“Help my daughter live”  I am Esti, Lali’s mother. Our Lali is a child we longed for and waited for five years. She is all the light and joy of our home, and all I want is for her to stay here with us. Not long ago, she started feeling unwell. We took her to doctors, and what they discovered simply broke our hearts—she has cancer. Since then, nothing has been the same. We are trying to stay strong for her, but inside, we are falling apart. Her treatments cost a lot, far beyond what we can manage alone. I am asking you, anyone who can contribute, to help us save Lali. Every donation, every bit of support—it’s for her and for us. Please daven for Leah bas Esther for a full recovery. May you never know such pain, Esti  Donate now https://...
Jerusalem, Israel - Dec. 9, 2024  -The Jerusalem Botanical Gardens has opened a nighttime light festival called 'Winter Dreams' for December 2024.  One million LED lights, mostly in the shape of animals and archways line the less than a half-mile route, for a colorful stroll on a cool Yerushalayim night. The international exhibition has a neutral holiday theme. Missing this year the large Chanukah menorah in the Botanical Gardens pond in the past year. Instead, a large light dolphin shape is seen jumping from the dark pond waters. Multigenerational families were seen enjoying the time together. One grandmother smiled proudly and told BJL she was pleased to be there with her children and grandchildren. ...
When choosing a topic to write about, I typically reflect on issues that resonate deeply within my heart. I sometimes spend hours contemplating my ideas with the hope that my writing is honest and heartfelt. I often spend more time choosing and pondering a topic than writing the actual article. The past three weeks have been an emotional whirlwind as we have devoted ourselves to helping our son recover from the serious wounds he sustained while bravely defending our people and our land. My mind has been a torrent of emotions—gratitude and worry, pride and pain—making it challenging for me this week to settle on a topic to write about. Thoughts flitted through my mind, each vying for attention, yet none felt like the absolute and complete reflection of my emotional core. Typic...
Baltimore, MD - Dec. 9, 2024  - Gas prices in Baltimore have dropped 10.5 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $2.90/g, according to GasBuddy's survey of 663 stations in Baltimore. Prices in Baltimore are 10.1 cents per gallon lower than a month ago and 23.5 cents per gallon lower than a year ago. The national average diesel price has declined 2.3 cents in the last week and stands at $3.491 per gallon. "The national average has finally fallen below $3 per gallon, and it couldn't come at a better time for motorists with the holidays upon us. One would need to count over 1,300 days since we've seen the national average this low, with the affordability of gasoline at its lowest non-COVID level since 2015," said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBu...
A source in Cairo told the Qatari Al-Araby Al-Jadeed newspaper on Monday that negotiations for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip have reached "an advanced stage" after Hamas issued a preliminary list of Palestinian prisoners to Egyptian mediators, as well as a list of sick and elderly Israelis it would release in exchange. Israeli sources, however, deny the report. "The details in the report on the progress of the negotiations are not correct." The Qatari report said that committees on behalf of Hamas, Egypt, and Israel began discussing the details of a deal to release hostages. The source cited by the paper claimed that all parties involved in the negotiation are "serious in an unprecedented manner," as he defined it. Qatar, Turkey, and the United States are participating in overs...
Honda is recalling nearly 206,000 Passport and Pilot vehicles that could potentially experience a fuel leak.  The automaker announced the move on Thursday, saying the affected 2023-2024 Passport and 2023-2025 Pilot sport utility vehicles "may have an incomplete connection between the fuel filler neck tube and fuel filler pipe that could cause the two components to separate in a crash, allowing fuel to leak and increasing the risk of fire or injury." The Honda logo is seen at a dealership store. (Igor Golovniov/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images / Getty Images) Per a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recall report, the potential issue stemmed from an "out of sequence process" in the installation of the fuel pipe that "prevented the fuel neck tu...
How to Make Sense of the News None of us is going to miss Bashar Assad who escaped from Syria the other day, but what exactly is going on here?  Without a Jewish perspective on recent events, it’s easy to think that the world has gone mad—that everything has become chaotic, out-of-control and scary. But it’s important to understand the story as it really is. We are witnessing a process with a clear direction and purpose. History is unfolding before our eyes: The Jewish people are returning to their ancestral land after 2,000 years of exile, and it’s not a simple process. We must teach the world to distinguish between good and evil, pure and impure. Whoever participates in this mission will be blessed, but those who interfere will be relegated to the trash hea...
