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.
During the first days of Sukkot, around 200,000 people visited the Kotel • This morning, over 50,000 people participated in the Birkat Kohanim • Another Birkat Kohanim service will be held on Wednesday at the Western Wall Plaza.
Tens of thousands participated in Birkat Kohanim and in the Shacharit and Musaf prayers of Sukkot held this morning (Monday) at the Western Wall Plaza.
In keeping with tradition during the intermediate days of the festival, this year marks the 53rd year of Birkat Kohanim at the Western Wall, initiated by the late Rabbi Menachem Mendel Gafni zz"l and organized for years by the Western Wall Heritage Foundation during the intermediate days of Passover and Sukkot. Hundreds of Kohanim (Jewish priests) bless the large congregation that streams to the Western ...
Israel's admission to the US visa waiver program, which was confirmed last week, is only applicable to people with biometric passports.
According to the Population and Immigration Authority, however, 1.8 million Israelis do not hold such a passport, but only a plain "optic" passport, and they will not be able to complete the Electronic System for Travel Authorization form in order to be able to enter the US for 90 days without obtaining a visa.
Furthermore, the machines for the automatic issue of biometric passports, which it was promised in May would be operating in the Population and Immigration Authority offices in Tel Aviv and Beersheva by June, are still not working properly and are not available for use by the general public.
These machines were supposed to ...
The Islamic Republic of Iran’s representative in Lebanon issued the first public announcement of the Iranian regime’s role in the mass murder of American military and diplomatic personnel in the early 1980s in Beirut.
The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) first located and translated the bombshell interview with Sayyed Issa Tabatabai, who serves as the representative of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in Lebanon.
The state-controlled Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) quickly scrubbed the damning disclosure that Tabatabai made about Iran’s role in the suicide bombings of Americans, but MEMRI preserved a copy.
Iran and its chief strategic ally, the U.S.-designated terrorist movement Hezbollah, in Lebanon have been blamed for bombing...
Student loan payments officially resume Sunday after borrowers were let off the hook for more than three years by a pause initiated during the economic turmoil of the coronavirus pandemic.
Despite continued pushback from advocates and concerns about a government shutdown, the Biden administration is reactivating all student loan accounts, and more than 28 million borrowers now have to deal with repayments.
“It’s a sad day for student loan borrowers and for the country that student loans have to come back on, especially with the threat of a looming government shutdown, potentially on the same day. It’s just wild,” Natalia Abrams, president and founder of the Student Debt Crisis Center, said earlier this week.
Back in July, a Life and My Finances survey found...
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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.
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Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley is coming out of Wednesday night’s debate with a fresh burst of momentum, but members of the party say she still faces a steep hill in toppling former President Trump.
Haley’s Wednesday night performance in Simi Valley, Calif., was lauded by Republicans after she targeted several of her contenders, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and Sen. Tim Scott (S.C.).
Trump took notice, as well. His campaign hit her during the event, and the former president himself lashed out at her Friday on social media, in what some say is an indication she’s being viewed as a more formidable opponent than before.
“Make no mistake, it is a very steep mountain to climb, but she is on her way,” said Republic...
Attorney General Merrick Garland said in an interview that aired Sunday that he would resign if asked by President Joe Biden to take action against Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump. But he doesn't think he'll be put in that position.
"I am sure that that will not happen, but I would not do anything in that regard," he said on CBS's "60 Minutes." "And if necessary, I would resign. But there is no sense that anything like that will happen."
The Justice Department is at the center of not only indictments against Trump that include an effort to overturn the 2020 election and wrongly keeping classified documents, but also cases involving Biden's son Hunter Biden, the aftermath of the riot at the U.S. Capitol, and investigations into c...
Former President Trump said Sunday that Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) should be jailed for the “egregious act” of pulling the fire alarm Saturday ahead of the House’s vote on a stopgap measure to keep the government open past the midnight deadline.
“Will Congressman Jamal Bowman be prosecuted and imprisoned for very dangerously pulling and setting off the main fire alarm system in order to stop a Congressional vote that was going on in D.C.,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post Sunday. “His egregious act is covered on tape, a horrible display of nerve and criminality.”
Trump’s post comes after Bowman a day earlier acknowledged he triggered a fire alarm Saturday in the Cannon House Office Building, forcing the buil...
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) on Sunday said he will push to unseat House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) this week, vowing to make good on his threat after McCarthy backed a measure to prevent a government shutdown a day earlier that won broad bipartisan support.
“I do intend to file a motion to vacate against Speaker McCarthy this week,” Gaetz told CNN “State of the Union” anchor Jake Tapper. “I think we need to rip off the Band-Aid. I think we need to move on with leadership that’s trustworthy.”
Gaetz for months has been threatening to file a motion to vacate, which would essentially be a vote on ending McCarthy’s Speakership. Because Republicans have only a slim majority in the House, only a handful of Republicans would...
Baltimore Police arrested 40-year-old Jewel Crowder for the murder of off-duty Howard County Sheriff Deputy Ryan Demby.
Crowder was on the run less than 24 hours after police say he gunned down Demby, who was likely in the wrong place at the wrong time in Federal Hill.
On Saturday, Mayor Brandon Scott offered his condolences to the Howard County Sheriff's Office and to Demby's family.
The mayor also gave a speech that he's given time and time again.
“This again is another unfortunate example of something that you all know has continuously frustrated me, simple conflict should not end in someone losing their lives," said Scott.
