Free Republic

Let’s face it—on nearly every important issue, from gun control to immigration to gay marriage, red states are holding America back. Lee Siegel on why the South should get the hell out of the union. Let’s not be fooled by all the bipartisan rhetoric that has been streaming out of the GOP since Romney’s self-destruction. Hundreds of thousands of petitioners in a handful of red states still want to secede? Well, don’t let the door hit you on the way out. A solid block of Southern states continues to refuse to expand Medicaid, thus squashing one of the linchpins of...

Parashat Metzora [VaYikra - Book of Leviticus] Kohen - first Aliya - 12 p'sukim - 14:1-12 The afflictions dealt with in Tazria are immediately dealt with by the procedures described in M'Tzora. The main theme of M'tzora is the "ritual purification" of the one afflicted with Tzora'at. These procedures constitute a positive mitzva [173]. Two birds are to be taken, a ceremony is performed with them, one bird is offered as a sacrifice, and the other is set free. The person immerses in a mikve, he cleans his garments, and he shaves all the hair on his body [174]. The...

THIS IS MY NAME FOREVER We would like to bring to your attention, dear readers, a matter written by the Prophet Jeremiah, Chapter 23, Verses 26-27: "Until when will there be in the heart of those prophesying false prophecies and prophets of the deception of their hearts: Who scheme to make my people forget my name with their dreams that a man tells to his fellow, as their fathers forgot my name for Ba'al". From here we learn that a great sin was committed by those Prophets of Deception who caused the People of Israel to "forget" the name of...

Al-Jazeera Interviews - Muslim Brotherhood Leader in Sudan: The U.S. is Behind All Tragedies in Darfur; Sudanese Minister for Humanitarian Affairs: U.S. Civilization Feeds on Human Blood The following are two clips from Al-Jazeera TV dealing with Darfur. The first clip is an interview with the leader of the Muslim Brotherhood in Sudan, Sheikh Sadeq Abdallah, which aired on July 28, 2007, and the second is an interview with Sudanese Minister of State for Humanitarian Affairs Ahmad Haroun, which aired on August 3, 2007.For the MEMRI TV web page on Darfur, visit:http://www.memritv.org/subject/en/373.htm To view the first clip, visit:http://www.memritv.org/clip/en/1522.htm. To view...

First in a series: TORAH ETHICS FOR THE NON-JEW AS FOUND IN GENESISAmong all the nations of the world and all their religions, not one regularly offers anything to people who do not belong to that faith or nation. Each and every group says to others, "Come and join us, be one of us, and do as we do, and then you can benefit from what we have. If you do not, then you are no concern of ours." This is the usual approach for all religions...except one. Answer for yourself: Do you know which religion of whom I am...

Major food manufacturers, grocery chains compete for 9 billion dollar kosher market; analysts say market for kosher products growing at 15 percent per year When U.S. supermarket giant Albertsons hired Yaakov Yarmove more than three years ago, the company found a point man to navigate what might seem like an unlikely market for a grocery chain with stores in places like Cheyenne, Wyo., and Evanston, Ill.: kosher food. Albertsons, one of America's largest grocery chains, has since dramatically expanded kosher aisles at hundreds of its supermarkets across the country. The company has also launched more than two dozen kosher destination...

A council of non-Jewish observers of the Seven Laws of Noah has been selected and will be ordained by the reestablished Sanhedrin in Jerusalem this January. B'nai Noach, literally "Children of Noah," known as Noahides, are non-Jews who take upon themselves the Torah's obligations for non-Jews - consisting of seven laws passed on from Noah following the flood, as documented in Genesis (see below). Until now, Noahide communities and organization had been scattered around the globe, with a particular concentration centered around the southern United States. The communities themselves are a relatively recent phenomenon bolstered by the fact that the...