The Clock in Israel changes tonight at 2:00 am (Friday morning) and When Erev Pesach Is Shabbat-like this year! and Guidelines for Passover 2021, which begins on Saturday night By Menachem Posner Covid-19 Knockdowns Violate the US Constitution by Steve Dewey and Boy stumbles on biblical-era figurine in southern Israel and Restrict births among the people of Israel like the Pharoah? Disgrace
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.
Clock Changes in Jerusalem, Israel tonight clock goes forward before Pesach on Saturday night
Mar 26, 2021 - Daylight Saving Time Starts
When local standard time is about to reach Friday, March 26, 2021, 02:00:00 clocks are turned forward 1 hour to Friday, March 26, 2021, 03:00:00 local daylight time instead.
Sunrise and sunset will be about 1 hour later on Mar 26, 2021 than the day before. There will be more light in the evening.
When local daylight time is about to reach Sunday, October 31, 2021, 02:00:00 clocks are turned backward 1 hour to Sunday, October 31, 2021, 01:00:00 local standard time instead.
Sunrise and sunset will be about 1 hour earlier on Oct 31, 2021 than the day before. There will be more light in the morning.
Approximately once every nine years, Passover begins on Saturday night. This means that erev Pesach, the day before Passover 2021, coincides with Shabbat, bringing with it a number of unique laws and guidelines. Let's address them chronologically.
Fast of the Firstborn
It is an ancient tradition for the firstborns to fast on the day before Passover. Since we (generally) do not fast on Shabbat, which is a day of feasting, or on Friday which may interfere with our Shabbat joy, this fast is observed on Thursday, 12 Nissan (today). The widespread custom is for firstborns to participate in a siyum or another celebratory event that overrides the fast and allows them to eat for the remainder of the day. This, too, is done on Thursday.
On the night before Passover, we search for chametz (which we are forbidden to own or eat on Passover) by candlelight. Since this cannot be done on Friday night, which is Shabbat, we do it after nightfall on Thursday.
The last bits of chametz must be burned the day before Passover, before the fifth halachic hour of the day. Since this cannot be done on Shabbat, the burning of the chametz takes place at the same time on Friday, even though we keep just enough chametz to eat at the Friday night and Shabbat morning meals.
All chametz that we wish to save for use after Passover must be sold to a non-Jew and then repurchased after the holiday has passed. This sale typically takes place on the morning before Passover. Since buying and selling are forbidden on Shabbat, the sale is transacted (by the community rabbi on behalf of his community) on Friday.
Since the house cannot be cleaned on Shabbat, all the cleaning must be finished on Friday. Yet it is a mitzvah to eat bread at the Friday night and Shabbat morning meals.
It is also forbidden to eat matzah at this time, in order that we enjoy it on Passover eve with relish. (It is possible to eat kosher-for-Passover egg matzah, since one may not use this matzah for the seder. According to Ashkenazi custom, all healthy people must finish eating egg matzah before the latest time to eat chametz, like bread. For more on this, see Is Egg Matzah Kosher for Passover?)
In practice, we retain a small quantity of chametz, carefully kept away from our food and utensils, all of which are strictly kosher for Passover by this time.
On Shabbat morning, services are held early so that the Shabbat meal, which requires two challah loaves (which are chametz), can be concluded before the deadline.
On a practical note, it is advisable to prepare small rolls, one per meal for each participant, which can be distributed and eaten without the use of a knife.
Make sure that you eat all the chametz that has been left for Shabbat before the deadline (which you can calculate here), as chametz cannot be sold, burned, or taken out to the street on Shabbat. Any remaining challah pieces and crumbs should be flushed down the toilet. At this point, we say the second Kol Chamira declaration, disowning any leftover chametz.
Shabbat Hagadol
The Shabbat before Passover is known as Shabbat Hagadol, "the Great Shabbat" (read why this is so). It is the Chabad custom to only read the special Shabbat Hagadol Haftarah1 in years like this, when Shabbat Hagadol is the day before Passover.
