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A large mausoleum recently uncovered in Israel may be the Tomb of the Maccabees, the celebrated Jewish family that led an uprising against the Greeks in the second century B.C. Archaeologists, however, are still searching for conclusive evidence that the site is the Maccabees’ final resting place.The Israel Antiquities Authority, working with local residents and volunteers, recently excavated the site near the city of Modi’in, 19 miles northwest of Jerusalem, long rumored to be the Maccabees’ tomb.Related: Board game pieces found in settlement built on Roman military fortThe Maccabees – Matityahu the Hasmonean and his five sons were from the...

Israeli archaeologists may be one step closer to solving a riddle that has vexed explorers for more than a century: the location of the tomb of the biblical Maccabees which they recognized by finding the signature of the Cross.A worker for the Israel Antiquities Authority shows The Holy Cross designed on a mosaic floor at an archaeological site at Ben Shemen Forest near the Israeli city of ModiinOn Monday, Sept. 21, 2015, Amit Reem, an Israeli archaeologist for the Israel Antiquities Authority, said “the cross is a clue” as it appears on the floor of the only Byzantine-era site burial...

On the upcoming Yom Tov of Sukkos, we will say the berachah of “Ata Bechartanu,” the blessing thanking Hashem for having chosen us from among the nations. Interestingly, that very closeness has been the cause of terrible persecution the Jews have experienced. Rav Yaakov Kamenetsky would say that those who have made us suffer for calling ourselves the “chosen” people do not realize that being chosen comes with extraordinary responsibilities as well, as we say in Selichos, “Ashamnu m’kol am – We are guiltier than all of the nations.” As the am hanivchar, it is our responsibility to uphold human...

Jewish tradition requires us to dip our Apple in honey on Rosh Hashana

Israeli President Reuven Rivlin paid a visit to Pope Francis in Rome, accompanied by his personal secretary Rivkah – an Orthodox-Jewish woman. When a person usually greets the pope, they shake his hand and bow down. But when Rivkah’s turn came to greet the pope, she explained to him that for religious reasons she could not shake his hand, nor could she bow down since he was wearing a cross. The pope then covered his cross with his hand, and bowed down to her!

ST. PAUL — Orthodox Rabbi Yehuda Levin of Brooklyn, a longtime pro-life, pro-family activist, in a September 9 telephone interview with The Wanderer said he is “calling upon the eminent Pope Benedict…to weigh in before the Synod” against same-sex marriage and civil unions, as well as “on all the negative things that are going on.” Rabbi Levin offered his view that Benedict has “got to be a fighter for this,” given “the volume of the negative stuff” and because “God and His people are under attack in a vicious way,” particularly in their efforts to defend marriage. He said he...

In 1981, Israel launched Operation Opera and directly saved millions of Israeli and Middle Eastern lives, while also making conditions far safer for Americans and for the western world. The task was clear and simple. Israel bombed Iraq's Osirak Nuclear Reactor and prevented Saddam Hussein from wreaking havoc in the Middle East. The strategy was reasonable and spoke to a reasonable era. Today's buffoonery is shameful and dangerous. The following is a possible solution and, at the very least, constitutes a sensible path. In 2006, those who opposed then President Bush yelled that he should have gone to war against...

You are my children I care for you , your very breath is proof of this and though you may not feel your heart beating within you truly your very Life is a ( (( Constant )) ) for without My spirit within you all you are would cease to exist therefore Praise My Name for as your Lord truly I AM your Savior and My Grace is upon you even now . . . Do not lose your Grace(Shepherd) for I AM sovereign over all, so your choice should always be intimacy ! My sheep know my voice

Rosh Hashana is coming up. "Head of the year" But what makes it the head, the "first" day of the year. Especially perplexing since in Jewish tradition, it is celebrated on the 6th day of creation, the day Adam was formed, gained knowledge of himself and his Creator-- and "coronated" Him as his King. This was Rosh Hashana. ...It follows then, that now, today, 5 days prior to Rosh Hashana, would be the first day of creation. Therefore: Happy Let There Be Light day!

Reading two recent breathless headlines in the Forward, it would seem that Judaism, at least as practiced in America, is somehow in mortal danger of being co-opted and radically changed by Orthodox Jewry.

