During the Second Temple, the Greek empire reigned (over Israel),1 and they (the Greeks) passed decrees against the Jews and (tried) to erase their religion, and did not allow them to carry out Torah (study) or the commandments. They put their hands on their property and their daughters. They entered the Temple, destroyed and made the pure unclean. The Jews were in great distress because of them and were much oppressed, until the G-d of their fathers had mercy on them, delivering them from their hands and saving them. Then overcame, the sons of the Hasmonean High Priest, (the Greeks) and killed them and saved the Jews from their hands. They appointed a king from the Priests, and the kingdom of Israel was restored for more than 200 years until the destruction of (the) second (Temple). When the Jews overcame their enemies and destroyed them, it was the 25th of Kislev2 when they entered the Sanctuary (inner room) and did not find pure (olive) oil in the Temple, except one jar sealed with seal of the High Priest, and it did not contain enough to light except for one day only. But they lit from it the lamps of the Menorah3 for eight days, until they could crush olives and produce a (new quantity) of pure oil. For these reasons, decreed the Sages of that generation that these eight days that begin on the 25th Kislev, will be days of joy and praise. One lights on them lamps at evening at the entrance to the houses, every evening of the eight nights to show off and demonstrate the miracle. These days are called ''Hanukah'' that is to say ''they rested'' (chanu) on the ''25'' ('th of the month) because on the 25th they rested from their enemies. and also because of those days they (re)-dedicated the house (Temple) which their foes had defiled. Also some say that it is a commandment to increase slightly the festive meals on Hanukah. Another reason is because the work of (building) the Sanctuary (in the desert) was completed in these days. One should tell one's children the story of the miracles that were done for our fore-fathers in those days, (see Josephus) However, these meals are not considered as part of the commandment unless one says at the meal songs of praise. One should increase charity in these Hanukah days, for this can help mend any defects in our souls. This charity, should be given particularly to poor Torah scholars. (KSA 139:1)
1) 352 BCE until 70 CE
2) 139 BCE
3) The Menorah was made of gold and had seven branches.
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For decades after its liberation, Jews of all affiliations – or no affiliation – prayed at the Kotel in accordance with the 1,500-year-old prayer tradition at the site.
Recently, the Reform movement orchestrated a crisis in “Diaspora-Israel relations” and convinced Israeli politicians that a “Kotel Compromise” is necessary. Following negotiations between the Israeli government, Women of the Wall, and Reform and Conservative movements, the Israeli government’s solution – the Kotel Compromise – would partition the Kotel into two plazas – the “traditional” Kotel Plaza, and a heterodox plaza for mixed prayer. This, said the Reform and Conservative movements, would mend the rift between Diaspora Jews and Israel.
With the ...
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Baltimore, MD - Jan. 16, 2022 - Accu Testing is now expanding our hours to be able to accommodate the community needs. Starting tomorrow Monday January 17, we will be open at 122 Slade Ave Monday thru Thursday ALL DAY from 9am until 8:15pm. Sunday hours remain 10am-12pm and 7-815pm and Friday 730am-11am. Click here to register.
Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) reportedly asked a group of Jewish individuals who were visiting the Capitol if they were there to do “reconnaissance,” the visitors told BuzzFeed News.
Boebert is said to have seen the group of visitors on Thursday, looked at them “head to toe” and asked if they were visiting the Capitol to do “reconnaissance,” one person who saw the interaction told the outlet.
“You know, I’m not sure to be offended or not,” one of the rabbis in the group told Buzzfeed News. “I was very confused.”
“When I heard that, I actually turned to the person standing next to me and asked, ‘Did you just hear that?’” the rabbi said.
The group was there to meet with Rep...
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Baltimore, MD - Jan. 20, 2022 - This past Motzei Shabbos, Bnai Jacob Shaarei Zion was filled with almost 300 people celebrating the installation of Rabbi Daniel and Yocheved Rose as Rav and Rebbetzin of BJSZ. Although the installation had been delayed because of Covid, Rabbi and Rebbetzin Rose have been leading our shul for the last 18 months, rising to the challenge of assuming the leadership during the pandemic with exceptional warmth and caring.
The evening of appreciation began with a reception during which people lined up to personally thank Rabbi and Rebbetzin Rose for the influence that they have on their lives. The evening then continued with a dinner, at which the guests were continuously entertained by the wit of the MC, the renowned Shimon Marciano. ...