Like every Shabbat Hagadol, after the Minchah services on Shabbat afternoon, it is customary to read a selection of texts from the Haggadah, beginning from the words, avadim hayinu, "We were slaves…"
Shabbat is a day of rest, and we may not start preparing on Shabbat for after Shabbat. As such, setting the table, cooking, and preparing can only be done once night has fallen on Saturday night. Before these tasks may be commenced, one should say bah-rookh hah-mahv-deel bayn koh-desh leh-koh-desh, "Blessed is He Who divides between the sacred (Shabbat) and the sacred (holiday)."
Even though cooking is allowed on yom tov (with certain caveats), it is forbidden to kindle a fire from scratch. So if you wish to have your oven and/or stove on over yom tov, be sure to make sure the fire is on before Shabbat, even though no cooking is allowed on Shabbat itself.
Covid-19 Lockdowns Violate the US Constitution by Steve Dewey
The extensive and continued Covid-19 restrictions on human activity throughout the United States over the past year is not only contrary to an honest examination of public health data and economic impact, but it also violates our freedoms outlined in the US Constitution. This is a vital issue that has been almost entirely ignored by the media.
During a December 4, 2020 virtual event of the Bastiat Society of Washington, DC, attorneys Robert Barnes of Barnes Law LLP and Patrick Wright of the Mackinac Center for Public Policy spoke on the heavy use of government emergency decrees in responding to the Covid-19 pandemic. Mr. Barnes made the case that the ongoing emergency decrees imposed on Americans are both unprecedented in American history and a violation of our constitutional rights. Mr. Wright focused more specifically on the current court challenges to various state emergency decrees, most notably those in Michigan imposed by Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer. Mr. Wright's court updates will be covered in a subsequent article.
Mr. Barnes provided the following historical references in making his case against the imposition of emergency public health lockdowns:
America's Founders saw no need for emergency exceptions to personal liberty. In the 12 years from 1775, when American colonists began contemplating a declaration of independence from Britain with a bill of rights, until 1787 when the new Constitution of the United States was signed, the 13 British colonies turned American states suffered no less than seven epidemics. These epidemics, comprised of smallpox and influenza, had mortality rates as high as thirty percent — the highest in American history.
Despite the devastating impact of these epidemics during the early years of the new American republic when the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights were being deliberated and debated, no one ever proposed or suggested that public health exceptions or any kind of emergency exceptions be included. Furthermore, during the 19th and 20th centuries when the United States suffered through additional deadly epidemics (including the widespread Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918-1920), no public officials ever proposed that Americans' constitutional rights be suspended, even temporarily, for public health reasons.
The historical norm of noninterference in American constitutional rights vanquished over the past year after the first Covid-19 cases and deaths were reported in the United States in March 2020. By late April 2020, 43 of 50 states had issued stay-at-home orders and the closing of schools and "nonessential" businesses. While most stay-at-home orders were lifted within a month or two, the closing or severe in-person restrictions on schools and businesses arbitrarily considered to be "nonessential" has continued in many states. These lockdown orders are not only in violation of the US Constitution, but also of state constitutions that typically allow for short-term emergency decrees by governors of between 14 days to 60 days.
So, if these lockdown orders are unconstitutional, why were they imposed and how were they justified? As Mr. Barnes explained, government officials and courts across the United States have been using long discredited legal precedent as the basis for justifying lockdowns, particularly the infamous 1905 US Supreme Court decision of Jacobson v. Massachusetts. The Jacobson decision served as the foundation for two other notorious court decisions, the Buck v. Bell decision of 1927 and the Korematsu v. United States decision of 1944. Mr. Barnes refers to these three US Supreme Court decisions as the "Trilogy of Infamy," because they unjustly violated the constitutional rights of American citizens.
