in psychotherapy, a field where the goal is to heal and promote emotional well-being? Undoubtedly, paradoxical reactions can occur in psychotherapy. However, in life, nothing is entirely risk-free, and the same applies to therapy. But, should you forgo seeking psychotherapy altogether? Absolutely not. Instead, you should take necessary precautions to reduce your risk and forge ahead. Consider the case of Levi, who, despite being struck by a vehicle while walking on a sidewalk, should not discourage anyone from taking a stroll. Similarly, the potential for a paradoxical reaction should not deter one from seeking psychotherapy. What are the risk factors for experiencing a paradoxical reaction in psychotherapy?

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In essence, therapy is akin to openheart surgery on one’s soul, and therefore the therapist must be adequately trained in administering their chosen therapeutic modality while ensuring the client’s emotional safety during the process of unearthing deep-seated emotions. Allow us to provide you with some illustrative examples. Individuals who have undergone traumatic experiences may seek therapy to alleviate the severe distress caused by their suppressed emotions. Frequently, the therapeutic process necessitates resurfacing those repressed emotions, enabling patients to process and confront them under the guidance of a therapist. As such, therapists must possess the necessary training to steer their clients through this tumultuous journey while prioritizing their emotional safety, even when emotions are unexpectedly triggered. This requires expertise in maintaining an emotionally safe environment and effective techniques to help clients manage intense feelings. A therapist’s ability to handle such situations while preventing adverse outcomes is vital to prevent the occurrence of a paradoxical reaction in therapy. Another area where paradoxical reactions can arise is in the treatment of anxiety disorders. Many anxiety disorders require

confronting one’s fears and anxieties headon. This process necessitates expertise and extensive training to navigate successfully. The manner in which a therapist guides their client through exposure therapy can either lead to the development of effective anxiety management skills or worsen the client’s anxiety, leaving them in a more vulnerable state than when they started. Thus, it is vital to ensure that therapists have proper training to tailor exposure therapy to their clients’ individual needs, ensuring that they receive the appropriate level of guidance and support while engaging with their anxieties. Paradoxical reactions can also occur in marital therapy. When a couple seeks therapy, they must delve into the underlying issues that are contributing to their strife, and this process can be emotionally taxing. Without proper training, a therapist may inadvertently unleash a storm of issues that leaves the couple worse off than when they began, potentially even leading to divorce. Establishing a safe environment that facilitates productive work on the marriage is a complex undertaking and requires an experienced and well-trained therapist. A skilled therapist can create a supportive atmosphere for the couple to work through their issues and guide them through the process of addressing their problems while maintaining their emotional safety. In life, as in therapy, there are no guarantees, and nothing is entirely risk-free. But as with any worthwhile endeavor, the potential for risk should not deter us from pursuing our goals. Like a skilled surgeon who operates with precision and care, a well-trained therapist can guide us through the complex terrain of our emotions, ensuring our emotional safety while helping us confront suppressed feelings and fears. Paradoxical reactions may arise, but with the right therapist, they can be minimized, and the journey towards healing and self-discovery can continue. So, take that first step, choose your therapist wisely, and embrace the transformative power of therapy. It’s time to heal, grow, and thrive. This is a service of Relief Resources. Relief is an organization that provides mental health referrals, education, and support to the frum community. Rabbi Yisrael Slansky is director of the Baltimore branch of Relief. He can be contacted at 410-448-8356 or at yslansky@reliefhelp.org

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A Touch of Sweetness By DAnieLLe RenOv

