During this procedure, part of the Talis must be on the back. If the entire Talis is draped over the neck like a shawl, the obligation has not been satisfied. (See Be’er Heitev Siman 8:3 quoting the Mogen Avraham. Unfortunately, I often observe people not being careful with this. Additionally,in certain communities the Talesim are small and worn as shawls around the neck only throughout the davening. This is not proper.)

2) The four strings of Tzitzis should then be taken and thrown over his left shoulder and remain that way for the amount of time it takes to walk four Amos (approximately 8 feet) (Mishna Berura ibid.)

The primary reason for the Tzitzis being placed on the left shoulder is Al Pi Kabala, and thus even left handed men should follow the above procedure. (See Shu”t Be’er Moshe Vol. 2 Siman 3:3)

Another reason given for this is that Tzitzis serves to combat the Yetzer Hara as it says in the Parsha of Tzitzis (Bamidbar 15:39) “V’Lo Sasuru Acharei Levavchem, you shall not err after your heart” and thus the Tzitzis are flung over the shoulder on the side of the heart. According to this reason as well, left handed men follow the same procedure. (See Shu”t Radvaz Vol. 3 Siman 571. See also Ben Ish Chai Parshas Bereishis 5, Kitzur Shnei Luchos HaBris (Shla HaKadosh) Hilchos Tzitzis and Sefer HaChinuch Mitzvah 386. See also Talmud Menachos 44a and Avoda Zara 17a)

After waiting the proper amount of time, the Tzitzis should be placed in their appropriate place (two in the front on the right and left side and two in the back on the right and left side) (Mishna Berura ibid.)

http://halachafortoday.com/todayshalachos.aspx

The Magic Trackpad costs 69 dollars in the online Apple Store.

The battery-powered device, which looks a bit like a notepad made out of glass and aluminium, connects to Apple’s Mac desktop computers using Bluetooth wireless technology.

It allows users to operate their machines using the tapping, swiping and pinching finger gestures well known to owners of iPhones or iPads.

Apple said it works from as far as 33 feet (10 meters) away from the computer.

The touchpad technology has already featured in Apple’s MacBook Pro notebook computers.

infolive.tv

After being paralyzed for the past 20 years, Radi Kaiof began to walk down a street in Israel to the sound of a dim mechanical hum.

That was the sound of an electronic exoskeleton, developed by a small Israeli high-tech company, propelling the 41 year old paraplegic down the street with a proud expression on his face.

The device, called ReWalk, is the brain child of engineer Amit Goffer, founder of Argo Medical Technologies.

While ReWalk helps paraplegics, people paralyzed below the waist, to walk, stand and climb stairs, for Goffer, the device has a much more important impact on the user.

Goffer himself was paralyzed in an accident in 1997, but he cannot use his own invention because he does not have full function of his arms.

The product, slated for commercial sales in 2010, is not cheap. The company said it will cost as much as the more sophisticated wheelchairs on the market, which sell for about 20,000 U.S. dollars.

The system consists of motorized leg supports, body sensors and a backpack containing a computerized control box and rechargeable batteries. The user picks a setting with a remote control wrist band – stand, sit, walk, descend or climb – and then leans forward, activating the body sensors and setting the robotic legs in motion.

The ReWalk is now in clinical trials in Tel Aviv’s Sheba Medical Centre and will soon be used in trials at the Moss Rehabilitation Research Institute in Pennsylvania. Goffer says his aim is not only to ease the lives of those strapped to wheelchairs but also to allow them to lead a ‘normal’ life.

Yet for Radi Kaiof, who has not risen from his wheelchair for the past 20 years, the effects of ReWalk are not just normal, they are life-changing.

The gel, which is being developed by scientists in France, works by prompting cells in teeth to start multiplying. They then form healthy new tooth tissue that gradually replaces what has been lost to decay.

Researchers say in lab studies it took just four weeks to restore teeth back to their original healthy state. The gel contains melanocyte-stimulating hormone, or MSH.

We produce this in the pituitary gland, a pea-sized gland just behind the bridge of the nose.

MSH is already known to play an important part in determining skin colour – the more you have, the darker your flesh tone.

But recent studies suggest MSH may also play a crucial role in stimulating bone regeneration.

As bone and teeth are very similar in their structure, a team of scientists at the National Institute for Health and Medical Research in Paris tested if the hormone could stimulate tooth growth.

Their findings, published in the American Chemical Society journal ACS Nano, could signal hurtnot just an end to fillings, but the dreaded dentist drill as well. Tooth decay is a major public health problem in Britain. Around £45m a year is spent treating decayed teeth and by the age of 15, teenagers have had an average of 2.5 teeth filled or removed.

Decay is caused by bacteria, called streptococcus mutans, that live in the mouth and feed on sugar in the diet. Once the bacteria stick to the enamel, they trigger a process called demineralisation – they turn sugar in the diet into a harmful acid that starts to create holes in the teeth.

For decades, the main treatment for cavities has been to ‘drill and fill’. However, an estimated one in five Britons suffers from dental phobia, a fear of dentists which means some would rather endure pain and suffering than face the prospect of having their teeth drilled.

The new treatment is painless. And although fillings halt decay, they can come loose and sometimes need refilling.

Experts believe new tooth cells would be stronger and a permanent solution.

