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 Toronto police official says nine people have been killed and 16 injured from a van that jumped onto a sidewalk and struck pedestrians in the north part of the city.
Deputy Police Chief Peter Yuen says the driver of the van is in custody but Yuen has not provided any possible cause or motive in Monday's incident. He says the investigation is continuing.
Yuen also has not given any details on the injuries.
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4:25 p.m.
Canada's minister of public safety says it's too soon to say whether the crash of a van into pedestrians in Toronto is a case of international terrorism.
Ralph Goodale tells reporters that police are still investigating to determine what happened and why in Monday's incident in northern Toronto in which a van struck a crowd of pedestrians.
He dec...
Rahmel Watkins, 35, was initially charged with DWI in fatal chain-reaction crash in Inwood that police said involved another driver who also was arrested.
A Brooklyn man previously charged with DWI in a five-car crash that killed a chosson and kallah, Yisroel Levin, z'l, 21, of Brooklyn, and Elisheva Basya Kaplan, z'l, 20, of Far Rockaway, earlier this month in Inwood also will face two counts of second-degree manslaughter, police said. Their chasuna was to take place in June.
Rahmel Watkins, 35, of Quincy Street, faces arraignment on the upgraded charges Monday in First District Court in Hempstead, Nassau County police said.
Watkins had previously pleaded not guilty to DWI at a bedside arraignment, with bail set at $50,000 cash or bond, authorities said.
Watkins and Zakiyy...
It was a full house on Tuesday, April 17th as more than 60 principals and administrators took part in a workshop hosted by Agudath Israel of America’s New Jersey office. The session focused on maximizing state funding available to nonpublic schools and ensuring that students receive all of the benefits they deserve. Held at the Agudah’s PCS office in Lakewood, New Jersey, the informative event covered a variety of funding sources including title and federal lunch programs, Chapter 192 and 193 nonpublic auxiliary services, and grants covering school security, nursing services, textbooks and technology.
Drawing on his own experiences as assistant school superintendent for the Archdiocese of New York, Michael Coppotelli discussed methods of maximizing federal programs in ord...
AT least nine people are dead after being struck by a van mounting a pavement in Toronto, Canada.
Cops were called to Yonge Street and Finch Avenue after a speeding white rental van hit pedestrians before fleeing the scene.
According to Newstalk Toronto Paramedics confirmed nine people had died as a result of a van ploughing into pedestrians just before 1:30pm local time (18:30 GMT).
Cops have arrested the driver of the van but have not yet established a motive for the attack.
One eyewitness claimed the driver appeared "in control" of the vehicle as it hit pedestrians. However, it is not yet known if it was a deliberate act or a traffic mishap.
The incident happened 18 miles from G7 ministers, including Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, meeting to discuss terro...
Manhattan - Apr. 23, 2018 - UPDATE on Fedex stabbing attack in NYC:
An enraged Fed Ex worker stabbed another man just feet from the Empire State Building on Monday afternoon, authorities said.Please daven for Yaakov ben Yocheved, b'soch sha'ar cholei Yisrael.Suspect Madraque Tyquan Bailey, 22, allegedly attacked Jack Gindi, 28, (Yaakov ben Yocheved) who also works in the area, as part of an ongoing dispute between the pair, police said.The attack occurred in front of the Woori America Bank on West 33rd Street and Fifth Avenue around 1:40 p.m., officials said.“The guy was bleeding a lot. His whole stomach was cut open,” said a worker selling tickets to the Empire State Building. “I saw when the ambulance got here. They lifted his shirt — I thought he got ...
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An Orthodox Jewish man was stabbed on the street in Midtown Manhattan, near the Empire State Building on Monday afternoon.
The stabbing occurred at 33rd Street and Fifth Avenue.
Police say the 28-year-old victim, named Yaakov, was stabbed in the back multiple times and rushed to Bellevue Hospital. The 22-year-old suspect who is reportedly a worker for FEDEX, was quickly taken into custody by the NYPD.
