Sunday, August 21, 2016

What will Jerusalem's new train station look like?

Rabbi Yehuda Lave

Help As Only You Can

Every person has unique talents, skills, knowledge, and resources.

Utilize these to help others in ways that are uniquely yours. Learn from the kind deeds of other people, but don't compare yourself with anyone else. Others will be able to do things that you can't. And only you will be able to do certain things.

 

Love Yehuda Lave

 

What does Jeusaelm's new train station look like?

Because of Palestinian terrorism, Israel, like other countries, has been forced to erect checkpoints in order to protect civilians in Israel. These checkpoints have been the targets of dozens of terror attacks in recent months, and soldiers tasked with working at checkpoints have been heavily criticized by anti-Israel activists. Here, a car of hostile activists are stopped as part of a normal procedure at a checkpoint - one that thousands of people go through without incident everyday. The activists make a scene when the officer asks the same questions he asks everyone who passes through. Watch how the officer handles the situation with professionalism and respect. Thank you to IDF Border Policeman Alon Tif for setting an example! Video and translation by IDF Training LikeShow more reactions CommentShare

Pharmacists can now prescribe certain prescription drugs

The Knesset Labor, Social Welfare and Health Committee approved a regulation permitting veteran pharmacists to supply a number of prescription drugs without a doctor's prescription.

They include drugs with a total of 21 active ingredients, including those used to treat acne (such as Benzamycin), constipation (Laxadin and Easylax), treatment of skin or eye infections (Syntomycin), treatment of skin infections (Hydroagisten), treatment of obesity (Xenical), migraine (Imitrex and Sumatriptan) and more.

Full Story (JPost)

Why are so many Olympians covered in large red circles?

http://www.bbc.com/news/health-37009240?SThisFB

A Hoard of Silver coins discovered

Jerusalem - A hoard of silver coins, along with bronze coins bearing the names of the Maccabean kings, dating to the year 126 BCE in the Hasmonean period was discovered in April during an archaeological excavation near the city of Modi'in, the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) announced on Tuesday.

The bronze coins bear the names of the Jewish kings Yehohanan, Judah, Jonathan, and Mattathias (including his title: "High Priest and Head of the Council of the Jews") – all of the Hasmonean family that rose up against the Greek persecution in events commemorated by the holiday of Hanukkah. Images of the Selucid Greek King Antiochus IV, the villain of the Hanukkah story, appear on the silver coins unearthed.

"To discover a hoard of coins is a very exciting find," head of the IAA excavation team Avraham Hendler told Tazpit Press Service (TPS). "You begin to see one or two coins then you keep cleaning gently with a brush in a small pit and then you discover a pile of coins."

Hendler expressed particular fascination with the overall story behind the hoard of coins that was found.

"Beyond the beautiful quality of the coins is the story that it tells us about that period of time and the people that lived there," Hender shared with TPS. "It provides us with a window into their lives."

The revelation that the coins were hidden in a rock crevice of a wall that was part of what was once an estate dating back to the late Hellenistic period, helped provide the excavation team with an image of the lives of those who lived in the estate.

"We discovered an estate house built from massive walls, rooms, a courtyard and a cistern," Hendler explained to TPS.

"It was built by a Jewish family in the Hasmonean period in the late Hellenistic period approximately 150 BCE," he continued. "On the neighboring hills they planted vineyards, olive trees, and they lived from the agriculture in the area."

The estate clearly belonged to Jews given the discovery of Jewish characteristics in an estate such as a spiritual bath (mikvah). However, the silver coins that were found bore the images of the Seleucid king Antiochus VII and his brother Demetrius II.

"Those were the silver coins of the time," noted Hendler to TPS. "The Hasmonean kings did not mint silver coins. They minted bronze coins and if someone made their money in silver, those are likely the coins that they would have."

The excavation team was also exposed to snapshot of the Jewish revolt against Rome some 200 years later.

"We saw evidence that residents of the estate took part in the first rebellion against the Romans," Hendler mentioned to TPS. "We found coins from the time of the first rebellion with messages saying 'for the freedom of Zion' and 'year two' of the rebellion."

"Even after the destruction of the Temple and the fall of Jerusalem in the year 70, they come back to their homes and continue cultivating their fields," added Hendler.

The estate appears to have played a more important role during the Second Revolt against Rome, also known as the Bar Kokhba Revolt. The Romans responded to the second revolt by deploying their troops not only to the main urban centers but to villages and rural areas so as to destroy any remnants of the rebellion.

"A legion of the Roman army came to this site and the Jewish inhabitants of the site tried to fight them and win, but they did not win the battle and the Romans destroyed the estate," Hendler explained to TPS.

"It seems that local residents did not give up hope of gaining their independence from Rome, and they were well-prepared to fight the enemy during the Bar Kokhba uprising," Tender said in an earlier statement. "During the excavation we saw how prior to the uprising the inhabitants of the estate filled the living rooms next to the outer wall of the building with large stones, thus creating a fortified barrier."

Hendler expressed a sense of amusement at all that he and his excavation team discovered at the site.

"We read about these stories in literary and historic sources and they grasp our imaginations," Hendler said to TPS. "During our excavations, we're able to feel the walls and the vessels that the people in those times used, with our own hands. To come in contact with that is an amazing feeling."

 

Tisha bav 2016, here we come...a Jew puts on tefillin and is denied entry to the temple mount. Attempts to question the police on the matter and gets physically abused...

New website about Jerusalem activities


New website - inandaroundjerusalem.com - for information about outdoor activities in Jerusalem and the Jerusalem area (up to about 75 minutes car ride away), including walks, hikes, outdoor swimming (with information about separate swimming), and cycling. 
God has given us a gift of this beautiful land. Is it not appropriate then to visit its hills and valleys, its springs and its ruins to appreciate what He has given us and to learn about our heritage?  The site includes information about how to reach the places by car and public transport, and short essays about Israel's history, vegetation and geology. This website is designed for residents and visitors alike.  It is still a work in progress, but there is much valuable information for everyone who loves this city and this country.