About the Author

Yitta Halberstam Mandelbaum is the great-great-granddaughter of the Sanzer Rebbe, a nineteenth-century hasidic master whose teachings were brought to the American Jewish public and popularized by Shlomo Carlebach. She pursued graduate studies in American Literature at New York University, and taught Literature of the Holocaust at Baruch College. She has also worked as a newspaper reporter, writer for a nationally syndicated radio program, public relations director, press aide, and high school English teacher. Published since the age of nine, her work has appeared in more than 50 Anglo/Jewish publications and secular magazines such as Parade, Working Woman, Money, and New York. Currently, she serves as Director of Programming, Education, and Public Affairs for a non-profit organization. She resides in Brooklyn with her husband and children.