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Baltimore, MD - July 5, 2025  - A gutte vuch / shavua tov! Hope you had a wonderful Shabbos. Late yesterday afternoon, soon before the arrival of Shabbos, President Donald Trump signed into law the first-ever national scholarship tax credit program, as part of the federal budget reconciliation package, aka The One Big Beautiful Bill Act. For those of us following the growth and expansion of school choice in states across the country, this exciting achievement provides a new and unprecedented opportunity in addressing the challenges presented by the tuition burden. As projected, this new...
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Jerusalem, Israel - July 1, 2025 - A rare investment and residential opportunity is now open in Jerusalem, New Katamon (Pat) and interested buyers are invited to an exclusive Zoom webinar, Wed., July 16 @730PM, to learn more.Located at 13 Berl Locker Street, on the border of Pat and Katamonim, this pre-sale urban renewal project is poised to benefit from growing demand, community-driven design, and future infrastructure improvements. Just a short walk from Ganei Tzion, the project offers early buyers strong value before prices climb.Webinar Highlights:Hear directly from the developer, a real estate attorney, and a mortgage broker discussing U.S.-based financingView sample floorplans, discuss pricing, and understand the 10/90 payment plan (10% now, 90% near delivery in early ...
Beitar Illit, Israel - July 6, 2025 -  The levaya for Mr. Emil Braun, z’l, in Israel will be today, Sunday, July 6, 2025, at Eretz Hachaim in Beit Shemesh at 22:30 (3:30 PM EST).Click here to watch the livestream Shiva will be observed in Eretz Yisroel at 14 Rechov Koenig, Apartment 5, Beitar Illit through Tuesday afternoon.Minyanim:Shacharis: 8:00 AM Mincha: 1:30 PM Maariv: 9:45 Shiva will resume in Baltimore on Wednesday around Noon at 3201 Pinkney Road, Baltimore, MD 21215###Baltimore, MD – July 3, 2025 - BJL deeply regrets to inform the community of the petirah of  Mr. Emil Braun, z’l, father of Mrs. Ilana (Rabbi Tzvi) Tuchman, Mrs. Maya (Rabbi Michael) Feder, Mrs. Ranya (Dovie) Greenberger, Rebetzin Atara (Rabbi Dovi...
As officials continue to confirm deaths and search for those missing after the Texas Hill Country floods on Friday, locals have started to share stories of incredible acts of bravery and heroism amid a weekend of anguish. Julian Ryan and his fiancé Christina Wilson were at their home in Ingram, when water began rushing through the doors. As the water was quickly rising, Ryan, 27, punched through a window to get Wilson, their children, and his mother out of the flooded house, according to Houston outlet KHOU-11. People climb over debris on a bridge atop the Guadalupe River after a flash flood swept through the area Saturday, July 5, 2025, in Ingram, Texas.  (AP Photo/Julio Cortez) Wilson told the outlet the glass cut one of Ryan�...
A 34-year-old man was arrested and charged after setting fire to a centuries-old historic synagogue in East Melbourne, Australia’s Counter Terrorism Security Investigation Unit announced Saturday. The man was allegedly seen entering the grounds of the synagogue, pouring a flammable liquid on the front door of the building and setting it on fire before fleeing. The man was charged with reckless conduct, endangering life, criminal damage by fire, and possession of a controlled weapon. He is expected to appear before the Bail and Remand Court. Detectives will continue to investigate the man’s intent and ideology to determine if the incident constitutes terrorism, Victoria Police announced. At the time of the arson attack, 20 people were inside the East Melb...
Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic nominee for New York City mayor, is facing intense backlash after sharing a controversial video mocking the Jewish holiday of Chanukkah. the New York Post. The video, “Hey Hannukah,” was originally posted by the Geeta Brothers Duet Group in 2015, and depicts two Indian men in wigs dancing with a menorah and playing with dreidels in a comedic fashion to Punjabi-style music. Mamdani shared the video on the third night of Hanukkah in 2024 in a post wishing Jews a happy Hanukkah. The StopAntisemitism movement reported on the video shared by Mamdani yesterday (Saturday), writing: “Zohran Mamdani posts Indian men cosplaying Jews, spinning dreidels and lighting the menorah. Our holidays and traditions are sacred and not for your comedic ple...
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The idea of a two-state solution for Israel and the Palestinians has never seemed more futile than in the months since Oct. 7, 2023. But maybe that opens the door to a new way of achieving peace. “We want cooperation with Israel,” says Sheikh Wadee’ al-Jaabari, also known as Abu Sanad, from his ceremonial tent in Hebron, the West Bank’s largest city located south of Jerusalem. “We want coexistence.” The leader of Hebron’s most influential clan has said such things before, as did his father. But this time is different. Sheikh Jaabari and four other leading Hebron sheikhs have signed a letter pledging peace and full recognition of Israel as a Jewish state. Their plan is for Hebron to break out of the Palestinian Authority, establish an emirate of it...
July 4, 1976 Forty-nine years ago, on the eve of the US centennial, Palestinian terrorists held 106 Jews and Israelis hostage in Entebbe and demanded the release of 53 terrorists. At that time, Israel and the West still had a policy of not negotiating with terrorists. They realized that such negotiations were dangerous in the long term, as they would encourage more terrorism and abductions. A different alternative was proposed and executed in place of caving to demands: Israeli commandos led by Lieutenant Colonel Yonatan Netanyahu carried out a daring, miraculous and historic raid and freed the hostages. After flying 2,500 miles from Israel to Uganda, the commandos killed all the terrorists, destroyed 25% of the Ugandan Air Force, and freed 102 of the hostages within thirty minutes. ...
Baltimore, MD - July 5, 2025  - A recent surge in carjackings across Baltimore has highlighted the growing involvement of juveniles in these crimes, prompting calls for stricter penalties. In West Baltimore, four teenagers were involved in a carjacking. The suspects were apprehended the following day, and a gun was found inside the stolen vehicle. According to the Baltimore Police Department, three of the four teens had previous arrests for robbery and auto theft. In East Baltimore, another carjacking occurred, with three suspects described as "armed and dangerous." The incidents are part of a troubling trend of increased carjackings citywide, with juveniles responsible for a significant number of cases.One local resident expressed frustration with the current legal consequenc...
Baltimore, MD - July 5, 2025 - A week before her wedding, imadi received a call from a bride. She said she’d always dreamed of dancing at her wedding - but after years of battling a significant medical condition, her lower body had weakened to the point that dancing felt impossible. The childhood dream of a little girl had faded, and she wanted to know if there was anything we could do.A small fleet of our most talented high school and young-adult volunteers, got to work. With only 7 days to create something revolutionary, the imadi boys stayed up night after night, sketching, testing, prototyping, 3D-printing. They even enlisted the support of community friend and local tailor Mr. Kim at Park Tailoring on Clarks Lane to help create a harness they designed. Within days, they cre...
Parsha Hashavua
Rabbi Dovid Fink - Chukas: Our Moral World

