A popular TikTok star and celebrity gossip producer, Kyle Marisa Roth passed away on Sunday, Apr. 14. The Chestertown resident, who grew up in Anne Arundel County, was 36. According to People magazine, the cause of Roth’s death remains unknown. Her mother, Annapolis cannabis industry entrepreneur Jacquie Cohen Roth, wrote on LinkedIn that the family hopes to “understand more in the next few days. … Nothing makes sense now.” In an Instagram post on Apr. 22, Lindsay Roth, sister of Kyle Marisa Roth, wrote, “Thank you all for showing so much love for my sister. It’s been so touching gri ..read more

In gematria, or Jewish numerology, the Hebrew word for life, chai, is represented by the number 18 and considered a sign of good fortune. So it only stands to reason that double-chai is represented by the number 36. That means that the 36th annual William and Irene Weinberg Family Baltimore Jewish Film Festival is doubly blessed, with an array of screen offerings designed for the Jewish palate and sensibility. This year’s film festival will be held from May 7-29 at the Gordon Center for Performing Arts, at 3506 Gwynnbrook Avenue in Owings Mills. The festival kicks off on Tuesday, May 7, at 7 p ..read more

By Rachel Ringler (JTA) — Joan Nathan had just settled in for a conversation about her most recent book, “My Life in Recipes,” when the food writer became distracted. A media personality was coming for lunch the next day, she said, but she realized she was missing two of the ingredients for the matzo balls she planned on serving. She paused to search for what she needed while also musing about what substitutes she might use in their place. A few days later, Nathan reported success: The luncheon was “lots of fun” and the matzo balls were delicious, she said, though she added, “They could have b ..read more

By Jamie Neumann Nearly two weeks ago, I was on a volunteer mission in Israel during the unprecedented, large-scale Iranian drone and missile attack. My family and I flew to Israel on Apr. 12 right before the start of Shabbat. Once Havdalah was finished on Saturday night, we started hearing reports of an incoming Iranian attack. We were receiving texts from friends and family in the States, worried about what might happen. But what we witnessed in Israel was not like anything that anyone expected. At about 1 a.m., I started getting nonstop red alerts on my phone — south Negev, central Negev, n ..read more

On this episode of “The Food Enthusiast,” Dara Bunjon talks with Chef Keesha O’Galdez, creator of the gourmet nut brand, Live Loud Foods. For more from Keesha O’Galdez, visit thegourmetdiva.com and follow @gourmetdiva on Facebook. For more on Live Loud Foods, visit liveloudfoods.com and follow @live.loud.foods on Instagram. Catch a new episode of The Food Enthusiast every Thursday at 1 p.m. at facebook.com/jmoreliving. You May Also Like Cacio e Pepe and Matzah Brei — A Perfect Combo! Cacio e pepe’s sharp cheese and smack of black pepper are a nice balance to eggy-creamy matzah brei ..read more

Who says you can’t go home again? Or, for that matter, back to your old shul? That’s exactly what New York-based comedian Jeremy Schaftel will do Thursday night, May 9, when he emcees Baltimore Hebrew Congregation’s “LOL Comedy Night.” The Pikesville native, who became a bar mitzvah at BHC, will be featured along with fellow stand-up comedians Gary Vider and Talia Reese. The annual comedy gala supports the temple’s educational programs, the E.B. Hirsh Early Childhood Center and JLAB (Jewish Learning @ BHC). A 2011 graduate of the New York University Tisch School of the Arts, Schaftel works as ..read more

That was quite a lovely farewell the New York Yankees gave this past weekend to John Sterling, who has turned off his microphone and retired after 36 years as the baseball team’s radio voice. Sterling did the play-by-play for 5,631 Yankees games. That’s nearly as many games in The Bronx as Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig and Derek Jeter — combined. It’s a measurement of Sterling’s professionalism, respect for the game and sense of great theater. And it’s a measurement of the tough New York audience’s affection for him. But we knew Sterling around Baltimore long before he got to Yankee Stadium. He sat in ..read more

By Jacob Gurvis As the American-Israeli poet Marty Herskovitz thought about the upcoming Passover holiday, the prospect of singing “Dayenu” at the first seder since his country was attacked didn’t sit right with him. The classic Passover song, whose title means “It would have been enough,” expresses gratitude about how much God has done for the Jewish people. But Herskovitz, the son of a Holocaust survivor who has lived in Israel since 1986, thought the words would ring hollow at a time when so many Jews are at risk. “We have to take the text and find a way to make it relevant and not just say ..read more

Police recently arrested the son of a prominent Montgomery County rabbi after he allegedly got into an altercation with anti-Israel protesters last Tuesday, Apr. 16, outside the Embassy of Israel in Washington, D.C. Two witnesses quoted in a Secret Service police arrest sheet accused Ezra Z. Weinblatt, a real estate agent who lives in Potomac and is the son of Rabbi Stuart G. Weinblatt, of pushing them and breaking their sound equipment. A Baltimore native who grew up in Pikesville, Rabbi Weinblatt is the senior spiritual leader of Potomac’s Congregation B’nai Tzedek, which he and his wife Sym ..read more

One of the main purposes of the Passover seder is to remind us that HaShem can help us today just like HaShem helped Am Yisrael many years ago in Egypt. The Yachatz part of the seder, when we break the matzah, takes this concept to the next level by teaching that many times our future redemption is hidden in our very moments of brokenness and struggle.  During the Yachatz ritual, we break the middle matzah in two and raise the smaller piece for “Ha Lachma,” the chanting of the bread of affliction text.  We then put ..read more