The Jacobson v. Massachusetts decision of 1905 concerned a Massachusetts state resident, Henning Jacobson, who sued his state for violating his 14th Amendment rights by prosecuting him for refusing to receive a smallpox vaccination. Jacobson stated that both he and his son had bad reactions to earlier vaccinations. The US Supreme Court ruled against Jacobson, because it considered the state's vaccination order to be reasonable for the protection of the state's public health. The court's decision resulted in a national backlash with an anti-vaccination movement and the founding of the Anti-Vaccination League of America three years later. Nonetheless, this case has provided the precedent for justifying Covid-19 executive orders over the past year despite not being cited as a precedent in any other public health cases for almost 100 years.
The Buck v. Bell decision of 1927 involved a lawsuit by a woman, Carrie Buck, and her guardian against John H. Bell, superintendent of the Virginia State Colony for Epileptics and Feebleminded, to prevent her from being forcibly sterilized by the state for being diagnosed as intellectually disabled. The state was empowered with this sterilization authority under a 1924 Virginia statute. The US Supreme Court ruled against Buck and upheld the Virginia statute. Virginia eventually repealed this sterilization law in 1974. Legal scholars have long commented that the Buck v. Bell case is one of the worst Supreme Court decisions ever rendered as a gross infringement on a person's constitutional rights.
Last but not least, the Korematsu v. United States decision of 1944. This case involved a Japanese-American citizen, Fred Korematsu, who refused to comply with President Franklin Roosevelt's 1942 executive order directing the forced relocation of Japanese Americans living in certain areas into internment camps during World War II. Korematsu was arrested and jailed for refusing to comply with the order. Korematsu challenged his conviction in court by claiming that it was a violation of his constitutional rights under the 5th Amendment. The US Supreme Court ruled against Korematsu, because it held that Roosevelt's order was valid in order to protect the US military against the dangers of espionage and sabotage by ethnic Japanese living in the United States. This decision has also been widely criticized in legal circles and Korematsu's conviction was ultimately overturned in 1983 by a US district court.
Despite the above three cases being widely regarded as wrongly decided, unconstitutional, and long discarded legal precedents of the past, the Jacobson decision has been resurrected as a justification for current state governments to impose unprecedented control over human activity since the Covid-19 pandemic hit the United States in March 2020. In fact, over the past year, various courts have referenced the Jacobson decision to support the extensive and prolonged use of emergency orders by government executives. Both the Buck and Korematsu cases illustrate the dangerous path that courts have been willing to take to justify government emergency actions.
To reinforce the point about the dangers of government emergency orders, Mr. Barnes also referenced the constitution of the now-defunct Weimar Republic in Germany. During its existence from 1919 to 1933, the Weimar Republic was governed by the Weimar constitution. At the time of its inception, it was praised as a great new constitution establishing a representative democracy with a bill of rights. However, the Weimar constitution had a fatal flaw: it provided an exception for the president to issue orders without parliament's approval in times of emergency. Since the Weimar constitution did not define an emergency, it eventually led to abuse of power and the Nazi Party asserting dictatorial control over Germany in 1933 on the basis of national emergency.
The heavy-handed use of government executive emergency orders issued over the course of the prior 12 months should give all Americans cause for concern about the protection of our personal liberties and constitutional rights. Americans need to be better informed about not only the economic consequences of government public health lockdowns, but also about the recent and unprecedented infringement on our personal liberties as decreed in the US Constitution.
Steve Dewey is an independent financial sector consultant based in Arlington, Virginia.
He has served as the Chapter Director of the Bastiat Society of Washington, DC since May 2019. Mr. Dewey has over 35 years of diverse financial experience in the private and government sectors. He is especially well-versed in financial crises having been deeply involved in the resolution of distressed assets and failed financial institutions in both Asia and the United States.
Restrict births among the people of Israel? Disgrace
Efrat Assoc Chair Dr. Eli Schosseheim responds to Agriculture Minister who suggested restricting birth rate: 'Exactly what Pharaoh wanted.'
The chairman of the Efrat Association, Dr. Eli Schosseheim, responded on Arutz Sheva to the words of the Minister of Agriculture, Alon Schuster (Blue and White), who wants to discuss restricting births in Israel.
