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January 20, 2017 at 9:42 am
Shemos 5777 - Transcending Generations - 1st Aliyah
Click here to listen
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January 20, 2017 at 9:36 am
Sefer Bereishis is the story of great individuals who form the foundation of Klal Yisroel. The middos that we have were implanted within us by the Ovos. We get our chessed and our mesiras nefesh from Avrohom. We get middas hagevuroh from Yitzchok. We get our midas ha’emes and tifferes from Yaakov. We mentioned in Parshas Vayeitzei that when Yaakov put stones around his head which became one when he awoke, it had deep symbolic significance.
Yaakov had a mesorah that Klal Yisroel would begin with 12 shevotim, each epitomizing a separate derech for avodas Hashem. And the one who would have 12 sons would be zoche to be the founding Av of Klal Yisroel. There are different shitos about how many stones Yaakov took. One shitta says he took two stones. One represented Avrohom who had Yishmoe...
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January 20, 2017 at 9:32 am
It was back in 1995 that the 104th Congress passed an act that mandated the move of our country’s embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Yerushalayim. Although the United States as a country has withheld official recognition of the city as Israel’s capital, the legislative branch has long made its sentiments clear.
The reason the law Congress passed has never been implemented is because former president Clinton, former president Bush, and President Obama all viewed it as a Congressional infringement on the executive branch’s constitutional authority over foreign policy. Each invoked the presidential waiver on national security interests as justification for keeping the embassy in Tel Aviv.
President-elect Trump, however, has declared that he will not follow suit, ...
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January 20, 2017 at 9:32 am
I only knew my father, hareini kapparas mishkavo, for 30-odd years.
I’m much older than that, and knew and loved him my entire life. But I only really knew him – his full life story – for three decades.
How, for instance, at the age of 14, Simcha Bunim Szafranowicz had insisted that his parents let him go to study in yeshivah – even though what would come to be known as World War II had begun mere weeks earlier, and the family was fleeing the Nazis.
How SS men who had caught up with his family and other refugees from their Polish town, Ruzhan, had killed his uncle in front of him and packed my father and hundreds of Jews into a shul, and set fire to neighboring homes. Preparing to die, the Jews were rescued by a regular German Army official who had passed ...
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January 20, 2017 at 5:58 am
Suddenly I woke up on a different planet.
When a loved one becomes ill, it’s like landing on a new planet.
They tell you to pack your bags but you are not sure what to take along. A book of Psalms and a package of tissues are a good place to start. Important medical papers are a must and a compact toothbrush may come in handy.
And then there’s the shopping list, a little unusual. Never mind the weight; you’re travelling to a different planet now.
When we first received the diagnosis, it didn’t really register. ALS is hard to describe and doctors hesitate to paint the whole picture. Perhaps this is for the best. The disease progresses differently in each patient. We immediately registered at the Neurological Clinic in Hadassah Medical Center where a special unit ...
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January 20, 2017 at 5:54 am
A 10-year-old Jewish girl from Beth Rivkah Ladies College in Melbourne is among four people killed in this afternoon’s car ramming attack in the CBD, The AJN understands.
It is understood the girl’s mother and sister are in a critical condition in hospital.
At approximately 1.30pm a car deliberately struck a number of pedestrians in the vicinity of Bourke and Queens Streets.
Police shot the 26-year-old occupant of the vehicle and he was taken into custody.
Authorities say the incident was not terror-related.
Four people have been confirmed dead with more than 20 people injured.
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January 19, 2017 at 11:02 pm
Parshas ShemosVaYechi / Shabbos Mevarchim Shevat / Baltimore Zmanim / Eruv is UP!
At the request of the Moskowitz family, as an additional zechus for a refuah shlaimah for תמר עדינה בת קינה שולמית, please try and bring Shabbos in at least 5 minutes early today.
Baltimore, MD – Jan. 20, 2017
Parshas: Shemos
Today: 22 Teves
Chatzos: 12:18 PM
Hadlakas Nairos: 4:55 PM - At the request of the Moskowitz family, as an additional zechus for a refuah shlaimah for תמר עדינה בת קינה שולמית, please try and bring Shabbos in at least 5 minutes early today.
