Betty is a good friend of mine who is now well into her nineties and someone I try and call most weeks before Shabbos. Betty is an amazing lady who is a great grandmother many times over and continues to live and enjoy each and every day of her life with positivity, joy and pride and love for her Jewish identity and traditions.
Betty is also a survivor of Auschwitz and a survivor of the Holocaust.
On a recent visit with my son Mendel, we spent some time chatting with Betty as she filled us in about her survival of the Holocaust and what life was like in prewar Europe for her and her family. My son was riveted and intrigued and indeed deeply moved by this firsthand experience of the best and worst of humanity, and what Jewish life… Read More »
Soon after I made Havdalla last Saturday evening, I received a text from a community member informing me of the attack on a Jewish House of Worship in Texas. My adrenalin turned on as once again a Jewish institution was under attack on the holy day of Shabbat.
Every Friday night it happens, right as I conclude the Lecha Dodi melody, my five-year-old daughter jumps up from her toys or books and runs to me and asks me to dance with her. For a full two minutes or so, I hold her hands, and we go in circles as we sing and dance. Then for the grand finale, I lift her up by her hands and spin her around and around until I get too dizzy to continue and then I put her down and it is time for me to continue my prayers.
Last week I spent a day in Washington DC and observed many fascinating, beautiful and historic icons and buildings. It was a cloudy day and the sun hardly showed itself, but it was 57 Fahrenheit and warm enough to be outdoors for many hours.
I still remember the day (many years ago) when I met a doctor who told me they were an epidemiologist, and I responded with a bewildered and baffled look, as I had no idea what that term meant at the time. 
time of tremendous growth in which more people than ever before were impacted, assisted, inspired and touched in so many ways.
Social pressure is a concept that has always been around and impacted how people behave. Yet perhaps in recent years this has become a concept that has been amplified in a dramatic way due to the way our society functions.
We are grateful that this Chanukah unlike last Chanukah, we are once again able to bring some Chanukah joy to the wonderful and special seniors in our community.
Dozens of people gathered together in Marlborough City Center in front of the Walker Building this past Tuesday evening to celebrate the holiday of Chanukah and kindle a 9 foot Menorah. The crowd which included many young families and children heard a beautiful message from Mayor Arthur Vigeant who welcomed everyone on behalf of the City and spoke of the importance of this meaningful tradition and thanked the Chabad Center of Sudbury for organizing this celebration. Counselors Samatha Pearlman and Sean Navin and Cantor Sherman of Temple Emanuel also shared meaningful messages with the assembled. 
meaningful message of the Menorah and what this holiday… 
Hundreds of people joined together on the first night of Chanukah for an outdoor Chanukah Kickoff Celebration & Show.
The smiles and laughter along with the songs and music made for a truly wonderful Chanukah evening and community celebration!
This evening on the way home from the Chanukah celebration in Marlborough, I said to my children, "let's take a drive down Route 20 and maybe someone else will be cheered up by the Menorah on our car". We drove down Boston Post Road and pulled in to the Rugged Bear Plaza to check on the large Menorah that is there and my son Mendel started adjusting the correct number of lit bulbs.
After two long years in which I hadn't been able to see my parents, today I was finally able to see them in person, when I got off the plane and arrived at London Heathrow Airport.
Binyamin Wertzburger was a young survivor of a Concentration Camp who remembered being tormented by a Nazi Guard and told how he will die in the camp and never see Jerusalem. Yet miraculously despite having weighed just 26kg and going through so much, he survived the war and made it to Israel and… 
I just returned from an eighteen 
Bouquets of flowers were being sold by the dozen, the smell of freshly baked Challah wafted out of the bakeries, musicians were playing in various spots on the street, booths raising funds for needy families or other causes were set up outside popular stores, groups of friends could be seen having joyful reunions as they saw each other for the first time in two years, and every…