The family of Senior Staff Sergeant Major Elon Waiss, who fell in battle in Gaza, spoke to the media before leaving for his funeral, calling for unity. “Today is a very sad day for all of us, as a personal family and as the nation of Israel,” said Elon’s eldest son, “but we are continuing with our heads held high. We believe in our just path, in the Torah of Israel and the people of Israel.” He added: "With G-d's help we will win this war and the entire nation of Israel will know no more sorrow. We will learn to see the good." Forty-nine-year-old Waiss from Psagot, a combat soldier in the 129th Battalion of the 8th Brigade, was killed by the explosion of an APC in Gaza. He was a 10th-grade teacher at Amit Eitan Ma'ale Adumim, where he was describe...
Faith in Mankind The Jewish people were nervous and scared. Forty days had passed, and Moshe had yet to return from Har Sinai. They approached Aharon HaKohen to ask for a replacement. Strangely, instead of asking Aharon to replace Moshe himself, they demanded a graven image. Why choose a man-made, inanimate object over the man who made it? Rav Yechezkel Weinfeld sees the answer in their words to Aharon: “Zeh Moshe ha’ish… lo yadanu meh hayah lo — We do not know what happened to this man Moshe.”[1] Moshe’s disappearance caused the Jewish people to lose faith in not only Moshe but all of humanity. The Jews were unwilling to appoint another human leader because humans are inconsistent and unreliable. They can be here today but disappear tomorrow. A figu...
The IDF is continuing its battle against Hamas in Rafah, and there is no policy change, a source in the Prime Minister’s Office clarified after the army announced the creation of a daily 11-hour humanitarian corridor from the Kerem Shalom Crossing to the Salah al-Din Road. When Netanyahu “heard the reports in the morning about a daily humanitarian pause for 11, he turned to his military secretary and made it clear that this was unacceptable to him,” the source stated. After checking out the situation, “the Prime Minister was informed that there was no change in IDF policy and that the fighting in Rafah continued as planned,” the source stated. Need to increase humanitarian aid flow The source spoke out following an army announcement that “As part...
L’ilui nishmas Sheldon Sunness, Zalman David ben Baruch  For me, Behaaloscha is the saddest parsha in the Torah.  I become teary-eyed at what was and what could have been.  The story of the spies in next week’s parsha is the most tragic; but Behaaloscha is when the turning point occurred, and this led to the tragedy of the spies.   I don’t cry when I read parshas Shelach, but I do when I read Behaaloscha. My relationship with parshas Behaaloscha stems from more than twenty years ago, when I first heard  a recording of the famous lecture on this Parsha given by Rav Yosef Dov Soloveichik.[1] On the surface, Behaaloscha seems to contain many disjointed topics. We read about the 12 nesi’im bringing their offerings last week.  Now, ...
Baltimore, MD - June 15, 2024  - Two of the Yeshiva’s eminent Rabbeim – Harav Hagaon Yosef Elefant, Shlita and Harav Hagaon Yitzchok Caplan, Shlita – spent Shabbos Parshas Bechukosai in Baltimore, where they visited shuls and delivered words of chizuk in various neighborhoods across the city, reflecting on the timely themes of Ameilus B’torah, Kiyum Hamitzvos, and preparing for a meaningful Shavuos.    Rav Elefant spoke after Mincha on Friday evening at Kehillas Ohr Yisrael and after Kabolas Shabbos at Kehilath B'nai Torah. Following the seuda, he led an Oneg Shabbos at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Mendel Rosen. On Shabbos morning, he spoke after Shacharis at Kehillas Derech Chaim, and after Mussaf at Mercaz Torah U'Tefillah. He delivered ...
Baltimore, MD – June 15, 2024  -  BJL wishes a hearty Mazel Tov to Mr. and Mrs. Nochum Eskin on the birth of a son. יה"ר שיזכו לגדל בנם לתורה, לחופה, ולמעשים טובים. אמן!
There are a number of interesting correlations between this week's parsha and this week's haftarah. The obvious connection is that the haftara speaks of Shimshon who was a nazir and the nazir is discussed in this week's parsha. However, there are some other connections that lie beneath the surface. First, the sotah process is discussed in this week's parsha. We are taught, (according to one opinion in the gemara Sotah 26a) that a sotah who was previously childless, will become pregnant if she emerges from the sotah process alive as an innocent woman. R' Dovid Kohn explains why this is. If someone is childless, it is because there has been some decree from Shamayim that th...
This is a difficult evening. Tonight we delivered the hardest news to the families of eight IDF soldiers who fell in action in Gaza. Captain Wassem Mahmoud, Deputy Company Commander, and seven of his soldiers fell early this morning during an operation in Tel al-Sultan in Rafah. Early this morning, with the completion of the operation in the northwestern part of the area, infantry, armored, and engineering troops from the 401st Brigade entered the area in convoys of armored fighting vehicles to position themselves on the contact lines. According to the information we have at this stage, a powerful explosion occurred in one of the engineering vehicles in the convoy, seemingly caused by an explosive device planted in the area or as a result of anti-tank missile fire. Inside the armored vehic...