Shkiah: &nb...
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January 19, 2017 at 10:45 pm
Baltimore, MD - Jan 19, 2017 - For the last two weeks, another of the legendary, larger than life Bais Yaakov of Baltimore exhibits has been open to the public, and judged by the comments of mesmerized visitors, this one has certainly equaled if not bettered its predecessors in its grandeur and magnitude. The Exhibits have been presented to the public every four to five years and are largely seen as a truly unique experience in the larger Jewish community, drawing many thousands of visitors. These include schools and groups that bus in from the tri-state area and beyond. An observer commented that if a museum type presentation of this quality were created in the New York vicinity, it would easily draw tens of thousands of guests in a mere matter of weeks. In addition, this year&rsquo...
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January 19, 2017 at 10:41 pm
Baltimore, Md - Jan. 19, 2017 - Once again thank you for all of your prayers! As I posted earlier we have seen good progress however we are still very far from the finish line and as i said there is no definitive prognosis. We are asking again for people around the world to please try and bring on shabbos 5 minutes early for refua shleima for Tamar Adina bas Kayna Shulamis. Thank you so much again. We should only hear happiness!!Tzvi (Steve) Moskowitz
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January 19, 2017 at 8:52 pm
On Friday 22 Teves, inauguration day for President-Elect Donald Trump in the USA, seventy heads of municipalities in Israel will hold a special gathering with Housing Minister (Kulanu) Yoav Galant during the afternoon in the Seven Arches Hotel.
The meeting is within the framework of commemorating 120 years since the First Zionist Congress in Basel and fifty years since the unification/liberation of Jerusalem. They will hear a clear message, that a united Jerusalem will remain the eternal capital of the Jewish People.
The event is being sponsored by the Zionist Council in Israel and the World Zionist Organization. Organizers point out the event will be held just several hours before Mr. Trump is sworn into office.
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January 19, 2017 at 7:56 pm
Long-term US mortgage rates marked their third week of declines this week, after snapping a nine-week run of increases.
Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday the rate on 30-year fixed-rate loans fell to an average 4.09 percent from 4.12 percent last week. That was still sharply higher than a 30-year rate that averaged 3.65 percent for all of 2016, the lowest level recorded from records going back to 1971. A year ago, the benchmark rate stood at 3.81 percent.
The average for a 15-year mortgage declined to 3.34 percent from 3.37 percent last week.
Mortgage rates surged in the weeks since the election of Donald Trump in early November. Investors in Treasury bonds bid yield rates higher because they believe the president-elect’s plans for tax cuts and higher spending on roads, brid...
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January 19, 2017 at 7:53 pm
It might be called a Forever stamp, but its price is anything but.
The cost of mailing a one-ounce first-class letter will jump from 47 cents to 49 cents on Sunday.
The last increase was in January 2014, according to the U.S. Postal Service. Postcards, letters mailed to other countries and heavier letters aren't affected.
The word "Forever" refers to when it can be put on an envelope not how long its cost will remain unchanged.
"Once it’s purchased, it never expires or declines in value, but at the time of purchase, it’s sold at the first-class one-ounce rate. You can use it forever," said Elizabeth Najduch, the USPS spokeswoman for metro Detroit, Flint and Jackson.
Forever stamps were first introduced in April 2007 and within four years,...
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January 19, 2017 at 7:37 pm
When Hashem instructed Moshe to be His emissary to the Jewish people, Moshe was hesitant to accept his role, as he feared that it would hurt the feelings of his brother Aharon. After all, Aharon was older, and until this point he had served as the leader of the Jewish nation. To the contrary, however, when Aharon heard that Moshe was chosen by Hashem to lead the Jewish people he greeted Moshe with genuine happiness. Regarding this, the Midrash comments that had Aharon known that the Torah would actually praise him for greeting Moshe with joy, he would have gone above and beyond and would have even greeted him with a band of musical instruments (Midrash Rus Rabbah 5:6)!
Usually, a Midrash introduces a novel concept (chiddush) or stresses an extremely crucial component in serving Hashem. Ho...
