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May 23, 2019 at 3:35 pm
The Torah states that every 7th year is “Shemittah", during which the Jews who live in Eretz Yisrael (Israel) cannot work their land and must keep it fallow. The Midrash states that those who faithfully observe Shemittah are the mightiest of warriors for keeping such difficult laws (Yalkut Shmoni, Tehillim 860). At the same time, the Torah alleviates all fears of hunger by explicitly promising the Jewish nation that the 6th year will produce a miraculous super crop adequate for 3 entire years. R’ Aharon Kotler asks, if so, why is one who keeps Shemittah considered a mighty warrior? After the farmer receives a 3-year super crop prior to the Shemittah year and benefits first-hand from a miracle, is it so impressive that he kept the Shemittah laws?
Later on, the Torah details the...
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May 23, 2019 at 3:28 pm
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said behind closed doors that he is considering declaring new elections because of Yisrael Beytenu Chairman Avigdor Lieberman. Lieberman is demanding that the controversial draft bill be implemented in full, something Netanyahu's ultra-Orthodox partners are strongly opposed to.
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May 23, 2019 at 3:26 pm
Kiel was dropped off after work at the Liberty Plaza Shopping Center, 8710 Liberty Rd, Randallstown, around 6 pm on Mon, April 22. He hasn't been seen since. Although his girlfriend interacted with him through Facebook on April 25, there has been no other contact with friends or family since that time, and they are extremely worried.
Kiel McDonald is 25 yrs old, 6'1", 175 lbs. He has numerous tattoos on his body, including a prominent tattoo of an eye on his right hand that can be seen in this photo. He was last seen wearing a red sweatshirt and black jeans. He is known to frequent Tom's Tavern on Liberty Road.
If you have any information on Kiel's whereabouts or how to contact him, call detectives in the BCoPD Homicide/Missing Persons Unit at 410-307-2020 or dial 911...
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May 23, 2019 at 3:22 pm
30 years from now every attendee will remember the inspiration and excitement of one of the most unique events of his childhood!
On Sunday, May 19th, 1,000 boys from around the NY/NJ and Philadelphia area attended Pirchei Agudas Yisroel’s 56th Annual National Siyum Mishnayos. The siyum took place at the Kol Yaakov Hall in Flatbush, and was chaired by Rabbi Avi Frank, Rebbe, Yeshiva of Spring Valley, and director, AI Campus Marshall, IN.
The siyum program combined education and entertainment, bringing fun and learning to the boys who attended accompanied by their Pirchei leaders, fathers, and Rebbeim. They enjoyed presentations by Harav Yaakov Bender, Rosh HaYeshiva, Yeshiva Darchei Torah; Rabbi Chaim Dovid Zwiebel, executive vice president of Agudas Yisroel of America; Rabbi La...
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May 23, 2019 at 3:20 pm
The National Weather Service issued a severe thunderstorm watch covering much of Maryland, the District of Columbia and parts of three neighboring states.
The watch is set to expire at 8 p.m. Thursday. Forecasters warn of scattered hail, gusts of up to 70 mph and frequent lightning.
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May 23, 2019 at 2:04 pm
Baltimore, MD - May 23, 2019 - The Ruach and Simcha were in the air last night at TA as the entire middle school and all of their fathers gathered for a next level Madura and BBQ in honor of Lag Ba'omer. As TA Mashgiach, Rabbi Shraga Herskowitz lit the fire, singing and dancing began with the accompaniment of live music by Benzion Bluming. TA talmidim, Rabbeim and fathers all joined hands in the spririt of the evening. After dancing, all of those assembled we're treated to a Lag B'omer story and message from TA's own Rabbi Yechiel Spero. Through a story that began in Europe during the Holocaust and ended at Kever Rashb"y, Rabbi Spero spoke about the power of Lag Ba'omer and the zchus of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, z'ya. He encouraged all of the ...
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May 23, 2019 at 1:31 pm
Updated as of 1:30 PM - A male subject implied that he had a gun, demanded money, then left on foot.
Here is currently more than one description of vehicles that may or may not be involved…both are uncertain. One is the Malibu, but the license plate is different than that which we reported earlier.
K9 units have been deployed and searched the area.
Suspect is described as a black male with jeans & a black hoodieBaltimore, MD – May 23, 2019 – 1:02 PM - At 12:48 PM, there was a report of an attempted robbery at the Rite Aid in the Greenspring Shopping Center.
According to the Citizen website, officers are looking for a Chevrolet Malibu with Virginia license plates: VLX7092.
