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At the Akeidah, Avraham was an old man of 137 years and Yitzchak was a young man of 37. Regardless of their respective ages, the two of them dedicated themselves entirely to the service of Hashem. At that time, Hashem instituted the two daily sacrifices, to teach man that, regardless of his age, he must serve Hashem every day.
"ושכנתי בתוך בני ישראל והייתי להם לאלקים"
QUESTION: It should have said “veshachanti betocham,” — “I will dwell among them.” What special meaning is conveyed by the words “betoch” — “amidst” — B’nei Yisrael?
ANSWER: Hashem’s holy name, the Tetragrammaton, consists of four letters and was only pronounced in the Beit Hamikdash. In our times, it is common practice, in lieu of the four letters to print two “Yudden” (י-י).
Hashem’s name is written with two “Yudden” alongside each other and not one above the other. The reason is that Hashem desires to see His beloved children united and coexisting. When one Yid wants to be on “top” of the other, the vowel of sh’va (:) is formed, which is the equivalent of naught. Hashem distances himself from the Jew who arrogantly perceives himself to be “above” another Jew. However, when one Yid stands beside another Yid and helps him, He is delighted to be among them.
QUESTION: Why isn’t the golden altar discussed in Parshat Terumah, together with all the other vessels of the Mishkan?
ANSWER: Without an altar, it would be impossible to bring sacrifices. Without the Ark, there would be no place to store the Tablets. Without a menorah, it would be impossible to kindle candles on a daily basis. Without a table, there would not be a place to put the show-bread.
The golden altar was used only to burn the daily offering of ketoret — incense. Even without an altar, incense could be offered on the place where the altar stood (Zevachim 59a). Therefore, this altar is not recorded together with all the other items, since the Mishkan could function without it.
What’s Jersey City doing on this list?
Here’s a surprising entry among America’s greenest cities: Jersey City, N.J.
That city across the Hudson River from New York was once known for fires burning from a landfill under the Pulaski Skyway, a three-mile metal bridge and highway linking the city and Newark, N.J. to the west. Three decades later, its air quality is still fairly poor, according to the American Lung Association’s State of the Air report.
Yet NerdWallet.com ranks it among America’s 10 greenest cities. Why? Public transit. At least 46% of workers living in Jersey City use public transit, it notes, second only to New York City’s 56%.
Much of that development is oriented toward mass transit, he added.
NerdWallet based its rankings of the 150 largest cities in the U.S. on air quality, transportation, energy sources and housing density. So people living closer together, measured in this case by the percentage of residential buildings with 10 or more units, is good, while sprawl is bad. Solar use was a positive, while burning coal and wood was not.
The list also differs substantially from 2014, when NerdWallet used a narrowed set of criteria and examined only 95 cities. Then, Madison, Wis topped the list; this year it is No. 14. And Portland, Ore., the city that tops Travel & Leisure’s green list, comes in 17 here.
The least green city on NerdWallet’s list? Fontana, Calif., a city of more than 200,000 on the eastern edge of the greater Los Angeles sprawl.
It seems to be on the right track.
Jersey City has changed dramatically since the days of that burning landfill, now being cleaned up to become the site of at least 4,000 residential units and an extension of the city’s light-rail system. Another contaminated site, next to then PPG Superfund site in the heart of the city, is expected to reopen as a 17-acre park by the end of this year, increasing the city’s green space by 10% in one stroke.
Gentrification has turned parts of the city into what some call New York’s sixth borough. The city has aggressively changed zoning rules to allow for greater density and require fewer parking spaces; a 70-story tower is now going up in Journal Square, above a transit line.
Among Jersey City’s many other environmental initiatives is a planned bike-share system of 350-400 bikes that would be linked to New York’s Citibike program.
But more work remains to be done. The American Lung Association gives Hudson County (Jersey City is the county seat) an F on ozone levels (but improving dramatically over the past 15 years) and a C on particle pollution over a 24-hour period. Fulop said Jersey City is densely populated and heavily used by trucks accessing ports.
One other Jersey City tidbit: Urban legend says former Teamsters President Jimmy Hoffa may have been dumped under the Pulaski Skyway.
NerdWallet praises its air quality, residential density and above-average numbers who commute by transit, on foot and by bike.
The home of Disney World has some of the best air quality among cities on the list. But neither solar nor public transit score well.
