Study solves decades-old Dead Sea Scrolls mystery: Qumran sect used a calendar doomed to fail
A calendar that governed the Qumran sect’s religious life but was mathematically guaranteed to fall apart was not merely a theological abstraction. It was used, in practice, by a community willing to base its entire religious identity on a system it must have known would eventually collapse.
New episode of The Universal Zionist asks why Jews still mourn a Temple destroyed two thousand years ago
Rabbi Tuly Weisz released the second episode of his podcast, The Universal Zionist, this week, sitting down with Rabbi Dr. J.J. Schacter just as the Jewish world enters the days leading up to Tisha B’Av, the fast day marking the destruction of both Temples in Jerusalem.
Mourning together, worldwide: Tisha B’Av events reach beyond the synagogue this year
Tisha B’Av is the saddest day on the Jewish calendar. It marks the destruction of both Temples in Jerusalem, catastrophes that Jewish tradition holds occurred roughly 655 years apart on the same Hebrew date, along with a string of later tragedies in Jewish history that fell on the same day.
Malaysia vows to deport any Israeli found within its borders
Malaysia’s Prime Minister has built his tenure on an outspoken pro-Palestinian foreign policy and open contact with Hamas. After the October 7 massacre, Anwar telephoned Hamas’s then-political leader to express “unwavering support for the Palestinian people.”
AIPAC cuts off 15 House Democrats after they voted to strip Israel’s missile defense funding
An AIPAC spokesperson told the New York Times that the organization’s members are “deeply appreciative of their representatives who stand on principle” and are disappointed by those who do not.
Ambassador of Israel: “Israel is home for every Jew. We are one.”
“The establishment and protection of the State of Israel serves as a profound guarantor of Jewish culture in the Diaspora. Israel’s existence provides more than just a historical anchor and a safe haven. It acts as a cultural reservoir of collective memory.”
From Hollywood to the Holy Land: New podcast on Universal Zionism opens with interview you don’t want to miss
Zionism used to mean building a state. Then it meant building a religious homeland. Israel365 has a new podcast built around the argument that it now means something bigger: turning outward and becoming a light to the whole world
“Israel will not be a paradise for environmental offenders”: Law to combat illegal construction-waste dumping approved
The law takes a head-on, proactive approach to address one of the primary causes of environmental harm: the illegal dumping of construction waste in open areas, a practice that causes severe air, water and soil pollution.
The vessels of the Second Temple never disappeared. This Rabbi knows where they are.
Moskoff traced the vessels of the Temple, among them the menorah and the incense altar, through what he said is a well-documented path after the destruction in 70 CE, citing the ancient historians Josephus and Procopius of Caesarea.
Knesset enshrines Torah study as “foundational value” in new Basic Law, reigniting decades-old draft battle
The vote came after ten hours of speeches and opposition filibustering, and it lands the country squarely back inside a fight over military conscription that has simmered since the state’s founding in 1948.