The circumstances of the stabbing are not yet known, but witnesses says that the Jewish man, Yaakov ben Yocheved, was stabbed 4 times after some sort of dispute with the Fedex worker. Read more at JBN
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's nominee for secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, is facing serious opposition before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which may not have enough votes to recommend him for confirmation because all Democrats, and at least one Republican, have said they will oppose him.
The full Senate is still expected to consider Pompeo's nomination later this week. But the rare rebuke expected from the panel Monday, even after Pompeo's recent visit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, would be the first time since its record-keeping started in 1925 that a nominee for the high-level Cabinet position did not receive a favorable committee vote.
Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., the chairman of the committee, blamed partisan politics for opposition ...
WASHINGTON (AP) — The sprawling network funded by the billionaire Koch brothers is having a very good run with President Donald Trump in the White House and Republicans in control of Congress.
Tax cuts are now signed into law. A conservative judge is seated on the Supreme Court. And many governmental regulations, including those on labor and environmental practices, are facing rollbacks.
That success is starting to get attention. Democrats are increasingly questioning how far the network's influence extends into the White House, casting the groups' backing by industrialists Charles and David Koch as puppeteers behind Trump's agenda and hoping to rouse their own donors to fight back. The network in turn is ratcheting up its focus on areas where it aligns with Democrat...
THE FOLLOWING IS VIA YWN
An Orthodox Jewish man is in serious condition after he was stabbed in Midtown Manhattan on Monday afternoon.
Sources tell YWN that the 32-year-old victim was walking on 33rd Street and 5th Avenue when he accidentally bumped into a FedEx employee. They got into an altercation which resulted in the FedEx employee stabbing the Jewish man at least 4 times.
He was rushed to Bellevue Hospital where he is listed in critical condition.
The suspect was taken into custody by the NYPD. Read more at YWN
Toronto - A white van killed at least two people on a suburban Toronto sidewalk on Monday after jumping the curb and the driver was in custody, according to police and a Reuters witness.
Police in Canada’s largest city initially said eight to 10 people had been injured but later said it was unclear exactly how many had been hurt or the extent of their injuries.
A Reuters witness said there were at least two bodies at the site of the incident.
It was not immediately clear if the incident was a deliberate act by the driver or a traffic mishap. It occurred at lunchtime on a sunny day and the sidewalks of the mixed commercial and residential area were full of pedestrians.
“Too early to confirm the number of pedestrians struck or their injuries,” police said on Twitter.
P...
Police have arrested a suspect after a white van mounted the curb and struck numerous pedestrians in Toronto.
The incident happened on Yonge Street south of Finch Avenue, according to the Toronto Police Service. Initial estimates suggest eight to 10 people were struck.
Witness Alex Shaker, who was driving southbound at the time, says the van was travelling at high speed on the sidewalk. The van was also southbound.
“He started going down on the sidewalk and crumbling down people one by one,” Shaker told CTV News Channel on Monday afternoon.
Shaker said he saw the vehicle strike someone with a stroller.
“He just destroyed so many people’s lives,” he said. “Every single thing that got in his way.”
The extent of injuries is unknown and ambulance...
WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House says North Korea won't get sanctions relief until it takes "concrete action" toward denuclearization.
Press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders' comments Monday appeared to leave open the possibility of easing the U.S.-led "maximum pressure" campaign before North Korea had completely given up its nuclear weapons.
But Sanders said the U.S. wouldn't make the mistake of past administrations in taking the North Koreans "simply at their word." She said, "We've seen some steps in the right direction but we have a long way to go."
On Saturday, North Korea announced it will close its nuclear testing facility and suspend nuclear and intercontinental ballistic missile tests.
The North stopped short of suggesting it will give up its nuclear...
Authorities say the suspect in a quadruple homicide at a Waffle House in Nashville has been arrested.
