Although it’s been seven years since my youngest has been to sleep away camp, the middle of June always evokes nightmares of “trunk packing.” As the middle of June arrives, I have to remind myself that I don’t have to go through that anymore. Come on, you all know what I’m talking about. Buying, labeling, folding and then the hard part, fitting it all into an oversized trunk and duffle bag. more

Gabrielle Lovett, of Woodmere, is HAFTR’s Class of 2012 Valedictorian. At HAFTR Gabrielle was Captain of College Bowl, President of Model Congress, President of the National Honor Society, and participated in the following: Math Team, Science and Engineering Club, Science Research, Volleyball, Food Delivery to the Needy, Intel Competition. She plans to major in Chemistry at Columbia University. more

An unofficial theme of the book of Bamidbar is that the strings of narratives are connected thematically. The most quoted example of this is the first critique given to the spies of Parshat Shlach, who did not learn from the tale of Miriam’s tale-bearing punishment. more

In Israel, even a bus ride can become an existential experience. There are many Jews with a more conservative approach to modesty within Jewish tradition, who are very uncomfortable sitting next to someone of the opposite sex. I recall, once, on a long, crowded bus ride from Haifa to Jerusalem, watching a fellow in a long black coat and black hat struggling with this issue. more

Among the many new synagogues being established within our community today, it should be noted that the majority follow the prayer rite known as Nusach Sepharad. This rite has a long history, which was detailed by Dr. Philip Birnbaum, the pioneer American liturgist, in his introduction to his historic translation of the Sepharad rite close to a half-century ago. more

A call to support the JCC’s purchase of the #6 school more

Thirty-year Congressional veteran Edolphus Towns retired in April leaving an interesting battle for the Democratic Party Nomination in New York’s 8th Congressional District-a district that is overwhelmingly minority (52.9% African-American, 18% Hispanic). more

The Kishon River near Haifa, Israel was another story of environmental contaminants. “It was very polluted from runoff from industry in Haifa,” pointed out Dr. Wilkenfeld. “It launched a whole movement in environmental health and medicine to get it cleaned.” more

More than ten years after the World Trade Center attack, the image of three ophthalmologists vying with each other to jointly wash the dust encrusted eyes of a weary first responder binds and brings into stark relief Dr. Marc Wilkenfeld’s career, life and beliefs. more

A horrifying car crash a few weeks ago on the road from Tzfat to Tiberias in Israel killed eight members of the Atias family, leaving only one child alive. Although no one individual can possibly come to grips with the tragedy, questions of mechanical failure and safety were posed to a professor who researches highway safety and accidents at Ben-Gurion University’s Department of Industrial Engineering and Management, and to the American Automobile Association (AAA) to try to learn what might be done to survive a similar incident. more