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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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The Three Musketeers at the Kotel

The Most Important Question About The 2020 Election By Dennis Prager

Since the day after the 2020 presidential election, I have said I am agnostic with regard to whether the election was honestly or dishonestly decided.

The primary reasons for my agnosticism are the usual ones, the anomalies:

In 132 years, no president has received more votes in his run for reelection and lost. Yet Donald Trump received 10 million more votes in 2020 than in 2016 – and lost.

* Trump won 18 of the 19 counties both Democrats and Republicans regard as the "bellwether" counties that virtually always go with the outcome of presidential elections. Yet he lost.

* He won four bellwether states – Florida, Ohio, Iowa and North Carolina. Yet he lost.

* Republicans held onto all the House seats they were defending and gained another 13 seats. Yet, Trump lost.

Add the following to the anomalies:

* Unprecedented efforts were made in some states to change election laws.

* Mostly Democratic states sent out tens of millions of ballots or applications for absentee ballots to people who never requested them.

* Voting began in some states six weeks before Election Day.

* People have submitted sworn affidavits at great personal cost and with possible perjury charges that they witnessed ballot tampering on election night.

But all these things would matter little if Democrats involved in ballot-counting felt morally compelled to count votes honestly.

So, then, there is one question I have never heard posed that trumps all other considerations: Would moral considerations prevent Democrats from cheating to oust Trump? Or to put the question in the positive: Would Democrats deem it morally obligatory to cheat on behalf of Joe Biden?

The answer to the first question is no: Moral considerations would not prevent decent Democrats from cheating to prevent Trump's reelection. The answer to the second question is yes: Decent Democrats would deem it morally obligatory to cheat on behalf of Biden.

For four years, the media and their party, the Democrats, told us every day that Trump is a fascist, a dictator, a racist, and a white supremacist; that he was an agent of the Russian government – a real-life Manchurian candidate. We were also repeatedly told by the lying media (Trump's accurate description of the mainstream media) that in Charlottesville, Virginia, Trump said there are "very fine" Nazis (see the PragerU video, "The Charlottesville Lie").

Yes, the media told us with a straight face that a man with a Jewish daughter, Jewish son-in-law, and Jewish grandchildren said there are fine Nazis. Biden said he decided to run for president because of this lie.

So, then, here's the question: Why would anyone who sincerely believed Trump is a white-supremacist fascist dictator not cheat if he or she could prevent such a person from becoming or remaining president of the United States?

Let me sharpen this question: Isn't someone who could prevent a fascist, white-supremacist, Nazi-defending dictator morally obligated to cheat if he or she could prevent such a person from becoming president?

I certainly would. If I were in a position to cheat in order to prevent a fascist from becoming president, why would I not cheat? I think of the most relevant example: the Nazis in the 1932 elections, Germany's last free election until after World War II. Though the Nazi Party did not receive a majority of votes, the Nazis held the most seats in the Reichstag, and the head of the party, Adolf Hitler, was named chancellor of Germany.

If I were in a position to have prevented the Nazis from coming to power by cheating in the vote-count, wouldn't I have been morally obligated to do so – and therefore done so? The answer is obvious.

To repeat, I have never said Biden did not win the election. And even if there was considerable fraud, that doesn't mean the election result would have been different.

But there are consequences to beliefs. Unless Democrats knew they were lying for four years when they labeled Trump a fascist, racist, Nazi, dictator, etc., were they not duty-bound to cheat on Biden's behalf?

So, then, when you have circumstantial evidence (not proof), combined with opportunity, desire, motive and, most important, no moral argument against cheating and a strong moral argument for cheating, it isn't a "lie" and it isn't a crackpot conspiracy theory to wonder about the integrity of America's 2020 presidential election.

The Portion of Mishpatim

Trail Marking

In the aftermath of the revelation at Sinai, Moses receives the rest of the Torah's laws and commandments. At the end of the portion Moses is instructed to ascend the mountain and receive the two tablets of stone upon which are engraved the Ten Commandments.

