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 swastika was found today engraved into an elevator in the British Parliament, according to Oliver Denton Lieberman, an aide to Labour MP Tulip Siddiq.
Lieberman posts a photo of the swastika, calling it “sickening” and adds that he has reported it to police.
The UK has seen a sharp rise in antisemitism in recent years, with many pointing to leaders such as Jeremy Corbyn, who is staunchly opposed to Israel, as fanning the flames.
Read more at Times of Israel.
Poway Rabbi Helps His Plastic Surgeon, Son of Holocaust Survivors, Wrap Tefillin for First Time Ever
With his nine remaining fingers wrapped in blue bandages, Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein has become a national icon, advocating for goodness and kindness in the wake of the shooting attack in the Chabad House he founded in Southern California.
From the White House in Washington, D.C. to Auschwitz in Poland, he has spoken to thousands of people, young and old, and touched countless hearts. He recently celebrated a more intimate milestone.
Dr. Yale Kadesky, a San Diego-area plastic surgeon, has been treating the rabbi, who bravely shepherded a group of children to safety and stayed to address his congregation even after he lost a finger to gunfire.
When the rabbi learned that the surgeon, the son of Holocaust survivors, had never put on tefillin, he offer...
The Tel Aviv Stock Exchange has set a date for its public offering in early July, according to two people familiar with the matter who spoke to Calcalist on condition of anonymity. The prospectus is being prepared by Israel-based law firm Weksler Bregman & Co. based on the exchange’s first quarter report for 2019, the two people said, and the roadshow is planned for Israel, but also for the US and Europe.
In 2018, TASE CEO Ittai Ben-Zeev led the sale of most the exchange to five international investors, in an attempt to make it more global. New York-based hedge fund Manikay Partners now holds 20 percent of the Israeli bourse. Of the stake acquired by the remaining four funds — Australian superannuation fund Sunsuper, Santa Monica-based Dalton Investments, New York-headquar...
Figures obtained by Israeli NGO Palestinian Media Watch following a Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) request to the Israeli Finance Ministry prove that even after Israel deducted from its tax transfers to the Palestinian Authority the amount that it spends on salaries to terrorist prisoners, the P.A. still would have received more money in the first two months of 2019 than it received on average per month in 2018.
Tax revenues in the first two months of 2019 increased by a total of NIS 109 million ($30.2 million), while the amount of the deduction was only NIS 42 million ($11.6 million)—a positive difference in favor of the P.A. of NIS 67 million ($18.5 million).
In January 2019, before Israel’s decision to make the deduction, the taxes collected for the P.A. amounted to mor...
Sen. Lindsey Graham predicted on Tuesday that Republicans won’t follow Rep. Justin Amash’s lead on impeaching President Trump, noting that Democrats who supported impeaching Clinton weren’t “held as heroes.”
Asked how important he thought it was that the House Freedom Caucus member was saying special counsel Robert Mueller’s report described Trump as engaging in “impeachable conduct,” Graham fired back: “Zero.”
“I don’t think anybody is going to follow his lead. I don’t think there’s going to a stampede based on what Amash says,” Graham told reporters outside of a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing.
Read more at The Hill.
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.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is amplifying her calls for the House begin impeachment proceedings against President Trump.
While Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and other congressional leaders have tried to tamp down impeachment talk, Ocasio-Cortez and other voices on the left have been growing impatient as the White House increasingly rejects congressional oversight efforts.
“We have to move forward,” Ocasio-Cortez told CNN on Tuesday. “I trust the Speaker’s taking a measured approach to ensure that we’re moving everyone forward.”
“Being a Speaker is hard, and holding this party together is a difficult task,” she added, “but I think we have to move forward.”
Read more at The Hill.
Israel on Tuesday condemned a top UN official for meeting with a Hezbollah leader in Lebanon.
A day earlier, UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon Jan Kubis tweeted, “Grateful for an open and substantive discussion on a broad range of topics with Deputy Secretary General Naim Qassem of Hizbullah. On top I received a copy of his book — a necessary reading.”
Responding on Tuesday, Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon tweeted, “We are shocked and disappointed by this meeting with a designated terror organization’s leader, threatening Israel, Lebanon and the whole region. One doesn’t need to read the Naim Qassem book, courtesy of #Hezbollah terrorists, in order to understand this!!”
