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WASHINGTON: After working 28 years as a Special Agent with the Drug Enforcement Administration and the last 10 as the Agent in Charge of the Special Operations Division, a Virginia based Operational Coordination Center with participation from over 30 agencies, I learned many disturbing aspects of global drug trafficking. Including the severe consequences of drug addiction and the killing synthetic drugs funding terrorism.
The losing battle against drugs
Too often I hear stories about the sudden deaths of young children with bright futures. Over the years, I have listened to many parents crying out load after finding loved ones dead in their bedrooms after overdosing. I also witnessed the drug education shrinking budgets in America and the lack of serious attention from leaders in Washington on this topic.
How can we ignore the crisis of drug addiction, death, and destruction of families? To make matters worse, we have a national health epidemic that connects to national security matters impacting all Americans.
Drug trafficking is a money business
Drug traffickers are in the business to make money while terrorists need money to operate and achieve their objectives.
As President Obama and other national leaders have stated,
"…terrorists are increasingly turning to crime and criminal networks for funding".
The threat of terrorists and drug traffickers forming a strong alliance is real and emerging quickly as a result of the worldwide demand for drugs and the exorbitant profits made from the business. As state sponsorship of terrorism declines, terrorism fueled by drug trafficking is on the rise. More than ever, this ongoing and expanding crisis needs the proactive attention of government.
Military Working Dogs: Marines and canine companions fight against terror
Sadly it takes the death of a celebrity, like Prince, or an affluent child from influential family to grab the attention of the folks who are responsible for dealing with this serious problem.
NBC News reporting:
Music legend Prince died after taking what he thought was Vicodin but was actually a counterfeit painkiller that was laced with fentanyl, a Minnesota prosecutor said Thursday in announcing that he would not be filing criminal charges in Prince's death.
"In all likelihood, Prince had no idea he was taking a counterfeit pill that could kill him," Carver County Attorney Mark Metz said at a news conference in Chaska. "Others around Prince also likely did not know that the pills were counterfeit containing fentanyl."
2010-2014 saw a 248% increase in heroin deaths
According to National Center for Health Statistics, there has been a 248% increase in heroin deaths from 2010-2014, according to the Centers for Disease Control, more than 28,000 people died in 2014 from opioid painkillers and heroin, and according to DEA more than 46,000 people in the U.S. died from drug overdoses in 2013. Isn't this alarming enough for Congress and others to get serious about this problem?
Synthetic drugs
Many Parents, teachers and educators have never heard of Spice or K2. They think K2 is a brand name for skiing gear and Spice is a seasoning for meals. The manufacturers and distributors of these dangerous synthetic drugs want non-users to believe its incense or nice smelling potpourri.
The creative marketing scheme designed to protect the distributors from prosecution even mark the exotic designed packages, Scooby Snax, King Cobra, Kush Apple, Kong, Magic Dragon and as "not for human consumption". Meanwhile, parents around the country are finding this synthetic cannabis and the paraphernalia in the bedrooms of their beautiful children as they lay either unconscious, dead or in the middle of a psychotic episode.
The perception of the public is marijuana is safe so how bad can synthetic marijuana be?
This is an emerging trend garnering the attention of the national media organizations. But, sadly, the public still doesn't realize that this non-hemp plant substance, dried, sprayed with chemicals, is made in laboratories in China. And that it is actually a poisonous substance. A poison destroying so many lives and families.
There is no quality control in the labs and the organizations behind the distribution are making tremendous amounts of money. Because the laws are behind and the legal system in America is slow to respond, the traffickers are taking complete advantage and making lots of money.
A disturbing trend that I saw growing as the Director of the Special Operations Division, was that synthetic pot was generating tons of profits. Unfortunately, the proceeds from this business are being sent from the U.S. to countries in the Middle East.
The fight against synthetic drugs
After Project Synergy and a major case in Alabama as part of Operation Red Tide, the question as to why millions of dollars were being sent to Yemen from convenience stores, gas stations and smoke shops selling synthetic drugs on the streets of America, was asked.
During multiple interviews, reporters always asked,
"..do we have the smoking gun to support that the millions funneled to Yemen were supporting terrorists".
Unfortunately, there is no proof beyond a reasonable doubt that these funds are going to terrorists and it remains an unanswered question due to limited intelligence. However, as an investigator for almost 30 years, it's very hard to justify or accept that these large sums of money are not getting into the hands of violent jihadist organizations.
If you look at all the evidence and facts relating to Yemen and that the base of operations for AQAP, Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, is in that country, it's certainly not a stretch to think that the people running these U.S. businesses are assisting the AQAP and other groups who need cash to operate. They need funds for training, recruiting, weapons, bribery, explosives, travel and logistics. AQAP is a Sunni extremist group that has conducted numerous high profile attacks targeting the west.
There was plenty of suspicious activity developed in the money movements as U.S. banks and law enforcement agencies examined the flows of cash to Yemen.
Keeping America Safe
Since U.S. officials have overwhelming responsibilities in keeping America safe, it's very difficult to get anyone excited to investigate this emerging problem without the "smoking gun" to support that these monies are supporting the agenda of terrorists. In my opinion this phenomenon is actually a "two for one special" for the terrorists. They can destroy families and kill children in the U.S. by selling synthetic drugs. At the same time they can make tons of money in the process to support their cause.
This is nothing new to the DEA. High level Afghani heroin traffickers say that selling heroin to customers in the west is part of global jihad. They can kill and make money at the same time. This is a win-win scenario for the enemy as the U.S. officials continue to debate the topic and disagree on what's actually happening.
It's clearly more important for the government's resources to prioritize the investigative efforts on the most pressing threats like when there is an active subject looking to kill innocent people on the streets of America. It's not possible with limited resources to investigate every aspect of terrorism.
But shutting down, criminal activities like selling synthetic drugs in the U.S., will disrupt funding of the terrorist's activities.
The larger issue in America's Drug Problem
The most important aspect of this article is to understand is the larger issues with the drug problem in America. Yes. It's very sad that young people are ruining their lives, or horrifically, dying. It is horrible for parents and families to experience the impacts of drug addiction.
It's government's responsibility to educate citizens of the country on the realities of global drug trafficking. The public and policy makers must understand the economics behind terrorism since that's a critical component of addressing the threat.
According to the United Nations World Drug Report, the global drug trade generates approximately $400 billion on an annual basis. It would be very naïve to think, that radical jihadists in Yemen wouldn't be benefiting directly from the synthetic drug sales in America when millions and millions are funneled from their U.S. based illicit activities.
Lead Image: This image is a work of a U.S. military or Department of Defense employee, taken or made as part of that person's official duties. As a work of the U.S. federal government, the image is in the public domain in the United States. - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:USMC-100201-M-3762C-001.jpg


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Mini food is in—small plates, small portions, miniature single-serve dishes. Our Kitchen Extras Mini Griddle provides a smart way to downsize when you want to prepare small portions and features the same dependable non-stick performance as our regular sized kitchen skillets. Crafted of pure aluminum and featuring our ecologically advanced water based Hydrolon® non-stick coating, the Mini Griddle has a soft touch silicone handle that stays cool, and is dishwasher safe and easy to clean.
• Single serve size (5.7″ cooking surface)
• Pure aluminum construction
• Scrolled, textured bottom for even and consistent heating
• Water-based, nontoxic PFOA-free non-stick Hydrolon® coating for easy food release and a more healthful cooking experience
• Vibrant color pan with matching handle for a trendy pop of kitchen color
• Soft silicone handle has a secure grip and stays cool to the touch
• Packaging printed on 70% recycled materials
• Limited lifetime warranty
• Dishwasher safe
|Item Weight:
|0.42 lbs
|Item Dimensions:
|11.9 × 5.7 × 1 in
|Item Number:

