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Leaders of the Labor Party have followed the zig-zagging
example of their former prime minister, Ehud Barak, and
despite warnings that they were selling their souls for a
scrap of power, in a stormy and at times near-violent
session on Monday night the Labor Party Central Committee
agreed to join a unity government led by Likud's Ariel
Sharon. As has been reportedly widely in the press, the sefer
Sherashei Kerem Rosh Nevolim
by ibn Shakran was found recently in the wine cellars of the
Vatican where its folios had been used as stoppers in some
ancient amphorae. Interest Rate Reduced by 0.2 Percent The governor of the Bank of Israel, David Klein, reduced the
interest rate in Israel by 0.2 percent on Monday. The
interest rate for March 2001 will be 7.5 percent. A massive his'orerus and prayer rally, as well as the
levaya of the bones of our ancients, was held on
Tuesday (4 Adar) in Haifa. At this levaya, the
participants requested the forgiveness of the deceased for
the terrible desecration to their graves and their bones, as
well as for the disgracing and destruction of the burial
caves which occurred.
Hundreds of Farmers Join Keren Shevi'is Kollelim During the past two months, hundreds of shmittah
observant farmers have joined a special network of botei
medrash and kollelim founded especially for them
by the Keren Hashevi'is of the Nationwide Center for
Shmittah Observant Farmers. Five Million NIS Transferred to Shmittah Observant
Farmers Stipends to the tune of five million NIS were transferred
last month to the thousands of farmers who observe
shmittah according to halocho. Since the
beginning of the current shmittah, these giborei
koach have let their lands, fields and vineyards lie
fallow. Chief Rabbinate Demands Rescinding of Letters Dismissing
Eleven City Chief Rabbis The Council of the Israel Chief Rabbinate has demanded that
Minister of Justice and of Religious Affairs Yossi Beilin
rescind the letters of dismissal he sent a number of weeks
ago to the chief rabbis of 11 cities.
Siyum Marks Completion of Chazon Leadership Course Gedolei haTorah and roshei yeshiva joined course
participants in a melave malka siyum held two weeks
ago marking the completion of a training course for
counselors to deal with the generation gap problem and the
problem of dropout youth. HaRav Wosner to Vaad HaRabbonim: Tzedokoh Brings
Security If there is one thing on Jews' minds the world over these
days, it's the security situation in Eretz Yisroel.
According to HaRav Shmuel Halevi Wosner, there is something
everyone can do to improve the security situation -- give
tzedokoh. Rabbi Gafni Demands Investigation of Hitorerut Movement
Financial Sources Rabbi Moshe Gafni sent a letter last week to the Attorney
General demanding an investigation of the monetary sources
behind the Hitorerut movement. The demand was made following
suspicions that movement activities are subsidized by either
the Labor party or one of Ehud Barak's NPOs.
Last week the U.S. F.B.I. announced the arrest of Robert
Philip Hanssen on charges of spying for the Soviet Union
(and later Russia) for over 15 years. Hanssen was a trusted
and high- level FBI counterintelligence agent with access to
almost every intelligence secret that the United States
government possesses. BOOK REVIEW It seems that every baal tshuva has a fascinating
story to tell about his or her own road back to Torah. From
the heights of the Himalayas to the depths of Death Valley,
from exotic pantheism to austere atheism, from hippiedom to
yuppiedom, many Jews have heeded the stirrings of their
Jewish souls and returned, despite all odds, to Torah and
Yiddishkeit. Mesiras Nefesh in Stalin's Gulag: The Chidoh
Ta'anis Esther falls on Thursday, 13 Adar (Mar. 8).
The takonoh of the ta'anis was to remember
that the Jews fasted and beseeched Hashem in the times of
Esther to save them from their enemies. The minhag is
to give three half shekels as a zecher to the
machtzis hashekel.
Purim falls on erev Shabbos, 14 Adar (Mar. 9) and
Shushan Purim falls on Shabbos, 15 Adar (Mar. 10) and
Sunday, 16 Adar (Mar. 11). Those cities that are mukofos
chomah and their Purim is on Shushan Purim read this
year the megillah and give matonos le'evyonim
on erev Shabbos, 14 Adar, and on Shabbos they say
al hanissim in Shemoneh Esreih. Their
se'udas Purim and mishlo'ach monos is on
Sunday, 16 Adar. (According to the Maharal Choviv the
seudah and mishlo'ach monos are on Shabbos).
See Mishnah Berurah 688:6.
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