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Yehuda Lave is an author, journalist, psychologist, rabbi, spiritual teacher, and coach, with degrees in business, psychology and Jewish Law. He works with people from all walks of life and helps them in their search for greater happiness, meaning, business advice on saving money, and spiritual engagement.

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South African expert: Vaccines better protection against Omicron than previous infection

Data from South Africa shows more people who recovered from COVID becoming reinfected with Omicron, vaccines prevent serious illness.

A leading South African scientist stated that vaccines provide better protection against the Omicron coronavirus variant than previous infection with an earlier coronavirus strain.

"We believe that previous infection does not provide protection from Omicron," said Anne von Gottberg, a microbiologist at the National Institute for Communicable Diseases at an online briefing organized by the World Health Organization.

Gottberg added that South Africa was seeing an increase in reinfections as a result of the Omicron variant.

"We believe the number of cases will increase exponentially in all provinces of the country," she says. "We believe that vaccines will still, however, protect against severe disease."

Initial data revealed Tuesday evening on Channel 12 News shows that the Omicron strain of COVID-19 is not resistant to the booster dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

According to the data, the vaccine's protection against infection for those who received three doses drops only slightly, to 90% protection against Omicron versus 95% against Delta. At the same time, the protection the vaccine offers this group from serious illness resulting from Omicron is as high as its protection from serious illness caused by Delta.

On the other hand, those recovered from COVID-19 have twice as high a risk of contracting Omicron as they had of contracting Delta, and the transmission rate for Omicron is 1.3 times that of Delta.

In addition, those who are unvaccinated have a 2.4 times higher chance of becoming seriously ill from Omicron than they did from the original COVID-19 virus.

The Three Musketeers at the Kotel

Guide to the Laws of Shabbat Chanukah

Chanukah coincides – literally and symbolically – with three particular mitzvot. The Syrian-Greeks, in their attempts to assimilate the Jews banned three mitzvot: brit milah (circumcision), Rosh Chodesh (the sanctification of a new month) and Shabbat – the Sabbath. To symbolize our continuing adherence to God's mitzvot despite such decrees, Chanukah is eight days long (a brit milah being performed on a baby boy's eighth day), Chanukah always includes Rosh Chodesh (the month of Tevet always starting during the course of the holiday), and Chanukah includes at least one Shabbat, sometimes two. In this article we will examine the issues that come into play around the Shabbat (or Shabbatot) of Chanukah.

Lighting Shabbat Candles and Chanukah Candles

In general, it is advisable to prepare one's menorah during the afternoon so that there will be no delay in lighting at the proper time. This is especially true on the Friday of Chanukah because things tend to get hectic as Shabbat approaches.

Some have the practice to prepare the menorah in the morning for use in the evening (except, of course, on Shabbat morning). This not only serves the practical purpose of being ready to light on time without delay, it also commemorates the practice in the Temple in which the kohein prepared the Menorah in the morning for lighting at the end of the day. Since our lighting on Chanukah commemorates the lighting of the Menorah in the Temple, this practice provides an additional layer of symbolism to the mitzvah of Chanukah lighting.

It's also a good idea to set up another menorah to light Saturday night. This will enable one to light after Shabbat without any unnecessary delay, which is especially important since Saturday night lighting is already delayed until after Shabbat ends. Depending on how early Shabbat falls in the week of Chanukah, one might even fill the same menorah with enough oil or candles for both nights. (This is easy to do when Shabbat is the first night and Saturday night is the second.)

On the Friday of Chanukah, one should try to daven mincha before candle lighting. This is because mincha is a mitzvah for Friday and lighting candles is a mitzvah for Shabbat (even though it must be performed while it is still Friday). Additionally, the lighting of the Menorah in the Temple was performed after the afternoon Tamid sacrifice. However, if doing so means not davening mincha with a minyan, it is better to light and then go to shul for mincha and maariv.

