Baltimore, MD - Feb. 16, 2025 -  Baltimore City Department of Transportation (BCDOT) Weekend Road Closures & Traffic Modifications Through Monday, Feb. 17, 2025: Motorists should expect temporary road closures and traffic modifications this weekend. Use the Waze app for live detour navigation. Road Closures & Lane Restrictions: Sunday, February 16, 2025: Jones Falls Expressway (I-83) Northbound & Southbound Left lane closures between Fayette St. & city/county line 6:00 AM – 2:00 PM (Cleaning activities) Monday, February 17, 2025: Baltimore City Blac...
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Chai Lifeline Mid-Atlantic, the leading organization providing critical support to families facing pediatric illness in Baltimore, Silver Spring, and the greater Washington, DC, area, is launching its most impactful fundraiser yet: YOU Can Make a Difference.  Running from February 15-17, 2025, this transformative campaign invites the entire community to come together to raise $500,000 to expand Chai Lifeline’s vital services. Thanks to generous benefactors, all funds raised during the campaign will be matched dollar for dollar, doubling the Every day, Chai Lifeline Mid-Atlantic is there for families navigating the unimaginable challenges of pediatric illness. Parents face overwhelming hospital stays, medical expenses, and emotional strain, while siblings often feel lost ...
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Baltimore, MD - Feb. 11, 2025 - Attention employers and job seekers: MacherUSA.com has expanded to include Baltimore job listings on its platform. You can find local job openings listed under Baltimore in its dropdown menu.MacherUSA.com was already operating in the tristate area as a popular job board when Career360 reached out to MacherUSA to ask to include Baltimore on their site. What developed was a partnership between MacherUSA and Career360. Now that Baltimore is one of the locations on the site, employers are encouraged to post their job openings to attract local community talent. The listing fee is waived for Baltimore employers through Summer 2025.“As a career coach, I saw the need for Baltimore to have a centralized website to connect job seekers with local employers. I hop...
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Baltimore, MD - Feb. 12, 2025  - Yeshivas Toras Simcha, founded in Elul 5755 (1995) by veteran mechanchim and joined by dynamic young mechanchim, provides a unique environment for talmidim from abroad to flourish. Led by HaRav Zusha Solomon, shlita, the yeshiva fosters growth in Torah, yiras shamayim, middos tovos, and joy in avodas Hashem. Located in Yerushalayim's Mattersdorf neighborhood, it offers a vibrant, Torah-rich atmosphere with the Beis HaMedrash, dining room, and dormitories all under one roof. A kollel of former talmidim enhances the learning experience.Toras Simcha is for serious post-high-school students seeking a close Rebbe-talmid relationship. The mechanchim are known for their personal warmth, creating deep bonds with students and supporting their growth in Tor...
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ברוכים הבאים בשם ה׳ מרן ראש הישיבה רבי שאול אלתר שליט”א Be a Part of this Historic Visit The Baltimore community is privileged to welcome Maran Rosh HaYeshiva, Rabbi Shaul Alter, shlita, one of the great Torah luminaries of our generation. This momentous visit presents a unique opportunity to hear divrei chizuk and daas Torah from one of the great Torah luminaries of our generation. This historic visit will include a keynote address & shiur at Yeshivas Ner Yisroel on Sunday, Feb. 23 @ 2:30PM,  additional shiurim and public appearances, offering a rare opportunity for inspiration and connection. Stay tuned for the complete schedule of events. ------------------------------------------------------------------ Join an official B...
Baltimore, MD - Feb. 16, 2025 - Attorney General Anthony Brown handed down two indictments Friday charging a childcare center owner. Jonathan Tarrell Smalls, 41, is accused of felony theft, identity fraud and public assistance fraud. According to court documents, Smalls, from 2014 to 2024, while owning and operating multiple childcare centers in Baltimore, fraudulently got $2.5 million from the state of Maryland by concealing his ownership of the centers and inflating attendance records. Those centers include, but aren't limited to, Habakkuk Outreach Ministries, House of New Beginnings, and It’z A Brighter Learning Center, which all operated out of Baltimore. The first indictment alleges that Smalls' fraud began after the Maryland State Department of Education (MDSE) re...
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Jerusalem, Israel - Feb. 16, 2025 - President Isaac Herzog today, Sunday, held a first working meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, on his first visit to Israel since taking office.Ahead of a bilateral meeting, the two made brief remarks to the media.President Isaac Herzog: “Welcome to Israel. Shalom, our dear friend, Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, we are honored to have you in our midst, in our country, you have no idea how much it means to us in these challenging days and times that our nation has gone through and endured since October 7. We are grateful to President Donald Trump for his friendship and solidarity with the people of Israel and the State of Israel, and we are grateful for his direct involvement in bringing back our hostages. “You know, on October 7...
 Baltimore, MD – Feb. 16, 2025 – 9:12AM - Reisterstown Road is completely blocked between Festival at Woodholme and Mt. Wilson. Expect delays. ------------------------------------------------------------------ Join an official BJL WhatsApp group: bit.ly/2Qpdea2 Join BJL status: bit.ly/32HUBnJ
Baltimore, MD - Feb. 15, 2025 - Strong winds expected from 10 AM to 10 PM on Sunday, Feb. 16. Wind speeds: 20-30 mph, with gusts up to 50-60 mph. Areas affected: Baltimore, D.C., and surrounding regions in Maryland and Virginia. Potential impacts: Trees and power lines may fall, leading to widespread power outages. Travel may be difficult, especially for tall vehicles. Safety tips: Stay indoors and avoid windows. Watch for falling branches and debris. Use extra caution if driving. Winds may continue at 40-50 mph into Monday.
Baltimore, MD - Feb. 15, 2025 - House Bill 1469, the For Our Kids Act, would impose a tax on certain distributors of sugary beverages. “Two cents per ounce is what the bill proposes,” said Montgomery County Delegate Emily Shetty, D-District 18, the lead sponsor of the bill. “So, it’s an excise tax that would go on the distributor. Distributor could choose to take it or pass it on to consumers. The bill, as drafted, covers beverages and sugar or powder form or and syrups as well, but it covers sugars as well as sweeteners — artificial sweeteners.” | Bill: Read House Bill 1469 Shetty said natural juices with no added sugar would not be included in the tax. If passed, Shetty said they expect to bring in around $500 million per year. She said the m...
Parsha Hashavua
Parshas Yisro: Stranger in a Strange Land

