Before the reading of the Torah, on the first day of Shavuot, a beautiful 11th century poem called Akdamut is recited in the Synagogue. This poem was written by Rabbi Meir bar Yitzchak from Worms, Germany. Akdamut consists of praise for God, His Torah, and His people. In most synagogues the poem is read responsively:…
BY MICHAEL FREUND, JPOST— Amounting crisis of gastronomic proportions was averted this past week when Israel and hunger-striking Palestinian prisoners agreed to a deal that was brokered by Egypt, ending the stand-off between the two sides. After more than a month of missed meals, skipped snacks and disregarded desserts, the jailed terrorists have at last…
Torah: Leviticus 26:3 – 27:34, “B’chukotai” (In my statutes …) Haftorah: Jeremiah 16:19 – 17:14 New Testament: II Corinthians 6:14 – 18 Gospel: Matthew 23:23 -24; 37 – 30, “Oie, lechem” (Woe to you …)
by ELAD BENARI, ARUTZ 7— Shurat HaDin wins judgment against Iran and Syria for supporting terrorists who killed an American teenager in a 2006 bombing. Israeli advocacy group Shurat HaDin (Israel Law Center) won a $323 million judgment in a U.S. court against Iran and Syria for supporting terrorists who killed an American teenager and…
By MICHAEL OREN, WSJ— How in 40 years the Jewish state went from inspiring underdog to supposed oppressor. This year Israel is celebrating . . . a series of accomplishments that have surely exceeded the expectations of its most visionary founders. It is one of the most powerful small nations in history. . . .…
BY RYAN JONES, ISRAEL TODAY– A Hebrew University archeologist says finds at a new dig site near Jerusalem are backing up the biblical narrative of an Israelite kingdom centered on Jerusalem in 1000 BC, around the time of King David and his son, King Solomon. Professor Yosef Garfinkel has been digging at Khirbet Qeiyafa near…
BY TZVI BEN GEDALYAHU, ISRAEL NATIONAL NEWS— Israel has decided to search for oil on the Golan Heights after 20 years of delay due to objections from Syria, according to Globes, which quoted the Hebrew daily Yediot Aharanoth. After Israel formally took sovereignty over the strategic area in 1980, the Petroleum Act was applied to…
BY TRAVELUJAH— A group of eight Hollywood TV and film stars completed a week-long tour of Israel Sunday as guests of Israel’s Ministry of Tourism and the Ministry of Public Diplomacy and Diaspora Affairs. The star-studded group included Anna Lynne McCord (“90210” , “Nip & Tuck”), Omar Epps (“House”), Paul Johansson (“One Tree Hill”), Holly…
BY JEWISH TELEGRAPHIC AGENCY, JTA.ORG— The U.S House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed bipartisan legislation that reaffirms and enhances U.S. policy commitments to Israel’s security. The United States-Israel Enhanced Security Cooperation Act of 2012, which was sponsored by House Majority Leader Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.) and House Minority Whip Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), passed by a…
BY REZA KAHLILI, WND— Iranian outlets have been claiming recently the United States has been forced to bow before Iran on its nuclear program, demonstrating the West’s abandonment of Israel and paving the way for the Islamic regime to annihilate the Jewish state. While restating that Iran will demand ever more in the upcoming second…