Crowder's arrest is opening up old questions for some residents about what is being done to stop Baltimore's gun violence.
FOX45...
Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter turned 99 Sunday.
Carter, the 39th president of the United States, is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and served in the submarine service.
After his military service, Carter — who served one term as president between 1977 and 1981 — took over his family's peanut farm before entering politics.
Carter served as a Georgia state senator and the Peach State's governor before narrowly defeating Republican incumbent President Gerald Ford for the presidency in 1976.
Rep. Austin Scott, R-Ga., the dean of the Georgia delegation in Congress, wished the former president a happy birthday in a statement to Fox News Digital.
"Happy birthday to President Jimmy Carter, a proud farmer, a devoted Christian, an accomp...
Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir was excluded once again today (Sunday) from a security consultation with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Defense Minister Yoav Galant, IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi, Shin Bet director Ronen Bar, generals, and more came to the discussion, but the Otzma Yehudit chairman was not invited, despite his position.
A source close to the Prime Minister claimed, according to the report on the Ynet website, that Ben-Gvir tends to make proposals that would embarrass Israel in the global community.
According to him, "He comes to meetings and constantly strives for targeted assassinations, a ban on bringing in workers from Gaza, and various closures on all kinds of villages and cities in the 'West Bank'. He does not understand that...
Israel's Sephardic Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef slammed the protests against the Rosh Yehudi prayers held in Tel Aviv on Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement).
"I see everything that is happening in the secular public," Rabbi Yosef said. "They are to be pitied. They have no satisfaction in life. Everything is for the desires of this world. But we need to draw them closer, as various organizations do, bringing them closer and helping them return to Judaism, and that is what my father did."
"They are jealous of us," he added. "It's all jealousy, which creates hatred."
Yom Kippur saw clashes at multiple locations in Israel, with protesters harassing Jews - secular, religious, and traditional alike - who were attempting to pray the Yom Kippur prayers.
Among these was an incident in...
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) on Sunday defended Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) after he pulled a fire alarm in a House office building before the government funding vote Saturday.
Bowman has apologized for pulling the alarm, which has led to an investigation by Capitol Police and an expulsion push by some House Republicans.
After CNN’s Jake Tapper suggested that Bowman’s explanation of why he pulled the alarm didn’t seem to make sense, Ocasio–Cortez said she did take him at his word and that his explanation was understandable.
“I think if you actually do see some of the photos of the signs, I think there’s something to be said about, the government’s about to shut down. There’s a vote cl...
Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) said fellow New Yorker Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D) should “strongly consider” resigning if he pulled a fire alarm in the Cannon House Office Building Saturday.
“That any member of Congress would think it’s appropriate to pull a fire alarm to try and delay Congress from doing its business is shameful, it’s unbecoming, and he should strongly consider resigning from Congress if he did that,” Lawler said on Fox News.
Bowman reportedly pulled the fire alarm before the House passed a stopgap funding bill to keep the government funded. The New York congressman’s actions resulted in the building’s evacuation.
“Congressman Bowman did not realize he would trigger a building alarm as he was rus...
Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) pulled a fire alarm in the Cannon House Office Building on Saturday ahead of the House passing a stopgap measure to fund the government ahead of the midnight deadline, causing the building to be evacuated.
Republicans are accusing Bowman of intentionally trying to sabotage the vote, launching an investigation into the incident and preparing legislation to expel him from the House.
But Bowman says it was an accident.
“Today, as I was rushing to make a vote, I came to a door that is usually open for votes but today would not open. I am embarrassed to admit that I activated the fire alarm, mistakenly thinking it would open the door. I regret this and sincerely apologize for any confusion this caused,” he sai...
The House and Senate cleared a “clean” stopgap spending bill Saturday, averting a government shutdown and capping off a chaotic three weeks in the Capitol that brought Washington hours away from a lapse in funding.
The continuing resolution funds the government at current spending levels until Nov. 17 and provides $16 billion in disaster relief.
It does not include any funding for Ukraine — which the White House and Democrats sought — or GOP provisions addressing border security, two items that had been central to government funding fights of the past month. Members of both parties criticized the lack of Ukraine aid, and conservatives howled about border security being left on the cutting room floor.
Here are the political winners and losers from the first q...
Terrorists opened fire Sunday night at the community of Asa'el, the IDF said.
During searches, hits were identified to a number of houses in the community, which is located near Hebron.
No one was injured.
IDF soldiers have opened a pursuit after the terrorists.
The Hebron Hills Council published a notification for Asa'el's residents, writing, "In the past few minutes there has been a shooting attack outside the city of Asa'el, with fire towards the city. There has been damage to property, with no injuries. The local security force has been activated, and as well, military forces and Council members are on their way to the scene."
"We request that the residents of Asa'el remain in their homes until the conclusion of the incident, and follow the security forces...
A tiny sukkah, just one meter long by one meter wide, was set up before the holiday in a park located in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Gilo. Here's the explanation behind it as told by David Michael Cohen, who built the sukkah and hung this story inside it."Two years ago, my father had a serious heart attack in the United States in the middle of summer vacation. I stayed by his side in New York for several months, including during the holidays of Tishrei.On the last day of Sukkot, his condition worsened and I ate beside him in the hospital. But it was also important for me to eat in a Sukkah. So when his condition improved later that night, I went outside with some food in search of a Sukkah in the neighborhood.I searched and searched until I found a tiny sukkah on the sidewalk, one m...