A Word of Torah: Blessings from an Implacable Foe

This week we read the portion titled Balak. Balak was the king of Moav who after seeing how his neighbors had unsuccessfully made war and lost against the Children of Israel decided that he would take a different approach to try and defeat them. While Sichon and Og, two mighty kings with mighty armies failed by using force of arms, Balak chose to try and attack the Jews spiritually – by attacking their spiritual connection with the Almighty. [Rabbi Yeruchem Eilfort]

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Jewish Religion, Yeruchem Eilfort-Rabbi

Cutting the ‘Umbilical Cord’: Letting Go Because You Have To

My “baby” daughter Maya graduated high school on a recent Friday. Woohoo! On Monday, she flew solo to Europe to visit her sister. Double Woohoo! In two months, she moves to Berkeley to start her next chapter as a University student. Woo…. Wait! What? Moving out? Completely launching? My husband and I becoming actual empty nesters?  I’m not sure if I’m ready for this. I mean I knew this day would come but it always seemed so far down the road. And yet, here it is. Around the corner.[Shayna Gothard Kaufmann]

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Lifestyles, San Diego County, Shayna Kaufmann

US, France warn Iran that time running out to revive deal

Published by AFP Paris (AFP) – The United States and France on Friday warned Iran that time was running out to return to a nuclear deal, voicing fear that Tehran’s sensitive atomic activities could advance if talks drag on. On the first high-level visit to Paris by President Joe Biden’s administration, Secretary of State Antony

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International, Middle East, USA

Families pray for ‘miracle’ with 159 missing in Florida condo collapse

Published by Reuters By Francisco Alvarado SURFSIDE, Fla. (Reuters) -Rescue workers scouring the debris of a collapsed condo building in a Miami suburb said they heard sounds in the rubble overnight, as officials on Friday raised the number of people unaccounted for to 159 and the confirmed death toll to four. Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine

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USA

The U.S.’s ”Chutzpadik’ Iran Policy

It is the height of chutzpah to assume that others want what you want or want to help you get what you want when it isn’t what they want. Americans do it often, and the result is always the same: good news for those who take our inducements while having no intention of cooperating and bad news for the United States and for those who trust in it. In the case of Iran, first the Obama administration and now the Biden administration have taken the position that diplomacy and money will produce a constructive player in the region—i.e., what we want. [Shoshana Bryen]

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Middle East, Shoshana Bryen, USA

Jerry Seinfeld to direct and star in Netflix movie about Pop-Tarts

Published by DPA Jerry Seinfeld is taking his longtime infatuation of Pop-Tarts to Hollywood. The Emmy-winning funnyman is set to direct, produce and star in “Unfrosted,” a new Netflix comedy about the iconic brand of breakfast pastries. According to reports, the comedy is inspired by one of Seinfeld’s stand-up bits where he talks about the

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Theatre, Film & Broadcast

Marilyn Monroe statue returns to Palm Springs, to cheers and jeers

Published by Reuters By Norma Galeana (Reuters) – Marilyn Monroe is back in Palm Springs, California, in a big way – but not everyone is thrilled. A 26-ft (7.9-m) tall statue of the Hollywood icon in her famous billowing white dress was unveiled in front of the Palm Springs Art Museum, facing Palm Canyon Drive,

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Theatre, Film & Broadcast

99 feared missing in rubble of collapsed condo in Florida as search, vigil continue

Published by Miami Herald SURFSIDE, Fla. — Search and rescue teams continued the delicate work of picking through a mountain of rubble in Surfside on Thursday afternoon, looking for even the faintest signs of life that might be buried inside the two-story-high remains of the partial collapse of the 12-story oceanfront building, Champlain Towers South

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USA

Hundreds more unmarked graves found at erstwhile Canadian residential school

Published by Reuters By Anna Mehler Paperny and Moira Warburton (Reuters) -An indigenous group in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan on Thursday said it had found the unmarked graves of an estimated 751 people at a now-defunct Catholic residential school, just weeks after a similar, smaller discovery rocked the country. The latest discovery, the biggest

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International