NerdWallet highlighted the 15% of residents who walk to work. Even in the winter.
High density, good transit. A surprise: 7.2 of every 10,000 homes still uses coal for heat, the most of any city in the top 25.
Carpooling rates highly compared with most other cities in the top 10. Air quality is good. But only 11% get to work on public transit, the second-lowest figure after Orlando.
Solar is big here; 13.8 of every 10,000 homes use it, double the nationwide rate.
Half of the residential buildings in this city outside Washington, D.C. have 10 or more units, trailing only New York City and Honolulu.
NerdWallet singles out the 38% who get to work on public transit, trailing only New York City and Jersey City, and low levels of pollution from heating fuels.
The 4% who ride bicycles to work is on the higher end too.
The capital of Hawaii had the best air quality among the 150 cities, NerdWallet examined. Solar heating was by far the highest among the top 25 cities, at 101.9 homes per 10,000.
This fantastic ranch has so much to offer. Center entrance ceramic tiled foyer leads you to a large step down living room. Large dining room has open concept to living room. Three great bedrooms each with large closets. The master bedroom has double closets and a full master bath. Family room has a sliding glass door which leads to a covered deck overlooking the large partially fenced back yard with shed. Large first floor laundry room with extra pantry space. Metal roof with seamless gutters and gutter guards installed in ’14 (transferable 50 yr warranty) Glass block windows in ’99, HWT ’14.
“I am a politically conscious person as you can see from the title- ‘A Nation in Labor’. This is a politically laden title. When we were growing up, we didn’t sleep at home at most times but we would sleep in swamps because we would fear being abducted by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) rebels whenever they attacked the town center. If you don’t hear news that rebels have attacked, then you stay and sleep at home that day”.
GULU-UGANDA:Ms. Harriet Anena, a novice poet whose maiden book, ‘A Nation in Labor’, is the co-winner of the 2018 Wole Soyinka African Price for Literature Award together with tested Nigerian Professor Tanure Ojaide; who already boasts of twenty titles to his name. The two shared cash price of $10,000. The runner-up of this prestigious award, Mr. Sarvio Gbodamosi, is a PhD student.
“It has been great shaking the hand of the man, Wole Soyinka, for the first time. I had the opportunity to take some photographs with him. It was incredible winning this price together with people with PhDs. I first saw Wole Soyinka in Nairobi, Kenya on stage in 2015 when he was giving key note address during a writers’ symposium” says Ms. Anena.
Ms. Anena, who was born and grew up in wartime Gulu district of northern Uganda, began her writing career as a high school student of literature in 2004. She says at that time she had not yet thought of publishing a book until 2010 when she attended Femwrite ‘Book Club’.
Femwrite is an association of female writers in Uganda which mentors, encourages and supports young upcoming female members like Ms. Anena in publishing their works.
“I am a politically conscious person as you can see from the title - ‘A Nation in Labor’. This is a politically laden title. When we were growing up, we didn’t sleep at home at most times but we would sleep in swamps because we would fear being abducted by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) rebels whenever they attacked the town center. If you don’t hear news that rebels have attacked, then you stay and sleep at home that day”, recalls Anena.
Most of the fifty-three short poems in this book are her recollections on experiences she went through during the LRA war which engulfed the region at the time she was born and the post-war recovery challenges. The shortest poem in this collection is only four lines with eleven words while the longest poem is just thirty-four lines.
“When you write every day, you feel something is amiss. You have to write. Reading is important. It can be lonely and discouraging if you don’t see the fruit”, says Anena.
Writing the Foreword of the anthology, Professor Laban Erapu of Bishop Stuart University, said this book is not a conventional collection of poems by a young untried poet but it is a mature collection by a seasoned poet who displays the mastery of a wordsmith.
“What makes this an outstanding collection of poems is the valiant spirit that is the godfather of this prodigious talent that eloquently speaks for itself from the first page to the last. I am proud to be a part of this work and humbled to have been asked to witness its birth”, writes Professor Erapu.
Ms. Anena is the fifth child in a family of eight children of retired civil servant, Mr. Moro Samuel Jackson. Her mother is a housewife.