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BaltimoreJewishLife.com (BJL) is proud to partner with STAR-K CERTIFICATION that realizes that there is no substitute for a person’s own Rav. In an effort to offer a possible solution, it has launched its Institute of Halachah as a public service. Over the years, the agency’s Kashrus Hotline has answered generic halachic questions from kosher consumers the world over, including inquiries regarding the kosher status of foods and certified Sabbath mode appliances. The formation of a separate official division within STAR-K testifies to the need for addressing these issues.
The Institute of Halachah is directed by HaRav Mordechai Frankel, under the guidance of HaRav Moshe Heinemann, STAR-K’s Rabbinic Administrator. It is an invaluable resource for a diverse array of rabbis to discuss general halachic matters, as well as gain access to source materials for shiurim and answers to congregants’ questions.
Shailos for regular or Kashrus shailos may emailed or discussed using this widget.
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Baltimore, MD – Jan. 19, 2022 - It is with regret that BaltimoreJewishLife.com informs the community of the petira of Mrs. Zina Herman , a’h, mother of Elaine Gerstenfeld.
Shiva is being observed by ZOOM only beginning Friday morning, Jan 21 at 10AM through Wednesday evening.Visiting times: Friday 10-12 Motzaei Shabbos: 7-9 Sun-Wed 10-1, 7-9Click here to join Zoom Meeting ID: 810 045 4925Passcode: shiva
Bila HaMaves LaNetzach…
“It came about on the next day that Moses sat down to judge the people, and the people stood before Moses from the morning until the evening. When Moses’ father-in-law saw what he was doing to the people, he said, “What is this thing that you are doing to the people? Why do you sit by yourself, while all the people stand before you from morning till evening?” Moses said to his father-in-law, “For the people come to me to seek God. If any of them has a case, he comes to me, and I judge between a man and his neighbor, and I make known the statutes of God and His teachings.” Moses’ father-in-law said to him, “The thing you are doing is not good. You will surely wear yourself out both you and these people who are with you for the matter is too he...
Two members of the radical “Squad” are linked with a Muslim group that has rallied for the release of terrorist Aafia Siddiqui.
Siddiqui is the convicted terrorist known as “Lady al-Qaeda”, whom Malik Akram, the Texas temple attacker, demanded be released during his hostage standoff last weekend. Antisemites Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib have both joined up with Muslim-American rights groups which recently advocated for her release.
In November, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and American Muslims for Palestine (AMP) held a joint “Free Dr. Aafia” Advocacy Day in Washington DC, in an effort to lobby Congress for her release.
One month later, CAIR honored Ilhan Omar as “American Muslim Public Servant of 2021” at its virtual g...
The latest surge of coronavirus cases powered by the omicron variant has caused extremely high numbers of employees to miss work because of illness, exacerbating the country’s persistent labor shortages and threatening to complicate the labor market’s push toward pre-pandemic employment levels.
Between Dec. 29 and Jan. 10, approximately 8.8 million workers reported not working because they were sick with the coronavirus or caring for someone who was, according to data from the Census Bureau.
Those numbers are nearly triple the levels from the first two weeks of December, before cases had started to peak around the country. They were also the highest numbers since the agency started taking the survey in April 2020 – well over last January’s peak of 6.6 million work...
You have to go back to the start of the coronavirus pandemic to find mortgage rates as high as they are this week.
According to the latest data released Thursday by Freddie Mac, the 30-year fixed-rate average climbed for the fourth week in a row to 3.56% with an average 0.7 point. (A point is a fee paid to a lender equal to 1% of the loan amount. It is in addition to the interest rate.) It was 3.45% a week ago and 2.77% a year ago. The 30-year fixed average is at its highest level since March 2020, when it was 3.65%.
Freddie Mac, the federally chartered mortgage investor, aggregates rates from around 80 lenders across the country to come up with weekly national averages. The survey is based on home purchase mortgages. Rates for refinances may be different. It uses rates for high-quality ...
A top Presbyterian reverend accused Israel this week of enslaving the Palestinians, and American Jews of not doing enough to stop it.
“The continued occupation in Palestine/Israel is 21st-century slavery and should be abolished immediately,” said Rev. Dr. J. Herbert Nelson II, Stated Clerk of the General Assembly for the Presbyterian Church USA. “Given the history of Jewish humble beginnings and persecution, there should be no ambiguity as to the ethical, moral and dehumanizing marginalization and enslavement of other human beings.”
Nelson made the remarks during his Martin Luther King Day sermon, which has since been published on the Presbyterian Church USA website.
“The United States of America must be a major influencer of calling this injustice both imm...
Two years into a pandemic that has normalized work-from-home and moved many social gatherings online, new data from the Centers for Disease Control show that many Americans were couch potatoes long before Covid-19.