The rule is that Chanukah candles are lit before Shabbat candles. Shabbat-candle lighting is commonly 18 minutes before sunset (though local customs can vary widely); the usual time for Shabbat lighting should not be tampered with. Chanukah candles should be lit a few minutes before Shabbat candles, even when different people are lighting. Preferably, they should not be lit a lot before Shabbat candles and in no case may they be lit before plag hamincha (1.25 "halachic hours" before sunset). Lighting for Chanukah on Friday will require longer (or fatter) candles or more oil than usual in order to ensure that the lights will last for half an hour after the stars appear. This is about 95 minutes from the time one lights in a place where one lights 18 minutes before sunset. (Only one candle must last that long to fulfill one's obligation.)

One must very careful not to get too close to sunset without lighting, otherwise one runs the risk of encroaching on Shabbat. If one is late and in doubt, it is better not to light Chanukah or Shabbat candles than to risk violating Shabbat.

In Jerusalem, where the practice is to light Shabbat candles 40 minutes before sunset, there is an accepted custom to delay 15 to 20 minutes so that one's Chanukah candles need not be lit so early. (If this pertains to you, consult your own rabbi for guidance in the matter.)

If a man forgot to light Chanukah candles before Shabbat candles were lit, he may do so until sunset or until he recites Mizmor Shir l'Yom HaShabbat (Psalm 92) in the Friday night prayer service, whichever comes first. Since women accept Shabbat by lighting the Shabbat candles, they may not light Chanukah candles after Shabbat candles unless they had specific intention to not yet accept Shabbat in order to perform some act of labor. If a woman was confused about the order of things and intended to light Chanukah candles after Shabbat candles, she may do so. She may perform other acts of labor until she lights Chanukah candles but must stop immediately once the Chanukah candles are lit. A woman who forgot to light Chanukah candles before lighting Shabbat candles may recite the bracha of She'asa Nissim on another person's menorah.

If a person has only one candle to light on Friday, he should light it inside and not recite a bracha over it. If he has one candle plus an incandescent bulb, he should use the bulb as light for Shabbat and light the candle for Chanukah. (Electricity cannot be used for Chanukah lights, which must contain a certain volume of fuel rather than having it continuously delivered as in the case of electricity.)

A practical suggestion is to hold off singing Ma'oz Tzur until seated at the Shabbat table because, as soon as candles are lit, it's off to shul. Remember, while Chanukah does not require that a festive meal be held, any meal with songs, stories and relevant divrei Torah is credited as a special Chanukah meal.

Torah Reading on Shabbat Chanukah

On Shabbat Chanukah, we read from two Torah scrolls. When Chanukah inclides two Shabbatot, the first is parshat Vayeishev and the second is parshat Mikeitz. The weekly portion is read from the first Torah, and the reading for Chanukah is read for as maftir from the second. The reading for Chanukah comes from parshat Naso (Numbers chapter 7) and describes the dedication of the Mishkan (Tabernacle) and the gifts brought by the heads of the Tribes. When Shabbat Chanukah is also Rosh Chodesh, three Torah scrolls are used; the weekly portion is read from the first, the portion for Rosh Chodesh from the second and the portion for Chanukah from the third. In all of these scenarios – one Shabbat Chanukah, two Shabbatot Chanukah, and Shabbat Chanukah Rosh Chodesh – the Torah reading is followed by the special Chanukah haftarah.

Saturday Night

Which comes first - havdalah or menorah lighting?

On Saturday night, we have two mitzvot to perform: havdalah and Chanukah candles. According to the standard operating procedures, we should perform the more common activity first, which is havdalah. This also makes sense in that one would conclude Shabbat first and then light the candles for the next day of Chanukah (Saturday night being the start of Sunday in halachah). Accordingly, many authorities are of the opinion that one should first recite havdalah and then light the Chanukah candles. However, there is a strong dissenting opinion.

Shabbat ends for a person when he or she has recited the brachah Atah Chonantanu in Shemoneh Esrei or the phrase, "Baruch HaMavdil bein kodesh l'chol" ("Blessed is the One Who divides between the holy and the secular"). The havdalah we recite over a cup does not end Shabbat, it honors the departing Shabbat. The time for lighting Chanukah candles, however, has already been necessarily delayed in order to wait for Shabbat to end and it should be delayed no longer! According to this position, it is more appropriate to delay havdalah than to further delay lighting the menorah. (In such a case, one must be sure not to use the Chanukah candles for havdalah as we are not permitted to benefit from the Chanukah lights, while we are specifically supposed to use the light of the havdalah candle.)

