We are now focusing on the approaching Yom HaDin, Rosh HaShanah.  And as much as this is a time for spiritual preparation, it is also a time when practical preparation for the upcoming 23 days beginning with Rosh Hashanah can go a long way toward preserving our health.  This time period also includes Yom Kippur, Succot, Chol HaMoed and Simchat Torah and can have a negative effect on our health if we allow it to.  However, with a little bit of planning and a lot of portion control, this period in our calendar can be as meaningful as it is meant to be and our Gashmiut-physical pleasures, can indeed be used to enhance our Ruchniut—spirituality.  There are essentially three areas where we all tend to get into trouble. One - the amounts of food we consume sitting at o...
A perfect follow-up to last week’s discussion: This week's parsha deals with the proceedings with regards to a case of illicit relations with a betrothed girl or married woman. The betrothed girl must be at least 12 years old, without having shown complete signs of adulthood in order to be subject to these specific laws. Additionally, these laws only apply after the kiddushin (betrothal) stage and not after marriage. There is an interesting discrepancy found in the pesukim dealing with these transgressions. With regards to the penalty of death delivered in the case of the betrothed girl (stoning), the Torah comments (22:21,24) "And you shall wipe out the evil from your midst." However, with regards to the death penalty in the case of ordinary ad...
Hasbro Inc. is introducing a new version of the classic board game called Ms. Monopoly, where the Monopoly Man, with his mustache, cane and top hat, is replaced by a blazer-wearing, coffee-swilling businesswoman — an “advocate whose mission is to reinvest in female entrepreneurs.” The rules generally stay the same as in the classic real estate game. But instead of purchasing properties, players buy up inventions and innovations that women had a hand in creating, like Wi-Fi and chocolate chip cookies, Hasbro said in a news release. Players will build business headquarters instead of houses in this game. And in a move that flips the pay-gap narrative, women start with more money than men; they will also get more money when passing Go. “Ms. Monopoly was created to i...
Volunteers from United Hatzalah of Ukraine together with local first responders and Oxford Medical held a mass-casualty incident (MCI) training drill in Uman in a building located close to the gravesite of Rebbe Nachman. The drill, which took place on Thursday morning, was designed to allow first responders from the city and beyond to work together prior to the arrival of the tens-of-thousands of visitors expected in the city for Rosh Hashanah. The drill simulated a fire breaking out in an apartment building and rescue teams had to evacuate and treat hundreds of patients who suffered smoke inhalation and mild burns. The drill came just one day after volunteer EMTs from the organization treated ten tourists for smoke inhalation after a fire broke out in a hotel near the city of Uman. &ldq...
Explosions and towering fireballs struck the heart of Saudi Arabia’s oil empire on Saturday in an apparent wave of drone attacks claimed by Yemen’s Houthi rebels. The blows knocked out more than half the kingdom’s oil output for days or more and threatened to drive up already high tensions between Iran and its foes in the Persian Gulf. The predawn blasts on facilities of the state-run oil giant Aramco – which the rebel group claimed were carried out by a fleet of 10 drones – marked one of the most devastating strikes into Saudi territory claimed by the Iranian-allied Houthis in more than four years of war in Yemen. It was also the most serious attack on Saudi Arabia’s oil infrastructure in decades, which includes barrages of Scud missiles fired by Sadd...
Former First Lady Michelle Obama is coming to Newark Nov. 3 and fans are shelling out big bucks to hear what she has to say. The cheap seats for the “Moderated Conversation” at the Prudential Center were going for $144 on Ticketmaster. Prime seats and a “meet and greet” will cost you $2,500. Floor seats are priced as high as $1,300 and the most expensive ticket currently available is $4,200 for a suite-level ducat. Read more at THE NY POST.
The Holocaust diary of Polish Jewish teenager Renia Spiegel will finally be published after being sealed away in a New York bank vault for nearly 70 years, CNN reported. Spiegel was born in 1924 and lived in Przemysl, Poland, which was invaded by the Nazis in 1941. Her diary chronicles her escape from bombing raids in her hometown, the disappearance of Jewish families, the creation of the ghetto and more. Spiegel was killed by the Nazis in 1942 at the age of 18 after being discovered in hiding. She left the diary with her boyfriend, Zygmunt Schwarzer, who gave it to someone to hold onto before being deported to Auschwitz. Schwarzer survived and returned the diary in 1950 to Renia’s sister, Elizabeth, and mother Róża, both living in New York. Elizabeth, without reading the ...