The French team mixed MSH with a chemical called poly-L-glutamic acid. This is a substance often used to transport drugs inside the body because it can survive the harsh environments, such as the stomach, that might destroy medicines before they get a chance to work.

The mixture was then turned into a gel and rubbed on to cells, called dental pulp fibroblasts, taken from extracted human teeth. These cells are the kind that help new tooth tissue to grow.

But until now there has been no way of ’switching’ them back on once they have been destroyed by dental decay. The researchers found the gel triggered the growth of new cells and also helped with adhesion – the process by which new dental cells ‘lock’ together.

This is important because it produces strong tooth pulp and enamel which could make the decayed tooth as good as new.

In a separate experiment, the French scientists applied the gel to the teeth of mice with dental cavities. In just one month, the cavities had disappeared. The gel is still undergoing testing but could be available for use within three to five years.

Professor Damien Walmsley, the British Dental Association’s scientific adviser, said the gel could be an interesting new development, but stressed it is unlikely to be able to repair teeth that have been extensively damaged by decay.

‘There are a lot of exciting developments in this field, of which this is one,’ he said. ‘It looks promising, but we will have to wait for the results to come back from clinical trials and its use will be restricted to treating small areas of dental decay.’

Scientists have developed a ‘tongue’ gel as part of a new approach to tackling bad breath and preventing tooth decay.

Halitosis is usually caused by bacteria in the mouth. The latest treatment, developed by Meridol, takes a mechanical and chemical approach. It consists of a tongue scraper, gel and mouth wash.

The extra-flat tongue cleaner is used to scrape bacteria off the tongue. The tongue gel and mouthwash are anti-bacterial and contain chemicals that attach themselves to odour-producing compounds, which are then flushed out with the mouthwash. Both gel and mouthwash contain fluoride

Daily Mail

According to some Poskim, this applies to all washings of Netilas Yadayim throughout the day, and not just to Negel Vasser. (See Shu”t Be’er Moshe Vol. 2 Siman 3:3)

2) A left handed person follows the above mentioned order as well and washes the right hand first, as the primary reason the right hand is washed first is Al Pi Kabala, as we want the Ko’ach of the right hand (Chesed) to overpower the Ko’ach of the left hand (Din).(See Mishna Berura Siman 4:22 and Kaf HaChaim Siman 4:35)

http://halachafortoday.com/todayshalachos.aspx

The New York man had apparently been left inside the van from about noon until 4 p.m. Saturday when a nurse seeking to dispense his medication couldn’t find him, police said.

“The nurse and other personnel initiated a search of all the local buildings with room to room searches until a supervisor started checking the vehicles and found the client deceased in the back of the van that he had been transported to Sesame Place in,” police said in a press release.

“No names are being released at this time due to the sensitive nature of the ongoing investigation and in deference to the family of the deceased.”

Woods Services is a residential facility for people with exceptional needs. Middletown Township Police responded as well as Penndel Middletown Emergency Squad, which confirmed that the client was deceased.

An investigation is under way to determine if there is any criminal liability involved, police said.

The deceased had made the trip to Sesame Place in the morning along with three other clients, accompanied by two residential counselors each being responsible for two clients.

Police said they returned to Woods at about noon or shortly after.

“The one counselor was dropped off with the two clients he was responsible for and the other two remained with the driver who drove several buildings over to where the other clients belonged,” police said.

“The driver of the van returned the van to where it is usually parked and later dropped off the keys,” police reported. “The driver completed her shift at 3 p.m. and left the premises. Later at 4 p.m., a nurse was looking for the victim to dispense some medications to him when he was told by the residential counselor that would have been in charge of the victim after the 3 p.m. shift indicated that the client had not yet returned from his trip.”

That’s when the young man was found dead.

http://www.trentonian.com/articles/2010/07/26/news/doc4c4e4c1804a4b753062485.txt

“I started to have problems with heartburn when I was about 16 years old,” Eduardo Bustillo said.

It was a family condition that got worse over time for Bustillo.

“I was unable to sleep, waking up in the middle of the night, taking antacids all the time,” Bustillo said.

General surgeon Dr. Jorge Sosa performs a simple procedure to help eliminate heartburn, also called gastroesophageal reflux disease or GERD.

“The acid continuously comes up and burns the esophagus. What we do is using the stomach we make a new valve around the esophagus. It’s called a fundiplication. We put stitches and that now acts like a new valve,” Dr. Sosa said.

Certain foods can worsen heartburn, including citrus fruits, tomatoes and caffeine. But for some people eating virtually anything can trigger their symptoms.

Weight loss and medications can help the condition for many, but for those who just can’t get relief, this minimally invasive procedure can make the difference.

“Heartburn interferes with your daily life. You can’t socialize. You can’t have even an occasional drink. You cant sleep next to your spouse because you have to sleep in a couch sitting up,” Dr. Sosa said.

Bustillo had the surgery six months ago and can’t believe how his life has changed.

“I’m able to eat everything and the most important thing that I have noticed is that I’m able to sleep the whole night without waking up,” Bustillo said.

Most patients who have the procedure are back home the next day and back at work within a week. Some insurance companies cover the procedure, and many doctors feel it may save money in the long run.

Most notably, the FCC has made the controversial practice of “jailbreaking” your iPhone — or any other cell phone — legal.