Quinoa, Sweet Potato, Cranberry & Almond Salad It’s up for debate whether this is, in fact, a salad at all. However, quinoa is technically a seed (not a grain), it’s healthy, colorful, has fruits and vegetables in it, and I serve it alongside a protein. So now it’s a salad. Ingredients ◦ 1 cup red quinoa, rinsed well ◦ ¼ cup + 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil, divided ◦ ¾ tsp kosher salt, divided ◦ 1¾ cups water ◦ 3 Tbsp apple cider vinegar ◦ 2 Tbsp honey ◦ ½ tsp coarsely ground black pepper ◦ 1 large sweet potato (or 2 small), peeled, cut into ¼ inch cubes ◦ ¼ tsp paprika ◦ ¼ tsp sumac ◦ ½ tsp granulated garlic ◦ ½ cup slivered almonds ◦ 1 cup dried cranberries ◦ 4 scallions, chopped ◦ 1 cup parsley leaves, chopped Preparation Place 1 teaspoon oil, quinoa, and ½ teaspoon salt in a small pot (that comes with a lid) over medium high heat. Stir for about 1 minute to ever so slightly toast the seeds. Add water. Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover the pot, and allow quinoa to simmer for about 15 minutes, until it is tender. Pour cooked quinoa into a fine mesh strainer and allow any excess liquid to strain out. (Quinoa retains lots of liquid, so, although this step is not absolutely necessary, it is highly recommended.) Add vinegar, honey, and pepper to the drained quinoa. Mix to distribute evenly. While quinoa is simmering, preheat oven to 350°F / 180°C. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Place sweet potato, 2 tablespoons oil, paprika, sumac, garlic, and ¼ teaspoon salt onto 1 prepared baking sheet. Bake for 35 minutes, until the edges of the sweet potato begin to char ever so slightly. Remove from oven; with a spatula, gently move sweet potatoes around so they don’t stick. Meanwhile, place almonds on second prepared baking sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes, stirring every few minutes, until almonds are fragrant and lightly golden. Allow each element to cool separately. Once cooled, combine quinoa, sweet potato, almonds, cranberries, scallions, and parsley in a large bowl. Serve cold and enjoy! Tips + Tricks Rinsing quinoa is an essential step. The quinoa seed has a bitter exterior and rinsing the quinoa very well actually removes that outer layer and yields a more palatable flavor!

The chicken you make when you have picky eaters or guests coming over and you don’t know their preferences. It’s a universal crowd pleaser. Ingredients ◦ 1 whole chicken, cut into 10 pieces (with or without skin) ◦ Kosher salt, for sprinkling ◦ Coarsely ground black pepper, for sprinkling

Preparation Heat a large pot over medium heat. Add oil and onions. Cook onions, stirring constantly for 30-40 minutes, until they are soft and melty. (if you want to walk away from the pot, turn the heat to very low and stir every 7-8 minutes. it will take longer, though.) Once onions are deeply golden, add remaining ingredients. Remove from heat. if making in advance, allow mixture to cool, then store in the fridge for up to 5 days. Preheat oven to 350°F / 180°C. Coat an oven to table baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Place chicken into prepared baking dish; season with a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Top chicken with onion mixture, creating almost a crust over the chicken. Pour any onion juices right on top. Coat a large piece of foil with nonstick cooking spray. Place foil sprayed side down over chicken and seal dish tightly. Bake for 1 hour 25 minutes, covered, then remove foil and bake for 15-20 minutes. Serve hot and enjoy!

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Onions ◦ 1 Tbsp canola oil ◦ 5 large onions, halved, thinly sliced ◦ ½ tsp kosher salt ◦ ½ cup maple syrup ◦ ¹⁄₃ cup + 1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar ◦ 2 Tbsp soy sauce

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Onion, Maple + Balsamic Chicken

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Stovetop Brisket Usually served on Pesach because it’s cooked on the stovetop the whole time, this brisket makes a surprise appearance every few months when I need a meat that’s just simple, delicious, and savory. It’s easy to prepare, can be served with almost any starchy side dish because of its easy flavors, and is basically a crowd pleaser! Ingredients ◦ 1 (3 lb/1½ kg) brisket Spice rub ◦ 3 Tbsp kosher salt ◦ 2 Tbsp coarsely ground black pepper ◦ 2 Tbsp paprika ◦ 2 Tbsp garlic powder ◦ 3 Tbsp brown sugar Meat ◦ 1 Tbsp walnut oil ◦ 2 cups sautéed onions ◦ 3 cloves garlic, sliced ◦ 3 cups red wine ◦ 2 cups chicken stock ◦ 2 bay leaves ◦ 1 tsp kosher salt ◦ 1 tsp coarsely ground black pepper Preparation Heat a wide, heavy-bottomed pot over high heat. in a small bowl, combine spices and brown sugar to form a rub. Sprinkle spice rub liberally all over the brisket. Add oil to the pot; add brisket. Sear for 3-4 minutes on each side to seal in all that good flavor. Set aside. Add onions and garlic to the pot; cook for 3-4 minutes. Add wine; bring to a boil. Add stock, bay leaves, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil, then return brisket to the pot. Lower heat to a very gentle simmer. Cover the pot, cook for 2 hours, then flip meat over. Continue cooking for 1-3 hours until meat is fork tender. Make sure to cool meat in the pan sauce so that it doesn’t dry out! Store and reheat in the pan sauce! Serve hot and enjoy.