As Bnei Yisroel continue through the midbar on their way to Eretz Yisroel, we are shown in vivid clarity, the face of evil.  Moshe requests permission from Edom to pass thru their land (Chukas, 20:14)  He pleads, recalling how they had just come out from the suffering of Mitzrayim, but the king of Edom refuses them passage. (20:18)  Moshe then promises to be paying customers for any water or vines they would consume along the way.  The King reiterates his contempt by responding to this pledge with a threat to wage war if Bnei Yisroel dare tread on his land.  Such hatred that they would not even sell us food and water nor let us traverse the boundary highway.  Not only do we not want you in our land, we don’t want your commerce, we don’t want your trade.  Eisav Soneh es Yaakov.


In January of 2015, dozens of World leaders gathered in Paris for a March of Solidarity in the face of a terrorist attack carried out by Muslim extremists.  The march was very effective in that it was a whole year later when the same group claimed credit for blowing up the airport in Brussels and then the airport in Turkey.  How did these democracies find themselves at the mercy of evil?


Consider before, during and after these attacks, the State of Israel was subjugated to multiple attacks of terrorism.  Cars being driven into bus stops, a little girl butchered in her bed while she slept.  The reaction – silence.  Indeed, the world was silent for 50 years while Israel suffered regular attacks on its civilian population with nary a word from the “civilized” world.  Airplane high jacking was instituted by the PLO and targeted Israel – the response - the installation of metal detectors at airports to protect us with little protest about the high jacking of Israel’s planes.  Instead, the head of this terrorist organization was invited to speak to the United Nations and did so with a firearm in his belt.  The world would not identify, let alone confront this evil, because it principally targeted Jews.  The world could tolerate evil against Jews. 


