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.
(CNN) Thomas D'Alesandro III, a former Baltimore mayor and brother of Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, has died.
"My husband Paul and our entire family are devastated by the loss of our patriarch, my beloved brother, Thomas D'Alesandro III," Pelosi said Sunday in a statement released by her office. "Tommy was the finest public servant I have ever known."
The Baltimore Sun reported D'Alesandro, age 90, died Sunday at his Baltimore home after complications of a stroke.
Pelosi remembered her brother as someone dedicated to the family hometown of Baltimore, where their father served as mayor for 12 years.
"His life and leadership were a tribute to the Catholic values with which we were raised: faith, family, patriotism. He profoundly believed, as d...
Fox's Chris Wallace said a "well-connected" Washington Republican told him that there's a 20 percent chance enough Republicans will vote to remove President Trump from office in an impeachment trial in the Senate.
Wallace mentioned his source's comments during an interview with acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney on "Fox News Sunday."
Wallace cited an overwhelming House vote criticizing the president's policies in Syria and an op-ed by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) slamming Trump's decision to withdraw troops from that country.
He then said he had "talked to a very well-connected Republican in Washington, someone whose name you would know well, who says that if the House votes t...
NEW YORK (AP) — The Senate’s top Democrat is calling on the Food and Drug Administration to examine a report that found dozens of baby food products contaminated with lead and other metals.
Sen. Chuck Schumer says Sunday the FDA must take more action to regulate the baby food industry. A study by Healthy Babies Bright Futures found the presence of heavy metals in 95% of the 168 baby foods that were tested.
The study found 95% of the food tested contained lead, arsenic, mercury or cadmium. It found one in four baby foods that were tested contained all four metals.
The New York senator says consumers “rightfully expect those foods to be undeniably safe, appropriately regulated and nutritiously sustaining.”
He says federal regulators should examine the st...
Three soldiers were killed and three others were hospitalized after a training accident at Fort Stewart in Georgia on Sunday, according to officials.
Fort Stewart said in a news release that six 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team Soldiers were involved in the incident when a Bradley Fighting Vehicle they were riding on was involved in an accident early Sunday.
“Today is a heartbreaking day for the 3rd Infantry Division, and the entire Fort Stewart-Hunter Army Airfield community, as we are all devastated after a training accident this morning on the Fort Stewart Training Area,” Maj. Gen. Tony Aguto, commanding general of the 3rd Infantry Division, said in a statement. “We are extremely saddened by the loss of three Dogface Soldiers, a...
Baltimore, MD – Oct. 15, 2019 - It is with sadness that BaltimoreJewishLife.com informs the community of the petirah of Mrs. Shaindel Cohen, a"h, mother of Reb Sholom and Reb Nosson Dovid Cohen.
Shiva will be observed at 3926 Fallstaff Rd from Tuesday night 730 Wednesday - Friday. Shacharis 7am Mincha/Maariv: Wed-Thurs 6:00 pm Mincha: Friday 3:30 PM Motztei Shabbos: Maariv - 6:56 PM Shachris: Sunday - 7:00 AMSunday: Mincha/Marriv 5:55 PMShacharis: Monday 6:30PM
Bila HaMaves LaNetzach...
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.
HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong protesters flooded the city’s streets on Sunday in defiance of a ban by the authorities on their march, setting up roadblocks and tossing firebombs amid the firing of tear gas by police.
Protest leaders carried a black banner at the front of the procession that read, “Five main demands, not one less,” as they pressed their calls for accountability and political rights.
Police had beefed up security measures for the unauthorized rally, the latest in the unrest that has disrupted life in the semi-autonomous Chinese territory since early June.
Black-clad and masked protesters barricaded streets at multiple locations in Kowloon, where the city’s subway operator restricted passenger access. A firebomb was tossed at one subway station.
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US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other senior members of Congress held talks in Jordan on Saturday with King Abdullah II and other top Jordanian officials.
Pelosi said in a statement the visit was at “a critical time for the security and stability of the region. … With the deepening crisis in Syria after Turkey’s incursion, our delegation has engaged in vital discussions about the impact to regional stability, increased flow of refugees, and the dangerous opening that has been provided to ISIS, Iran, and Russia.”
The US delegation included the heads of key House committees, such as Foreign Affairs committee chairman Eliot Engel, Homeland Security Committee chairman Bennie Thompson, Intelligence committee chairman Adam Schiff, and Representative Mac Thornberry, t...
Israel has “no tolerance” for violence towards its military personnel, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday. The prime minister called on all Israelis, “without exception,” to support the Israel Defense Forces, which he said works “day and night to protect the security of all citizens of Israel.”
Netanyahu spoke following an incident overnight Saturday in which IDF troops operating near the town of Yitzhar in Samaria were forced to fire warning shots when a group of approximately 30 settlers began throwing rocks at them, injuring one lightly.
“I am asking that we stand by IDF soldiers and commanders, who work day and night to protect the security of all citizens of Israel, without exception,” said Netanyahu.
“I ab...
Former Ohio Gov. John Kasich said if he were in the House of Representatives today, he would vote to impeach President Donald Trump.
“I have no problem with the president of the United States withholding aid if it’s related to policy, but to withhold aid because you want some political operation to occur, I just think is dead wrong, and it just goes too far for me,” Kasich said on ABC News’ “Powerhouse Politics” podcast. “So if I were in the House, I would vote to impeach.”
