Insights From a “Speaking Fast”
I'm not usually one for joining initiatives, but this past Thursday was an exception. I encountered an incredibly heartfelt call from the families of the captives, supported by rabbis, urging a taanit dibbur, an hour without mundane speech, only Torah study and prayer.
In response, I shut down my electronic devices and picked up Mesillat Yesharim, a classic mussar text by Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto, the Ramchal. I delved into a special edition annotated with personal reflections and interpretations written by the late Hadar Goldin, whose body is still being held by Hamas in Gaza.
The Ramchal articulates in his preface that although people grasp the truth, the hustle of life often leaves them with little energy to live by it. He emphasized...
Jerusalem, Israel - Feb. 28, 2024 - The 13th International Jerusalem Winner Marathon is to be held on Friday, March 8, 1024, with anticipated participation of 35 - 45 thousand runners from all over Israel and around the world. The Jerusalem Municipality decided to hold the annual marathon as planned, as a tribute to the IDF, security forces, and rescue teams, aiming to strengthen social resilience during the ongoing war on the southern and northern fronts. The marathon's continuation will allow thousands of runners who have trained for months for the Jerusalem Marathon and other races worldwide to continue their training and achieve their sports goals set before the war.
The 'bar mitzvah' year Jerusalem Marathon launch was held at the Givat Ram Stadium on Wednesd...
Baltimore, MD – Feb. 28, 2024 – 2:27PM - There was a fire in the back side of Bonnie Ridge Apartments complex in the Brooklandville area of Baltimore County. A significant number of emergency personnel are on scene and the fire has been extinguished. This incident is across the street from Bais Yaakov and posed no threat to the institution.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Tuesday warned that Iran, Hezbollah, and Hamas are trying to use Ramadan to inflame the region so as to achieve another October 7 disaster against Israel.
According to Gallant, their hope is to provoke Palestinians in the West Bank, Hezbollah, and Arabs and Muslims across the region to attack and turn their rage on Israel, using the Temple Mount and tensions in the West Bank as an excuse.
The defense minister has been a leading voice for smashing Hamas and earlier in the war, tried to persuade the war cabinet to launch a preemptive strike on Hezbollah.
Gallant calls for reducing tensions
However, at this point, he believes that fighting the war without hesitation must go hand in hand with reducing tensions in areas where there is no reason for there to ...
In a televised statement, senior Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh called on residents of the West Bank and Jerusalem to barricade themselves at the al-Aqsa Mosque at the beginning of Ramadan. Haniyeh also called for "a broad and international movement to break the siege on al-Aqsa Mosque."
Hostage negotiations
Haniyeh asserted that when it came to hostage negotiations, Hamas was demonstrating "flexibility," though the terrorist group maintained that they would continue fighting.
Haniyeh addressed the possibility of the IDF's invasion of Rafah and expressed hope that international efforts would restrain Israel's ambitions of an invasion.
In his own words, "The occupation and its partner, the United States, will not be able to achieve through politica...
Baltimore, MD – Feb. 28, 2024 - BJL wishes a hearty Mazel Tov to Alyse and Ilan Roth on the birth of a son.Mazel Tov grandparents Natalie Roth and Ken and Sherri Malc
יה"ר שיזכו לגדל בנם לתורה, לחופה, ולמעשים טובים. אמן!
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February 28 at 12:50 pm
Former President Trump asked a New York appeals court to put on hold the enforcement of the multimillion dollar penalties he faces in his civil fraud case, suggesting he’d post a $100 million bond while the process plays out.
Judge Arthur Engoron ordered Trump to pay nearly $355 million, plus interest, in penalties after finding he conspired to alter his net worth to receive tax and insurance benefits. The total judgment against Trump, which climbs nearly $112,000 in interest each day he doesn’t pay it, now amounts to more than $454 million.
On top of that, Engoron ruled that Trump, his business and top executives could not obtain loans from New York banks for three years.
Trump’s lawyers wrote in court filings Wednesday that the staggering judgement makes it “im...