The FBI and a leading federal cybersecurity agency are warning Android and iPhone users to stop sending unencrypted texts to users of the other operating system after the Salt Typhoon hack of several major U.S. telecommunications providers. Officials with the FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) are cautioning that the Salt Typhoon cyber breach, conducted by actors in China, targeted telecom firms. The hackers gained access to call records, live phone calls of specific targets, and systems used by companies to handle court orders from law enforcement and intelligence agencies to track calls. While the breach has yet to be resolved, officials are encouraging users to communicate using encrypted messaging systems. Apple's iPhone and Google's Androi...
IDF soldiers from the 210th Batallion of the Paratroopers Brigade took proactive measures to ensure the safety of Israel's border in the Golan Heights on Sunday as Syrian rebels took over Damascus, the military announced on Monday. Paratroopers joined up with brigades already stationed in the area to establish secure perimeters within the buffer zones bordering Syria. Additionally, engineering, infantry, and armored forces, operating under the command of the 474th and the 810th regional brigades, are stationed along Israel’s border with Syria to secure the area. This announcement came after Defense Minister Israel Katz instructed the IDF to complete the consolidation of control over the Syrian buffer zone and create a security zone in the area. This d...
The IDF announced on Monday that four soldiers fell in battle in southern Lebanon: Major (Res.) Evgeny Zinershain, aged 43, from Zikhron Ya'akov, was a company commander in the 9263rd Battalion, 226th Brigade. Captain (Res.) Sagi Ya'akov Rubinshtein, aged 31, from Lavi, was a platoon commander in the 9263rd Battalion, 226th Brigade. Master Sergeant (Res.) Binyamin Destaw Negose, aged 28, from Bet Shemesh, was a soldier in the 9263rd Battalion, 226th Brigade. Sergeant First Class (Res.) Erez Ben Efraim, aged 25, from Ramat Gan, was a soldier in the 9263rd Battalion, 226th Brigade. An IDF preliminary investigation found that troops from the 226th Brigade went to search for Hezbollah weapons and infrastructure in the Labbouneh Reserve near the border in the west. Upon entering ...
Baltimore’s Yossi Charner, Agudath Israel Director of Congressional Affairs, recognized by Agudath Israel EVP R’ Chaim Dovid Zwiebel at the Agudah Convention.
Former President of Syria Bashar al-Assad and his family are in Russia and have received political asylum "for humanitarian reasons", a Kremlin source confirmed to Russian news agency Interfax on Sunday. Earlier on Sunday, the Russian Foreign Ministry confirmed Assad's departure from Syria, shortly before his plane allegedly fell off of air traffic radars, with no allusion to his next stop.  Just minutes before Russia announced Assad's alleged departure, a transport plane took off from a Russian airfield in Latakia, Syria. Early Sunday night, Russian news outlets reported that the immediate former Syrian President and his family would be granted safety in Russia after noting that the nation had not taken part in the talks about his departure. This statement cam...
Baltimore, MD - Dec. 8, 2024  - Concrete fell from a railroad bridge Sunday morning, hitting an SUV and injuring its driver, Baltimore officials told 11 News. Officials said police and emergency crews were called around 11:28 a.m. to the bridge in the 500 block of North Point Road. Fire officials said debris from the underside of the North Point Road bridge fell on the vehicle. Police said the driver of the SUV was taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The road remains closed, and fire officials said the bridge is being assessed for structural integrity; MARC and Amtrak trains will be affected.