I read what the Minister of Agriculture said and I was shocked. How could a minister in Israel imitate Pharaoh? This is exactly what Pharaoh wanted - that the people of Israel should not multiply. Such a thing is inconceivable. Since Pharaoh, to this day, there has been no such thing. They wanted to destroy us but not to diminish the birth of the people of Israel."
Dr. Schosseheim says: "Only 80 years ago we lost six million Jews in the Holocaust and came to Eretz Israel for what? For a minister in Israel to say that the birth rate should be reduced? Every child brings joy and blessing to the family. I answer the minister from here 'yes, may they increase', the Nation of Israel will continue to multiply."
Schossheim continues with tears streaming down his face, "It is impossible for anyone or a minister to interfere in the most intimate thing of the couple and the woman. We have never done publicity to bring children but to encourage childbirth. Save children who already exist but not publicity to have children. All feminist movements in Israel should revolt against the words of the Minister of Agriculture. His words are a shame and a disgrace."
How did the Efrat Association deal with the coronavirus outbreak and the difficult economic situation it created?
xtagstartzp dir="ltr">"In the last year we have faced tremendous pressure. A 60 percent increase in the number of women who sought assistance due to the economic situation caused by the coronavirus. Many women considered terminating a pregnancy because the husband or wife stopped working and feared they would not be able to afford expenses. And we need to organize budgets and we have met the task. We took out loans and did everything we could to save another baby and fulfill the mission we had taken upon ourselves. It is inconceivable that because of money we will stop living."
Boy stumbles on biblical-era figurine in southern Israel
11-year-old Israeli boy uncovers on 2,500-year-old relic during family trip in the northwestern Negev.
A few weeks ago, 11-year-old Zvi Ben-David from Be'er Sheva was on family trip to Nahal HaBesor when he caught sight of an unusual object.
On picking it up, he saw it was a pottery figurine of a woman. His mother, Miriam Ben-David – a professional tour guide – realized that it was an important ancient find and contacted Oren Shmueli, district archaeologist for the Israel Antiquities Authority in the western Negev.
In compliance with current Covid-19 restrictions, Oren met Zvi and his family in their garden where they handed him the figurine, which will now be researched and kept in the National Treasures collection. Zvi was awarded a certificate of appreciation for good citizenship by the Israel Antiquities Authority.
According to Oren Shmueli and Debbie Ben Ami, curator of the Iron Age and Persian periods in the Israel Antiquities Authority, "The figurine that Zvi discovered is rare and only one such example exists in the National Treasures collection. It was probably used in the sixth–fifth centuries BCE, at the end of the Iron Age or in the Persian period (the late First Temple period, or the return to Zion). The figurine, 7 cm high and 6 cm wide, was made in a mold. It shows a woman with a scarf covering her head and neck, schematic facial features and a prominent nose. The woman is bare-breasted and her hands are folded under her chest."
Zvi Ben-David Oren Shmueli, Israel Antiquities Authority
Shmueli and Ben-Ami explain, "Pottery figurines of bare-breasted women are known from various periods in Israel, including the First Temple era. They were common in the home and in everyday life, like the hamsa today, and apparently served as amulets to ensure protection, good luck and prosperity. We must bear in mind that in antiquity, medical understanding was rudimentary.
Infant mortality was very high and about a third of those born did not survive. There was little understanding of hygiene, and fertility treatment was naturally non-existent. In the absence of advanced medicine, amulets provided hope and an important way of appealing for aid."
The figurine was delivered to the National Treasures collection and is currently being studied by Oren Shmueli and Debbie Ben-Ami of the Israel Antiquities Authority, in collaboration with Raz Kletter from the University of Helsinki in Finland.
The archaeologists say, "The exemplary citizenship of young Zvi Ben-David will enable us to improve our understanding of cultic practices in biblical times, and man's inherent need for material human personifications."
See you tomorrow bli neder
We need Moshiach now!
Passover is Saturday night so we have a 2 day no work holiday
