HOME & FAMILY

A Simple Simchas Torah — Joy in the Torah — story

A pre-winter despondency threatened to submerge the snow- covered village.

Fall Showing
by Raizel Foner

Mrs. Cohen whipped out her checkbook with a flourish. "I can't believe I've been able to find outfits for all three of my girls in one store. This is a first — not having to shlep all over town with fussy teenagers. Tell me, how do you manage to carry such bataamte styles?"

Bubbies with Babies
by Yonina Hall

Part II: The Fine Line Between Bubby and Parent

Everyone benefits when a Bubby babysits her grandchild - the Bubby, the baby and the baby's parents, who can go to work or to learning knowing that their offspring are in the best of hands.

MODERN DAY MUSSAR AND MESHOLIM
Of Succahs and Other Cozy Places
by Bayla Gimmel

After the spiritual high of Yom Kippur, we are ready for a mitzvah that involves us totally. And Succos really fills the bill. Dwelling in the succah is one of the few mitzvos that we can do with every part of our body.

A Handy Handicap
by Susan Schwartz, Chicago

"Everyone is staring at me," my daughter wailed.

While it is hard to give comfort over the phone when you are 5,000 miles away, I did my best to sound like "Mother Knows Best." On her own for the first time, our daughter seemed to be adapting well to the seminary experience.

It Takes All Kinds
by Rosally Saltsman

It was one of those perfect mid-autumn mornings with a fresh tang in the air and a warm sun filtering through the clouds and smoke and landing softly on the treetops that dotted the avenue.

Something Small
Fiction by M. Zonnefeld

The silver crescent of the moon was small but clear. The first autumn clouds wafted through the sky as a small group of men stood in their white talleisim. "Sholom Aleichem" "Aleichem Sholom;" the joyful greetings filled the cool night air.

Mesirus Nefesh
by R. Chadshai

It is quite impossible to translate the title words into English. Martyrdom, to suffer for ones belief, is not the exact meaning, nor is the phrase 'to put oneself out,' the correct terminology. Therefore we will use the Hebrew mesirus nefesh, although this is an article in an English-language newspaper.

Olah Temimah
by Tzipie Wolner

The Klausenburg shul on fifteeth street was packed to the rafters. Men were crammed shoulder to shoulder, each trying to catch a glimpse of the Rebbe's swaying form. The extreme heat and stuffiness exaggerated the smell of wet polyester and perspiring men. The intensity, though, the loftiness, the kedushah overpowered the discomfort of sweat and personal space.

Lulavim Shipped with Love
by Adina Hershberg

Kingston, Pennsylvania, whose population was about 19,000 while I was growing up, was not exactly teeming with Jews. However, my family had to go no further than one block away to Rabbi Meir Pernikoff's home in order to obtain kosher wine for Shabbos and Yom Tov, and arbaa minim for Succos.

Elixir of Life
by A. Ross

Summer is just about behind us, but we are still told to drink, and drink again; preferably water. However, in some places, (North East England, is one such place, I am told) summer comes for about two weeks a year. Moreover, most places of work and many homes now have air conditioning, which may cool the rooms but dries out the body (and vice versa for central heating, which also dries out the body)!

It's Never Too Late to be Healthy!
By Dr. Reuven Bruner, Ph.D.

Research continues to prove that any positive health behavior change, at any age, can improve quality of life.

Your Medical Questions Answered!
by Joseph B. Leibman, MD

Last week I discussed the Israeli law determining that the statement, "all natural ingredients" can appear on a food label even if sugar is added. Food laws in Israel are not so strict, although there have been improvements. Most fresh produce is now pre-washed; this was a big problem in the past. We are still waiting for childproof bottles and complete ingredient lists.

POETS' CORNER

Simchah
by Hinde Gordon

The sun is out
The sky is blue
My laundry is on the line
Summer has returned
My bones are warm
My heart is warm
I never thought I'd feel warm again

*

Summer is over
And now we have water again
Rain and cold
Winter and rain
Water to drink
To grow grain
To wash, do laundry
Warmth and cold, water and sun
All the blessings of Hashem.

*

Is it right to rejoice with the warmth?
Is it right to rejoice
While the guns still fire
And Your children die?
Is it right to rejoice
While we are still in exile
Exile even here in Yerushalayim?
Is it right to rejoice
While the enemy still hates
And kills us?

*

Is it right to rejoice when
They kill again and again
And by killing us
Think they are killing You?

*

Is it right to rejoice
Even now
When we weep
In the midst of war?

*

Yes, it is right to rejoice
Because we know
That we are Your beloved children
Your faithful servants
Today and yesterday
Through the centuries
Of being killed for You.

It is right to rejoice
Even along the darkness of the long road
Of exile and suffering
Along the long hard road of making ourselves
Worthy to receive
Your blessings
Of summer and winter
Of warmth and cold and rain
Of life
Of goodness?

*

Yes, it is right to rejoice
And to praise
And to thank You
For life
For summer and winter
For warmth and cold and rain
For every moment
That You have given us
That You give us
That You will give us
Thank you for simchah
Thank You, Hashem.