During the Second Temple, the Greek empire reigned (over Israel),1 and they (the Greeks) passed decrees against the Jews and (tried) to erase their religion, and did not allow them to carry out Torah (study) or the commandments. They put their hands on their property and their daughters. They entered the Temple, destroyed and made the pure unclean. The Jews were in great distress because of them and were much oppressed, until the G-d of their fathers had mercy on them, delivering them from their hands and saving them. Then overcame, the sons of the Hasmonean High Priest, (the Greeks) and killed them and saved the Jews from their hands. They appointed a king from the Priests, and the kingdom of Israel was restored for more than 200 years until the destruction of (the) second (Temple). When the Jews overcame their enemies and destroyed them, it was the 25th of Kislev2 when they entered the Sanctuary (inner room) and did not find pure (olive) oil in the Temple, except one jar sealed with seal of the High Priest, and it did not contain enough to light except for one day only. But they lit from it the lamps of the Menorah3 for eight days, until they could crush olives and produce a (new quantity) of pure oil. For these reasons, decreed the Sages of that generation that these eight days that begin on the 25th Kislev, will be days of joy and praise. One lights on them lamps at evening at the entrance to the houses, every evening of the eight nights to show off and demonstrate the miracle. These days are called ''Hanukah'' that is to say ''they rested'' (chanu) on the ''25'' ('th of the month) because on the 25th they rested from their enemies. and also because of those days they (re)-dedicated the house (Temple) which their foes had defiled. Also some say that it is a commandment to increase slightly the festive meals on Hanukah. Another reason is because the work of (building) the Sanctuary (in the desert) was completed in these days. One should tell one's children the story of the miracles that were done for our fore-fathers in those days, (see Josephus) However, these meals are not considered as part of the commandment unless one says at the meal songs of praise. One should increase charity in these Hanukah days, for this can help mend any defects in our souls. This charity, should be given particularly to poor Torah scholars. (KSA 139:1)
1) 352 BCE until 70 CE
2) 139 BCE
3) The Menorah was made of gold and had seven branches.
A two-day hackathon dedicated to the Eurovision song contest will take place at Microsoft’s Tel Aviv tech hub in early April, Tel Aviv-based company BLEE Hackathons, which organizes the event, announced Thursday. During the event, 150 participants will attempt to tackle issues of accessibility arising from the live broadcast of the contest and maximize viewer experience.
Among the additional coordinators of the hackathon are Israel’s national broadcaster Kan, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which is in charge of the contest, Israeli government innovation arm The Israel Innovation Authority (IIA), and online genealogy company MyHeritage.
Contestants from 41 countries will take part in the Eurovision contest that will be held for the 64th time in May at the Expo Tel Aviv...
Baltimore, MD – Mar. 18, 2019 - On the morning of Friday, March 8th, Rosh Chodesh Adar II, there was magic in the air at TA, as 850 grandparents, great-grandparents, and special friends came to TA for an unforgettable experience. This was TA’s 4th Grandparents’ Day in recent years, and it proved to be an incredible experience to all those who attended.
Upon arriving in the TA parking lot or via shuttle bus from the MTA down the road, the campus was alive with student and volunteer ushers greeting guests, music playing, and welcome banners and signs. After checking in and receiving a “Proud TA Grandparent” mug along with a personalized schedule for the day, grandparents and special friends proceeded to the gym, where they were treated to a...
Nine months after the Smart Schools Review Board formally corrected classification errors that deprived nonpublic schools in New York State of millions of dollars in technology funds, new, corrected allocations are about to be released.
The Smart Schools Bond Act (SSBA), passed in 2014-15, provided a one-time, $2 billion infusion for technology and other spending to improve education in schools statewide, including a percentage of funds for certain technology items for nonpublic school long-term loan. Lower than expected allocations for nonpublic schools announced in 2016 had Agudath Israel of America chief of staff and associate director of education affairs Avrohom Weinstock digging through stacks of legal and technical proposed plans to figure out why. He ultimately penned a brief desc...
Baltimore, MD – Mar. 13, 2019 - It is with sadness that BaltimoreJewishLife.com informs the community of the petirah of Mr. Michael Merims, z’l, father of Laura Kurcfeld (Leventhal).
Levaya graveside at Cedar Park Cemetery, 735 Forest Ave., Paramus, NJ 07652, on Thursday March 14 at 1:00 PM.
Shiva will be observed at 26 Jones Valley Circle - off Rockland Hills Drive - 21209 (Townhouse development right past Rav Slanger’s Yeshiva) (Please park in guest spots)Visiting times: 8:30AM - 3:30 PM and 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM. through Wednesday morning, Mar. 20
No minyanim.