Ms. Anena began her education at Christ Church Nursery School before joining Gulu Public Primary School in 1993. She went to Sacred Heart Secondary School in 2000 for her Ordinary Level secondary education before moving on to Gulu Central High School in 2004 where she studied Literature for the Award of Uganda Advance Certificate of Education (UACE).
She joined Makerere University in 2006 offering Bachelors’ degree in Mass Communication and she joined the same University for a Master’s degree in Human Rights in 2012.
She began her working career at the Monitor Publications Limited as a Correspondent based in Kitgum, 442 kilometers north of Kampala before moving on to work with the African Center for Media Excellence (ACME) in Kampala as the online Content Editor.
She lives in Kampala where she runs a company called Word Oven, a Ugandan editing firm.
With the Wole Soyinka Award, Harriet is focused to publishing other books which she hopes will emerge as future best sellers.
All content is copyright Black Star News © 2011. All rights reserved.
KABUL – A roadside bombing killed four U.S. service members, the first American combat deaths of the year in Afghanistan, while a British soldier died during a foot patrol elsewhere in the volatile south of the country, officials said Monday.
A statement from NATO's International Security Assistance Force said the explosion that killed the U.S. service members took place Sunday in the south, but did not give further details on the location or the victims' branch of service.
The deaths are the first U.S. fatalities from hostile action in Afghanistan this year. One U.S. service member has died of non-combat causes so far in 2010.
The British soldier died while on foot patrol Sunday in Helmand province, the British Ministry of Defense said.
Afghan insurgents are increasingly turning to improvised explosive devices -- also called roadside bombs -- in their fight against Afghan and international forces. Of the 304 U.S. military deaths in Afghanistan last year, 129 were due to IEDs, according to a tally by The Associated Press.
Also Monday, NATO said a joint Afghan-international force discovered a huge cache of marijuana and turned it over to police for destruction. NATO said the cache contained up to 800 cubic meters (28,000 cubic feet) of marijuana; that's the equivalent of about seven standard semi-trailers.
As the U.S. and other Western nations have tried to help Afghanistan stamp out its poppy fields -- the country is the world's leading opium producer -- an increasing number of farmers have turned to marijuana, which is receiving less attention from authorities.
Preneed specials at All Saints Mausoleum. Preneed specials at All Saints Mausoleum.
A Dignity Memorial provider in New Orleans, LA.
Posted on May 11, 2012. Brought to you by frommers.
Posted by krugs on April 02, 2018. Brought to you by tripadvisor.
We were driven through this Cemetery as part of a three-hour tour of New Orleans. We learned so much of this city, its history, and its unique traditions by taking this guided tour.
Posted by TheExplorerFamily on March 28, 2018. Brought to you by tripadvisor.
Lake Lawn Metairie Funeral Home is located at 5100 Pontchartrain Boulevard, New Orleans, LA. This location is in the Lakewood neighborhood. This business specializes in Funerals & Memorials.
That ubiquitous modern oasis, the convenience store, a place to fuel car and body, is changing into something more than an in-and-out stop along the way.
Online ordering. Richer loyalty programs. And, perhaps the most important reason, made-to-order food good enough to make some stores — Wawa and Sheetz in particular — a destination.
With these and other amenities, convenience stores — there are 4,800 in Pennsylvania, ninth most in the country — are trying to outpace each other and some of the new challenges in the field. That includes the kudzu-like spread of dollar stores and such upstarts as GoPuff, an online deliver service specializing in convenience store mainstays: snacks, milk, beer.
It’s not that convenience stores, known in the trade as c-stores, are in imminent danger. With annual sales of $500 billion, they serve about 160 million people a year. The number of locations increased to a record 155,000 stores last year, a 0.3 percent increase over 2016, according to the National Association of Convenience Stores.
That outpaced drug stores and supermarkets, which lost locations. Still, it was the most anemic convenience store growth in five years. Dollar stores, however, continue to grow, popping up in another 1,500 locations in 2016-2017 and bringing the national total to more than 30,300.
Meanwhile, restaurant delivery services — among them Grub Hub and Uber Eats — have become players on the food scene, and fast-food chains have always been reliable competitors.
Indeed, shopping time is divided into two categories: customer time, which is entirely in the shopper’s hands, and store time, which isn’t. An average convenience store visit lasts about 3½ minutes, about a third of which is spent waiting in line.
