By Vera Kessler
Rebbetzin Nechama Dina Laber is the co-director of the Jewish Greenbush Retreat Campus, and also of the Chabad of Greenbush and Southern Rensselaer County.
By JNi.Media
The growth rate would have been even higher were it not for the construction freeze in Judea and Samaria.
By JNi.Media
Israel's economic growth is expected to hit 3.8% for 2016. Job creation is strong, at almost 3 percent in 2016 ( the US economy expanded at around 1.4% in 2016).
Rabbi Draiman is no stranger to personal accomplishment and extensive study.
By gradually increasing the workload, the body is called upon to respond. The work should never be easy.
What shall we be free of this Pesach? It is the holiday of Freedom, isn’t it?
They live in a world apart from the rest of observant Jewry.
Straight from the Jerusalem Boardroom #171
Israel’s gross domestic product is expected to grow at a much higher annual rate than the United States for the next 48 years, according to a report by the OECD.
We salute President Obama on his solid reelection victory. Though we were highly critical of his performance these past four years in a variety of areas, we hope he succeeds in his second term, as his success is America’s success.
I often share with my clients a simple yet powerful analogy: think about your relationship as you do about your bank account. That’s because investing in your relationship is similar to saving money; the more you put into your bank account or relationship, the more you can take out when necessary.
Israel’s credit rating has been reaffirmed at A+ by “Standard and Poor,” at a time when S&P lowers the credit rating of an increasing number of Western countries. While exports to Europe dropped due to the global meltdown, Israeli exports to the U.S. surged.
“When I proclaim the name of Hashem, give greatness to our G-d (32:3). When we hear a berachah, it is proper to exclaim "Baruch Hu u’Baruch Shemo" (“He is blessed and His name is blessed”) when Hashem's name is pronounced. But much more is intended. The mention of that most important word (in any language) should evoke the greatest reverence and love and devotion. How much should we exert ourselves in this function?
We live in an age of conveniences – and dangers. Our affluence presents dangers to our quest for spiritual perfection, which the Torah cautions against and which Rabbi Avigdor Miller elaborates on in Parshas Vayelech.
By J. E. Dyer
There has been a tremendous growth in vague, elliptical, and/or tendentious narration of what’s going on in the nation and the world. The people can be pardoned for being tired and confused.
Israel’s economic growth during the 2nd quarter of 2012 was 3.2%, surpassing the 2.5% expectation, compared with a 2.8% growth during the 1st quarter. Growth per capita increased 1.4%, reaching almost $30,000. Exports of goods and services –40% of Israel’s economic activity - surged 10%, following a decline during the previous three quarters.
Cheating on a spouse is a terrible betrayal. Yes, sadly, it is quite common, but that doesn’t erase the devastation and pain it causes. The discovery of cheating almost always comes on the heels of extreme lying. The big question always is, how can the one cheated on ever trust again? It is logical and practical to think that once a spouse has cheated, there is no reason to assume it would not occur time and again.
The Report of the World Bank is a bitter commentary on the Palestinian economy, currently in a self-inflicted decline induced by the violence it brought on itself by launching the Second Intifada in 2000. Above all, the fundamental requisite for economic and political progress is to end the violence.
There are thousands to choose from… which mutual fund is right for you?
There’s no such thing as a perfect investment.
In the aftermath of the episode of Zimri and the Midianite women, Hashem struck down 24,000 Jews. Yet immediately afterward, Hashem reaffirmed his tremendous love for Israel. Rabbi Avigdor Miller, zt”l, explains that this is in character with Hashem's quality of chastising severely the nation he loves so dearly.
By Alan Magill
You don’t become a ba’al teshuvah overnight. There were many events in my life that contributed to the deepening of my religious commitment, including a party I attended with young, beautiful church members who tried to make me one of them, and how I met their “Jewish priest.” (I’ll discuss both experiences during the course of this continuing column.)
Each detail in the Torah is laden with meaning. Surely the service vessels of the Temple had great importance and consequence over and above their routine service. In the description of the menorah that stood in chamber outside the Holy of Holies, Rabbi Avigdor Miller, zt”l, found layer upon layer of meaning.
Parshas Naso is notable for its length, and its length is notable for its redundancy. The Torah minces no words, and therefore we understand that the repetition in the description of the Mishkan's inaugural service is purposeful and laden with meaning. Rabbi Avigdor Miller, zt”l, explains that this is a reflection on the importance and centrality of the Mishkan.