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Raspberry Rice Krispy Treats Really, I needed the whole world to know the right way to make rice krispy treats. And that is with marshmallow creme. Not marshmallows. And I stand by that. Forever. Add any pulverized freeze-dried fruit to add fun color and flavor, or leave them plain. In my opinion, they are the universal dessert. Gluten-free, sweet, crunchy, and customizable. An absolute crowd pleaser!

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Ingredients ◦ 16 cups (400 g) Rice Krispies cereal ◦ 2 (1.2 oz/34 g) bags freeze-dried raspberries (or any freeze dried berry you like!) ◦ 3 (7.5 oz/213 g) jars marshmallow creme ◦ 2 Tbsp canola oil ◦ ¼ tsp kosher salt Preparation Prepare all your ingredients before you start because once you begin it goes fast! Use your hands to crush and crumble one bag of the berries. Set aside. Open jars of fluff and, if you have a microwave, zap for 15-30 seconds to loosen the creme. Meanwhile, place a pot over medium heat. Once the pot is hot, remove pot from heat and liberally spray the pot and your spatula with nonstick cooking spray, then return pot to the stove. (This is crucial to the cleaning process later!) Add oil, salt, and loosened creme to the pot. Stir to combine. Add crushed berries and Rice Krispies. Mix well until every single Rice Krispie is covered in creme. Pour mixture into a greased baking dish or muffin pans with paper liners. Open second bag of berries, grab a handful, and lightly crush while sprinkling over the top for extra berry flavor and because it looks super awesome! Seal tightly with foil or plastic wrap and serve any way you like! Variation: you can absolutely leave out the raspberries to make the best Rice Krispy Treats ever or you can even go wild and change up or swap the raspberries for freezedried blueberries or strawberries!

Tips + Tricks: Since this dessert comes together in just a few minutes, on a yom tov when you leave your stove on, i like to have all the components in my house, and while the table is being cleared, i sneak away into the kitchen and make a fresh batch of Rice Krispy Treats and bring the whole pot filled with hot gooey marshmallowy goodness right to the table, and serve it warm, straight out of the pot. it’s such a fun dessert surprise!

These recipes are reprinted with permission from Peas, Love and Carrots by Danielle Renov, published by ArtScroll/Mesorah.

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Freezer Tip: To make them the only way eli will eat them, press mixture into greased muffin tins and pop them into the freezer. Store in a container or ziptop bag and serve them for a fun frozen treat!

SEPTMBER 10-16, 2026

Health & F tness

Before You Promise to Be Better This Year

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By Rivka Kramer, PMHNP-BC

here is something about Rosh Hashana that naturally makes us look inward. As one year comes to an end and another begins, we start taking inventory. We think about what went well, what didn’t, what we wish we had done differently, and all the things we promise ourselves we are finally going to work on this year. Maybe I will be more patient. Maybe I will be more present with my family. Maybe I will stop getting overwhelmed so easily, become more organized, worry less, or finally take care of something I have been putting off. Before we know it, what began as a meaningful opportunity for reflection can turn into a fairly extensive list of everything we think is wrong with us.

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Reflection vs. Criticism There is enormous value in looking at ourselves honestly, especially at this time of year. But there is a difference between self-reflection and self-criticism. There is a difference between thinking, “I wish I had handled that differently,” and thinking, “What is wrong with me that I always do this?” One allows us to understand what happened and consider what we might do differently next time. The other takes a behavior or difficult moment and turns it into a statement about who we are. In psychiatric practice, this comes up often. People may seek treatment because they are anxious, overwhelmed, depressed, distracted, irritable, or struggling to keep up with everything expected of them. Yet the symptom itself is sometimes only part of what is making them miserable. The other part is the judgment they have attached to it. They aren’t only anxious; they are angry at themselves for being anxious. They aren’t only having difficulty get-

ting things done; they have decided this means they are lazy. They aren’t only overwhelmed; they are embarrassed that everyone else seems to be managing life better than they are. Knowing that there is nothing to worry about doesn’t automatically switch off anxiety. Knowing that a task needs to get done doesn’t solve executive dysfunction. Knowing that a reaction is bigger than the situation doesn’t mean someone can instantly regulate an intense emotion. Being grateful for a good life does not make someone immune to depression. Understanding this doesn’t mean removing personal responsibility. It means understanding what is happening so that we can respond to it more effectively.