Amazon famously conquered the problem of store time by introducing Amazon Go — stores in which customers take what they want and leave. The products are scanned by computer sensors and the bill is charged to the customer’s Amazon account.
Other pressures include the spread of convenience store standbys — chips, candy, soda — to a variety of other retailers.
“Best Buy, Home Depot, Staples, Michael’s. They all look like c-stores at the cash register,” Lenard said.
What delivery services and other competitors generally haven’t done, of course, is sell gasoline. The nation buys about 80 percent of its gas at convenience stores. That accounted for more than $200 billion of store sales last year.
But even that is changing. According to convenience industry trade magazine CSP, Dollar General entered the fuel retailing business in 2016, buying 41 closed Walmart Express stores in 11 states with plans to sell gas at 37 of them.
Another company, Yoshi, delivers gas, car washes and other conveniences to customers, so they never have to go to a gas station.
All of this competition is putting the most pressure on smaller convenience chains that rely on the old in-and-out model of gas and snacks and have little else to offer.
Where Sheetz, Wawa and other successful chains have distinguished themselves is food service — prepared meals of increasing sophistication that draw customers who don’t need gas or anything else, with computerized kiosks that let them create custom orders.
It’s not a new concept — “Sheetz has been at it so long they trademarked the phrase “made to order,” Lenard said — but more chains are adopting the model and widening their menus.
Bonnie Riggs, a food service analyst for the NDP Group, a market research company in New York, said such chains are called “food forward c-stores.” Sheetz and Wawa, the dominant chains in the Lehigh Valley, have been among the top innovators in that group.
Wawa certainly gives no sign that competition is holding it down. The company recently opened two more stores in Florida and has plans for 50 more in that state in the next five years.
Sheetz, meanwhile, announced last year it would hire 3,400 more people for its 550 stores in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, Ohio, West Virginia and North Carolina.
Those chains and others also are embracing digital platforms — ordering apps, scannable loyalty program cards and other conveniences taken for granted by young people.
“Being able to prepay and pre-order and go pick it up — that’s going to be a must-have, not a nice-to-have, especially if you’re dependent on the younger generations,” Riggs said.
True freshman quarterback Cade Fortin, who is No. 2 on the Tar Heels’ depth chart behind junior quarterback Nathan Elliott, made his collegiate debut on Saturday against the Pirates. Fortin entered game in the fourth quarter, when it was well out of reach, and was 3-6 for 15 yards.
Fedora said that Fortin’s role could increase this week against UCF.
Elliott was better on Saturday, but he still struggled for the second consecutive game. He was 22-38 for 219 yards. He did not throw any interceptions, but also did not throw any touchdowns. Against Cal, Elliott was 15-35 for 137 yards, 1 touchdown and four interceptions.
Sophomore quarterback Chazz Surratt is serving a suspension for selling team-issued Air Jordan sneakers and will not return until Sept. 27 against Miami.
Senior safety J.K. Britt said Saturday that he could tell senior defensive end Malik Carney, who was serving the first of his four-game suspension for selling team-issued sneakers, was not on field against ECU. Carney had eight tackles and two sacks in UNC’s game at Cal and was one of 15 players caught up in the shoe sales.
Fedora said Carney is the team’s emotional leader who does the most talking.
Larry Fedora's post game comments on Saturday, September 8, 2018 at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium in Greenville, N.C.
UNC officials are monitoring the weather as Hurricane Florence approaches the East Coast. Florence, which was a category four hurricane as of Monday, is expected to hit North Carolina or South Carolina on Thursday morning. A decision on the game will be made based on the safety of fans, officials, UCF and others as they travel to the game.
Fedora said everything is still up in the air, but officials have been meeting and having ongoing discussions about the game.
“I know the university will do what’s right, and I’ll go with whatever they decide,” Fedora said.
When asked how he plans to turn the season around, Fedora said he’ll utilize the lessons learned from his past mistakes.
UNC was in a similar situation as recently as last year. The Tar Heels started the season 0-2 and finished 3-9.
After finishing last year 13-0, the Knights (2-0) have picked up where they left off.
UCF likes to run the football. So far this season, the Knights have 612 total rushing yards and seven rushing touchdowns. As a team they average 306 rushing yards per game, which is ninth best in the country. Three players have eclipsed 100 rushing yards this season.
The Knights are coming off a 38-0 win over S.C. State this past Saturday.

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