With the counting of Sefirah just about to end, the festival of Shavuot commemorating the giving of the Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai can not be too far behind. In fact the observance of this briefest of holidays is the exact culmination of the Sefirah count and the climax of the historic link between Pesach, the Exodus, and Shavuot and the giving of the Torah. more

Palestinian Arabs have concentrated many of their terrorist attacks on Jews in Jerusalem, hoping to win the city by an onslaught of terror, who seek to make life in the City of Peace unbearable. But this is not a new tactic. Arab strategy to turn Jerusalem into a battleground began in 1920. more

Yom Yerushalayim celebrates that wonderful day during the Six-Day War when the IDF liberated the Old City of Jerusalem and the Temple Mount was returned to the Jewish people There is another story about the unification of Jerusalem that most don’t talk about. But it’s important to remember on Yom Yerushalayim that if it were not for the progressive hubris of the man considered to be the hero of Jerusalem’s liberation, Moshe Dayan, Jerusalem and the Temple Mount would not be the issue it is today. more

With one voice, government, business and community leaders gathered to honor 32 Long Island Teenagers for their acts of goodness and kindness. These Good Deed Awards for Long Island Teenagers was established by Rabbi Anchelle Perl, Director of Chabad of Mineola. This program, now in its 20th year, sets out to identify the vast good so inherent in our youth and help the wider community appreciate it. Special guest speaker at this year’s ceremony was Andrew Paley, parent of two children attending the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown CT at the time of the shooting. more

Yom Yerushalayim is a monumental day in Jewish history. It is a celebration of the first time in 2,000 years that Jews regained sovereignty over the Kotel, the Western Wall, and the Temple Mount, which is Judaism’s holiest site. And it is a time to thank G-d for giving us the extraordinary gift that is Jerusalem. more

Israeli naval captain Ori Dadon has seen combat in two news making skirmishes in the defense of Israel and spoke with the Jewish Star about his life and experiences as first company commander aboard the Israeli Navy ship the Nitzachon. more

The care of aging parents, though difficult, is a necessary fact of life and should be approached with a proper attitude and with an understanding of ethics and Jewish law. In a talk that combined Talmudic and other Jewish legal sources with medical expertise, Rabbi Dr. Aaron Glatt and Rabbi Dr. Richard Weiss discussed “The Circle of Life: Considering the Ethical and Halakhic Parameters of Caring for Aging Parents” this past Sunday at the Young Israel of Woodmere. The program was presented by Yeshiva University’s Student Medical Ethics Society. more

In the Knesset cellar, on the night between the 5th and 6th of June, 1967; as the paratroopers were about to begin the bloody battle for Ammunition Hill, the Israeli government met to decide: should we enter the Old City or not? There was much to lose: world opinion might turn against the Jews if damage was caused to the holy sites.... And time was running out.... more

This past week, 94 tenth grade students from SKA went to Washington D.C. to lobby congressmen, senators and their aides to promote transparency within the United States funded organization, UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency). more

The Torah gives three examples of “Your brother becoming impoverished.” (V’khi yamukh achikha). The first has to do with selling family property, and how it returns to the original owners at the Jubilee year. The second and third examples deal with a case where he cannot sustain himself and is relying on community assistance (25:35-38), or even needs to be sold into slavery to support himself (25:39-42), respectively. more