Month January 2020

My parents’ small sefarim store is silent and musty, and the lights are dim. I am dusting the shelves, taking out the books, giving a little swoop with the duster and returning them to their place. I am talking to… Continue Reading →

The place: The first floor of the Knesset. The time: 10:15 p.m. In just a few minutes, the chairman of the Election Committee, Supreme Court Justice Neal Hendel, will be officially ending the session for the submission of candidate lists… Continue Reading →

In the intelligence community, an “anomaly” is something out of the ordinary pattern that needs a further look. In the case of the recent crash of the Ukrainian commercial flight in Iran, there are a lot of anomalies in the… Continue Reading →

From the moment I entered the Heythrop Park Resort Hotel in Oxfordshire, England, on Friday afternoon, I immediately sensed that this Shabbos was going to be more exalted than anything I had ever experienced. I had the privilege to join… Continue Reading →

This is my first visit to the Jersey City home of Moshe Duvid Ferencz, whose wife was gunned down in cold blood while tending his store only because she was Jewish. There is an unmistakable atmosphere of a palpable void… Continue Reading →

There are so many things I forgot. I forgot how long it takes for the umbilical cord to fall off, for instance, and how tiny infant fingernails can feel like a razorblade when they rake themselves against my palm. But… Continue Reading →

Three years ago, Reuven and Gitty Epstein celebrated their tenth anniversary. As a gift, Reuven bought his wife an expensive diamond ring, and she wore it proudly every day for the next few years—until it disappeared. They had no idea… Continue Reading →

The Torah world was shocked and thrown into mourning this week by the passing of Rav Pesach Eliyahu Falk, rav and posek in Gateshead, United Kingdom. For decades, Rav Falk answered sh’eilos, gave chizzuk, and served as a posek and… Continue Reading →

Most of the doctors we spoke to about our newborn Tzvi dismissed our concerns and said everything was fine. I would mention how little he was awake, and they would explain that it was normal for newborn babies to sleep… Continue Reading →

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — After years of mostly ignoring climate change, Florida lawmakers waded deeper into the matter on Tuesday , advancing a proposal that would create a statewide Office of Resiliency and establish a task force to begin looking… Continue Reading →

BEIJING (AP) — The number of cases of a new virus has risen to 440 in China and the death toll has risen to 9, Chinese health authorities said Wednesday. Deputy Director of the National Health Commission Li Bin told… Continue Reading →

Jeff Bezos’s mobile phone was reportedly hacked following an exchange between the Amazon chief executive officer and Saudi Prince Mohammed bin Salman on encrypted messaging service WhatsApp. While a message from the prince to Bezos in mid-2018 that preceded the… Continue Reading →

UKRAINE (JTA) – President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine extolled Israelis as a “united, strong, powerful” and “unique” people in his first interview for an Israeli publication. The Times of Israel published the interview with the Jewish Zelensky on Sunday ahead… Continue Reading →

A new Siena College poll released Tuesday found declining support for recent changes to New York’s bail law. The new law, which eliminates cash bail for the wide majority of… Read more » The post Siena Poll: Declining Support for… Continue Reading →

President Donald Trump looked past the impeachment drama unfolding in Washington on Tuesday, turning his speech at an economic forum in the Swiss Alps into an unabashed sales pitch for… Read more » The post Trump in Davos: Talking Up… Continue Reading →

It is with great sadness that we share the news of the petirah of Reb Yisroel Yakov Breit, a”h, following a tragic accident last week. Reb Yisroel Yakov was hit… Read more » The post BD”E: Reb Yisroel Yakov Breit,… Continue Reading →

Jerusalem mayor Moshe Leon addressed the huge crowd on Monday night at the Menorah Arena in Tel Aviv for the Siyum H’Shas celebration attended by Hagaon Harav Chaim Kanievsky, Roshei Yeshivahs and Chassidish Rebbes. One speaker won the admiration of… Continue Reading →

MIAMI (AP) — Flooding due to climate change-related sea level rising, the erosion of natural barriers and long-periods of rain pose substantial economic risks to Florida, particularly to the value of South Florida real estate, according to two new reports… Continue Reading →

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo unveiled a $178 billion state budget proposal Tuesday that includes a plan to create a team tasked with reining in spending on Medicaid. The Medicaid Redesign Team will be asked to find ways to trim… Continue Reading →

NEW YORK (AP) — Democratic presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg launched a new impeachment-focused television ad Tuesday urging the Senate to remove President Donald Trump from office. The ad will run in 27 states, including states represented by vulnerable Republican senators,… Continue Reading →

A passenger on a recent flight tells YWN about the extremely disturbing experience she had with LOT Polish Airlines from JFK to Israel with a stopover in Poland. The woman said that she was so horrified by what she saw… Continue Reading →