  Critics of Islam are often accused of bigotry. The accusers tend to overlook the kind of crazy racism that Islam teaches. And we are talking really, really crazy racism. (via Religion of Peace) Al-Mosharraf, whose Elaph blog posts often contain anti-Semitic overtones, argues that some monkeys are Jews whom Allah punished for desecrating the Sabbath, as is told in the Quran. He included numerous photos of macaque monkeys in his post, and pointed out the similarities between their behavior and Jewish behavior. Sure. Who can forget the time that six Muslim armies were defeated by an army of...

Row over messianic red heifer divides Jewish activists 14 Aug 2015 00:00 Peter BeaumontAgriculture researchers, US exporters and Jewish activists clash over plans to breed a holy cow. Sacred, profane: Hopes to build the Third Temple at the Temple Mount, or Noble Sanctuary, are controversial. (Spencer Platt/Getty) A Jewish activist group dedicated to controversially building a Third Temple in Jerusalem has launched a crowdfunding appeal to scientifically breed the perfect “red heifer”. The creation of a Third Temple as a permanent house in which God will reside was prophesied by Ezekiel, and most orthodox Jewish authorities regard it as something...

With his brash demeanor, rough language, womanizing, and general Trump-ness, you’d think evangelicals would loathe Trump. You’d be wrong. Evangelicals were supposed to hate Donald Trump. His ostentatious wealth, his colorful language, his serial marriages—he was supposed to be the anti-Huckabee, the candidate least appealing to conservative Christians and their reality TV-unfriendly sensibilities. Then there was Trump’s cavalier discussion of his faith at the Ames, Iowa, Family Leadership Summit in July—where he said he doesn’t ask God for forgiveness. The Washington Examiner’s Byron York argued that comment would hurt him more than his disparagement of Senator John McCain’s war record....

A massive gate unearthed in Israel may have marked the entrance to a biblical city that, at its heyday, was the biggest metropolis in the region. The town, called Gath, was occupied until the ninth century B.C. In biblical accounts, the Philistines — the mortal enemies of the Israelites — ruled the city. The Old Testament also describes Gath as the home of Goliath, the giant warrior whom the Israelite King David felled with a slingshot. The new findings reveal just how impressive the ancient Philistine city once was, said lead archaeologist of the current excavation, Aren Maeir, of Bar-Ilan...

The gate of Gath, believed to be the home of the giant Goliath, has been discovered by archaeologists. I love this kind of story because I love it when the Bible is shown to have historical accuracies. You might recall: The Philistines occupied the high ground on one side and the Israelites occupied the high ground on the other side, with the valley between them. A champion stepped out from the Philistine ranks; his name was Goliath, from Gath; he was six cubits and one span tall. On his head was a bronze helmet and he wore a breastplate of...

Deuteronomy passages are about to come True, My WORD spoken over you , My blessings to the righteous and pure in Heart, It is the first place I look and where I always start! For your Heart IS your Wellspring so it can not lie to Me, It always reveals the truth of who you are and will be, So let your Yes be Yes and your No remain No. Stand on My WORD and I will never let you go! But waiver in your belief That I AM the One and Only True God?! And you will live in...

d like all other prophets, and those who are ridiculing and rejecting him will be severely punished. Sura 12, “Joseph,” is another late Meccan sura. It was revealed, says Maududi, “when the Quraish” — the pagan Arabs of Mecca, and the tribe of which Muhammad was a member — “were considering the question of killing or exiling or imprisoning him.” It tells the story of the patriarch Joseph, again — as we saw in Sura 11 with the stories of other prophets — with a clear message relating to Muhammad and his opponents.Allah begins in verses 1-3 with another panegyric...

A few years ago "Rabbi" Eric Yoffie, a Reform clergyman spoke at an Islamic Society of North America convention, an anti-Semitic Muslim Brotherhood organization that supported Hamas, and denounced Dennis Prager for criticizing the Koran. At ISNA, Eric Yoffie sanctimoniously warned that... There exists in this country among all Americans — whether Jews, Christians, or non-believers — a huge and profound ignorance about Islam. It is not that stories about Islam are missing from our media; there is no shortage of voices prepared to tell us that fanaticism and intolerance are fundamental to Islamic religion, and that violence and...

Powerful speech! America needs a leader like this. God Bless him!