The Israeli military was more snarky, replying to Kubis...
Bipartisan legislation was introduced in Congress on Friday to provide funding to religious institutions, including synagogues, to protect attendees from potential attacks.
Introduced by US Sens. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Gary Peters (D-Mich.), the Protecting Faith-Based and Nonprofit Organizations From Terrorism Act would allocate $75 million annually for fiscal years 2020 through 2024 for the Department of Homeland Security’s Nonprofit Security Grant Program (NSGP).
Were it to be enacted, $50 million would go towards program recipients in urban areas, while the remainder would go toward recipients in non-urban places.
Earlier this month, Portman, along with 32 colleagues from both sides of the aisle, sent a letter to Sens. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) and Jon Tester (D-Mont.)&m...
President Trump slammed Democrats on Wednesday for investigations into his administration and talk of impeachment, accusing the party of ignoring its legislative duties to harass him.
In several messages posted early Wednesday morning, the president wrote that congressional Democrats led by Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) were fishing after the years-long special counsel investigation ended without further charges for members of Trump’s inner circle.
“Everything the Democrats are asking me for is based on an illegally started investigation that failed for them, especially when the Mueller Report came back with a NO COLLUSION finding,” he wrote Tuesday. “Now they say Impeach President Trump, even though he did nothin wrong, while they ‘fish!’ ”
&...
Bring Your Shabbos Table Alive with Your Own Copy of ‘TableTalk’: Parshas Behar
Baltimore, MD - May 2019 - Every Shabbos table offers every Jewish family an incredible opportunity by which they can share their joy for Shabbos, for Yiddishkeit and for HaShem with their children. Unfortunately, our schedules are hectic and many people don’t have the time to prepare themselves to utilize the Shabbos table to its fullest. Therefore, we at ACHIM <https://achim.org/> created TableTalk as a pre-packaged talking points pamphlet which is attractive, fun and has something for everyone. Limited copies are distributed to many shuls on a weekly basis but they are snatched up very quickly. Get yours ASAP or click on the graphic below and print your own.
What’s in it and what’s all the excitement about?
TableTalk features
- weekly halachic dilemma creating lively discussion
- Parsha thought offering insight into the Parsha
- Mitzvah Meme; a short aphorism with some depth
- story of a great person and great deeds
- small riddle related to the Parsha
- an insight to HaShem’s incredible world of science
- answer to last week’s halachic dilemma
Click on the graphic below for this week’s parasha to read the most interesting 4-pages your Shabbos table will ever experience
According to a report by Israel’s Channel 12 that was aired on Tuesday evening, Israel and Hamas have reached informal new understandings, designed to allow calm to prevail in the next six months.
The reported understandings, mediated by Egypt and by the U.N.’s special coordinator to the region, Nickolay Mladenov, will see Hamas cease violent border incidents and keep Gazans 300 meters back from the border fence. Hamas also reportedly agreed to end nightly clashes and weekly flotillas designed to challenge Israel’s naval security restrictions. Israel, for its part, has agreed to expand Gaza’s fishing zone to 15 nautical miles, increase U.N. employment initiatives in Gaza, increase the traffic of civilian goods entering the Gaza Strip and open up negotiations for so...
Republican Rep. Van Taylor defeated Democrat Lorie Burch in Texas’ 3rd Congressional District in the 2018 midterm elections to replace retiring longtime Republican Rep. Sam Johnson.
Previously, he served in both houses of the Texas state legislature.
Taylor, 46, fought in Iraq as part of the U.S. Marine Corps and was a captain during “Operation Iraqi Freedom.”
He and his wife, Anne, have three children.
JNS talked with Taylor in person. The interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.
Q: What’s your overall stance on the U.S.-Israel relationship, having served overseas, specifically in Iraq?
A: Israel is a great ally of the United States. It’s important that the United States stand up for its allies, particularly when you’re on the front...
Authorities urged Israelis to exercise caution due to an extreme heatwave expected to hit the country on Wednesday, raising temperatures by as much as 20 degrees in some areas of the country, until Saturday.