Dozens of Isareli’s are hurt in missile attacks from Gaza and the media cannot be less concerned.  Christians in Syria are targeted by ISIS and the world cries outrage!!  The world brought this evil upon itself by not calling it evil when it was only targeting Jews.  Evil does not discriminate.  Today it may target your enemy but its existence is not only a threat to all of Earth’s inhabitance, it is incumbent on us to recognize it for what it is and do everything to combat it – even if for a time it is only targeting Jews.  Most mepharshim agree that is what is behind the Mitzvah of wiping out Amalek.   For whatever reason, Amelek came to personify evil in our world. Evil is supposed to be eradicated.  Period.


Evil and Eisav Soneh es Yaakov.  In 2015 the bastion of morality known as the European Union voted to label Israeli products which were grown in Judea and Samaria.  Not only won’t we sell you food, we won’t buy yours either.  The State of Israel is always the first country on the scene with mobile hospitals and relief for Sunami’s earthquakes and other disasters. Well almost always.  In 2003 when Iran was rocked by a devastating earthquake, Iran’s leaders said unequivocally that “the Zionist regime is not welcome to assist”.  Not only do we want to kill you, we will not allow your filth to save us.


For the past 75 years, the world had a moral conscience who routinely called upon leaders, the media and anyone who would listen to confront evil.  With the passing of Elie Wiesel, who stands in his place?  Typically, when an icon passes, there is another to carry the torch.  Martin Luther King was followed by Jesse Jackson, Lenin was followed by Stalin, Bach was followed by Beethoven.  Who follows Elie Wiesel? Imagine in 75 years, no one was the “up and coming or junior” Elie Wiesel.  There simply is no one else on the world stage who has devoted every breath to combating evil.  No one.  Indeed, the passage of time has cost us many of our values.  In 1984, Gary Hart was on his way to the Democratic presidential nomination and in all likelihood the White house, when his campaign was derailed by an extra-marital relationship.  The people of the United States cared and he got out of the race. A mere 8 years later, it looked like the same thing was going to happen to Bill Clinton.  Revelations of his multiple relationships surfaced and it appeared his candidacy was doomed.  Instead, he went on 60 minutes, admitted his errors and was rewarded by being elected President of United States.  Shockingly, a few years into his presidency, it surfaced that he continued his ways and had a relationship with a young intern in the White House.  After denying the truth and being proven to have lied about it under oath, the great defenders from the left argued that “his lying was not related to his official duties”.  That somehow made the pattern of deceitfulness “ok” so that the people who liked his policies could sleep at night. 


During the 2016 Presidential race the FBI documented that Hilary Clinton had been lying repeatedly to everyone, including multiple times under oath to Congress, regarding her official duties.  And no one cared.  Fully 60% of the population believed her to be a habitual liar and the vast majority of those people voted for her anyway.  Richard Nixon was forced from office for being involved in a cover up.  Today, that would probably be considered a prerequisite for running for office.  As Rashi stated in Mesechta Sanhedrin, the 2nd time we do an Aveira, Naaseh Lo Keheter and the 3rd, Naaseh K’Mitzvah.[1]


There is a cost for not calling evil out when we see it.  There is a cost when we see deceitfulness and excuse it.  There is a cost for not standing up for what’s right.  After World War I, for the first time in world history, the world’s strongest nation and power stood for morality and freedom.  Our first 5,000 years included despots such as Ginghas Khan, Atilla the Hun, Pol Pot, Ivan the Terrible, Idi Amin, Eichman, Hitler and many others.  For Millenium, the most powerful rulers used their might to brutalize humanity.  Until the United States.  For the very first time, the world’s superpower was not in the business of brutalization.  Consider, most veterans who enlisted to fight in World War II were 30 years old or more.  They left their families and jobs to confront evil.  Thousands gave up their lives to stand up for freedom and morality.  No wonder they were called “the greatest generation”.  Without their willingness to confront evil and destroy it, in all likelihood we would all be speaking German today or we would be dead.[2]


After Vietnam, the United States lost it’s willingness to police the world.  Indeed, the idea that “we could not be the world’s policeman”, became a very catchy political phrase and military motto.  In fact though, we could.  And we did for 60 years.  Those 60 years were so peaceful and prosperous by comparison to the 5000 previous years that most do gooders turned their attention away from feeding the hungry and curing disease to saving the animals and the environment.  Good causes for sure, but until the United States acted as the world’s policeman, humanity did not have the luxury of crusading on behalf of any causes other than survival.


