The Jewish Star proudly presents its Back to School guide for 2011. Below is a selection of Queens day schools which submitted information to this newspaper. more

The Jewish Community Center of the Greater Five Towns recently sent their girls basketball team to the first ever JCC Maccabi Games in Israel. The girls’ team brought home a second place silver medal on Sunday, July 31st. more

Ten years ago this week, on the 20th of Av (Aug. 9 2001) at 2pm, I was sitting in the back of the Sbarro’s Pizzeria in Jerusalem when a suicide bomber walked in and detonated the bomb belt he was wearing, murdering 15 innocent people and injuring scores of others. more

For most cars, it was merely a washout. For the neighbors however, last Sunday’s rainfall was more, as they feared for their basements. “There’s always been water but not to this degree. There has always been water that was teasing us to come to the top but today was the culmination,” said Woodmere resident Ed Sussman. “We’ve been waiting five years, we’ve all been waiting for this to happen and surely enough, it happened.” more

This parsha features another installment of Moshe’s Wilderness History 101 crash course for the second generation entitled, “Where your parents messed up at the Golden Calf.” It includes Moshe’s account of how he went up the mountain for three 40-day spans, and how G-d wanted to destroy the people but didn’t, on account of Moshe’s prayer. more

EYES: “That looks like delicious chulent. I like the way it appears chunky with meat and potatoes. I see beef flanken and some chicken on the bone. There seems to be some slabs of kishka as well. The beans and barley appear to be compact and not too runny.” more

The special election is on September 13, less than a month away. How ideal are the candidates seeking to represent us? more

Dear Aviva, I’m fortunate to have a number of close relationships with friends, family, and colleagues. The depths of those relationships are the reward for my investments of emotional honesty. I find that in general, even with people I’m not close with, breaking through superficial politeness to be genuine goes a long way, whether with sincere thanks, a pointed compliment, or sharing something personal about me. It often takes relationships to a new level. more

Calendar for the week of Aug. 12, 2011 more

With the summer season nearing its end we now become ever more mindful of the upcoming season of the High Holidays and their themes and observances. However, we first have coming up next week what Rabbi Abraham Twerski calls the greatest of our holidays, Tu B’Av. more