Deiah veDibur - Information & Insight
  

A Window into the Chareidi World

29 Kislev 5764 - December 24, 2003 | Mordecai Plaut, director Published Weekly
NEWS
OPINION & COMMENT
OBSERVATIONS
HOME & FAMILY
IN-DEPTH FEATURES
VAAD HORABBONIM HAOLAMI LEINYONEI GIYUR
TOPICS IN THE NEWS
PREVIOUS ISSUES

CALENDAR FOR
Parshas Vayigash, 5764

Sunday, 3 Teves - Shabbos, 9 Teves (Dec. 28-Jan. 3, 2004)

DAF HAYOMI
Bavli:
Menochos, 83-89
Yerushalmi:
Yovomos 46-52

MISHNA YOMIS
Nego'im 7:5-9:3

HALACHA YOMIS
Orach Chaim 143:5-148:1

CANDLE LIGHTING
in Eretz Yisroel:

Parshas Mikeitz
Yerushalayim:
4:07 P.M.

Bnei Brak:
4:21 P.M.

London:
3:40 P.M.
Johannesburg:
6:15 P.M.
Melbourne:
8:21 P.M.

Parshas Vayigash
Yerushalayim:
4:12 P.M.

Bnei Brak:
4:25 P.M.

London:
3:48 P.M.
Johannesburg:
6:15 P.M.
Melbourne:
8:25 P.M.

Produced and housed by
Shema Yisrael Torah Network
Shema Yisrael Torah Network



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At The Center of the Universe
At The Center of the Universe
by Mordechai Plaut

TOPICS IN THE NEWS

REFORM & CONSERVATIVES

GRAVES

LIVING JUDAISM

WOMEN IN
JUDAISM

GIYUR
LEGAL ISSUES
YESHIVA DRAFT
CULTURE WARS
-MISCELLANEOUS
CULTURE WARS
-MONEY
CULTURE WARS
-SHABBOS
LIVING JUDAISM
COMMUNITY PROFILE
-(DEMOGRAPHY)
USEFUL NEWS (SHMITTA)
OBITUARIES
FEATURES

NEWS


Sharon's New Approach
by M Plaut and Yated Ne'eman Staff

Last Thursday Prime Minister Sharon shared his thinking with the public -- something he does only on rare occasions -- and outlined a sharply different approach to that taken by Israeli governments in the past 15 years or so. Sharon said that Israel cannot wait for the Palestinians indefinitely and, if they do not come forward to negotiate peace, Israel will move to establish a stable arrangement between itself and the Palestinians that will allow both sides to live side by side.


The Salary Scandal at Israeli Non-Government Organizations
by Betzalel Kahn

At the State of Israel's non-government organizations (NGOs) anything goes. From party fundraising for political parties to running building committees and public institutions, they have total freedom of activity. Although there is an NGO Registrar responsible for oversight, he cannot tell an NGO what goals to work towards nor what to do with the funds entering its coffers.



Three Models for New Religious Councils
by Eliezer Rauchberger

Prime Minister's Office Director-General Avigdor Yitzchaki revealed to the Knesset Finance Committee the new plan to replace the present religious councils (moatzot dat), which are slated for closure, presenting three models for providing religious services according to the needs and resources of the respective cities.


An Israeli Stock Market Boom
by M. Plaut

Even though the American stock markets are up by 20-40 percent this year, the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE) is up more than 50 percent so far, and Israeli interest rates are down almost 4 percent. These developments have combined to attract a lot of new money into Israeli investments.


Egged Starts 3 New Mehadrin Lines in Jerusalem
by Betzalel Kahn

Egged recently began operating three new mehadrin lines in Jerusalem, Line 54 from Neveh Yaakov to Center 1, Line 56 from Ramat Shlomo to Rechov Strauss and Line 40 Alef, which continues the route as far as Kever Shmuel Hanovi.


Half of US Jews in College Have Only One Jewish Parent
by Yated Ne'eman Staff

Nearly half of all US college students who identify as Jews have only one Jewish parent and, thanks to intermarriage, assimilation and low birth rates, the number of college-age Jews will shrink by four percent over the next five years, according to new statistics. The figures apply to those in college and not to all those of college age, such as those learning in yeshiva.


In Jerusalem Out-Migration Continues to Exceed In- Migration
by Betzalel Kahn

Jerusalem's negative migration balance is continuing. In 2002 some 16,600 people left the city, compared to 16,000 in 2001. Jerusalem's total population was estimated at 680,400 people - - 458,600 Jews (67.4 percent) and 221,900 Arabs (32.6 percent) -- representing about 10 percent of the population of Israel. The natural rate of increase was 19 percent in the Jewish sector, compared to 29.3 percent in the Arab sector.

French Try to Maintain Secularism
by Arnon Yaffe

French President Jacques Chirac, in an important policy speech, announced that he supports legislations banning head covering in schools, but is against making Jewish and Moslem holidays into national days off from school.

Remembering a Master Mechanech
by Yated Ne'eman Staff

On the first day of Rosh Chodesh Teves, the first yahrtzeit of HaRav Zushe Waltner zt'l, many of his former talmidim will be gathering to bring merit and honor to his neshomoh. Meetings are to be held in three different countries.

The Growing Botswana Jewish Community
by D. Saks

Botswana, a landlocked, largely arid African republic that borders South Africa to the west, now has a Jewish community numbering some hundred souls, located mainly in Gaberone, the capital. Contrary to expectations, most of its members are not Israelis but former South Africans.


OPINION & COMMENT

Our Children are Our Future

Demography is in the news, and demography is driving the news these days. Ehud Olmert, Minister of Industry and for many years referred to as one of the Likud "princes" since he is the son of a famous Likud politician, shocked both the Right and the Left when he proposed to withdraw from the areas where there are concentrations of Arab populations in Yehuda and Shomron.


OBSERVATIONS


HOME & FAMILY

Chanuka
by Hannah Kafree

It was the eighth night of Chanuka and I stopped by a neighbor. She had ten children and all of their menoras made as school projects were arranged on top of folded, crinkly foil that covered the table set near the window. Each round metal cap glued to a wooden base held a brightly colored candle.


IN-DEPTH FEATURES

The Torchbearer And His Amulet: The Relationship Between Reb Isser Zalman zt'l and HaRav Shach zt'l
by Staff of Agudath Israel of America and Yated Ne'eman Staff

Windows on the World
by Y. Freund


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