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At West Side Judaica, seder plates are the hot item these days. A little south, at Manhattan Judaica, a new Haggadah by the late philosophical leader of the Modern Orthodox movement is a best-seller. Further south, at J. Levine Books & Judaica, novelty items like a Pharaoh punching bag and a where-did-the-wine-go? Elijah’s Cup are popular.

In this national time of recession, in the Jewish period before Passover, business is off for many merchants – but it’s not as off as expected for businesses selling goods for Pesach.

Passover is a time of stories.

In the Haggadah we tell the story of the Jewish people, and at the seder table the people often tell their own stories.

More than any other time in the Jewish cycle of holidays, Passover spurs stories — of preparing for yom tov, of memories at the seder, of lessons learned at school.

Physical maladies, psychological illness, financial difficulties — these are pervasive in contemporary society and seem to be becoming more prevalent.

And so are books meant to help people navigate through these choppy emotional waters.

Judaism has answers for these problems: not a single, monolithic answer, but responses as varied as the Jewish people themselves.

Here are some current answers:

At this time last year, Dr. Asher Lipner had no idea he was on a course to become a grass-roots community organizer, particularly around such a delicate issue: child sexual abuse in the Orthodox community. But having successfully organized a conference attended by close to 50 survivors of abuse, clinicians, advocates and rabbis in Brooklyn in September, that, as well as a compassionate and outspoken advocate for victims of abuse throughout the Orthodox world, is exactly what he has become.

At this time last year, Dr. Asher Lipner had no idea he was on a course to become a grass-roots community organizer, particularly around such a delicate issue: child sexual abuse in the Orthodox community. But having successfully organized a conference attended by close to 50 survivors of abuse, clinicians, advocates and rabbis in Brooklyn in September, that, as well as a compassionate and outspoken advocate for victims of abuse throughout the Orthodox world, is exactly what he has become.

Hers was a busy home while Hadassah Freilich was growing up in Gardener, Mass. With her father the rabbi of an Orthodox synagogue and her mother busy in the community, young Hadassah grew up with a sure sense that Jews took care of others. That if someone was hungry, you fed him.

My son, Aryeh, is 14 and like most kids his age, he finds Facebook vital to his existence. The social networking part is great — he is in near-constant touch with friends and relatives from both near and far, who constantly update each other on seemingly every aspect of their lives.

But Facebook also provides something else for this high school student whose consciousness is blossoming — an opportunity to learn about and be involved with dozens of social justice and political causes.

On a cold April night two years ago, Alan Dutka stood on the roof of his Teaneck, N.J., apartment building and jumped.
The suicide of this bright, devout former Yeshiva University student who for eight years had suffered from schizophrenia belied the belief that religious Jews don't suffer from psychiatric illness, that it is a scourge of "the outside world."