Jailbreaking — the practice of unlocking a phone (and particularly an iPhone) so it can be used on another network and/or run other applications than those approved by Apple — has technically been illegal for years. However, no one has been sued or prosecuted for the practice. (Apple does seriously frown on the practice, and jailbreaking your phone will still void your warranty.) It’s estimated that more than a million iPhone owners have jailbroken their handsets.

Apple fought hard against the legalization, arguing that jailbreaking was a form of copyright violation. The FCC disagreed, saying that jailbreaking merely enhanced the inter-operability of the phone, and was thus legitimate under fair-use rules.

The upshot is that now anyone can jailbreak or otherwise unlock any cell phone without fear of legal penalties, whether you want to install unsupported applications or switch to another cellular carrier. Cell phone companies are of course still free to make it difficult for you to do this — and your warranty will probably still be voided if you do — but at least you won’t be fined or imprisoned if you jailbreak a handset.

In addition to the jailbreaking exemption, the FCC announced a few oth er rules that have less sweeping applicability but are still significant:

• Professors, students and documentary filmmakers are now allowed, for “noncommercial” purposes, to break the copy protection measures on DVDs to be used in classroom or other not-for-profit environments. This doesn’t quite go so far as to grant you and me the right to copy a DVD so we can watch it in two rooms of the house, but it’s now only one step away.

• As was the topic in the GE ruling I wrote about, the FCC allows computer owners to bypass dongles if they are no longer in operation and can’t be replaced. Dongles are rarities in consumer technology products now, but industrial users are probably thrilled about this, as many go missing and are now impossible to obtain.

• Finally, people are now free to circumvent protection measures on video games — but, strangely, only to investigate and correct security flaws in those games. (Another oddity: Other computer software is not part of this ruling, just video games.)

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ytech_wguy/20100726/tc_ytech_wguy/ytech_wguy_tc3236_2

His message for the fall elections, which are looking ominous for his Democrats, is that Republicans caused the nation’s economic troubles, but he and the Democrats are starting to fix them.

It’s a tough sell to voters who’ve seen little progress.

Unemployment is stuck near double digits and polls show many voters have decided Obama’s policies are to blame.

Obama’s challenge for the next four months is to turn that perception around.

So he’s traveled, from Buffalo, N.Y., to San Francisco, reminding voters of the mess he faced when he took office.

Now, he says the economy is gradually picking up and adding jobs and the president says putting Republicans in power would reverse the momentum.

The format that’s used now provides about 4 billion IP addresses — the unique 32-digit numbers used to identify each computer, Web site or other connected device. Only 232 million IP addresses are left — enough for about 340 days, the Sydney Morning Herald reports today.

The solution is IPv6, which uses a 128-digit address, but that would require every device that connects to the Internet to be reconfigured or upgraded.

“When the IPv4 protocol was developed 30 years ago, it seemed to be a reasonable attempt at providing enough addresses, bearing in mind that at that point personal computers didn’t really exist. The idea that mobile phones might want an IP address hadn’t occurred to anybody because mobile phones hadn’t been invented [and] the idea that air conditioners and refrigerators might want them was utterly ludicrous,” said John Lindsay, carrier relations manager at internet service provider (ISP) Internode.

Internet experts derived a solution to the problem several years ago, which involves moving to a new protocol, IPv6, that provides trillions of addresses for every person on the planet. But most of the internet industry – including ISPs and websites – have been reluctant to make the necessary investments to move to IPv6.

The issue has been compared to Sydney running out of phone numbers when using a seven-digit system, which was solved by adding a 9 to the front of all numbers. But with the internet the solution is much more complex than that, as all devices that connect to the net will need to be reconfigured or upgraded.

Geoff Huston, chief scientist at APNIC, which allocates IP addresses for the Asia-Pacific region, has been trying to raise awareness of the problem for 10 years.

He says the rise of smartphones, PCs and internet-connected appliances means the address pool will run dry within a year, decades quicker than even he predicted.

Huston said one of the biggest impediments to solving the problem was the sheer scale – all devices on IPv4 will need to be upgraded to support IPv6, as the two versions aren’t backwards compatible. Consumers will need to upgrade the software on their computers and networking equipment and, in some cases, buy completely new hardware.

“This is almost like a lot of the other challenges we face in society like climate change … if everyone does something, the right thing will happen, but if one individual does the right thing, it doesn’t make a difference,” said Huston.

“Your ISP needs to do a lot of work, and if you’re not willing to pay more money to your ISP, your poor old ISP has got to spend [extra] money without [extra] income.”

Huston said that, once the available internet addresses ran out, a kind of black market for IP addresses would be created where “those services that have the highest capacity to pay will still be able to get more addresses, but those who can’t get denied”.

Upfront costs of moving to the new protocol will be high but Huston said delays would push costs even higher.

As a stop-gap measure, Huston said ISPs would begin forcing multiple customers and devices to share single internet addresses, which would lead to common web applications ceasing to work. Huston pointed to web applications such as Gmail, Google Maps and iTunes as examples of those that would break.

“Over the years unless we embark on IPv6 then the internet will get slowly more and more strangled and applications will work in stranger ways,” Huston said.

James Spenceley, chief executive at wholesale ISP Vocus, gave another example of an application that might cease to work under a shared IP address system: internet telephony.

“A VoIP phone needs to have a certain port number, so across 20 customers only one of them will work,” he said.

