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.
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Baltimore, MD - July 17, 2019 - You know that we distribute food packages before Shabbos to community members in need. But do you know about the other services we provide?Noson (Nunny) Weisbord asked a few Jewish Baltimore community members this question. Watch and find out all the ways Ahavas Yisrael supports our community...then support us on July 23rd at Baltimore at its Best: Ahavas Yisrael Charidy Campaign 2019!
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Uplift Yourself With This Amazing NEW Film!
Hear His Story…Connect With This Unique Gadol.
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Pillar of Truth is the compelling life story of
HaRav Yaakov Weinberg zt”l
Rosh HaYeshiva, Yeshivas Ner Yisroel.
Produced by the Torah Legacy Foundation.
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His warmth and unique approach impacted thousands.
Rav Weinberg zt”l was a kiruv pioneer who made the beauty of Torah accessible to people from all walks of life!
Find out why his brother, Rav Noach Weinberg zt"l, founder of Aish HaTorah, viewed him as his rebbe and the rebbe of Klal Yisroel!
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THIS Shabbos, 17 B’Tamuz, is his 20th Yahrzeit
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"This superb film captures ...
Berlin - German Chancellor Angela Merkel has urged Europeans to confront populism, nationalism, racism and anti-Semitism as she paid tribute to the Nazi resistance in her own country.
Speaking Saturday at a solemn ceremony marking the anniversary of the failed attempt to kill Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler, Merkel said the courage and sacrifice of the conspirator should serve as an example to people today.
“They put humanity over their own human lives,” she told the crowd at the site where plot leader Col. Claus von Stauffenberg and others were executed.
Von Stauffenberg tried to kill Hitler with a briefcase bomb on July 20, 1944, during a meeting at his headquarters in what was then East Prussia. Hitler escaped the full force of the blast when someone moved the briefcase next t...
New dramatic footage released by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards on Saturday purportedly shows their commandos in black ski masks and fatigues rappelling from a helicopter onto a British oil tanker seized in the Strait of Hormuz.
The video shows several small Guard boats surrounding the larger Stena Impero tanker as it moves through the strait. Above, a military helicopter hovers before several men rappel onto the ship.
The high-quality video, aired on Iranian state TV, appeared to be shot with at least two cameras, one from a speed boat-like vessel and one from the chopper.
Its release comes hours after Britain’s Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt warned Iran that it’s on a “dangerous path,” adding that a response would be “considered but rob...
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A moonstruck nation celebrated the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11′s “giant leap” by Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin at parties, races, ball games and concerts Saturday, toasting with Tang and gobbling MoonPies.
At NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, Aldrin showed Vice President Mike Pence the launch pad where he flew to the moon in 1969. At the same time halfway around the world, an American and two other astronauts blasted into space on a Russian rocket. And in Armstrong’s hometown of Wapakoneta, Ohio, nearly 2,000 runners competed in “Run to the Moon” races.
“Apollo 11 is the only event in the 20th century that stands a chance of being widely remembered in the 30th century,” the vice president said.
Wapakon...
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.
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Shailos for regular or Kashrus shailos may emailed or discussed using this widget.
More than 6,000 Palestinians rioted on the Israel-Gaza Strip border on Friday, throwing rocks, firebombs and explosive devices at IDF troops.
The soldiers responded with riot-dispersal means. According to medical officials in Hamas-ruled Gaza, nearly 100 Palestinians were injured.
Friday’s protests were held under the banner, “Burning the Israeli Flag.”
Border unrest has been a near-weekly occurrence since the Hamas-orchestrated “Great March of Return” demonstrations began in March 2018.
Last Friday night, a rocket fired from Gaza exploded in an open area in southern Israel, causing no injuries or damage.
New York - A gargantuan heat wave hunkered down over the central and eastern United States on Saturday, sending residents to cooling centers and inflicting on Washington a heat index of 106 degrees F (41 C) with even steamier conditions in the forecast.
