Yehuda Lave, Spiritual Advisor and Counselor | | | | the Chofetz Chaim, used to say: "There is a popular expression that 'Every fool is wise in respect to himself.' My experience has shown that many wise people act like fools with respect to themselves." Many important concepts for living sound quite simple and obvious. Think of an idea that you dismissed as not being for you because you felt that you had already mastered it or, just the opposite, it was too difficult for you. Now find a way that you can apply that idea. With the next idea that you come across today, ask yourself, "How can I apply this?" Love Yehuda Lave | | The Seventeenth of Tammuz on Sunday July 1, 2018 (Hebrew: שבעה עשר בתמוז Shiv'ah Asar b'Tammuz) is a Jewish fast day commemorating the breach of the walls of Jerusalem before the destruction of the Second Temple.[1][2] It falls on the 17th day of the Hebrew month of Tammuz and marks the beginning of the three-week mourning period leading up to Tisha B'Av.[3] This year because it falls on Shabbat, it is pushed off to Sunday, July 1, 2018 The day also traditionally commemorates the destruction of the two tablets of the Ten Commandments and other historical calamities that befell the Jewish people on the same date.[1] Contents History "The Siege and Destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans Under the Command of Titus, A.D. 70" by David Roberts. The fast of Tammuz, according to Rabbi Akiva's interpretation, is the fast mentioned in the Book of Zechariah as "the fast of the fourth [month]" (Zechariah 8:19). This refers to Tammuz, which is the fourth month of the Hebrew calendar. According to the Mishnah (Taanit 4:6[1]), five calamities befell the Jewish people on this day: - Moses broke the two tablets of stone on Mount Sinai;
- The daily tamid offering ceased to be brought;
- During the siege of Jerusalem, the city walls were breached (proceeding to the destruction of the Second Temple);
- Prior to Bar Kokhba's revolt, Roman military leader Apostomus burned a Torah scroll;
- An idol was erected in the Temple.
The Babylonian Talmud (Taanit 28b) places the second and fifth tragedies in the First Temple period, while dating the third tragedy (breach of Jerusalem's walls) to the Second Temple period. The walls of Jerusalem during the First Temple, on the other hand, were breached on the 9th of Tammuz (cf. Jeremiah 39.2, 52.6–7). However, the Jerusalem Talmud (Taanit IV, 5) states that the breach of Jerusalem in the First Temple occurred on 17th Tammuz as well; the text in Jeremiah 39 is explained by stating that the Biblical record was "distorted", apparently due to the troubled times.[4] The Seventeenth of Tammuz occurs forty days after the Jewish holiday of Shavuot. Moses ascended Mount Sinai on Shavuot and remained there for forty days. The Children of Israel made the Golden Calf on the afternoon of the sixteenth of Tammuz when it seemed that Moses was not coming down when promised. Moses descended the next day (forty days by his count), saw that the Israelites were violating many of the laws he had received from God, and smashed the tablets.[5] Not only did the sieges of Jerusalem during the First and Second Temple periods occur on, or near, this date, but the breach of the walls of Jerusalem during the First Crusade occurred on the 17th of Tammuz, which corresponded to July 15, 1099. Customs As a minor fast day, fasting lasts from dawn to shortly after dusk. It is customary among Ashkenazi Jews to refrain from listening to music, public entertainment, and haircuts on fast days, and on this occasion because it is also part of The Three Weeks (see below, Bein haMetzarim);[6] other deprivations applicable to the major fasts (i.e. Yom Kippur and Tisha B'Av) do not apply. A Torah reading, a special prayer in the Amidah (Aneinu), and (in many congregations) Avinu Malkenu are added at the morning Shacharit and afternoon Mincha services. Ashkenazi congregations also read a haftarah (from the Book of Isaiah) at Mincha. Congregations also recite during Shacharit a series of Selichot (special penitential prayers) reflecting the themes of the day.[7] Cycle of fasts The 17th of Tammuz is the second of the four fasts commemorating the destruction of the Temple and the Jewish exile. It is preceded by the fast of the Tenth of Tevet and arrives three weeks prior to the full-day fast of the Ninth of Av.[7] The cycle is also associated historically with the Fast of Gedalia, which is observed on the third day of Tishrei. Bein haMetzarimMain article: The Three Weeks The three weeks beginning with the 17th of Tammuz and ending with the Ninth of Av are known as Bein haMetzarim ("between the straits", i.e. between the days of distress), or The Three Weeks. Some customs of mourning, which commemorate the destruction of Jerusalem, are observed from the start of the Three Weeks.[8] The oldest extant reference to these days as Bein haMetzarim – which is also the first source for a special status of The Three Weeks – is found in Eikhah Rabbati 1.29 (Lamentations Rabbah, fourth century CE?). This midrash glosses Lamentations 1:3, "All [Zion's] pursuers overtook her between the straits." The three weeks of mourning between the 17th of Tammuz and 9th of Av is cited[9] as a rabbinically instituted period of fasting for the "especially pious". Such fasting is observed from morning to evening, common with other rabbi-decreed fasts. Coinciding with Fourth of July The fast of the 17th of Tammuz coincides with American Independence Day every 10 to 20 years (most recently in 1996 and 2015, and will happen again in 2034 and 2080). The most famous of these occurrences was on July 4, 1776, when the United States declared independence.[10] References -
