Torah Reading
Candle Lighting Times
Friday Night 1-2-3
by Rabbi Shraga Simmons
Not sure how to begin? Look no further!
The key to a meaningful Shabbat experience is that it shouldn't feel just like "any other day." Rather, we want to create a special mood. This means getting dressed up in our nicest (or favorite) clothes, buying or preparing our favorite foods, and setting aside uninterrupted time to reflect and appreciate what our lives are really all about.
How do we break loose from the whirling weekday pattern and get into a "Shabbat-state-of-mind"? The key is to remove outside distractions. If you're just beginning, try going through all of Friday night with no canned entertainment: no TV, no radio, no movies. If you're really brave, no telephone either! This helps pulls us out of the regular weekday cycle, and propel us into "The Shabbat Dimension."
Here are the basic steps of turning Friday night into Shabbos. Click on the links for more detailed "how-to" articles.
1) Candle Lighting. The image of a Jewish woman kindling her Sabbath candles is a timeless symbol of Judaism. Eighteen minutes before sunset, we light the candles, inviting peace and harmony into the home, infusing ...   more »

by Sara Yoheved Rigler
Unmasking the Divine on Purim.
Nineteen years ago, during my first month living in Israel, I was riding a bus up Jerusalem's main thoroughfare, Jaffa Road. The bus stopped for a red light, and I gazed out the window. I saw an elderly, overweight woman trudging up the hill, schlepping many large bags. A beggar was sitting on the pavement, his hand outstretched. The old woman stopped, set her bags down, one at a time, on the sidewalk, rummaged through her purse, took out her wallet, and handed a coin to the beggar. At that point, the light changed and my bus drove off.
Last week, I left my house late for an appointment. Loaded down with bags of empty bottles to recycle at the supermarket after my appointment, I walked as fast as I could toward my car, parked in the Jewish Quarter parking lot, a five-minute walk from my house. Nearing the parking lot, I passed a beggar woman, her hand outstretched. I had given to this particular woman the week before, but now I was in a hurry and my arms ached from the weight of the bottles. As I raced by her, ...   more »

by Solly Ganor
Suddenly we noticed Chaim standing in the snow and shouting, "Haman to the gallows! And we all know which Haman we are talking about!"
March, 1945.
They arrived from Auschwitz in several groups. Each group counted about 20 people. Of course, they didn't look like people. They looked more like walking skeletons. They had triangular faces with pointed chins, and sunken cheeks. Even the lips had shrunken to thin blue lines. The only prominent feature were their eyes; they were unusually large and with a strange sheen, almost luminous. They were known in concentration camp slang as "Musselman." That was usually the last stage before death.
They spoke Yiddish with an accent, which to us Lithuanian Jews, sounded strange. They told us that they came from the ghetto of Lodz through Auschwitz, before they were sent to our camp. Our camp was known as the "Outer camp of Dachau, #10" and it was situated near the picturesque town of Utting, by lake Amersee.
Our camp was sitting in the middle of a small forest with surrounding green meadows and beautiful landscapes.
I remember the day when we were brought there, I thought to myself, "How can anything ...   more »

Member of Sanhedrin says sacrifices 'were not possible when the people of Israel were in the Diaspora, but now they are.' Adds: Jerusalem Temple should be rebuilt, Israeli government standing in our way Yaakov Lappin
Animal sacrifices should be renewed on the Temple Mount, a member of the radical Sanhedrin organization told Ynetnews.  
In ancient Israel and Judea, the Sanhedrin served as the highest court in the land, and was made up of 71 top judges. Now, a group of  מודעה     
fringe rabbis say they have reformed the group, although the organization has received no recognition from Israel's official religious authorities.  
"In the Torah there are around 200 commandments dealing with animal sacrifices," said Rabbi Dov Stein, of the Sanhedrin organization. "The Torah of Israel demands animal sacrifices. When the people of Israel were in the Diaspora, it couldn’t be done. But now, there is the supreme institution, the Sanhedrin, made up of experts, and it can be done. The new Sanhedrin, like the old, will educate the people of Israel on how to keep and safeguard the Torah."  
'Democracy was not invented today'
Stein vowed that "we will try to carry out animal sacrifices on ...   more »

By Yoav Stern, Haaretz Correspondent  
The chairman of the forum of the Druze and Circassian authority heads, Nabiah Nasser A-Din, on Thursday criticized the "multi-cultural" Israeli constitution proposed by the Israeli Arab organization Adalah, saying that he finds it unacceptable.
"The state of Israel is Jewish state as well as a democratic state that espouses equality and elections. We invalidate and reject everything that the Adalah organization is requesting," he said.
Adalah recently wrote a proposed constitution classifying the State of Israel as a "bilingual and multicultural" country rather than a Jewish state.   
Adalah's proposal essentially abolishes the Jewish elements of Israel, but allows the Jewish majority to maintain its character through educational and cultural institutions.
According to Adin, head of the Kasra Adia municipality, the fate of Druze and Circassians in Israel is intertwined with that of the state. "This is a blood pact, and a pact of the living. We are unwilling to support a substantial alteration to the nature of this state, to which we tied our destinies prior to its establishment," he said.
"All the members of the forum stand behind me on this issue, but want to see full equality with the Jewish ...   more »