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January 19, 2017 at 6:31 pm
In this week’s Torah portion we find a reference to the prohibition to not hurt another person. Moshe saw Dasan and Aviram arguing and one lifted his hand to hit the other. Moshe called out “Wicked one, why do you hit your fellow” (Shemos 2,13)There is a prohibition against causing unwarranted physical pain to another person. (See Sefer Hamitzvos Hakatzar Prohibition 43) (Click HERE for inspirational stories about this mitzva that you may like to share with your family)
This brings us to the following true dilemma.
Ilana was a doctor who owned a health clinic in Israel. Among many of the services provided in the clinic were vaccinations and inoculations. The clinic was reimbursed, $10 for each vaccination by the government department of health services. ...
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January 19, 2017 at 6:27 pm
After Pharaoh’s first attempt to crush the Jewish nation by imposing overwhelming physical burdens fails, as he observes the more he afflicts them the more they increase, he implements plan B.
The ‘king of Egypt’ confronts the Hebrew midwives, Shifra and Puah, instructing them to kill the Jewish sons on the birthstool. The Torah testifies that these midwives ‘feared G-d’ and refused to submit to the ‘king of Egypt’s’ directive. Not only do they allow the infants to survive but as the Torah attests how ‘they caused the boys to live’ by providing food and water as well. The ‘king of Egypt’ summons them once again questioning their defiance of his edict. The Torah describes how these heroes respond to ‘Pharaoh&rsqu...
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January 19, 2017 at 6:24 pm
Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, Mexico's most notorious cartel kingpin who twice made brazen prison escapes and spent years on the run as the country's most wanted man, was extradited to the United States on Thursday to face drug trafficking and other charges.
Mexico's Foreign Relations Department announced Guzman was handed over to U.S. authorities for transportation to the U.S. on Thursday, the last day of President Barack Obama's administration and a day before Donald Trump is to be inaugurated.
Two senior U.S. officials confirmed that Guzman was on his way.
One said the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration took custody of Guzman in Ciudad Juarez, across the border from El Paso, Texas, and a plane carrying him departed for New York at 5:31 p.m. Eastern time. The offici...
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January 19, 2017 at 6:15 pm
70-year old lawyer sentenced to 1 year in prison, fines, after defrauding Holocaust survivors seeking compensation from Hungary.
The Be'er Sheva Magistrate Court sentenced to prison attorney George Selage, 70, whose license to practice law was revoked in 2011 following complaints from customers that he had taken advantage of his position to defraud Holocaust survivors.
According to the complaint, Selage filed claims for compensation from the German Government on behalf of at least 13 Holocaust survivors. However, he prepared affidavits and adopted the survivors signatures without meeting with them or receiving their permission.
Selage also submitted documents to the District Court in Be'er Sheva to receive official confirmation, according to which the documents were held ill...
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January 19, 2017 at 6:13 pm
Nationalist party candidate tops poll ahead of April election.
JTA - National Front Party leader Marine Le Pen is the leading candidate for president of France according to a major poll.
Le Pen is polling at between 25 and 26 percent in the first round of the presidential election, according to the poll conducted by Ipsos Sopra Steria for the French daily newspaper Le Monde, the newspaper reported Thursday.
Former Prime Minister Francois Fillon, representing France’s center-right Republicans party, trails Le Pen by about 1 percent.
According to Le Monde, Le Pen has not yet started her campaign in earnest. As late as last month, Fillon led Le Pen in opinion polls by about 3 percent. Incumbent president François Hollande of the Socialist Party was eligible to r...
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January 19, 2017 at 6:12 pm
85 terrorists killed in stealth bomber strikes against ISIS forces in Libya targeting Europe.
American airstrikes in Libya killed close to 100 ISIS terrorists at two separate training camps Wednesday night.
Defense officials told Fox News they estimate 85 ISIS terrorists were killed in the strikes, which hit camps 30 miles southwest of Sirte, Libya.
Two B-2 ‘Spirit’ stealth bombers operating out of Missouri dropped a total of 108 guided bombs on the two camps, which were struck again by drone aircraft in a clean-up sweep, firing Hellfire missiles. The bombers refueled five times during the mission, and returned back to their base in the US without landing.
Defense Secretary Ash Carter told reporters at a press conference Thursday that the terrorists killed in ...