Rodman, Edmon J. (2 July 2015). "Should U.S. Jews feast or fast during the July 4 weekend?". Haaretz. Retrieved 4 July 2015. | | Abeles & Heymann Coming to Israel, Supplying Hot Dogs for US Embassy in Israel's 4th of July Celebration By Jewish Press Staff - Abeles & Heymann, the venerable maker of award-winning premium Glatt kosher hot dogs, is making Aliyah, and will be an official sponsor of the US Embassy's 242nd Independence Day Celebration being held in Israel. The event, hosted by U.S. Ambassador to Israel David M. Friedman, will take place on July 3rd, with some 2,800 distinguished guests including government officials, community partners, and business leaders, who are invited to enjoy kosher A&H Hot Dogs on buns along with A&H mustard served from the dedicated A&H booth at the event. Advertisement The event coincides with the debut of A&H Kosher Hot dogs in the Israeli market, which has long been craving these famous hot dogs, particularly American Olim. Other sponsors of the event include Coca-Cola, Jack Daniel's, Boeing, Estee Lauder, Blue Moon, American Airlines, Sheraton, The Ritz –Carlton, Pfizer, Lockheed Martin, United Airlines, Colgate and Oracle. Seth Leavitt, CEO of Abeles & Heymann as well as Micha Rakaby, CEO of Yechiam, A&H's Israeli sister company, will be in attendance. JewishPress.com will also be there to cover the celebrations. Seth Leavitt and 5 tons of Abeles & Heymann Kosher hot dogs. "A&H is honored to be the official sponsor of kosher hot dogs to the US Embassy's 242nd Independence Day Celebration held in Israel," Seth Leavitt, CEO of Abeles & Heymann told JewishPress.com. "As we begin our launch of A&H Hot Dogs in Israel, we are excited to meet the needs of those who have made Aliyah as well as those who are in Israel and appreciate quality kosher beef hot dogs," Seth said. "No kosher hot dog is more delicious than an A&H kosher hot dog in a bun, covered with mustard. We know Israelis will love our products as much as we love and support Israel and the United States. What says America and July 4th better than hot dogs? What builds relationships better than the exchange of cultural foods? We feel we are doing our small part to further strengthen the bond of an already close relationship through the introduction of a quality kosher hot dog to a country that is so incredibly innovative and advanced in so many fields from technology, pharma, water conservation, a country that is always creating and building, yet lacks for a delicious all beef kosher hot dog." A&H hot dogs are consistently voted as the "Top Dog" in America because they are produced in small batches, use only premium quality ingredients and are slow cooked to perfection. The complete line of products has been made using old world recipes to ensure the superb taste and quality the company has been known for since 1954. The products always are packaged with purity of ingredients that meet the highest standards. Abeles & Heymann premium deli products can be found at Costco and BJ's, national chain supermarkets such as Stop & Shop, Shoprite, Kroger, Ralph's, and Acme, as well as independent kosher stores coast to coast. In 1954, Oscar Abeles & Leopold Heymann opened a butcher store in the Bronx, NY known as Abeles & Heymann. In 1997 Seth Leavitt and his attorney cousin David Flamholz bought out Mr. Heymann and his wife Sophie. Heymann, the only surviving partner, stayed on for over a year to teach the two young guys how to make a hot dog among other things, in the Bronx facility. Since then the family-run company has moved to a state-of-the-art facility in New Jersey, and has seen an over tenfold increase in sales. To grow the business even further, in 2012 Abeles & Heymann partnered with the manufacturing arm of an Israeli Kibbutz, (Maadany Yehiam, makers of the Hod Golan line of turkey products) and presently produces over 1,000 tons of quality glatt kosher deli a year. In addition to its no nitrate added, reduced-fat and lower-sodium hot dogs, the company produces all-beef hot dogs, beef fry, kishka, cervelat, knockwurst, and cocktail franks, as well as salami, chipotle franks, corned beef and pastrami. | | A Laughable Accusation By Dennis Prager - 9 Tammuz 5778 – June 22, 201 The Southern Poverty Law (SPLC) is a leftist hate group. It