Mazel Tov to Moshe and Devorah Dinovitzer on the birth of a son!  Mazel Tov to the Diskind and Dinovitzer grandparents!
We regret to inform you of the passing of Alan Hopfenberg, father of Shazy King. Shiva will be at 405 South Road, Baltimore, MD 21208, Wednesday and Thursday the family will be receiving from 8am-10am, 3pm-5pm, and 7pm-9pm. Hamakom yinacheim eschem b'soch sha'ar aveilei tzion v'rushalayim
After entering the land and harvesting its produce, Bnei Yisroel are given the Mitzvah of Bikurim –bringing the first fruits to the Mishkan or Beis Hamikdash and offering them to Hashem.  In a detailed description, our Parsha tells us of the meaningful words to be spoken at the time of the offering.  (Ki Savo, 22:5)  Lavan and Pharaoh tried to destroy us and caused us great suffering, but Hashem took us out with great power and brought us to this beautiful land which now provides us with such delicacies.  Then, in what appears to be a gesture of gratitude, we are to lay the produce before Hashem and bow down.  This simple yet beautiful display of appreciation is then followed with another directive: “You shall be happy with all the good which Hashem you...
At the conclusion of the ritual of bringing Bikkurim, one’s first fruits, and presenting it to the kohen in the Temple before the Altar, the last aspect one must fulfill is the directive, “You shall prostrate yourself before Hashem, your G-d”.   The Vilna Gaon alleges that this need to prostrate oneself fully is not specific to Bikkurim. Any time one frequents the Courtyard of the Temple, one is required to prostrate before Hashem.  Yet, this detail, to bow before G-d in the Temple, is only enumerated in the context of Bikkurim and nowhere else. It would seem that by choosing to place it specifically here, the Torah is intimating a special connection between these two subjects.   The Midrash relates how when M...
Mazel Tov to Ouriel and Atara Dzikowski on the birth of a daughter! 
There is a well-known halachah that one is not allowed to fast on Rosh Hashanah barring certain specific circumstances. Although it is a Day of Judgment, and there are shittos of the Gaonim that do permit one to fast, nevertheless the halachah is that Rosh Hashanah is also a festive Yom Tov and we must honor it properly. In fact, the Yerushalmi mentions that we must eat, drink, and be mesamayach on Rosh Hashanah.[1][2] This includes partaking of fine delicacies, as it is written in Sefer Nechemiah[3] regarding Rosh Hashanah, that everyone should “Eat fatty foods and drink sweet drinks…for this day is holy.” Interestingly, there are various customs rela...
Israel’s most immediate needs are unrelated to the identity of its next prime minister. They have already been discussed, identified, and detailed in many reports and studies published in the past few years. First and foremost, Israel needs stability. One of the identifying characteristics of the Israeli economy is its ability to withstand political and security related challenges. In Israel, war is always on the horizon. The average tenure of an Israeli prime minister is 2.7 years, and since 1992 no government has managed to complete a full four-year term. This unprecedented situation that saw Israelis return to cast their votes for a second time in the same year, with the threat of a third election still looming, is a serious risk to the country’s economy. Political instabi...
Mrs. Leah Steinberg, Director of Agudath Israel’s Special Education division, Project LEARN, read the document. Then she read it again. And again.  Was she missing something?  But, no: The national survey on special education completely omitted the needs of nonpublic school children with disabilities.  National Study about Special Needs  Here’s the backstory:  In April 2019, the US Department of Education (USDE) proposed a survey called the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) State and Local Implementation Study 2019.  It’s been ten years since Congress last reauthorized IDEA, and it wanted to “examine how states, districts, and schools are identifying and supporting...
‘Seat Belts Look Good on You’ Initiative Offers Reward for Passage of Road Skills Test   BALTIMORE, MD (September 19, 2019) – Touting the theme, “Seat Belts Look Good on You,” officials with the Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) today announced results of the statewide 2019 Roadside Observation Seat Belt Survey, showing that seat belt usage increased slightly, from 90.3 percent in 2018 to 90.4 percent this year. MDOT Secretary Pete K. Rahn and Chrissy Nizer, Administrator of the Maryland Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Administration (MDOT MVA), also unveiled a campaign being conducted during the 2019-2020 school year to promote seat belt use among teenaged drivers. “While we’re glad to see a slight improvement from la...