“It’s pretty hot right now from the Plains states all the way through the Mississippi Valley to the East Coast,” said Alex Lamers, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center.
Heat is the deadliest of all weather phenomena, according to the weather service, and cities from Chicago to New York urged residents to seek refuge at cooling centers set up in locations ranging from libraries to shopping malls.
Tourists visiting the monuments and museums on the National Mall in Washington ...
Jerusalem - Israeli forces have dispersed several dozen Palestinians protesting the planned demolitions of homes in an east Jerusalem village.
Jerusalem - About 50 Palestinians gathered Saturday at Sur Baher, which straddles Israel’s West Bank separation barrier, in solidarity with owners of homes close to the wall.
Witnesses say Israeli forces fired tear gas and stun grenades to end the rally.
Israel says the 10 buildings, located on the West Bank side of the barrier, were erected too close to the structure.
In June, Israel’s Supreme Court rejected a petition by residents to cancel the demolitions. The petition also called on Israel to grant building permits for Palestinian residents of east Jerusalem.
U.N. officials have urged Israel to halt the demolitions.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., disputed President Trump's account of his Wednesday night rally in North Carolina, claiming that he "relished" the audience's chantsabout sending Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., back to her native country.
"He kind of presided over the situation, he relished it, he took it in," she said at a town hall on immigration in her New York City district Saturday. When a reporter asked her whether she believed Trump had led the crowd on, Ocasio-Cortez replied: "He absolutely did."
She also pushed back on Trump's claim that he spoke up to stop the chants "immediately." "Roll the tape, he didn't," she said. The chant continued for at least 10 seconds before the president said anything.
Trump, on Saturday, ...
President Donald Trump on Thursday said he would direct aides to investigate a pending military contract widely expected to be awarded to Amazon Web Services, saying he had heard multiple complaints about an unfair bidding process.
His involvement would be an unusual Oval Office intervention in a process normally handled by military officials trained to follow complicated procurement laws and regulations.
The Pentagon has not yet announced a winner for the sought-after cloud contract, which has a $10 billion cost ceiling over a 10-year period. But executives at several of Amazon’s competitors have complained to Trump about the process, alleging that the not-yet-awarded contract was biased in favor of Amazon from the start. Some companies have found that personally appealing to Trum...
On Thursday, Donald President Trump sought to distance himself from his supporters who yelled “send her back,” referencing a congresswoman born in Somalia whom Trump had earlier targeted with a racist tweet. “I disagree with it,” Trump said of the chant aimed at Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn.
The president soon made it clear, though, that he had no intention of backing away from blistering criticism of Omar and three other minority congresswomen.
On Thursday night, Trump retweeted a fiery fire-minute commentary from a Fox News guest who called the women “anti-Semite bigots” and said that “their families really have done nothing for this country.”
The clip was also shared by the official account of the White House, a taxpayer-funded feed that is ...
The global shock after Trump supporters responded to the president’s attacks on Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., a Somali-born Muslim, with frenzied chants of “Send her back!” is showing little sign of abating.
The jarring scene at Wednesday’s rally, which followed President Donald Trump falsely claiming Omar had praised al-Qaeda, inspired the social media hashtag #IStandWithIlhanOmar, which was soon trending on social media in the United States, along with other countries, including the United Kingdom, Canada and Egypt.
On Friday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel became the latest foreign official to openly condemn the comments: “Without question, I reject [Trump’s comments] and stand in solidarity with the congresswomen he targeted.”
In Britain, Home ...
Progressive Congresswoman Ilhan Omar likens anti-Israel resolution to boycotts of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union; reaction from George Mason University law professor Eugene Kontorovich.
This past Thursday, 15 Tammuz, was the 16th yahrzeit of my wife's grandmother, Mrs. Shirley Yeres, Chaya Sheindel bas Alexander HaLevi.
