Free Republic

[Make sure to read Robert Spencer’s contributions in Jamie Glazov’s new book: Barack Obama’s True Legacy: How He Transformed America.]Who, really, is Old Joe Biden? A senescent corruptocrat pretending to be president in order to further the interests of a sinister band of shadowy globalists? Well, yeah. But besides that, he is whoever you want him to be, or whatever he thinks you want him to be, if you have a vote to give him or you can further his political or financial ambitions. On Thursday, Biden declared that he was “raised in the synagogues.” Sure he was. Biden, who...

Something incredibly diabolical is happening in front of our eyes, and practically everybody is acting as if they were deaf and dumb. However this time, God has given us his word that nothing will come of these nefarious plans against the Jews! It is all a prelude to the Final Redemption and the revelation of the Messiah!

It is a positive mitzva to hear the blast (teru’a) of a shofar on Rosh Ha-shana, as it says, “In the seventh month, on the first of the month…. You shall observe it as a day of blasts (yom teru’a)” (Bamidbar 29:1), and “In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall observe complete rest, a sacred occasion commemorated with loud blasts (zikhron teru’a)…” (Vayikra 23:24). The primary theme of the prayers on Rosh Ha-shana is crowning God as our king. For this reason, the third berakha of the Amida concludes with “ha-Melekh ha-kadosh” (the holy...

Hayom harat olam. Today the world was created. Who doesn't keep to their Jewish calendar these days! Even if you have decoupled Easter from Passover, you'll still find interesting the fact that the Jews have a calendar almost 5781 years old. And today is the day G-d said "Let there be light" on the first day of creation. The sixth day of creation is Rosh Hashana-- because the head of the year begins when man (Adam-- from the Hebrew words "earth/dust" and "similar" because Adam was from the dust, and had faculties that reflected G-d's faculties, so to speak***, of...

Sephardic Kabbalist (mystic) Rabbi Yitzhak Kaduri could have predicted the political unrest surrounding recent struggles by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Blue and White leader Benny Gantz, according to a report by the Hebrew daily Israel Hayom on Sunday. Information alluding to Kaduri's predictions spread throughout social media and on the messaging application Whatsapp in recent days, as well. Kaduri reportedly wrote in And He Swore to Isaac, a "hidden book" that was recently found in the Kabbalistic school of Nahalat Yitzhak, that "On the eve of the year 5780 (the upcoming Hebrew year), the year of corrections, there will...

As usual, my wife and I attended first day Rosh Hashana services this morning. As he had done several years ago, the rabbi condemned Trump and Republicans for creating violence and bad feelings in the US and the world. I had had it and we walked out. This is the second time he has done this during The High Holidays. What a putz. When he had last done this I wrote to the congregation a letter criticizing the rabbi and the temple. A month later they replied that they had passed my letter to the rabbi, but counseled me not...

Rosh Hashana is coming up. "Head of the year" But what makes it the head, the "first" day of the year. Especially perplexing since in Jewish tradition, it is celebrated on the 6th day of creation, the day Adam was formed, gained knowledge of himself and his Creator-- and "coronated" Him as his King. This was Rosh Hashana. ...It follows then, that now, today, 5 days prior to Rosh Hashana, would be the first day of creation. Therefore: Happy Let There Be Light day!

U.S. President Barack Obama on Thursday released a video greeting to the Jewish people in honor of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. Obama suggested that the New Year was a time to repair his country's relationship with Israel, at the end of a week in which he and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu had been at odds over Iran's nuclear program. video “As we look forward to the beginning of the Jewish High Holidays Sunday night, I want to extend my warmest wishes to all those celebrating the New Year,” Obama said. “This is a joyful time for millions of...

1. Turn on the radio any time in the weeks between the date school starts and Yom Kippur, and it’s a sure bet that on any station you’ll hear a version of Adon Haselichot (Master of forgiveness), a traditional prayer of repentance with a particularly catchy Sephardi melody, You can even download it as a ringtone… 2. Nightly selichot tours take place in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City, the Bukharan Quarter, Nachlat Shiva and Nachlaot. Swarms of Israelis who generally spend as little time as possible in any synagogue, suddenly get nostalgic about the sights and sounds of...

I understand that Rosh HaShana and the day after are considered Sabbaths. However, it's been several days that I have been unable to read Israeli newspapers on-line. I've tried J'lem Post, Haaretz and Arutz Sheva. I am unable to reach their websites. I'm trying to tell myself that maybe they are down because of Rosh HaShana which is being followed by a regular Sabbath. But, given the situation in the ME, I don't find that explanation very satisfactory. I don't have any problem accessing any other websites, just Israeli newspapers. Does anybody know what's going on? I had never followed...

