Yishai Ribo’s evocation of the Avodah[1] of Yom Kippur stirs hearts and moves to tears. It has gone viral here in Israel; I’m told that the same is happening in the US. (One of the many, many beautiful things about living here is that – especially recently – people who proudly define themselves as staunchly secular have enough familiarity with the words of davening that they, too, admit to deep feelings of connection to songs like this. A raft of Israeli musicians have turned to piyutim for their material, and the street buys it.) Those who love it claim it has stolen their attention from what other spiritual preparations they were making for the coming Days of Awe. No worries, though. The song, with a haunting melody, powerful delivery, and unf...
Red alert sirens blared in the cities of Ashkelon and Ashdod in southern Israel Tuesday evening. Eyewitnesses reported seeing explosions in the sky caused by the Iron Dome system intercepting rockets in mid-air. The Ashkelon City Council reported, "Following the alarm that was heard in Ashkelon a few moments ago, Mayor Tomer Glam ordered the opening of shelters throughout the city. Teams are on the ground and working to implement the directive during these minutes. We note that the Iron Dome system has intercepted two rockets fired at the city." Prime Minister Netanyahu was in the middle of a speech at a political conference in Ashdod when the alarms sounded. The speech was stopped and the participants were evacuated. After the sirens the conference was resumed and the prime minister co...
According to a survey conducted among 400 religious Zionists, more of them seek answers to shailos with the Google search engine than direct their questions to rabbonim. In response to the question, “When you have a regular halachic shailah, what do you do first?” 49 percent answered, “I look for an answer on the internet,” while only 34.8 percent said, “I ask my regular rov.” Among respondents aged 30 and younger, 53 percent said that they have a regular rov to whom they feel comfortable to address their shailos.
Justin Chan reports for In The Know: A self-proclaimed “anti-vaxxer” from New Zealand revealed on-air that she nearly cost her son his life after she chose not to vaccinate him. In an interview with radio station The Hits, Ally Edward-Lasenby, who had vaccinated one of her children but decided not to vaccinate her son Cameron, said that she chose not to because she had seen research that linked vaccinations with autism. “I made what I thought was an informed decision at the time, and I chose not to immunize Cameron,” she explained. When pressed by the radio hosts on what specific study convinced her to do so, Edward-Lasenby did not cite one but expressed her regret at not doing her due diligence in investigating the supposed connection more. “My bigge...
New York schools are required to provide a moment of silence to observe the anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks, according to a new state law approved by Gov. Andrew Cuomo Monday, the NY Post reports. The law calls for a brief moment of silence at the beginning of the school day every 9/11 to encourage dialogue and education in the classroom among a new generation of students who weren’t alive during the 2001 terror attacks that leveled the World Trade Center’s twin towers and killed more than 3,000 people — the worst foreign attack on American soil. The law goes into effect immediately. “9/11 was one of the single darkest periods in this state’s and this nation’s history, and we owe it to those we lost and to the countless heroes who ran ...
Rav Chaim Kanievsky signed a letter backing the establishment of a chareidi city named Kesif in southern Israel, where there are plans to build 18,000 apartments for chareidim. Government funding for the construction of botei medrash and shuls has already been approved. Plans are also afoot to build tens of thousands of new apartments in Kiryat Malachi and Kiryat Gat in southern Israel, giving them a chareidi majority by 2040. Chareidim are hardest hit by rising apartment prices, with large increases in the Yerushalayim and peripheral areas where they buy the most.
Flatbush – A major accident occured Tuesday afternoon, when a vehicle ran over an 10-year-old child and then barreled straight into scaffolding on Ocean Avenue and Avenue L in Flatbush. The front half of the vehicle was crushed after the scaffolding collapsed from the impact, pinning the occupant. The child was transferred to Community Hospital where he was pronounced deceased. The driver is reportedly in stable condition. The NYPD is investigating the circumstances surrounding the crash.
Workers from the Western Wall Heritage Foundation prepared the Kotel Tuesday for the massive gatherings of worshippers expected during the upcoming holiday season. Beginning with Rosh Hashannah at the end of September and continuing through the Sukkot festival in late October, hundreds of thousands of visitors are expected at the Kotel Plaza. On Tuesday, workers inspected the stones of the Kotel, to ensure that no stones had become loose since the last inspection. In addition, the workers cleaned out the crevices on the outside of the Kotel from birds’ nests and various objects carried by birds. The cleaning and inspection operation is carried out twice a year by the Western Wall Heritage Foundation – once ahead of the High Holidays in the fall, and once prior to the Passov...
President Trump announced Tuesday that he has fired National Security Adviser John Bolton, saying he “disagreed strongly” with his suggestions on a range of issues. “I informed John Bolton last night that his services are no longer needed at the White House,” Trump tweeted. “I disagreed strongly with many of his suggestions, as did others in the Administration, and therefore I asked John for his resignation, which was given to me this morning,” he continued. “I thank John very much for his service. I will be naming a new National Security Advisor next week.” Read More @ Fox News
BALTIMORE COUNTY, MD. (WJZ) — Baltimore County Police have arrested a suspect after a suspicious van with 660 gallons of fuel was found near White Marsh Monday evening. A 30-year-old man has been arrested, police have not identified him yet. Police were dispatched around 3:30 p.m. to Royal Farms store on Pulaski Highway after a report that a car was filling up large tanks with fuel. The officer arrived on scene and was able to find an arrestable driving offense for the person who was filling up the gas in order to investigate. He arrested the suspect, and police learned the suspect as using stolen gift cards with the intention to sell the gas. Police learned the suspect as using stolen gift cards with the intention to sell the gas.
