Members of ESRA who are involved with the Students Build a Neighborhood project in Hefzibah, Netanya, received a warm welcome from the students upon receiving their annual stipend. At the Meeting the Students in Hefzibah. ESRA were told by the students what they planned to do for their individual assignments to benefit children and the community.

Those Were the Days – life in Eilat as it once was, gives an overview of Eilat’s early days, written in memory of Dr. Reginald Morris. Dr. Morris and his dynamic wife, Fay, were early arrivals to Eilat in 1958 when it was still being hailed as ‘the wild west.’ The Morris’ contribution to the cultural, social and medical lives of visitors and residents is told by an appreciative friend, Barbara Abraham.

There are 10,000 children in Israel between the ages of 5 to 18 who have been transferred from their families to foster homes or residential group homes, to rescue them from abuse, cruelty and other problematic environments. In They Deserve a Chance, Lynette Karp explains how the public can help Yeladim-Fair Chance for Children, a nonprofit organization, devoted to giving these kids a chance.

The influence of the English speaking community is well-known. One exceptional and important sphere it has made its mark is in the field of education. The Anglo influence: The TALI School in Raanana is the brainchild of Hannah and David Schwartz. Carol Novis describes how their efforts and determination reached fruition.

In Making an Exhibition of Itself, a tribute to the new wing of the Tel Aviv Art Museum, Carol Novis offers the reader an impressive look at this new addition to the cultural center which encompasses the Israel Opera, Cameri Theater and Beit Ariela Library. The building has been called ‘visionary,’ and ‘unprecedented,’ ‘inspiring and exciting’ and some feel it is a major architectural achievement.

Bucking the Trends: Bringing Back the Israeli Brain paints a gloomy picture of Israel’s educational system. Pamela Peled describes the worrying situation wherein Israel is at the bottom of the list among relevant OECD countries and how it can be reversed.

Bridge expert Alan Caplan suggests caution with unknown partners when playing on the internet. He also advises players to always play extra carefully when a knave – Jack - appears.

The practice within the Jewish tradition of assigning mystical meanings to words or phrases based on their numerical value is explained by Judy Shapiro in ESRA and Gematria. Citing the Talmud and Midrash, she states that by reading words and sentences as numbers, they can be compared to other words and phrases of the same value.