Fall 2002

From the window in my living room I can make out a cemetery, a cemetery unlike any other that exists in our country.

We monitored the forecast out of concern for falling showers, but nothing could have prepared us for the prospect of falling towers!

The horrific events of September 11 ought to serve as an urgent call for the Jewish people to reclaim its mission statement articulated at the moment our faith was born, 3800 years ago.

Besides fighting our obvious battles with terrorism, we have to fight on one other front, the battle for public opinion. The terrorists are very clever and their principle weapon against us, other than bombs, is propaganda.

It’s 8:30 in the morning. The school bell rings and students enter the classrooms, but not us. We usually get to school during or after the morning recess.

During the French revolution, Voltaire and Rousseau were faced with a curious dilemma. Amongst their writings on tolerance, they had inserted copious anti-Semitic commentaries, but were still trapped into unwillingly tolerating the Jews.

The route of every Jew who becomes observant is unique. One of the turning points on my journey occurred at a large Iowa university with a miniscule Jewish population, where during my freshman year of 1963-64, I was the only undergraduate female who identified herself as Jewish.

My husband, Rabbi Berel Levy OB”M, was a great thinker. From the moment he first got involved in kosher, in the 1960’s, he envisioned an efficient kosher organization, living up to the highest standards in Jewish law.

It might appear my thinking’s convoluted at its best.
But for me, it’s nothing less than a spiritual quest.
Each person in this life is given his or her own test
and for me it’s been to worry.

The concept of a ‘materialistic spiritualist’ may sound like a quintessential oxymoron, yet that’s precisely what we are on Rosh Hashanah.

The hall looked wonderful! The caterers had truly done a great job despite the limited budget. Nothing was lavish, it couldn’t be.

On East 53rd street, just a couple of steps down from sidewalk level, nestles a lovely upscale restaurant named ‘Gusto va Mare,’ which, translated, means ‘Taste of the Sea.’

Most of our readers know that the OK Kosher Certification is involved in kosher supervision on an international level. The OK pioneered supervision in the Far East, and we have extensive activity in Europe and Asia as well.