Ynet reporter and commentator Ron Ben-Yishai continues his journey in Syria, attends Yom Kippur service at 'the last synagogue in Damascus'
Ron Ben-Yishai
SYRIA - As I walk along one of the alleys in the poorer district of the city, where the ancient houses tilt and threaten to crumble, I spot, sitting there against the wall, a young mustached man. When he saw me approaching he rose and moved forward to block my path.  
He was wearing civilian clothes, but the gun sticking out of the belt of his trousers was noticeable.
I explained to him in English-laced Arabic what I was seeking. You cannot, he answered. After a brief negotiation and the handing over of several bills, the plainclothes officer – or was he a member of the al-Mukhabarat (Syrian intelligence) – was content and walked over to a narrow alley between two houses.
Ten minutes later a short man of about 50 came towards me, wrapped in a Jewish prayer shawl. "What can I do for you," the Jewish man asked in French. I decided to avoid taking a risk and identified myself as a tourist, a geography professor. Albert Kamao mulled this over for a moment ...   more »

Why the Feast of Tabernacles epitomizes rejoicing
By Jonathan Rosenblum    
Succos is a lot more than a mere "harvest festival"
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | There is a mitzva (religious duty) of rejoicing on each of the three pilgrimage festivals of the Jewish calendar. We are encouraged to have festive meals, with meat and wine, and husbands are enjoined to buy their wives new clothing or jewelry for the holiday.
Yet of the three festivals only Succos is specifically known as zman simchaseinu — the time of our rejoicing.
When the Holy Temple stood, this rejoicing was expressed in the dancing and celebrations connected to the water libations throughout the festival. And even today, Succos retains a special place in the hearts of Jews in Israel, as attested to by the Succa huts going up everywhere, in religious and secular neighborhoods alike.
But what exactly is the special connection between Succos and joy? A hint to the answer lies in a puzzling Midrash. The Midrash asks why we begin building our succa hut immediately after our judgment for the coming year was sealed on Yom Kippur. The Midrash answers that perhaps the Jewish people received a judgment of exile, but in lieu ...   more »

U.S. Rep.: 'Rogue regimes, terrorists know about EMP, are working to acquire weapon'
By Bob Unruh
SCUD missile
A new report says a SCUD-type missile launched from a small ship 200 miles from the coast of the United States could unleash a nuclear-generated electromagnetic pulse over Washington, D.C., that would leave behind $771 billion in damage.
"More than five countries have the capability to inflict an EMP attack. Rogue regimes and terrorists know all about EMP and are working to acquire this weapon. We know the odds of our house burning down in any given year are very low, but that doesn't mean we will cancel our fire insurance," said U.S. Rep. Roscoe Bartlett, R-Md. "If America doesn't develop insurance against EMP, we will increase the odds of inviting this type of unimaginable attack in the future."
The report was produced by Sage Policy Group of Baltimore and commissioned by Instant Access Networks, which is leading a pilot project with Frostburg State University and Public Technology Institute to analyze dangers from EMP.
Experts have predicted the EMP attack essentially would destroy any electronics within range of its impact, leaving technology comparable to that available in the 1800s.
EMP attacks are ...   more »

By Ben Blicker
The key to joy is success in our relationships. This includes our relationship with other people, with ourselves, and with God.
Every Jewish holiday is infused with a special energy to help us work on a particular character trait, and to develop certain aspects of our lives. The mitzvot of the holiday are tools to help us achieve the goal of the time.
Often, the key to discovering this focus is found in the prayers. The Siddur (prayer book) refers to Sukkot as Zman Simchateinu, "the Time of Our Joy." Sukkot is designed as a one-week workshop on joy!
For seven days, we move out of our wall-to-wall carpeted, air-conditioned house, into a little hut called a Sukkah. But how is this supposed to make us happy?!
The lesson is that the physical objects with which we surround ourselves are not what make us happy. A person can live in a gorgeous home and be absolutely miserable. Or, he can live in a shabby hut and be ecstatically happy. The key to joy is success in our relationships. This includes our relationship with other people, with ourselves, and with God.
RELATIONSHIP WITH OTHERS
The Lulav offers important ...   more »

By The Associated Press   
Gov. Rick Perry announced on Tuesday the establishment of the Texas-Israel Chamber of Commerce, an agency meant to foster economic exchange and academic collaboration between the two.
Perry also said he has asked the directors of the Employees Retirement System and Teachers Retirement System to divest their funds from companies doing business with Iran. The governor said Texans will not condone Iran's support of terrorism.
"I personally believe that any company that does business with Iran is actively assisting those who seek to harm American men and women who are serving in the Middle East and funds terror attacks on our allies in the region," Perry said.    
"And so, today, as we usher in a new era of relations between Texas and Israel, we speak of a grand vision of a world where terror is defeated by kinship, economic partnerships create new opportunity and people are free to work and live in peace," he added.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has previously called for the destruction of Israel - an American ally in the Middle East.
Texas is Israel's third largest U.S. trading partner, and the newly formed chamber is the first such statewide agency ...   more »