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The Israeli government voted to declare the Palestinian
Authority "an entity that supports terror" at about 3 a.m.
Tuesday morning, after a six-hour session beginning Monday
night. Foreign Minister Shimon Peres led a walkout of Labor
ministers in protest over the decision before the Cabinet
vote. Solution to Problem of Kohanim on Flights Imminent The problems of the flights for kohanim who take off from the
Ben Gurion airport will soon be solved according to those
involved in the negotiations. Rabbi Ravitz, Rabbi Gafni and
Rabbi Porush recently conducted extensive deliberations with
the Transportation Ministry and top raking IDF personnel on
the issue.
Last month the Rabinovich Committee released its
recommendations for the property tax reform, effectively
bringing the housing sales market to a halt. The committee
recommended eliminating the purchase tax at the 0.5 percent
level, eliminating the sales tax and reducing the capital
gains tax.
"The Cameri Tel Aviv Municipal Theater has turned into a
weapon for incitement to murder as well as de-legitimization
of Israel's chareidi and religious public," according to the
leaders of the Manof Center for Jewish Information. This was
stated in a complaint filed by Manof with the Israel Police,
the Attorney General, the President of the State of Israel,
the Prime Minister, members of Knesset and other public
figures.
U.S. Shmittah Product Category List According to information supplied by the kashrus
division of the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of
America (OU), the following categories of foods may contain
products that were imported to the U.S. and sold under the OU
hechsher based on an enhanced version of the heter
mechirah. Rain, Rain Be a Blessing Heavy rains began on Tuesday morning in the north of the
country and were expected to spread all over by the late
afternoon. A total accumulation of 100 millimeters (about
four inches) was expected within about two days. Thousands Visit Final Resting Place of HaRav Shach,
ztvk"l to Mark Sheloshim
On Sunday 17 Kislev, thousands of people visited the final
resting place of the Avi Ezri, Rabbenu Maran HaGaon Elozor
Menachem Man Shach, ztvk"l, to mark the closing of the
thirty-day mourning period following Rabbenu's passing on the
16th of Marcheshvon. South African Jews Mourn Passing Of HaRav Shach Hundreds of members of Johannesburg's Torah community,
including many of the youth, crowded into the beis
hamedrash of the Kollel Yad Shaul to hear hespedim
for the godol hador, Maran HaRav Shach zt"l
at the end of the sheloshim. Speakers included
HaRav Tzvi Kushelevsky, Dayan Boruch Rapoport and the rosh
kollel, HaRav Boruch Dov Grossnass. HaRav Kushelevsky, the
rosh yeshiva of Heichal Hatorah in Jerusalem, was especially
brought out for the occasion. ZAKA at the Forefront This past motzei Shabbos after the awful bomb in the center
of Yerushalayim's entertainment district, ZAKA's volunteers
displayed maximal efficiency and competence as they went
about their rescue work on the site of the terrorist attack
on the Ben Yehuda mall in Jerusalem. One of their first steps
was to set up a special tent, recently acquired by the
organization, to record initial findings. Bodies were brought
there and then transferred to the Abu Kabir Institute for
Forensic Medicine in Tel Aviv.
The Taliban are an extreme Sunni Muslim sect that has ruled Afghanistan for close to a decade but is now on the way out after running a rogue regime that sheltered Osama Bin Laden and his obsession with worldwide Jihad (holy war) against the West. They tried to implement a society that was forced into observing their somewhat unique version of what a proper Islamic society should be. PREPARING FOR THE FUTURE Rabbi Reuven looked at the page again. He still could not understand what was printed there. Or course, he could understand the plain meaning of the words, but he could not understand what he was supposed to do. IN-DEPTH FEATURES Retirement in Israel: Is It For You? Additional Luach Information Chanukah starts on Monday, 25 Kislev (Dec. 10) and ends on Monday, 2 Teves (Dec. 17). We must be on the alert in regards to fire safety and not light the neiros near inflammables. Small children should not be left alone near the neiros. Chanukah Lighting Time According to the Chazon Ish The Chazon Ish zt'l lit the Chanukah lights on weekdays twenty minutes after sunset. On Motzo'ei Shabbos, however, he lit them only after ma'ariv (which he davened approximately three quarters of an hour after sunset) and making havdoloh. [The report in Tohoras Habayis (part 2, p. 273) that the Chazon Ish lit Chanukah lights twenty minutes after sunset even on Motzo'ei Shabbos--from which the author deduces that melochos may be done this soon after sunset when there is a pressing necessity--is erroneous]. The source of the minhag of the Chazon Ish when to light Chanukah lights on weekdays is found in the Bei'ur HaGra in Yoreh De'ah, hilchos Milah chap. 266:17, who explicitly mentions Chanukah lights! The Chazon Ish based his reasoning on the fact that there must be some darkness for Chanukah lighting, since "what good is a candle during the day?" In central Eretz Yisroel we light 20-21 minutes after sunset (depending when Chanukah falls according to the solar calendar). The sun is at that time 4.8 degrees below the horizon. Using the sun's position below the horizon as our criterion, these are the amount of minutes after sunset to light Chanukah lights in selected cities worldwide according to the Chazon Ish: Zurich 27-28 minutes after sunset; Vienna 28- 29 minutes; Sydney 22 minutes; Strasbourg 28 minutes; Stockholm 43-44 minutes; Rome 24-25 minutes; Paris 28-29 minutes; New York 23-24 minutes; Gateshead 35 minutes; Melbourne 23-24 minutes; Manchester 33 minutes; Los Angeles 21-22 minutes; London 31 minutes; Johannesburg 20 minutes; Cleveland 24 minutes; Chicago 24-25 minutes; Buenos Aires 22- 23 minutes; Amsterdam 32 minutes. See Birur Halocho Teliso'oh, Orach Chaim 772.
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