Mayim Bialik: Why I Wear My Jewish Star

By Mayim Bialik for Raising Kvell

Oh, Israel. What a month it’s been for you and me. I lost a lot of fans this month because of my love for you. But it’s OK. I love you more than popularity, even when you make me crazy. And even though I don’t always agree with Israeli policy, I’m still a Zionist.

With all that we have been through this past month, I truly, deeply, for the first time understood why Jews who previously hadn’t worn yarmulkes started wearing them in the United States after the Yom Kippur War in 1973, when an Arab Coalition led by Syria and Egypt attacked Israel on the holiest day of the Jewish year. As we had been for thousands of years, in 1973, Jews were being attacked simply for being.

In the middle of the conflicts in Israel and Gaza this month, and in the middle of the virulent attacks I was coming under on social media, I put on my Magen David–my Star of David necklace–and it strangely felt like putting on armor. It felt like a statement. Gold armor around my neck: the way I show that I am Jewish and that I am not afraid to be so.

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Today's Featured Ask the Rabbi Question: Suicide

In light of Robin Williams' suicide last week, many have asked what is the Jewish take on suicide. Here is a Jewish perspective from aish.com



A guy who works at the same company just committed suicide. Some people are saying that this is a terrible crime, while others say it's okay because he didn't harm anyone. Can help put this into perspective for me?

The Aish Rabbi Replies:

The first thing to know is that we don’t “own” our bodies. Our body – and our very life – is a gift, on loan from the Creator. We are entrusted to care for it and nurture it, and do nothing to shorten its lifespan.

Someone who commits suicide is considered a murderer. It matters not whether he kills someone else or himself. His soul is not his to extinguish.

Judaism's opposition to suicide is found in the story of Noah's Ark. After the flood, God says to Noah: “Your blood which belongs to your souls I will demand; from the hand of every beast will I demand it. From the hand of every man; from the hand of every man who is his brother will I demand the life of man” (Genesis 9:5).

The Talmud (Baba Kama 90b) learns from the first part of the verse, "And surely the blood of your lives I will demand," that one may not wound his own body. All the more so, he may not take his own life.

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Ancient Money Box from Second Temple Era Discovered Near Jerusalem –Tel Aviv Highway

By Anav Silverman for tlvfaces.com

Pottery sherds, or fragments, discovered by an Israel Antiquities Authority inspector several months ago, during extensive work by the Netivei Israel – National Transport Infrastructure Company, Ltd.
on the new Highway 1 project resulted in an archaeological excavation. A previously unknown settlement from the Late Second Temple period was discovered, as well as a rare hoard of coins that was found in one of its houses along the new highway connecting Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.

The hoard, which was kept in a ceramic money box, included 114 bronze coins dating to the Year Four of the Great Revolt against the Romans. This revolt led to the destruction of the Temple on Tisha B’Av (the ninth day of the Hebrew month of Av), 2,000 years ago.

“One of the significant points of the find is that all the coins were all dated to the same year and each have the same worth,” Pablo Betzer, one of the excavation directors of the Israel antiquities Authority told Tazpit News Agency. “The location of the find is also significant as it was found outside Jerusalem.”

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Tweens Ditch B’nai Mitzvah Parties to Build Playground in Chicago’s South Side

By Rachel Silberstein for Raising Kvell

The kids are alright.

Meet Marc Luban and Ariana Handelman, a pair of 12-year-old BFFs from Chicago who have decided to forgo the modern bar mitzvah party, often ostentatious affairs featuring celebrity performers like Christina Aguilera (rock on, Sam Horowitz), in favor of helping other kids their age. In a partnership with their temple, Anshe Emet Synagogue, and the nearby Bright Star Church, the 7th graders will design and physically build a playground to serve the Bronzeville community on the South Side of Chicago, which is plagued by high crime and has few safe places for children to play.

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