smears individuals and groups it differs with by labeling them "racist," "white supremacist," "extremist," and the like. Now the SPLC has placed an article about PragerU on its "Hatewatch" blog. It never actually accuses PragerU of "hate" because even it can't substantiate such a charge. In over 300 videos, it could not find a single sentence countenancing hate or bigotry, so it simply describes two articles by outsiders about PragerU, knowing the dirty work will be accomplished via implication. Advertisement The article is about two PragerU critics, Kevin M. Kruse, a Princeton history professor, and a self-described sociologist named Francesca Tripodi, who wrote an article examining PragerU's reach. The article charges that "more than a few" PragerU videos "function as dog whistles to the extreme right." How does PragerU blow these "dog whistles"? The article uses Tripodi to make its case. Here is the essence of her argument, as described by the SPLC: "Tripodi says she discovered several elements tied to PragerU's presenters and its online marketing that paint the brief videos watched more than a billion times in a troublesome light." And what are those "several elements?" "To start with," the article says, "when one visits the PragerU channel on YouTube, there is a column of 'Related Channels' with links to other outlets PragerU's audience may find interesting: Fox News seems to be a no-brainer, as does The Daily Wire, given its founder Ben Shapiro's relationship as a presenter for PragerU. But alongside those you also can find the channel of Stefan Molyneux, an extremist who espouses pseudo-scientific 'race realism' propaganda. "'(PragerU) … is very blatantly algorithmically connected' to the extreme right content found on YouTube, Tripodi explains." Only a very careful reader will discern that PragerU has never had any connection whatsoever to Molyneux or any "extreme right content." All Tripodi and the SPLC could write is that Google has "algorithmically connected" PragerU to such content. Needless to say, PragerU has no power over how Google algorithmically connects anything. Then the SPLC writes, "More troubling, Tripodi discovered, are the connections some PragerU presenters have with white nationalist thinkers." Again, only a very careful reader will realize PragerU has no connections whatsoever to white nationalist thinkers. Rather, "some PragerU presenters" do. And who might they be? Tripodi and the SPLC give one example: Dave Rubin. Dave Rubin made a video for PragerU titled "Why I Left the Left." He is a very popular liberal video podcaster, and the fact that he is a homosexual Jewish liberal who left the left disturbs the SPLC. Now, do you know any homosexual Jewish liberals who support white nationalists? I doubt it. So, on what grounds is Rubin smeared in this way? Not because of any views he espouses but because he has interviewed the aforementioned Stefan Molyneux. As it happens, I differ with some of the admittedly little I have seen of Molyneux's views (for example, I believe the entire race and IQ issue is utterly pointless and, on occasion, racist). But how does the fact that one PragerU presenter interviewed someone he disagrees with in any way impugn him – let alone PragerU? Of course, it doesn't. But that doesn't stop the SPLC hate site from drawing such tenuous "connections" to smear fine people. Would George Will, Bret Stephens, Charles Krauthammer – all Pulitzer Prize winners – Alan Dershowitz (a lifelong Democrat and Hillary Clinton supporter), Arthur Brooks, Jonah Goldberg, Bjorn Lomborg, UCLA psychiatrist Dr. Stephen Marmer, former White House Press Secretary Dana Perino, and Rabbi Joseph Telushkin, to name just some of our presenters, participate in a white supremacist endeavor? The implication is absurd – and libelous. In addition to videos on current political issues, history and economics, PragerU brings goodness and kindness into millions of people's lives. It produces videos on forgiveness, refraining from gossip, raising grateful and kind children, marriage, God and suffering, happiness and the importance of gratitude, among many other subjects. And these have been viewed by tens of millions of people – most of them under the age of 35. On any given day, PragerU increases goodness and kindness on earth while the Southern Poverty Law Center increases anger and resentment. That's why the SPLC hates PragerU. The bad hate the good. It's a rule of life. | | True Facts About The Dung Beetle "They drive the ball backwards, by using their hind legs. Kind of like if you were to get into a car by pushing your head into the seat and steering the wheel with your butt. | | See you tomorrrow. Have an meaningful Fast on Sunday and for those who celebrate it, a historic July 4th on Wednesday. There is a connection. Every so often the fast falls on July 4, as it did on July 4, 1776 There is an old joke that asks is there a July 4th in England? Yes and there is a July 3rd and 5th as well. Love Yehuda Lave | | | |
