Jewish and Israeli Holidays
“We mourn together, embrace together, and cry out together for the immediate release of our brothers and sisters from the darkness of captivity,” said the Israeli president.
One of the most difficult days in the Jewish calendar, it includes five afflictions intended to stir the heart and inspire repentance.
Two prominent Orthodox rabbis told JNS that they wrote the invocations to be both mournful and also uplifting.
“Fasting during operational activity is prohibited; it is a life-threatening matter,” says the Israeli Military Rabbinate.
“The decision of the municipality to ban Yom Kippur prayers in public spaces is puzzling, divisive and must be reversed,” said Energy Minister Eli Cohen.
They underscore the enduring importance of maintaining traditions.
“The transit authority brazenly targeted religious speech as the object of its discrimination,” stated Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall.
“If people saw the faces of the hostages and their humanity,” Michelle Sarna told JNS, “that that would raise empathy in a way that crossed political lines.”
The weekend, run by Kesher Yehudi, brought together secular survivors and religious Israelis at the David’s Citadel Hotel for an “authentic Shabbat experience.”
The Jewish rapper pays tribute to the capital, “heart and soul of the Jewish people,” and draws attention to the Israelis being held hostage by Hamas.
“Mount Sinai loses its meaning after the revelation,” said Rabbi Chaim Steinmetz of Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun on New York City’s Upper East Side. “There’s no religious value attached to it.”
“We need clarity today that America stands with Israel” and is “not confused as to whom we support, Israel or Hamas,” Sen. Ted Cruz told JNS.