Baltimore, MD – Dec. 8, 2024 - BJL regrets to inform the community of the petira of Selma Faye Sherman, a'h, wife of Leonard Sherman and mother of Sue (Abe) Zwany.The levayah will be held at on Monday, Dec. 9, 2024 at 12 noon at Levinson's.Kevurah will take place at B’nai Israel Cemetery, 3701 Southern Ave., Baltimore, MD, 21214 Shiva will be observed at 7111 Park Heights Ave., Apt 911, Baltimore MD 21215 Shiva will begin Monday, December 9th following kevurah from 6:00 PM-8:00 PM. Tuesday- Thursday 10:00 AM-12:00 PM; 2:00 PM-4:30 PM followed by Mincha Maariv at 4:30 PM; and 7:00 PM-9:00 PM. Friday 10:00 AM- 12:00 PM. Motzei Shabbos 7:00 PM-9:00 PM. Bila HaMaves LaNetzach…
Israel should seize the opportunity of the Assad regime falling and the Iranian proxy axis weakening to convince the US to strike Iran’s nuclear program, former IDF Operations Command chief Maj.-Gen. (res.) Israel Ziv told The Jerusalem Post on Sunday. Ziv said that the fall of Bashar Assad, which also has weakened the “Axis of Resistance,” is a historic opportunity and that Washington, especially under President-elect Donald Trump, who will assume office on January 20, might be more ready than ever before to take advantage of Tehran’s moment of weakness. In the past, one reason, among many, that neither American nor Israeli officials were ready to attack Iran’s nuclear program was the anticipated blowback from Iran’s...
Baltimore, MD – Dec. 8, 2024 - BJL wishes a hearty Mazel Tov to Eli James & Rivka Cohen on their engagement!    Mazel Tov to  Jonathan & Caren James and Rabbi & Mrs. Yaacov & Suri Cohen and to grandparents Rabb & Mrs. Moshe & Nanci Grossman   יה"ר שיזכו לבנות בית נאמן בישראל. אמן!  
Waterbury, CT - Dec. 8, 2024  - We are humbled and grateful by the outpouring of Tefillos from around the world. It is such a chizuk for our whole family.  We would like to thank the members of Hatzalah of Waterbury who were present at the Agudah convention. With their quick response, they were able to deal immediately with the situation so that Rabbi Krohn was able to receive the care needed. All of your tefillos have stormed the Shaarei Shamayim. He is now stable and fully aware of what transpired. Rabbi Krohn is out of the ICU and the situation is still serious, but stable.   He is slowly improving and we hope that he will iyh be transferred to an acute rehab center in the next few days. We are hopeful that he will have a complete recovery so that he once again c...
Baltimore, MD - Dec. 8, 2024  - It’s been 48 hours since a massive fire at Camp Small brought hundreds of firefighters to Baltimore to help battle the blaze. Firefighters remained at the scene Saturday night, dousing a smoldering pile of wood with water. “This is what the Baltimore City Fire Department does, and I’m happy to say they do this well,” said Kevin Cartwright, a former spokesman for the Baltimore City Fire Department. The massive inferno at Camp Small that started Thursday evening certainly tested their mettle. Cartwright applauds their efforts to successfully bring the fire under control. “You have to methodically attack a fire like this, utilizing a best practice of trying to surround and drown while there are no other life elem...
Jerusalem, Israel - Dec. 8, 2024 - By Israeli law, citizens of Israel must enter and exit the country using their Israeli passports — a rule that applies even to dual citizens. However, since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, an exception was introduced allowing dual citizens to enter and exit the country using their foreign passport instead of an Israeli one. This policy was initially implemented due to processing backlogs at the Interior Ministry and the temporary closure or limited operation of Israeli embassies and consulates worldwide. It was extended several times, but the dispensation was set to end on December 31, 2024. We are pleased to share that the Population Authority has announced an extension of this policy. Dual citizens will be permitted to enter and exit Israel...
We have seen that mitzvah observance is a great privilege. In addition to expressing our commitment to and strengthening our relationship with our Creator, mitzvot benefit us and give our lives meaning. Pursuing Opportunities We show our appreciation for mitzvot by seeking opportunities to fulfill them. Avraham The first Jew exemplified this trait. Sefer Bereishit describes how Hashem appeared to Avraham after he fulfilled the mitzvah of brit milah.[1] As Avraham was recuperating from the circumcision and conversing with Hashem, he was clearly exempt from other mitzvot. Still, he was on the lookout for visitors to welcome into his home.[2] When he saw three wayfarers from a distance, he immediately ran to fulfill the mitzvah of hachnasat orchim (hosting guests).[3]   It ...
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