subset: commoncrawl


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- Asters, China
- Ageratum
- Baby's Breath
- Bachelor's Button
- Balloon Flower
- Balsam
- Bee Balm
- Bells Of Ireland
- Black-Eyed Susan Vine
- Bulbs & Tubers
- Butterfly Pea
- Cactus
- Calendula
- Canterbury Bells
- Cockscomb & Celosia
- Coleus
- Cosmos
- Dahlia
- Datura
- Daisy
- Dandelion
- Dianthus-Carnations
- Echinacea
- Elecampane
- Feverfew
- Four O'Clock's
- Gaillardia
- Gilia
- Gomphrena
- Heliopsis
- Heliotrope
- Hollyhock
- Honeywort
- Hyssop - Agastache
- Iceplant
- Kiss-Me-Over-The-Garden
- Love In A Mist
- Marigolds
- MIlkweed
- Morning Glory
- Nasturtium
- Nicotiana
- Pansy
- Petunia
- Phlox
- Poppy
- Portulaca
- Safflower
- Salpiglossis
- Salvia - Sage
- Scabiosa
- Snapdragon
- Statice
- Strawflower
- Sunflower
- Sweet Alyssum
- Sweet Peas
- Toothache Plant
- Wildflower
- Yarrow
- Zinnias
Annual, Easy to grow vine, this is an amazing plant that was refined in 9th century Japan. Jere's favorite vine, colorful and so easy to grow!
The Japanese Morning Glory Pot festival, called Iriya Asagao, began in the Meiji period (1868-1912) after a gardener planted morning glory flowers in various parts of Iriya. The morning glory pot festival was revived in 1948 and is currently an extremely popular display of over 120,000 morning glory plants! The vendor displays consist of easy to carry pots, morning glories that have been trained to bush through routine pruning, in an astonishing a variety of colors and patterns with a small and sometimes decorative cage around the plant. Growing morning glories in pots is the perfect way to enjoy a variety of stunning morning glories near your home or on a patio. Training them to bush is extremely easy! The select strain of morning glories that we offer from Japan aren't as invasive or weedy as their wild counterparts and do not produce as much seed. We were inspired by this Japanese tradition and had our own Morning Glory pot festival in a small space in our greenhouse. 8" pots were used with 5/16" x 48" dowl rods that were cut in half and placed at four points into the potting soil. Very flexible 25lb galvanized steel wire was used to create horizontal training wires periodically up the rods and were decoratively wrapped up and down the rods. The morning glories were incredibly easy to train around the wires and rods creating an amazing explosion of blooms in a tidy compact area.
GROW IT! Flower Growing Tips HERE
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Chocolate Morning Glory
Stunning Color! (Ipomoea nil) The Japanese started selecting morning glories in the 9th century, and this selection is one of their most stunning. Huge, 5-inch blooms are the loveliest creamy, chocolate-pink color. Large plants produce loads of these beauties that are so rare and unique. Imperial Japanese morning glories were quite popular in America during Victorian times, and we plan to make them popular here once again.
Feather Mix Morning Glory
Keiryu Mountain Stream Morning Glory
Amazing LIME Green Leaves & Sea-Blue Colored Blooms! (Ipomoea nil) This is one of the best morning glories we have grown. It was on display at our gardens in Missouri, and the inquiries were never ending. The foliage is bright lime green and variegated. The large flowers are a unique true blue with white speckles and stripes. Flowers were prolific and varied; a truly captivating flower. Like most other Japanese Imperial types, this is a shy seed producer; the rare seeds are in limited supply.
Mura Kumo Morning Glory
Amazing 5-6-inch blooms. Aptly nicknamed "gathering clouds" morning glory, stormy dark-violet disks are streaked with clouds of white, making a bold contrast against light green, slightly variegated foliage. Japan experienced a morning glory "mania" during the Edo period, much like tulip "fever" of the Dutch. Japan's diverse list of unique morning glories heralds from this period of excitement.
Red Picotee Morning Glory
This stunning Japanese Kikyozaki variety offers a whole new dimension. Imagine star-shaped morning glories in shades of carmine-red and trimmed in creamy white. The lovely vines also have heart-shaped leaves. A must for those who like unique beauty. We were so excited to find seed for several of these priceless Japanese selections.
Sazanami Morning Glory
Stunning 5" blooms in a rare technicolor blue-violet color with a thick, white picotee and large, white throat. Vines are short and well suited to growing the traditional Japanese way in pots. This variety is also known as "ripples on the beach," a reference to the Caribbean Ocean blue color that looks like ripples of waves.
Split Second Morning Glory
(Ipomoea purpurea) Shell-pink to almost coral, fully double flowers have individual petals— gone is the trumpet form of regular morning glories! The margins of these individual petals are notched and frilled; the overall effect is that of a peony, or parrot-tulip, yet the vigorous vines easily climb 4-6 feet!
Sunrise Serenade Morning Glory
Our Favorite! (Ipomoea purpurea) Our most asked-about flower in our 2008 trial gardens. A few vines covered the arbor over our garden gate. The flowers are so unique and stunning: they're true double morning glories! They are fully double and uniquely shaped, plus they come in the most lovely shades of ruby-rose. This historic heirloom has long been out of catalogs due to the introduction of modern varieties, but this variety proves that some things can't be improved!
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VIDEO: April 15th House Majority Press Availability
Video of the Alaska House Majority Coalition's April 11th, 2017 press availability.Read More →
Video of the Alaska House Majority Coalition's April 11th, 2017 press availability.Read More →
Juneau – The Alaska House of Representatives today passed legislation to reform Alaska's flawed and unsustainable system of oil and gas subsidies. Without changes, the State of Alaska is projected to pay out more in oil tax credits in Fiscal Year 2018 than the state will take in from production taxes. Production tax revenue used to be Alaska's leading source of revenue.Read More →
Video of the February 28th press availability hosted by Speaker Bryce Edgmon, House Majority Leader Chris Tuck, Reps Andy Josephson and Geran Tarr.Read More →
Juneau – The Alaska House Majority Coalition will hold a press availability Tuesday morning to answer questions from reporters covering the 30th Alaska State Legislature. Participants will include Speaker of the House Rep. Bryce Edgmon (D-Dillingham), Rep. Dean Westlake (D-Kotzebue), and Resources Committee Co-Chairs Rep. Geran Tarr (D-Anchorage) and Rep. Andy Josephson (D-Anchorage).Read More →
Juneau – The members of the Alaska House Majority Coalition commend Governor Walker for his decision to sign a disaster declaration for the worsening opioid epidemic in Alaska. The disaster declaration allows a statewide program under the direction of Alaska's Chief Medical Officer to facilitate the distribution of the life-saving drug naloxone, which is used to revive overdose victims. Earlier today, Governor Walker signed an Administrative Order that sets up an Incident Command System and directs all state departments to apply for federal grants to respond to the opioid epidemic.Read More →
Anchorage – The 22 members of the new House Majority Caucus in the Alaska House of Representatives have selected a bipartisan group of lawmakers to chair the committees that will addresses needed legislation during the upcoming 30th Alaska Legislature, which begins in January.Read More →


text: Dependent Origination By signeglahn on March 21, 2018 in 21 – 28 September 2018, Zwanenhof, Holland The focus of the retreat is dependent origination, one of the most significant of the Buddha's teachings in understanding both the cause of dukkha (suffering) and its end. We will explore in depth the way that our psychological worlds are created moment to moment. Mornings are given to silent practice, afternoons to a sustained teaching session and evenings will include discussion and practice. Priority on this retreat is given to those participating in the Committed Practitioners' Programme, but there will be a limited number of spaces open to non-participants. Prior experience of at least three silent, week-long insight meditation retreats is required. Teachers CHRISTINA FELDMAN is a co-founder of Gaia House and a guiding teacher at Insight Meditation Society, Barre, Massachussetts. The author of a number of books, she has been teaching insight meditation retreats internationally since 1976. She is one of the teaching faculty of the CDPP programme, dedicated to the study and application of the early teachings of the Buddha and is engaged in teaching the Buddhist psychological foundations of mindfulness to those training to teach mindfulness-based applications in England, Belgium and the Netherlands. JOHN PEACOCK is both an academic and a Buddhist practitioner of nearly forty years. Trained initially in the Tibetan Gelugpa tradition in India, he subsequently spent time in Sri Lanka studying Theravada. He lectured in Buddhist Studies at the University of Bristol, is Associate Director of the Oxford Mindfulness Centre and teaches on the Master of Studies programme in MBCT (Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy) at Oxford University. John has been teaching meditation for more than twenty five years and is a Gaia House guiding teacher. Event Details All teachings are offered on a dana basis Periods of silent meditation practice, as well as teaching and discussion periods. Accommodation in shared rooms. All meals included – vegetarian food If paying a deposit – balance to be paid no later than 4 weeks before the module start A limited number of Bursary places are available for this course Please read the Booking Conditions before booking September 21, 2018 - September 28, 20184:00 pm - 2:00 pm


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The Worlds Largest Dealer of Authentic Antique Diving Helmets
Selling Your Helmets
Do you have a diving helmet or collection for sale? If so we would like to speak with you. Click below for more information or
Call / Text us at 316-371-1828 or email firstname.lastname@example.com
Appraisal Services
Needing a value or wanting more details about your helmet or collection? Insurance & market value appraisals plus historical reports are available.
Nation's Attic Inc. was started in 2005 by Don Creekmore. Today the company is also operated by Jenny Creekmore. Both are graduates of Wichita State University with business degrees in entrepreneurship & business management. After randomly finding a German diving helmet in Wichita, Kansas the idea was born to start a lifelong discovery of these pieces of history. Nation's Attic is a member of the Historical Diving Society in the United States; United Kingdom and Australia. We also have an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau.
Below are just some of the examples of diving helmets we are interested in buying. If you have one, simply call or text us at 316-371-1828 or email@example.com
Over the years Nation's Attic has become the largest dealer of authentic antique diving helmets. Find out how we can help you find that perfect piece!


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It looks like you're browsing from the United States.
All Duty Costs Included with Express Delivery.
Bardot Knitwear
40 styles found
Stay cosy this season whilst scoring some major fashion points with our beaut collection of bardot knitwear. Give your wardrobe more milage and add a red bardot style knitwear jumper. Perf for dressing up or down and keeping you hella warm through the colder months. Not your style? Go for a black choker style knitwear cropped jumpers. Style with black PU high waisted leggings, or your fave pair of black ripped jeans. Whatever your style, we've got the look for you.
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Otaku Heroes APK 0.0.0.6
最後のバージョン: 0.0.0.6
Otaku Heroes is a アクション ゲーム for Android phones and tablets developed by David Kong. The latest APK version of Otaku Heroes is 0.0.0.6 compatible with Nexus, Sumsung Galaxy, LG, Huawei and Kindle Fire mobile phones and android devices having system version 4.0 and higher. The last mod was released on 08-9-2016 and has google play package name andro.mg.bw.cos. Please read the details about the ゲーム below. Easy and fast Otaku Heroes APK download of the android version 0.0.0.6 is available directly on ApkGain.com. Otaku Heroes APK is the property and trademark from the developer David Kong. Please note that we only provide the original and free apk package installation without any modifications. Check our "safe download" sign to get the latest report from McAfee to see if the Otaku Heroes download is completely secure. Customers who installed and played this ゲーム gave over 72345 user ratings with an average rating 4.0 of 5 stars relating to Otaku Heroes. More than 0 people have played this ゲーム by now. Join them now and download Otaku Heroes ゲーム APK directly on our ApkGain.com play market!
説明【Game Introduction】
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Hussain further informed that the scheme has already covered nearly two crore beneficiaries within the last two months. He urged the gas agencies of Jonai to expedite the beneficiary registration process for free excess of LPG among the selected beneficiaries.
Stating that the yojana is the most important social welfare scheme initiated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Hussain added that the Central Government is taking the initiative to ensure healthy survival of poor women through use of safe and organic fuel. The scheme would also minimise the felling of trees for firewood, which is causing degradation of the environment.
Among others, NGO activists Royal Pegu, proprietor of PB Gas agency, Prasanta Bori, Food & Civil Supply Officer Haladhar Mili also spoke on the occasion and briefed on the utility of LPG cooking gas in order to get rid of the ailments resulted by fire smoke.
The IOC officials and other dignitaries later distributed free LPG gas cards and certificate among 40 selected beneficiaries.


