marks the date of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai',s death. So why is it such a celebration?
13 YEARS IN THE CAVE
Rabbi Shimon was a great sage who lived during the Roman conquest of Jerusalem 2,000 years ago. He was one of Rabbi Akiva's five students who -- despite terrible persecutions -- ensured that the Torah would not be forgotten.
The Talmud (Shabbat 33b) describes a seminal event in the life of Rabbi Shimon:
When the Romans outlawed the study of Torah, Rabbi Shimon spoke out against them. The Romans thus pronounced a death sentence against Rabbi Shimon, who was forced to go into hiding.
Rabbi Shimon and his son Elazar fled to a cave in the northern region of Israel. They had no means of subsistence, but a miracle occurred and a carob tree sprouted in the cave, along with a stream of water.
Rabbi Shimon and his son had no change of clothes. In order to preserve their clothes from wearing out, they each dug a deep hole, removed their clothes and buried themselves neck-deep in the sand. (Out of modesty, they wanted to be covered.) They would spend the entire day immersed in Torah study. When the ...   more »

Associated Press
Palestinian officials have reacted coolly to the latest pronouncements from Osama bin Laden.
In his latest recorded message to the world, the fugitive leader of al-Qaida portrays himself as a bitter enemy of Israel and the only true defender of the Palestinians. However the actual Palestinians, including Hamas, don't seem too enthusiastic about the support.
The Palestinian Authority government in the West Bank fears Palestinian cause could be sullied by links to terrorism. In the tape, bin Laden condemned the West Bank government for talking to Israel. And Hamas, which the US and Israel consider a terrorist group, sees al-Qaida as too extreme.
Palestinian Authority government adviser Nimr Hammad says bin Laden has "caused huge damage to the image of Muslims and Arabs all over the world." He says bin Laden's statements have damaged the Palestinian image as well.
Original Source
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Yaakov Lappin and dan izenberg
During his tenure as minister of industry, trade and labor, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert received, in person, cash envelopes from US financier Morris Talansky, State Attorney Moshe Lador said Monday in the Supreme Court, adding that new details of Olmert's investigation would come to light in the coming hours, or, at the very latest, on Tuesday.
"According to suspicions, while serving as a minister in the Israeli government Ehud Olmert received cash envelopes from Moshe Talansky, both in Israel through his office manager at the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor, Shula Zaken, and in the United States," Lador said during a deliberation of an appeal by the prime ministers' lawyers against the decision to allow the state to take a "preliminary testimony" from Talanksy.
Lador revealed the nature of the allegations against Olmert. "The size of these sums will be assessed according to the testimony that will be heard (Talansky's)," he said, "including the naming of sums, [delivered] both during Talansky's visits in Israel and also when Talansky met with Olmert from time to time for short meetings."
According to Lador, during these meetings, Talansky "transferred the sums in dollars, in cash, inside envelopes, ...   more »

Herb Keinon
A nuclear Iran is as much "a nightmare" for Russia as it is for the US and Israel, and Moscow doesn't differ with Washington and Jerusalem on the need to stop Teheran, only on the way to do it, Russian Ambassador to Israel Petr Stegniy said Monday.
According to Stegniy, who has served extensively in the Arab world, including as the then-Soviet Union's charge d'affaires in Libya from 1986-1990, during the height of US-Libyan tension, it is counterproductive to push Iran, or similar regimes - such as that of Muammar Gaddafi in the 1980s - into a corner.
Stegniy's comments came during a lecture he gave on Russian foreign policy at Hebrew University's Harry S. Truman Research Institute for the Advancement of Peace.
Stegniy remembers talks he had with the Americans while he was posted in Tripoli - a period that witnessed the bombing of a disco in West Berlin that prompted US air raids on Libya, and the Lockerbie bombing - and shared advice with the US at the time about how to get Libya to change its behavior.
The best advice, he said, was to "get Gaddafi's name off the front pages, leave him alone with ...   more »

