by Rabbi Shraga Simmons
The usual method is to count down toward the big day, whereas in the case of the Omer, we count up -- from one to 50. Why the difference?
The Jewish people left Egypt on Passover, and 50 days later (on the holiday of Shavuot) received the Torah at Mount Sinai. Today, in revisiting that Sinai experience, we observe a special mitzvah called "Counting the Omer," where we actually count aloud each of these days, beginning on the second night of Passover. (The Omer was a special offering brought to the Holy Temple during this season.)
Counting in anticipation of an exciting event is quite understandable. At one time or another, we've all probably said something like, "Grandma's coming to visit in a week and a half," or "Only 17 more days til my birthday!" But there's one subtle difference: The usual method is to count down toward the big day, whereas in the case of the Omer, we count up -- from one to 50. Why the difference?
LONG-TERM IMPACT
To understand, we first need to answer a more basic question: Why did God wait 50 days after the Jews left Egypt before giving the ... more »
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Tuesday, May 13
Count the Omer--and Make the Omer Count
by
Jodie A.
on Tue 13 May 2008 10:20 PM EDT
The Syrian option
by
Jodie A.
on Tue 13 May 2008 10:15 PM EDT
As Hizbullah inches closer to Lebanon takeover, we must reassess new options
Yaron London Israel Opinion A few weeks ago, I wrote here: “In a few years…either through arms or through the polls, Muslim Shiites will complete their takeover of Lebanon.” I am no expert on Lebanese affairs, but I did not need to be too daring to make this prediction. I based my assessment on lessons learned back in the first Lebanon War, where we were surprised by the weakness and corruption of Lebanon’s Christian community. To that I added the lessons of the Second Lebanon War, as well as demographic figures and other facts that are clear to all. The essence of it is that the Shiites comprise the largest ethnic group in Lebanon and its members are stimulated by a justified sense of discrimination intermixed with religious zealotry. The Shiites face many ethnic groups with contradictory interests. And most of all: The Shiites are willing to sacrifice themselves for the sake of their aspirations, while the other groups are unwilling to do so. The tight relationship between Lebanon’s Shiites and Iran was not a necessary result of the religious affinity between them, but the religious beliefs were ... more »
ISRAEL'S ELECTORAL COMPLEX
by
Jodie A.
on Tue 13 May 2008 10:06 PM EDT
by Amotz Asa-El
Israel's political crisis has reached alarming proportions. Never before in the country's history has there been a state of affairs such as exists today, whereby the former president, the current prime minister, and those he originally appointed as finance minister, justice minister, and head of the Income Tax Authority are all in various stages of criminal investigation, indictment, or conviction for offenses ranging from sexual misconduct and tax fraud to unlawful patronage and embezzlement. Clearly, the political arena is in a state of severe moral deterioration. It is not surprising, therefore, that the Israeli public's faith in the integrity of its governmental institutions is declining rapidly. This pervasive sense of decay has only been compounded by the Second Lebanon War, during which Israel's politicians failed in their most essential task: The defense of the nation against outside threats. This failure raised questions not only about their morality, but also their competence. Moreover, the abundance of excellent leadership elsewhere in Israel –– in, for example, the business, technology, and science sectors –– forces one to ask why it cannot be found where it is needed the most. Some place their hopes in a change of leadership. Yet it ... more »
Bush: Face-to-face with the Word of the Lord
by
Jodie A.
on Tue 13 May 2008 09:54 PM EDT
by Stan Goodenough
To Curb Truancy, Dallas Tries Electronic Monitoring
by
Jodie A.
