I have always been amazed by how what I was learning on a particular week had direct relevance to what was going on in my life or the world at the same time. As one example, eight years ago when my first grandson was born. It just happened that three weeks later in the Parsha Hashavua was the mitzvah of Pidyan Haben, exactly while we were planning that event for our new grandson. Or how Shaluach Hakan appeared just as we went camping and happened upon a bird on its eggs. People that learn Daf Yomi find this happening with startling regularity. So this week I learned a Pasuk which I have certainly learned no less than 50 times. Avram and Lot are conducting themselves in different ways. Avram was careful to muzzle his cattle as they crossed others land whe...
Jerusalem, Israel - Nov. 7, 2024 - In recent weeks, travelers arriving in Israel have faced increased scrutiny on personal items, particularly jewelry and baby strollers when going through Ben Gurion Airport Customs. Chaim V’Chessed has been contacted in numerous cases where travelers have been questioned and fined by customs officials over these items. Furthermore, in multiple inquiries, travelers faced substantial fines or confiscation for carrying jewelry, even though it was for personal use and not intended for sale.
After consulting with officials at the Israeli Tax Authority, Chaim V’Chessed has learned that travelers carrying jewelry should follow specific guidelines to reduce the risk of suspicion. The Tax Authority advises travelers to ...
Baltimore, MD - Nov. 7, 2024 - Seven hospitals have been ranked the best in Maryland in a new report from Newsweek.
The Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore is the top-ranked hospital in Maryland in Newsweek and data partner Statista’s America’s Best In-State Hospitals 2025 ranking of more than 700 medical centers nationwide.
Other Maryland hospitals, listed in ranked order, include:
University of Maryland Medical Center, Baltimore
Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, Baltimore
Saint Joseph Medical Center, Towson
MedStar Union Memorial Hospital, Baltimore
Greater Baltimore Medical Center, Baltimore
Mercy Medical Center - Baltimore
The 2025 best in-state hospitals list features medical facilities in all 50 states and the District of Columbi...
Baltimore, MD - Nov. 7, 2024 - Voters overwhelmingly approved a charter amendment Tuesday, reaching the finish line of a long-fought effort to grant control of the Baltimore Police Department to Baltimore City.
"I'm relieved. It's been a long journey in police reform here," said Ray Kelly, executive director of the Citizens Policing Project.
For Kelly, it's a victory years in the making. Spanning a century and a half, Baltimore's police policy fell within the purview of the state government.
Starting at the beginning of next year, as Kelly explained: "Policies, administrative issues, a multitude of issues we would usually have to settle in legislative session we can now address right here at Baltimore City Hall."
The ballot measure, labeled Question E, an...
Baltimore, MD - Nov. 7, 2024 - Beltway lane closures and a new traffic pattern start Thursday in Sparrows Point.
The main travel lanes of the Interstate 695 outer loop will be closed at Peninsula Expressway (Exit 43), so traffic will have to exit onto Bethlehem Boulevard and return to the outer loop from the Bethlehem Boulevard on-ramp to bypass the closure, according to the Maryland Transportation Authority.
Exit 43 will reopen later in the fall. The inner loop is reduced to one lane through the Sparrows Point work zone.
Access to the outer loop from Broening Highway will remain open via an existing turnaround setup.
Baltimore, MD- Nov. 6, 2024 – 6:28PM - An armed carjacking just occurred on Jeremy Court. Three suspects held the victim up at gunpoint and made off in the stolen black 2013 Toyota Camry, MD Tag 9GJ8243.
Stocks rallied sharply on Wednesday, with major benchmarks hitting record highs, as Donald Trump won the 2024 presidential election.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 1,508.05 points, or 3.57%, to a record close of 43,729.93. The last time the blue-chip Dow jumped more than 1,000 points in a single day was in November 2022.
The S&P 500 also hit an all-time high, popping 2.53% to 5,929.04. The Nasdaq Composite climbed 2.95% to a record of its own of 18,983.47.
NBC News projects that Trump will defeat his Democratic rival, Kamala Harris, after winning at least 291 Electoral College votes, including key swing states of Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Georgia.
Investments seen as beneficiaries under a Trump presidency erupted as ...
Some Baltimore infrastructure projects could be in jeopardy amid the election of President-elect Donald Trump to serve a second term in the White House, according to the mayor.
Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott said Wednesday morning that the grit that makes city residents so resilient will be needed over the next four years.
Scott said he vows to work with the Trump administration, but only if it approaches collaboration as an equal partner. In the same breath, the Democratic mayor said if Trump's second term is anything like the first, he worries that Baltimore will be used as a political football.
The mayor warned billions of dollars in federal funding that the Biden administration earmarked for the city could now be at risk.
"We have to think about the (collapsed Fr...
The body of an 18-year-old Israeli boy was found this evening (Wednesday) in the village of Masarik in northern Israel after he was killed by a rocket fired by Hezbollah.
Initial reports suggested that the youth was a foreign worker before he was identified as Sivan Sadeh. Sivan's body was found in an agricultural area after a barrage in the area.