As our nation began the systematic eradication of morals and the deletion of G-d from its lexicon, the affects are there for everyone to see.  With no one to police the world, we have reverted back to the days when leaders like Vladimir Putin, Bashar Assad and Kim Jong-un are left unchecked to brutalize and butcher people.  Without a moral superpower there is no one to keep these people in check.  Without a moral voice, there is no one to spur on the mantle of a moral United States. Without a moral society, we produce no moral voices.


The world is getting a sneak preview of what they have allowed to happen over the last 50 years.  By not calling out evil, they allowed it to grow.  By not caring when it only targeted Jews, they legitimized terrorist tactics for any cause.  And here we are.  Today the poisoned distorted “morality” of the left questions whether we should profile the type of people who are responsible for 99.7% of world terrorism.  Some even equating it to the discrimination against Jews during World War II.  Were the Jews in 1940 blowing up buses? Were the Jews in 1940 targeting civilians with guns and bombs?  Were the Jews in 1940 calling for the destruction of any other nation? Were the Jews in 1940 beheading people who did not share their ideology?  Such comparisons show how the flower mentality of the 60’s destroyed our moral compass.  It’s not that hard to identify evil.  We must identify it and call it what it is.  It is not “workplace violence”, extremists, radicals, lone wolves or crazed people. And it’s not due the accessibility of guns.[3] It is evil.  And we must slam the door on it, fight it and crush it with everything at our disposal.


At the end of our parsha when Sichon duplicated the evil of Edom and refused passage to Bnei Yisroel, even with the promise of consuming no goods, Bnei Yisroel waged war and defeated the evil.  And later when Og Melech Habashan waged war against them, Hashem commanded them to “not be afraid, you will do to him what you did to Sichon”. (21:34) 


Evil must be identified and confronted.  Doing so requires morality and clarity of thought.  Is there any left?







[1]              Sanhedrin 103b




[2]              Even then there were the “peaceniks’” who did not want the United States to get into World War II.  Fortunately, the decay of American morality had not begun to rob us of our ability to see evil until 20 years later.




[3]              Those who advocate gun control as a method of combating evil are strangely silent when an airport, bus or café is blown up by bombs or cars.  Evil has many weapons at its disposal and won’t be stopped even if there are no guns at all.  Prior to the 1800’s, millions were killed without a single gun.



