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Baltimore, MD - Oct. 29, 2025: Dear Friends,
Rabbi Avinoam Yaakov Schleifer tragically passed away this week. He left behind a grieving wife and children who must now face the daunting challenge of continuing their lives without him. In the wake of this tragedy, we, as a community, must come together and provide crucial support during their time of need. This campaign is crucial to supporting the Schleifer family as they grapple with this challenge. All funds raised via this platform will be carefully and responsibly overseen, both now and in perpetuity, by a small committee of professionals with strong backgrounds in legal and financial planning/budgeting, alongside oversight by community Rabbanim and Ahavas YisraelPlease give generously during these tragic moments to ensu...
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Honoring the Life and Legacy of Rabbi Moshe Hauer, ZT”L — A Special BJH & BJH Baltimore Community TributeBaltimore, MD - Oct. 30, 2025 - Click here to view in magazine format or scroll below to view it page by page
Baltimore, MD – Oct. 30, 2025 – BJL regrets to inform the community of the petirah of Mary (Miriam) Vitkowsky (née Gunzburg), a”h, mother of Win (Yosef) Vitkowsky, and Tori (Tova) Vitkowsky and sister of Eliezer (Frank) Gunzburg.
The graveside levayah will be held on Friday, Oct 31, at 9:00am, Orchard Street Synagogue section of the Beth Israel Fitch Street Cemetery (entrance on 67 Fitch Street in New Haven, CT).
Shiva:
Eliezer Gunzburg will be sitting shiva in Baltimore beginning Motzaei Shabbos Nov 1. (Maariv: 6:55PM) at 6111 Baywood Ave, Baltimore, MD 21209. He can be reached at 410-961-9091.
Family requests no visitors 11:30am-4:00pm and no later than 8:30pm.
Minyan:
Maariv - Motzaei Shabbos: 6:55PM
Shacharis- Sunday: 9am Shacharis: Mon-...
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For over three decades, One Israel Fund has served as the premier organization in North America supporting Israel’s Biblical Heartland, funding hundreds of essential projects each year, from medical and recreation to education, community impact and preventative security. Every initiative represents a lifeline, strengthening communities and protecting families who live with courage and conviction on the frontlines of Jewish history.
The evening promises an extraordinary program that combines meaning, inspiration, and uplifting entertainment. Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, a steadfast voice for Israel in the U.S. Congress, will headline the event with a powerful address. The program will also feature Nathaniel “@NateBuzz” Buzolic, bel...
Washington, D.C. - Oct. 31, 2025 - A federal judge on Friday ordered the Trump administration to tap emergency funds to pay for federal food assistance benefits, a day before they were set to be suspended because of the government shutdown.
Judge John McConnell in Rhode Island issued the temporary restraining order during a hearing, saying he was directing the U.S. Department of Agriculture to use contingency funds to pay benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
“There is no doubt and it is beyond argument that irreparable harm will begin to occur if it hasn’t already occurred,” said McConnell, an Obama appointee.
The order may help temporarily alleviate one looming crisis for millions of Americans resulting from the impasse...
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Baby Aryeh Leib is fighting for his life after being diagnosed with hepatoblastoma, a rare any aggressive liver cancer. 💔
The specialized treatment he needs is extremely expensive and goes far beyond what his family can manage alone.
Every donation makes a difference. Contributing helps cover the essential costs of treatment, hospital care, and medication, giving Aryeh Leib a real chance at recovery.
With collective support, Aryeh Leib can look forward to a happy, healthy future - free from illness and pain.
Please consider giving whatever you can. 🙏🏻
Every bit of help brings him and his family closer to healing and hope.
https://thechesedfund.com/sfk/saving-a-baby-s-life?aff=jbl27.10et
In the first Pasuk of this week’s Parsha, we have an unusual pair of Rashi’s. First, on the words “Lech Licha”, Rashi immediately tells us that this means “for your good and for your benefit”. (Rashi, Lech Licha 12:1) Rashi however is not content to leave his comment on Lech Licha there, instead he goes on and tells us almost exactly what the words are from the next pasuk. “I will make you into a great nation, I will grant you children and your reputation will be known throughout the world.” (Rashi, Lech Licha 12:1) Why did Rashi feel compelled to tell us what are basically the words from the 2ndpasuk at this time?
When we read the 2nd pasuk our question becomes even more perplexing. The pasuk says &l...
Baltimore, MD - Oct. 31, 2025 - I wanted to take a few moments to share some deep and meaningful thoughts about my dear and beloved rebbe, R’ Ezra Neuberger, zt”l. I will share them in four parts, each one capturing a different aspect of who he was and the lasting impact he had on me.
1. His Clarity in Torah Learning One of the defining qualities of R’ Ezra was the crystal clarity with which he approached Torah. I remember sitting with him one Friday night at his oneg when he shared a line that left a lasting impression on me. He said, “A person shouldn’t learn Chumash as a mussar sefer. Rather, he should learn it the same way he learns a Gemara sugya — to truly understand the machlokes between Rashi and the Ramban.”
That perspective comple...
Baltimore, MD – Oct. 31, 2025 – 11:53AM – Road work on Park Heights Avenue near Labyrinth Road is causing major disruption after a driver accidentally went into an open construction hole. Avoid the area.
h/t: MJ
Sometimes you hear a story, and you move on with your life. But sometimes you hear a story, and it makes your life move. It moves you. It speaks to you. It touches a soft chord deep inside your soul. I want to share with you a story that became public a number of years ago. This story goes back to February of 1971. When Rabbi Dr. Tzvi Hersh Weinreb was in his young 30s, early on in his career, living with his young family in Silver Spring, MD, and he began to have some questions. Questions pertaining to his career path. Questions pertaining to the chinuch of his children. And questions of Emunah and bitachon. Rav Weinreb describes how he was unsure of many things and was in a state of uncertainty. He wasn't sure where to go or what to do. So he called the Lubavitcher Rebbe's...