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February 28 at 12:39 pm
Mitch McConnell, the longest-serving Senate leader in history who maintained his power in the face of dramatic convulsions in the Republican Party for almost two decades, will step down from that position in November.
McConnell, who turned 82 last week, was set to announce his decision Wednesday in the well of the Senate, a place where he looked in awe from its back benches in 1985 when he arrived and where he grew increasingly comfortable in the front row seat afforded the party leaders.
“One of life’s most underappreciated talents is to know when it’s time to move on to life’s next chapter,” he said in prepared remarks obtained by The Associated Press. “So I stand before you today ... to say that this will be my last term as Republican lead...
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February 28 at 12:35 pm
Iran has given Lebanese terror organization Hezbollah the green light to escalate its attacks along Israel's northern border, the Arabic Post reported on Wednesday, citing high-level Iranian and Lebanese sources.
The Islamic Republic has reportedly set conditions for Hezbollah, ordering it to launch a large-scale attack on Israel only after it "had become certain of Israel's intention" to carry out an invasion of the southern Gaza city of Rafah.
As per the report, Tehran gave the go-ahead amid fears that, after the IDF completes an invasion of Rafah, southern Lebanon "will be next."
Nasrallah calls emergency meeting with Quds Force chief over Israeli threats
A source from Iran's Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) told Arabic Post that Esmail Qaani, the IRGC...
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February 28 at 12:28 pm
Major Aviran Hazan, a battalion commander in the 646th brigade, found a sign reading ‘Hannah and Daniel Yaffe’ in Hebrew in a house in Khan Yunis.
During an interview with Kan this morning, he announced that he and his soldiers would like to return the sign to its owners. Before the interview had ended, the owners had been located, and Daniel and Hannah Yaffe explained on air that the sign was more than forty years old.
“May God protect you every step of the way, and may you all return home safely. Thank you for everything that you are doing for Israel,” Hannah told the soldiers.
“The sign is peanuts,” she claimed, “But it is most exciting that you found something like that. Who would have believed it? We lived in Bat Yam, and that sign was at t...
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February 28 at 12:25 pm
Energy Minister Eli Cohen (Likud), who until recently served as Israel's Foreign Minister, believes that Israel should oppose in the strongest possible way any step that would lead to the recognition or establishment of a Palestinian state.
"The United States is a great friend of Israel and we have seen this throughout the war. At the same time, even among friends, there are also different opinions. The Biden administration believes in the two-state solution, and we tell them, especially after October 7, that a Palestinian state will not be established. Just as no one thought of giving a state to Al Qaeda after September 11, it is impossible to offer a state to the Palestinians after October 7. We have no intention of establishing another Hamastan in Judea and Samaria," Cohen said in...
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February 28 at 12:24 pm
IDF fighter jets on Tuesday morning attacked a military site and Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure in the areas of Hanniyeh, Jibchit, Baisariyeh, and Mansouri in Lebanon.
The strikes followed approximately 35 launches which were identified crossing from Lebanon into the area of Mount Meron in northern Israel. Hezbollah took responsibility for the launches, claiming them to be retaliation for an IDF strike on Monday evening.
There were no injuries or damage to the IDF Aerial Control Unit in the area.
Also on Tuesday morning, IDF artillery also struck in the area of Yaroun in order to remove a threat.
On Monday evening, the IDF confirmed that the commander of the eastern region of the Hezbollah terrorist organization, Hassan Hossein Salami, had been killed in an IAF airstrike....
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February 28 at 12:20 pm
Baltimore, MD - Feb. 28, 2024 - Beginning March 1, the Maryland Zoo will end its winter schedule and return to regular hours of 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. seven days a week through the end of December 2024.
Each January and February, the Zoo operates on shortened winter hours Fridays through Monday.
This is because, just like a lot of people, many animals don’t like the cold!
There are typically less visitors during the colder months and animal activity drops in the heart of winter because many animals, particularly those from warm climates in Africa, prefer the warmth of their indoor space and are not as visible to visitors.