At the beginning of this week's parsha we are once again given the reason behind the naming of Gershom (18:3-4): "Ki ger hayisi b'eretz nochria", because I was a stranger in a strange land. Here, the explanation of Eliezer's name is given as well, "Ki elokei avi b'ezri, vayatzileini micherev Paroah", apparently referring to Moshe's escape from execution at the hands of Paroah. At first glance, these names seem to be out of order. The cause for the naming of Gershom seems to have been preceded by that of Eliezer. Moshe was a stranger in Midyan after he escaped from the hands of Paroah. My Rebbe in Eretz Yisrael, R' Yeshaya Greenwald suggests that perhaps there is a different explanation behind Gershom's name. In the years leading up to Gershom's birth, Moshe realized that although he seemed at home in Egypt as a prince and leading quite a good life, he was nevertheless a stranger in a strange land. So Ki ger hayisi... is in fact referring to Moshe's years in Mitzrayim rather than those in Midyan. This explanation is supported by the fact that Moshe says "Ki ger hayisi," in the past tense, even while he is still living in Midyan (2:22).


Another interesting point concerning the naming of Gershom and Eliezer: For Gershom it says "vesheim ha'echad Gershom". And than for Eliezer, "vesheim ha'echad Eliezer". One would have expected the use of ordinal numbers such as "Sheim Harishon... vesheim hasheni" in this case. Why are they both referred to as "ha'echad"? R' Greenwald suggests that the answer may lie in the Midrash on the pasuk (2:21) "Vayoel Moshe," which states that Moshe made a pact with his father-in-law to give his first son to Avodah Zarah (or some manifestation thereof.) Therefore, Gershom was the "ben ha'echad," the one son for Avoda Zarah and Eliezer was the "ben ha'echadlaShem.


Perhaps the answer to the second question could be used to answer the first. Since Moshe had this pact with Yisro, he didn't want to mention any specific praise of HaShem which would convey to Yisro that he had not kept to the deal. Therefore, Gershom was given a more generic, religion-less name while Moshe waited until his second child to mention the praise of HaShem for saving him from Paroah's sword but it indeed did come first.


Have a good Shabbos.