Kasich, who sought the 2016 GOP presidential nomination and has been a frequent critic of Trump, said that while coming to the decision that an impeachment inquiry was necessary was “a piece of cake for” him, the decision to support impeaching the president w...
The first-ever female spacewalking team, including a Jewish astronaut, exited the International Space Station on Friday.
Swedish-American-Israeli Jessica Meir and Christina Koch are repairing a broken part of the station’s solar-power network.
Meir became the fourth Jewish woman and 15th Jewish astronaut overall to be part of a space mission.
“@NASA has captured the imaginations of the world for generations. Congratulations to @Astro_Christina & @Astro_Jessica for leaving their mark on history with today’s #AllWomanSpacewalk. You are an inspiration to women & girls across America,” tweeted U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
To date, there have been 227 spacewalkers, 14 of them women.
ABOARD A U.S. MILITARY AIRCRAFT (AP) — Defense Secretary Mark Esper says that under current plans all U.S. troops leaving Syria will go to western Iraq and the military will continue to conduct operations against the Islamic State group to prevent its resurgence.
Speaking to reporters traveling with him to the Middle East, Esper did not rule out the idea that U.S. forces would conduct counterterrorism missions from Iraq into Syria. But he said those details will be worked out over time.
His comments were the first to specifically lay out where American troops will go as they leave Syria and what the counter-IS fight could look like. Esper said he has spoken to his Iraqi counterpart about the plan to shift the more than 700 troops leaving Syria into western Iraq.
The developments m...
itt romney is leaning forward in his chair, his eyes flashing, his voice sharp.
It’s a strange look for the 72-year-old senator, who typically affects a measured, somber tone when discussing Donald Trump’s various moral deficiencies. But after weeks of escalating combat with the president—over Ukraine, and China, and Syria, and impeachment—the gentleman from Utah suddenly appears ready to unload.
What set him off was my recitation of an argument I’ve heard some Republicans deploy lately to excuse Trump’s behavior. Electing a president, the argument goes, is like hiring a plumber—you don’t care about his character, you just want him to get the job done. Sitting in his Senate office, Romney is indignant. “Are you worried that y...
MILAN (AP) — Italian authorities evacuated 4,000 people from the center of the northern city of Bolzano on Sunday to defuse a World War II bomb found during construction.
Three experts defused the 500-pound American bomb during a three-hour operation that also forced 60,000 people to stay in their homes and closed sporting complexes and churches, the news agency ANSA reported.
An alarm signaled the all-clear to reopen the city center just before noon, as well as a nearby north-south highway and rail line both connecting Italy with Austria and Germany.
The bomb was found close to the city’s central cathedral and not far from the train station — the likely wartime target — during excavation work for a new shopping center.
The online news site Neue Suedtiroler Tage...
Baltimore, MD – Oct. 20, 2019 - It is with sadness that BaltimoreJewishLife.com informs the community of the petirah of Maurice Finn, z'l, father of Leah Sichel.
Levaya and kevura information will be forthcoming.
Bila HaMaves LaNetzach...
Baltimore, MD - Oct. 19, 2019 - For the 2nd year, thanks to the efforts of Shliach Rabbi Chesky Tenenbaum, director of the Jewish Uniformed Service Association of Maryland-Chabad, a Sukka was built at Aberdeen Proving Ground.
The Sukka was located in the courtyard of the main Chapel on base, and was used by the Jewish workers throughout the days of Chol Hamoed as well as a Sukka Party that was hosted on the third day of Chol Hamoed. JUSA would like to thank Aberdeen Proving Ground Garrison Chaplain (LTC) Kim and his office for all their help and assistance.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez threw her support behind Sen. Bernie Sanders on Saturday as the Democratic presidential hopeful made his return to the campaign trail following a heart attack earlier this month.
Ocasio-Cortez, a rising progressive star with a huge social media following, cited Sanders as an inspiration for her own decision to get into politics and tied her progressive goals to the 78-year-old Vermont senator.
“It wasn’t until I heard of a man by the name of Bernie Sanders that I began to question and assert and recognize my inherent value as a human being that deserves health care, housing, education and a living wage,” Ocasio-Cortez said during a rally with Sanders in the New York City borough of Queens.
The appearance by Ocasio-Cortez could give Sanders...
Instant messages between two high-level Boeing employees in 2016 indicate the company was aware of major problems with an automated feature on the 737 Max jet that has been implicated in two deadly crashes.
The messages, between two top pilots, were about an automated feature known as the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS) that investigators say repeatedly – and in error – forced down the noses of planes that crashed in Indonesia and Ethiopia, killing 346 people.
In the messages, Mark Forkner, then chief technical pilot for Boeing’s 737, wrote to technical pilot Patrik Gustavsson that the MCAS was engaging “itself like craxy,” calling the problem “egregious.”
Forkner, who had a major role in the Max, also indicated that the B...
Baltimore, MD – Oct. 20, 2019 - It is with shock and sadness that BaltimoreJewishLife.com informs the community of the petirah of Mrs. Rivki Wajsbort, a'h, wife of Rabbi Yosef Wajsbort and daughter of Rabbi & Mrs. Ezra Kronglass.
The levaya took place at midnight last night in Lakewood
Shiva will be observed from Motzei Simchas Torah until the following Monday morning, Erev Rosh Chodesh, 10/28. Details will be emailed when them become available.
Bila HaMaves LaNetzach...