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, this evening (Saturday, 15 June 2024) [translated from Hebrew]:"Citizens of Israel, today we paid a heart-rending price in our just war in defense of our homeland. With deep sorrow, and in heavy mourning, I bow my head together with all citizens of Israel and weep over the fall of our heroic fighters: Deputy company commander in an engineering battalion, Capt. Wassem Mahmoud and additional heroic soldiers whose names have yet to be released.Our hearts are shattered before this terrible loss. The entire people of Israel embraces the dear families in their most difficult hour of grief. I stand by our brave fighters and commanders, who are imbued with the sacred mission to defeat our enemies and return our hostages.When the price is so heavy, let us remember...
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) are grappling with the aftermath of a devastating incident in Rafah, southern Gaza, where eight soldiers from Combat Engineering Battalion 601 lost their lives during an operation early this morning.  The incident, which occurred at approximately 05:15 AM local time, marks a significant loss for the IDF, the largest loss of IDF soldiers in a day since January.  The soldiers, part of Givati Battalion 424 within Brigade Combat Team 401, were engaged in an operation targeting Hamas militants and terrorist infrastructure in the northwestern part of Tal al-Sultan. Initial reports indicate that their Namer armored vehicle was struck by a powerful explosion, believed to have been caused by a side bomb. The explosion was exacerbated by engineering tools ...
Baltimore, MD - June 14, 2024  - The TA 8th Grade Mishmar Basketball League had their Championship Game this afternoon, and this year's winners were the “Yellow Team,” sponsored by DC Dental. The 8th-grade boys came to Yeshiva each Thursday night from 7:00-9:00 PM and created a “real Mishmar Matziv”! The evening included 45 minutes of learning, followed by Maariv, then an organized basketball league (with professional referees), and concluded with hot, delicious chulent. What a great way to end each week with a fantastic Thursday night of Mishmar! Today's game was a thriller, with both teams playing their hearts out. The final score was 46-33. The 8th graders were then treated to an Erev Shabbos Toamehuh lunch of chulent, poppers, potato kugel, frie...
Baltimore, MD – June 14, 2024  -  BJL wishes a hearty Mazel Tov to Rabbi and Mrs. Zacharia and Elka Reisch on the birth of a daughter. Mazel Tov to grandparents Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Schwartz and great-grandparents Mr. & Mrs. Jerry & Leah Schwartz and Mr. & Mrs. Harold and Shirley Rosinsky     יה"ר שיזכו לגדל בתם לתורה, לחופה, ולמעשים טובים. אמן
Baltimore, MD - June 14, 2024  - Father's Day weekend in Maryland could get off to a stormy, hot start Friday as a passing cold front brings the potential for severe weather and damaging winds to the area. On Friday, Marylanders should expect another hot, humid day with temperatures reaching the upper 80s to mid-90s, according to the National Weather Service's latest forecast. The forecast also calls for clear conditions and abundant sunshine. However, that could change later Friday when a cold front capable of producing scattered strong to severe thunderstorms pushes into the state. The NWS issued a Hazardous Weather Outlook for areas of Maryland including Baltimore, Prince George's, Anne Arundel, Charles, St. Mary's, Calvert, central and southeast Mo...
Baltimore, MD - June 14, 2024 - Federal leaders met Thursday afternoon with business and industry partners following the reopening of the Port of Baltimore. On Wednesday, 11 News Investigates reported exclusively that U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and White House officials would meet Thursday with companies about the port since the reopening of the Federal Channel. Buttigieg and S. Lael Brainard, the director of the National Economic Council of the United States and a national economic adviser, heard the concerns of business and industry partners soon after the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed, and Thursday’s meeting was an effort to re-engage them now that the port is open, 11 News Investigates learned exclusively on Thursday. Thursday&rs...
The Supreme Court invalidated the Trump-era ban on bump stocks along ideological lines on Friday, ending the nationwide ban on the devices, which convert semi-automatic weapons to fire hundreds of rounds per minute.  The Biden administration defended the regulation in front of the high court after the Trump administration first implemented it in the wake of the 2017 Las Vegas mass shooting, the deadliest in U.S. history. The shooter had used a bump stock to kill 58 people and wound hundreds of others.  Both the Trump and Biden administrations have since made possessing the devices a criminal offense by newly classifying them as machine guns under longstanding federal law.   In a 6-3 decision authored by conservative Justice Clarence...
The US has provided Israel with intelligence capabilities never before seen prior to October 7, a senior official told The Washington Post on Friday.  A notable example of such capabilities was Israel’s recent hostage rescue operation, the official said. According to the Post, citing current and former US and Israeli intelligence sources since the October 7 massacre, the US has increased intelligence gathering on Hamas. As such, the US is reportedly sharing an extraordinary amount of drone footage, satellite imagery, communications intercepts, and data analysis using advanced software, some powered by artificial intelligence. The unique intelligence capabilities provided by the US The report cited Israeli officials who said Israel is grateful f...
Parshas Naso, which most often is the portion read on the Shabbos directly after Shavuos, begins with the directive by G-d to Moshe to "raise up the head [take a census] of the sons of Gershon, גם הם — also them." At the conclusion of the previous portion the Torah reports how the sons of Kehas were counted. It now picks up from where we left off in continuing to count the descendants of Gershon and Merari. Why is there a gap between these accounts? Why does the Torah add particularly by Gershon that they were 'also' raised? Reb Leibele Eiger, the illustrious disciple of the holy Kotzker, and grandson of the great sage, Rabbi Akiva Eiger, addresses this issue. Gershon was the firstborn son of Levi, seemingly destined for the more significant role of attending the A...
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