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Tuition: 7580 RMB
Group Discount: 6822 RMB
This summer school, held by Suzhou Dushu Lake Science and Education Innovation District, is China's first and only summer school for middle and high school students, giving you a chance to experience life at a top joint-venture university before you make application decisions.
The bilingual summer school is open to all middle and high school students in China, including graduates, and runs from Saturday 5 to Sunday 13 August 2017.
It is organised by Study@Dushu Lake, a platform set up by SEID to promote study opportunities in the area.
Tuition: 7580 RMB
Group Discount: 6822 RMB
Application is now open. You can apply through the Study@Dushu Lake application website.
For further information please contact +86 (0)512 6260 2260 or firstname.lastname@example.com


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"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do."
– Mark Twain
Welcome to Tsiolis Studios and Apartments. We are a family run business that strives to make your stay with us as comfortable as possible. We offer you comfortable standards yet embrace you with our Zakynthian hospitality.
Our main goal is to create the perfect holiday! Surrounded by olive groves with fantastic mountain views makes sitting on your balcony an indulging sensation. The intoxicating sweet smell of the bougainvillea in the air makes its presence with the lovely fuchsia/purple colours. A perfect landscaped portrait!
Located on the outskirts of Tsilivi resort allows you to enjoy a relaxing atmosphere away from the mass tourist industry. You can enjoy your 5 min walk to the town center to reach the local taverns, pubs, international restaurants, super markets and nightclubs. A further 10 minutes stroll will bring you to the sandy beach. Tsilivi beach has been awarded the "Blue Flag of Cleanliness".
Tsiolis Block A is elevated from street level. The upper floor studios have private balconies while the lower floor have a big-shared terrace. Our terrace is beautifully fenced and provides lock up gates for toddlers to play in a safe environment. It is very important for parents to enjoy themselves as much as their kids will.
There is access to a big private garden area next door which offers a playground area for kids and sunbeds with umbrellas for the adults to relax. It has been carefully thought out for the lower floor to accommodate family size rooms allowing a safe area for kids to play.This inspires children to make friends and new playmates. We know the things that can make a self-catering holiday a little more comfortable.
All studios and apartments have private balconies with mountain, garden or street views. There is a variety of studios that sleep 2 persons (double or twin bedded).
Two of our bigger studios sleep up to 4 persons (double bed and bunk beds).
The lower floor caters for three apartments, each with its own private balcony. The lovely fenced up garden area in front offers total privacy and a safe area for children to play from the main street. We know the things that can make a self-catering holiday a little more comfortable.
All our rooms have air conditioning {hot/cold} (free),TV, kettle, toaster, sandwich maker, iron, ironing board (shared), hair dryer, and a safety deposit box (free).
Venture into the Tsilivi Hills and Olive groves, horse back
Riding lessons
4 years and up*
Free transport
Complete equipment for Jockey and skills
Personal safety and care
For beginners and amateurs
A unique experience of an open-top Land Rover that takes you to places no other means of transportation can.
Stops include:
The 12 wells, Damianoy Caves, Sarakina mansion, Xygia beach,Gyri view and much more.
The most comfortable way to see the island in half a day.
Stops include:
Blue Caves, The Skinari Lighthouse, The Shipwreck, The Stalactites, St Nickolas Harbour.
The boat takes up to 25 people and your back by lunchtime.
Visit the birthplace of the Olympic Games.
Stops include:
Olympic Village, Museum, Archaeological Site, Castle of Killini.
Air conditioned coach.
The largest of the Ionian islands has so much to offer in the beauty of nature.
View the island in just 1 day!
Stops include:
Pessada, St. Gerasimos Church, Drogarati Cave, Melissani Lake, Mirtos, Argostoli.
See what the island is really about via air conditioned coach.
Stops include:
St.Mavra Church, Anafonitria, Shipwreck, Volimes, St. Nickolas, Blue Caves, Alikes Vanato, Bohali and much more.
Daily - 09:00 - 17:30
*Stops include:
Akykes (visit)
Blue Caves (photo stop)
Shipwreck (swim stop, 90 min)
Porto Vromi (visit)
Agalas Caves (photo stop)
Keri Caves (photo stop)
Oasis Beach (swim stop, 60 min)
Turtle Island (photo stop)
St Nickolas, Basilikos (visit)
*All stops are subject to weather conditions
*Price includes:
Bus transfers to and from resort
Professional guide
Villa Agroart is a charming 100 sq.m villa that can accommodate comfortably 4 people. The villa is located in Vanato away from busy resorts within a private property surrounded by olive trees.
This villa offers two bedrooms , open plan kitchen and living-room with fireplace and direct access to the pool area. In the outside area there is a swimming pool and built barbeque with dining table.
Rate Notes
The price includes, breakfast items all villa facilities and and local taxes. This price is non-refundable.
Room Capacity
6 guests
Amenities & Services
Fruits, vegetables and herbs from the cultivated garden of the farm available daily to our guests
Baby chair, baby cot, Pushchair (on request)
Board games, books, DVD movies, DVD fitness exercise programmes, music CD's and play station games
Cleaning / Change of bed linens and towels every three days
Double Sofa Bed
DVD player & playstation console
Energetic eco-friendly fireplace & central heating
Excellent quality bathrobes, slippers and pool towels
Excellent quality bedding, linen and towels by silk & cotton
Fitness equipment (gymnastics mat, dumbbells, yoga-pilates ball, fitness rubber)
Free satellite channel
Fully air-conditioned
Fully equipped kitchen with all appliances (fridge, oven, dishwasher, coffee machine, etc)
Hair dryers in every room
Iron, ironing board and drying rack
Luxurious and spacious bathroom with hydromassage and sauna
Luxury line of toiletries, based on natural active ingredients
Personal working desk with Laptop
Pet hosting (upon request)
Safe boxes
Smart TV 22″ Full HD in all bedrooms
Smart TV 42″ Full HD and 3D in the living room with free satellite channels
Solar water heater
Washing machine
Welcome basket with local products, homemade sweets and a bottle of wine
Wireless (wi-fi) and wired internet connection in all rooms and in all outdoor areas of Villa
Check-In Policy
Check-In time: 14:00
Check-Out time: 12:00
The 3 apartments are all housed in our main building and each apartment can easily accommodate 3 – 4 persons.
Comprising a seperate bedroom with a double bed or 2 single beds and an open plan living area, with either one or two single beds and a dining table.
The apartments have private bathrooms with a WC with shower, as well as air-conditioning, a TV and a hair dryer.
A fully equipped kitchen will make all guests feel instantly at home and the kitchen has all necessary utensils ensuring cooking is easy as well as a kettle, coffee machine and fridge.
All apartments have private balconies providing nice garden views.
Rate Notes
Special non refundable rate. Get 8% discount on basic rate! (Air Condition is charged extra.)
Room Capacity
4 guests
Amenities & Services
Air Conditioning
All Kitchenette Utelnsils
Coffee Facilities
Dining Table
Electric Rings
Flat Screen TV
Nice Garden Views
Open plan living Area
Sofa bed
Spacious Balcony
WC with Shower
Check-In Policy
Check-In time: 14:00
Check-Out time: 12:00
This family run accommodation consists of two spacious apartments and a detached house, all of which are ideal for families with children, due to their quiet location in the area of Old Alykanas.
They offer full self catering facilities and stunning sea views as all properties are just 50m from Xechoriatis beach (Old Alykanas) the lovely blue Ionian Sea.
Room Types
Villa Thalia
Marinos House
Vrisaki House
Facilities & Services
24h hot water
Baby Sitting (on request)
Beauty Treatment (on request)
Boat Trips
Car & Motorbike Rental
Close to the beach
Daily cleaning
Doctor (upon request)
Family run
Linen changed 2 times a week
Parking Area
Safe Deposit Box
Washing Machine
Wi-Fi Internet Access
Check-In Policy
Check-In time: 14:00
Check-Out time: 11:00
Operating Period
Our property operates from 1 Apr to 31 Oct
Arge Villa, a 3-bedroom villa that measures about 120 sq.m is located near Zante Town, in Varres.
The villa can accommodate 6-7 persons and features a private swimming pool as well as spacious rooms and a variety of facilities.
Room Types
3 Bedroom Villa with Private Pool
Facilities & Services
Baby cot and chair upon request
Car and bicycle hire arrangements
Cleaning every 3 days
Excursion arrangements
Fresh sheets and towels every 3 days
Outdoor showers
Pets allowed upon request
Private parking area
Private Swimming pool (30 square meters)
Sun loungers and umbrellas
Taxi arrangements
Transfer to/from airport
WiFi internet access
Yoga and pilates lessons
Check-In Policy
Check-In time: 14:00
Check-Out time: 11:00
Operating Period
Our property operates from 1 Apr to 31 Oct


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making it to the top of the list this week, GLEE! I am such a gleek!
I used to make these when I was little, so they bring back a lot of nostalgic memories!
such a perfect picture, photoshoped of course, or else this, I'm sure would have ended bad.
these are so happy! I really fancy them.
I wish I was there right now, it seems so magical!
I would fancy an adorable pair of these booties! definitely
p.s. I am currently working on a new series for you guys, which I think is going to be soo cute! Can't wait to share it!


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We now encounter widespread campaign or advocacy for equal rights for women, feminism. Though there are different school of thoughts on the subject, what underlines the general advances in recognition for the rights of women is LOVE and a right understanding of the image of humanity (that of God). It is for a fact that the image of God refers male and female in so far as we believe and know God created the first couple in his own image;
" God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created THEM; male and FEMALE he created them (Gen 1:27).
I do not know much about the topic of feminism especially in the growing disparity of thoughts surrounding it, but I can unequivocally explain the concept of feminism today is on a wrong turn. Feminism according to my search through different dictionaries is a theory, a doctrine, a belief and/or ideology. It therefore means no matter the development on the understanding of the subject due to civilization and social change, there exists an entrenched and unchangeable side of it. Advocacy for equal rights for men and women lies at the heart of love for self [humanity as a whole] and not just for the self [the individual].
History has a pack of excess of cultures [situational and time] that has burdened women with exploitation and discrimination. Even though significant advances have been made throughout growing history in the recognition of women's right and their participation in public or social life, much remains to be done to promote these rights. Inhuman customs that deprived women of their dignity still need to be eliminated. Thanks to growing groups of those who believe in the theory of feminism, the general public is getting more enlightenment despite the fact that some are coming with issues that can be termed controversial or a bit away from the core of the doctrine. Personally, the Girls with Purpose, the Pepperdem and Sugardem Ministries have opened my eyes to much issues surrounding the subject of feminism. They, especially the Pepperdem Ministries against all odds have pushed me to understand, appreciate and develop a strong sense of commitment towards feminism getting to know its place in my Christian, social and all other aspects of life.
Away from issues like whether it is wrong for a woman (wife) to kneel before her husband as part of the act of showing gratitude or respect to the husband, and to views like husbands cooking for their wives to eat, I think these feminists are doing great to keep a will of God; that male and female were created and are to be treated equally. There is still the need for us to stand and speak against the shameful ill-treatment to which women are subjected in our civilized world and time. Domestic violence, rape and other forms of maltreatment meted out to women are all acts of cowardice, as the Apostolic Exhortation of Pope Francis on The Joy of Love, "Amoris Laetitia" puts it, rather than the show of masculine power.
The verbal, physical, emotional and sexual violence that women endure in our society especially in marriages contradicts the very nature of our own human dignity (both sexes); that we are created in the image of God.
There are those who believe that many social issues of debates or arguments and problems have arisen because of feminine emancipation. This is not true, it is but a form of male chauvinism. But to the those who are afraid of these feminists, I say do not fear and do not hate them for only the unloved hate, for the good they are in to offer our mothers, sisters and daughters is worth more than the grief womanhood have suffered.
Certainly, some forms of feminism might have arisen among us which may lack the core values of the theory and thus must be considered inadequate. Nonetheless, positive look at women's movement for equal dignity must grow so that the seemingly unwavering discrimination against women will end. Feminism is but a push for the love of God's own image which Sacred Christian Scripture tells us is the image of men and 'Women. Equally were we created, and equally must we live.
Written by Akakpo Elikem Kwabla