The practice to perform havdalah first is more prevalent but either is halachically efficacious. If in doubt as to which practice to follow, consult your own rabbi for guidance. For those who follow the first practice (havdalah first), the havdalah candle may be used to light the shamash; for those who follow the second practice (menorah first), the shamash may be used to light the havdalah candle.

In shul, the universal practice is to light Chanukah candles before reciting havdalah. This is done to maximize pirsumei nisa (publicizing the miracle) by ensuring that everyone in the minyan is still present when the menorah is lit. V'yiten L'cha is recited after Chanukah candles are lit.

As with lighting before Shabbat, one must make sure to light Saturday night's Chanukah candles only at a permissible time. In our haste to perform the mitzvah, we must not cut Shabbat short and light too early. Our ancestors were willing to risk their lives fighting the Syrian-Greeks over the right to keep Shabbat. It would be counterproductive for us to violate Shabbat while commemorating their sacrifice!

Check out more Chanukah learning with OU & You.

Adapted from "Hilchos U'minhagei Chanuka" by Rabbi Y. Dov Krakowski with permission from our partner OU Kosher.

The Portion of Miketz-Joseph Interprets Dreams

The dreams of Pharoh, in which he sees seven skinny cows devouring seven fat cows and seven thin ears of grain devouring seven robust ears of grain, are the next stage in the continuum of the dreams of Jacob, Joseph, and Pharoh's servants.

Joseph, still a prisoner, is hastened to appear before Pharoh. He listens to Pharoh relay the contents of his dreams and proceeds to interpret them to Pharoh's complete satisfaction.

Pharoh appoints Joseph to be his viceroy, gives him the royal signet ring and parades him through the streets of the capital on the royal chariot. Joseph receives an Egyptian name- Tzofnat Paaneiach- Interpreter of that which is hidden.

The letters "pei" in the words Tzofnat Paaneiach are curved, thereby emphasizing Pharoh's intention. (Remazei Rabbenu Yoel)

Tribute To Lou Gehrig: A Well-Loved Superstar By Irwin Cohen

Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons

The 2021 baseball season is history, and the most memorable day for me was June 2. That was the day Major League Baseball paid tribute to Lou Gehrig. It was the 80th anniversary of the day Gehrig died and also the date he started his streak of playing in 2,130 consecutive games for the New York Yankees that stretched from June 2, 1925, until May 2, 1939. June 2 will also be celebrated as Lou Gehrig Day in all future baseball seasons.

Gehrig was a superstar through the 1937 season when he clubbed 37 home runs and batted .351. Most players would have been happy to reach his 1938 numbers of 29 home runs (great in those days) and his .295 batting average. Hank Greenberg of the Detroit Tigers, a first baseman as Gehrig was, had a tremendous season in 1938 batting .315, and hit 58 home runs, only two shy of Babe Ruth's season record of 60 at the time set in 1927.

Gehrig was the talk of the baseball world in 1939. He was only 35 but playing like a man twice his age in spring training and it carried over into the season. Reporters and teammates couldn't figure out his rapid demise as an athlete. Hank Greenberg was looking forward to the Yankees coming to Detroit to play the Tigers so he could get a close look at Gehrig. He wanted to see how Gehrig handled batting practice and fielding grounders in pre-game practice. Gehrig was only batting .143 at the time, only two singles in 28 at-bats.

Greenberg didn't know that Gehrig talked the situation over with his best friend, his wife Eleanor, and the two agreed that Lou should retire as a player. Only the Gehrigs knew his career was finished as Lou boarded the train with the Yankees bound for Detroit. When the Yankees checked into the Detroit hotel and went to their rooms, Lou cornered manager Joe McCarthy and said, "I'm benching myself for the good of the team. Nobody has to tell me how terrible I've been playing." Reporters and Yankees teammates didn't know that Gehrig wouldn't be playing on May 2 until the lineup card was posted in the dugout.

