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Empty and filling: life lessons abundant
In the United States, President-elect Donald Trump is filling up his cabinet, his inner sanctum of strategic advisers, whom he will deploy to accomplish his wide-ranging agendas. Some serious...
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When you do this or that
Last night I went to a shiur. That's a Bible lesson taught by a rabbi, and he was speaking about the parsha (the weekly portion of Torah read in the synagogue in this case, in the upcoming Saturday)....
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Overlap: Christmas/ Hanukkah WHAT is the big deal?
It's not every year these two holidays which have nothing to do with each other occur on the same date. The Jewish holiday of Hanukkah (or Chanukkah, or Channukah or however you want to spell it)...
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Back in 2014, I was the chaplain on the Moscow summer campaign and each day brought a new message from the Bible, specifically from the Book of Joshua in the Tenach, and found life lessons for the...
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New year, really?
The fireworks displays in Sydney, Nashville, and villages and hamlets around the world have come, blown sky high, and fallen and collected into yesterday's rubbish bin. And the oohs and aahs, the...
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Back to work
Our office was shut over the Christmas/ Hanukkah/ New Year holidays and we are grateful for the rest and repair afforded us. And now, we are back to work and welcoming shop visitors and your enquiries....
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What makes this a "Good" news book?
Tonight we began a long series again in our book shop. Each Thursday, even next week on Australia Day, we study the Bible together and this week was no different. Although tonight we started a new...
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Summer in the City
Sydney is home to over 4.5 million people and during the holidays tens of thousands of visitors joined our ranks helping to flood the economy and the public transportation system. The retailers were...
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22 years ago today...
...I love to tell this story. It happened here in Sydney, on our first trip to this sunburnt country. We arrived around Australia Day, 26 January, into Melbourne, and our good friend Kameel Majdali met...
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You don't always know...
The symbol Co at the end of the sign for "Sydney Theatre" was clearly an abbreviation for "Company." But what if you saw the letters, "C O" anywhere else? It could mean in care of, as in an envelope...
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Tu Bishvat and a missed opportunity
This is a Hebrew phrase, tu bishvat, and is the date of today's holiday (think "July 4th" or "MayDay.") And it's a very minor holiday we note and celebrate today. The name of the holiday is simply the...
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Bibi in Australia and preservation
After an exciting few days in Sydney, Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu is readying to return to Israel. He came from a one-day stopover in Singapore and carried on to big crowds and welcomes in...
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Autumn in Australia
1 March officially begins a new season in the Great Southland of the Holy Spirit. Summer has ended and autumn is upon us. We hope for cooler temperatures as we had our hottest February since 1890 or...
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Mardi Gras confusion
It came with flurry and noise and a thunderstorm from heaven, but nothing would dissuade the revellers from parading and celebrating the Mardi Gras parade 2017 in Sydney, yet once again. The parade...
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The Good, the bad and the unleavened
by Aaron Lewin, guest bloggerWhy on this night do we eat only unleavened bread? It really is the million-dollar question. Why do we have to eat this dry, crumbly bread not only for one night, but for...
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Cemetery vandalism… again!
by Bob Mendelsohn, JFJ National DirectorAustralia PHILADELPHIA VANDALISM Following are three reports of cemetery vandalism, in two different US cities. And all within a fortnight. And a conclusion...
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The Good, the Bad, and the Unleavened and Confusion
The article by Aaron Lewin is a great read. We published it a bit early, and as it is now April, we have to share it with you again. Don't miss it this time.Click on this hyperlink to read the article...
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The Father's Love: I never knew you
Parshat TsavA sermon given at Or Haolam Overland Park, KansasBy Bob MendelsohnSaturday 8 April 2017 Shabbat shalom, to the members of Ohr Haolam, to my friends, relatives, brothers and sisters in...
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CT, rabbis and Passover for Jesus-- a response
by Rich Robinson, guest blogger Rabbis Yehiel Poupko and David Sandmel’s recent article“Jesus Didn’t Eat a Seder Meal,” was written in response to the increasing interest of Christians in Passover and...
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To be or not to be...on Facebook
For about 7 weeks, I've been off Facebook. I have not looked at my page, nor noticed friend requests, nor private messages. What a pleasure it has been to have all that extra time for all kinds of...
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