“An internet service that resembles the service today might become a premium service, where you do have a unique IP address, [but] you might pay more.”

Fortunately, some vendors have taken steps to support the move to IPv6. The Windows and Mac operating systems both support the new protocol, as do some smartphones such as the iPhone. Australian ISP Internode is the first to offer IPv6 as a commercial service.

Providers of popular web services such as Google and Facebook are also making good progress in adopting IPv6.

Google’s chief internet evangelist and one of the founding fathers of the internet, Vint Cerf, appeared in an online video in June urging ISPs to do more to transition to IPv6.

“Moving from IPv4 to IPv6 is a little like changing the roads and tyres while continuing to drive along in your car,” said Lindsay from Internode.

“It’s been expensive, it’s been time-consuming and it doesn’t produce an immediate return on investment so it’s the kind of thing that isn’t popular with CFOs. However, it’s laying an important foundation for what happens over the next few years as it becomes increasingly difficult to obtain IPv4 addresses.”

Sydney Morning Herald

“These things have been regurgitated from time to time by the media or by low-level officials without any endorsement by the U.S. government,” Farhatullah Babar, the spokesman for Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari, said in a phone interview from Islamabad. “There is nothing much in this.”

The “irresponsible” release of the documents by the website Wikileaks could endanger lives and U.S. security, National Security Adviser James Jones said. The documents date from 2004 through 2009.

A theme in the reports is allegations that Pakistan’s main intelligence agency is secretly aiding the Taliban and allied Islamic militant rebels whom the U.S. is trying to defeat, reported the New York Times, the London-based Guardian and the German magazine Der Spiegel, which say Wikileaks gave them weeks of access to the documents. The group opposes U.S. policy in Afghanistan, according to a White House statement.

U.S. Condemnation

“The United States strongly condemns the disclosure of classified information by individuals and organizations which could put the lives of Americans and our partners at risk, and threaten our national security,” Jones said in a White House statement. Wikileaks “made no effort to contact” the administration about the documents, he said.

Jones said the documents cover the period leading up to President Barack Obama’s change of direction in the war in Afghanistan, which was begun by former President George W. Bush’s administration after the Sept. 11 attacks by al-Qaeda.

“On December 1, 2009, President Obama announced a new strategy with a substantial increase in resources for Afghanistan, and increased focus on al-Qaeda and Taliban safe havens in Pakistan, precisely because of the grave situation that had developed over several years,” Jones said.

U.K. Foreign Secretary William Hague, speaking to reporters at a meeting of European Union foreign ministers in Brussels, said the leaks were largely irrelevant and wouldn’t alter U.K. war policy.

“We’re not going to spend our time looking at leaks,” Hague said. “We are going to carry on with the internationally agreed strategy. They should not be damaging to the international effort.”

Aiding the Taliban

The Times said the reports suggest that members of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate had met with members of the Taliban to organize militias to fight against U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan and plot assassinations of Afghan leaders. Babar said the Guardian reported no “smoking gun” to prove covert Pakistani aid to the Taliban, which has been alleged for years by retired U.S. officials who have worked on Afghanistan, and by independent scholars.

The documents buttress years of contention by Afghan President Hamid Karzai that the anti-Taliban fight is being hampered “by the cases of civilian casualties and by the role that ISI has played in destabilizing activities within Afghanistan,” Karzai’s spokesman, Waheed Omar, told reporters in a press conference today, referring to Pakistan’s spy agency.

“Most of this is what we always have raised with our international partners, and this will now help to raise more awareness,” Omar said.

Kerry’s Comment

“However illegally these documents came to light, they raise serious questions about the reality of America’s policy toward Pakistan and Afghanistan,” Senator John Kerry, a Massachusetts Democrat who chairs the Foreign Relations Committee, said in a statement. “Those policies are at a critical stage and these documents may very well underscore the stakes and make the calibrations needed to get the policy right more urgent.”

Pakistan’s ambassador to the U.S., Husain Haqqani, called the leak of the documents “irresponsible” and said they reflected “nothing more than single-source comments and rumors.” The Pakistani government is “following a clearly laid-out strategy of fighting and marginalizing terrorists,” as a strategic partner of the U.S., Haqqani said in an e-mail.

The leak got little coverage today from Pakistan’s TV news channels and newspapers. The English-language daily, Dawn, published only Haqqani’s dismissal of the leak.

Heat-Seeking Missiles

The documents show that Taliban insurgents have used portable heat-seeking missiles against allied aircraft, something that hadn’t been disclosed by the military, the Times said. The reports also provide information about secret commando units seeking to capture or kill top insurgent leaders, and the use of CIA paramilitary operations inside Afghanistan, the newspaper said.

The reports suggest that the Taliban’s use of heat-seeking missiles “has been neither common nor especially effective; usually the missiles missed,” the Times said.

The Times called the documents an “incomplete record” of the war. While the Times said the documents don’t contradict official accounts of the war, the newspaper also said at that times the U.S. military had made misleading public statements.

As examples, the Times cited attribution of the downing of a helicopter to conventional weapons instead of heat-seeking missiles and giving Afghans credit for missions carried out by special operations commandos.

Civilian Deaths

The Guardian said the documents show that allied troops have killed hundreds of civilians in unreported incidents. In addition, it said, “Taliban attacks have soared and NATO commanders fear neighboring Pakistan and Iran are fuelling the insurgency,” referring to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

Der Spiegel said all three publications vetted the documents, compared them with independent reports and concluded they were authentic. The reports were mostly written by sergeants, Der Spiegel said.