"And Moses came within the cloud, and he went up to the mountain…" (Exodus 24;18).

This teaches us that just as the Almighty marked the trail for the Israelites to cross the Red Sea ("and the Children of Israel came into the sea…"). (Exodus 14;22), so too G-d marked the trail to ascend in the midst of the cloud. The trail was marked with four points- two at its beginning and two at its end.

Atop the letter "heh" in the word Moshe (Moses) we find four crowns symbolizing the four marks- one crown that is always found atop the letter "heh" and three additional crowns. (Sefer Harokeiach on the Torah based on Tractate Yoma 4b)

What Does the Jewish Last Name Horowitz Mean?

By Menachem Posner

Horowitz, Hurwitz, Horovitz, Gurwicz, Gurevitch—the many contemporary iterations of this name abound. But they all trace their way back to a single town, Hořovice, in what is now the Czech republic.

Many, but not all people with this name, including many great Ashkenazi rabbis, tend to be Levites, tracing their lineage back to Levi, son of Jacob. It appears that the progenitors of this family, then using the family name Benveniste, came to the town following the 1391 massacre of the Jews of their hometown of Gerona, Spain.

It appears that many of today's Horowitzes are descendants of Rabbi Isaiah Halevi Horowitz. Born in Prague, he was chief rabbi of several European cities. He lived his last days in the Holy Land, passed away in 1630, and is buried in Tiberias, right near Maimonides.

He is known as the Shaloh, an acronym of Shnei Luchot Haberit ("Two Tablets of the Covenant"), the title of his magnum opus. The book weaves together biblical exegesis, philosophy, Kabbalah and theology, forming what has become a foundational work of Jewish belief.

An interesting fact: Many members of this family are particular not to eat turkey, even though it has been almost universally accepted as a kosher bird, apparently because the Shaloh doubted its kosher status.

Some chassidic stars from the Levite Horowitz constellation:

● R. Pinchas (the "Haflaah") and R. Shmelka of Nikolsburg. These two brothers,prominent rabbis and teachers of Torah, were among the preeminent students of the Maggid of Mezeritch. Their descendants include the Bostoner chassidic dynasty, which extends from Boston to Brooklyn to Jerusalem and was founded by R' Pinchas Dovid Halevi Horowitz.

● R. Aharon Halevi Horowitz of Strashele (d. 1828) was a prominent and inspiring senior student of Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, the founder of Chabad. He was known for his passionate prayers.

● R. Yitchok Halevi Horowitz (d. 1941). Known as Reb Itche Der Masmid ("the Studious"), he was a legendary Talmudist and chassid who traveled Europe and America to raise funds for Jewish education and inspire people to increase their Jewish observance. He was burned to death by the Nazis in a synagogue in Riga, Latvia. His descendants use the name Gurevitch.

R. Yitchok Halevi Horowitz (d. 1941), known as Reb Itche der Masmid ("the Studious").

By Menachem Posner

Rabbi Menachem Posner serves as staff editor at Chabad.org, the world's largest Jewish informational website. He has been writing, researching, and editing for Chabad.org since 2006, when he received his rabbinic degree from Central Yeshiva Tomchei Temimim Lubavitch. He resides in Chicago, Ill., with his family.

Historic discovery provides glimpse into wardrobe of King David

For first time, fabric with royal purple from time of Kings David and Solomon found at ancient copper mine.

For the first time, rare evidence has been found of fabric dyed with royal purple dating from the time of King David and King Solomon.