After G-d promises Avraham to give him 'this land to inherit', Avraham questions, במה אדע — 'Whereby shall I know to inherit it?'
He is then instructed to bring animals and perform a ritual to seal the covenant that G-d will redeem his offspring after four generations as aliens in a foreign land, having served their hosts under oppression.
The Talmud in Nedarim (32b) quotes Shmuel who explains that the sentencing of Avraham's children to endure the exile in Egypt was a punishment for his having questioned G-d's ways, doubting whether they would indeed be redeemed.
The Talmud brings two other opinions as to why they were enslaved in Egypt for two hundred and ten years.
Rabbi Avahu says it was it was because he drafted his Torah students to figh...
Baltimore, MD - Oct. 30, 2025 -The Baltimore community is celebrating the next chapter of a growing Makom Torah dedicated to tefillah, limud haTorah, and communal growth. After spending its first year learning and davening in K’hal Ahavas Yisroel Tzemach Tzedek (KAYTT), Kollel Avreichim has now moved into its newly renovated home at 6021 Western Run Drive, at the corner of Taney and Western Run. Founded last Cheshvan under the leadership of Rabbi Binyomin Chajes and Rabbi Shaul Elchonon Sofer, the kollel began with six dedicated yungeleit learning daily in KAYTT’s Beis Medrash. Over the course of the year, the kollel steadily expanded to a group of ten serious avreichim, including families who joined from Lakewood and Eretz Yisroel, contributing to a growing Torah pr...
וַיַּעֲשׂוּ חָג שִׁבְעַת יָמִים וּבַיּוֹם הַשְּׁמִינִי עֲצֶרֶת כַּמִּשְׁפָּט, וּבְיוֹם עֶשְׂרִים וְאַרְבָּעָה לַחֹדֶשׁ הַזֶּה נֶאֶסְפוּ בְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּצוֹם וּבְשַׂקִּים.
(נחמיה ח:יח–ט:א)
And they kept the festival of Sukkos seven days, and on the eighth day there was an assembly of Shemini Atzeres, according to the law. And on the twenty-fourth day of this month the children of Israel were assembled with fasting and in sackcloth. (Nechemia 8:18-9:1)
I walked into Bnai Jacob Shaarei Zion on Thursday morning, the day after Simchas Torah, bleary-eyed and aching with raw emotion. In the pre-dawn hours of the morni...
Annapolis, MD - Oct. 30, 2025 -Today, Governor Wes Moore declared a state of emergency over the upcoming lapse in SNAP benefits due to the government shutdown, while at a food bank in Anne Arundel County.
"I hate the fact that we are here," he said.
His response is to put $10 million of state funding toward food banks and food bank partners.
Yesterday, during a legislative hearing, there were calls by both Democrats and Republicans for the Governor to tap into the Rainy Day fund to fully fund SNAP benefits for Marylanders.
The USDA has said it wouldn't reimburse states that cover that funding.
"What we are seeing from our federal administration is not just cruel, it's illegal," said Moore.
“For days, Governor Moore insisted there was nothing the state could do if fede...
Baltimore, MD – Oct. 30, 2025 - BJL wishes a hearty Mazel Tov to Kivi & Emmy Attar on the birth of a son.
Mazel Tov to grandparents Levi & Lolly Friedman
יה"ר שיזכו לגדל בנם לתורה, לחופה, ולמעשים טובים. אמן!
Baltimore, MD – Oct. 29, 2025 – BJL regrets to inform the community of the petirah of Harav Ezra Dovid Halevi Neuberger, zt"l, husband of Rebbetzin Miriam Neuberger, father of R' Shlomo Zalman Neuberger, R' Yaakov Yitzchok Neuberger, R' Tzvi Yehuda Neuberger, R' Avi Neuberger, R' Menachem Neuberger, Ahuva (R' Yom Tov Lipa) Goldberger, Chaya Yehudis (R' Shmuel) Gruenebaum, Shira (R' Yekusiel Sheftel) Gruenebaum, Adina (R' Yehuda) Schulman, Rochel (R' Yehuda) Deutsch, and Ms. Malka Neuberger, and brother of Harav Sheftel Neuberger zt"l, Mr. Isaac Neuberger, Harav Shraga Neuberger and Rabbi Yaakov Neuberger and son of Harav Naftoli Neuberger, zt'l.The levaya will take place Thursday at 1:30PM in the Yeshiva Bais Medrash. ...
Bel Air, MD - Oct. 30, 2025 - More than 250 students at The John Carroll School in Bel Air learned powerful lessons about tolerance, understanding and moral courage through an extraordinary story that connects two families across generations.
The remarkable tale began when Steven DiBiagio, president of The John Carroll School, shared the story of his late father Raymond during a school event. Raymond DiBiagio served as a sergeant in the 84th Infantry during World War II.
"They got to the bottom of the hills they were coming up. It looked like a prison camp, except the prisoners were skeletons. So they started dragging these prisoners, these bodies, down into this pit and as they started to pile up, my dad looked down and one of the corpses blinked. And my father, 18 years old, sai...