Bila HaMaves LaNetzach…
The news of the vicious murders in Shomron of IDF First Sergeant Gal Keidan and Rabbi Achiad Ettinger, H'yd, a civilian by-stander and father of 12, has left all caring people reeling.
It is especially galling to read the statements of celebration emanating from the terrorist entity, Hamas, for this brutal attack. Acts of premeditated violence like that which occurred yesterday must be seen as part of their larger ongoing terror campaign.
Agudath Israel extends its condolences to the families of the people killed and we are mispallel that those who were injured in this brutal attack have a refuah shlaimah.
BaltimoreJewishLife.com (BJL) is proud to partner with STAR-K CERTIFICATION that realizes that there is no substitute for a person’s own Rav. In an effort to offer a possible solution, it has launched its Institute of Halachah as a public service. Over the years, the agency’s Kashrus Hotline has answered generic halachic questions from kosher consumers the world over, including inquiries regarding the kosher status of foods and certified Sabbath mode appliances. The formation of a separate official division within STAR-K testifies to the need for addressing these issues.
The Institute of Halachah is directed by HaRav Mordechai Frankel, under the guidance of HaRav Moshe Heinemann, STAR-K’s Rabbinic Administrator. It is an invaluable resource for a diverse array of rabbis to discuss general halachic matters, as well as gain access to source materials for shiurim and answers to congregants’ questions.
Shailos for regular or Kashrus shailos may emailed or discussed using this widget.
Incoming tourism reached an all-time high in Israel in 2018, the Central Bureau of Statistics said in a new report on Thursday.
Some 4.1 million tourists visited Israel last year, marking a 14 percent increase compared to 2017, which was also a record year.
Likewise, the number of foreign tourists who stayed overnight at a hotel increased by 10 percent compared to the previous year.
“We can say that 2018 was a record-breaking year, with an unprecedented level of incoming tourists,” Tourism Minister Yariv Levin said in statement. “This accomplishment is a direct result of the laborious effort undertaken by my ministry, as well as the revolutionary way in which we have presented Israel abroad, the inauguration of new flights to Israel and the collaboration with the bigge...
Washington - Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, little known outside his home state, boasts he raised over $1 million in the days after launching his White House bid. Former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper and others say they did, too.
Impressive numbers, even if dwarfed by the $6 million or so reported by Bernie Sanders and now Beto O’Rourke .
The seven-digit figures for the lesser-known Democratic hopefuls don’t lie, but they don’t tell the whole story either. Early bursts of donations don’t happen by accident, especially for candidates with little national name recognition such as Inslee, who hit his target thanks in part to an email list of donors he’s cultivated for months.
He’s among a crowded field of more than a dozen Democrats who are feverishly try...
Oceanport, NJ - State environmental officials say thousands of dead fish have washed up in a New Jersey shore community.
The adult menhaden were found Saturday in creeks and bays in Oceanport that are part of the Shrewsbury River estuary in Monmouth County. Officials say the deaths occurred after a large school of menhaden were pursued by predatory fish and depleted the oxygen from the shallow water.
Officials took water samples and confirmed low dissolved oxygen in the creeks. Local crews were working to remove as many of the fish as possible, while the rest will decompose and eventually sink.
Menhaden are small schooling fish that play a vital role in the ocean food web. They are also harvested commercially for fish oil and use as aquaculture feed.
Fair Lawn, NJ - A New Jersey man says he has returned an overdue library book — 53 years after he first borrowed the book.
Fair Lawn resident Harry Krame says he checked out “The Family Book Of Verse” by Lewis Gannet from his school library when he was 13 and Lyndon Johnson was president. The now 65-year-old Krame found the book recently while cleaning out his basement and felt guilty about keeping it overdue for all those years.
Memorial Middle School Vice Principal Dominick Tarquinio says a late fee at today’s rate would be about $2,000, but says the district will let it slide.
School librarian Susan Murray says she plans to use the book for a display to teach students about returning books.
President Trump on Monday called Joe Biden a “low I.Q. individual” after the former vice president had a slip of the tongue and nearly announced he was running for president in 2020.
“Joe Biden got tongue tied over the weekend when he was unable to properly deliver a very simple line about his decision to run for President,” Trump tweeted. “Get used to it, another low I.Q. individual!”
The president was seizing on a mishap from Biden over the weekend where he told a gathering of Delaware Democrats that he has “the most progressive record of anybody running for the … anybody who would run” for the 2020 nomination.
Read more at The Hill.
Baltimore, MD - Mar. 18, 2019 - Dear Fellow Community Members and Elected Officials:
As reported in Baltimore Jewish Life, a wrong-way traffic camera was recently installed on Labyrinth Road between Bonnie Road and Fallstaff Road. On behalf of many, we are writing to publicly object to the installation of this camera and to request that Labyrinth Road be restored to two-way traffic.