Syria has spent the past few months constructing and moving infrastructure to its southern border that could be used to launch a war against Israel, senior defense officials have told The Jerusalem Post.
According to the officials, the Syrian military - while restricted in the number of troops it is allowed to deploy along the border - has moved military infrastructure, including fuel depots, closer to the frontier. The Syrians have also built structures in the area that could serve as weapons stores and military bases.
"There is no doubt that something out of the ordinary is taking place on the Syrian side of the border," a high-ranking official said.
The IDF and Syria raised their levels of alert along the Golan Heights during the second Lebanon war last summer. The IDF has noted a reinforcement of forces on the Syrian side but the meaning of the move is unclear. Some security officials believe Syria is preparing to initiate a war. Others believe that President Bashar Assad is concerned that Syria will be attacked by Israel as Lebanon was last summer, and that the beefing-up of forces is a defensive measure.
The commander of the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force ...   more »

Jerusalem aimed harsh criticism at Russia on Friday for its decision to supply Syria with advanced missiles, including anti-aircraft missiles and new anti-tank missiles that can penetrate Western-made tanks.
Senior Israeli officials expressed concerns that the arms would be transferred to Hizbullah, warning that missiles that were supplied to Syria in the past got into the hands of the group and were used against IDF tanks during the summer's war in Lebanon.
Vice Premier Shimon Peres said that the supply of arms to Syria "encouraged Damascus to turn to war."
The second Lebanon war: JPost.com special report
"Syria is moving between peace overtures and its temptations to go to war to which arms supply is an incentive," added Peres.
The vice premier went on to say that the UN had admitted that the weapons flow from Syria to Hizbullah was continuing, adding that Israel needed to exert pressure on Moscow to stop supplying Damascus with arms.
MK Silvan Shalom (Likud) said that Russian President Vladimir Putin had "seemingly decided to restore Russia's Soviet-Empire status," adding that the Russian president was "playing with fire."
Shalom told Israel Radio that Damascus had already paid all its dues to Russia in the form ...   more »

Jill Stanek
One of the best scenes in the Godfather movie trilogy was in "Godfather II," when Kay Corleone (Diane Keaton) told her husband Michael (Al Pacino) she was taking their two children and leaving him. The dialogue:
Michael: Kay, what do you want from me? Do you expect me to let you go? Do you expect me to let you take my children from me? Don't you know me? Don't you know that's an impossibility, that that could never happen, that I'd use all my power to keep something like that from ever happening? Don't you know that? Kay, now in time you'll feel differently. You'll be glad I stopped you now. I know that. I know you blame me for losing the baby. Yes. I know what that meant to you. I'll make it up to you, Kay. I swear I'll make it up to you. I'll … I'm gonna change. I'll change. I've learned that I have the strength to change. And you'll forget about this miscarriage, and we'll have another child, and we'll go on, you and I, we'll go on.
Kay: Oh … oh, Michael, Michael, you are blind. It wasn't a miscarriage. It was ...   more »

Republican U.S. Senate candidate Larry Klayman, running in Florida, says he wants to see Fidel Castro overthrown because the Cuban dictator has biological weapons and shelters international terrorists.
Larry Klayman
Klayman called Castro "a master terrorist" and a primary threat to U.S. security.
Klayman is seeking the seat of retiring three-term U.S. Sen. Bob Graham, a Democrat.
"It's time to remove Castro once and for all, by force if necessary," said Klayman, a former Justice Department attorney. "He's had free reign for too long."
Klayman, who said last week that if elected he'd file legislation to oust Castro, said the U.S. has stood by too long while the Cuban dictator "tortures, maims and rapes" his own people.
"All the politicians go around talking about how bad the situation is, but they don't do anything," Klayman said. "If we can do it for the Iraqis, create democracy there, can't we do it for the Cubans who have done more for this country?"
There was no comment from Havana on Klayman's comments.
The two Cuban-Americans in the Senate race, Republican Mel Martinez of Orlando and Miami-Dade Mayor Alex Penelas support Castro's removal, but not by force.
"I am totally for a regime ...   more »

Biometrics gets its ‘fingers’ into school foodservice

By Ryan Kline, Contributing Editor

The use of biometrics for identification and authentication is taking hold throughout the country and in our schools.

Way back in 1972, far before many people were even thinking of using biometrics in conjunction with daily authentication, the University of Georgia began using biometrics in their dining halls. The campus had decided to simplify their mealplan offerings—from a ticket-based program to an enrollment program—and they needed a way to accurately identify paid customers The same goal of simplification remains a core motivator when colleges, universities, and K-12 schools decide to use biometrics in their facilities.

Biometric identification is not a new concept. “The ancient Egyptians used bodily characteristics to identify workers to make sure they didn’t claim more provisions than they were entitled—just like governments today are looking at biometrics to lessen benefit fraud,” says Jay Fry, CEO of biometric developer, identiMetrics. And just like the University of Georgia has been doing for years.

Lower costs and increased accuracy has many school administrators looking to biometric as means of authenticating students. According to Mr. Fry, “price is no longer an obstacle…. Today, biometrics can actually be priced competitively ...   more »