NEWS & JUDAISM

Today is: Yom Rishone, Av 21, 5771 • 8 21, 2011

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Topics in the news

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Hamas ends its de facto truce with Israel after the country responded to attacks in southern Israel with air strikes on the Gaza Strip.

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Indian social activist Anna Hazare agrees to leave his jail cell after Delhi police allow a 15-day hunger strike against corruption.

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Astronomers announce that TrES-2b has the lowest known albedo of any planet, reflecting less than 1% of the starlight falling upon it.

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Google (headquarters pictured) announces an agreement to acquire Motorola Mobility for US$12.5 billion.

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Current events

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Armed conflict and attacks

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2011 Libyan civil war:

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Abdul Hafiz Ghoga, the Vice Chairman of the National Transitional Council, says that "the zero hour has started" with fighting continuing in Tripoli. (Xinhua) (Al-Jazeera)

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Forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi recapture sections of the town of Brega. (Al-Jazeera)

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Gaddafi appears on Libyan television claiming to be the "father of Libya". (AFP via Sydney Morning Herald)

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Business and economy

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Four employees of Deutsche Bank AG and its South Korean brokerage unit are indicted for alleged illegal trading on the Korea Exchange. (Yonhap)

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International relations

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An Egyptian protester removes the flag from the Israeli embassy as thousands protest outside following the death of five policemen near the border. (AFP via Maan News)

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Vietnamese police shut down an anti-China rally in Hanoi over disputed territory in the South China Sea. (AP via The Washington Post)

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La Liga fixtures face delay due to players'



Today in Jewish History

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• Passing of R. Chaim Brisker (1918)

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Passing of Rabbi Chaim Soloveichik of Brisk (1853-1918), outstanding Talmudic scholar and Jewish leader.

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Daily Quote

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You ask how you can be connected with me when I do not know you personally... The true bond is created by Torah learning. When you study my teachings, read my talks and associate with those dear to me -- the chassidic community and the yeshivah students -- in their studies and farbrengens (gatherings), and you fulfill my request regarding reciting tehillim and observing Torah-study times -- in this is the bond...

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- Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak of Lubavitch (quoted in Hayom Yom for Sivan 24)

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Daily Study

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Chitas and Rambam for today:

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Chumash: Re'eh, 1st Portion Deuteronomy 11:26-12:10 with Rashi

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Tehillim: Chapters 104 - 105

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Tanya: Iggeret HaKodesh, beginning of Epistle 6

Rambam:

• Sefer Hamitzvos:

• 1 Chapter: Zechiyah uMattanah Chapter Seven

• 3 Chapters: Shemita Chapter 6, Shemita Chapter 7, Shemita Chapter 8

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Hayom Yom: "Today's Day"

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Activism on behalf of the ways of Chassidus means that even when a chassid is in the marketplace, deeply involved in his business, he still thinks about what he can do for chassidic concerns and the welfare of chassidim. When he encounters a business acquaintance among the market people he should seek to persuade him to attend the shi'urim (public study sessions) in Chassidus, or to attend a farbrengen.

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Activism on behalf of the ways of Chassidus is a personal obligation, regardless whether one is great or limited in knowledge of Chassidus.

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Today's Mitzvah

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A daily digest of Maimonides’ classic work "Sefer Hamitzvot"

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Positive Commandment 140

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Counting Down the Years to the Jubilee

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"And you shall count seven Sabbatical years"—Leviticus 25:8.

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Starting when the Jews conquered Israel and settled therein, the high court is commanded to count down the years to the Jubilee Year. They count seven cycles of seven years [and then sanctify the fiftieth one as the Jubilee].

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Positive Commandment 136

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Sanctifying the Jubilee Year

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"And you shall sanctify the fiftieth year"—Leviticus 25:10.

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We are commanded to sanctify the fiftieth year, the Jubilee Year, by abstaining from agricultural work and rendering all the land's produce ownerless and free for all to take—just as we are commanded to do during the Shemitah (Sabbatical) Year.

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This mitzvah is only practiced in the Land of Israel, and only when all of the tribes are settled therein, each in their ancestral portion of the Land.

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Positive Commandment 137

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Emancipation of Slaves during the Jubilee Year

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"You shall sound the shofar [ram's horn] on the tenth day of the seventh month, on Yom Kippur you shall sound the shofar throughout your land"—Leviticus 25:9.

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We are commanded to blow the shofar (ram's horn) on the tenth of Tishrei of the Jubilee Year—announcing the emancipation (without compensation) of all Hebrew slaves.

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These shofar blasts parallel the annual sounding of the shofar on Rosh Hashanah, both with regards to the actual blasts as well as the blessings that accompany them. (Though the purpose of the sounding of the shofar is different; the Jubilee blasts serving as an announcement regarding the liberation of the slaves.)

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Negative Commandment 224

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Planting during the Jubilee Year

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"You shall not sow"—Leviticus 25:11.

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It is forbidden to sow the fields or do agricultural work on fruit trees during the Jubilee Year (similar to the Sabbatical Year).

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Negative Commandment 225

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Harvesting Field Crops during the Jubilee Year

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"Nor shall you reap that which grows of itself in it"—Leviticus 25:11.

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It is forbidden to harvest – in normal fashion – that which grows wild in the fields during the Jubilee Year.

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(As with the Sabbatical Year, one may only harvest them as if they were ownerless, i.e. without extensive preparation or arrangement, and not in bulk.)

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Negative Commandment 226

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Harvesting Fruit during the Jubilee Year

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"Nor shall you gather in it the grapes from your un-pruned vine"—Leviticus 25:11.

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It is forbidden to harvest – in normal fashion – the fruit that grows during the Jubilee Year.

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(As with the Sabbatical Year, one may only harvest them as if they were ownerless, i.e. without extensive preparation or arrangement, and not in bulk.)

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THE SACREDNESS OF EACH DAY IN TORAH

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Genesis Chapter 1

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בְּרֵאשִׁית

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Hebrew Day's Names

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Hebrew......................Meaning

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THE SACREDNESS OF EACH DAY IN TORAH

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Genesis Chapter 1

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בְּרֵאשִׁית

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Yom Reeshone........... First day CREATION OF LIGHT

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א בְּרֵאשִׁית, בָּרָא אֱלֹהִים, אֵת הַשָּׁמַיִם, וְאֵת הָאָרֶץ. 1

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

ב וְהָאָרֶץ, הָיְתָה תֹהוּ וָבֹהוּ, וְחֹשֶׁךְ, עַל-פְּנֵי תְהוֹם; וְרוּחַ אֱלֹהִים, מְרַחֶפֶת עַל-פְּנֵי הַמָּיִם. 2 Now the earth was unformed and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep; and the spirit of God hovered over the face of the waters.

ג וַיֹּאמֶר אֱלֹהִים, יְהִי אוֹר; וַיְהִי-אוֹר. 3

And God said: 'Let there be light.' And there was light.

ד וַיַּרְא אֱלֹהִים אֶת-הָאוֹר, כִּי-טוֹב; וַיַּבְדֵּל אֱלֹהִים, בֵּין הָאוֹר וּבֵין הַחֹשֶׁךְ. 4

And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness.

ה וַיִּקְרָא אֱלֹהִים לָאוֹר יוֹם, וְלַחֹשֶׁךְ קָרָא לָיְלָה; וַיְהִי-עֶרֶב וַיְהִי-בֹקֶר, יוֹם אֶחָד. {פ} 5

And God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day. {P}