Biblical Hebrew is a finely nuanced language, and much is expressed by the choice of words.  After Adam and Eve eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil in the Garden of Eden, in violation of the only commandment G-d had given them, they hear G-d’s presence in the Garden and hide from Him.  G-d calls out to the man (collectively including Adam and Eve), and says, “Where are you?”  (Genesis 3:8-9). Many have mocked this question.  Doesn’t the omniscient G-d know where Adam is?  The common explanation is that G-d wanted to give an opening to Adam to tell God what he had done and to repent, but Adam does not take that opening, leading to expulsion from the Garden. But there is a deeper meaning.  The word used in the verse to ask ...
“Laugh and play with my dreams, I am the dreamer who wanders. Play because in man I will believe, and I still believe in you.” So wrote the poet Shaul Tchernichovsky, and so you played, our dear President, during the uplifting moments of elation, in times of difficulty and crisis, and with the small joys of day to day life, “because in man I will believe, and I still believe in you.” I am speaking to you today for the final time Shimon, “as one President to another”, as you would say each time you called to offer strength and good advice. As I speak, my eyes search for you, our dear brother, our older brother, and you are not there. Today you are gathered to your forefathers in the land which you loved so, but your dreams remain, and your beliefs uninte...
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shook hands with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas at the funeral of Shimon Peres.
Thousands of people attended the funeral of former president and prime minister who passed away at 93. Thousands of people are attending the funeral of Israel’s ninth president and former Prime Minister Shimon Peres, who passed away this week at the age of 93. Arutz Sheva provided live coverage for the entire funeral. President Reuven Rivlin eulogized Peres, in addition to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein, President Barack Obama and former President Bill Clinton. Peres’s children – Yoni and Chemi Peres and Prof. Tsvia Walden – eulogized their father as well, as did author Amos Oz, a personal friend of Peres. Singer David D'Or performed "Avinu Malkeinu" as requested by Peres himself. Rivlin eulogized Peres, "I am s...
Man who criticized Peres on Facebook detained for questioning and forbidden to travel to Jerusalem. Ofer Golan, CEO of "Fighting the 'Palestinian' Lie," was taken for police questioning after publicizing a post criticizing former president Shimon Peres. "I am crying over the thousands murdered since Oslo, and for the thousands of widows and orphans who are still in pain," he wrote. According to the report, the police chief warned Golan not to come to Jerusalem Friday morning, then let him go free. Attorney Itamar Ben Gvir responded, "The General Police Chief is confusing criminal activity and legitimate criticism. Israel's citizens are allowed to think and to write that Peres caused damage to the nation and to the country. The police must not attempt to regulat...
Chesed Chesed
Musician David D'Or honors Peres' request to perform Avinu Malkeinu at funeral. Rabbi Dov Lipman posted the following on hisFacebook page: The most inspirational and meaningful moment in today׳s funeral for Shimon Peres, z"l. No - not the speeches from two US presidents. Not Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Abbas shaking hands. And not even the beautiful tributes from his children. It was the singing of "Avinu Malkeinu" by David D'or. President Peres, of blessed memory, asked for this to be sung at his funeral because he remembered hearing this prayer as a young child in Poland while under his grandfather's talit on Yom Kippur. (His grandfather was burned alive by the Nazis and that synagogue was reduced to ashes.)
Armed terrorist tried to stab brigade commander near Hevron. An armed terrorist tried to stab Colonel Itzik Cohen, in the western Hevron Hills. The terrorist, who was armed with a knife, approached the soldiers who were standing near Negohot in the western Hevron Hills. He attempted to stab the brigade commander Colonel Itzik Cohen. The soldiers who were present managed to stop him in time. Initial investigations show that the soldier who was securing the area spotted the terrorist approaching the senior commander's vehicle. When the soldier stopped the terrorist for questioning, he found that the suspect was holding a knife behind his back. Additional soldiers who were in the area gained control over the terrorist. No one was hurt.