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Baltimore, MD - July 5, 2025 - The joy of Baltimore’s Agra D’Pirka participants and their wives was palpable on Sunday, June 29, at the gala siyum held at Khal Ahavas Yisroel Tzemach Tzedek (KAYTT) to celebrate the completion of Masechta Avodah Zarah after four years. Reb Ezra Klein, who founded the national learning program l’zecher nishmas his mother, Pesi Rochel, a”h, with the mission of spreading morning limud haTorah across the U.S., was the guest speaker. Rabbi Yankel Herskovitz, Agra D’Pirka Baltimore’s Maggid Shiur, taught the Masechta in depth with meforshim, and reviewed it several times for comprehension. The group began learning this Masechta four years ago, immediately after its siyum on Masechta Sukkah, which it began learning at the incep...
Israel has deemed the changes Hamas attempted to make to the recent proposal for a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release agreement “unacceptable,” the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement Saturday night. “Following a situation assessment, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu instructed to respond positively to the invitation for proximity talks and to continue the negotiations for the return of our hostages based on the Qatari proposal that Israel has agreed to,” the PMO said. Israel’s negotiation team will depart on Sunday to Qatar for negotiations These “close talks” with Hamas would be an attempt to close the remaining gaps between the parties and conclude the details of the hostage and ceasefire deal. Prime Minist...
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Avi Piamenta, one of the leading figures in Jewish music in recent decades, passed away on Friday evening at the age of 69. Piamenta, known for his skilled playing of the flute, died suddenly while in New York to mark the anniversary of the Lubavitcher Rebbe's passing. Born in 1956 in Jerusalem to a traditional family, Piamenta grew up in a secular environment. As a child, he began studying piano and flute, the instrument that became his musical trademark. At the age of 17, he joined his older brother Yossi, a pioneering guitarist, and the two began performing together in concerts. After the Yom Kippur War, the brothers founded the "Piamenta Band," which achieved great success and brought Jewish-hasidic music to wider audiences. The band was considered a pioneer in modern Jewish mu...
President Trump on Friday signed a massive reconciliation package that will extend tax cuts and phase-in cuts to Medicaid, finalizing a significant legislative victory for his administration after months of difficult negotiations with Republicans on Capitol Hill. Trump signed the one big, beautiful bill into law at a military family picnic at the White House for the Fourth of July. Trump and his aides had long pegged Independence Day as a deadline for when they hoped to see the legislation on his desk, a timeline that appeared in peril just days ago. “We made promises, and it’s really promises made, promises kept, and we’ve kept them,” Trump said from the balcony overlooking the South Lawn of the White House. “This is a triumph of democracy on the birth...
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Qatar's Al-Arabi channel reported Friday evening, citing its sources, that Hamas has responded positively to the proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages. According to the sources, Hamas returned its response expressing agreement with the core of the proposal, while requesting what were described as "minor amendments." A senior Hamas official told the Reuters news agency that the terrorist organization delivered its response to the proposal, adding that it “is positive and could help reach an agreement.” Earlier, a source from Palestinian Arab terrorist organizations told Al Arabiya that Hamas is expected to deliver its response to the ceasefire proposal on Friday evening and that there is broad support among t...
Baltimore, MD - July 4, 2025 - Happy Independence Day. JWV 167 members of the Jewish War Veterans (JWV) from the local area participated in the Towson Independence Day Parade. "It literally seemed like thousands came out to cheer on the veterans, " said Dan Berkovitz, Commander of JWV Post 167. It is especially important for those of us who serve or who have served our great country to show that Jewish servicemembers and veterans do serve in the military.  Thanks go to the Berkovitz family, the Goff family, Andrew Altman, Stanley Fishman, Mike Zippert, Seth Philips, Alan Cohen, Michael Denise and family, and most importantly Chaya Berkovitz. Thanks go to the community as well for your support.
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The IDF has taken operational control of over 65% of the Gaza Strip, with over 100 terrorists killed in the last week, the IDF and Shin Bet announced Friday evening. The terrorists killed in the Southern Command over the past week included the head of the Combat Support Staff in Hamas's military wing, Hakham Muhammad Issa al-Issa, a division head in the Khan Yunis Brigade operations department, Mohammed Al-Sheikh, a company commander in the Zaytoun Battalion, Issa Abbas, and a company commander in the Sabra Battalion, Mohammed Jarasha. They were killed by troops under the guidance of Shin Bet and military intelligence. As part of the operation, Divisions 98 and 162 attacked Hamas’s Gaza Brigade terrorists in northern Gaza.  The Israeli air force struck over 100 terror ta...
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Baltimore, MD – July 4, 2025 - BJL wishes a hearty Mazel Tov to Menachem Feldman (Baltimore) and Chayala Wasserman (Lakewood)  on their engagement! Mazel Tov to Mr. and Mrs. Avraham Feldman יה"ר שיזכו לבנות בית נאמן בישראל. אמן!   
Baltimore,, MD - July 4, 2025 -  Baltimore City Council President Zeke Cohen looked like Santa in a business suit, as he marched to the offices of Baltimore Gas and Electric and the Maryland Public Service Commission on Thursday. This bag wasn't filled with presents, but rather, petitions signed by 7,221 Baltimoreans who say they can't afford another rate hike. "You do not typically see this many state city elected officials standing together. You do not always see religious leaders, faith leaders, consumer advocates, the labor leaders. You don't always see Baltimore standing together like this, but this is the defining issue," Cohen said at a news conference outside BGE's office in downtown Baltimore. Cohen and the coalition of officials and leaders that j...
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