Chava Tombosky

I have been getting many texts and e-mails asking me to weigh in on the latest New York Times article, "Ultra-Orthodox Shun Their Own," regarding the reports of horrific sexual abuse cases that have gone ignored or have been swept under the rug by religious leaders in the...

This Mother's day wouldn't be the same if we didn't find a way to scoff at the hilarious and ridiculous social age that we live in that causes mothers and their children unneeded and sometimes impossible conflicts. Today we have texting, emails, and now, Facebook, a social media outlet, that...

I walked in to an apartment not really knowing what to expect. A tall woman with high cheekbones and kind eyes greeted me at the door. Although I had never met her before, she was hardly a stranger. Paintings of little girls in vibrant colorful worlds holding the pain of...

Quiet the volume and listen to the noise
Underneath the veins of the city that's alive
art cries through the mouths of starving folk
songs cry through the vocals pleading hope

Time is running, running, running
and the trains are coming, coming, coming

And we wait...

When Kenyetta Lethridge wrote the play Innocent Flesh, I doubt she even realized the strong and gripping impact it would have on her audience. After playing in Los Angeles for several months, it is now set to be featured in New York City off Broadway, as well. With a bare...

I was invited to attend the Dr. Phil show last week to offer commentary on their feature story about a young and beautiful woman who had a tale of unsettling circumstances in regard to her Hasidic background. As the Dr. Phil show unfolded, I listened intently to a young woman named...

The holiday of Passover reminds us of the Jewish struggle for freedom that happened over 3000 years ago as well as the yearning for a brighter future when eventually all of mankind will have the opportunity to live as free men. Today we don't have miracles like rivers turning to...

This morning I'm making a French toast breakfast when I peer up towards the television and see a vision that nearly knocks me off my feet. Normally, I don't allow TV during the week. If my kids want to watch a movie now and again, I don't mind as long...

Since my father's death a year and a half ago, I have been to 10 funerals and I have mourned countless young deaths. I think the number was up to 22 young deaths of people I knew within the last year and a half. 23 months ago, on my birthday,...

Every year I spend one night of Hanukkah with my grandmother, who is 89 years old. And every year it seems that I manage to leave this poor woman in tears. The last time I showed up at my Bubby's house for Hanukkah I forgot to close the oven door...

What is the real meaning behind the menorah? What is it supposed to represent exactly?

Let's review some events that occurred around the time the Syrian Greeks took over the Holy Temple, desecrated it and sent the Jews a-packing. In 167 B.C.E., King Antiochus ordered the erection of Zeus...