Rare 1,300-year-old lead pendant decorated with a menorah uncovered on Temple Mount

 

A rare, 1,300-year-old lead pendant decorated with a menorah symbol was uncovered during an archaeological excavation beneath the southwestern corner of the Temple Mount, north of the City of David

The excavation has been conducted in recent years by the Israel Antiquities Authority in cooperation with the City of David Foundation and the Company for the Restoration and Development of the Jewish Quarter. The find was discovered in the Davidson Archaeological Park of Jerusalem.
Only one other ancient lead pendant bearing the Menorah symbol is known in the world.

How did an ancient pendant made of cast lead, decorated on both sides with a seven-branched menorah, come to Jerusalem at a time when Jewish presence in the city was restricted?

A very rare personal necklace pendant from the 6th - early 7th centuries CE (Late Byzantine period) was recently discovered in a large-scale archaeological excavation in the Davidson Archaeological Park of Jerusalem, conducted by the Israel Antiquities Authority in cooperation with the City of David Foundation and the Company for the Reconstruction and Development of the Jewish Quarter. The rare find is decorated on both sides with an identical image of a seven-branched menorah and was apparently worn by a Jew who arrived in Jerusalem during the Byzantine period, when Jews were prohibited from entering the city.

“One day while I was digging inside an ancient structure, I suddenly saw something different, gray, among the stones”, says Ayayu Belete, a City of David worker. “I picked up the object out and saw that it was a pendant with a menorah on it. I immediately showed the find to Esther Rakow-Mellet, the area director, and she said it was an especially rare find. I was deeply moved and excited!”

Chilling Testimonies From Sydney: “4 Police Officers Fled, Didn’t Return Fire”

 Harrowing testimonies from the massacre at a Chabad Chanukah event in Sydney, Australia, on Sunday revealed the extent of the police failure, with one witness saying, “Even the police started running away—they just didn’t understand what was happening.”

Roni Asaraf, who escaped with his children from the inferno at Bondi Beach, recounted the moments of terror under fire in an interview with Channel 14.

Asaraf said that the fact that his family arrived at the event about half an hour late probably saved his life and the lives of his six children.

“We arrived at 6:30 p.m. instead of 5 p.m.,” he said. “The moment we entered, the chaos started. Even the police started running away—they didn’t understand what was happening.”

“We heard gunshots and started running like crazy with the children away from the beach. We are experienced, and we quickly understood that this was not fireworks but a terror attack. We managed to escape while helping other families with children.”

“We were extremely close to the terrorists. They came to shoot us even along our escape route out of the party, on the bridge.”

Asaraf said that his children were traumatized. “We’re shaken. There is hatred here, but we never imagined it would reach this level.”

Shmulik, another survivor, provided a particularly chilling description. “There were two terrorists—one on the bridge and one below it. They just shot non-stop for about 20 minutes. They shot, changed magazines, and continued shooting. There were four policemen there—no one returned fire. Nothing. They just froze.”

According to him, one of the terrorists slowly approached the crowd and opened fire. “I was watching him the entire time. I was with two babies—I was lying on top of them. I saw how he aimed, took his time, and opened fire. It was an attempt to hurt all Jews—men, women, children and the elderly.”

Another survivor, Ronen Toina, described the overwhelming sense of helplessness: “They surprised us and started shooting like madmen—this was a very severe terror incident. I feel like some kind of ‘Yehudon’ in the Golah here, without security and helpless. I send my daughter to a Jewish school, and I don’t know what will happen tomorrow.”

Pro-Israel Candidate José Antonio Kast, the Son of a Nazi Official, Wins Presidency in Chile

 

José Antonio Kast, a far-right firebrand and vocal supporter of Israel, has secured the Chilean presidency after winning Sunday’s runoff election with 60% of the vote, marking a dramatic rightward turn for one of Latin America’s most politically polarized nations.

Kast, the son of a former Nazi officer, will succeed President Gabriel Boric, a progressive who made headlines for severing diplomatic ties with Israel in the wake of the October 7 Hamas attacks. The president-elect has long criticized Boric’s foreign policy as ideologically driven and “irresponsible,” vowing throughout his campaign to restore ties with Jerusalem and recalibrate Chile’s global posture.

“Chile’s foreign relations are too relevant to prioritize the whims of a president over the interests of the Nation,” Kast posted on X earlier this year, referencing Boric’s exclusion of Israel from a major air show.

Kast’s victory comes despite his uncompromising stance on Israel in a country with the largest Palestinian diaspora outside the Middle East. His rhetoric on the Hamas attack, Iran’s aggression, and Chile’s national security struck a chord with voters anxious about global instability and domestic unrest.

Rob Reiner & His Wife Found Murdered in Los Angeles Home

 

Acclaimed actor and director Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele Singer Reiner, were found dead Sunday in their Brentwood home, according to law enforcement sources cited by TMZ.