Sivan was killed in a barrage of about 25 rockets that was fired at about 6 pm. He worked in agriculture in the community. When the sirens began, he left his car in an attempt to find shelter in a nearby ditch.
Sivan was mortally wounded by shrapnel all over his body from one of the rockets that exploded in the area and was killed. A farmer passing by the area noticed him and called emergency forces, who pronounced him dead. They identifi...
Baltimore, MD - Nov. 6, 2024 - There's a new joint effort between Maryland and Baltimore to target the city's thousands of vacant properties.
The "Baltimore Vacants Reinvestment Council" - to be led by the heads of the state and city's housing agencies - will hold its first meeting Thursday morning in northeast Baltimore.
Governor Wes Moore created the council last month with an executive order.
The new group of state and local stakeholders will find investments to transform at least 5,000 vacant properties - roughly half of the city's total vacants - into "homeownership or other positive outcomes over the next five years," said the state's Department of Housing and Community Development.
Baltimore Housing Commissioner Alice Kennedy, who will be vice...
Dear Friends.
Thank you!
With the election (mostly) behind us, it is time to congratulate the winners and thank those who served.
But first, we need to extend our deep and sincere appreciation to everyone in our community who played a role in this election’s unprecedented Orthodox Jewish turnout across the country.
To the rabbis and community leaders who recorded messages and encouraged others to vote. Thank you.
To the schools and shuls who sent out our voter information, again and again. Thank you.
To the volunteers who called, texted, and spoke to their neighbors. Thank you.
To those who reviewed community lists and worked with us to compare them to the voter rolls. Thank you.
To those who organized events to register high school seniors and senior ci...
Return of the Late Night Masmidim לזכר חיים שמואל בן הרב יצחק מרדכי
This Year's Friday Night Learning Program Begins Parshas Lech Lecha, November 8th!
Don’t miss out! Call by Friday morning to reserve your cholent! Join this year as a zechus for the cholim, chayalim, and chatufim!
Baltimore Shuls Who Registered in Recent Years Include:
Hammenburger
Agudah of Park Heights
Agudah of Greenspring – Friday Night Agudah of GS – Daf Yomi
R' Heber's Shul
Aish Kodesh
R' Seidemann's Shul
R' Eichenstein's Shul
R' Wein
Ohel Yaakov
Ner Israel
Bais Medrash of Ranchleigh
Chabad Israeli Center
Rabbi Heber's Shul
Ohel Moshe
Rabbi Kaplan's Shul
Rabbi Sklarer's Shul
Rabbi Stengel's...
Saudi Arabia's King Salman and his son, de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, congratulated Donald Trump on his election victory on Wednesday, state media reported.
The two leaders sent cables to Trump, who cultivated warm Saudi ties during his first administration. King Salman hailed "close relations between the two friendly countries and peoples, which everyone seeks to strengthen and develop in all fields", the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) said.
Later on Wednesday, SPA reported that Prince Mohammed called to congratulate Trump on his win and "expressed the kingdom's aspiration to strengthen the historical and strategic relations between the two countries, wishing the friendly American people progress and prosperity under His Excellency's leadership".
...
The Department of Justice is removing Jack Smith as special counsel and dropping his two federal investigations into President-Elect Donald Trump following Trump’s dominant win in Tuesday’s election.
Fox News reported that the DOJ is removing Smith because they have acknowledged that they cannot prosecute a sitting president.
Smith will be gone from his position before Trump is inaugurated on January 20, 2025, Fox News reported.
The network said that the move means that the DOJ is dropping its two criminal cases against Trump.
The case involving Trump’s handling of classified material after he left office was already dismissed by a judge in Florida, but was being appealed by Smith.
Smith’s other case surrounded Trump’s actions following the 2020...
Gideon Sa’ar sealed his New Hope party’s coalition deal with Likud on Wednesday, effectively giving up his ability to oppose the government’s efforts to exempt Charedim from military service after repeatedly vowing to stand against such legislative efforts.
Under the agreement, Sa’ar will become Israel’s new foreign minister in place of Israel Katz, who is himself replacing ousted Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, while New Hope MK Sharren Haskel will become deputy foreign minister, working on public diplomacy, and Ze’ev Elkin will be appointed a minister in the Finance Ministry.
Sa’ar’s appointment as Israel’s chief diplomat was made possible by the replacement of Gallant, who opposed coalition efforts to exempt members of the Hare...
Former presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is slated to hold a potentially big role in a new Trump administration, said Wednesday there are “entire departments” within the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that “have to go.”
“In some categories … there are entire departments, like the nutrition department at the FDA … that have to go, that are not doing their job, they’re not protecting our kids,” Kennedy said during an interview on MSNBC.
Kennedy endorsed President-elect Trump in August after initially running as a Democratic candidate for president, and then as an independent.
Trump’s win in the presidential race sets Kennedy up as a winner himself, who is likely to play some kind of role in health care for t...