“Nearly nine years after the start of the war, they paint a gloomy picture,” Der Spiegel said. “They portray Afghan security forces as the hapless victims of Taliban attacks. They also offer a conflicting impression of the deployment of drones, noting that America’s miracle weapons are also entirely vulnerable.”

Staying the Course

Jones said the disclosure wouldn’t alter the White House course in the almost 10-year war.

“These irresponsible leaks will not impact our ongoing commitment to deepen our partnerships with Afghanistan and Pakistan; to defeat our common enemies; and to support the aspirations of the Afghan and Pakistani people,” Jones said.

The Times said it took “care not to publish information that would harm national security interests.” The newspaper said it withheld “names of operatives in the field and informants cited in the reports” and “avoided anything that might compromise American or allied intelligence-gathering methods.”

The newspaper described Wikileaks as “an organization devoted to exposing secrets of all kinds” and said the group provided the publications with the documents “several weeks ago” on condition that nothing be published until July 25.

Wikileaks is an organization of Internet network volunteers in more than a dozen countries who obtained and conducted an assessment of the documents, the Washington Post reported.

Wikileaks Statement

Julian Assange, founder of Wikileaks, said at a press conference in London the documents “don’t include top-secret papers” or most reports from U.S. special forces, the CIA or reports by coalition partners.

“We have tried hard to make sure this material doesn’t put innocents at harm,” he said. “All the documents are at least seven months old and “of no operational consequence.”

Assange said it’s “too early to say” whether the disclosure will influence the course of the war or help or hinder a drawdown of troops.

“It’s clear it will shape an understanding of what the past six years of war has been like, and the course of the war has to change. The manner in which it needs to change is not yet clear,” he said.

That means that the 15th of Av and Yom Kippur are equally joyous occasions.

On Yom Kippur we are forgiven and we feel a renewed closeness with Hashem, and that is a cause for great celebration. It is the day on which Bnei Yisroel (the children of Israel) was given the second Luchos (Tablets), upon which was engraved the Ten Commandments, (after Moshe broke the first ones on seeing the Eigel Hazahav [Golden Calf]) indicating Divine forgiveness for that sin.

Thus, on Yom Kippur we turn over a new leaf in our relation with G-d and man. Such a day is a day of joy both for the community and for the individual.

But what is so special about the 15th of Av?

The 15th of Av is equally a time of historic atonement and celebration.

What are we celebrating?

The Gemara (Ta’anis 30b – 31a) explains the six historical events that give the 15th of Av its unique character. Five of them commemorate joyous events during Biblical times that express unity among different factions of the Jewish people, and the sixth an annual joyous event in the Beis Hamikdash. The 15th of Av was a festive day, in the era of the Beis Hamikdash, when grand celebrations took place. Today, too, the 15th of Av is celebrated as a festive day.

1. The first reason is given by Rav Yehuda in the name of Shmuel.

It was the Day on which the Shvatim (Tribes) were allowed to intermarry with each other (after the decision affecting the Bnot [Daughters of] Tzelafchad). (Bamidbar/Numbers 27:1-11, 36:8-9)

When the decision was announced regarding the Daughters of Tzelafchad; namely, that they would be entitled to a share in order to preserve their father’s name, thus giving them a share in “Eretz Yisroel,” it was qualified by the requirement that they must marry within their Shevet (Tribe). The Torah tells us in Bamidbar 36:8-9 that “any unmarried woman who inherits property…shall marry one from a family of the tribe of her father’s, so that…an inheritance will not pass from one tribe to another.” If a woman was an heiress, she could only marry someone from within her Shevet. This restriction prevented the transfer of the inheritance a woman received from her father to her husband’s Shevet permanently upon her death.

On the 15th of Av, this requirement was lifted. The Sages arrived at the conclusion, based on an understanding of a verse, that this restriction only applied to the generation that entered the land of Eretz Yisroel with Yehoshua (Joshua). The lifting of this restriction was a cause of great joy, especially among women. Now, all women were free to marry any man from any Shevet. Because of the joy that was experienced at that time, this date, the anniversary of that lifting of the restriction, is also a day of great joy.

2. The second reason is that of R’ Yosef in the name of Rav Nachman.
(In Baba Batra – Rabba bar bar Chana in the name of Rav Yochanan).

In the times of the Shoftim – (Judges, 19-21), under the rule of Otniel, a terrible civil war broke out between Shevet Binyamin and the rest of the nation, after the outrage of “Pilegesh B’Givah,” the Concubine at Givah (approx. 2573-1188 BCE.). Shevet Binyamin was decimated and the other Shvatim had decreed that no woman from another Shevet would be allowed to marry a man from Binyamin. This ban would have resulted in the eventual elimination of an entire Shevet of the Jewish people. Some time later, on the 15th of Av, a decision was made to only apply this injunction to the generation that had actually participated in the conflict. In the spirit of unimpeded unity, girls from other Shvatim could again marry men from Binyamin, guaranteeing the survival of the Shevet of Binyamin.

This was a cause for great happiness.

3. The third reason the Talmud offers is given by Rabba bar bar Chana in the name of Rav Yochanan.
(In Baba Batra – Rav Dimi bar Yosef in the name of Rav Nachman).

