NEWS & JUDAISM

Today is: Day 2, Elul 6, 5771 • 9 5, 2011

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On this day...

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September 5: Labour Day in Canada and Labor Day in the United States (2011); Teachers' Day in India

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1781 – American Revolutionary War: French naval forces handed Britain a major strategic defeat in the Battle of the Chesapeake.

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1943 – World War II: American and Australian forces made an airborne landing at Nadzab as part of the New Guinea campaign against Japan.

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1960 – Senegalese poet Léopold Sédar Senghor was elected as the first President of Senegal.

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1972 – The Palestinian militant group Black September took hostage eleven Israeli athletes and coaches at the Olympic Games in Munich, West Germany; all of the hostages were killed less than 24 hours later.

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1977 – NASA launched the robotic space probe Voyager 1, currently the man-made object most distant from Earth.

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Today's Laws & Customs

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• Elul Observances

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As the last month of the Jewish year, Elul is traditionaly a time of introspection and stocktaking -- a time to review one's deeds and spiritual progress over the past year and prepare for the upcoming "Days of Awe" of Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur.

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As the month of Divine Mercy and Forgiveness (see "Today in Jewish History" for Elul 1) it is a most opportune time for teshuvah ("return" to G-d), prayer, charity, and increased Ahavat Yisrael (love for a fellow Jew) in the quest for self-improvement and coming closer to G-d. Chassidic master Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi likens the month of Elul to a time when "the king is in the field" and, in contrast to when he is in the royal palace, "everyone who so desires is permitted to meet him, and he receives them all with a cheerful countenance and shows a smiling face to them all."

Specific Elul customs include the daily sounding of the shofar (ram's horn) as a call to repentance. The Baal Shem Tov instituted the custom of reciting three additional chapters of Psalms each day, from the 1st of Elul until Yom Kippur (on Yom Kippur the remaining 36 chapters are recited, thereby completing the entire book of Psalms).

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Elul is also the time to have one's tefillin and mezuzot checked by an accredited scribe to ensure that they are in good condition and fit for use.

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Daily Quote

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Accept the truth from wherever it comes

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- Maimonides

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Daily Study

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Chitas and Rambam for today:

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Chumash: Ki Teitzei, 2nd Portion Deuteronomy 21:22-22:7 with Rashi

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Tehillim: Chapters 35 - 38

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Tanya: Iggeret HaKodesh, middle of Epistle 12

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Rambam:

• Sefer Hamitzvos:

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• 1 Chapter: Shechenim Chapter Ten

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• 3 Chapters: Maaseh Hakorbonos Chapter 4, Maaseh Hakorbonos Chapter 5, Maaseh Hakorbonos Chapter 6

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Hayom Yom:

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"Today's Day"

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The Tzemach Tzedek related: The Baal Shem Tov was very fond of light, and said, "Or ('light') is the numerical equivalent of raz ('secret').1 Whoever knows the 'secret' contained in every thing can bring illumination."

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FOOTNOTES

1. Tikunei Zohar 19; Zohar III, p. 28b.

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Today's Mitzvah

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

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Negative Commandment 139

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Eating from Sacrifices whose Blood was Sprinkled in the Sanctuary

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"And any sin offering whose blood is brought into the Tent of Meeting, to make atonement in the holy place, shall not be eaten; it shall be burnt in fire"—Leviticus 6:23.

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It is forbidden for a priest to consume of the flesh of any Sin Offering whose blood was sprinkled in the sanctuary.

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Negative Commandment 112

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Decapitating the Fowl Sin Offering

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"He shall pinch off its head opposite its nape, but shall not separate"—Leviticus 5:8.

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In the course of melikah [the "slaughtering" of bird sacrifices, done with the priest's fingernail], it is forbidden for the priest to totally remove the bird's head from its body.

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Positive Commandment 65

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Procedure of the Guilt Offering

"This is the law of the guilt-offering"—Leviticus 7:1.

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When offering an Asham (guilt) offering, we are commanded to follow the applicable procedure outlined in the Torah—regarding its offering and the parts of the animal that are burnt on the altar and the parts that are consumed [by the priests].

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Topics in the news

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Turkey expels Israel's ambassador following Israel's refusal to apologize for its 2010 raid on a Gaza-bound flotilla.

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WikiLeaks publishes its entire cache of unredacted U.S. diplomatic cables, citing a security breach that led to its prior release.

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Current events

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Armed conflict and attacks

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Sky News reports that 30,000 Libyans may be missing as a result of the 2011 Libyan civil war. (Sky News)

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Disasters

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Rescuers in Japan look for survivors of Typhoon Talas which has killed at least 25 people with the Wakayama Prefecture on the Kii Peninsula the worst affected. (AP via Google News), (Japan Times)

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International relations

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South Korea announces that it will start sending emergency aid to North Korea next week after devastating floods. (Yonhap)

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Law and crime

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Trial of former President of France Jacques Chirac on embezzlement charges begins today in Paris. (AFP via France 24)

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Politics

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The President of the United States Barack Obama kicks off his re-election campaign with an appearance at the AFL-CIO Labor Day parade in the city of Detroit, Michigan. (Washington Times)

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Proms performance by Israel Philharmonic Orchestra disrupted

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Current events of 9 4 2011

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Armed conflict and attacks

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At least 24 people were killed in violence across Syria. (The Times of India)

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Disasters

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Tropical Storm Lee makes landfall near the the US city of Lafayette, Louisiana with the Gulf Coast hit by tornados. (Reuters)

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Wildfires continue to burn in the US state of Texas destroying tens of thousands of acres of land. (Austin Texas)

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Politics and elections

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Voters in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern go to the polls for a state election with the Social Democrats and Greens performing well and the Christian Democrats and Free Democrats performing poorly. (PA via Google News)

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Sport

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2011 World Championships in Athletics

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The United States tops the medal count at the World Championships. (Yonhap News)

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The Jamaican 4x100-meter relay team of Nesta Carter, Michael Frater, Yohan Blake and Usain Bolt sets a new world record. (Yonhap)

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Science

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The Emperor penguin who was washed up on a New Zealand beach in June is released back into the Southern Ocean. (BBC) (New Zealand Herald)

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THE SACREDNESS OF EACH DAY IN TORAH

Genesis Chapter 1

בְּרֵאשִׁית

Yom Shaynee ............Second day

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CREATION DAY THE HEAVENS EARTH, AND WATERS

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ו וַיֹּאמֶר אֱלֹהִים, יְהִי רָקִיעַ בְּתוֹךְ הַמָּיִם, וִיהִי מַבְדִּיל, בֵּין מַיִם לָמָיִם.

6And God said: 'Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.'

ז וַיַּעַשׂ אֱלֹהִים, אֶת-הָרָקִיעַ, וַיַּבְדֵּל בֵּין הַמַּיִם אֲשֶׁר מִתַּחַת לָרָקִיעַ, וּבֵין הַמַּיִם אֲשֶׁר מֵעַל לָרָקִיעַ; וַיְהִי-כֵן. 7

And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament; and it was so.

ח וַיִּקְרָא אֱלֹהִים לָרָקִיעַ, שָׁמָיִם; וַיְהִי-עֶרֶב וַיְהִי-בֹקֶר, יוֹם שֵׁנִי. {פ} 8

And God called the firmament Heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, a second day. {P}