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May 23, 2019 at 1:26 pm
Jerusalem, Israel - May 23, 2019 - The bar and bat mitzvah celebration of 90 Israeli children with hearing loss and other disabilities began at the Nitzanim synagogue in the Baka neighborhood of Jerusalem, Israel, and concluded with a visit to the Kosel in the afternoon. The annual event held on Monday, May 20th, was sponsored by the International Young Israel Movement (IYIM) which provides programming and support of the Israeli deaf community, the Jewish Agency for Israel, and the non-profit organization Shema.
The children, who came from Eilat in the south to northern Israeli communities, were accompanied by an adult. Most bar mitzvah boys had a father or grandfather, or both standing next to them. Tefillin were presented, and were being put on, assisted, either by one of the yeshiva bo...
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May 23, 2019 at 1:19 pm
Jerusalem - Israeli police have ordered the evacuation of several communities in southern and central Israel as wildfires rage amid a major heatwave.
Firefighters battled brushfires Thursday along the Gaza boundary, as well as near the country’s main international airport and outside Jerusalem. A major Tel Aviv-Jerusalem highway was also closed to traffic because of the fire.
Israel and the region are gripped by a major heatwave, with temperatures around the country reaching 100 F (38 C) and higher.
It wasn’t immediately clear whether the fires near the boundary with Gaza were caused by incendiary balloons launched from the Palestinian enclave.
Gaza militants had launched incendiary balloons into Israel on Wednesday, and in response, Israeli authorities reduced Gaza’s...
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May 23, 2019 at 1:19 pm
The Baltimore County Council on Thursday passed the income tax increase requested by County Executive John Olszewski Jr. Council members also blunted the impact of what was an unpopular proposed tax on cell phone lines.
The full budget later passed in a 6-1 vote. Republican Todd Crandell was the lone vote against the budget, while Republican Wade Kach reluctantly voted yes.
The original cell phone tax would have added a $3.50 monthly fee per cell phone line. The new version will port the 8% landline fee to cell phone accounts, amounting to about $1.60 per account, rather than per line. The reworked tax passed in a 6-1 vote, with Republican Todd Crandell voting against the measure.
The budget saw $14 million in cuts to account for the decreased revenue. T.J. Smith, Olszews...
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May 23, 2019 at 1:16 pm
Jerusalem, Israel - May 23, 2019 - In 2008, IDF soldier Amit Dafni was wounded near the Egyptian border and airlifted to Soroka Hospital in Beer Sheva. For eight days he remained in a medically induced coma before being transferred to Sheba Hospital for rehabilitation. After one year in hospital, the wounded soldier received treatments daily for another four to five years. Eleven years after the tragic training accident in which he was injured, Dafni is a lawyer, married, and has a baby daughter. He says he has learned to live with his injuries. However, the weakness in his left arm and elbow prevents him from doing simple tasks with his child, such as lifting her from the bath.
Dafni was one of nineteen injured soldiers in the south Tel Aviv WeWorks Impact Lab for a ReStart/TO...
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May 23, 2019 at 12:41 pm
Michelle Wilson, the former city prosecutor tapped earlier this week to head the public integrity bureau of city police, won't be joining the department after all.
“Michelle Wilson will not be joining the Baltimore Police Department," police said in a statement. "Because this is a personnel matter, and based on the advice of the city solicitor, we cannot comment further."
Wilson, currently assistant attorney general under Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh, recently accused State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby of perjury in a wrongful termination suit filed by a former colleague.
Following news of Wilson's hiring on Tuesday, a Mosby spokeswoman said prosecutors "remain steadfast in our commitment" to work with City Hall and police "to fight crime and ro...
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May 23, 2019 at 12:19 pm
The journey of haschalas gemarah is daunting for any boy in yeshiva: a new language, unfamiliar grammar, foreign concepts and a set of logic that is quite challenging. It’s like being in 1st grade all over again!
Of course, those of us who have successfully navigated this journey know how worthwhile it is, and appreciate how our lives have been eternally transformed through the learning of Gemorah. But have we forgotten the experience of the journey itself? Perhaps it was that first good grade that gave us confidence. Or maybe just an encouraging word that carried us through.
Baruch Hashem boys throughout the Torah world have made tremendous strides in learning. Whether in terms of their skill set, confidence, or personal enjoyment of learning, it has truly been transformative.
Th...
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May 23, 2019 at 12:01 pm
Washington - The rift between President Donald Trump and congressional Democrats appeared to be widening Thursday after a dramatic blow-up at the White House at a meeting on infrastructure.