During the 40-year trek in the desert, all males, above 20, the generation of the Exodus from Egypt, died out for the sin of the “Meraglim,” the Spies who slandered Eretz Yisroel. Their death was in punishment for weeping on the night of the 9th of Av after hearing the Spies’ report about the Holy Land.

Every Tisha B’Av, for 38 years, 15,000 men, (of the total 600,000 who left Mitzrayim [Egypt]) would die. All the male Jews who had been under the decree (twenty years or over at the time of the Sin) had dug their graves, and slept in them on the night of Tisha B’Av. The following morning, each year, fifteen thousand would not rise from those graves. On the last Tisha B’Av in the year 2488, the remaining 15,000 dug their graves, but in the morning they all rose – none had died!

First they thought that they must have made a mistake in the calendar, so they continued to dig their graves every night until the 15th of Av. On the 15th, when they saw the full moon they knew they hadn’t made an error, and rejoiced, realizing that Hashem’s anger had ceased and had rescinded the decree for the remaining 15,000!

Furthermore, the Talmud tells us that as long as those destined to die were still alive, the Divine Communication between Hashem and Moshe was on a lower and less personal level, to the extent that the Talmud considers it “no Divine Communication (at all).” Once the 15th of Av passed and it was confirmed that the decree was rescinded, Hashem resumed speaking to Moshe as he had before the enactment of the decree. As this communication was for the benefit of Israel, the day it returned was a day of rejoicing and celebration.

On that day, Klal Yisroel joyously celebrated its renewed lease on life and a day of forgiveness and celebration was proclaimed giving perpetual gratitude to Hashem for the gift of life that He grants, whether through blatantly miraculous means or in a “routine” fashion.

4. The fourth reason the Talmud mentions is that of Ula.

Following the death of Shlomo Hamelech (King Solomon), the nation was divided. The first king of the secessionist Kingdom of Israel, [as opposed to the kingdom of Judah], was led by the evil Yeravam ben Nevat. Three years after taking the throne, he erected two golden calves in the North and South of Israel, and prohibited the Jewish people from being “Oleh L’Regel” (going to visit the Beis Hamikdash) on Pesach, Shavuot or Sukkot. Checkpoints, sentries and other forms of restraint were placed on the road leading to Yerushalayim and the Beis Hamikdash. This was done to discourage the Jews from going to the Beis Hamikdash on the holidays, and encourage them to serve the golden calves.

On the 15th of Av, around 3187-574 BCE, the King Hoshea ben Elah, (the last King of the Kingdom of Israel, approximately the 18th after Yeravam), removed these sentries and roadblocks, lifting the decree, allowing all the Jews once again to go to the Beis Hamikdash and serve Hashem.

Tu B’Av thus became a day when Jews of all backgrounds would come together and demonstrate a full-fledged sense of achdut, (unity) uniting all of Klal Yisroel – a cause for real celebration.

5. The fifth reason is that offered by Rav Masna.

One of the five calamities commemorated on Tisha B’Av is the capture by the Romans in 135 BCE, of the great fortress city of Beitar, the last stronghold of the leaders of the Bar Kochba revolt, during the time of Rabbi Akiva. This occurred 52 years after the destruction of the 2nd Beis Hamikdash.

Bar Kochba led an uprising against the Romans. He was so successful that some considered him to be the Moshiach. His rebellion ended on Tisha B’Av after a 3-year siege against Beitar, and he and 580,000 Jews were brutally liquidated.

To disgrace and demoralize the people, the “fallen of Beitar” were not permitted by the Roman authorities to be buried. Instead, the corpses were stacked as a human fence around the vineyards of the governor, Adrianus, (approx. 12 mile perimeter). For almost 11 years (others say 15), throughout the entire reign of the Emperor Hadrian, and until his death, the bodies, although they all lay exposed, miraculously remained intact without decomposing.

Rabban Gamliel and his court in Yavneh fasted and prayed for many days, and Rabban Gamliel depleted his considerable inheritance to bribe the Roman despots, until finally, on the 15th of Av, permission was granted to bury the martyred of Beitar. This miracle was cause for celebration. In fact, the fourth blessing of the Birchat HaMazon (Grace After Meals) “Hatov V’Hameitiv” – Hashem Who Is Good And Who Does Good – was authored by the Sages in Yavneh to commemorate this great miracle. This was ordained to remember the special love that Hashem displayed in not allowing the martyrs of Beitar to decompose before burial and the fact that ultimately they were afforded burial.

6. The final reason mentioned is that of Rabba and Rav Yosef.

In the time of the Beis Hamikdash, wood was collected throughout the year for use on the Mizbayach. (Actually they chopped wood needed to burn on the altar for the whole year only from Nisan until the 15th of Av).

This wood had to be free of worms, to the extent that an imperfection as slight as the first trace of worm infestation constituted grounds for rejection. (See Mishna, Middot 2:5 and Tractate Menachot 85b). One way of ensuring that the wood was “worm-free” was to let the wood dry out, as worms only inhabit moist wood. The wood that was collected for the altar was sun dried, to assure that it would be fit for use.