WASHINGTON - US President Barack Obama issued his traditional Rosh Hashana video greeting on Tuesday, wishing the Jewish people a year of peace and reiterating his administration's "commitment to the State of Israel." "As the High Holidays begin, we look back on all the moments during the past year that gave us reason to hope. Around the world, a new generation is reaching for their universal rights. Here in the United States, we’ve responded to our challenges by focusing on the things that really matter – friendship, family, and community," he says in his video greeting. "But this last year...

Big Trouble Meets Small Shofar Monday, September 07, 2009 Posted by Rabbi Infinity What’s a nice neshamah like that doing in a nasty place like this? Why does a really nice G‑d send a poor innocent neshamah down into the world, knowing full well how messed up she’s going to get? She’s got a one-in-a-million chance of coming out unscathed. Even if she is successful and manages to do some mitzvahs in the end, look at the collateral damage incurred. I mean, is it really worth it?

Today is the first day of Rosh Hashana, the holiday that marks the beginning of the Jewish new year. For the next 10 days, through Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, Jews around the world will gather to chant the prayers of the High Holy Days to melodies that have been used for generations. Some of the melodies will be simple and some complex, and some will be particularly beautiful. What almost none of them will be is “classical”: Western classical composition, the dominant feature of Christian sacred music for more than a millennium, remains mostly absent from Jewish liturgical...

SAN FRANCISCO, - A San Francisco-based computer scientist says he has solved the mystery of dating Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year. Year 5771 begins at sundown Wednesday. Steve Morse's interest in the Jewish calendar began when he was a teenager, more than 50 years ago, The Denver Post reported. He tried to figure out his grandmother's birth date in the Gregorian calendar -- the one commonly used in most of the world now -- from the one in the Jewish calendar used on her records from Europe. The Jewish calendar is a difficult one, based on the movements of...

In a video released Tuesday, US President Barack Obama extended his personal greetings to the Jewish people in honor of Rosh Hashanah. Obama began in Hebrew, saying L'Shana Tova Tikatevu (May you be inscribed and sealed in the Book of Life). "Rosh Hashanah marks the beginning of the Jewish spiritual calendar and the birth of the world," said Obama. "It serves as a reminder of the special relationship between God and his children." Obama said that this time of year is a time for personal reflection, repentance, prayer, and remembering the blessings that come from helping those in need.

In the wake of the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks relaunch in Washington last week, and ahead of Hillary Clinton and George Mitchell heading to the next round of talks in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt and Jerusalem next week, the Obama administration is continuing to step up its outreach to Jewish and Muslim American leaders and other key domestic constituencies. President Barack Obama himself will do a "Rosh Hashana" conference call with rabbis this afternoon on, Jewish leaders said. And Vice President Joseph Biden hosts Jewish leaders at a pre-Rosh Hashana reception at his Naval Observatory residence this evening. Clinton, meantime, hosts an...

Jews intone theses words: …mi yichie umi yamut (who will live and who will die)… mi bamayim umi ba’esh (who by water and who by fire)…As we look around the world, between the current economic meltdown and the forces that wish to destroy the West… the horizon looks rather bleak. Evil seems to be ascendant, the western nations are plagued by the cancer within, wittingly or unwittingly, working for their destruction. Western politicians of every political stripe, are guilty of the current situation whether for personal gain, for personal glory or merely because of absolutely naive misguidance. The world, as...

When our middle son was in preschool, his teacher asked him to explain to the (overwhelmingly non-Jewish) class what the Jewish New Year was all about. Four-year-old David told them that on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, Jews go to a big building and "forgive God." Well, something like that. This week, Jews all over the world are gathering to observe the "Ten Days of Awe," the period that begins with Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, and culminates with Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. Like other Jewish holidays (Passover, Sukkot), Rosh Hashanah is celebrated for two days in...

Rosh Hashana, The Jewish New Year In Israel Related story:Olmert: Israel Will Enjoy Peace for Jewish Rosh Hashana New Year By Judy Lash Balint Israel News Agency Jerusalem ---- September 13, 2007 ...... One can easily witness signs of Rosh Hashana in Jerusalem, Israel. In the run up to the beginning of this Jewish New Year, piles of branches lay strewn all over the streets of Jerusalem - city workers are zealously pruning trees and bushes in advance of Rosh Hashana when the laws of Shmittah take effect. Without getting into an arcane description of the Shmittah laws that is...

HAPPY (Jewish) NEW YEAR, FREEPERS! I've been BAKING all day long (sweet honey challah, apple strudel) and tomorrow is my day for COOKING. Please post your New Year's graphics and recipes. Who has a good recipe for peach cobbler? Love you all, ALOUETTE.