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Annapolis, MD - Feb. 15, 2025 -  More support for federal workers from the state of Maryland. On Friday, Governor Wes Moore launched a website that provides resources to federal workers impacted by layoffs, firings and changes to federal funding. Those resources include information on unemployment insurance, job search and career support, legal resources, and an index of key rules and regulations that govern the federal employment process. On January 28, President Donald Trump offered buyouts worth seven months of salary to all federal employees who had opted to leave their jobs by February 6. A judge halted Trump's buyout deadline on the 6th, and that pause was then extended to the 10th. Another judge then ruled to to allow then Trump administration to proceed with the buyo...
Baltimore, MD - Feb. 15, 2025 - Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown joined a coalition with 11 other attorneys general in releasing a statement ahead of a court hearing in their case against the Trump administration for granting Elon Musk and members of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) access to Americans' private information. The 12 attorneys general say that granting Musk and the department that access is illegal. AG Brown released the following statement Friday: “Last week, Elon Musk and his team got into our nation’s central payment system in the Treasury Department, giving them unauthorized access to the Social Security numbers, bank account information, and other private data of tens of millions of Americans. To protect our states’ resident...
SimchasSimchas Simcha
Baltimore, MD -  Feb. 15, 2025  - As alarms are being raised about spiking gas and electric bills across Maryland, a state utility watchdog is warning that future gas delivery rates stand to rise even more than previously expected. The Maryland Office of People’s Counsel said in a new analysis that Maryland’s three largest gas utilities, including Baltimore Gas & Electric Co., are projected to spend more than $18 billion on gas infrastructure through 2043. BGE customers alone average monthly winter gas bills could jump 67% in the next 10 years, the report said. A typical BGE customer who paid on average $240 per month for their winter gas bill from 2022 through last year is expected to pay more than $400 per month by 2035, a 67% jump, if spending remains unchan...
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Tel Aviv, Israel - Feb. 15, 2025 - After 498 days in captivity, Sagui Dekel-Chen (36), Alexander (Sasha) Troufanov (29), and Yair Horn (46) were released from Gaza and returned to Israel on Saturday. All three were kidnapped during the October 7 massacre. Their families expressed overwhelming relief and gratitude. Avital, Dekel-Chen’s wife, who gave birth to their third daughter while he was in captivity, said she felt like she could finally breathe again. Yair Horn’s mother, Ruth, thanked supporters and emphasized the need to continue efforts to bring back her younger son, Eitan, who remains a hostage. Troufanov, who lived in Tel Aviv, was visiting his family in Kibbutz Nir Oz when he and his relatives were kidnapped. He was the only one of his family who remained in...
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At the beginning of this week's parsha we are once again given the reason behind the naming of Gershom (18:3-4): "Ki ger hayisi b'eretz nochria", because I was a stranger in a strange land. Here, the explanation of Eliezer's name is given as well, "Ki elokei avi b'ezri, vayatzileini micherev Paroah", apparently referring to Moshe's escape from execution at the hands of Paroah. At first glance, these names seem to be out of order. The cause for the naming of Gershom seems to have been preceded by that of Eliezer. Moshe was a stranger in Midyan after he escaped from the hands of Paroah. My Rebbe in Eretz Yisrael, R' Yeshaya Greenwald suggests that perhaps there is a different explanation behind Gershom's name. In the years leading u...
US President Donald Trump said on Friday that he would take a hard stance on Gaza on Saturday, but added that he is not sure what Israel will do. “I don’t know what’s going to happen at 12 o’clock [on Saturday]. If it was up to me, I’d take a very hard stance. I can’t tell you what Israel is going to do,” Trump said in response to a question from reporter at the Oval Office. His comments came ahead of the scheduled release of Sagui Dekel-Chen (36), Alexander (Sasha) Troufanov (29), and Yair Horn (46) as part of the hostage deal with Hamas. Earlier this week, Trump issued a warning to Hamas and said that if it were up to him, the ceasefire and hostage deal should be cancelled if Hamas does not release all the hostages. &ldquo...
Classifieds Classifieds
The White House says it will limit Associated Press journalists’ access to the Oval Office and Air Force One, an escalation of a brooding conflict between the Trump administration and the wire service this week. “The Associated Press continues to ignore the lawful geographic name change of the Gulf of America,” White House deputy chief of staff Taylor Budowich wrote in a post Friday on the social platform X. “This decision is not just divisive, but it also exposes the Associated Press’ commitment to misinformation. While their right to irresponsible and dishonest reporting is protected by the First Amendment, it does not ensure their privilege of unfettered access to limited spaces, like the Oval Office and Air Force One,” the spokesperson ad...
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 ...
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