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The National Bowel Cancer Screening Program uses the address recorded on your Medicare record to send you a home test kit and letters. You can update your Medicare address by:
- using the Department of Human Services' Online Services page
- calling the Department of Human Services on 132 011
- visiting your local Service Centre
- sending a signed request to update your Medicare address to the Department of Human Services, GPO Box 9822 in your capital city (a form is not required). Please include your:
- Medicare number
- first name and surname
- previous address registered with Medicare
- date of birth.
You can also update your address by calling the Contact Centre on 1800 627 701.
Shared Medicare CardsUpdating a Medicare card address will update the address for all persons on the card. If you share a Medicare card with another person and update your Medicare address, then the other person's address will also be updated.
Where the address change does not apply to all persons on the card, then the person requesting the change should transfer off the existing card and onto a card of their own.
You can go to any Department of Human Services Service Centre to change the address on your current Medicare card back to the previous address and lodge the form requesting to go onto a new Medicare card of your own.
If you have any further enquiries please call the Program Contact Centre on 1800 118 868.


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Read Must-Haves for Innovation in Missions, Part One (Pilot Projects; Rigorous, Honest Evaluation; The Role of the Champion).
Unexpected Benefits
Supporting a culture of innovation often leads to the discovery of benefits which were not in view when an experiment was initiated. A well-known example in the business world is the discovery of the adhesive for Post-it notes. While attempting to invent a new strong adhesive in 1970, 3M researcher Spencer Silver ended up creating a very weak, apparently useless adhesive. Four years later, his 3M colleague Arthur Fry thought of a use for the weak adhesive as a movable bookmark that would stay put but not damage pages. Thus the genesis of Post-it notes, which appeared in the global marketplace in 1980 (The Great Idea Finder, 2006).
Being alert to the possibility and strategic merit of unintended benefits is crucial to maintaining a fruitful culture of innovation in mission. In 2011, The Seed Company tested two new methodologies for Bible translation in India, both of which surprised us with unexpected benefits.
The Video Audio Strategy for Translation (VAST) was developed as an accelerated methodology for crafting the script of the Jesus Film without dependence upon reading and writing skills. The Seed Company launched a pilot project in one language of southern India to see if a Jesus Film script produced in this fashion could be used as the basis for an accelerated translation of the complete Gospel of Luke.
However, after completing the translation of the Jesus Film using the VAST methodology, the language translators felt so empowered and enthusiastic about their new skill that they rushed ahead and drafted the entire Gospel of Luke in audio form in less than two months. They listened to an audio recording of the Gospel in their state language as a source text, then translated, checked, and revised it in an audio recording in their own language. Although the resulting translation needed much revision, the essential skill of translating in an audio medium was transferred in a way which immediately empowered the translation team. That fact changed the design of the experiment midstream.
During the same period we also tested an application of Internet-based crowd-sourcing to Bible translation in a language of northern India. We wanted to see if using a web-based platform allowing hundreds of people to participate together in a Bible translation process could yield results comparable in quality (accuracy and naturalness) to those obtained by employing highly-trained translators.
Well over one thousand speakers of the language, of all ages, participated in drafting several chapters of Luke in their language. In the end, we found the resulting translation still needed significant revision by trained translators to be usable. However, in the course of evaluating the process we discovered that pastors of the small church-plants in the area reported significantly increased church attendance as a result of people participating in translating scripture into their language. That unintended benefit, alongside our evaluation of the quality of the translation, led us to modify our goals and method for applying crowd-sourcing as a translation tool.
Innovation is a winding path with many blind corners. Noticing and capitalizing on the unexpected benefits is key to the process.
Parallel Innovations
The history of science and industry is filled with examples of simultaneous, parallel inventions. The light bulb, telephone, atomic energy, and the airplane (to name just a few) were all concepts worked on feverishly at the same time by multiple parties who were competing to be the first to achieve success and commercial viability. There is something about the general growth of knowledge in the global community which seems to push certain innovative ideas to prominence, giving them time in the conceptual limelight, and generating human energy to bring them to practical fruition (see The Technium, 2009).
The phenomenon of parallel invention can be seen in Christian ministry also. For example:
- Crowd-sourced translation is an idea whose time has come and is being actively explored by many parties both inside the Bible translation community and in the larger business world (Kelly 2012).
- In the mid-twentieth century, the notion of Christian radio broadcasting as a missionary endeavor led to the founding of HCJB (1931), Far East Broadcasting Company (1945), and Trans-World Radio (1954).
- Today, the digital distribution of scripture in audio and written form has exploded, with the YouVersion Bible app and the Bible.is program from Faith Comes by Hearing being just two of many web platforms making scripture accessible via the web.
- Oral Bible storytelling has come of age as a missionary strategy for many different agencies in recent years.
- In the Bible translation scene, the concept of clustering, in which translation teams working in different languages collaborate in various ways to achieve economies of scale, is being applied by a number of different ministries around the world.
- Many Christian foundations and ministries are investigating how to measure the spiritual impact of their work.
As we think about parallel invention as it applies to missions, a few lessons stand out, lessons which contrast with behaviors in the wider business world. Our eyes need to be open to others outside the mission context who may be applying the same idea in ways we can use.
Unlike inventors who race to get the credit for being first, our focus needs to stay on the interests of the kingdom. We need to be more concerned about what is being done for God's glory and less concerned about what group gets credit (Mark 9:39-40). A spirit of comparison and competition doesn't come from God. This should lead us to share information freely and be open to the possibility of collaboration in innovation. Good ideas eventually need to be taken to scale and shared widely. That process in particular calls for humility in sharing and also in receiving good ideas. Being generous and meticulous to give credit when building on the work of others develops trust and facilitates collaboration.
Any time a leader wants to encourage a culture of creativity in an organization, he or she must be willing to accept a certain amount of risk. This risk can come in various forms, the most obvious being the risk of failure. When you are trying something new, you can't be sure it will work. As a result, you have to be willing to accept the possibility that it will not work, and you will lose your investment in time and finances. This is a cost of innovation in any enterprise. (3)
The case of the translation resources for East Asian translators cited above is an example of a failed experiment. Let me share another one. Over the last few years, The Seed Company has engaged three different consulting groups to help us formulate an instrument for assessing the impact of the Bible translation projects we sponsor.
The reason we engaged three different groups is that the first two did not succeed in devising the tool we were looking for. From one perspective, these earlier two attempts could be seen as expensive failures. However, they do represent the cost of innovation in a domain of vital importance to us. Here are some lessons we learned:
- In order to maintain a culture of innovation, there has to also be a culture of grace, with permission to fail. (4)
- The greater the innovation, the higher the risk of failure. In these cases, insisting on a lean initial investment is wise.
- We learned and improved our management of the experimental model on the basis of our experience in the first two attempts. Thomas Edison quipped about his many trials to find a usable filament for a light bulb: "I have discovered hundreds of materials that won't work..."
Another risk of innovation is pushback. Attempting to accomplish something in a new way in any enterprise will often threaten people who are comfortable in or committed to the status quo. This phenomenon is well-documented and any leader who has sought to change the status quo has run into it. (5)
The anecdote with which I began this article is an example of mild pushback to innovation in a mission context. For a leader, part of managing innovative experiments is a commitment to shield them from being squelched too early by those uneasy with change. In a Christian ministry context, we strive to honor and respect the wisdom of these senior, experienced teammates without allowing their understandable hesitations to stifle creativity and innovation.
Another dimension of leadership in an innovative environment is recruiting new staff who are flexible and braced for the tumult of change. The Seed Company's People and Organizational Development team has been deliberate in seeking qualified staff who can manage and, in some cases, welcome the exciting stresses associated with innovation and change.
Timing and messaging are also crucial to the introduction of new innovations. Fumbling in these areas can create additional pushback against an innovation. (6) New ideas can be exciting. Some of them hold the prospect of greatly improving effectiveness in ministry. Sometimes people can get so enamored with the bright prospects that they can project a hoped-for-potential to be a reality. We found this to be the case in our exploratory applications of crowd-source technology to the Bible translation task. Early on, the approach seemed so cutting-edge and exciting that some advocates were tempted to overstate the case, painting a picture of success and potential that goes beyond what we could honestly document from our research. This led some partners to oppose the idea early on, before we had had the chance to test and refine it. That opposition created additional, time-consuming leadership challenges for us, and it could have been avoided or at least decreased by proactive management of the messaging.
Christian ministries are not insulated from the hyper-speed of change in the twenty-first century.
Many of the changes around us represent threats to our future. Others are God-given opportunities, opening new doors and providing new avenues for effectiveness in mission. In this context, creating and supporting a culture of innovation in ministry is becoming a non-negotiable for all of us. May God give us grace and wisdom as we lead with vision and faith!
[3] Peters and Waterman (1982, 209) refer to this as a "numbers game." Companies that experiment with many different innovations see a lot fail, but the few that succeed do well enough to more than cover the inherent costs of the innovative environment.
[4] Peters and Waterman (1982, 231) describe the innovation process at 3M: "'The odds on any one idea making it through to commercial fruition are approximately zero...There is no limit to raw ideas.' So the champions are all over the place experimenting, spending a little. Mostly they fail....a few go all the way."
[5] Resistance to change is a well-documented phenomenon. Dr. Spencer Johnson wrote the best-selling Who Moved My Cheese (1998) to encourage people to embrace and adapt to change. Kuhn (1996, 159) describes the introduction of new scientific paradigms as a gradual process of individual "conversions" to a new explanation of data. He also documents the dim prospect that some of those committed to the earlier paradigm never move to the newer one, despite mounting evidence and the movement of the preponderance of their professional colleagues. Peters and Waterman (1982, 211) refer to the champions of a new invention as pioneers and comment "pioneers get shot at..."
[6] Townsend (1970, 37) takes a perceptive, albeit a little jaundiced, view of the dangers of public communication about innovations at too early a stage.
- The Great Idea Finder. 2006. "Post it Note History—Invention of Post-it Notes." Accessed July 27, 2012, from www.ideafinder.com/history/inventions/postit.htm.
- Johnson, Spencer. 1998. Who Moved My Cheese? An Amazing Way to Deal with Change in Your Work and in Your Life. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons.
- Kelly, Nataly. 2012. "Clearing Up the Top Ten Myths about Translation." Accessed August 1, 2012, from www.huffingtonpost.com/nataly-kelly/clearing-up-the-top10-my_b_1590360.html
- Kuhn, Thomas. 1996. The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. 3rd ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
- Peters, Thomas J. and Robert H. Waterman. 1982. In Search of Excellence, Lessons from America's Best-Run Companies. New York: Harper and Row.
- The Technium. 2008. "The Expansion of Ignorance." Accessed January 11, 2013, from www.kk.org/thetechnium/archives/2008/10/the_expansion_o.php.
- _____. 2009. "Progression of the Inevitable." Accessed July 27, 2012, from www.kk.org/thetechnium/archives/2009/08/progression_of.php
- Townsend, Robert. 1970. Up the Organization: How to Stop the Corporation from Stifling People and Strangling Profits. Greenwich, Conn.: Fawcett Publications, Inc.
EMQ, Vol. 50, No. 2, pp. 194-203. Copyright © 2014 Billy Graham Center. All rights reserved.
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Greer Elementary School, Albemarle County's most diverse pre-K through grade 5 school, is fully committed to creating an equality of opportunity for every one of our children through an educational program focused on the individual student.
For every school and school division in the Commonwealth, the Virginia Department of Education's
School Quality Profiles provide detailed information about accreditation, assessments, enrollment, college and career readiness, finance, learning climate, teacher quality, and other topics of interest to parents and the general public.
Public schools in Albemarle County are divided into three "feeder patterns" according to geographical area: Northern, Southern and Western. A feeder pattern consists of the elementary, middle and high schools through which students progress.
Greer Elementary School is part of the
Northern Feeder Pattern. Students continue to Jouett Middle School and will graduate from Albemarle High School.
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Stephen Saunders2019-Present
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24 / 07 / 2019
EARTO organises its Policy Event and Innovation Awards Ceremony which will take place on 8 October from 09.30-14.00 at the Royal Museum of Fine Arts of Belgium in Brussels. The sixth edition of EARTO Policy Event will focus on "Towards Horizon Europe: EU Cross-Border Collaborative & Applied Research", aiming at gathering more than 250 representatives from RTOs, EU institutions, industry as well as other key R&I stakeholders.
The eleventh edition of EARTO Innovation Awards will be held at the same date at a special ceremony, awarding innovations with significant social and/or economic impact selected by independent jury.
The detailed programme as well as the registration are now available on the EARTO October Events' website!