The Generation of the Wilderness was unique in the history of Israel, as Rabbi Avigdor Miller, zt”l, explains concerning the first verse of Bamidbar. Israel was slated for a special mission in the world, and this mission was begun with a special forty-year inauguration in which Israel gained an intense and unmatched closeness to Hashem.
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) raised its 2012 economic growth estimate for Israel to 3.2 percent, up from its November estimate of 2.9 percent.
The Moody's credit rating agency lowered its outlook for the credit rating of Israel's banking system from stable to "negative," due to the economic challenges it faces in the next 12 to 18 months. However, the agency did not lower the ratings of the banks themselves, and only two weeks ago has ratified the Israeli […]
Although the tzoraas affliction is no more in contemporary times, it teaches lessons that are eternal. Rabbi Avigdor Miller, zt”l, explains that foremost among these lessons is the greatness of Torah leaders and their wisdom. Another lesson: The opportunity the affliction presented to the afflicted for repentance and seld-improvement.
The miraculous splitting of the Sea of Reeds was one of the pinnacles of Israel’s closeness to Hashem. It raises a question, though: Why? Hashem typically hides His presence somewhat, conducting the world in a discrete way and never revealing His presence so openly. As Rabbi Avigdor Miller, zt”l, explains, this spectacle on the Sea of Reeds was performed with two great purposes in mind.
The evil inclination likes to tempt us to indulge in material delights. It is important to know that these delights may have another purpose, too: kedushah (holiness).
By Rafi Harkham
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: "The Israeli economy grew more than most Western economies, almost 2.5 times the OECD average...In contrast to the collapsing economies around us, Israel's credit rating was upgraded last year."
Despite the intense suffering of slavery in Egypt, it was there that Israel became a nation – not just in the spiritual sense, but in the physical sense: it was there that our numbers swelled. This is to the credit of the Jewish women, who despite their oppression at the hands of Egypt relentlessly encouraged the growth of Israel. This provides a glimpse of the greatness of the Jewish women of that generation. Likewise in our times, it is the Jewish woman’s selfless devotion to service of Hashem that builds and sustains Israel.
By Rafi Harkham
The Israel Export Research Institute reported that from October 2011 to January 2012, the US share of Israeli exports had drastically declined as compared to the same period the year before. In contrast, Israel's exports to the Asian market have seen healthy growth, with an increase of 9% over the same period, totaling $3.1 billion.
The wardrobe Hashem designed for those who served in his Mishkan served not only to distinguish them but also to impress upon them the importance and significance of the service for which Hashem had selected them. Clothing itself is a form of serving Hashem.
Israel is the most likely country in the developed world to provide riskless returns on investments, according to a report in Bloomberg Businessweek.
The IDF website reports a decline in the number of army recruits this year, pinning the lowest recruitment rate in eight years on slower immigration and a low birth rates in 1994, when the 2012 generation was born. This year manpower shortage in the IDF will reach a peak, after a steady decline of 7.5 […]
“And men of holiness you shall be to me, and you shall not eat meat in the field of a torn carcass (22:30). The expression “to Me” means “men of holiness that are Mine.” By being holy, they become close to Hashem.
By dvora
Readers weigh in on “A Well-Meaning Outsider” (Chronicles 01-06-2012)
“And Hashem turned back the sea by a strong east-wind all the night” (14:21). The wind was entirely unnecessary, for it was naturally unable to split the sea open and create a pathway, as the verse concludes "And it made the sea into dry land and the waters were split apart." This was entirely a […]
After three-plus years of economic challenge and uncertainty, we remain anxious for positive news, the kind that will finally let us believe the worst is fully behind us. Unfortunately, the outlook for the 2012 global economy remains uninspiring: recession in Europe, anemic growth in the U.S. and a sharp slowdown in China and other emerging-market economies all weigh on economist forecasts.
“For I have made heavy his heart and the heart of his servants in order that I should put these signs of mine in his midst and in order that you should relate in the ears of your son and your son’s son how I dealt with Egypt, and you should know that I am Hashem” (10:1-2).
“And Amram took Yocheved.... And she bore to him Aharon and Moshe” (6:20). The names that were given in Egypt were not repetitions of previous names but were original expressions of genuine devotion to Hashem.
