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Israelis to Pray for Rain at the Western Wall

Chief Ashkenazi Rabbi David Lau

Israel’s Chief Ashkenazi Rabbi David Lau has called for day of prayer for rain on this week’s upcoming Fast of Esther (Ta’anit Esther). Lau made the announcement during a meeting with the Chairman of the Agricultural Caucus in the Knesset (parliament), MK Zevulun Kalfa, at which time they discussed the drought and the Shemita agricultural Sabbath. “The Master of the World teaches us that the rain is ‘ours’ because it depends on the Jewish people and their prayers,” said Lau. The prayer rally for rain will be held on March 13 at the Western (Wailing) Wall and will end with Mincha (Afternoon Prayer).

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Parasha Vayikra (And He Called): The Book of Holiness

Leviticus-Torah-scroll

This Shabbat, we begin the study of the Third Book of Moses, which is called Leviticus in English Bibles. The name Leviticus is derived from the Septuagint (Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures). The Hebrew name for Leviticus is Vayikra, from the opening word which means "and He called." In chapter one of Leviticus, God calls to Moses from the Tent of Meeting, giving him the laws of the animal and meal offerings.

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Israeli-Arab Preschoolers to Receive Free Books

Israeli-Arab School

A foundation that distributes free Jewish books to Jewish children in North America and Israel is launching an initiative to provide 45,000 Israeli Arab preschoolers with Arabic children’s books. The goal of the project, called Maktabat al-Fanoos, which is Arabic for Lantern Library, is to instill a love of reading and provide the opportunity for children to enjoy reading together with teachers and parents. Once a month during the school year, 1,750 kindergartens will give Arab-Israeli students four books that they can bring home to read with their parents.

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Jordan’s MPs Vote to Expel Israeli Ambassador

Facing Temple Mount to Pray

Israel has experienced a backlash caused by a Knesset (parliament) debate regarding Israel’s sovereignty at the Temple Mount. In response to the debate, 86 of 150 Jordanian MPs voted to expel Israel’s ambassador to Jordan, Daniel Nevo, and to recall Jordan’s ambassador to Israel. The vote came one day after 47 MPs signed a motion demanding that Jordan’s 1994 peace treaty with Israel be annulled. (Times of Israel)

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Parasha Pekudei (Accounts): The Shekhinah Glory of God Fills the Temple

Kippah-Pray-Western (Wailing) Wall

Parasha Pekudei addresses the mystery of how an unlimited, eternal God who transcends all time and space can possibly take up residence within the limitations of a man-made building. Once Moses and the people finished the work of constructing the Mishkan, the Glory of God filled the tabernacle. Imagine! God chose to place His Shechinah Glory in the finite space of the Mishkan (Sanctuary). The presence of the Lord was so weighty that Moses himself was unable to enter.

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Parasha Vayakhel: The Sabbath and Being Equipped for Service

Hagbah-Kotel-Sukkot

Less than a week earlier, this Israelite community that assembled before Moses had worshiped the Golden Calf. Now Moses instructs them in the ways of Adonai. The first instruction Moses gives the people concerns the Sabbath, which God set apart as a day of holiness, elevating it above the rest of the week. On this day no work was to be done.

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Iran Says It’s “Ready for Decisive Battle” with Israel and US

Iranian Soldier-Rocket-Saluting

Iran seemed to flex all its muscles in preparation for talks this week with world powers on the nation’s rogue nuclear program. Iran’s state TV recently aired a documentary that featured a simulated bombing of Tel Aviv, Haifa, Ben-Gurion Airport, and the Dimona nuclear reactor by Iranian drones in retaliation for an imaginary Israeli (or American) strike on the Islamic Republic. Simulated attacks on American targets in the region, including an aircraft-carrier, were also presented.

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Parasha Ki Tisa (When You Take): The Intercession of the Righteous

Bar Mitzvah-Torah-Kotel

Unlike the freewill offering (terumah) that was used to construct the Tabernacle, the half shekel census tax, which was to be an atonement for the soul, was obligatory and contributed by rich and poor alike. The half shekel tax is considered the ultimate manifestation of equality. It reveals that every soul, regardless of status, is of equal value, equally in danger, and equally in need of ransom. This ransom is perhaps necessary because taking a census was often associated with preparing for war—the spilling of blood. (2 Samuel 24:1–2)

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Rabbis Warn Kerry He Is in Danger of Divine Wrath

A group of nationalist rabbis from the Committee to Save the Land and People of Israel warned US Secretary of State John Kerry that if he continues to force peace negotiations on Israel he will be drawing down upon himself the wrath of God. "Your incessant efforts to expropriate integral parts of our Holy Land and hand them over to Abbas’s terrorist gang, amount to a declaration of war against the Creator and Ruler of the universe. For God awarded the entire Land of Israel to our ancestors, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, in order that they bequeath it, as an everlasting inheritance, to their descendants, the Jewish people, until the end of all time," they wrote last week in an open letter.

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Parasha Tetzaveh (You Command): The Lamp of God

Golden-Menorah

Aaron and his four sons, Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, were initiated into the priesthood in a seven-day ceremony. God commanded the newly installed priests to keep the light of the lamps burning before the Lord in the Tent of Meeting from evening until morning—at all times. The laws concerning the Tabernacle's Menorah were to be a lasting ordinance for generations to come.

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