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A blog in which Drew Kaplan describes recent goings-on in his life, Jewish stuff, musings on life, etc.
30 January 2006
Serving and Becoming Like Hashem (Avodat Hashem & Imitatio Dei)
However, it seems a bit difficult only being half of that image (yeah, I'm single). While this may seem like a cute and easy copout, I really believe that it's much more difficult to realize one's full Godliness when one is only half of the Lord's image.
In any event, I suspect this will be somewhat of a struggle on my behalf between living merely according to halakhah without a sense of its purpose and trying to emulate haShem through haShem's Torah, commandments, and, of course, through halakhah.
29 January 2006
The Arukh haShulhan on Women & Tefillin
In section 38.6 of Orah Hayyim, he wrote the following:
נשים ועבדים פטורים מתפילין מפני שהיא מצות עשה שהזמן גרמא דשבת ויו"ט פטור מתפילין ואם רוצין להחמיר על עצמן מוחין בידן ולא דמי לסוכה ולולב שפטורות ועכ"ז מברכות עליהן דכיון דתפילין צריך זהירות יתירה מגוף נקי כדאמרינן בשבת [מ"ט.] תפילין צריכין גוף נקי כאלישע בעל כנפים ובירושלמי ברכות שם אמרו תמן אמרין כל שאינו כאלישע בעל כנפים אל יניח תפילין אך אנשים שמחויבים בהכרח שיזהרו בהם בשעת ק"ש ותפלה ולכן אין מניחין כל היום כמ"ש בסי' הקודם וא"כ נשים שפטורות למה יכניסו עצמן בחשש גדול כזה ואצלן בשעת ק"ש ותפלה כלאנשים כל היום לפיכך אין מניחין אותן להניח תפילין ואע"ג דתניא בעירובין [צ"ו.] דמיכל בת שאול היתה מנחת תפילין ולא מיחו בה חכמים אין למידין מזה דמסתמא ידעו שהיא צדקת גמורה וידעה להזהר וכן עבדים כה"ג [עמג"א סק"ג וב"י ולפמ"ש א"ש]:
"Women and servants are exempt from tefillin since it is a positive time-bound commandment "(quoting from the Shulhan Arukh), that shabbasos and holidays one is exempt from tefillin. "And if they want to be stringent upon themselves, they should be reprimanded" (quoting from the Mapah on the Shulhan Arukh), and it is similar to neither sukkah nor lulav that they are exempt. And even so, they bless on them since tefillin require an extra carefulness of a clean body, as we say [that Rabbi Yannai said] in Shabbas (49a): "Tefillin require a clean body like Elisha, master of wings." And in the Yerushalmi Berakhos (2.3) there, they say "they said, 'All who is not like Elisha', master of wings, should not lay tefillin.'" Only men who are obligated, per se, that they should be careful in them at the time of the reading out of the Shema' and prayer. Therefore, they don't place them on all day, like it is written in the previous section. And if so, women, who are exempt, why should they bring themselves into a great concern like this? And by them at the time of the reading out of the Shema' and prayer, like for men all day; therefore, we shouldn't allow them to lay them on. Even though it was taught [in a beraisa] in Eruvin (96a) that "Mikhal, daughter of Sha'ul, wore tefillin and the sages did not admonish her," we do not learn from this, because we already know that she was a totally righteous woman and she knew to be careful. And, so, too, with servants.
As I had mentioned in my previous posting, I still think that women not only maintain (at least in our Western society) as clean of a body, but perhaps even cleaner bodies, and would most likely not be in any ספק (doubt) of cleanliness.
Not totally relevant to this, is in the following section (OC 38.7) where he wrote that one is to be careful from thinking sexual thoughts about women while wearing tefillin - I think this is not widely relevant to this discussion (nevertheless, women can still be distracted by others, whether if they are bisexual or lesbian; see, for instance, BlackHerring's comments elsewhere).
27 January 2006
Women & Tefillin
Not mentioned in one of my earlier posts while in New Orleans, was that after שחרית (morning prayer service) that day, the Chabad rabbi went around asking if anybody wanted to put on תפילין (tefillin), as there were some college students around, some of whom had just arrived for breakfast and who hadn't davened (prayed) yet. While going around, my sister said she would, but that's not for what the rabbi was asking. She further noted that he had been asking if "anybody" wanted to put on tefillin, though she pointed out that he ought to be saying "any men", since he probably wasn't going to give it to any women (for more on Chabad's perspective and discourse on women not wearing tefillin, see askmoses.com). I then offered my sister mine, which was met by her response that she's not going to put on tefillin until she knows more about the subject. Thus this posting (I am not here dealing with the issue of girls putting on tefillin in school, but rather women in general.).
The discussion largely begins with a mishnah in the third chapter of Berakhot:
The reason that they are exempt is due to their exemption from all positive time-bound commandments (as they are worn neither on shabbas nor on holidays, there is a time element to them), which would mean that it's not that they are forbidden to perform such מצות (commandments), but that they don't have to [and can perform them if they so choose].נשים ועבדים וקטנים--פטורין מקרית שמע ומן התפילין, וחייבין בתפילה ובמזוזה ובברכת המזון.Women, servants, and children are exempt from the reading out of the Shema and from [wearing of] tefillin, but are obligated with prayer, mezuza, and with the grace after meals.
The main argument that was put forth against women putting on תפילין (tefillin) is that put forth by the sixteenth century sage Rabbi Yosef Karo (in his Beit Yosef) (and the Tosafist(s) that he quotes):
Where the idea comes that is mentioned in the Tosafot that women are not careful about having a clean body is quite strange. In our times, women are cleaner than men; if anything, it should be that men are not careful enough to keep clean bodies (!). Thus, how can one say that women cannot wear tefillin due to lack of bodily cleanliness?בית יוסף אורח חיים סימן לחA mishneh in chapter "Who's dead..." (ch. 3 in Berakhot), the [stam] gemarra (Berakhot 20a) gives the reason that it's because it's a positive time-bound commandment, and women are exempt from all positive time-bound commandments. And Rabbi Asher, son of Yehiel wrote in the laws of tefillin (section 29): "Even though we have established like Rabbi Akiva, who said, 'Night is a time of tefillin' (Eruvin 96a), shabbasos and holidays are not times of tefillin. [The author of the] Kol Bo wrote (in section 21) in the name of the Ram (?), 'that if women want to put on tefillin, we don't listen to them because they don't know how to guard themselves in cleanliness.'" And in the book Orhot Hayyim (laws of tefillin, section 3), asks on what is said in the beginning of the chapter "The one who takes out tefillin..." (also on Eruvin 96a) that 'Mikhal, daughter of Kushi, wore tefillin and the sages did not reprimand her.' And to me it seems that the reason of the Ram is like the Tosafot have written (Eruvin 96a, s.v. "Mikhal") that in the Pesikta [Rabbati] (chapter 23) that the sages did reprimand her. And they (the Tosafists) explain that the reason is that [wearing] tefillin requires [one to have] a clean body, but women are not zealous to be careful. And the Ram wanted to suspect [to be careful] to the words of the Pesikta.
ונשים ועבדים פטורים. משנה בפרק מי שמתו (ברכות כ.) ויהיב טעמא בגמרא משום דהוי מצות עשה שהזמן גרמא וכל מצות עשה שהזמן גרמא נשים פטורות. וכתב הרא"ש בהלכות תפילין (סי' כט) ואע"ג דקיי"ל כרבי עקיבא דאמר (עירובין צו.) לילה זמן תפילין מכל מקום שבת ויום טוב לאו זמן תפילין: כתב הכל בו (סי' כא) בשם הר"ם שאם רצו הנשים להניח תפילין אין שומעין להן מפני שאינן יודעות לשמור עצמן בנקיות עכ"ל ובספר ארחות חיים (הל' תפילין סי' ג) הקשה עליו מדאמרינן בריש פרק המוצא תפילין (שם) דמיכל בת כושי (פירוש בת שאול) היתה מנחת תפילין ולא מיחו בה חכמים. ולי נראה שטעם הר"ם כמו שכתבו התוספות (ד"ה מיכל) דאיתא בפסיקתא (רבתי פרק כב) שמיחו בה חכמים ופירשו הם דטעמא משום דתפילין צריכין גוף נקי ונשים אינן זריזות ליזהר והר"מ רצה לחוש לדברי הפסיקתא:
Nevertheless, in his Shulhan Arukh, he didn't try to prevent women from wearing them (OC 38.3: "Women and servants are exempt from [wearing] tefillin, because they it is a positive time-bound commandment."), only saying that they were exempt from wearing them. However, his contemporary, Rabbi Moses Isserles, glossed there that "but if women want to be stringent upon themselves, we reprimand them."
As to why Rabbi Isserles opined in such a fashion, it seems that it was due to the cleanliness concern (see the ט"ז, מ"א, & מ"ב who all opine that that was his reasoning). However, the wording of stringency pointed to as being the reason that women ought to be reprimanded seems like the crux of the issue for Rabbi Isserles. It may be due to the concern that if women think that the wearing of it is a stringency, that it is an erroneous line of thinking.
Alternatively, it seems that there is a cultural concern here. Such that, halakhically, it's fine to do a מצוה (commandment), however, it strikes men in such a way that it just doesn't jive with their sense of society (this was briefly brought up in On the Main Line). This is largely similar to the idea that tefillin and tzitzis are distinctly men's garments, which is an interesting argument (keep in mind the famous aphorism that "Clothes make the man," thus indicating that clothing is a social marker, and that it is something that is culturally-contingent), though according to the Bible, that is not so - it is only through rabbinic midrash that one learns of women's exemption from these commandments, but neither their inability to perform them, nor of their sense of being garments singled out for men only (if one even sees tefillin as being a garment in the Torah, but that's not important for this discussion).
Nevertheless, I think it's important to be sensitive to one's environment (yes, this concept arose in my mind through the conversations we had about women and tefillin in yeshiva). If one is in a place where it makes people (not just men, maybe also women) uncomfortable or is against the customs or comfortability of a place, it may be an issue to the extant that it is not something to which people are accustomed and be a statement of some sort with which those people or places are not okay.
So, I think I would say that it would be okay for her to wear tefillin if she wanted to, though she ought to be careful at Chabad, as it may go against their understanding of gender distinctions.
(A couple of blog postings are worth a read on this topic: On The Fringe and Barefoot Jewess.)
Why Having a Bummed Knee Is Bad For One's Health
Since my left knee has gone bad on me, my running/jogging has stopped (for good reason), as well as any thoughts of playing basketball on Saturday nights or any other time. However, I am able to walk (ברוך השם thank God), and now, I can do it without a knee brace, for the most part.
Nevertheless, I am not jogging, which is bad for not only my cardiovascular health, nor just the physiological positive feeling which comes along with jogging, but also for weight purposes and being in shape. Whenever this knee thing finally really heals, I will have a lot of work cut out for me in trying to get back into shape or some sense of health.
Okay, now it's back to getting ready for shabbas - שבת שלום, Shabbat shalom.
25 January 2006
So....How's School Going?
I was happy that I was done with my presentation and also that maybe I could start out with having somewhat low expectations expected of me by this rabbi and could improve upon them in the future, wowing him. While I think this may be a nice idea, it's probably wishful thinking - he'll still probably expect more anyways.
The following day, while I had stepped out in the hallway on my way to use the restroom during one of the speakers at our mikveh visit, he came up to me and checked in with me to see how I was doing and that he realized he came down kind of hard on me, that it was my first presentation (I guess for him on my behalf), that I didn't have much sociological background, and suggested that he was willing to work with me in the future. So that was nice of him.
Speaking about it with Ben (see above), one of the concerns voiced by this rabbi was that he sensed I was not engaging that much with the readings or the class if I wasn't really quite getting this presentation thing. After reflecting upon it, I suggested that maybe it was due to my feeling very much as a student rather than as a future rabbi (just think "rabbinical STUDENT"), but I suppose that's due to a couple reasons right off the bat: 1) I'm three and a half years away from being a rabbi - my mind is just not there yet and 2) Last year in the mechina program, we were pretty much just yeshiva students merely learning Torah, as opposed to learning Torah as well as taking rabbinic classes, so I'm used to that year's worth of orientation to the yeshiva, as well as this half year's worth of still trying to be fairly learning (the biggest example is that our Talmud class is being taught in a manner about learning Talmud: last year a focus on the actual text of the Talmud and this year a focus on the ראשונים (medieval commentators) on the Talmud, but not for practical purposes (think of it as lomdishe)), whereas in the next three years, we will be focusing on הלכה (Jewish law), which is very practical and not merely "academic" (no, we don't resort to much in the way of academic approaches...unfortunately). Whereas I may at some point be more interested in the issues of the community and be aware of what's going on, I am more interested in the texts, etc. - yes, I've got a little ivory tower action going on, but that's where I'm at. So, I think that as the year's go by, I will start stepping out of the ivory tower, but slowly, I like it in my ivory towers (yes, plural, I spend some of my free time (like tonight, for instance) in the YU library (fifth floor, mainly) and, of course, school), primarily for the safety, but I realize that life will get more complicated and busy with being more involved with the real world, than in developing as a scholar.
Also on Monday, BTW, I had a quiz in my Rishonim/Talmud class, and today I had a final test in my History of Rishonim class, both of which I did well on (okay, the latter of which, I have yet to receive my results, but I thought I did well). And, in general, classes are going well, etc. So, yes, school is going well.
20 January 2006
When Knees Go Bad
Fast forward to the other day, sitting in class, where, for the last three years, I really haven't had any significant problem with my knee. So imagine my surprise when my knee gradually began to hurt over the course of an hour or so (just sitting in class!). I was concerned about it, so I left an hour and a half early and went back to my apartment (though I took a car service instead of the train, as I was hobbling around). I was hoping that yesterday would heal my knee somewhat. While I've been taking Advil since Wednesday, and propping up my leg and icing it since yesterday, I'm not sure what all to do. I only made it out of my apartment for an excursion to acquire food on the YU side of the Heights, slowly limping the whole way. To make matters worse, for the first time, I was kind of scared as I could not run away if someone attacked me, and plus, I was nearly a sitting duck due to my newfound handicap.
I'm going back to school today as I feel guilty about missing yesterday, but I hope that my leg heals, though I am worried that it may seem like it's healed and then really go out on me. A doctor visit may be very much in my near future. I'm thinking that I may not be going to shul this shabbas and just resting my leg up in my apartment and reading, eating, and sleeping.
18 January 2006
In Search of a Roommate(s)
The thing is that our set-up is that I have a bedroom, while the other two had been sharing the living room. Yes, I paid more than they did, but I'm not sure how many people are willing to share a living room with someone else. So, I think I may need to get just one roommate, but then we'll have to probably split the rent. We shall see.
12 January 2006
Writin' Papers
|Article Topic
|Biblical Sleep Ethic(s)
|Rabbinical/Talmudic Sleep Ethics
|Submitted & undergoing editing
|Ben-Sira's View On Sleep
|Waiting to be written
|Philo's View on Sleep
|Still collecting data
|Tannaitic Views on Sleep
|Waiting to be written
|Maimonides View on Sleep
|Still collecting data
|Early Jewish Exegetical Perspectives on Er's and Onan's Deaths (Gen. 38:7-10)
|Written; undergoing editing
|The Jewish Prohibition on Masturbation: From the Talmud to the Shulhan Arukh
|Mostly finished with data
collection, though I'm still looking into some secondary literature
|Ben-Sira Quotes in the Babylonian Talmud (I just came up with this one today)
|Mostly done with data collection, but I
need to do a lot of organizing
|The Vilna Gaon and Pentecost Trees: The Nullification of a Minhag
|Should have been written about, like, a year ago -
so, it's all but written
|And It Was A Hok For Israel: Investigating the Custom Initiated By Jepthah's Daughter
|Last summer, I
tried to begin writing it, but then came along an interesting article relevant to it, so, I need to get away from being lazy about
|The Doubts Harbored By the Amoraim/Stam(?) About the Origin of the Fourth Grace Blessing (I need to work on this title)
|I came up with the idea for this article in the summer, made some headway, then came upon a long Hebrew article, which was a huge speed bump
|Tannaitic Views on the World To Come
|Still collecting data
11 January 2006
Experiencing Some Frustration With The Stam(maim)
Today, while going over the רשב"ם (Rashbam) and the תוספות (Tosafot) on Pesahim 101b & 102a, I began to not only get a better sense of the סוגיא (pericope) in the Talmud, but I also saw how those Rishonim saw what was going on in the Talmud. Both of the aforementioned were trying to deal with not only different גרסאות (manuscript versions of the text), but also what an important term meant (in this case it was דברים שטעונים ברכה לאחריהם במקומן), both of which affect the understanding of determining Jewish practice - in this case, how we deal with saying blessings over food when changing places (oh, yeah, and another thing - the gemarra interchanges freely the ideas of changing one's place of eating with leaving one's place of eating and returning, which is ever so frustrating, as it seems that these are two separate concepts (from the Tannaim, and perhaps early Amoraim), which the בעלי התלמוד (editors of the Talmud) conflate(!)).
