Free Republic

This evening at sundown marks the start of Passover, commemorating the Israelites’ Exodus from Egypt, and their transition from slavery to freedom. The main ritual of Passover is the Seder, which occurs on the first two nights (in Israel just the first night) of the holiday — a meal that involves the re-telling of the Exodus through stories and song and the consumption of ritual foods.The Seder's rituals and other readings are outlined in the Haggadah. Zeroah, a lamb's shankbone symbolizing the ancient Passover sacrificeBeitzah, a roasted egg symbolizing the temple sacrifice and the continuing cycle of lifeHaroset, a paste...

As the Israeli ambassador to the US, Ron Dermer said: " It is true that in every generation they rise up against us...But it is a rare thing- a very rare thing- a president like President Trump and an administration like the Trump administration- it doesn't happen every generation. It may happen once in many, many generations." If President Trump had only banned travel from China thus stopping the Angel of Death- Dayenu If President Trump had only moved the US embassy to Jerusalem- Dayenu If President Trump had only recognized Israeli sovereignty over the Golan- Dayenu If President Trump...

It symbolic that the upsurge in the coronavirus epidemic COVID-19 has coincided with the Jewish festival of Passover that commemorates the liberation of Jews more than 3,000 years ago from an enemy determined to liquidate them. Individuals are now conscious that the world today is fighting an invisible enemy determine to exterminate them, and which so far has claimed 58,000 deaths and more than one million infected. The parallel between today and the Jewish historical experience is enticing in at least five ways. One is the visible fight for liberation and the end of their slavery in Egypt against an...

For Zion's sake I shall not keep silent....

The Last Eight Days

The international edition of the New York Times will no longer feature editorial cartoons. The move to self-censorship follows the uproar sparked by publication of a widely denounced antisemitic caricature of Israeli Prime Minister Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The cartoon, published in April, depicted Netanyahu as a dog wearing a Star of David collar and leading a sightless U.S. President Donald Trump — who was wearing a Jewish skullcap.The offensive piece was drawn by Portuguese artist António Moreira Antunesas and published during the Passover holiday.

<p>Who is John T. Earnest, the suspect sources identify as being responsible for the deadly shooting at a synagogue in Poway, California.</p> <p>This story has been updated and is still developing.</p> <p>Multiple law enforcement sources confirm to NBC News that the suspect in the Poway synagogue shooting is 19-year-old John T. Earnest.</p>

Harrowing reports of a shooter at a synagogue emerged as victims called 911 in Poway, California at roughly 11:30 am local time this morning. San Diego Police quickly responded to the scene where at least four injured were transported to local hospital. ABC10 reports that, "The incident was reported at the Congregation Chabad located at 16934 Chabad Way sometime before 11:30 a.m., the San Diego County Sheriff's Office twitter account reported. "Deputies investigate reports of a man with a gun. Please stay clear of the area and allow deputies to safely do their job. Thank you for your patience and cooperation,"...

Rep. Rashida Tlaib, Michigan Democrat, offered Passover greetings to her “Jewish sisters and brothers” with a graphic that included two fluffy loaves of bread. There’s just one problem: Jewish people don’t eat leavened bread on Passover. The first-term congresswoman’s fans and foes on social media were quick to flag the gaffe after her tweet was posted Friday, the first day of Passover. “Hi! I like you a lot but loaves of bread should not be on a Passover image! May I suggest replacing them with Matzah?” tweeted Ben Yelin. The blooper came after the British Labour Party removed a similar...

138 people have been killed in Sri Lanka, with more that 600 badly injured, in a terrorist attack on churches and hotels. The United States offers heartfelt condolences to the great people of Sri Lanka. We stand ready to help!

Trump impressionist Bob DiBuono gives a Passover message from the White House.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=CqYOnqh_ZZE 5 min video blog by Rabbi Moshe Rothschild

At Passover, Jews sing this song “Dayenu” (“It would have been enough”): "The song is about being grateful to God for all of the gifts He gave the Jewish people, such as taking them out of slavery, giving them the Torah and Shabbat, and had God only given one of the gifts, it would have still been enough. This is to show much greater appreciation for all of them as a whole. The song appears in the haggadah (the Passover text followed during the Seder service/meal), after the telling of the story of the Exodus and just before the explanation...

Dr. David Neiman explores the historicity of the Biblical accounts of Joseph and the Exodus from Egypt. Joseph rises to the position of "Tzafnat Pa'aneakh" after successfully helping the Pharaoh of Egypt with his economic plans. Under Joseph's guidance all land became the property of Pharaoh. A new Pharaoh comes to power who does not favor the Israelites. They are enslaved and forced to build the storage cities of Pithom and Ramses. These cities were arsenals for the armies of Egypt. Under Seti I and Ramses the II, Egypt was on the warpath. Ramses II was defeated at the battle...

Coins dating from the Jewish revolt against the Roman Empire (66 CE-70 CE) were discovered by archeologists during excavations near the southern wall of the Temple Mount on Monday, according to the Israel Nature and Parks Authority. The archeological dig, run by Dr. Eilat Mazar of the Institute of Archaeology of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, uncovered dozens of bronze coins measuring approximately 1.5 cm., as well as numerous fragments of pottery vessels. The vessels, mainly jars and cooking pots, were left behind by Jewish residents who hid in a large cave that measured seven meters by 14 m. The...

VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis, in his Easter address on Sunday, called for peace in the Holy Land two days after 15 Palestinians were killed on the Israeli-Gaza border, saying the conflict there "does not spare the defenseless". The pope made his appeal in his "Urbi et Orbi" (to the city and the world) message from the central balcony of St. Peter's Basilica to tens of thousands of people in the flower-bedecked square below where he earlier celebrated a Mass. He also appealed for an end to the "carnage" in Syria, calling for humanitarian aid to be allowed to enter,...

And he said unto them, Be not amazed: you seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified: he is risen; He is not here: behold the place where they laid him. And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead; and, behold, he goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him: lo, I have told you. - Mark 16:6+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++And Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: He that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die....

By my mother’s reckoning, Lent is over tomorrow at noon, after which we can eat meat, drink, and well, put our Lenten abstentions away for another year. As a family, we observed three hours of silence every Good Friday from noon-3, the traditional time Our Lord and Savior was hung on the Cross. Mom maintained (and enforced) all fasting and abstinence laws from midnight Holy Thursday through Holy Saturday at noon. On Holy Thursday, all Catholic Churches in our town maintained all-night vigils with litanies and novenas. The physically able participated in the traditional Holy Thursday Seven Church Walk, during...

There is breaking news out of Jerusalem that descendants of Moses' brother Aaron, called Kohanim, have just conducted a Passover sacrifice at the foot of the Temple Mount, just yards from where the Jewish Temple once stood. The sacrifice is a groundbreaking moment in modern Israeli history and likely the first time since 68 AD that a Passover sacrifice was conducted in such close proximity to the Temple Mount. Religious Jews have been increasingly eager to build the Third Temple and restart sacrifices, but have been prevented from performing sacrifices in the area in years past by Israeli police...

Religious Jewish factions say they are moving ever closer to the realization of the Third Temple in Jerusalem. The latest evidence of this is police authorization, granted on Sunday, for a Passover sacrificial ceremony to be held just tens of meters from where the Second Temple once stood. Religious groups have been holding public Passover sacrifices, in accordance with the biblical outline, for years. But never before have they been permitted to conduct the ceremony so close to the Temple Mount, which the Muslims claim as their own, even as they deny the holy site holds any religious or historical...