By Stan Goodenough
The leader of the Israeli opposition Likud Party, Benjamin Netanyahu, said Monday that the coalition led by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert "must return the mandate to the people to choose another government."
"The Olmert-Kadima government has no mandate to negotiate on Israel’s borders," the former prime minister said, according to Ynetnews.
"This government was elected under different circumstances and times. Most of the public knows that any land we give away will become a terror base for Islam extremists under Iran’s patronage," Netanyahu told a Likud faction meeting, which along with the other parties' Knesset factions was holding its first meeting in six weeks.
"Bibi" - as the Likud leader is widely known - steered clear of exploiting the ongoing criminal investigation into Olmert, who is being probed for having allegedly taken bribes.
Instead he homed in on the inability of Olmert's government to adhere to its basic guidelines as laid out when it came to power on May 4, 2006.
Olmert and his Kadima Party were elected to continue efforts to pave the way for a two-state solution begun when Prime Minister Ariel Sharon executed the "disengagement" [in reality, retreat – Ed] from the Gaza Strip....   more »

Please allow me, as a - like you - professing Christian, as an American descendant, and as a distant relative (I believe we are cousins some eight times removed), to thank you for coming to congratulate the miraculous little land of Israel and its extra-ordinarily plucky people on the 60th anniversary of their national resurrection.
While other world leaders also visited last week, you - unlike them - did not come merely to attend a conference. With your lovely First Lady at your side you were here for nearly three days, sparing no expense and giving a great deal of your valuable time to assuring the Israelis that the special relationship between your country and theirs is as strong and as important as ever.
Although we are thankful to have our capital back after being flooded by your entourage and restricted by your need to move quickly and securely through Jerusalem, Israel will remember your visit, mostly with gratitude and appreciation.
For a nation almost globally bereft of friends, you and your United States are more important and special than you probably know.
Just hours after you left, we watched you embrace the Saudis, then walk hand-in-hand with PLO chief ...   more »

By Richard Wolf
USA Today
"There's pride in being able to take care of yourself," says the
Columbus, Ohio, resident, laid off last year from a mortgage company
and living on workers' compensation benefits while recovering from
surgery. "I'm not supposed to be in this condition."
Neither are many of the 27.5 million Americans relying on government
aid to keep food on their tables amid unemployment and rising
prices. Average enrollment in the food stamps program has surpassed
the record set in 1994, though the percentage of Americans on food
stamps is still lower than records set in 1993-95. The numbers
continue to climb.
Gist, 51, is the new face of hunger in the USA. She says she spent
most of her adult life working as a mental health counselor before
deciding to try real estate. "I'm a professional person," she says.
As economists nationally debate whether the country is in recession
and policymakers discuss ways to drive down gas prices, a new
category of Americans combats hunger.

Since 2006, soaring food and fuel prices have combined with lost
jobs and stagnant wages to boost the number of Americans needing
food aid. More than 41% of those on food stamps ...   more »

Investigators have 'power of God,' can ruin life with stroke of pen
The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services erroneously labeled 3,051 innocent people as child abusers by placing them on the state's official list.
According to a Belleville News-Democrat investigation, 11,473 people have appealed to strike their names from the state record. The list has a 27 percent error rate of parents falsely accused of abuse. Once on the list, people are required to remain there for a minimum of five years.
"They're not all bad, there are good ones," Nick Brunstein reportedly said of state child abuse investigators, "but the bad ones have the power of God, and with the stroke of a pen they can ruin your life."
Brunstein is a former foster parent who won his 2-year fight against DCFS to clear his name after his 11-year-old foster daughter, diagnosed with schizophrenic and bipolar disorder, accused him and his wife, Judi, of physical and emotional abuse. The girl claimed the family harmed her by requiring the children to do chores and homework.
The Brunsteins lost $20,000 in lawyer fees, and three daughters they had planned to adopt, ages 2, 5 and 11, were permanently removed ...   more »

