The absolutely outrageous amount of snow this winter is getting very frustrating. The freezing temperatures, having to shovel our sidewalks, driveways and especially digging out our cars every other day is incredibly tiring. Yet, most of us are taking it in stride and doing our best to stay positive.
Did you know…
• 1 out of 4 females and 1 out of 6 males will be abused by the age of 18.
• 6 out of 10 victims will be abused by someone they know and trust from school, shul, lessons…
• 3 out of 10 victims will be abused by a family member.
The Council of Jewish Organizations of Flatbush (COJO) will honor Mayor Bill de Blasio, Police Commissioner William Bratton, Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, Comptroller Scott Stringer, Ari Baum, David Heskiel and other notables at its 35th Annual Community Legislative Breakfast on Sunday morning, March 23, 2014, in Brooklyn.
One of the four mitzvahs of Purim is to send edible gifts, called mishloach manot, to family and friends. Mishloach manot means the sending of portions, in Hebrew. Sending mishloach manot is meant to ensure that everyone has enough food to enjoy the traditional Purim feast. It is also thought of as an opportunity to strengthen relationships between people. What better way to show someone you’ve thought about them during the holiday than by sending a gift basket?
At four o’clock on a Friday afternoon your electric is going to be shut down for lack of payment; Shabbat is in an hour. Your neighbor is a cancer patient, alone and lonely, who needs her spirits lifted and a few groceries picked up. A refrigerator breaks, there’s no money for repair. A doctor’s appointment looms, and you don’t know how you’ll get there. An older gentleman needs help putting on tefilin each morning. The list goes on. Every day arbitrary disadvantages make our lives just that much more difficult and unmanageable. Sure, there are bigger problems and more important issues, but for now, today, at this moment, any act of kindness, large or small, would do just the trick. Who do you call? Mitzvah Man.
Hamantaschen are delicious triangular cookies that are only popular one day a year―on Purim. They are special because unlike other cookies and pastries, the most delectable and mouth-watering cookies are found not in the corner bakery, but in the kitchens of Jewish homes throughout the world, during the few days preceding Purim. We’ve recently received a deluge of requests to rerun last year’s double chocolate and mascarpone pistachio hamantaschen recipes, so here they are.
Community Safety & Security (CSS) and the Flatbush Shomrim Safety Patrol (FSSP) are embarking on a new initiative to ensure the safety and stability of our community. CSS is an affiliate of the Sephardic Community Federation (SCF), the umbrella public policy organization of the Sephardic community. Jack Cayre is the chairman of this new organization, which formed to help insure the safety of our community by establishing initiatives to help reduce crime.
Imagine Academy recently held its first salad tasting event in the home of Vivian and Hymie Gindi. The focus of the event was to promote the upcoming, long awaited, hard covered “Salad Cookbook, Greens and Grains.”
Relationships don’t coast by on autopilot. They need active effort to keep the love alive. Here are six secrets to stay in love forever:
1. Us Time: You may spend lots of time with your spouse but is it quality time? Whether it’s a weekly date night, a few overnights, or an extended vacation, make sure that you have time where you can focus exclusively on each other. While it may be a challenge financially or difficult if you have young children, it’s crucial to do your best to make this happen.
Our culture, deeply uncomfortable with death, dying, and grieving, encourages us to stifle our feelings. Mourners are advised: keep busy, be strong, give it time, he’s in a better place, time heals all wounds, snap out of your depression and get out more. They’re told that they are never given more than they can handle and to keep a stiff upper lip (I imagine that keeping a stiff upper lip is a person’s attempt to quiet the trembling lower lip).
Purim is the festival which commemorates the breathtaking Jewish victory over the murderous designs of Haman. It is a story of great courage and self-sacrifice, first and foremost by Queen Esther and Mordechai, and ultimately by the whole Jewish nation. This joyous festival reveals the hidden hand of G-d in the everyday events.
Over the past few months, students at the Yeshivah of Flatbush Joel Braverman High School have been taking their education outside the classroom. As the High School’s Head of School Rabbi Dr. Raymond Harari explained, “That’s who we are: engaging with society in ways that put our values into action and allow us to learn, in turn.”
I knew he was growing up. Between his bar mitzvah year, high school applications, and a new deeper, unrecognizable voice, it’s impossible to ignore. But the “aha” moment—the one that made me realize just how mature he was becoming—happened the night he came to me and said, “Dad, I want to run for class president.” Aside from admiring his confidence, I realized in that instant, that my once young son had morphed into a bright and very capable young man.
If there’s a gene for throwing amazing dinner parties, I didn’t get one. Yet, I’ve always wanted to throw one; I just never knew where to start. It shouldn’t seem so daunting, I have made many a Seder and Shabbat dinners, yet a dinner party seems completely different. I want to throw an elegant and sophisticated dinner party.