While examining the colored textiles from Timna Valley - an ancient copper production district in southern Israel - in a study that has lasted several years, the researchers were surprised to find remnants of woven fabric, a tassel and fibers of wool dyed with royal purple. Direct radiocarbon dating confirms that the finds date from approximately 1000 BCE, corresponding to the biblical monarchies of David and Solomon in Jerusalem. The dye, which is produced from species of mollusk found in the Mediterranean, over 300 km from Timna, is often mentioned in the Bible and appears in various Jewish and Christian contexts. This is the first time that purple-dyed Iron Age textiles have been found in Israel, or indeed throughout the Levant. The research was carried out by Dr. Naama Sukenik from the Israel Antiquities Authority and Prof. Erez Ben-Yosef, from the Jacob M. Alkow Department of Archaeology and Ancient Near Eastern Cultures at Tel Aviv University, in collaboration with Prof. Zohar Amar, Dr. David Iluz and Dr. Alexander Varvak from Bar-Ilan University and Dr. Orit Shamir from the Israel Antiquities Authority. The unexpected finds are being published today in the prestigious PLOS ONE journal.

"This is a very exciting and important discovery," explains Dr. Naama Sukenik, curator of organic finds at the Israel Antiquities Authority. "This is the first piece of textile ever found from the time of David and Solomon that is dyed with the prestigious purple dye. In antiquity, purple attire was associated with the nobility, with priests, and of course with royalty. The gorgeous shade of the purple, the fact that it does not fade, and the difficulty in producing the dye, which is found in minute quantities in the body of mollusks, all made it the most highly valued of the dyes, which often cost more than gold. Until the current discovery, we had only encountered mollusk-shell waste and potsherds with patches of dye, which provided evidence of the purple industry in the Iron Age. Now, for the first time, we have direct evidence of the dyed fabrics themselves, preserved for some 3000 years".

Prof. Erez Ben-Yosef from Tel Aviv University's Archaeology Department says, "Our archaeological expedition has been excavating continuously at Timna since 2013. As a result of the region's extremely dry climate, we are also able to recover organic materials such as textile, cords and leather from the Iron Age, from the time of David and Solomon, providing us with a unique glimpse into life in biblical times. If we excavated for another hundred years in Jerusalem, we would not discover textiles from 3000 years ago. The state of preservation at Timna is exceptional and it is paralleled only by that at much later sites such as Masada and the Judean Desert Caves. In recent years, we have been excavating a new site inside Timna known as 'Slaves' Hill'. The name may be misleading, since far from being slaves, the laborers were highly skilled metalworkers. Timna was a production center for copper, the Iron Age equivalent of modern-day oil. Copper smelting required advanced metallurgical understanding that was a guarded secret, and those who held this knowledge were the 'Hi-Tech' experts of the time. Slaves' Hill is the largest copper-smelting site in the valley and it is filled with piles of industrial waste such as slag from the smelting furnaces. One of these heaps yielded three scraps of colored cloth. The color immediately attracted our attention, but we found it hard to believe that we had found true purple from such an ancient period".

According to the researchers, true purple [argaman] was produced from three species of mollusk indigenous to the Mediterranean Sea: The Banded Dye-Murex (Hexaplex trunculus), the Spiny Dye-Murex (Bolinus brandaris) and the Red-Mouthed Rock-Shell (Stramonita haemastoma). The dye was produced from a gland located within the body of the mollusk by means of a complex chemical process that lasted several days. Today, most scholars agree that the two precious dyes, purple [argaman] and light blue, or azure [tekhelet] were produced from the purple dye mollusk under different conditions of exposure to light. When exposed to light, azure is obtained whereas without light exposure, a purple hue is obtained. These colors are often mentioned together in the ancient sources, and both have symbolic and religious significance to this day. The Temple priests, David and Solomon, and Jesus are all described as having worn clothing colored with purple.

The analytical tests conducted at Bar Ilan University's laboratories, together with dyes that were reconstructed by Prof. Zohar Amar and Dr. Naama Sukenik, can identify the species used to dye the Timna textiles and the desired hues. In order to reconstruct the mollusk dyeing process, Prof. Amar traveled to Italy where he cracked thousands of mollusks (which the Italians eat) and produced raw material from their dye glands that was used in hundreds of attempts to reconstruct ancient dyeing. "The practical work took us back thousands of years," says Prof. Amar, "and it has allowed us to better understand obscure historical sources associated with the precious colors of azure and purple."