When Yom Tov Changes Our Routine There is another psychiatric piece that feels particularly relevant right now. Rosh Hashana begins several weeks in which our normal schedules become anything but normal. There

is Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur, Sukkos, Chol Hamoed, and another stretch of yom tov. There are long meals, later nights, guests, children home from school, changes in work schedules, travel, different eating patterns, and much less structure than many of us are accustomed to. For many people, this is a beautiful time of year. It can also be a destabilizing one. We sometimes underestimate how much our brains depend on routine. Sleep, meals, work, school, medication schedules, exercise, downtime, and simply knowing what the next day will look like all provide structure. When that structure suddenly changes, we may feel the effects emotionally before we even recognize what is happening. Someone who is normally fairly calm may become more irritable. Someone with ADHD may feel much more scattered or overstimulated without a regular routine. A person with anxiety may find that guests, family dynamics, crowded meals, or constantly changing plans increase their symptoms. Some-

one with depression may notice changes in energy, motivation, or sleep. So if you notice yourself becoming more irritable, anxious, emotional, distracted, or overwhelmed over the next few weeks, take a moment to look at what has changed around you. How have you been sleeping? Are you eating regularly? Are you taking your medication on schedule? Have you had any downtime? Have you gone from a predictable daily routine to constant activity, noise, people, and expectations? Sometimes what feels like a sudden worsening of psychiatric symptoms is at least partly a response to a significant disruption in routine. That doesn’t mean we should dismiss symptoms as “just yom tov,” but it does give us useful information about what may be contributing to them.

Don’t Forget About Your Medication This is also a good time to think ahead about medication. If you take psychiatric medication, the chagim are not the time to casually change your dose, skip doses because your schedule is different, or decide on your own that you don’t need medication because you are off from work or school. Different psychiatric medications have different considerations, and abruptly stopping or inconsistently taking certain medications can cause withdrawal symptoms, rebound symptoms, or a return of the symptoms being treated. Make sure you have enough medication before yom tov rather than realizing at the last minute that you are running out. If fasting, changes in mealtimes, or altered sleep schedules create questions about when or how to take your medication, speak with your prescriber ahead of time. Depending

The Significance of Sleep

The Emotional Side of the Chagim

Reflection does not have to become a list of personal failures.

some structure, or are they continuing to intensify?

When It’s Time To Reach Out There is a difference between the expected ups and downs that can accompany a disrupted schedule and symptoms that warrant reaching out to a provider. A significant or sustained change in mood, severe anxiety, worsening depression, unusual impulsivity, markedly decreased need for sleep, racing thoughts, significant agitation, or thoughts of harming yourself should not simply be attributed to yom tov stress. Good psychiatric management is not only about what medication someone takes. It means noticing changes early, looking at sleep, routine, medication, stress, physical health, and environment, and adjusting the treatment plan when necessary. This is worth remembering for our children and family members, too. A child with ADHD who does beautifully within the structure of school may suddenly seem much more dysregulated during a long stretch without routine. Someone with anxiety may need more space during a crowded family gathering. A person managing depression may not have the energy everyone expects them to have. Understanding what is contributing to someone’s behavior doesn’t mean excusing everything, but it can change the way we respond.

A Different Kind of New Year’s Resolution As we enter Rosh Hashana, there are things all of us would like to do differently in the coming year. But reflection does not have to become a list of personal failures. We can ask more useful questions instead. What happens to me

a prescription. Medication can be an incredibly important part of treatment, but so are sleep, routine, stress, relationships, physical health, and the demands being placed on us. All of these pieces make an indelible impression on the bigger picture. So as we head into weeks of beautiful but very disrupted schedules, protect your sleep where you can. Keep your medication routine consistent, recognize your triggers and build in some

structure and downtime. If your mental health has been suffering, make the appointment you have been putting off. If your medication isn’t working the way it once did, speak to your provider rather than quietly struggling or changing it yourself. Rosh Hashana gives us an opportunity to look honestly at where we have been and intentionally at where we are going. We don’t have to use that opportunity to become our own harshest critics. We can use it to understand ourselves better, take our mental health seriously, and recognize what helps us remain healthy, grounded, and present for the life we already have. Wishing you and your family a healthy, peaceful, meaningful, and sweet new year. Shana tova u’metuka!