On the 15th of Av each year, the Temple custodians stopped cutting and gathering wood, because at this time of the year it would be difficult to assure that the wood would be fit for use. As of this date, the days begin getting noticeably shorter and the nights longer and the heat of the sun is no longer adequate to sufficiently dry out freshly cut wood. This was the day that our Sages called “Yom Tabar Ma’agel – The Day of the breaking of the Axes” – a day of enormous joy and rejoicing knowing that the sacrifices could be brought for the coming year.

As the 15th of Av marked the culmination of the performance of this beautiful Mitzvah that required a great amount of effort, it was proclaimed a festive occasion. This is similar to the rejoicing at the completion of other mitzvot, such as the rejoicing on Simchat Torah, when we complete the annual Torah reading cycle. (See Rashbam – Bava Batra 121b).

Since the days start becoming noticeably shorter and the nights longer around the 15th of Av, the Talmud goes on to say that, from this day on, it is appropriate to start studying more Torah at night, thereby prolonging one’s life (Ta’anit 31, Rashi). Chazal (Our Sages) paraphrased the Mishnah in Avot (1:13) that states, “Whoever does more (increases the time allotted for Torah study) will be blessed with longevity.” By juxtaposing these two thoughts, Chazal are implying that we are never content with our previous accomplishments, no matter how great they may have been. Rather than simply celebrate the completion of the mitzvah of preparing wood for the Mizbayach, we immediately take advantage of the longer nights heralded by the fifteenth of Av by devoting increased time to Torah study every night, a most appropriate method of getting ourselves ready for the upcoming Yomim Noraim (High Holy Days).

The Bnei Yissaschar says that this day was destined for shidduchim (marriages) from early times. He goes on to explains that because two of the sources for Chamishah-Asar B’Av being chosen as a Yom-Tov are connected with shidduchim [see 1 & 2 above, - on it the shvatim were permitted to intermarry (after entering Eretz Yisroel), and on it, the ban on marrying women from Binyamin (following the episode of the Pilegesh B'Givah) was lifted] that is why Chazal chose this particular day for this sort of celebration rather than pick another existing Yom-Tov for the joyous occasion.

It follows that this day is one of good beginnings and great hope for Klal Yisroel and the individual. This is why these days were festivals and days of great rejoicing for Israel, and so shall they be in the future when celebrations and days of rejoicing will once more return to Israel, as it says, “This is the L-rd. We have waited for Him. We will be glad and rejoice in His salvation.” (Isaiah 25:9)

Correspondence obtained by The Sunday Times reveals the Obama administration considered compassionate release more palatable than locking up Abdel Baset al-Megrahi in a Libyan prison.

The intervention, which has angered US relatives of those who died in the attack, was made by Richard LeBaron, deputy head of the US embassy in London, a week before Megrahi was freed in August last year on grounds that he had terminal cancer.

The document, acquired by a well-placed US source, threatens to undermine US President Barack Obama’s claim last week that all Americans were “surprised, disappointed and angry” to learn of Megrahi’s release.

Scottish ministers viewed the level of US resistance to compassionate release as “half-hearted” and a sign it would be accepted.

The US has tried to keep the letter secret, refusing to give permission to the Scottish authorities to publish it on the grounds it would prevent future “frank and open communications” with other governments.

In the letter, sent on August 12 last year to Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond and justice officials, Mr LeBaron wrote that the US wanted Megrahi to remain imprisoned in view of the nature of the crime.

The note added: “Nevertheless, if Scottish authorities come to the conclusion that Megrahi must be released from Scottish custody, the US position is that conditional release on compassionate grounds would be a far preferable alternative to prisoner transfer, which we strongly oppose.”

Mr LeBaron added that freeing the bomber and making him live in Scotland “would mitigate a number of the strong concerns we have expressed with regard to Megrahi’s release”.

The US administration lobbied the Scottish government more strongly against sending Megrahi home, under a prisoner transfer agreement signed by the British and Libyan governments, in a deal now known to have been linked to a pound stg. 550 million oil contract for BP.

It claimed this would flout a decade-old agreement between Britain and the US that anyone convicted of the bombing would serve their sentence in a Scottish prison. Megrahi was released by Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill on the grounds that he had three months to live, making his sentence effectively spent.

The US Senate foreign relations committee launched a probe after The Sunday Times revealed this month that Megrahi’s doctors thought he could live for another decade.

A source close to the Senate inquiry said: “The (LeBaron) letter is embarrassing for the US because it shows they were much less opposed to compassionate release than prisoner transfer.”

Last week, a succession of British politicians – including Mr MacAskill, Mr Salmond and former justice secretary Jack Straw – delivered a diplomatic snub to the senators by refusing to fly across the Atlantic to answer questions at the Senate’s hearing on Thursday (US time) about their role in Megrahi’s release.

Despite the controversy over the Gulf of Mexico oil spill and Megrahi’s release, it emerged over the weekend that BP is planning deep-water drilling off Libya.

And BP boss Tony Hayward is poised to quit this week when the company announces its half-year results, London’s Sunday Telegraph reported.

Abby Guerra, 19, was one of five friends from Ironwood High School in Glendale, Ariz., who were on their way home from California’s Disneyland when they crashed July 18.

Guerra’s family was told the promising young soccer star died at the scene.

Fellow passenger Tyler Parker, 20, died later in the hospital, but another passenger escaped without serious injuries.

Two others, including 21-year-old Marlena Cantu, were taken to St. Joseph’s Hospital in Phoenix with severe head trauma.