A puzzled Greenberg recalled that Gehrig didn't take batting practice that day and went to right field with the pitchers to catch fly balls and get a light workout. Lou's wife suspected something was wrong with her husband's health and the couple soon went to doctors in the New York area, which led to a visit to the Mayo Clinic where Lou was diagnosed with Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, the disease that would bear his name and take his life.

Later in May, the Tigers came to New York to play the Yankees. Gehrig was wearing a Yankees uniform as he was still the team captain, and he would come out of the dugout to present the lineup card to the umpires prior to the game. "He had trouble getting his leg up the dugout steps and it was pitiful to see what happened to him in only a few short weeks," Greenberg recalled.

Newspapers and radio broadcasts around the country kept America informed, speculating how long Gehrig had to live. The Yankees designated July 4, 1939, as Lou Gehrig Day. It was a scheduled doubleheader with the Washington Senators and both teams lined up along the foul lines after the first game. Yankees management also invited Gehrig's former teammates, including Babe Ruth, who had retired in 1935.

Rick Ferrell was a catcher with the Senators at the time, and when I worked for the Detroit Tigers, he was part of the front office also. He was a former coach and general manager in the organization and during the 1980s scouted players on other teams for possible future trades. I often asked him about his time in the game from the 1920s on. He recalled July 4, 1939, for me.

"After Lou made the famous 'luckiest man on the face of the earth' speech," Rick said, "he walked by and asked me, 'How'd I do, Rick?' I told him 'great' as I turned away a bit, as I didn't want him to see I was crying. Most of the players were. We never played on the same team but we always chatted when he came to bat. He would say, 'I know you're trying to break my concentration, but I'm trying to beat you.' All of the players respected him. There wasn't a finer player or finer man."

The Gehrigs went back to their Riverdale, New York, home after the speech and they would host a steady stream of well-known visitors including actor Gary Cooper, who came to Yankees games when he had the chance and became a friend of Lou's. Cooper didn't know it at the time, but Cooper would play his friend in the 1942 movie Pride of the Yankees. When Eleanor finally saw the movie she thought it was great and that Cooper really captured her husband's mannerisms and the relationship the couple had. Eleanor wanted Barbra Stanwyck to play her, but when she saw Teresa Wright in the movie she was pleased.

In her 1977 book, My Luke and I, Eleanor described the last days of Lou's life. "His breathing became more labored, his pulse grew weaker. I stayed at his bedside, occasionally dozing off during those last few weeks. The heavy breathing continued, only slower and slower, like a great clock winding down. Then on June 2, 1941, suddenly everything was still, and the doctor was at my side. The most beatified expression instantly spread over Lou's face and I knew the precise moment he had gone.

"His expression of peace was beyond description. A thing of ecstatic beauty, and seeing it we were awe-stricken and not one of us left the room without feeling: There IS a better place than this. Wherever it is."

The Gehrigs had been married less than nine years and Eleanor, who never sought another romantic interest, remained a widow for the next 44 years. As she explained in her book, "Through the summers that have come and gone, there has been no thought of basking as a professional widow; and there has been no thought of another man, as in his case there could have been no thought of another woman. Loneliness, yes, even emptiness.

"I would not have traded two minutes of the joy and the grief with that man for two decades of anything with another." Eleanor was an outgoing person but moved to a Manhattan apartment where she spent most of her time. The Yankees brought her to Old Timer days and introduced her from the box seats near the Yankees dugout. She died on her 80th birthday in 1984. All of Lou's baseball memorabilia was donated to the baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, and she left $100,000 to ALS research and another $100,000 to Columbia Presbyterian Hospital.

Ben & Jerry's may lose US kashrut renewal over settler boycott

The Kof-K can only break its contract with Ben & Jerry's if there is a violation of the Jewish dietary laws and no such violation has occurred.

By TOVAH LAZAROFF

The Kof-K kosher certification agency may not renew Ben

& Jerry's certificate if the global ice cream company makes good on

its plan to boycott West Bank settlements."We

have told Ben & Jerry's that we do not know if we will be able to

renew our contract," Rabbi Daniel Senter, chief operating officer of the

American-based Kof-K that provides Kosher international certification,

told The Jerusalem Post.At

issue is whether Ben & Jerry's in the US will continue to receive a

kosher certification once the Kof-K's contract with the Vermont-based

ice cream company ends in 2022.