Rivka Kramer is a Board Certified Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner. She has a psychiatric private practice based in Cedarhurst, NY. She serves as a maember of the board of JANPPA, the Jewish American Nurse Practitioner Psychiatric Association. She can be reached at 917-905-3995.

Rabbi Shimmy & Rena Goldstein on the birth of a son Tzvi & Shira Pancer on the birth of a son Mordechai & Rivka Palmer on the birth of a daughter Want to see your simcha here? Email mazeltov@baltimorejewishhome.com or text 443-675-6507 to submit your simcha!

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Of course, not every trigger during this season is about sleep or medication. Holidays bring families together, and family relationships can be wonderful and complicated at the same time. There may be difficult dynamics, old tensions, grief over someone who is no longer at the table, loneliness for someone whose life does not look the way they hoped it would, financial pressure, complicated relationships with food, or simply the exhaustion of hosting and being “on” for days at a time. Someone can love yom tov and still find parts of it difficult. Those feelings do not cancel each other out. If you find yourself struggling, try not to immediately turn that struggle into a character judgment. Irritability does not necessarily mean you have become an irritable person. Feeling overwhelmed doesn’t mean you are ungrateful. Needing a break from people you love doesn’t mean you don’t love them.

when I am overtired? What makes me lose patience? Where do I need more structure? What are my triggers? What helps me function at my best? These are not excuses. They are information, and information helps us make better choices. Psychiatric treatment isn’t simply about giving someone a diagnosis and

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Sleep is particularly important because it is often one of the first things we sacrifice when life gets busy. Repeated sleep disruption can have a very real psychiatric effect. Anxiety can become louder when we are exhausted. ADHD symptoms can become harder to manage. Emotional regulation becomes more difficult, and our threshold for frustration gets lower. We may find ourselves snapping at people or becoming emotional over things that ordinarily wouldn’t affect us nearly as much. For someone with bipolar disorder or a history of mania or hypomania, significant changes in sleep deserve even more attention. A decreased need for sleep, especially when accompanied by unusual energy, racing thoughts, impulsivity, agitation, or behavior that feels out of character, should not simply be dismissed as holiday exhaustion or excitement. Protecting sleep may mean accepting that you cannot participate in everything. Maintaining some structure during the chagim is not selfish or rigid. For some people, it is an important part of staying psychiatrically well.

Experiencing an increase in psychiatric symptoms does not mean all the progress you have made has disappeared. Instead, ask what may be contributing. Are you sleeping? Are you taking your medication consistently? Are you overstimulated? Is there a particular situation triggering you? Do your symptoms improve when you rest and regain

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on the medication and your medical circumstances, food, hydration, blood pressure, and other factors may need to be considered. These decisions are better made in advance with appropriate medical and rabbinic guidance rather than improvised during yom tov.

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Parenting Pearls

Rosh Hashana Reflections By Sara Rayvych, MSEd

his is a very powerful time of year. I’m sure I’m not the only one who takes a few minutes to simply reflect on the year that has passed. As each Rosh Hashana comes, we see where we’ve been and look to where we want to go. Sometimes, the year was better than we expected; at other times, we faced more pain and challenges than we had planned. The year is never exactly as we had envisioned. It can be difficult to sit in this moment of reflection. Some years were overwhelming to experience, and then even more overwhelming to look back on. Often, it’s only after something has passed that we can more fully absorb the experience and emotions from that time. Each of our readers has had their own year of ups and downs, expectations fulfilled and unforeseen disappointments. Often, the most intense moments are the ones that others will never see. For those who had an exceptionally painful year, this article is not to make light of that. I am not one to encourage ignoring pain or pretending it doesn’t exist. That usually just makes it fester and worsen over time. I hope this upcoming year becomes a time of healing for all of us. Despite how mixed our emotions may be at this time, I want to discuss appreciation and gratitude for the good we experienced. For many, this will be easy; for others, this may feel difficult or near impossible. I understand if some readers will prefer to simply turn the page and read the next article that may be necessary, and each person understands their own needs. For those who would find it beneficial, I’d like to focus on some of the positives we can notice this time of year and appreciating some of the many gifts we’ve received but may not have noted.

