HONORABLE MENTION: Yaakov Holi, Brooklyn, NY – The Jewish Center For Special Education (Chush), Grade 3
HONORABLE MENTION Hi, My name is Yaakov Holi. I am 10 years old. I go to a yeshiva called the Jewish Center for Special Ed. I am in the third grade. I am writing to you today in reference to your Annual OU essay contest. In the next few lines, I will tell you about […]
Yaela Goldblatt, Providence, RI: Providence Hebrew Day School, Grade 6
Stranded in Montana Back when my parents were growing up in Connecticut, it was hard to go into any store and find a lot of certified kosher foods. People would read the labels and look to see that there were no non-kosher ingredients used in the product. Of course there were Kosher stores around here […]
Tamar Levy, St. Louis, MO: Block Yeshiva High School, Grade 9
Dearest Sarah!!! I’ve been trying to find a time where I could just sit down in a quiet area and write to you. You know it’s really hard to do that in my house, because there are so many people, and it’s always so noisy. I’ve wanted to write to you, for a while now, […]
Tamara Elliott, Sacramento, CA: Shalom School, Grade 5
It is a commandment to keep kosher. When you keep kosher, you feel closer to Hashem. If you stop keeping kosher, slowly but surely, you do not understand what your neshama wants. You stop going to shul, and start disobeying your parents. It takes a lot of work to keep kosher. A lot of times, […]
Rivka Zinnes, Baltimore, MD: Bnos Yisroel, Grade 5
Baruch Hashem, I am now a fully observant Torah Jew, but when I was growing up I did not go to a Jewish school, I never went to synagogue, and I did not keep Kosher. I actually thought that Kosher meant certain Israeli recipes. One day, as a young teenager, I was in a store […]
Marissa Young, West Hempstead, NY – Hebrew Academy of Nassau County, Grade 8
Is keeping kosher more than just a way of eating? It is a question that can be pondered for an extensive amount of time. The simple answer is, no; it is merely just a way that orthodox Jewish people eat. However, once you take a deeper look, you can find that, yes, keeping kosher really […]
Elana Trombka, Rockville, MD: Melvin J. Berman Hebrew Academy, Grade 10
Dear Sarah, Thanks for visiting me last week. It was really great to see you and discuss your thoughts and questions about becoming more religious. I have been thinking about your questions and would like to share with you some more of my thoughts about why it is so important to me to keep kosher […]
Dovid Tzvi Penfil, Lakewood, NJ: Lakewood Cheder School, Grade 4
My Kosher Day Kosher food tastes very good. Most of the stuff I like to eat is OU kosher. I wake up in the morning and wash negel vaser, but I’m very hungry. So I go into the kitchen and look for some OU kosher breakfast to eat. I know!! I’ll eat a bowl of […]
Daniel E. Danesh, Brooklyn, NY: Yeshiva Ateret Torah, Grade 12
Dear Josh, It’s been close to two months since we’ve graduated high school and I’m not ashamed to admit but I’ve been thinking about you. The summer has drawn to a close and I will soon fly to Israel to further my Jewish studies, but before I do, I must write to you a letter […]
Alaina Haviv, Woodmere, NY: Hebrew Academy of Nassau County, Grade 7
Dear Josh, I would like to thank you and your family for inviting me over for the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday. Unfortunately, I will not be able to attend. Although we’ve been friends for years and my being kosher has never bothered you, I realize you have a hard time understanding it. You’re not the only […]