The

Kof-K can only break this contract if there is a violation of the

Jewish dietary laws, and no such violation has occurred, Senter

explained."The company is living up to its side of the contract," he stated.

Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, who founded Ben & Jerry's in 1978, spoke about the company's decision to stop selling ice cream in the West Bank in an interview with Axios released Sunday.

The

Kof-K, however, is weighing whether to refuse to renew the contract due

to the decision made in July by Ben & Jerry's independent board not

to renew its business dealings with the Israeli ice cream franchise once

the contract ends in December 2022. The Ben & Jerry's board said it

had taken this step due to sales by the Israeli franchise to Jewish

stores in east Jerusalem and West Bank settlements.The

Ben & Jerry's factory itself is located in southern Israel, and

does not have a factory in the West Bank or east Jerusalem."Our

concern is Ben & Jerry's [pending] action of withdrawing

distribution of products in Judea and Samaria," Senter said. "We are

hopeful that Ben & Jerry's will reverse their decision and that

there will be some sort of resolution."

The Kof-K has spoken to Ben & Jerry's

about its concerns, Senter said. He said that the Kof-K would have to

take a number of steps prior to any final action, including a decision

by its rabbinic board. It would also consult with other regulatory

companies that certify kosher food.

As part of its deliberations, both he and his brother Ari, who is the

Kof-K's senior rabbinic coordinator, were in Israel last week on a trip

organized by Yesha Council CEO Yigal Dilmoni.They

met with Religious Affairs Minister Matan Kahana about Ben &

Jerry's, and traveled to Judea and Samaria, where they spoke with

Dilmoni and Avi Zimmerman, president of the Judea and Samaria Chamber of

Commerce.The two

brothers also visited the Barkan Industrial Park where both Israelis

and Palestinians work. They spoke with employees there to see firsthand

the companies that are impacted by the BDS movement.Dilmoni

said he had been in contact with the Kof-K to "exhaust all

possibilities to stop Ben & Jerry's shameful decision to boycott

Jews in Judea and Samaria. The brothers are very connected to the land

of Israel, and they also strongly oppose the boycotts of the Judea and

Samaria area. We presented to them the fact that the boycott decision is

an anti-Jewish decision."Ben

& Jerry's and its parent company, Unilever, have attempted to

downplay the decision, which many have interpreted as a boycott of

Israel.Both companies have said they would open another Israeli Ben & Jerry's

franchise that would abide by the restriction to limit sales within the

pre-1967 lines, but to date, no announcement has been made about an

alternative.

The decision to end Ben & Jerry's

dealing with Israel was taken by Ben & Jerry's independent board,

which controls the company's social mission, and which has made clear

that it intends to boycott Israel over the settlement issue.Senter said his company also feels it has a social mission, but in this case it is a Jewish one."Our

entire business is the Jewish community," Senter said. The best

interest of the Kof-K, in this case, "reflects what is in the best

interest of Israel and the Jewish community."The

question of whether to strip a company of its kosher certification for

reasons other than whether its food meets that standard is part of a

larger debate on whether social, political and moral issues should be a

consideration.Rabbi Yuval Cherlow, who heads the Ethics Center at the Tzohar Rabbinical

Organization in Israel, said he is opposed to the Ben & Jerry's

boycott, and understands the emotions that have swirled around it.But

at the same time, Cherlow said, he is also against looking at the

issuance of a kashrut certificate from any other lens than that of the

legal requirement under Jewish law.Otherwise,

he said, "it is a slippery slope" that opens the door to many

questions, including whether a kashrut certificate should be stripped

from a hall that hosts a secular New Year's event on December 31; or

whether a meat plant that mistreats animals be deemed kosher, or a

supermarket or a restaurant that mistreats its employees."Once

you start to take off kashrut certification for different reasons, you

do not know where you will stop," Cherlow said. "In principle, there is

nothing that does not have limits. Maybe boycotting Israel is crossing that line."NewYork City Comptroller Scott Stringer stated on Thursday that he had a

productive meeting with Unilever CEO Alan Jope on the decision to halt

sales in the West Bank."As

investment advisor to the New York City pension funds, I underscored

the potential for the risk that this decision creates for shareholders

and as a Jew, I reiterated my opposition to BDS actions...I will

continue engaging and monitoring this situation for any impact on the

retirement security of our pensioners," said Stringer on Twitter.Jope affirmed Unilever's full commitment to Israel and opposition to BDS.