Metropolitan Nashville Police announced Monday on Twitter that 29-year-old Travis Reinking was taken into custody not far from his apartment. Photos posted by police in Nashville showed him clothed and in a police car.
Police and agents with the FBI, the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and troopers with the Tennessee Highway Patrol had mounted a massive manhunt following the slayings early Sunday.
Police say Reinking was nearly naked and brandishing an assault-style rifle when he opened fire in the parking lot and then stormed the restaurant. Four people killed, four others were injured.
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1:10 p.m.
Authorities say they have arrested a man suspected of stor...
TORONTO (AP) — A van apparently jumped a curb Monday in a busy intersection in Toronto and struck eight to 10 people and fled the scene before it was found and the driver was taken into custody, Canadian police said.
It was not immediately clear what caused the van to strike the pedestrians in a busy intersection in the north-central part of the city. Police did not immediately identify the driver.
"At this point it's too early to tell what if any motive there was. We are also unable right now to tell the extent or the number of persons injured," Toronto police spokeswoman Meaghan Gray said.
Toronto paramedic spokeswoman Kim McKinnon said first responders were on scene treating multiple patients, but wouldn't confirm the number or severity of injuries.
Police shut down ...
TORONTO (AP) — Canadian police say a van in Toronto has struck at least 8 people, but that the cause of the incident and the extent of the injuries are not yet known.
Authorities say the white van hit the crowd of pedestrians in north Toronto.
Police spokeswoman Meaghan Gray says the van apparently jumped the curb, but the reason is not yet known.
The incident occurred Monday as Cabinet ministers from the G7 countries were gathered in Toronto to discuss a range of international issues in the run-up to the G7 meeting near Quebec City in June.
Police in Nashville, Tennessee, say the suspect in a quadruple homicide at a local Waffle House stole a BMW car several days earlier.
Metro Nashville Police spokesman Don Aaron told news reporters Monday that 29-year-old Travis Reinking stole the car on the preceding Tuesday from a BMW dealership. Police chased it but opted to track the car via a GPS device. It was recovered the same day at Reinking's apartment complex— however, authorities did not know Reinking's identity at the time.
Aaron also said a report of shots fired Monday near a police staging area was not related to the search for Reinking, who remained at large. Police were searching a wide area, and expected soon to have Reinking's photo posted on billboards.
Aaron said Reinking has "exhibited mental in...
The Duchess of Cambridge and Prince William have left a London hospital and headed home with their newborn son.
The duchess, who gave birth Monday morning, emerged from St. Mary's Hospital about seven hours later alongside her husband, holding the baby wrapped in a white blanket. The trio posed for photographers before going back inside.
The royals emerged a few minutes later with their infant in a carrier and got into a waiting car.
The newborn prince's elder siblings, Prince George and Princess Charlotte, already had gone home after a brief first meeting with their baby brother.
Royal officials say the baby weighed in at eight pounds, seven ounces (3.8 kilograms). The prince, whose name has not been released, is fifth in line to the British throne.
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5 p.m.
Prince Geor...
President Trump asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a phone call last year if if he actually cares about peace.
Trump had read news reports about Netanyahu building additional settlements to please his conservative supporters, something Trump viewed as an unnecessary move meant to anger the Palestinians.
Trump then asked Netanyahu if he genuinely wants peace of not, according to three sources familiar with the call who spoke to Axios. No word on what the Prime Minister responded.
Read more at The Hill.
A new study in New York City found mice carry life-threatening, disease-causing bacteria — and some may be resistant to antibiotics.
“Mice are more than just a nuisance — they are a potential source of infections. We used to think of mosquitoes as the source of just an itchy bite, but now we know they carry Zika virus and West Nile virus,” says Ian Lipkin, director of the Center for Infection and Immunity at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health.
“Our study raises the possibility that serious infections — including those resistant to antibiotics — may be passed from these mice to humans, although further research is needed to understand how often this happens, if at all,” said research scientist Simon Williams.
Read more at&n...