The previous day was the 32nd yahrzeit of R' Yaakov Yitzchack Ruderman, zt"l, the first Rosh HaYeshivah of Yeshivas Ner Yisroel.
Shabbos, 17 Tammuz, is the 20th yahrzeit of R' Shmuel Yaakov Weinberg, zt"l, Rosh HaYeshiva of Ner Yisroel.
The shtikle is dedicated le'iluy nishmasam.
At the beginning of this week's parsha, we find that Moav is frightened of B'nei Yisrael because of what they did to Sichon. Many are bothered by the fact that B'nei Yisrael are commanded not to wage war with Moav. So they need not have worried. However, it is unclear to me how exactly Moav would have ...
Baltimore, MD — Baltimore police confirmed Deputy Commissioner Daniel Murphy and his wife were robbed at gunpoint Friday night near Patterson Park by several men who were in an SUV.
City police said officers were called around 9 p.m. to the 2200 block of East Pratt Street to investigate a reported robbery.
Police said Murphy and his wife told investigators that a white SUV with four occupants pulled up to them as they were walking. Two men about 18 years old got out of the SUV and approached them. A handgun was displayed and the suspects demanded the victims' property. A purse, wallet, cash and cellphones were taken, police said.
The suspects fled northbound on Patterson Park Avenue. The victims were not injured, and a police spokesman said both Murphy and his wife are OK.
A...
San Francisco - Instagram is expanding a test to hide how many “likes” people’s posts receive as it tries to combat criticism that such counts hurt mental health and make people feel bad when comparing themselves to others.
The Facebook-owned photo-sharing service has been running the test in Canada since May. Now, Facebook said the test has been expanded to Ireland, Italy, Japan, Australia, Brazil and New Zealand.
Facebook typically tests new Facebook and Instagram features in smaller markets before bringing them to the U.S., if it ever does. The company would not comment on what it’s learned from the Canada test or if it has plans to expand it to the U.S. any time soon.
One group that may be affected is Instagram “influencers,” the major, mino...
Reps. Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar, both outspoken critics of Israel and its occupation of the West Bank, will be allowed into the country during a trip there in a few weeks, the Israeli ambassador said Friday, potentially heading off a diplomatic spat.
“Out of respect for the U.S. Congress and the great alliance between Israel and America, we would not deny entry to any member of Congress into Israel,” said Ron Dermer, Israel’s envoy to the United States.
The freshman Democrats have drawn the ire of pro-Israel politicians — including within the Democratic caucus — over the pair’s support for the the global boycott, divestment and sanctions movement against Israel, known as the BDS movement.
Omar said Wednesday the pair are set to visit the ...
The gemara in Nazir, daf chof gimmel, amud bais and Sanhedrin, daf kuf heh, amud bais and in Horiyus, daf yud gimel, amud bais quotes Rav Yehuda in the name of Rav that one should learn Torah and do mitzvos even if it is not done lishma because the act that was not lishma will end up being lishma. We find that in the z’chus of the forty two korbanos that Balak brought, he was zocheh to have Rus as his granddaughter.
The gemara says that the reason shelo lishma is okay is because one will reach lishma eventually, yet we see that Balak never reached lishma. How was he then ...
A heatwave combined with strong winds sparked fires throughout Israel on Wednesday, with hundreds being evacuated from threatened areas and 15 homes being damaged by the flames. Firefighters were able to get most of the fires under control towards the evening.
Evacuations took place in several locations, including the towns of Aderet, Neve Michael and Roglit near Jerusalem; Or Yehuda near Tel Aviv; near the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa; and in Shavei Shomron in Samaria.
In Or Yehuda, five houses caught fire in the Ramat Pinkas neighborhood, and firefighters had to rescue several residents.
In Moshav Roglit, an institution providing care for people with disabilities evacuated its residents to the Shalva Center in Jerusalem, an emergency center run by the Labor and Soc...