Baltimore, MD - Sept. 27, 2020 - Rabbi Marwick's Kol Nidrei and Yizkor Drashas Please click here for Rabbi Marwick's Kol Nidrei Drasha.   Please click here for Rabbi Marwick's Yizkor drasha.
Baltimore, Md - Sept. 27, 2020 - Pertinent Halachos for Yom Kippur During COVID-19 from Conference of Synagogue Rabbonim of Agudath Israel. For a larger, printable copy, click on the graphic below.
Baltimore, MD - Sept. 27, 2020 - As we all know, over the past few days there were multiple armed carjackings in our community. As we are in the midst of the Yom Tov season and we are walking through the community at night more often, we are urging everyone to use caution and to remain alert and aware of your surroundings.   In the event that something C”V does occur please make sure to call 911 and Shomrim immediately, even on Shabbos & Yom Tov! Often incidents like this occur in multiples and the sooner police and Shomrim are made aware of it the faster we can make sure the community is safe. Wishing all of Klal Yisrael a Gmar Chasima Tova!
Every year on Yom Kippur we are given an incredible opportunity for Teshuva.  Indeed, the commentaries teach us that on Yom Kippur the special “zman“ can allow someone to attain forgiveness, even if on our merits, we may not be so entitled.  This special matana from Hashem permits this at this special time.   Most of us are aware of the opportunity for teshuva and capitalize on it to a lesser or greater degree.  We say selichos, we daven, we increase our tzedaka, we fast etc.  there is so much more all of us can do in the teshuva realm, but at least we try.  And for most of us each year, with Hashem’s rachamim, it is enough. At the risk of great understatement, this is not most years.  Most years, we each have our particular issues of ...
Baltimore, MD - Sept. 27, 2020: The following was recently sent by TA to its parent body: Dear Faculty, Staff, and Parents, Over the last 48 hours, there has been a major outbreak of COVID-19 in our community. After consultation with our medical team and Rabbonim, we have made the decision to close the TA campus for in person learning for the few days between Yom Kippur and Sukkos.  More details will be forthcoming after Yom Kippur. We wish you and your families and Gmar Chasima Tova and may Hashem continue to keep all of us healthy and well. TA Administration 
DETROIT, Mich. — While some health experts warn of a possible second wave in the coronavirus pandemic, a new study is pointing to signs that COVID-19’s severity may be fading. Researchers at Wayne State University say viral loads from patients are continuing to decrease as the pandemic progresses. This is also showing a connection to a lowering death rate. Dr. Said El Zein and his team analyzed viral loads of SARS-CoV-2, the virus causing COVID-19, coming from patient nasal swabs over two months. From April 4 to June 5, a downward trend in the amount of virus detected in patients at Detroit Medical Center was discovered. To estimate the viral loads coming from nasopharyngeal swabs, study authors use a cycle threshold (Ct) value that comes from the tes...
Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden on Sunday called on the U.S. Senate to hold off voting on President Trump's Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett, claiming that the right thing to do would be to wait to fill the vacant seat on the court until after January's inauguration. "The Senate has to stand strong for our democracy," Biden said in remarks Sunday afternoon. He went on to say that senators should "take a step back from the brink," and that "this is a time to de-escalate." Join BJL status for engagements, births, deals, levayos, events & more:  https://bit.ly/32HUBnJ Join an official BJL WhatsApp group for breaking news as it happens: https://bit.ly/32wc4iG President Trump told "Fox & Friends" co-host Pete Hegseth that he...
Baltimore, MD - Sept. 27, 2020 - The following was just sent by Bais Yaakov to its parent body: Dear Bais Yaakov Parents and Staff, Due to an uptick in positive COVID-19 cases in the community, we have taken the following action. Upon the advice of our physicians and in consultation with our Rabbonim, Bais Yaakov will not open for in-person learning for the 2 days scheduled after Yom Kippur, until the Sukkos Yom Tov break.  Your daughter's educational division will be in touch with you regarding distance learning during those few days before Sukkos. At this time, the plan to reopen after Yom Tov remains the same. We will have distance learning from 10/13 to 10 /16 and iy"H restart in-person learning, in school, on October 19th. We dav...
Baltimore, MD - Sept. 27, 2020 - Kaparos are currently taking place until 3:00 PM  at Machzikei Torah  6216 Biltmore Ave, Baltimore, MD 21215
Director-General of Israel's Health Ministry says country nearing 'point of no return' The lockdown in Israel is likely to remain in place after the Jewish holiday season wrapping up on October 10, a senior health official said Sunday. Join BJL status for engagements, births, deals, levayos, events & more:  https://bit.ly/32HUBnJ Join an official BJL WhatsApp group for breaking news as it happens: https://bit.ly/32wc4iG In his interview for Army Radio, Hezi Levi, Director-General of Israel's Health Ministry, said the country was unlikely to go back to normal right after the Simchat Torah holiday. For the lockdown to be rolled back, Levi said, the positive test ratio must first fall off below 10 percent, while the recent days saw it edge close to 1...
