Baltimore, MD - May 19, 2022 -  In the latest episode of the Torah Sparks Podcast, we discusses the importance of being humble and "haughty" at the same time. How exactly does that work? Aren't they mutually exclusive? Tune in to find out more!Click here to listen or avail yuorself of this week's video version of the podcast: BH I am excited to announce the launch of my forthcoming book with Mosaica Press. The book "Ready. Set. Grow" is NOW AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER, check it out by clicking here  Thank you so much and don't forget to share with your family, friends, and neighbors!Powered by: TYA of Baltimore
Baltimore, MD - May 19, 2022 - May 19, 2022 - 9:51 AM -  Please note that effective immediately, the STAR-K certification has been terminated from the Kosher stand at Oriole Park at Camden Yards.
Hundreds of thousands of Jews are in Meron on Wednesday Night May 18 2022 to celebrate Lag Ba'Omer. The holiday marks the passing of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai (Rashbi). The commentary on the Pentateuch called the Zohar (Shining Light), the classical source of Jewish mysticism, is attributed to Rashbi, who lived in the 2nd century C.E, died on Lag B'Omer and is buried in Meron. The Talmud tells how Rashbi was forced to hide in a cave with his son for twelve years in order to escape the Romans who wanted to kill him for rebellion. During this period, the Talmud relates that a carob tree and spring of fresh water were the pair's only sustenance, and that he and his son reached spiritual heights in Torah study and kabbala that made their return to the everyday world a diffic...
Baltimore, MD – May 18, 2022 - BJL wishes a hearty Mazel Tov to Gideon Wolf & Molly Himmelrich on their engagement.   Mazel Tov to Ed & Faith Wolf and Ned and Eileen Himmelrich.  יה"ר שיזכו לבנות בית נאמן בישראל. אמן!
Baltimore, MD - May 18, 2022 – 1:38PM - Coming off exit 22 headed toward Stevenson, the Baltimore Beltway 695  between Greenspring & Stevenson is shutdown
The Department of Homeland Security's Disinformation Governance Board is being put on hold weeks after its establishment was announced to the public, and board director Nina Jankowicz will resign, sources told The Associated Press. According to the Washington Post, DHS made the decision on Monday, and that the following morning the board’s leader, Nina Jankowicz, had a resignation letter drafted. Whether Jankowicz ultimately decides to leave DHS remains up in the air, the Post reported, as the department offered to let her stay, despite the agency suspending all groups that had been focusing on what the Biden administration refers to as "mis- dis- and mal-information," or "MDM." In the meantime, DHS is defending Jankowicz against attacks from the right b...
The news alerts rolling in from Buffalo, New York, on Saturday all had a revolting familiarity. An 18-year-old man who espoused white nationalist views was suspected of storming into the local Tops grocery store and unloading his rifle on the mostly Black shoppers, killing 10 and injuring several others. Police reported the barrel of the suspect’s gun was adorned with a racial slur. In the wake of similar shootings in Christchurch, New Zealand; Pittsburgh; Poway, California; and so many other cities, the 180-page document purportedly written by the suspect felt as predictable as it was hateful. This was particularly true for one of the most powerful narratives running through the ignorant, rageful document: a loathing toward Jews...
Baltimore, MD – May 2022 - Every Shabbos table offers every Jewish family an incredible opportunity by which they can share their joy for Shabbos, for Yiddishkeit and for HaShem with their children. Unfortunately, our schedules are hectic and many people don’t have the time to prepare themselves to utilize the Shabbos table to its fullest. Therefore, we at ACHIM created TableTalk as a pre-packaged talking points pamphlet which is attractive, fun and has something for everyone. Limited copies are distributed to many shuls on a weekly basis but they are snatched up very quickly. Get yours ASAP or click on the graphic below and print your own.What’s in it and what’s all the excitement about?TableTalk features:•    Weekly halachic dilemma creating li...