A quarter of U.S. adults aren’t active enough to protect their health, according to a CDC study conducted from 2017-2020. The agency released a map on Thursday showing that Puerto Rico and states in the South had the highest prevalence of inactivity, followed by the Midwest, Northeast and West. Colorado, Utah, Washington and Vermont were the most-active states.
“Getting enough physical activity could prevent 1 in 10 premature deaths,” said Ruth Petersen, director of the CDC’s Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity, in a statement. The hea...
An American Airlines flight heading to London on Wednesday turned around about an hour after leaving Miami when a “disruptive customer” refused to wear a mask, the airline said.
No one was hurt, and the Boeing 777 landed safely at Miami International Airport at 9:24 p.m., American Airlines spokesman Curtis Blessing said in an email.
Officers with the Miami-Dade Police Department escorted the passenger, a woman believed to be in her 40s, off the plane without incident. Argemis Colome, a department spokesman, said the passenger was not arrested and police treated the incident as a disturbance call.
“She was pretty much dealt with administratively by the airline,” Colome said.
Blessing said the passenger has been placed on the airline’s list of customers who ...
Chazal tell us that the naming of Parshas Yisro, the Sedra which contains the Aseres Hadibros, is a great honor. The Torah goes out of its way to tell us how Yisro was greeted by Moshe Rabeinu, Ahron and other leaders (Yisro, 18:7) and was also accompanied when he left B’nei Yisroel. (18:27) Additionally, Moshe adopted Yisro’s suggestions in how to better judge the issues presented by Bnei Yisroel, with chiefs and judges serving underneath Moshe Rabeinu. (18:24) Yisro was accorded great respect at the time and holds his place of distinction to the present day by being linked with the Aseres Hadibros. This presents a profound question. What was so great about Yisro that he was deserving of such special respect by our Torah?
The Pa...
At Mount Sinai the Torah describes how, Moshe brought forth the people from the camp toward G-d. Rashi says Hashem and the nation went out towards each other like a bridegroom greeting his bride.
Rav Samson ben Zadok, the devoted disciple of the famed 13th century rabbinic figure and Tosafist, Rav Meir of Rottenberg, (the Maharam), in his seminal work, Tashbatz, records in the name of his famed teacher that many of the traditions associated with the marriage ceremony are patterned on the 'marriage' that took place between G-d and His nation at Mount Sinai.
The etching of G-d’s words onto the Two Tablets is reminiscent of the Kesuba, the marriage contract. The ten men required to be in attendance at the blessings under the canopy correspond to the Ten Commandments. The can...
'We will take all precautions to prevent the next disaster'
Israel's Finance Minister Avigdor Lieberman and Justice Minister Gideon Sa'ar announced on Thursday that they agreed to grant roughly $160,000 to the families of the victims of the Mount Meron disaster.
At least 45 people were killed and over 150 injured on April 29 in a stampede during a pilgrimage to the Tomb of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yohai, where tens of thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews gathered to celebrate the Jewish holiday of Lag Ba'Omer.
“The pain cannot be eliminated, but we will do everything in our capabilities to provide the maximum response for the families and we will take all precautions to prevent the next disaster,” Lieberman said in a joint statement with Sa&rsq...
Out of as many as 1,000 anomalous health incidents reported about two dozen remain unexplained
The CIA concluded that no foreign government is likely behind hundreds of mysterious "Havana syndrome" afflictions reported by US diplomats and that nearly all have more conventional medical or environmental explanations, a senior official said Thursday.
Out of as many as 1,000 anomalous health incidents (AHIs) reported by American diplomats, intelligence, and other officials, commonly dubbed Havana syndrome, about two dozen remain unexplained and are still the focus of intense examination, the official told AFP on the condition of anonymity.
The first cases in Cuba in 2016, involving complaints of nosebleeds, migraines, and nausea after experiencing piercing sounds at night, ...
Gov. Larry Hogan said he is hopeful that Maryland's COVID-19 state of emergency will no longer be needed after its 15 remaining days.
The governor's address comes 15 days into the 30-day state of emergency.
"The next 10 days to two weeks are really going to be critical," Hogan said. "Our aggressive efforts will continue and we ask Marylanders to continue to remain vigilant and to keep doing the things that can keep us safe -- wearing a mask, avoiding crowds, watching your distance, staying home if you feel sick, and most importantly, getting tested, getting vaccinated and getting boosted."
On Jan. 4, the governor issued a 30-day state of emergency to take urgent short-term actions to combat the current crisis. He also issued two executive orders to address hospi...