Victims complain of inflammation, lesions, fatigue
By Chelsea Schilling
Lesions on person suffering from Morgellons disease
Scientists are debating whether a debilitating condition called Morgellons disease could be caused by bacteria or fungus on plants in California, Texas and Florida, though many agree that research is leaving them with more questions than answers.
While there are many unfounded theories about the cause of Morgellons disease, including alien abduction and government conspiracies, some have attempted to draw a link between the mysterious illness and genetically modified food by suggesting engineered crops may contain bacterium responsible for the disease.
What is Morgellons disease?
Dr. Vitaly Citovsky of the Morgellons Research Foundation said the condition has many reported symptoms that have virtually stumped scientists.
"Generally, people complain of an appearance of fibers in their skin," he told WND. "It itches. There's some inflammation, skin lesions, and they complain that it generally affects their well-being with fatigue similar to Lyme disease. Some people complain of psychological conditions. We cannot define it precisely."
Other commonly reported symptoms include:
Multi-colored fiber-like strands or crystals protruding out of skin
Fatigue
A feeling of parasites or worms crawling under skin
Black specks in lesions that do not heal...   more »

On the heels of last week's ruling legalizing same-sex marriages in California, a city clerk in England is suing her employer for the right not to officiate at homosexual weddings because of her faith.
"I feel strongly about maintaining my Christian beliefs and conscience," Lillian Ladele told the London Telegraph. "I can't go against what it says in the Bible. I don't understand why the council can't use other people who have no problem with the ceremonies."
Islington council in London informed the registrar she could be fired unless she agrees to preside at the ceremonies.
Ladele claims "discrimination or victimization on grounds of religion or belief."
Britain introduced its Civil Partnership Act in 2004, giving same-sex couples the same rights as married couples. Ladele, who has worked at the council since 1992, believes she should be given exemption.
The paper notes registrars of births, marriages and deaths had the freedom to opt out of civil-partnership ceremonies until last year when a new law changed their employment status.
A spokesman for the council said: "Islington council will be robustly defending its position at the employment tribunal."
Rev. Michael Scott-Joynt, the bishop of Winchester, said it was important to recognize objections ...   more »

by Rabbi Pinchas Stolper
Many puzzling questions surround the little understood holiday of Lag B',Omer -- the thirty third day of the counting of the Omer.
Thirty-three days following the first day of Passover, Jews celebrate a "minor" holiday called Lag B'Omer, the thirty-third day of the Omer. It is an oasis of joy in the midst of the sad Sefirah period which is almost unnoticed by most contemporary Jews. Yet it contains historic lessons of such great severity -- that this generation must not only unravel the mystery of Lag B'Omer but will discover that its own fate is wrapped in the crevices of its secrets.
The seven weeks between Passover and Shavuot are the days of the "Counting of the Omer," the harvest festivities which were observed in the Land of Israel when the Temple stood on Mt. Moriah in Jerusalem.
This fifty-day period should have been a time of joyful anticipation. Having experienced the Exodus from Egypt on Pesach, every Jew literally "counts the days" from the first night of Passover until Mattan Torah -- the revelation of Torah at Mt. Sinai which took place on Shavuot, exactly fifty days after the Exodus. While the Exodus marks ...   more »

JPost.com Staff ,
Although the discouraging pace of peace talks has led many to doubt the feasibility of US President George W. Bush's goal that a peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians could be realized by 2009, Palestinian Authority officials seemed optimistic on Sunday, telling the London-based newspaper, Al-Hayat that an agreement of principles between the two sides would likely be signed by August 2008.
The report, however, went on to quote Jordanian officials expressing concern over the president's visit to the Knesset on Thursday, saying that the tone of his "Zionist speech" demonstrated that the chance for peace might be missed.
Further, Jordanian officials told the newspaper that three weeks ago, an argument erupted between the Jordanian foreign minister and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni. According to the report, Livni sparked the confrontation when she attacked the Jordanian position on West Bank settlements, and demanded that her counterpart "stop damaging negotiations with the Palestinians."
The officials were also quoted as saying that an unnamed Jordanian official and Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat drafted an unofficial agreement of principles together, but were prevented from presenting it publicly after the Bush administration voiced its opposition.
Meanwhile, Jordan's King Abdullah II told Livni ...   more »