Except for the one block between Bonnie Road and Fallstaff Road, Labyrinth Road is a two-way street. There are no legitimate safety reasons for the entire Labyrinth Road not to be open to two-way vehicular traffic. The only reason why that block of Labyrinth Road is a one-way street is because certain well-connected individuals do not want to be inconvenienced by what they consider to be unwanted vehic...
Washington - U.S. prosecutors are looking into the development of Boeing’s 737 Max jets, a person briefed on the matter revealed Monday, the same day French aviation investigators concluded there were “clear similarities” in the crash of an Ethiopian Airlines Max 8 last week and a Lion Air jet in October.
The Justice Department probe will examine the way Boeing was regulated by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the inquiry is not public.
A federal grand jury in Washington, D.C., sent a subpoena to someone involved in the plane’s development seeking emails, messages and other communications, the source told The Associated Press.
The Wall Street Journal reported on the probe on Sunday and also said the...
Maputo, Mozambique - More than 1,000 people were feared dead in Mozambique four days after a cyclone slammed into the country, submerging entire villages and leaving bodies floating in the floodwaters, the nation’s president said.
“It is a real disaster of great proportions,” President Filipe Nyusi said.
Cyclone Idai could prove to be the deadliest storm in generations to hit the impoverished southeast African country of 30 million people.
It struck Beira, an Indian Ocean port city of a half-million people, late Thursday and then moved inland to Zimbabwe and Malawi with strong winds and heavy rain. But it took days for the scope of the disaster to come into focus in Mozambique, which has a poor communication and transportation network and a corrupt and inefficient bure...
New York - Apple has unveiled a new iPad that’s thinner and slightly larger than its current entry-level tablet.
The new iPad Air will cost $499 and sport a screen that measures 10.5 inches diagonally. That compares with the standard, 9.7-inch iPad, which Apple will still sell for $329.
Apple has higher-end Pro models starting at $999. The new iPad Air has several features found in older Pro models, but not the latest. For instance, the iPad Air has a home button with a fingerprint sensor, while the latest Pro ditches that to make more room for the screen.
Apple is also refreshing its 7.9-inch iPad Mini for the first time in more than three years.
In the past, Apple has sometimes used older chips in the Mini, saving the latest technology for the larger models instead. This time, ...
Tehran - Iran’s president on Monday urged Iranians to put a curse on the United States, Israel and Saudi Arabia, reiterating his long-standing charge that the U.S. and its allies are responsible for the country’s ailing economy.
President Hassan Rouhani’s remarks were meant to deflect criticism of his administration’s performance amid a spiraling economy after President Donald Trump last year pulled America out of the nuclear deal and re-imposed sanctions on Tehran, targeting Iran’s vital oil sector.
“Put all your curses on those who created the current situation,” Rouhani urged Iranians, adding that “the United States, the Zionists” and Saudi Arabia were to blame. He didn’t say what kind of curses the Iranians should invoke.
T...
The Hague, Netherlands - Utrecht’s police chief says the suspect in the deadly tram shooting in the Dutch city has been detained.
At the end of a news conference Monday evening in Utrecht, police chief Rob van Bree told reporters: “I just heard that the suspect we were hunting has been arrested.”
Further details were not immediately available.
The father of the suspect in the Utrecht tram shooting says his son should be punished if he’s to blame.
Utrecht police released a photo of a 37-year-old man born in Turkey who they said was “associated with the incident.” The photo identified him as Gokmen Tanis.
Police say three people were killed in the shooting Monday and five wounded.
Mehmet Tanis, his father who lives in Turkey’s central Kayseri p...
New York - Although small businesses vary widely in terms of size, industry and issues, they do appear to be generally united by a growing uneasiness about the economy.
Several surveys and economic reports released in recent weeks show that company owners have more trust in their businesses than the national or local economy, and that they’re running their businesses more conservatively in response to uncertainty about overall business conditions.
In a survey by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and MetLife taken in January, 53 percent of the 1,001 randomly selected small business owners questioned said they believe the national economy is in good shape, down from 58 percent in a survey taken in the last quarter of 2018. Fifty-three percent said their local economy is in good health, do...
Baltimore, MD - Mar. 18, 2019 - BJL wishes a hearty Mazel Tov to Tzvi and Tari Pensak on the birth of a Son
Special BJL Mazel Tov wishes to Grandmother Mrs. Margie Pensak
יה"ר שיזכו לגדל בנם לתורה, לחופה, ולמעשים טובים. אמן!