on Tue 13 May 2008 09:36 PM EDT
C. KOVACH
DALLAS — Jaime Pacheco rolled out of bed at dawn last week to the blaring chorus of two alarms. Then Jaime, a 15-year-old high school freshman, smoothed his striped comforter, dumped two scoops of kibble for the dogs out back and strapped a G.P.S. monitor to his belt. Brian Harkin for The New York Times Jaime Pacheco, a student in East Dallas, has not missed school since being chosen by a judge to carry a device that tracks his movements. A map showing the whereabouts of students. By 7:15, Jaime was in the passenger seat of his grandmother’s sport-utility vehicle, holding the little black monitor out the window for the satellite to register. A few miles down the road, at Bryan Adams High School in East Dallas, he got out of the car, said goodbye to his grandmother and paused to press a button on the unit three times. A green light flashed, and then Jaime headed for the cafeteria with plenty of time before the morning bell. It was not always like this. Jaime used to snooze until 2 p.m. before strolling into school. He fell so far behind that he is failing most of his classes ... more »
Lord Come Quickly ! Officials: 'Good possibility' McCain will pick Rice
by
Jodie A.
on Tue 13 May 2008 09:24 PM EDT
Palestinians 'told we may be dealing with her in the future as vice president'
JERUSALEM – There is a "good possibility" Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice could be chosen as Sen. John McCain's presidential running mate, Palestinian officials here say they were told by U.S. politicians in recent days. "We were told by U.S. politicians there is a good possibility we may still be dealing with Rice in the future, but this time as vice president," one Palestinian official told WND. Another Palestinian official also said he recently heard from U.S. politicians Rice is likely to be McCain's running mate. Neither Palestinian official would say which U.S. politicians provided them with the information. Both Palestinian officials regularly meet with Rice, including during her trip to the region earlier this month to push through Israeli-Palestinian negotiations started at last November's U.S.-sponsored Annapolis summit. The Palestinian officials also meet regularly with U.S. regional security coordinators and State Department officials. Rice in February denied she is seeking the vice presidential slot. "I have always said that the one thing that I have not seen myself doing is running for elected office," Rice said at a news conference. "I didn't even run for high ... more »
Venezuela's Oil Exports to U.S. Fall to Five-Year Low in March
by
Publisher
on Tue 13 May 2008 08:08 AM AKDT
By Steven Bodzin
May 12 (Bloomberg) -- Venezuela shipped 1.29 million barrels a day of oil and refined products to the U.S. and Virgin Islands in March, the least since a strike in the South American country ended in 2003, as Asia bought more crude and fuel oil. Venezuela, which last year was the fourth-biggest provider of crude to the mainland U.S., has fallen to fifth place behind Nigeria this year, according to a monthly report released today by the U.S. Department of Energy. The drop coincided with Venezuela boosting supply to China to 250,000 barrels a day and sending at least 2 million barrels to India that month. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is seeking to diversify markets in order to reduce dependence on the U.S. The country plans to ship an average 400,000 barrels a day of crude to China this year, Asdrubal Chavez, a board member of state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela SA, said in an interview at a May 9 ceremony in Caracas. Venezuelan shipments of crude to the U.S. excluding the Virgin Islands fell by 178,000 barrels a day, or 17 percent, to 858,000 barrels a day, compared with March 2007, the Energy Department said. ... more »
Iran clerics rebuke Ahmadinejad over 'hidden imam'
by
Publisher
on Tue 13 May 2008 06:37 AM AKDT
Clerics have told President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to stick to more
worldly issues after he was quoted as saying the "hidden imam" of
Shiite Islam was directing Iran.