A day after Trump stalked out of the Cabinet room demanding an end to congressional investigations, the Republican president and Democratic leaders dug in, while plans to fix the nation’s roads and bridges fell into the chasm.
Each side insisted it wants to agree on a plan, but a path forward was difficult to see. Shadowing the whole drama are the ongoing congressional investigations of whether Trump obstructed justice or committed other crimes and the demands by some Democrats to begin impeachment proceedings against him.
White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said Thursday on CNN that “i...
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May 23, 2019 at 12:00 pm
New York - Federal prosecutors have charged a banker with trying to buy himself a role in President Donald Trump’s administration by making risky loans to former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort.
Stephen M. Calk was arrested Thursday in New York City on a financial institution bribery charge.
He is scheduled to appear in Manhattan federal court in the afternoon.
A message seeking comment was left with his attorney.
Authorities said Calk committed the crime while serving as CEO of The Federal Savings Bank in Chicago.
Federal prosecutors described the charge in a release, saying Calk abused his bank position by approving millions of dollars in high risk loans that were ultimately downgraded.
Prosecutors say Calk wanted to be appointed Secretary of the Army or some other high...
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May 23, 2019 at 11:31 am
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani rejected negotiations with the Trump administration amid increasing tensions between Washington and Tehran.
“Today’s situation is not suitable for talks, and our choice is resistance only,” said Rouhani on Tuesday, according to the state news agency IRNA.
U.S. President Donald Trump has shown tough rhetoric, but also a willingness to sit down for talks with the regime.
“Iran will call us if and when they are ever ready,” he said on Monday, a day after tweeting, “If Iran wants to fight, that will be the official end of Iran. Never threaten the United States again!”
Since withdrawing last year from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, the United States has increased pressure on the Islamic Republic by reimposing sanctions ...
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May 23, 2019 at 11:31 am
Baltimore City Police are investigating four separate shootings that occurred within three minutes of each other late Wednesday night.
According to police, all four shootings occurred between 10:41 p.m. and 10:44 p.m.
At 10:41 p.m. police received a tip through a Shot Spotter alert of gunfire on the 2300 block of East Preston Street.
Once on the scene police found evidence of a shooting and were advised that the victim was being assisted by medics in the 1700 block of Monument Street.
Also at 10:41 p.m., police were called to the 2300 block of East Hoffman Street for reports of a shooting.
Police found evidence of gunfire and two victims, 50 and 54-years-old, walked into a hospital seeking treatment for graze wounds.
The victims told police that th...
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May 23, 2019 at 11:29 am
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s former national security advisor talked about regional challenges facing Israel’s security at an event in New York City last week organized by Friends of European Leadership Network (ELNET).
Brig. Gen. Jacob Nagel, a current visiting professor at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa, discussed the rise of the Islamic State (ISIS), as well as Syria and Iran.
Of the latter, he called it a country that does not want peace. Rather, it is “a country that wants to annihilate Israel,” and said that Israel cannot accept an agreement with Syria that allows Iran and its proxy, Hezbollah, to remain as ground forces in the country because they are threatening the security of the Jewish state.
He also explained why h...
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May 23, 2019 at 11:28 am
Baltimore County Public Schools officials want to hear from parents, teachers and other members of the public on when the school year should start, before or after Labor Day.
Officials want people to vote for the school calendar of their choice. Under a law passed over Gov. Larry Hogan's veto, school systems have the power to set when the school year starts and ends. Under a prior executive order by Hogan, systems had to start after Labor Day and wrap up by June 15. The new law allows systems to extend the length of the school year for up to five school days beyond that date without approval from the state board of education.
Under the pre-Labor Day start, classes would begin Aug. 26 and end June 16 of next year, with a week-long spring break. Under the post-Labor Day opti...
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May 23, 2019 at 11:28 am
Information about the international travel plans of the Israeli prime minister, other high-ranking Israeli diplomats, and senior agents of the country’s security agencies was leaked following a recent security breach, according to one person who spoke to Calcalist on condition of anonymity. That person identified himself as the hacker who discovered the breach, which compromised the database of alp.co.il, an online platform used by Israeli travel agents to book flights and hotels and submit visa applications.
Calcalist reviewed some of the leaked data and consequently informed the Israeli National Cyber Directorate of the leak. The breach has since been addressed.
Alp.co.il is used by popular Israeli online travel booking services such as Gulliver.co.il, Issta.co.il, and government...
