Ki Tavo 5778

Negative Developments

Thank you to the husband of Ayala (not her real name) in the story, who shared this story, as well as the written response of Rabbi Yaakov Ariel and the oral response of Rabbi Asher Weiss.

Ayala smiled happily. She had just spent the past few hours angling her camera, adjusting lights, and telling people to smile, trying to capture the highlights of the Bat Mitzva party which she had been hired to photograph. She enjoyed photography, and got a particular thrill from turning meaningful moments into treasured memories, for her clients to enjoy in the future. She packed her equipment into her car, and drove home, eager to start working on the Bat Mitzva album, the next day.

Vaychi 5778

"ועתה אעלה נא ואקברה את אבי" (נ', ה')

Great recipe - wrong place?

In the early days of the State of Israel, there was a man who came to Kibbutz Na’an named Yakov Topor. He worked as a baker there and went on to become famous in the kibbutz, and eventually in many parts of Israel for his delicious cinnamon yeast cake. It became known as “Yankele’s yeast cake”.