One of the themes of this week’s parsha is that of teshuvah, repentance, a perfect preparation for the days ahead. After the pesukim dealing with the harsh punishments of the man, woman, family or tribe who "goes his own way," we are told of all the good that is bestowed upon us when we return to HaShem. Perek 30 begins, "And it shall be when these things come upon you, the blessings and the curses which I have put before you...And you shall return to HaShem, your God." It is common, especially at this time, to look back and reflect on recent tragedies - those that affect us personally or as a nation more directly, such as the passing of a loved one or the trials and tribulations endured by our brethren in Eretz Yisrael, and those that might seem to affect us less directly, such as ...
While yesterday's Nevada Supreme Court decision striking down the state's Education Savings Account program was disappointing to the approximately 8000 scholarship applicants, it offered them a glimmer of hope. The ESA program would have deposited up to $5,700 each year in a savings account for parents who opt out of a public school education for their child. The funds could then be used for educational expenses such as tutoring, therapies, virtual school fees, and private school tuition. Agudath Israel of America was gratified to see that the court rejected all of the opponents' arguments against the constitutionality of the program. The court concluded that the Legislature has the right to encourage other methods of education outside of traditional public schools and more...
The world’s leading smartphone makers just can’t stop copying each other. But now, things have gone way too far, reports By Z. Epstein for BGR. So what’s the latest feature Apple ripped off from its top smartphone rival Samsung? Apparently, Apple was jealous that Samsung’s exploding Galaxy Note 7 is stealing some of the iPhone 7’s airtime, so it built an exploding smartphone of its own. Behold: This appears to be an isolated incident, at least for the time being. The image above was posted by Reddit user “kroopthesnoop” on Wednesday, and it shows a matte black iPhone 7 that certainly looks like it exploded. Unlike Samsung’s somewhat widespread Galaxy Note 7 problem that was due to a battery defect, however, this iP...
On a recent Shabbos morning, a Chevron Arab began cursing a group of Jews returning home from Shacharis at Meoras Hamachpeilah. The Palestinian chose his victims unwisely because among them was right wing attorney Ittamar Ben Gevir, a member of the Honenu legal aid association. Noticing that the provocation was being filmed by a leftist from a nearby roof, Ben Gevir laid charges against the Arab and leftist on motzoei Shabbos, maintaining that they had behaved inappropriately in a public place by attempting to start a provocation and disturb the peace. “We’re talking about permanent policy among extreme left-wing activists, who create a provocation and film the outcome in order to record the reaction, and then edit the footage to present the events in a distorted ...
"Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and defense minister Ehud Barak were pushing ahead with their plans to attack Iran." If not for Shimon Peres’s intervention, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was planning to bomb Iran, the former president revealed confidentially to The Jerusalem Post over two years ago.In a meeting at the Peres Center for Peace in Jaffa on August 24, 2014, Peres dropped the bombshell in a conversation with me and Jerusalem Post Managing Editor David Brinn. I have thought long and hard about whether to publish it, and reached the conclusion that he wouldn’t have told us if he didn’t want us to. I was editor-in-chief of The Jerusalem Post at the time and had established a close relationship with Peres, who had re...
Inspiring Jewish Quotes for Rosh Hashanah by Dr. Yvette Alt Miller Facebook6TwitterEmailMore5 “A sudden transition from one opposite to another is impossible and therefore man, according to his nature, is not capable of abandoning suddenly all to which he was accustomed.”  Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon (Maimonides) - (Guide for the Perplexed 3:23 Making major changes in our lives is possible, but Maimonides’ advice reminds us to take it slow, one step at a time. Taking incremental steps makes it more likely that we’ll still with new resolutions and routines. “All beginnings are hard.”  Mekhilta Yitro Remember that while it can be hard to start to change, with effort and practice, things do get easier. Keeping this in mind can help us ov...
