As the Maccos commence, there is a fascinating juxtaposition of words and phrases, relating to Paaroh’s state of mind during the process. Much discussion is devoted to the P’sukim which describe “Hashem hardening the heart of Paaroh”.  How this is consistent with B’chira Chafshi (free will), why was it necessary to prolong the Maccos etc.  While a great deal in the way of deep explanations have been authored by a variety of sources, little analysis, if any, appears to have been offered into how these phrases interplay with Paaroh’s fleeting willingness to acquiesce to the demands of Moshe Rabbeinu and the will of Hashem.  Prior to the first Macca of Daam, the Torah expresses repeatedly that Paaroh had entrenched his heart.  (VaEira 7...
Interpol has issued red notices for the captain and owner of the ship that carried the chemicals which devastated both Beirut’s port and large swathes of the city in an explosion in August, killing 200 people, Lebanon’s state media reported. With a country in turmoil, from the combined effects of serious financial mismanagement, political crises that led to the resignation en-masse of the entire government, sectarian disagreements that continue to make governance difficult, one of the worst Covid-19 outbreaks in the Middle East and the fallout from one of the largest non-nuclear explosions on record, significant questions remain. Join BJL on WhatsApp Status: Click here to Join BJL status for engagements, births, deals, levayos, events & more Join BJL on WhatsApp Gr...
President-elect Joe Biden – “bought off by foreign governments, Chinese energy companies, Ukrainian energy companies” – should be impeached when he takes office, according to Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., on Newsmax TV. “I’m tired of Republicans who lay down and allow this country to be ravaged, allow Democrats to abuse their power in their positions, and I believe it’s time for Republicans to stand up for the American people and do a good job in Congress,” Greene told Wednesday’s “Greg Kelly Reports.” Join BJL on WhatsApp Status: Click here to Join BJL status for engagements, births, deals, levayos, events & more Join BJL on WhatsApp Groups: Click here to Join an official BJL WhatsApp group for breaking n...
One man is in police custody after one of Montreal’s largest shuls was vandalized with anti-Semitic symbols on Wednesday. Swastikas were painted onto the doors of Westmount’s Shaar Hashomayim. The shul’s rav, Rabbi Scheier, said the suspect had also brought a gasoline canister with him. “I was actually walking to another meeting and was maybe 100 metres away from the synagogue,” said Rabbi Scheier. Join BJL on WhatsApp Status: Click here to Join BJL status for engagements, births, deals, levayos, events & more Join BJL on WhatsApp Groups: Click here to Join an official BJL WhatsApp group for breaking news as it happens “I quickly turned around and when I got there, the perpetrator had already been put in the back of a police car.” The r...
A key Yerushalayim panel has approved the plans to expand the US diplomatic presence in the Israeli capital on Wednesday. Yerushalayim’s Deputy Mayor Fleur Hassan-Nahoum announced in a tweet that under a plan approved by the Yerushalayim Municipal Building and Planning Committee, a new building will be constructed on Derech Chevron street. Join BJL on WhatsApp Status: Click here to Join BJL status for engagements, births, deals, levayos, events & more Join BJL on WhatsApp Groups: Click here to Join an official BJL WhatsApp group for breaking news as it happens The existing diplomatic mission in the Arnona neighborhood will be expanded. Mayor Moshe Lion hailed the decision as a historic moment and said it could prompt other nations to relocate their embassies to the ca...
Evidence uncovered so far, including weapons and tactics seen on surveillance video, suggests a level of planning that has led investigators to believe the attack on the US Capitol was not just a protest that spiraled out of control, a federal law enforcement official says. Among the evidence the FBI is examining are indications that some participants at the Trump rally at the Ellipse, outside the White House, left the event early, perhaps to retrieve items to be used in the assault on the Capitol. Join BJL on WhatsApp Status: Click here to Join BJL status for engagements, births, deals, levayos, events & more Join BJL on WhatsApp Groups: Click here to Join an official BJL WhatsApp group for breaking news as it happens A team of investigators and prosecutors are...
As World Health Organization investigators descend on Wuhan, China to investigate the global coronavirus pandemic origin Thursday, the country has taken to locking down more than 22 million in their homes. Among the locales on lockdown were cities Shijiazhuang, Xingtai, and Langfang, along with counties in the Heilongjiang province and districts in the capital city of Beijing, The New York Times reported. Join BJL on WhatsApp Status: Click here to Join BJL status for engagements, births, deals, levayos, events & more Join BJL on WhatsApp Groups: Click here to Join an official BJL WhatsApp group for breaking news as it happens Notably, per the report, the massive lockdowns – twice as large as the initial ones at the beginning of the Chinese outbreak – come as the ...
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., defended both his objection to the Electoral College voting results and his refusal to “bow to a lawless mob” after demonstrators stormed the U.S. Capitol last week. In an op-ed for the Southeast Missourian, Hawley said he did not regret objecting to electoral voting results after a joint session of Congress returned hours following the riot at the Capitol. “Some wondered why I stuck with my objection following the violence at the Capitol,” wrote Hawley, the first senator to announce he would object to the electoral results. “The reason is simple: I will not bow to a lawless mob, or allow criminals to drown out the legitimate concerns of my constituents.” Join BJL on WhatsApp Status: Click here to Join BJL status fo...
