The Torah portion is uplifting as well. For in this week’s portion, we read the Ten Commandments, as repeated by Moses in Deuteronomy. For this section of the Torah reading the entire congregation stands, as if to relive that incredible experience at Mt. Sinaiso many centuries ago.
I traveled through winding mostly two-way roads in the rugged hills of Samaria to visit Talmon. Talmon was established in 1989 by a handful of families, committed to reviving and resettling a Jewish presence in the Biblical Heartland of Israel. Located more than an hour drive from the nearest city, Talmon has grown into a … Read more
This is the series you have been waiting for – the chance to visit communities in Judea and Samaria, from the comfort of your home, and catch a glimpse of life in each and every community. Dolev is located in an area full of natural streams and pools. Some of the pools go back decades … Read more
What is it? Tisha B’Av, the 9th day of the month of Av (this year celebrated on July 17-18, 2021), is the saddest day on the Jewish calendar. On that day, Jews fast, pray, and read from the book of Lamentations and poetic dirges. Why? Historically, on this day, a number of Jewish calamities occurred: The spies … Read more
On the 9th of Av we also read the book of Lamentations, that terribly poignant description of the destruction of the First Temple written by Jeremiah, an eye-witness to the events he describes.
Jews and Christians base their visions of the End times on Scripture and much of that Scripture comes from the Hebrew Bible, a book sacred to both Christians and Jews. Both Christians and Jews are waiting for Messiah, albeit with different visions of who Messiah is and whether he has been before. But how do … Read more
The people of Israel are the only people in the world who were exiled from their land for 2,000 years and yet remained intact as a people and as a faith. What kept us going all those years was the fact that we had the Torah, the Bible, as a guide through the years of exile, and we had a land to yearn for.
July 6, 2021Sondra Oster Baras Today, at our Second Annual CFOIC Conference of Communities, we handed out over a million dollars to more than 30 communities and several regional councils for security and community needs. These are funds that you, our trusted friends and supporters, have contributed during these past few months. Some of you … Read more
Numbers 27:12-23: “And G-d said to Moses, Go up to this Mt. Avarim and see the land that I have given to the Children of Israel.” So begins a moving dialogue between G-d and Moses towards the end of Moses’ life.
There is no greater joy on earth than giving birth to a healthy baby. That moment when life bursts forth from the womb is probably the closest we, as human beings, can get to the Divine. And for God-fearing peoples all over the world, it is a time of thanksgiving, time to offer joyous prayers … Read more