How does the Agudah impact you? State Advocacy from Agudath Israel on Vimeo.
BALTIMORE — Police investigating a suspicious vehicle Monday morning in a parking garage in downtown Baltimore found two containers of diesel fuel, police say. Police and fire were called shortly after 10:48 a.m. to a parking garage in the 100 block of East Pratt Street. Police and building sources told the 11 News I-Team that a van entered the garage around 4:30 a.m. Monday and parked. Security later smelled gasoline and officials saw containers of diesel fuel inside and started an investigation. Baltimore police Col. Richard Worley said fire officials noticed some suspicious things and called police. Police went in and examined the van with a robot. Worley said they found devices that they thought could be hazardous, loaded with diesel fuel with cables running to it that made it...
srael will hold a ceremony to commemorate the 9/11 Twin Tower attacks on Tuesday afternoon at the Jerusalem Park. As a tribute to the Tribute in Lights representing the Twin Towers, Jerusalem's skies will be lighten up – reaching up to 300 meters. Read More Related Articles Netanyahu Sochi trip to focus on military coordination, after Iran exposé Lonely souls find love and win free trip to Israel Recommended by  The Tribute in Light is an art installation of 88 searchlights six blocks south of the World Trade Center on top of the Battery Parking Garage in New York City, which creates two columns of light representing the Twin Towers in remembrance of the September 11 attacks.The event is organized jointly b...
Mazel Tov to Shaindy Lerner on her engagement to Ahron Yosef Tendler (Monsey)!  Mazel tov to the parents, Shaya and Brenda Lerner of Baltimore and Mordechai and Michelle Tendler of Monsey!!
BALTIMORE, Md. (WBFF) - Officials say a suspicious vehicle that prompted the evacuation of much of downtown Baltimore turned out to be a van filled with stolen diesel fuel. Baltimore officials originally reported that the a vehicle with 1,000 gallons of gasoline was found in a parking garage on Calvert Street between Pratt and Light streets.They used a robot to investigate the vehicle, on the second floor of the garage, and determined that suspicious devices on the van were "basically used to steal diesel fuel." Police Col. Richard Worley said "it's not a lot" of diesel fuel. He said there appears to be no "ill intent" with the suspicious vehicle, as far as possible terroristic activity. A large portion of downtown Baltimore was evacuated, between East Baltimore Street, Conway Stre...
Mazel Tov to David and Shoshana Friedman on the birth of a grandson, born to Avrumie (Abe) and Shlomit Friedman. Mazel Tov to grandparents, Menachem and Taina Gross of Long Beach, NY and to great grandmothers, Leah Friedman and Dina Fried.
BALTIMORE — Police investigating a suspicious vehicle Monday morning in a parking garage in downtown Baltimore found containers of gasoline, sources told the 11 News I-Team. Police were called shortly after 11 a.m. to a parking garage in the 100 block of East Pratt Street. Police and building sources told the I-Team that a van entered the garage early Monday morning and parked. Security later smelled gasoline and police saw containers of gasoline inside and started an investigation. Advertisement A city official told the I-Team that law enforcement was doing a final sweep of buildings around the parking garage where the suspicious vehicle is parked. If they don't find anything, the all clear will be given about 4 p.m. Bomb technicians and hazardous materia...
BALTIMORE (WJZ) — On just the second day of the school, Baltimore City Public Schools without air-conditioning were closed two hours early. Temperatures were well over 90 degrees Wednesday in Baltimore City. Gov. Hogan posted a statement on Facebook about the incident.
“It is outrageous and completely unacceptable that the third-highest funded large school system in America still refuses to put air conditioning in their schools and had to send kids home from 57 hot school buildings. The Baltimore City School System must be held accountable.”
Over the last few weeks, the Baltimore Teachers Union and individual donors have been dropping off dozens of portable fans in preparation for the school year.
Just weeks after lambasting Baltimore as a “disgusting, rat and rodent infested mess,” President Donald Trump will visit the Maryland city to huddle with congressional Republicans – a gathering that could draw local protests and reignite an ugly feud between the White House and the black-majority locality. The White House confirmed Sunday that Trump would address House Republicans at their biennial retreat this Thursday. Republican lawmakers and aides – who chose the city for their three-day gathering before Trump decried it as “the Worst in the USA” – weren’t sure the president would want to attend. Trump’s attendance could elate GOP lawmakers still licking their wounds from last fall’s midterm shellacking by the Democrats, who...
Our 2019-20 theme, “Building and Rebuilding,” speaks to OCA’s commitment to build upon our vision of Community, Individuality, and Excellence in all aspects of our school.  We are proud of OCA’s strong foundation of community warmth and cohesiveness; our progressive, child-centered, and empirically-based instructional methods; and our goal of achieving excellence in everything we do. In designing our theme for this year, we chose to take it a step further by encouraging students to see themselves as an important part of who we are as an institution.  Enjoy this video recap of the first day of the school year where students were introduced to the concept of Building and Rebuilding and settled in for a year of learning, growth and, of course, fun! 
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