When looking at the two aforementioned rishonim, I became increasingly frustrated with the specific way that the gemarra dealt with the earlier texts by retrojecting concepts that appeared after the texts with which they were dealing.
However, after expressing my frustration with my rebbe, Rabbi Katz, he then said to me that, yes, indeed, it can be quite frustrating, but it can also be quite exciting. At this point in the day/night, I have forgotten exactly how that can be exciting/frustrating with how the stam(maim) with the earlier texts, and how the rishonim deal with all of that.
Okay, I need to go to bed now - I'm tired. לילה טוב.
(Oh yeah, BTW, the stam(maim) is(/are) represented in the pictures by the purple and 'peach' highlighting, while the blue-green highlighting represents the tannaitic texts (although on top of 101b, the way it scanned, it mixes some of my blue highlighting (amoraic) with that of my green highlighting (tannaitic), which comes out weird in these scannings).)
10 January 2006
Finishing Up An Article
As to titling this paper with the word "ethics," rather than "ethic," I am pointing to the multiple perspectives among the sages regarding the approach for one to sleep, as there is a span of several centuries among the sages and somewhat of a lack of uniformity among them about how to sleep, as "we should not expect to find in the literature of Rabbinic Judaism one single all-encompassing, comprehensive, systematic scheme in these matters. After all, 'the Rabbis' consisted of very many individual personages whose lives spanned hundreds of years and who lived in two greatly disparate geographical areas, Israel and Babylon" (Chaim Milikowsky, "Trajectories of Return, Restoration and Redemption in Rabbinic Judaism: Elijah, the Messiah, the War of Gog and the World To Come," in Restoration: Old Testament, Jewish, and Christian Perspectives, ed. James M. Scott [Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 2001], p. 265). Nevertheless, there is somewhat of a historical canonization of earlier statements which get adopted over time in terms of developing a common sleep ethic.
For a look at Biblical sleep ethics, the reader may refer to my "In Your Lying Down and In Your Rising Up: A Biblical Sleep Ethic," Jewish Bible Quarterly 34:1 (January–March 2006), pp. 47-50. While it is not a critical approach towards the subject, nor does it distinguish between the various works and their authors as to their individual views upon the matter, it does serve to give one a basic understanding of Biblical sleep ethics. However, inasmuch as the rabbis look toward the Bible for their approach to living a Jewish life, they really only draw from a few verses (Deut. 6:7 and 11:19, and Ps. 4:5 and 149:6) about how to go about sleep.
08 January 2006
An Aspect of תורה לא בשמים היא I had not previously considered
However, I realized over שבת (shabbas) that this concept extends to places where the rabbis read a Biblical text not according to its פשט (contextual understanding), as well. Whereas as one might think that one could say, "Well, the rabbis read the verse outside of its context, thus their hermeneutical program was flawed, and thus whichever הלכה they derived therefrom is duly flawed, as that was not the intent of the author/Author." However, regardless of that, the Author/author is no longer important to what the Rabbis have done with that text to figure out how to lead a good, Jewish life.
It's a double-sided sword.
06 January 2006
Apikorsim in Shulhan Arukh
האומר: 'איני יורד לפני התיבה מפני שהגדי צבועין או מפני שברגלי סנדל,' לא ירד באותה תפלה כלל, מפני שדרך האפיקורסין להקפיד בכך, וחיישינן שמא אפיקורסות נזרקת בו
I wonder if maybe there were manuscript variations, but, more likely, Rabbi Karo probably wasn't concerned with the distinction between these two different groups, and accidently inserted this term in lieu of the terminology of חז"ל.
(I apologize for the use of Hebrew in this posting without translating, and I know people request that I translate, but I'm not sure how interested people will be in this posting who are not tremendously involved in these matters, and it's kind of abstruse.)
05 January 2006
My Interest In Sleep In Judaism
So, the summer prior to my senior semester, I searched through the Bible for statements on sleep, but more specifically, on ethics on sleep. So, during that semester, I put together a paper on sleep, which just got published last week in the Jewish Bible Quarterly (volume 34, issue 1, Jan.-March 2006), entitled "In Your Lying Down and In Your Rising Up: A Biblical Sleep Ethic" (pp. 47-50). Unfortunately, the paper hearkens back to a more unsophisticated perspective, so it kind of sucks. Nevertheless, it's good to pick up to get a basic sense of the topic on Biblical sleep ethics.
Anyways, so I then began, last year, to look at rabbinic attitudes on sleep. Now, I have a paper that I have to rework a bit, but it will be published in my school's journal in the summer on Talmudic sleep ethics. I have a paper that is all but typed on Ben Sira's view on sleep (if you think it goes against Rabbi Akiva's dictum in the beginning of the mishna in the tenth chapter of Sanhedrin, see the gemarra ad. loc. for Abayye's strong defense of reading the work by quoting it; additionally, the Yerushalmi also ponders not reading Ben Sira, but then it says not to seriously (להגיון ניתנו, ליגיעה לא ניתנו)), another that is mostly researched on Tannaitic views on sleep, and a paper in the works on Philo's view on sleep, though I haven't finished flipping through his works yet (I'm about half way through it, but just flipping - though it'd be really cool to say that I've read through all of his works). I may additionally write on Rambam and sleep, though I don't know how much material is out there for a paper on it.
So, I hope that explains my interest in sleep in the "Jewish tradition". :)
Rambam and Sleep (Part 1)
Most of his statements concerning sleep are to be found in chapter four, but there a couple elsewhere, too. His statements on sleep fall into three categories: 1) Statements directly from the Talmudic sages, 2) Statements expanding upon Talmudic statements, and 3) Original statements of his. An instance of each of these is 4.5, where a direct one is לא יישן אדם לא על פניו, ולא על עורפו, אלא על צידו from Berakhos 13b and Niddah 14a, an expansion on that is that which follows: בתחילת הלילה על צד שמאל, ובסוף הלילה על צד ימין, and the latter part of that statement is original material: ולא יישן סמוך לאכילה, אלא ימתין אחר אכילה כמו שלוש או ארבע שעות. ולא יישן ביום. Also known in this last category is the previous line, which is rather famous: דיי לו לאדם לישן שלישן, שהוא שמונה שעות; ויהיו בסוף הלילה, כדי שיהא מתחילת שינתו עד שתעלה השמש שמונה שעות, ונמצא עומד ממיטתו, קודם שתעלה ,השמש found in 4.4.
Although I still have to look throughout for sources in the Mishneh Torah, I was wondering if he has any sleep statements in the Guide to the Perplexed. Of course, I am aware of his famous letter where he states he is so busy throughout the day and needs help getting into bed he is so tired at the end of the day.
(Translations of the above: A man (I think this is specific to men (see Rashi on Berakhos 13b and Niddah 14a), unless this is not due to fears of erections, in which case I am open to hearing other suggestions.) should neither sleep on his front, nor on his back, but rather on his side. In the beginning of the night on his left side, and in the end of the night on his right side. He should sleep close to eating, but he should wait until after eating, like three or four hours. And he shouldn't sleep during the day. It is sufficient for a man (okay, this one ought to be more properly translated as 'person') to sleep a third [of a day], which is eight hours, and it should be at the end of the night, so that from the beginning of his sleep until the sun rises would be eight hours, and it would be found that he is standing from his bed before the rising of the sun.)
03 January 2006
Returning To Yeshiva & Realizations
First of all, it started out bad the night before as I was having trouble getting to sleep as my eyes were so tired, yet my body/mind was not, but rather my body was requesting to exercise. I really ought to have lifted weights and jogged last night, but felt kind of tired as well as wanted to get to bed at a decent hour and decided, instead to forego the exercise. As that failed miserably and I was stuck between being slightly unable to fall asleep and slightly unable to really function mentally, I decided at 5 AM to go lift weights and jog, which, ברוך השם (thank God), I was able to do, got back, shaved, showered, and got dressed, and made it to yeshiva (I survived today on one of God's specially-blessed creations, caffeine.
Both of my major realizations came in the afternoon. My first one was that, even though I am in yeshiva and am surrounded by rabbis all day, I do not have a rav, per se. When I was in Israel after college, I would put all my queries to Berel Wein, who taught at my yeshiva, and I found him highly knowledgeable, which was great. However, I didn't feel right making him being a rav with some personal connection to me, as I'm sure he was really busy and knew so many people, that I would be unimportant to him. Last year, while at yeshiva, I went to asking halakhic queries to a particular rabbi at yeshiva, a halakhic talmid hakham (someone highly knowledgeable in Jewish law), but I was (and still am) unsure as to getting a total all-encompassing hashkafa (philsophical outlook) from him. So, I was thinking it would be great to get a rebbe. However, the problem with being in a rabbinical school is that it is assumed that you are able to look up sources yourself. Thus, in the past year, whenever I had a query concerning some particular ענין (subject), I would do some עיון (looking) into it. While I am a huge fan of checking out things for oneself, I'm now wondering about some guidance to go along with it. On the other hand, I should shoulder a lot of blame as I am bashful on these matters and we all know that bashful people don't learn much. I came to the possibility of seeking out Rabbi Dr. Tzvi Yehuda (who I had referenced in my Hanukkah posting, and who resides in my favorite state) (what makes him so great is that he is tremendously humble, smiley and crazy knowledgeable), though that might not work as he is retired, in another state, barely knows me, and is old (okay, I don't know if that is actually significant). I should probably overcome my bashfulness and e-mail him. As Rabbi Wein said (he was referencing Rav Moshe), you should try to take as much advantage of the knowledge of sages.
My other realization was when we had a representative from Spark come in and asked us to close our eyes, visualize how we are now -today - in five years from now, five years from that, and twenty years beyond that. I was stuck with today - I saw myself as a confused and muddled young man. See, my world outlook (Weltanschauung) is largely colored and stems from a Jewish/Halakhic perspective (though that is also tempered by the book of Koheles (Ecclesiastes) as to how I perceive living one's life). The shifts, and thus the gradual uncertainty crept in, while I was in yeshiva at Ohr Somayach after college. This not only continued, but also got a catalyzed while at YCT, especially that first semester as I was trying to synthesize a lot of new information. Over the past year, I have come to the realization that my life is a continual synthesis, but then again, as a student, that's a good thing for growth - all the more so for a rabbinical student. Fortunately for my continued intellectual growth, but unfortunately for figuring out where to metaphorically place my feet, I see a lot of things not in black-and-white, but rather varying shades of gray. While this makes very much sense in this post-modern world, it can be difficult to navigate in a moral framework - which is something which Judaism is (I'm not claiming that it is not a religion, etc. - I don't know exactly what Judaism is - I just try to live it.). So that will be a continuing struggle for me.
Aside from that, I started looking into the Rambam's view(s) and/or conception(s) of sleep - I started looking at his Hilkhot De'ot. I plan to finish scanning through it tomorrow, though if anybody has any other mekorot (locations) they think that the Rambam discusses sleep, please let me know.
Oh, and also, I'm still human, people, so please take that into consideration when you are considering lashon hara about me, whether true or false.
Mike's Hard Lemonade...
So I don't know what's up with Mike's....
Hey there Drew,
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Have a great day and Make it Mike's!
02 January 2006
What the Dillyo with Hanukkah?
Up until last year, I had believed that the holiday was about some oil lasting eight times as long as it was supposed to last. When one ponders that, it seems silly. However, the problem is that the Sages weren't stupid! How do we answer this, then?
Last year, our yeshiva was blessed, for a few months, with the presence of the talmid hakham and humble Rabbi Dr. Zvi A. Yehuda. I got my hands on a little four-page article (I don't know where or if it was published.) entitled "What is the Miracle of Hanukkah? The Sybolism of the Jar of Oil Legend". Therein, he brilliantly and beautifully explains the language of נס (commonly translated as miracle, but that's not the precise translation). He says (on p. 3) that
Judaism does not celebrate an event just because it appears to be a "miracle" of the jar of oil, is utterly erroneous and blatantly blasphemous - distorting the very essence of Judaism.
... the term nes in rabbinic parlance does not exactly mean miracle. More precisely, in the context of sacred liturgy and worship, "nes" refers to an extraordinary event, entailing of a profound redemptive quality, causing deliverance of people from oppression and death to freedom and life.
Taken literally, the jar of oil episode does not qualify as "nes" (miracle) in its profound sense. What was its redemptive purpose or outcome? We applaud divine intervention when it saves human lives, but not when it just comes to provide more light in the Temple. ...
The jar of oil fable is indeed a captivating aggada, suggestive of innumerous and fascinating symbolisms which transcend its plain literal surface. It must not be approached lightly or crudely, but rather earnestly and respectfully. This aggada does not aim to replace the traditional, historical meaning of Hanukkah so eloquently expressed in liturgy.
He goes on, but I've shown here the highlights of his paper. It tremendously altered my perception of Hanukkah forever, and in a beautiful way, too!
I would have left things at that, were it not for a presentation by Rabbi Ysoscher Katz on Thursday 15 December, a few weeks ago.
Before I go into his <i>shiur (lecture), I think it's important now to point out a problem with Rabbi Dr. Yehuda's article. The wording of the locus classicus (found on bShab 21b) is "בדקו ולא מצאו אלא פך אחד של שמן שהיה מונח בחותמו של כהן גדול ולא היה בו אלא להדליק יום אחד נעשה בו נס והדליקו ממנו שמונה ימים " - "They checked and they only found one jar of oil that had the high priest's seal on it, except to light it for only one day. A nes was made with it and they lit from it eight days." The problem is that the language of nes is clearly located within the context of the jar of oil(!).
Now I can return to Rabbi Katz' understanding.
He went through certain of the various מחלוקות (disagreements) throughout the Hanukkah pericope to show us some parameters of the philosphical dialectic occurring. He went through them, without anything particularly new. But then, he got to the conclusion and had a phat hiddush (novellum) to show to us.
The main source, from bShab 21b, goes as follows:
תנו רבנן בכ"ה בכסליו יומי דחנוכה תמניא אינון דלא למספד בהון ודלא להתענות בהון שכשנכנסו יוונים להיכל טמאו כל השמנים שבהיכל וכשגברה מלכות בית חשמונאי ונצחום בדקו ולא מצאו אלא פך אחד של שמן שהיה מונח בחותמו של כהן גדול ולא היה בו אלא להדליק יום אחד נעשה בו נס והדליקו ממנו שמונה ימים לשנה אחרת קבעום ועשאום ימים טובים בהלל והודאה
While I'm not bothering to translate this passage, it's rather unimportant to the present point I am making. What is important is that the language used for the first half of this beraisa is in Aramaic, and not middle Hebrew! How could this be? At first, I thought maybe there was an editorial interpolation threaded into this Tannaitic text, but then realized that may happen sometimes, but not when it's part of the main body of the text!
Rabbi Katz revealed to us that this is a quote from מגילת תענית (Megillat Ta'anit), an early Tannaitic work, where there were Aramaic headings for certain days of the year, and a later person came and described those days in Hebrew in the work. (Okay, that's a start, but it'll now get exciting...)
Although the holiday of Hanukkah was instituted due to the military victories, re-establishing of Jewish political autonomy, and re-dedication of the Temple, the Rabbis were concerned about seeming too strong to the Romans, who would have suspected them of possibly rising up against them. Such is it that the military victories were on the DL and the "religious" sense was imported to this holiday in the form of the oil in order to contribute to a sense of benign-ness of this holiday.
Although the latter explanation, provided by Rabbi Katz is informative to our understanding of the text, I still appreciate Rabbi Dr. Yehuda's approach to the holiday, as well.