RABBI SCHWARTZ'S TERRIBLE SHALOM BAYIS JOKES OF THE WEEK

My wife sat down on the couch next to me as I was flipping channels. She asked, 'What's on TV?'I said, 'Dust.' And that's how the fight started....

My wife and I were sitting at a table at my high school reunion, and I kept staring at a drunken lady swigging her drink as she sat alone at a nearby table My. wife asked, "Do you know her?"" Yes, " I sighed, "She's my old girlfriend. I understand she took to drinking after we split up those many years ago, and I hear she hasn't been sober since.""My God!" says my wife, "Who would think that a person could go on celebrating that long?"And that's when the fight started.

A wife wants a fancy Porsche for her fiftieth birthday. She drops hints to her husband:"You know we've had a really good year, heck, good decade, fiscally. For my birthday, I'm really hoping for something sleek, maybe baby blue. Something you can really step on and it'll go from 0 to 200 in like .2 seconds..."The husband nods knowingly. So for her birthday, he buys her a scale.And that's when the fight started...

My wife told me she wants to give her clothes away to starving children, I told her that if they fit them they aren't starving. That is when the fight began.

I tried to talk my wife into buying a case of Miller Light for $14.95. Instead, she bought a jar of face cream for $7.95. I told her the beer would make her look better at night than the face cream.And that's when the fight started.

A woman is standing in her room looking in the bedroom mirror. She is not happy with what she sees and says to her husband, "I feel horrible; I look old, fat and ugly. I really need you to pay me a compliment."The husband replies, "Your eyesight's near perfect."And that's when the fight started.

For his birthday, I gave my son an iPhone.My daughter received an iPod for hers. For my birthday, I was pleased to receive an iPad.My mother was given an iMac for her birthday. Thinking along the same lines, I got my wife an iRon. And that's when the fight started…

Esther was throwing darts at her husband's picture on a dartboard and not even a single one hitting the target. When he entered, saw and asked Honey! What are you doing? Esther said " Missing you…".And that's when the fight started…

A man walks into a bar, looking all bummed out, and orders a drink. After a few minutes, he orders another. About thirty minutes later he orders a few more drinks. The bartender asks," Dude you look really depressed. Is everything okay?"The man explains," My wife and I got into big fight. She says she won't speak to me for 31 days."The bartender asks," Well isn't that a good thing."The man replies," Sadly, tonight's the last night."

My Dentist friend just divorced his wife who is a manicurist. All they did was fight tooth and nail

A married couple is having a fight. Finally, the wife screams at the husband to get out of the house. She throws his suitcases at him and he packs his things. On his way out, the woman says, "I hope you die the slowest, most miserable, most agonizing death imaginable." So he turns and says, " What, so now you want me to stay?"

"Got in a fight with my wife last night," says one guy to his friend." Again", said the friend, "How did it end this time?""Well, she ended up on her knees, practically begging""Really, what did she say?""Get out from under the bed you coward"

A married couple was fighting when they drove past a farm full of pigs. The husband then asked his wife, "Family of yours?" The wife looked at the pigs, then replied, "Yea, in-laws."

Husband says: When I get mad at you, you never fight back. How do you control your anger? Wife says: I clean the toilet...Husband says: How does that help? Wife says: I use your Toothbrush.....

For the entire 15 years of marriage, my wife and I have only had one fight. And it's still not over…

Earth Has a Second Moon—For Another 300 Years, At Least

Jeffrey Kluger

It's easy to be brand loyal to the moon. We've only got the one, after all, unlike Jupiter and Saturn, where you'd have dozens to choose from. Here, it's luna or nada. Or not. The fact is, there's another sorta, kinda moon in a sorta, kinda orbit around Earth that was discovered only in 2016. And according to a new study in Nature, we may at last know how it was formed.

