Ping-Pong balls rocketed back and forth at the Hebrew Academy of Nassau County elementary school. For the past eight weeks, HANC students ranging from the fourth to sixth grades have devoted their Mondays to skipping the school bus home and working on their serves and slammers. “It’s fun. I get to play other people who are as good as me,” Josh Chiger, 10, said. “I’m pretty good. I’d say I’m the second best one here.” more

Their field is known for cutthroat competition, as they square off with depositions, testimonies, and briefs. When they’re not wearing suits, recent Touro Law Center graduates Alex Shkolyar and Ian “Yitzi” Ribald compete on the hardwood, connecting their profession with basketball. more

Calendar of community events for the week of April 8, 2011 more

Rabbi Avigdor Nebenzahl, in a recent Dvar Torah on Parshat Tazriah noted the following observation: “We have spoken about using speech in a way prohibited by the Torah, one of the ways in which we can use our speech for mitzvoth is relating the story of the exodus from Egypt. Although it is important that we read the text of the Haggadah, we may and are encouraged to add and elaborate on the story of yetzias Mitzrayim, as we say in the Haggadah, ‘the more one relates the story of the exodus, the more praiseworthy is he’. more

Davening was by far my greatest problem with Judaism. The number of hours spent in shul was staggering. Of course it wasn’t davening per se that bothered me but rather my inability to have meaningful davening experiences that was so frustrating. During my high school years, barriers to meaningful davening included my shamefully childish refusal to “submit” to administrative rule-makers who used detention threats as leverage to force me into minyan each day. Another obstacle was my failure to understand even the literal translation of the Hebrew words in the siddur. These two issues were resolved rather easily when I grew up a little and understood that teachers only want to help. I was ready to give davening a chance so I bought a new siddur with English translation printed under each individual word. more

Dear Aviva, I am a father of 4 kids- all in yeshiva. The tuition costs are exorbitant, and it's burning a huge hole in my pocket. It is causing much financial strife in my family. I am working a full time job that pays well, so I don't qualify for scholarship, yet I can't seem to afford much else except the tuition! It's putting a strain on my marriage, and arguing about money in front of my kids doesn't help our shalom bayis either. What’s your take on it? more

Our 21st century minds may find the purification process of the metzora unsettling. "Take two live birds, cedar wood, scarlet and hyssop. Have one bird killed in an earthen vessel over running water. Dip the remaining items (including the other live bird) in the blood of the first bird. Sprinkle the mixture on the one being purified, then let the live bird go free." (14:4-7) more

The annual Manischewitz cook-off is more than food; it is a media spectacle with celebrity chef judges, public officials, and journalists from newspapers, magazines, television stations, and blogs covering this national live cooking competition. more

Longtime Queens’ lawmaker Nettie Mayersohn retired on April 1, after voting on the state budget. Her departure marks the end of a 28-year State Assembly career, and while the governor has not called for an election to fill her seat, there is a strong likelihood that her chief of staff Michael Simanowitz will be the next representative for Kew Gardens Hills, Richmond Hill, and Forest Hills in Albany. more

As with every year, this year being no different, we are witness to the issuance of new commentaries on the Haggadah that serve to help enrich our appreciation of the annual observance of the Pesach Seder. more