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Call for Papers - Historiography of Science and History of Science [The December 2020 Edition]
|Call for Papers - history and historiography of distinctive disciplines (physics, mathematics, biology, geography, sociology, etc.) as well as different subjects and approaches of history and philosophy of science (the foundation of science, scientific methodology, social and scientific relationships, etc.).
|Posted: 2020-05-27
|1 - 1 of 1 Items


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Share on ThriftyFunThis page contains the following solutions. Have something to add? Please share your solution!
Centerpieces can be things you already have around the house. This is an antique pitcher that belonged to my Mama, I added some fresh cut sunflowers from a nearby field and ended up with a beautiful centerpiece for my reception tables that didn't cost a dime!
Ask a QuestionHere are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community or ask a new question.
I'm getting married in October and would like the bridesmaids to carry sunflowers as there bouquet. If I plant sunflowers in late July or August, will they grow into October and be able to cut and use?
Farmers markets always have sun flowers!! and pretty cheap too..
You also might check w/ a florist...they import so many flowers now...just use the sunflower as the center & build around it w/ greenery..ivy, vinca...I dont think you can "time" sunflowers -- mine are never as pretty as those at our local farmers market..cj
I have to agree with CJ & Busy, I wouldnt rely on chance for something so important to your wedding day..... check out your florists and farmers market vendors. Have a wonderful day and all the best for your future.
That sounds sooo pretty, - it's too chancy. Get fake flowers as insurance.
why not do both? go ahead and grow some of the smaller quicker varieties, and get fakes if they don't get going in time??
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Thanks so much, God bless. Christina from Gaithersburg, MD
I don't know how easy it will be to grow sunflowers For an October wedding regardless of how green your thumb is. Have you considered growing them in season and then drying them to use a place cards. They would be charming. OR check with your local florist or green house. You may be able to have the florist special order them for you at that time of the year or have a nursery grow them for you in their green house. Just a few suggestions. Good luck.
By Connie from Ballwin
They do actually have miniature sunflowers, that you can grow in a pot. I love sunflowers! What about trying them? I did try to dry some once, but it didn't work well but you got time to try now.
By jenn