The Trump New York exodus continues with Donald Trump Jr., 43, and Kimberly Guilfoyle, 51, looking to follow the president and Ivanka in moving to Florida. “There is no way they can stay in New York,” a source told the New York Post. “They’d be tortured in the streets.” Don Jr. is reportedly looking at homes in the Jupiter area, which is north of Mar-a-Lago. “They are committed to each other,” a source told the Post. Join BJL on WhatsApp Status: Click here to Join BJL status for engagements, births, deals, levayos, events & more Join BJL on WhatsApp Groups: Click here to Join an official BJL WhatsApp group for breaking news as it happens “They are looking at a very secure, guarded, protected community with like-minded co...
Who is G-D? Did Pharaoh think he was G-D? Do we sometimes see ourselves as a sort of G-D?
CNN anchor Jake Tapper faced intense backlash Wednesday for questioning the patriotism of Rep. Brian Mast, R-Fla., an Army veteran and double amputee, after Mast opposed President Trump’s impeachment. GOP lawmakers in the House of Representatives overwhelmingly voted against Trump’s second impeachment over his conduct surrounding last week’s riot on Capitol Hill, though ten Republicans did join Democrats to support a resolution of impeachment. Join BJL on WhatsApp Status: Click here to Join BJL status for engagements, births, deals, levayos, events & more Join BJL on WhatsApp Groups: Click here to Join an official BJL WhatsApp group for breaking news as it happens Tapper, who has become one of the most outspoken anti-Trump personali...
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that the city would be terminating its contracts with the Trump Organization, but most of them were reportedly set to expire in the coming months anyway. The mayor announced the plan to sever ties with the president’s organization on Wednesday, citing the siege at the Capitol as the impetus behind the decision. Of the four contracts the city has with the Trump Organization, one is for a golf course in the Bronx, two are for ice skating rinks, and one is for the carousel at Central Park. The three latter contracts are set to expire in April, according to Politico.Join BJL on WhatsApp Status: Click here to Join BJL status for engagements, births, deals, levayos, events & more Join BJL on WhatsApp Groups: Click...
Yossi Cohen, head of Mossad, is in Washington today to brief key figures in the Biden administration, armed with a “mountain” of the latest Israeli intelligence about Iran’s nuclear program and ballistic missiles. The official reason for his visit is to say goodbye to the outgoing Trump administration and prepare for Israel’s work with the Biden Administration. The head of the Mossad is expected to serve as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s main liaison with the new administration, because of his personal acquaintance with Biden and many of the new president’s senior officials developed while he was head of Israel’s National Security Council. Join BJL on WhatsApp Status: Click here to Join BJL status for engagements, b...
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) will not support an effort by a group of House conservatives to oust House Republican Conference Chairwoman Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) from her leadership role, a spokesman for the California Republican confirmed on Thursday. Cheney has come under fire for her decision to support impeaching President Trump for inciting last week’s riot at the U.S. Capitol that left five dead, including Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick. Join BJL on WhatsApp Status: Click here to Join BJL status for engagements, births, deals, levayos, events & more Join BJL on WhatsApp Groups: Click here to Join an official BJL WhatsApp group for breaking news as it happens House Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.)...
New York state Attorney General Letitia James on Thursday sued New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio and the city’s police commissioner on Thursday over allegations the police used excessive force against racial justice protesters in the wake of the killing of George Floyd last year. The federal lawsuit alleges New York City police repeatedly and without justification used batons and other physical force against protesters, many of whom were never charged with a crime, causing broken bones and concussions among other injuries. Join BJL on WhatsApp Status: Click here to Join BJL status for engagements, births, deals, levayos, events & more Join BJL on WhatsApp Groups: Click here to Join an official BJL WhatsApp group for breaking news as it happens The lawsuit said the police v...
President-elect Joe Biden will call for a $1.9 trillion plan to help Americans weather the economic shock of the coronavirus pandemic and pump more money into testing and vaccine distribution, according to senior incoming Biden administration officials. Mr. Biden in a speech Thursday evening plans to lay out priorities related to the pandemic for the early days of his administration. He will urge Congress to back a round of $1,400 per-person direct payments to most households, a $400-per-week unemployment insurance supplement through September, expanded paid leave and increases in the child tax credit. Aid for households makes up about half of the plan’s cost, with much of the rest going to vaccine distribution and state and local governments. Mr. Biden takes office next Wednesd...
Gov. Larry Hogan said coronavirus vaccinations will expand to include ages 70 and up as well as teachers and those in care facilities. MARYLAND — Maryland is moving into phase 1B of its COVID-19 vaccination plan, adding school staff, care facility residents and the elderly to the list of those who can receive shots to ward off the coronavirus, Gov. Larry Hogan said Thursday evening. Join BJL on WhatsApp Status: Click here to Join BJL status for engagements, births, deals, levayos, events & more Join BJL on WhatsApp Groups: Click here to Join an official BJL WhatsApp group for breaking news as it happens Starting Monday, these Marylanders will be eligible to get the shot: anybody older than 75; anyone who lives in assisted living, group homes or other congregate faci...
Increased security in the nation’s capital during President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration next week could lead officials to close the National Mall for the entire day, The Washington Post reports. The National Park Service told USA Today that while officials are taking the matter into consideration, a final decision on closing the National Mall has not yet been made and news reports stating otherwise are incorrect. “No final decision has been made regarding closures on the National Mall for the inaugural events,” the agency said in a statement. “When a decision is reached, an announcement will be made by the United States Secret Service and/or National Park Service.” Join BJL on WhatsApp Status: Click here to J...
Baltimore, MD – Jan. 14, 2021 – 5:30 PM - A major motor vehicle accident has shut down Greenspring Ave @ The Quarry (Quarry Lake Dr.) Emergency personnel are on scene. Steer clear of the area.
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