Ahmadinejad has always been a devotee of the Mahdi, the twelfth imam of Shiite Islam, who Shiites believe disappeared more than a thousand years ago and who will return one day to usher in a new era of peace and harmony. But in a speech to theology students broadcast by state television on Monday, Ahmadinejad went further than ever before in emphasising his belief that the Mahdi is playing a critical role in Iran's day-to-day politics. "The Imam Mahdi is in charge of the world and we see his hand directing all the affairs of the country," he said in the speech, which appears to date from last month but has only now been broadcast. "We must solve Iran's internal problems as quickly as possible. Time is lacking. A movement has started for us to occupy ourselves with our global responsibilities, which are arriving with great speed." Two leading clerics retorted that Ahmadinejad would be better off concentrating on Iran's social problems -- most notably its double-digit inflation -- than indulging in ... more »
Loss of God is making us miserable, say MPs
by
Publisher
on Tue 13 May 2008 06:31 AM AKDT
By Martin Beckford,
Britons are unhappy because they are in spiritual poverty, not because they are materially poor, according to a group of MPs. A report by a cross-party group of Christian MPs says the country is wallowing in misery despite increasing wealth and emphasis on happiness in schools. Their study states: "One impetus behind this project was our sense that there is a strong feeling of disaffection among the inhabitants of these islands. It seemed to us that our national sense of wellbeing is at a low ebb; people are wanting something more out of life. "Given all the advances of recent years, we seek to understand why a sense of human wellbeing – happiness if you like – is not more widespread." They claim society lacks a sense of well-being because of a loss of faith in God and religion. They point to the large number of self-help books on happiness available in bookshops, and research which claims people are no happier than 50 years ago despite increased personal wealth. The authors claim people are pursuing money at the expense of relationships, the environment and respect for each other The report continues: "Our solutions do not involve yet ... more »
Parents losing custody for homeschooling kids
by
Publisher
on Tue 13 May 2008 06:19 AM AKDT
'Law seen as logical step in carving up family rights'
By Bob Unruh A German couple already being threatened with jail time because they have been homeschooling their children say their nation has taken a turn for the worse, with a new federal law that gives family courts the authority to take custody of children "as soon as there is a suspicion of child abuse," which is how that nation's courts have defined homeschooling. "The new law is seen as a logical step in carving up family rights after a federal court had decided that homeschooling was an abuse of custody," said a letter from Jurgen Dudek to officials with the U.S.-based Home School Legal Defense Association, an international advocacy organization in support of homeschooling. It was about a year ago when WND reported a prosecutor in the German state of Hesse was seeking three-month prison terms for the Jurgen Dudek and his wife, Rosemarie, the parents of six children, even after they already had paid a series of fines. Officials with Netzwork-Bildungsfreiheit, a German homeschool advocacy group, said the prosecutor, unsatisfied with the fines, wanted 90-day terms in custody for the parents. The latest letter from the family described ... more »
Muslim threats force out disabled teacher with dog,Islamic students reportedly taunted 'unclean' animal
by
Publisher
on Tue 13 May 2008 06:17 AM AKDT
A Muslim high school student's intolerance for a service dog needed by
a student teacher with a disability has reportedly prompted the student
teacher to abandon the last 10 hours of his scheduled assignment at
Technical High School in St. Cloud, Minn.
The St. Cloud Times online said the situation developed with student teacher Tyler Hurd, 23, of Mahtomedi, who hopes to teach special education. He's a student at St. Cloud State University, and was assigned to Technical High School in the St. Cloud district for his 50 hours of student teaching, and took with him his service dog, Emmitt. The newspaper said Hurd needs a service dog because of a childhood injury that leaves him with seizures, sometimes happening as often as weekly. The black lab is trained to protect Hurd when he has a seizure. The school district told the newspaper it wasn't really a threat. "I think it was a misunderstanding where we didn't really prepare either side for possible implications," Julia Espe, curriculum director for the public schools, said. Hurd, however, reported a student threatened to kill his dog. He said the threat came from a Somali student who is Muslim. Minnesota has a large Somali ... more »
Circumcision and the Eighth Day
by
Publisher
on Tue 13 May 2008 12:49 AM CDT
by Daniel Eisenberg, M.D.
Why should circumcision be the sign of the covenant between the Jews and God? Dear Dr. Eisenberg: Someone told me that Jews believe that an infant doesn't become fully human until the eighth day after birth, hence the timing of circumcision. Would you please comment on this? B.D. University of Texas Dear B.D, A fetus in utero lacks only one degree of "full humanity" in that its life is subordinated to that of the mother if the fetus presents a threat to the mother's life (See "Abortion in Jewish Law"). However, a baby is considered to be a full-fledged human being from the moment of birth.[1] Nevertheless, the baby does not have a "chazaka", or assumption, that it will survive long-term until it has reached the age of 30 days. For this reason, a baby who dies within 30 days is comparable to a stillborn baby and there is limited mourning in such a case. While Jews perform the circumcisions of their sons on the eighth day because the Torah commands it, there are multiple reasons given for why the bris mila (circumcision ceremony) is performed on the eighth day.[2] None of these reasons are related ... more » |
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