Free Republic

She’s about to become one of the most influential financial leaders in the world, but a classmate who sat in front of Janet Yellen at Brooklyn’s Ft. Hamilton HS says he was “shocked” at her career path.

An audio class on the origins and practices of Chanukah in Jewish teachings, with application to our modern culture.

WEST POINT — Two West Point graduates were married Saturday in the military academy’s first wedding between two men...

Thirty-three miles into the Arctic Circle, in the village of Kotzebue, Alaska, where more than 70 percent of the people are Eskimo, the local elementary school had guests one day: two Chabad shluchim (emissaries) from Anchorage, some 550 miles away. The children showed them Eskimo dances from the Inupiat tribe. The shluchim danced chasidic dances. Rabbi Avraham Berkowitz asked, “Did any of you ever meet a Jew?” One girl raised her hand, yes, and she pointed to her mother, the fifth grade teacher. The mother had intermarried with a native man. The mother asked if the visitors could tell something...

(CNSNews.com) - To ensure that "every American is able to choose to live in a community they feel proud of," HUD has published a new fair-housing regulation intended to give people access to better neighborhoods than the ones they currently live in.

A video class regarding the shape of the Menorah (candelabra) used in the Holy Temple in Jerusalem.

This is a Torah class (in English interspersed with translated Hebrew verses from Torah) about one particular detail of the building of the Tabernacle, found in Exodus 38:21-29. The Torah mentions "vavin" (hooked nails that resembled the Hebrew letter 'vav.') Jews-- it's fascinating. If you haven't listened to a Torah shiur give it a try. The overall lesson of the class is that every Jew is a part of the Torah (spoiler--the "vavin," which are technically outside the boundary of the Tabernacle since they were pointed outward from the outermost poles, and the outer walls were hung on these hooks....

Link is to an audio class on understanding the sin of the golden calf. How the heck could people who heard G-d speak 40 days prior do such a sin?! The sin of the golden calf takes place within the weekly portion (as divided by Jews) of the Torah that is read this week. Enjoy!

How to Read the Newspaper & the Websites Learning from the Megillah how to Understand World Events. A Wild King Throws a Feast for 187 Days, But What Does It Got To Do with the Jewish Mission?

Let's learn about Moshiach! A compilation site about the Messiah in Jewish teachings.

It was one of one of those grand summits in the journey through life, when the entire landscape is set before you in ultra-high definition. Suddenly, you know where you are, where you are going and what you have to do to get there. I upgraded my iPhone....

...An article on the pagan origins of Christmas...

A fantastic speech to the annual gathering of US military chaplains from a well-known (well, among the small chassidic population) orthodox speaker, Rabbi Joseph Jacobson. I posted a few years ago...worth viewing again. If you are a Christian and give sermons, I guarantee you'll enjoy this.

For seven days of Sukkot, Jews walk around in circles, carrying an assortment of green and yellow flora. Then, on Simchat Torah, they dance in circles carrying Hebrew scrolls, working up to a frenzy. Did I say dance? Well, it’s more like marching, your hands over the next guy’s shoulders, singing and stomping as you march to . . . the same place you started from. Repeat until you plotz.

Portal website for lots of information on Rosh Hashana. May you be inscribed and sealed for a good, sweet year.

Walk Simply/Perfectly/Wholly with the L-rd your G-d. A nice class on the meaning of one verse in this week's parsha. A slight connection to the Judaism on Angels post from last week, at 16:55 in this class, the rabbi tells a story about a spooky occurrence in Toronto... Yup, we believe in other powers (not other G-ds, G-d forbid) but he makes the point that modern-day idol worship removes free choice from a person. I love listening to it every year when Parshas Shoftim rolls around...

Video on a precept of Judaism...we increase in holiness. Every Jew, no matter what level of observance, should see the discussion at 15:30.

An interesting class about the Jewish perspective on capitalism and charity (first of a few upcoming classes on current political issues.) Definitely scratches the surface only, but a nice summary (or paradigm shift) of why 'everything comes from G-d.' If you cannot hang through the 55 minutes, the bottom line is that G-d creates rich and poor, expects everyone to make a 'vessel' for his beneficence (through mental and physical action,) and expects us to act in the right way no matter what income we currently earn.

The Jewish belief in angels goes as far back as the Book of Genesis, where we read about angels calling out to Abraham at the binding of Isaac, angels appearing in Jacob's dream, Jacob fighting with an angel, and many more accounts of angelic activity.

A Jewish class on why Jews do not accept Christianity. I post for Jews to self-educate and for Christians to understand the Jewish point of view--not that it matters (that they do.)