The quasi-moon—named Kamo'oalewa, after a Hawaiian word that refers to a moving celestial object—is not much to speak of, measuring less than 50 m (164 ft) across. It circles the Earth in a repeating corkscrew-like trajectory that brings it no closer than 40 to 100 times the 384,000 km (239,000 mi.) distance of our more familiar moon. Its odd flight path is caused by the competing gravitational pulls of the Earth and the sun, which continually bend and torque the moonlet's motions, preventing it from achieving a more conventional orbit.

"It's primarily influenced just by the sun's gravity, but this pattern shows up because it's also—but not quite—on an Earth-like orbit. So it's this sort of odd dance," says graduate student Ben Sharkey of the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory at the University of Arizona, the lead author of the paper.

None of this means that Kamo'oalewa has to have especially exotic origins. The solar system is littered with asteroids, some of which are captured by the gravity of other planets and become more conventional—if fragmentary—moons. Others don't orbit other planets in the common way but fall into line in front of them or behind them and pace them in their orbits around the sun, like the flocks of so-called Trojan asteroids that precede and trail Jupiter.

Either way, Kamo'oalewa was bound to get attention because its composition posed a stubborn mystery. Asteroids tend to reflect brightly in certain infrared frequencies, but Kamo'oalewa just doesn't. It's dimmer somehow—clearly made of different stuff, which suggests a different origin.

As exotic as distant galaxies may seem, there are plenty of wonders to discover in our own backyard. The solar system contains marvels of geometry, treasure troves of precious metals and jewels, and extreme conditions that turn what we know here on Earth on its head. Here are some of the most dizzying facts about our solar system.

To investigate the mystery, Sharkey, under the guidance of his PhD adviser, planetary scientist Vishnu Reddy, first turned to a NASA-run telescope in Hawaii routinely used for studying Earth-vicinity asteroids. But even through the usually reliable instrument, the infrared signature seemed too faint. Instead they switched to a University of Arizona-run monocular telescope that, as Sharkey says, could "squeeze every last ounce of photons out of that object."

That produced better, clearer results, but still they were incomplete. The rock was made of common silicates like other asteroids, but they were common only in their general composition, not in their infrared signature, which remained stubbornly off.

At last, the answer suggested itself. If Kamo'oalewa was behaving like a sort of quasi-moon, perhaps it was an artifact of the actual moon. Earlier in Sharkey's PhD program, one of his advisers published a paper on lunar samples brought back by the Apollo 14 mission in 1971. When Sharkey compared the data he was getting in his telescope with what the earlier geologists came up with in the rock lab, the results matched perfectly. The kind of space-weathering lunar silicates undergo when they're still on the surface of the moon precisely accounted for the differences in the infrared reflectivity between common asteroids and Kamo'oalewa.

"Visually, what you're seeing is weathered silicate," says Sharkey. "The eons of exposure to space environment and the micrometeorite impacts, it's almost like a fingerprint and it's hard to miss."

How Kamo'oalewa shook free of our lunar companion is no mystery. The moon's been getting bombarded by space rocks for billions of years, resulting in all manner of lunar debris getting ejected into space (nearly 500 bits of which have made it to the surface of the Earth as meteorites). Kamo'oalewa is one such piece of lunar rubble that spiraled away from the moon. But rather than landing on Earth or simply tumbling off into the void, it found itself a quasi-satellite in its own right.

"We see thousands of craters on the moon, so some of this lunar ejecta has to be sticking around in space," says Sharkey.

Kamo'oalewa won't stick around all that long, as its current trajectory is not entirely stable. According to estimates from Sharkey and others, the object will remain an earthly companion for only about 300 more years—nothing at all on the cosmic clock—after which it will break free of its current gravitational chains and twirl off into the void. Originally a part of the moon, then a companion of Earth, it will spend the rest of its long life traveling on its own.

See you Sunday bli neder, Shabbat Shalom-read the guide above to learn how to light the Chanukah candles for tonight (Day six tomorrow) so six candles tonight and Saturday night day seven on Shabbat night (mozie Shabbat)

We need Mashiach now!

Love Yehuda Lave