Once, in the midst of a class, I noticed a student’s eyes begin to water. We were having a discussion about identity, and how we tap in to who we really are. In tears, he explained how he had arrived at Isralight in Jerusalem. He had been a concert violinist with enormous potential, until in a tragic freak accident; he got his hand caught in a car door. After all the hospital care and operations, his hand was left partially paralyzed, and his career in music was over. And he realized, with panic, that he had no idea who he was any more. Whenever anyone would ask ‘what do you do?’ his response had always been: “I’m a violinist.” But that was no longer true. So who was he? more

Hewlett-based psychologist Dr. Michael Salomon is an expert in treating victims of sexual abuse. He literally wrote the book — Abuse in the Jewish Community — and he’s worried that too many incidents are being swept under the rug. “If you speak to people who work in the field, there’s a smokescreen,” he said. But Rabbi Yitzchok Frankfurter, the editor of the haredi-oriented Ami Magazine, couldn’t disagree more. more

The Zionist Organization of America held its annual dinner in Manhattan on Sunday, hosting nearly 800 attendees — including six members of Congress — one of whom was Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann. more

Make room on the shelf for another cookbook, because Leah Schapira’s newly released “Fresh & Easy Kosher Cooking” is one book that no kosher kitchen should be without. more

The announcement came Monday after the markets closed, just as expected the “Super Committee” whose job was to cut $1.2 trillion out of the budget failed. “Despite our inability to bridge the committee’s significant differences, we end this process united in our belief that the nation’s fiscal crisis must be addressed and that we cannot leave it for the next generation to solve,” Sen. Patty Murray and Rep. Jeb Hensarling, co-chairs of the super committee, said in a written statement. more

What Kosherfest has done for the kosher food industry, Brooklyn event promoter Avi Werde seeks to replicate for weddings, with a varietyo f products and vendors, but also public access and interaction. “wedding expos take place all over the country, but they don’t have a specific clientele in mind,” Werde said. more

This may seem trivial. And to be honest, I may be completely wrong. But I can’t help thinking there’s something deeper behind the names Avraham and Yitzchak seem to give to the city where they each forge a treaty with Avimelech. more

Dear Aviva, Our family has owned Max, a lhasa apso, for many years now. He is a part of our family and we would never consider giving him away. The problem is that many of our neighbors and friends are admittedly not “dog-people.” This has never been a problem because we would just send him outside or put up our gate to keep him on one side of the house. Some of our friends have even grown to appreciate Max since he’s so tame and lovable. more

One of the oldest concepts in the Law is “standing.” Black’s Legal Dictionary defines Standing as “A party’s right to make a legal claim or seek judicial enforcement of a duty or right.” In plain English, it means do you own the right of the claim. This is the first issue to come up in any court case, as the Court must decide if the party suing “owns the claim.” more

Calendar for the week of Nov. 25, 2011 more