Other animals deal with winter by going into states of dormancy. The Zoo’s grizzly bears and ectotherms, like amphibians and reptiles, will be emerging f...
President Biden revealed Wednesday that he is making an unannounced trip to Walter Reed Military Medical Center for a physical exam.
Biden has undergone yearly physical examinations since the beginning of his term, in line with every other commander-in-chief since former President Richard Nixon.
Walter Reed Military Medical Center, the hospital used by all presidents for routine medical care and examinations, is located in Bethesda, Maryland.
Earlier this month, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre stated that Biden's physician, Dr. Kevin O'Connor, does not believe a cognitive test is necessary. She said O'Connor believes Biden proves his cognitive ability "every day [in] how he operates and how he thinks."
"Does the White House think ...
Baltimore, MD - Feb. 28, 2024 - Juvenile law reform measures in Maryland are trying to strike a balance between rehabilitation and consequences.
Senate Bill 744 on juvenile law reform is aimed at addressing gaps in the juvenile justice system, striking a balance between public safety and providing services. The Senate and House have been working very closely on what has become a legislative priority for both chambers. Senate President Bill Ferguson, D-District 46, predicted passage before the end of the session.
Both versions expand the jurisdiction of the juvenile court, broadening it to include youths between 10 and 12 years old. But while the House bill has a list of crimes that would put youths under the juvenile court’s jurisdiction, the Senate bill, as amended, str...
Jewish students at UC Berkeley were forced to evacuate a theater on-campus as a mob of anti-Israel protestors violently stormed a pro-Israel event Monday night.
The event, 'Israel at War: Combat the Lies,' featured Ran Bar-Yoshafat, an IDF reservist who served in Gaza during the current war.
Several hundred protestors chanted “Intifada! Intifada!” while banging on the doors of the Zellerbach Playhouse. At one point, a glass door was shattered by the protestors.
The Jewish News of Northern California reported that multiple students were injured during the incident, including a young woman who was hurt while attempting to hold a door shut while the protestors attempted to break in.
One student said that she saw a girl being grabbed by the neck and shoved by the...
As part of cooperation between Israel and the international community, Jordan, France, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and the USA, an air-drop operation brought 160 packages of food and medical equipment into Gaza on Tuesday.
The packages of food and medical equipment were intended for the residents of the southern Gaza Strip and the Jordanian field hospital in Khan Yunis. Following the packages' successful delivery, the operation has ended.
The move was carried out in coordination with the International Cooperation Division of the Strategic Planning and Cooperation Directorate (J5), the Coordination and Liaison Administration to Gaza (CLA) of the COGAT Unit, the 98th Division, and the IAF.
Accordingly, in the last two days, approximately 160 food packages were air-dropped on abou...
The Maryland Transit Administration launched seven new zero-emission buses to the agency’s bus fleet.
“Today is truly a historic day for Maryland. In the public transportation agency, these seven buses represent a start of a program that puts your state on the road to cleaner transportation that will benefit Baltimore,” said Terry Garcia Crews, a FTA Regional Administrator.
The new buses are part of a pilot program to inform the agency’s transition to a zero-emission fleet which will help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improving air quality for Maryland residents. Secretary Wiedefeld said that eventually there will be 800 zero-emission buses in the fleet.
Garcia Crews, speaking on behalf of U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg and Acting FTA Admin...
President Biden faced his first challenging day in the Democratic primary process Tuesday as Michigan voters went to the polls.
The problem for the president was not the token opposition from Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.) but, rather, the push for a protest vote over Biden’s vigorous support for Israel during its assault on Gaza.
The protest campaign, advocating for people to vote “uncommitted,” had a solid night. By 11:30 p.m. EST, it had racked up more than 50,000 votes, or about 14 percent of all ballots cast.
Those numbers are sure to grow, with most votes in Wayne County — home to Detroit and Dearborn — still to be counted.
On the Republican side, former President Trump won as expected. Trump had 67 percent of the vote at 11:30 p.m., com...
