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[A General Overview of Sukkos]( by Rabbi Yair Hoffman for 5tjt.com SUKKOS – A TIME OF ALIYAH L’REGEL One of the aspects of the Yom Tov of Sukkos is the Mitzvah of Aliyah L’Regel. Three times a year the Jewish nation visited the Bais HaMikdash in Yerushalayim to greet the Presence of the Shechina. Nowadays, most authorities hold that this […] [Read More »]( [Why, on Sukkos, 12-4 = 27 and not 8.]( By Rabbi Yair Hoffman for 5tjt.com It seems to be a simple enough halachic question. But is it so innocuous? Or is there something more to it that is involved? Does the question touch upon the deepest and most fundamental aspects of who we are as a nation? Have we hit upon one of our […] [Read More »]( [Covid Has Killed About As Many Americans As The 1918-19 Flu]( COVID-19 has now killed about as many Americans as the 1918-19 Spanish flu pandemic did — approximately 675,000. The U.S. population a century ago was just one-third of what it is today, meaning the flu cut a much bigger, more lethal swath through the country. But the COVID-19 crisis is by any measure a colossal […] [Read More »]( [You Are Visiting Your Friend’s Sukkah, but Not Eating: Do You Make a Bracha?]( By Rabbi Yair Hoffman for 5tjt.com You are visiting a friend. You are not eating. What is the actual halacha? Do we recite a blessing just upon entering a Sukkah or do we just recite when we eat Mezonos? THE GAONIM VERSUS RABBEINU TAM The Mishna Brurah (note #46) on Shulchan Aruch (OC 639:8) explains […] [Read More »]( [US Easing Foreign Travel Restrictions; Vaccinations Required]( WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden will ease foreign travel restrictions to the U.S. beginning in November, allowing foreigners into the country if they have proof of vaccination and a negative COVID-19 test, the White House said Monday. The new rules will replace a hodgepodge of restrictions that had barred non-citizens who had been in […] [Read More »]( [4 Men Charged For Shouting Antisemitic Abuse In London Through Jewish Area]( LONDON (AP) — Four men were charged Monday for allegedly shouting antisemitic abuse while driving around in a convoy in north London. The suspects, all in their 20s and from the northwest English town of Blackburn, are accused of using threatening, abusive or insulting words likely to stir up racial hatred on May 16 when […] [Read More »]( [Counsellor: Money Possible Motive In Australia Abuse Claim]( MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — A former school counsellor testified in an Australian court from Israel on Monday that she suspected two sisters had alleged they were sexually abused by their principal in an attempt to get financial compensation, but that one student who reported abuse had shown deep anguish. A committal hearing began in the […] [Read More »]( [Shooting At Russian University Leaves 8 Dead, 28 Hurt]( MOSCOW (AP) — A gunman opened fire Monday at a university in Russia, leaving eight people dead and 28 hurt, officials said. The suspect was detained after being wounded in an exchange of fire with police, the Interior Ministry said. There was no immediate information available on his identity or possible motive. During the attack, […] [Read More »]( [107-Year-Old Japanese Twins Certified As World’s Oldest]( TOKYO (AP) — Two Japanese sisters have been certified by Guinness World Records as the world’s oldest living identical twins, aged 107 years and 330 days, the organization said Monday. The announcement coincided with Respect for the Aged Day, a national holiday in Japan. Sisters Umeno Sumiyama and Koume Kodama were born on Shodoshima island […] [Read More »]( [Pfizer Says COVID-19 Vaccine Works In Kids Ages 5 To 11]( Pfizer said Monday its COVID-19 vaccine works for children ages 5 to 11 and that it will seek U.S. authorization for this age group soon — a key step toward beginning vaccinations for youngsters. The vaccine made by Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech already is available for anyone 12 and older. But with kids […] [Read More »]( [Top Israeli, Swedish Diplomat Chat In Effort To Mend Ties]( JERUSALEM (AP) — The foreign ministers of Israel and Sweden held their first phone call in seven years on Monday, a move hailed by the top Israeli diplomat as the “relaunching of relations” after protracted tensions between the two countries. Foreign Minister Yair Lapid wrote on Twitter that he spoke with his Swedish counterpart, Ann […] [Read More »]( [London Subway In First Major Expansion Since The ’90s]( LONDON (AP) — London’s subway opened two new stations Monday in the network’s first expansion since the 1990s, an expansion that Mayor Sadiq Khan said will play a key role in the capital’s recovery from the pandemic. The two new Northern Line stations are at the Battersea Power Station and Nine Elms, both south of […] [Read More »]( [Visiting Your Rebbe Over Sukkos]( (By Rabbi Yair Hoffman for 5TJT.com) It is a little known fact, but Rav Aharon Kotler zt”l did not just learn under the Alter zt”l and Rav Moshe Mordechai Epstein zt”l in Slabodka. He also learned under Rav Boruch Ber Leibowitz zt”l. The Talmud tells us that there is an obligation to greet one’s Rebbe […] [Read More »]( [Which to Take First – The Lulav or the Esrog?]( By Rabbi Yair Hoffman for 5TJT.com “Daddy, Can I have your lulav and Esrog?” The bas-Mitzvahed daughter has asked the question correctly on that first day of Sukkos. She said the word “Have” – indicating that she knows the halacha of “lachem” that on the first two days of Sukkos the lulav and esrog have […] [Read More »]( [Military Training Jet Crashes In Texas, Injuring Both Pilots]( LAKE WORTH, Texas (AP) — A military training jet crashed Sunday in a neighborhood near Fort Worth, Texas, injuring the two pilots and damaging three homes but not seriously hurting anyone on the ground, authorities said. Both pilots managed to eject from the plane before it crashed in Lake Worth, which is just west of […] [Read More »]( [As Leaders Reconvene At UN, Climate And COVID Top The List]( UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Last year, no leaders came at all. This year will be quite different — sort of. With the coronavirus pandemic still raging in many parts of the world, leaders from more than 100 nations are heading to New York this week for the United Nations’ annual high-level gathering — a COVID-inflected, […] [Read More »]( [US Launches Mass Expulsion Of Haitian Migrants From Texas]( DEL RIO, Texas (AP) — The U.S. flew Haitians camped in a Texas border town back to their homeland Sunday and tried blocking others from crossing the border from Mexico in a massive show of force that signaled the beginning of what could be one of America’s swiftest, large-scale expulsions of migrants or refugees in […] [Read More »]( [Share]( [Share]( [Tweet]( [Tweet]( [Forward]( [Forward]( Copyright © 2021 Vos Is Neias, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you opted in via our website. 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