It was a serious and somber Sunday evening at Aish Kodesh in Woodmere, where 30 people sat and listened to a panel discussion called Eating Disorders Among Our Young People. Rabbi Dovid Goldvasser, a leading author and expert on eating disorders in the Jewish community, led the discussion as part of a joint lecture with the Orthodox Union and the men’s and women’s divisions of Lander College. He said the evening was all about “insight and perspective about eating disorders.” more

I’m not much for adventure — call me a chicken, wimp, or scaredy cat, I don’t care! I subscribe to the “better safe than sorry” rule and as a diehard city girl, I find that riding the subway in the city late at night provides enough thrills! But I do mind missing out on family fun, so I sometimes allow myself to be cajoled into venturing out of my comfort zone. I’m not talking about rappelling, bungee jumping, parasailing or scuba diving. For that class of activity I immediately respond with an emphatic NO! more

Dear Aviva, We are making our first wedding for our son in a few months. While we love our future daughter-in-law, we are really uneasy with her parents. It seems like they are better off financially than we are, yet they are penny-pinching this whole affair. They say something against what we prefer, and then when we bend over backwards for them, all of a sudden they change their song. And they do it rudely! more

One of the greatest gifts we have in this world is the ability to make choices in our lives. Though sometimes, we might wish we didn’t have to make those choices. more

Shabbat, Feb. 3-4 Congregation Beth Sholom Scholar In Residence: Rabbi Natan Slifkin Friday 8p.m. - “One People, Two Worlds: Rationalists and Mystics” Shabbat Morning 11:00 a.m. - “Battle for Beit Shemesh:The Evolution of Chareidim” Shabbat Afternoon - 5:00 p.m. - “The Animal Kingdom in Jewish Thought” Rabbi Natan Slifkin has caused a stir in the Orthodox world with his brilliantly researched and articulated views on significant areas of Jewish thought i.e. creation of the universe, evolution & the development of life. Known as the “Zoo Rabbi”, Rabbi Slifkin now lives in Ramat Beit Shemesh, Israel, the site of much recent controversy, and teaches at the Jerusalem Biblical Zoo. He is the author of several books including “The Challenge of Creation” and “Mysterious Creatures”. more

After the splitting of the sea, the people begin to settle into their wilderness existence, and become the recipients of a daily dose of manna from heaven. more

This coming Sunday is Super Bowl Sunday. Although I’m a  Dolphin’s fan, I’ll be cheering on the Giants, alongside my husband, Jerry and close friends, who are diehard fans. more

According to Dr. Rachel Kolander of the Department of Music of Bar Ilan University,”The Hebrew word shirah has three meanings: poetic writing,often incorporating rhyme and having a specific, known meter; musical vocal production, combining acoustic parameters and textual meaning; more

Sometime around 10:30 on a Friday evening on March 11, 2011, terrorists entered the house in the Israeli community of Itamar. It was the house of the Fogel family. They entered through the living room picture window but did not notice 6-year-old child Roi sleeping on the couch. They went right into the bedroom, where they slashed the throats of Udi Fogel and baby Hadas, who were asleep more

As a long suffering Mets fan, I always wondered what it would be like to be a Yankees fan. Does winning championships ever get old? Is it possible to actually take it for granted? When you lose, do you say, “it’s okay, we’ll get them next year.”      more