Teen Scene

By Reuben M. Gampel Yeshivat Hakotel, like many hesder yeshivot, expects talmidim to give two weeks of service to the yeshiva community: one week for toranut (kitchen duty) and the...

At age four, I made a major discovery. Let me set the scene. It was the first day of the second half of my summer at Camp Atara, and,...

By Reema C. Gampel Soon after my bat mitzvah in February 2020 my family was supposed to go to Israel on an extended vacation. This was to be my first...

By Talmidah Y I’ve started to joke that seminary is 50% Torah and 10% sleep, leaving a hefty 40% for what I like to refer to as “mommy classes.” The...

By Josiah N. Gampel The top shiur in DRS is rigorous, requiring a great investment of time, effort, and commitment. As early as ninth grade, students are told that if...

I used to believe the world was divided into two distinct categories: glasses-wearers and bare-faced—A.K.A., cool girls who get to strut into second grade displaying their trendy look and...

I am the eldest of three and I’m very close with my brother, Josiah, and sister, Reema. During the four months I have been away, I’ve missed spending time...

By Miriam Schiller, LCSW Dear Therapist, My daughter is 16 years old and attends a local Orthodox High School. She is a well-rounded, upbeat girl who always had a wide range...

I vividly remember the first time I watched The Notebook. COVID summer. Age 15. Tissues everywhere. Not COVID-related tissues. Just I-have-the-most-dramatic-friends-ever tissues. We were outside, having the obligatory projector movie...

Last week I crossed a milestone of sorts: I was sick with the flu and had to convalesce away from home. I was miserable and wanted my mother to...