Ki Tov We know to give thanks to Hashem because He is good. We say this throughout davening and in Tehillim. Recognizing that Hashem is good and does good inspires both gratitude and comfort. It’s easy to see how we can feel gratitude

from recognizing that Hashem is good and does good: doing unexpectedly well on an exam. Getting that promotion. A clean bill of health. Birth. Marriage. Simchos. Time with friends. There is much to appreciate and notice. As adults, we would probably be much happier the more we take note of each gift we receive. As parents, we can give this gift to our children by encouraging (not pressuring) them to do the same. When something happens, we can naturally acknowledge the Source of it. This can become part of our everyday speech. Recognizing that Hashem is good and does good is also a comfort for many people. To suffer needlessly is far more painful than to know there is Divine intention and goodness behind the challenges. Occasionally, we are given the gift of a glimpse of that eventual good, but other times, we never know why we experienced something. Just knowing that the Source of all we experience is good and does good can give meaning and comfort in difficult times – even if we never know the reason. While for many of us this awareness can be a source of comfort, we need to be mindful of how we present it to others, especially to our precious children. There are many commonly used, but inappropriate ways to convey this. For example, “How can you be upset when Hashem does so much good for you?” “Really, this [insert painful thing] is all for the best.” When given over in the wrong way, it only increases another’s pain. Children learn how to address and cope with many challenges by how those around them do. In this area, it’s often best to lead by example and let our children see how we ourselves try to recognize Hashem’s good throughout. The impact of our beliefs can trickle down and affect them. Our actions speak far louder than our words ever can. Even the smallest thing that we can recognize and appreciate can make a meaningful impact. We don’t need to wait till life is perfect. Even just noticing the most minor positive can be powerful – a clean shirt, one more of your favorite snack in

the pantry, or the rain holding off for an hour-long walk.

Rosh Hashana Tips & Tricks I have found the pre-yom tov tips and tricks sections to be popular. I hope it will enhance your yom tov. Being a parent and raising the next generation is immeasurable. It’s a goal of its own and not to be considered as merely secondary. It’s understandable that davening in shul and other yom tov related activities may not be realistic with little ones. Whenever a question arises, please bring anyi to the proper authority and not rely on these articles. Parents should not feel guilty about being at home and not in shul on this holy day. They should recognize the greatness of their daily achievements. That diaper change may not feel glorious in the greater scheme of life, but it’s keeping a little one healthy. The meal may take longer to prepare than to eat, but it’s still nourishing and providing for others. It may feel uncomfortable to spend the day in the park and not in heartfelt tefillos, but sometimes, it’s what is needed for that child’s development into an eved Hashem. Young children are precious, but they don’t belong in shul during long tefillos. It’s unfair to the kehilla to be disturbed. It can also be unfair to the children themselves who are developmentally unsuited to being quiet or sitting too long. Even somewhat older children may have limited attention spans, and parents should view each child based on their child’s personality and development, not simply their chronological age. Children of all ages are generally brought to shofar blowing. Parents should anticipate their child will still need them during this time – even if shofar only lasts

for a few minutes. Bring children in just before shofar starts; we don’t want to test them any longer than necessary. Young children are generally calmer when held or kept close to their loving adult. This also makes it easier to tend to them if they suddenly start loudly whispering (or worse) for something. Ideally, children would be well rested and fed before shofar blowing, but that’s not always possible with the schedule. Pacifiers, favorite blankies and other soothies are all very helpful, as are snacks (especially for little ones who may be hungry). Some children do not do well in crowds and may get overwhelmed by large groups. Be mindful of your child’s needs and plan accordingly. There are options for those who can’t attend shul. We have a very thoughtful neighbor who was blowing shofar for us on years that we couldn’t get out, such as when someone was sick and contagious. There are organizations and individuals that can assist, and many shuls have a second shofar blowing. Kids often can’t wait until the long tefillos are over, and many children may need to have a mini seudah before the crowd comes home from shul. Little ones, especially, benefit from being kept on schedule. They will be more pleasant little people if they sleep and nap as they usually do. May this year be sweet and beautiful for all of our readers, and may the year exceed all our expectations l’tovah. Sara Rayvych, MSEd, holds a master’s degree in general and special education. She has been homeschooling for over 15 years. Sara provides personalized parent mentoring services, addressing a variety of general and specific parenting concerns. She can be contacted at Sara.Rayvych@gmail.com with comments, questions or for private consultations.

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