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UGI will be replacing underground gas mains and services next week on 3rd Street, between Strawberry and Forster Streets. The work will occur overnight, between the hours of 6pm and 6am until completion. STRAWBERRY ST
The detour will take motorists right on Walnut Street to Front Street, then left on Front to Market Street, left on Market, back to 3rd Street. This is the first phase of UGI's 3rd Street gas main replacement project. Work will continue north, block by block. All work is scheduled for night time hours.
The city says the street will not be closed during any downtown city events.
All work is scheduled to be completed by the end of September.
If you have any questions regarding this street closure please call the City Engineer at 717-255-3091 or contact UGI directly at 717-255-1457.


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Lahoma Patton has been selected as the Savannah Technical College 2014 Instructor of the Year and is the College's Rick Perkins Award winner. The Rick Perkins Award for Excellence in Technical Instruction honors outstanding faculty members at each of the Technical College System of Georgia institutions. Patton will represent Savannah Technical College in regional and statewide events.
Patton has been teaching at Savannah Tech since 2007 and also coordinates student clinical experiences with area hospitals and EMS agencies. She serves as an advisor for the campus EMS club. Patton has been practicing emergency medicine locally for more than a decade, having worked with Beaufort County EMS, Med- StarOne, and Bryan County EMS/Fire. She also proudly served as a volunteer with Pooler Fire Department. Patton is an Affiliate Faculty member of the American Heart Training Center and a lifetime member of Swansboro (NC) Volunteer EMS/ Rescue Squad. She holds EMS certifications from Coastal Community College (1991) and Craven Community College (1993). Additionally, she earned a Paramedic Technology Certificate from Lenoir Community College (1999) and an Associate of Applied Science Degree in Business Management from Savannah Technical College (2011). Patton is currently studying International Business at Columbia College and expects to graduate in December
The award has been an ongoing statewide event since 1991 and is designed to recognize technical college instructors who make significant contributions to technical education through innovation and leadership in their fields. Formerly known as the Commissioner's Award of Excellence, the Rick Perkins Award was renamed in memory and honor of Thomas "Rick" Perkins, an instructor at West Central Technical College, now West Georgia Technical College, who received the Commissioner's Award of Excellence prior to his untimely death. The Technical College System of Georgia (TCSG) provides oversight for the Rick Perkins Award program through the System Office's programming staff, the presidents' Academic Improvement committee and the state planning committee.


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'End of discussion': Putin emphasizes 1945 as benchmark for Kurils as part of Russia
VLADIVOSTOK, Sep 6, 2019, TASS. Russia sets 1945 as the starting reference point in determining the nationhood of the southern Kuril Islands because it is precisely in that year that these islands were ceded to the Soviet Union, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting with members of the Russian Far East community on the sidelines of the fifth Eastern Economic Forum (EEF), reported the TASS.
During that gathering, head of the Seven Oceans naval training center Anatoly Shtanko mentioned the expedition to Japan conducted by the 19th-century Russian admiral and diplomat, Yevfimiy Putyatin. The Russian president clarified: "Was it him who ceded the islands to Japan?" [Putin was talking about the 1855 Treaty of Shimoda, which established that Japan then gained control over a part of the Kuril Islands — TASS]. Shtanko replied that history has many significant dates and that "judging by [the] 1945 [outcome], there can be no questions [about the Kuril Islands] whatsoever."
"Let's rely on this, and on this starting point. Papa [Stalin] took everything and that was that, end of discussion. [He was] The Father of Nations," Putin said smiling, referring to Joseph Stalin who led the Soviet Union at that time.