Wendy Belzberg
By Wendy Belzberg
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Israel News Ethics of Charity Is Far From Black and White
My sister, with whom I have a difficult relationship, works full time for a charity for which I have little respect. She has asked me to donate to her charity a five-night stay in a resort that I own. I donate room stays often, but there is no public-relations upside from her group, and five…
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News Do-gooders Locking Up One Locksmith’s Market
A group of young men in our community have started something called “the Chevra,” the mission of which is to perform good deeds 24 hours a day. It is like Hatzolah, but instead of saving people’s lives, they bail people out. Among the good deeds they perform are unlocking people’s car doors and fixing flat…
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Israel News RSVP — And Keep Your Mouth Shut!
While going over our calendars for the next few weeks recently, my husband informed me that that coming Sunday evening we would be going to a Harvard Hillel dinner and that the Monday of Memorial weekend we are to attend a bat mitzvah. I should add that Labor Day Monday is slated for a family…
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Israel News Treating All Daughters Equally
I am the father of two wonderful daughters: One recently got married, and the other is a single mother with two children. I am in a position to secure a home equity loan at a low rate, and I would like to help buy a house for my single daughter and her children. My concern…
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News Dad: Separate Sections for Parents, Kids
My husband and I are taking our three children to Italy this summer on a family vacation. My husband travels frequently on business and has accrued thousands of frequent flyer miles. He wants to use his miles to upgrade our tickets to first-class while our children fly coach. I am shocked that he could even…
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News Rabbis’ Rules on Rice
Every year as Passover approaches I wonder why there are so many different points of view about what is acceptable to eat over the holiday. This year I’m asking Wendy: Why can’t I eat rice on Passover? — Sorting the chaff An accident of birth — or your ancestors’ birth, to be more precise —…
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News Is a Name Change Identity Fraud?
I never gave serious thought to changing my last name (it’s about as Jewish as you can get) until I realized how pervasive antisemitism has become. I am in my 50s and beyond the age where it might matter, but my daughters are in their early teens and will soon be applying to college and…
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News Culture Clash Begets Funereal Family Drama
Last month when my mother died I followed her wishes for a funeral with a minimum of fuss and religious ritual. I arranged for a graveside service with a Reform rabbi and requested that only immediate family attend. I was aghast when an Orthodox cousin whom I had not seen in 40 years showed up…
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