A number of gravestones of British and Commonwealth World War II soldiers in the Netherlands have been defaced with swastikas and other markings, Agence France-Presse reported Friday. The desecration of the graves, at the Mierlo War Cemetery near the southern Dutch city of Eindhoven, comes at a time when the Netherlands is preparing to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the beginning of its liberation from Nazi occupation. A police statement said, “We take the matter very seriously and have started an extensive investigation.” The statement indicated that police were also looking into other recent instances of vandalism. A large swastika was painted on the chapel of the cemetery. Several graves were defaced with letters. A large cross was also defaced. The phrase “MH...
Video Produced by Adina Chesir
President Donald Trump wrote on Twitter Saturday that he had spoken to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the phone earlier to discuss the possibility of “moving forward with a mutual defense treaty” between the United States and Israel. Such a treaty, Trump wrote, “would further anchor the tremendous alliance” between the two countries, adding that he looked forward to continuing the discussion at the United Nations later this month, after the Israeli elections. Depending on the results of Tuesday’s elections in Israel, both Trump and Netanyahu are expected to attend the U.N. General Assembly meeting on Sept. 24. Netanyahu thanked Trump on Twitter, calling him a “dear friend” and the greatest friend Israel has ever had in the White ...
European powers on Friday called on Iran to cooperate with the UN’s nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), after Tehran warned that undue pressure from the US and Israel could jeopardize the agency’s activities in Iran. In a joint statement, Britain, France, Germany and the EU’s foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini called on Tehran “to cooperate with the IAEA on all relevant matters, including safeguards issues.” The four European signatories of the 2015 accord on Iran’s nuclear program said they were “deeply concerned” by an IAEA report that showed Iran was installing advanced centrifuges. Expressing fears that the nuclear deal “further unravels”, they urged Iran “to reverse all activities th...
President Trump on Saturday condemned drone attacks at two Saudi Aramco oil facilities that reportedly disrupted production and marked a new escalation in regional tensions with Iran. “The United States strongly condemns today’s attack on critical energy infrastructure. Violent actions against civilian areas and infrastructure vital to the global economy only deepen conflict and mistrust,” the White House said in a statement following a phone call between Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Trump offered Prince Mohammed “his support for Saudi Arabia’s self-defense,” the White House said, following an earlier statement from Riyadh saying the crown prince told Trump the kingdom was “willing and able to confront and deal with this terr...
A teenager who says vaping gave him lungs “like a 70-year-old” is suing a leading e-cigarettes company. Adam Hergenreder, an 18-year-old from Illinois, has accused Juul of marketing e-cigarettes to young people with the message that vaping could boost their social status. He underwent hospital treatment at the end of August for nausea and laboured breathing after using e-cigarettes for more than 18 months. “I’m 18 years old. My lungs are like a 70-year-old’s,” he told CBS while in hospital. “My lungs will never be the same.” Read more at YAHOO NEWS.
Mazal Tov to Michael & Michal Denise on the birth of a daughter! 
We regret to inform you of the passing of Ralph Sisskin, z"l. Levaya information forthcoming.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House announced Saturday that Hamza bin Laden , the son of the late al-Qaida leader who had become an increasingly prominent figure in the terrorist organization, was killed in a U.S. counterterrorism operation in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region. A statement issued in President Donald Trump’s name gave no further details, such as when Hamza bin Laden was killed or how the United States had confirmed his death. Administration officials would provide no more information beyond the three-sentence statement from the White House. American officials have said there are indications that the CIA, not the U.S. military, conducted the strike. The CIA declined comment on whether the agency was involved. The White House statement said Hamza bin Lade...
 Dutch man charged with the attempted manslaughter of a Jewish father and son claims he forgot why he stabbed them, JTA reported on Friday. During the first hearing in the case, the victims asked the judge to consider a religious or racist motive, which currently is not included in the incitement. Taha Ewis Bakri Abdel Ghani did not deny the assaults, which took place this past March, on Martin Colmans and his son Sharon, vendors in the Albert Cuyp Market. The accused worked in a shop on the market and had had several disputes in the past with the Colmans and others, who complained to authorities about violence on his part. At Thursday’s hearing, a lawyer for Ewis Bakri Abdel Ghani presented psychiatric evaluations to the Amsterdam criminal tribunal declaring ...
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