Washington, DC, May 18, 2022 — Coalition for Jewish Values (CJV), today, forcefully denounced a resolution introduced by Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) calling for recognition of "the Nakba ("catastrophe")," a reference to to founding of the State of Israel. The rabbis called the resolution "openly antisemitic" and its introduction "an indelible stain on Congress." "Arab armies responded to Israel's founding with a call for genocide," said CJV Israel Regional Vice President Rabbi Steven Pruzansky, "and have continued with repeated wars and horrific acts of terrorism for the sole purpose of killing Jews and destroying the world's only Jewish state. They proclaimed their intent in 1948 as a 'momentous massacre,' to kill all Jews in Israel as Hitler did in Germany, and w...
There is perhaps no greater cultural image of Jewish life than the “fiddler on the roof”.  In him, we see ourselves seeking to find the balance between the beauty and grace of our tradition with the challenges and seductions of the world around us.  The truth is, we all seek balance in our lives.  As we rush around, negotiating the competing demands of our home lives, our professional lives, our communal lives and the nearly invisible lives we lead in cities and towns we try to “balance” it all.  Otherwise, like that fiddler, we run the risk of toppling off.  To where, I couldn’t say.  But the sensation of falling off is real just the same. If you ever doubt the importance of balance, just glance in the windows of the many gyms ...
It is always a joy living in Israel and observing Judaism worming its way into mainstream culture. Listening to secular Jews, or even Arabs, conclude their sentence with "im yirtzeh Hashem" exemplifies how religion can silently whisper its way into the public domain. When Israelis wonder at ideas which appear irrelevant to one another, they often cite the first Rashi of parshat Behar: "mah inyan shmita eitzel Har Sinai" (literally what is the relevance of shmita laws to Har Sinai). Strangely, the Torah tags Har Sinai as the source of the shmita guidelines. Obviously shmita isn’t uniquely "sourced" at Sinai. The entire Torah was downloaded at this mountain. Acknowledging this anomaly, Rashi cites the midrash which articulates this celebrated phrase: “mah inyan shmita eitzel har...
Baltimore, MD - May 18, 2022 - The conventional wisdom is that to be successful in life one needs connections to the brokers of power. How reassuring than, that we have an ‘’in’’ with the ultimate Power Broker, none other than Hashem Himself.   Click here to listen 
Baltimore, MD – May 18, 2022 - BJL wishes a hearty Mazel Tov to Jessica and Rudy Stoler on the birth of a daughter. יה"ר שיזכו לגדל בתם לתורה, לחופה, ולמעשים טובים. אמן!
A Baltimore City Councilman is pushing for the city to put a recreation center in his district. Councilman Isaac Yitzy Schleifer, who represents District 5 in Northwest Baltimore said his district is the only district in Baltimore without a recreation center. Schleifer shared a Facebook post he posted back in 2018. It reads: "At the Baltimore Rec n Parks budget hearing. I asked why over the years the 5th district has been the only district with no center." "I've had multiple meetings with Rec and Parks about this issue and every year I'm told something is going to be different but as you saw from the post I shared from four years ago," said Schleifer. "Here we are fiscal year 2023. In five years they couldn't find a way to find equitable recreational access." Schleife...
Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott and Police Commissioner Michael Harrison are expected to announce a new policing initiative Wednesday. They said the plan will focus on what they call intelligent deployment of police patrols. FOX45 has learned part of that deployment strategy will include, the "False Alarm Reduction Program," an initiative to help keep officers on the streets and not responding to false burglar alarms at businesses across the city. "The problem is if we have our officers out doing things that are not actually helping with public safety, we would prefer not to have our officers responding to false alarms instead of being out here on the streets," said James Bentley, spokesman for the Mayor's Office. The city leaders call it smart policing. But Beth Hawks, owner of Zel...
As schools across Maryland deal with increasing COVID-19 cases and outbreaks, it’s raising concerns for parents. In Baltimore County from May 7–13, 23 schools reported an outbreak among students and staff. Now, Fort Garrison Elementary School in Pikesville is experiencing one. WJZ obtained a letter to families from the Fort Garrison School Principal, Dr. Hope Baier, who says 5% of the school’s students and staff have been diagnosed with COVID-19 in the past 14 days.  “I feel very unsafe sending my child to school,” said Alissa Abramson-Densky, whose third-grade daughter has asthma.
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