The IDF Home Front Command in partnership with United Hatzalah has set up a special project for Yom Kippur that will see dozens of emergency first responders from the EMS organization stay at the Corona hotels over the course of the holiday. The volunteers will be stationed at all of the Corona hotels across the country and will be tasked with providing emergency medical care to anyone who requires their assistance at the hotels.    Some of the EMS first responders are already "guests" in quarantine at the hotels, while others will be staying in "green" sections of the hotels. All of the volunteers will be provided with PPE (personal protective equipment) suits and should there be a need to respond to a medical emergency at the hotel, they will provide emergency medical car...
Baltimore, MD - Sept. 27, 2020 - Ohel Yakov shul is having kaparos today with chickens. 3200 Glen Ave 745 am -1 pm Please exercise social distancing.  Mask required. 
Baltimore, MD – Sep. 27, 2020 - It is with sadness that BaltimoreJewishLife.com informs the community of the petira of Stanley Cooper, z’l, father of Lisa (Ronnie) Pachino.
In what has become a monthly ritual, Israel has again extended the ban prohibiting foreign citizens from entering the country. The ban has now been extended until at least November 1. Israeli passports holders, as well as toshavei keva and toshavei arai may enter Israel unhindered, though they must keep 14 days of quarantine, unless they arrive from a Green country. There are certain exceptional circumstances under which foreign citizens may receive entry permits to Israel, see here. As reported earlier this month, entry for student visa holders has been suspended, at least until the end of the current lockdown, if not longer. Join BJL status for engagements, births, deals, levayos, events & more:  https://bit.ly/32HUBnJ Join an officia...
Baltimore, MD - Sept. 27, 2020 - Please go to the Hatzalah website for details if you qualify for a rapid test based on your symptoms. https://hatzalahbaltimore.org/covid/  Please understand that if you get a negative test and are in quarantine (have been exposed to the virus) this will NOT end your quarantine. It will only tell you if you are positive for COVID19 at the time of the test. If your test results are negative your specimen will be sent off for a PCR lab test which will be processed and results will be complete within the next 24-48 hours.  Fill out the two forms on the hatzalah website (Hatzalah Waiver and Lab Form)  (including school name if you are a teacher or student). WE WILL NOT BE ABLE TO RUN THE TEST IF YOU DO NOT HAVE FORMS OR IF THEY ARE NO...
Jerusalem, Israel - Sept. 27, 2020 -  Ahead of Yom Kippur 5781, President of Israel Reuven (Ruvi) Rivlin today, Sunday 27 September 2020 / 9 Tishrei, called on Israelis and Jewish communities around the world to light an additional memorial candle in memory of over one thousand Israeli victims of coronavirus. President Rivlin’s remarks in full:“The coronavirus pandemic and its victims have caused me to think about those who have lost their lives, about the invisible angel of death which does its terrible work of taking lives in isolated emergency rooms without families there to part from them with a last touch, holding hands, stroking faces. To those dear ones, over one thousand victims, I decided to dedicate a prayer and to light a candle in their memory.‘May God re...
Baltimore, MD - September 26, 2020:  Dear Parents and Talmidim As of tonight over 50 of our Talmidim have tested positive for Covid-19, and many more have been exposed.  We expect this number to climb.  So far all the cases have been mild, with many Talmidim feeling only few if any symptoms.  Each case is being monitored to ensure the best health outcome. We are working closely with the Baltimore County Department of Health.  On Friday we tested the remaining students and staff, and the results are still pending.  Once we have the results we will let those who need to isolate or quarantine know.  Additionally we will update our parent body tomorrow on what our current numbers are. The Baltimore County Department of Health defines Quarantine as a full ...
Pro-Palestinian called her original decision to participate in the Rabin memorial 'disgusting' US Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) on Friday backed out of a commemoration event honoring late Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin on the 25th anniversary of his assassination following a wave of online criticism from pro-Palestinian activists.  A spokesperson for Cortez later confirmed to The Times of Israel that the lawmaker had decided to drop out of the October 20 virtual event just a day after Americans for Peace Now announced her participation.  The development came after Palestinian rights supporters took to the Internet to excoriate the 30-year-old lawmaker, claiming that her "disgusting" decision showed “total contempt for...
Baltimore, MD - Sept. 27, 2020 - Tefilos Yom HaKippurim ..and more - written by Rabbi Shalom Aryeh Greenfield, reviewed by Rabbi Moshe Heineman, shlita. For a larger, printable copy click on the graphic below
After learning in Yeshiva full time for five years after High School, I was fortunate to be able to learn half days, several days a week when I was first married and a student.  This was a significant help in bridging the time when I was learning in Yeshiva and constantly in that Seviva to when I was “in the world”, particularly around the time of the Yomim Noraaim.  In Yeshiva we were used to truly having the entire Chodesh Elul to prepare for Rosh Hashana – with more intensified learning and studying Musar to help us achieve the proper frame of mind and lay the groundwork for proper Tefila and Teshuva.  Two years after I was married and I accepted a full time job, I remember the shock of “running into Rosh Hashana”.  As a new employee ...
More articles