But officials incorrectly identified Guerra at the scene and informed her family of her death — even though the medical examiner’s office had refused to confirm her identity until they could compare her medical records, according to KPHO.com.

That process took nearly a week, with officials blaming a backlog of patients and shortage of doctors for the delay.

Guerra’s family was in the process of organizing her funeral when they got word she was still alive.

“I mean, you’re ecstatic for one — I mean, it’s a miracle — but in the same you feel angry, because we mourned all week,” Guerra’s aunt Dorenda Cisneros told KPHO.com.

Guerra was in critical condition Saturday night with a brain injury, broken back and collapsed lung.

“It’s a bad dream, and hopefully it’s gonna have a great happy ending. That’s what we’re praying for so,” Cisneros said.

However, the mix-up also had ramifications for family and friends of Cantu, who were keeping a vigil at the bedside of a girl they now know is Guerra.

Colleen Donovan, a lifelong friend of Cantu, never suspected there was a mix-up.

“You’re not looking for differences,” she told The Arizona Republic. “It didn’t look like anyone I’d ever seen.”

Donovan said the girl’s head was shaved in preparation for brain surgery, her face was completely swollen and the eyes were blackened.

However, there were key differences — including that Cantu had a scar on her stomach, fewer ear piercings and was a bit taller than Guerra.

Dental records helped make a positive identification because Guerra did not have wisdom teeth while Cantu did, Donovan said, adding that the ordeal was devastating for Cantu’s parents.

“Every day they went [to the hospital] having hope that she’s living one more day, then to find out it’s not her,” Donovan said. “And Abby’s parents, too. They’ve gone through all these emotions, and now they find out she’s really alive. Abby still has a struggle to survive.”

Foxnews

In this chapter, the Navi (prophet) describes the Ultimate Redemption (Moshiach) which we have yet to experience.

There are seven weeks from Tisha B’Av until Rosh Hashana. This period is called, “Shiva D’nechemta” – “Seven weeks of comfort.”

In contrast to the three weeks before Tisha B’Av in which we read prophesies of punishment, the Haftora for each of these seven weeks consists of prophesies which comfort and bring the message of hope to the Yidden.

When Moshiach does come, Tisha B’Av will turn into a day full of “gladness and cheerful feasts.” (Zecharia 8:19). May this joyful day come speedily in our time.

July 21, 2010

Pleased by bipartisan support from Executive & Legislature; Urges Swift Action on Commission Recommendations,

The Orthodox Union (Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America) urges swift action on the recommendations of a commission that studied New Jersey’s nonpublic schools and outlines key areas where aid to nonpublic schools or to families under neutral criteria are both fully constitutional and good public policy.

The report was delivered to Governor Chris Christie in June by the Governor’s Study Commission on New Jersey’s Nonpublic Schools and after reviewing the findings, the Governor released the report to the public yesterday.

Both the Governor and Education Commission Bret Schundler released favorable statements on the report.

Established by former Governor Jon Corzine, and chaired by Assemblyman Gary S. Schaer (D-36) and Dr. George Corwell, Director of Education for the NJ Catholic Conference, the commission was bipartisan and multi-ethnic, representing a broad spectrum of local education, faith and communal leaders from the Christian, Jewish and Muslim communities as well as the state’s education, law and treasury departments.

Rabbi Menachem Genack, the CEO of OUKosher and a synagogue rabbi Englewood, NJ was among the community leaders on the commission; Howie Beigelman, the OU’s Deputy Director of Public Policy, served as a staff member to the commission.

Among the key findings of the commission are that New Jersey’s nonpublic schools educate 160,000 students – 11 percent of the K-12 total – across the state and employ 20,000 people for an annual savings in operational and capital costs of approximately $4 billion.

As well, since 2004, the state’s nonpublic school population has declined by 29,810 students, increasing the cost of educating those students for New Jersey’s taxpayers by at least $430 million.

The commission’s key recommendations include increasing and streamlining textbook, technology, special education and health related aid, as well as enacting education related tax credits and deductions, such as the NJ Opportunity Scholarship Act now before the Legislature (on which the OU has offered testimony in support – Testimony_in_Support_of_S-1872_OSA_(5-13-10)-2.doc) or similar programs in other states.

Emphasizing the link between education and workforce development, it also recommends a pilot program in providing math instruction in nonpublic schools.

Rabbi Steven Burg, OU Managing Director stated:

For too long, families in New Jersey’s nonpublic schools – including Jewish day schools and yeshivas – have been treated as stepchildren.

This report offers clear, affordable and common sense recommendations to change that and to ensure that every student in New Jersey gets the education they deserve.

There can no longer be any question as to whether such aid is constitutional or if it is good policy.

It is both, as evidenced by the Attorney General’s imprimatur on this report and on the experiences in other states with such policies. We call upon the Governor and the Legislature to act now and to implement these recommendations.

Rabbi Menachem Genack, CEO, OUKosher and a commission member stated:

We thank Assemblyman Schaer and Dr. Corwell for their hard work as co-chairs of this vital study.

It was a privilege to serve and to represent not only the Orthodox Jewish community, but schoolchildren and families across New Jersey. As New Jersey faces mounting budget deficits, these recommendations are both fiscally prudent as well as morally right.

Now is the time to take action. For a link to the full report, please visit the OU/IPA homepage at www.ou.org/public_affairs.