At Death’s Door // An unplanned journey to an organ trans-plant center saves her...
The ordeal began innocuously enough. A young woman, on vacation in a foreign country suddenly begins feeling unwell. She goes to a local urgent...
Oomie’s Machsan // One grandmother’s tragic experience turns into a blessing.
We were thrilled when our daughter, Shoshana, became engaged to a wonderful young man named Yitzi. Their engagement period, however, was not an easy...
Take the First Step
One Sunday morning, Yaakov Nourollah returned to his car and found it ransacked. Anything of value he had left inside was gone—including his tefillin....
On Again, Off Again, On Again // Are Human Hair Sheitels kosher?
In the city of Tirupati on top of a hill sits the Tirumala Venkateswara Temple, one of the pilgrimage sites for Hindus. Early in...
Going Back Behind the Iron Curtain
Ela Verzub and I initially connect via email. She sends me her phone number and we schedule an interview. We are seven time zones...
Madame Rosh Yeshivah // Asnat Barazani, the woman who headed a yeshivah in 17th-century...
Around the year 1630, Rav Pinchas Hariri of Baghdad wrote to Mosul, Kurdistan, asking that they send a rabbinical authority to Baghdad. The letter...
Danger in the Salad Bowl
I turn off Brook Road in Lakewood onto Old Brook Road, where a landmark yellow sign marks the entrance to E. J. Schuster’s Discount...
On the Road // Thankful for the good and the bad
We decided on a Chol Hamoed trip to Niagara Falls weeks before Pesach. In the initial phase of planning, it felt like an exciting...
Mother Knows Best // My mother-in-law gives alot of advice
The first time I met my mother-in-law was after my third date.
“Are you nervous about meeting my mother?” my not-yet-husband asked me shyly.
“Nah—who, me?...
Brits In Brooklyn // Meeting the challenge of crossing the pond
When Rivki Lev (née Steinhart) of Boro Park emailed me about a reunion she was arranging for her British compatriots living in the US,...
