Dear Helen I help writing a speech. I am an adult woman (45 in November) who decided to fulfill her lifelong dream of being b’nai mitzvah. Long family drama short: my father died before my 13th birthday and my grandparents and mother were in such shock that the whole celebration was cancelled as inappropriate. In…
Dear Helen: My son went through high school without a single date. He’s a good kid, a geek and never needed much from his peers. Now in his second year of college he’s been dating the same girl for more than a year. She’s lovely, and they’re both 4.0 pre-meds. He seems so happy with…
How can I pull the plug on a gift exchange that I did not initiate, but have participated in for the past two years? I met a friend on a bridge cruise after my divorce. Many of the single women were hunting for a man. I wasn’t, and ended up in a random pairing with…
Dear Helen: I’m a senior and believe strongly in putting my money where my mouth is, so I avoid shopping in certain stores, try to take public transportation and generally live frugally by utilizing thrift stores and farmer’s markets. But I have family money that came to me through relatives who survived the Shoah. I…
Nosh of Jewish Wisdom: There’s a time to be silent and a time to speak up. Know the difference. Dear Helen: I helped get a friend a job after he’d been fired from his last one. I left the final hiring decision to the owner, even though I am the human resources manager, because of…
