There are two different kinds of sirens in Israel.  An urgent rising and falling sound warns of an attack and is the signal to flee to the nearest bomb shelter or safe room.  A mournful steady sound is for remembrance. 

last week, at 5 in the morning, the people of Mishmoret, a small moshav located near Kfar Saba, were woken by a siren as a Gaza rocket was about to land in their community.  No one expected this.  There was no Iron Dome protecting this community.  Some of the residents of Mishmoret were not even sure what they were hearing and many did not have safe rooms in their homes.  They were not prepared.

We are all children of an Awesome G-d Who has enabled us to witness the fulfillment of prophecy in our own lifetimes.  We have seen the restoration of the Jewish people after the Holocaust and the establishment of the State of Israel in fulfillment of Biblical prophecy. G-d is orchestrating the final redemption and we have been invited to take part.  Let’s let Him run the show and we will all be blessed in the process.

Rabbi Yehuda Glick is a special man indeed.  I have not known him long — just a few years actually.  But as our paths have crossed more and more in recent years, I have come to appreciate him as a very special person and a unique advocate for the Jewish people.

Just two months ago, I wrote about elections that took place in the US and in Israel — national elections in the US and municipal elections in Israel.  And now Israel has entered its own national elections season.  But in Israel, there is always drama surrounding elections.

As I write this newsletter, we have just learned that the IDF has launched a military campaign to identify and destroy a series of tunnels along Israel’s northern border that have been dug by Hezbollah to enable them to invade Israel and wreak terror and destruction.  We must constantly be vigilant against ongoing threats to our lives and our very existence as a nation. 

As Republicans battle Democrats for control of the Legislative Branch, Israel is looking at these elections as well.  It is no secret that Trump has been unusually supportive of Israel in these past two years and that his natural tendency is pro-Israel.  Republican representatives and senators have also usually been pro-Israel although there have also been some outstanding pro-Israel Democratic legislators as well.  We cannot begin to comment nor understand the ins and outs of domestic issues in these American elections, but I can turn to you, our American friends, and ask that you consider Israel when casting your vote today.

But beyond the joy that we all feel in the birth of a new baby, the Brit itself has such a special significance to us as individuals and as a people.  Some 4,000 years ago, an old man named Abraham heard the call from  G-d to leave his home and go forward to the Land of Israel.  Some years after his arrival in the land, G-d commanded him to circumcise himself as an act of covenant between him and G-d, an act of covenant that would be repeated by his descendants forever.  At the original covenant with Abraham, G-d changed Abraham’s name from Abram to Abraham.

By: Sondra Oster Baras On Tuesday night and Wednesday, we will be observing Yom Kippur, otherwise known as the Day of Atonement, the holiest day of the year.  It is a time when Jews all over the world spend the day in fasting and prayer.  This year also marks the 45th anniversary of the Yom […]

We were treated to wonderful news last week as US President Donald Trump declared that the US would no longer fund UNRWA, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, and criticized the agency for hindering rather than helping efforts to improve the lives of Palestinians.  UNRWA’s 2017 budget, according to the Washington Post, was $1.1 billion and the US provided more than 30% of that annual budget.