The Los Angeles Fire Department responded to a medical aid call at the residence around 3:30 p.m. and discovered the bodies of a man, approximately 78, and a woman, approximately 68 — ages matching those of Reiner and his wife.

Sources told TMZ the couple suffered multiple knife wounds. The Los Angeles Police Department’s Robbery-Homicide Division is investigating the deaths as a homicide.

Authorities have not officially confirmed the identities of the deceased or released details on the cause of death.

Reiner, 78, gained fame as Michael “Meathead” Stivic on the groundbreaking 1970s sitcom “All in the Family,” earning two Emmy Awards. He later directed classic films including “This Is Spinal Tap,” “The Princess Bride,” “Stand by Me,” “When Harry Met Sally…” “Misery” and “A Few Good Men.” He also appeared in Martin Scorsese’s “The Wolf of Wall Street” as the father of Leonardo DiCaprio’s character.

Reiner was born Jewish and has spoken in past interviews about maintaining a cultural connection to Judaism, observing some Jewish holidays, though he described himself as not religious.

He met Singer, a photographer, while directing When Harry Met Sally…. The couple married in 1989 and had three children: Jake, Nick and Romy.

The investigation remains ongoing.

The Priest That Was "Marbitz" Torah

 

A Phone Charger, a Bus Ride, and a Love Story That Began in Jerusalem

 

Love at First Charge

Moshe was riding Jerusalem’s Bus 67 when he asked Miriam if he could use her phone charger.

One conversation turned into something more — and the rest is history.

They got married 💍

When the bus company heard their story, they sent Bus 67 to the wedding so the newlyweds could ride it home together.

Only in Israel! 

Names Released of Victims Murdered in Sydney Terror Attack

 

So  far, the names of five of the 16 people murdered in the brutal terror attack in Sydney have been released: 

Rabbi Eli Schlanger 
Alex Kleitman 
Dan Elkayam 
Rabbi Yaakov Halevi Levitin 
Reuven Morrison 

May their memory be a blessing.

When the "Impossible" become possible!

 

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Rav Shteinman z"l Telling off the Arrogant Sorotzkin!

 

Yeshiva students and the Tribe of Levi's obligation to serve

by Rabbi Eliezer Melamed
 The Question:

I have heard that members of the Haredi community claim that yeshiva boys are exempt from military service because they are considered like members of the Tribe of Levi, who dedicated themselves to Torah study, and did not divert their minds to anything else.

And even though many in the Haredi community are not descendants of the Tribe of Levi, any Jewish person may choose to conduct himself like the Tribe of Levi, as the Rambam wrote:

“And why did Levi not merit an inheritance in the Land of Israel and its spoils together with his brothers? Because he was set apart to serve the Lord, to minister to Him, and to teach His straight ways and His righteous laws to the public, as it is said: ‘They shall teach Your judgments to Jacob and Your Torah to Israel.’ Therefore, they were set apart from the ways of the world-they do not wage war like the rest of Israel, and they do not inherit or acquire for themselves by the strength of their bodies.

"Rather, they are the Lord’s Legion, as it is said: ‘Bless, O Lord, his army.’ And He, blessed be He, provides for them, as it is said: ‘I am your portion and your inheritance.’

"And not only the Tribe of Levi, but any person from among all the inhabitants of the world whose spirit generously moves him, and whose intellect understands to set himself apart to stand before the Lord, to serve Him, and to worship Him, to know the Lord, and who walks uprightly as God made him, and who throws off from his neck the yoke of the many calculations that people seek-behold, he becomes sanctified as Holy of Holies. And the Lord shall be his portion and inheritance forever and ever, and He will grant him in this world that which is sufficient for him, as He has granted to the Kohanim and the Levites. As David, peace upon him, said: ‘The Lord is my portion and my cup; You maintain my lot.’” (Hilchot Shemittah ve’Yovel 13:12-13).

Answer: Two Errors

There are two fundamental errors in the position that claims that the sons of the Tribe of Levi did not take part in the wars of Israel:

1. In practice, numerous Kohanim and Levites participated in the wars of Israel like all other soldiers; among them were great righteous men, such as Benaiah son of Yehoiada.

2. Moreover, before the Kohanim and Levites took part in the wars as regular fighters, they led the soldiers of Israel in their battles: as the Kohen anointed for war, as bearers of the Ark that went out with the fighters, as those who blew the trumpets, as officers responsible for exemptions from the draft, and as officers who harshly punished those who fled the battlefield.

In other words, they served as the “Military Rabbinate Corps,” “Education Corps,” “Military Police,” and “Military Prosecution,” and afterward, still participated as regular fighters. Thus, in practice, they participated in the wars more than all the other tribes.

Since the damage caused by an error in such an important issue is very serious, and as our Sages said: “A mistaken ruling in learning is counted as intentional wrongdoing” (Avot 4:13), I will expand upon these foundations.