JERUSALEM –  Shimon Peres, who died Wednesday, was both a former president and prime minister, the only person in Israel to hold both jobs. Of Israel's 12 prime ministers, three are still living: current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu; his predecessor, Ehud Olmert, who is in prison after a bribery conviction; and Ehud Barak, who appears to be plotting a comeback. A look at some of its prime ministers: DAVID BEN-GURION (1886-1973) Israel's founding father and first prime minister served from Israel's creation in 1948 until 1963, with a two-year hiatus in 1954-55. Renowned for declaring Israel's independence and building its military might, he oversaw the development of Israel's nuclear program and agreed to a historic reparations deal with ...
CHICAGO (Reuters) - U.S. Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton said on Thursday that Republican opponent Donald Trump may have violated U.S. law, following a news report that one of his companies attempted to do business in Cuba. Newsweek said on Thursday that a hotel and casino company controlled by Trump secretly conducted business with Cuba that was illegal under U.S. sanctions in force during Fidel Castro's presidency of the Communist-ruled island. “Today we learned about his efforts to do business in Cuba which appear to violate U.S. law, certainly flout American foreign policy, and he has consistently misled people in responding to questions about whether he was attempting to do business in Cuba,” Clinton told reporters on her campaign plane....
The woman who died in the New Jersey Transit train crash in Hoboken has been identified as a resident of the city and young mother who recently moved to the United States from Brazil with her family.  Fabiola Bittar de Kroon was standing in a waiting area at the Hoboken station when the train, which was traveling too fast, crashed through a barrier, authorities said. She was killed by falling debris. De Kroon, 34, worked for the software company SAP in its legal department in Brazil until earlier this year. SAP spokesman Andy Kendzie said the company was "shaken by the news" of the crash, which injured more than 100 people. He said the company expressed its deepest condolences to de Kroon's family and friends and to all of those affected by the "tragic event." Ce...
Wells Fargo & Co was fined about $24 million on Thursday by federal regulators for alleged violations of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, piling more pressure on the bank already embroiled in a sales abuse scandal.   Wells Fargo Bank, doing business as Wells Fargo Dealer Services, agreed to pay more than $4.1 million after the Justice Department alleged it repossessed 413 cars owned by servicemembers without obtaining a court order. The unit of Wells Fargo also agreed to change its policies, the department said. Separately, the bank was fined $20 million for violating the same act by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. The bank violated three separate provisions of the act between about 2006 and 2016, the regulator, which did a separate investigatio...
WASHINGTON (AP) — The investigation into a New Jersey commuter train that hurtled into a station building Thursday raises many familiar issues from other crashes, including whether the tragedy could have been prevented or mitigated if a key safety technology had been in place. The National Transportation Safety Board, which is leading the investigation, has been calling on railroads to start using the safety technology, called positive train control, or PTC, for nearly four decades. New Jersey Transit is in the process of installing the technology, but it was not in operation yet on any of the agency's trains or tracks. Govs. Chris Christie of New Jersey and Andrew Cuomo of New York cautioned at a news conference that not enough is known yet about the circ...
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) -- The government's key witness in the George Washington Bridge lane-closing scandal said people close to New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie gathered on a conference call to prep a cover story for the gridlock prosecutors contend was political revenge against a Democratic mayor. NJ.com reported David Wildstein testified on Thursday that Phil Kwon, Christie's former pick for the state Supreme Court, and Regina Egea, who eventually served as the Republican governor's aide, helped prepare testimony that the closures were for a traffic study. He said the pair prepped former Port Authority of New York and New Jersey executive Bill Baroni on what to tell lawmakers probing the incident. Baroni is now on trial for federal crimes related to the September 201...
There have been hacking attempts on election systems in more than 20 states — far more than had been previously acknowledged — a senior Department of Homeland Security official told NBC News on Thursday. The "attempted intrusions" targeted online systems like registration databases, and not the actual voting or tabulation machines that will be used on Election Day and are not tied to the Internet. The DHS official described much of the activity as "people poking at the systems to see if they are vulnerable." "We are absolutely concerned," the DHS official said. "The concern is the ability to cause confusion and chaos." Only two successful breaches have been disclosed, both of online voter registration databases, in Illinois and Arizona over the summer. While those two hack...
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