Temperatures in the more temperate Judean hills were expected to reach 97 degrees Fahrenheit, while the heat is set to reach a scorching 116 degrees in the Dead Sea region.
With the yearly Lag b’Omer festivities beginning with customary bonfires on Wednesday night, Israel’s Fire and Rescue Service placed a ban on lighting fires in any forests, reserves, or parks—even in designated areas.
The Israel Nature and Parks Authority urged the public to refrain from engaging in any exertion outdoors, including long walks, until Friday evening.
“The Health Ministry ca...
Baltimore, MD - May 2019 - Every Shabbos table offers every Jewish family an incredible opportunity by which they can share their joy for Shabbos, for Yiddishkeit and for HaShem with their children. Unfortunately, our schedules are hectic and many people don’t have the time to prepare themselves to utilize the Shabbos table to its fullest. Therefore, we at ACHIM <https://achim.org/> created TableTalk as a pre-packaged talking points pamphlet which is attractive, fun and has something for everyone. Limited copies are distributed to many shuls on a weekly basis but they are snatched up very quickly. Get yours ASAP or click on the graphic below and print your own.
What’s in it and what’s all the excitement about?
TableTalk features
weekly halachic dilemma cr...
Workaround takes effect during ransomware attack in Baltimore
Baltimore City's real estate market is slowly moving again after it was stopped in its tracks amid a ransomware attack that hit the city's computer systems two weeks ago.
The city's data was still being held hostage Monday, but city officials launched a manual workaround for property sales.
With the city's computer systems still shut down on Day 14 of the RobinHood ransomware attack in Baltimore City, it has been impossible for people to get the documents needed to prove there are no liens against a property, which title companies require when purchasing a home.
Starting Monday, home sellers were signing affidavits promising to pay any outstanding debt once the system is back online. The Wolman Muni...
The Baltimore County Public Schools have announced new leadership.
In a release sent on Tuesday night, the Baltimore County Public Schools Board of Education announced that Dr. Darryl Williams will serve as the district’s next superintendent.
According to the release, Williams currently serves as the area associate superintendent of K-12 schools in eight clusters in Montgomery County Public Schools.
Williams was selected following an extensive nationwide superintendent search facilitated by Ray and Associates, Inc., incorporating input from more than 4,400 Baltimore County citizens, according to the school board.
Williams will assume his new position effective July 1.
Interim Superintendent Verletta White, through a post on the Baltimore County Public School's F...
Multiple lanes are closed on Interstate 695 Wednesday morning near the exit for Reisterstown Road due to a crash.
BALTIMORE COUNTY, MD — A crash on Interstate 695 has snarled traffic near the exit for MD 140/Reisterstown Road. The two-vehicle collision occurred on the outer loop around 7:50 a.m. on Wednesday, May 22, officials said.
The left four lanes were closed after 8 a.m., the State Highway Administration reported.
Traffic was getting by on the right.
See the latest lane closure information from state transportation officials.
Special counsel Robert Mueller’s negotiations with House Democrats over his public testimony have reportedly hit a roadblock.
CNN reports that Mueller is reluctant to testify publicly about the Russia investigation for fear of being seen as too political. The Washington Post is reporting that Mueller and Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee have been unable to agree how much of the testimony would be done in public.
According to The Post, Mueller wants to testify privately about topics that aren’t laid out in the lightly redacted special counsel’s report. Democrats hope to get Mueller to say whether President Donald Trump would face charges of obstruction of justice if he were not president. They also want Mueller to discuss his interactions wi...
Indianapolis - A 21-year-old man has been sentenced to three years in prison for spray-painting anti-Semitic graffiti and lighting fires outside a suburban Indianapolis synagogue.
U.S. Attorney Josh Minkler says 21-year-old Nolan Brewer of Eminence was sentenced Monday evening for conspiring to violate the civil rights of Congregation Shaarey Tefilla. Minkler announced Tuesday that Brewer pleaded guilty to a federal hate crime.
Nazi flags and iron crosses were found spray-painted July 28 on a brick shed outside the synagogue in Carmel, just north of Indianapolis. Several areas of the grass and ground around the shed were also scorched, leaving burn residue on part of the shed. Carmel Mayor Jim Brainard condemned the vandalism and Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb cited the incident in asking ...