The dye was identified with an advanced analytical tool (HPLC) that indicated the presence of unique dye molecules, originating only in certain species of mollusk. According to Dr. Naama Sukenik, "Most of the colored textiles found at Timna, and in archaeological research in general, were dyed using various plant-based dyes that were readily available and easier to dye with. The use of animal-based dyes is regarded as much more prestigious, and served as an important indicator for the wearer's high economic and social status. The remnants of the purple-dyed cloth that we found are not only the most ancient in Israel, but in the Southern Levant in general. We also believe that we have succeeded in identifying the double-dyeing method in one of the fragments, in which two species of mollusk were used in a sophisticated way, to enrich the dye. This technology is described by the Roman historian Pliny the Elder, from the first century CE, and the dye it produced was considered the most prestigious."

Prof. Ben-Yosef identifies the copper-production center at Timna as part of the biblical Kingdom of Edom, which bordered the kingdom of Israel to the south. According to him, the dramatic finds should revolutionize our concepts of nomadic societies in the Iron Age. "The new finds reinforce our assumption that there was an elite at Timna, attesting to a stratified society. In addition, since the mollusks are indigenous to the Mediterranean, this society obviously maintained trade relations with other peoples who lived on the coastal plain. However, we do not have evidence of any permanent settlements in the Edomite territory. The Edomite Kingdom was a kingdom of nomads. When we think of nomads, it is difficult for us to free ourselves from comparisons with contemporary Bedouins, and we therefore find it hard to imagine kings without magnificent stone palaces and walled cities. Yet in certain circumstances, nomads can also create a complex socio-political structure, one that the biblical writers could identify as a kingdom. Of course, this whole debate has repercussions for our understanding of Jerusalem. We know that the Tribes of Israel were originally nomadic and that the process of settlement was gradual and prolonged. Archaeologists are looking for King David's palace. However, David may not have expressed his wealth in splendid buildings, but with objects more suited to a nomadic heritage such as textiles and artifacts." According to Ben-Yosef, "It is wrong to assume that if no grand buildings and fortresses have been found, then biblical descriptions of the United Kingdom in Jerusalem must be literary fiction. Our new research at Timna has showed us that even without such buildings, there were kings in our region who ruled over complex societies, formed alliances and trade relations, and waged war on each other. The wealth of a nomadic society was not measured in palaces and monuments made of stone, but in things that were no less valued in the ancient world – such as the copper produced at Timna and the purple dye that was traded with its copper smelters."

Doris Dayactress, singer, and animal welfare activist. She began her career as a big bandsinger. She recorded more than 650 songs.
She starred in films of many genres, including musicals, comedies, dramas, and thrillers. She played the title role in Calamity Jane(1953) and starred in Alfred Hitchcock's The Man Who Knew Too Much(1956) with James Stewart. Her best-known films are those in which she co-starred with Rock Hudson, chief among them 1959's Pillow Talk, for which she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress. She also worked with James Garneron both Move Over, Darling(1963) and The Thrill of It All(1963), and starred alongside Clark Gable, Cary Grant, James Cagney, David Niven, Ginger Rogers, Jack Lemmon, Frank Sinatra, Kirk Douglas, Lauren Bacall, and Rod Taylorin various movies. She starred in her own sitcom, The Doris Day Show,

DORIS DAY QUOTES
Any girl can look glamorous... just stand there and look stupid.
The really frightening thing about middle age is the knowledge that you'll grow out of it.
If it's true that men are such beasts, this must account for the fact that most women are animal lovers.
Middle age is youth without levity, and age without decay.
Wrinkles are hereditary. Parents get them from their children.
Vulgarity begins when imagination succumbs to the explicit.