Vehodatam - For generations our Mesorah has been passed down from father to son and rebbi to talmid. This is especially the case when it comes to Torah shel ba'al peh. The Shasathon encapsulates the idea of Torah and its transmission to our children and grandchildren. Zeraim, Moed, Nashim, Nezikin, Kodshim and Tohoros will all be learned at this multi-generational Siyum haShas Mishnayos. Visit www.baltimoreshasathon.org to learn how to share in this special zechus.
Candle lighting for this Friday, September 20th - Parshas Ki Savo - is 6:49pm. The 19-20 calendar reflects the correct time.
Mazal Tov !!Batsheva and Josh Zaslow with the birth of a son!
Mazal Tov to Mrs. Elana Frand on the engagement of her daughter, Chava to Yaakov Merkin, son of Rabbi and Mrs. Simmy Merkin of Silver Spring.
ccording to Channel 13, 97.6% of the votes from Tuesday's elections have already been counted, Blue and White stands at 33 seats and Likud at 31 seats, with Blue and White leading by a narrow margin. It is important to note that these are still not the final results.Overnight, the committee was counting the near quarter of a million soldiers' votes cast by Israeli soldiers. The Central Election Committee (CEC) has been updating its website since the close of the polls at 10 p.m. on Tuesday. The last update was at 10:40 a.m. on Thursday: 4,354,991 votes had been counted – or 68.11% of the ballots cast.  The current official results according to the CEC (with mandates/seats according to Channel 13):Blue and White: 25.92% (33)Likud: 25.14% (31)The ...
Mrs. Elaine Tuchman is sitting shiva for her brother Harav Elimelech Bluth A"H. Shiva information is as follows: 606 E. 2nd Street, Brooklyn NY through Sunday afternoon (9/22/19) Her cell number is 917-453-5789. On Sunday evening she will return to Baltimore and sit shiva on Monday from 9:30 AM to 9:30 PM 6210 Park Heights Avenue # 404 (Strathmore Towers). End of Shiva is Tuesday morning. May the family have a nechama.
[Editor’s note: As a memory of my beloved brother Shaya, I would like to continue sending out his pearls of wisdom that he has shared with all of you in the past. For some of you this may ring a bell and for others it may appear to be totally new. May the learning of Shaya’s Divrei Torah inspire us to change our ways and thereby give an Aliya to the neshama of our dear beloved Shaya whom we miss so much. A special thank you to Aaron Friedman for always looking over the divrei torah.] Parshas Ki Savo begins with the Mitzva of Bikurim [bringing the first fruits to the Beis Hamikdash], followed shortly thereafter by the terrible curses that occur if we don't fulfill Hashem’s Mitzvos. The close proximity of the curses to...
Blessing on Everything; Travel Stories 1) “Chayav adam l’vareich al ha’raah k’sheim sh’mevareich al hatov.” Perek 26, pasuk 11, “V’samachta b’chol hatov asher nasan Hashem Elokecha l’beisecha”.  A beautiful pasuk.  You should rejoice in all the good that G-d has given you and your family.  Gra brings down, there’s a gemara in Berachos 14a that says, “Chayav adam l’vareich al ha’raah k’sheim sh’mevareich al hatov."  You have to thank Hashem or make a blessing on bad just like he makes a blessing on good as well.  This is a very famous gemara.  A lot of people question what does it mean?  How do we understand it?  The greater the bad that befalls a ...
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has successfully nixed any chance for a unity government. In order to achieve this, he is operating a three-stage campaign.  The first stage was to ensure that the right-wing bloc was behind him. Namely, bring the members of his outgoing coalition into line. He has effectively prevented them from going to Benny Gantz – whose Blue and White party appears to have won more seats than Netanyahu's Likud - behind his back. The second stage was to lay blame on Gantz for any parliamentary crisis they may arise when no new coalition is achieved and the need for a third round of elections within a year is raised. Netanyahu on Thursday issued an urgent call through an online video for Gantz to meet and agree on a national unity government. Gan...
The biblical kingdom of Edom has always been a significant puzzle for biblical archaeology. Although evidence is supplied in the Bible, the archaeological record has always had trouble interpreting the text, which said that it existed as a kingdom long before the kings of Israel.But research has uncovered the untold story of a thriving and wealthy society in the Arava Desert – in parts of Israel and Jordan – that existed during the 12th-11th centuries BCE. “Using technological evolution as a proxy for social processes, we were able to identify and characterize the emergence of the biblical kingdom of Edom,” explained Tel Aviv University’s Prof. Ezra Ben-Yosef, who led the study with Prof. Tom Levy of the University of California, San Diego. “Our re...
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