I am honored to inform you that thanks to the generosity of Jerry and Barbara Weissman of Omni Managed Health, we are able to extend our Free Chumash Workbook Summer Offer beyond the initial 100 schools that were graciously underwritten by Cross River Bank.

During the past few weeks, we shipped over 1,000 Bright Beginnings Chumash Workbooks free of charge to Jewish schools who will be giving them to help their students over the summer who are struggling with their Chumash skills. If you are a school head, educator or parent, kindly click here for details on incorporating Bright Beginnings into your curriculum and to take advantage of this special summer offer.

Special thanks to Rabbi Doniel Neustadt and
the Midwest Agudas Yisroel Council of Synagogue Rabbonim
and Agudath Israel of Illinois
for providing us with the pamphlet,

"Special Halachos of Tishah B'Av Nidcheh"

attached below.

Dear Readers:

Once again, this year, we will be conducting a Megilas Eicha Shiur/Reading of Megila teleconference call this Motzoei Shabbos at 10:45 pm EDT, as a public service to mothers who are home with their children, and for people who are home-bound and are unable to go to Shul.

The topic of this year's shiur will be an exploration of the Middah Kneged Middah (loosely translated as "punishment fits the crime") of Galus (exile) and what take-away messages there are for us as we observe Tisha B'av.

The call will begin at 10:45 pm with approximately 15-20 minutes of Torah thoughts on Tisha B'av related topics followed by the reading of Eicha.

This teleconference is dedicated in loving memory of my father, Reb Shlomo Zev ben Reb Baruch Yehudah, a"h whose Yahrtzeit was yesterday, the 7th of Av. Reb Shlomo married my mother 2 1/2 years after my father a"h passed away in 1963 before my fourth birthday. See "Blending Families" for my tribute to him and tlc"t my mother for raising three sets of children over a period of 46 years in an environment of mutual respect, devotion and Shalom Bayis.

May the Ze'chusim generated by this Shiur/Eicha reading be a Ze'chus for his Neshama.

Here are some links to a recording and several articles that you may want to print and read over Shabbos that are related to Tisha B'Av and Galus.

5753/2013 Eicha Shiur which was on the topic of the timeless call of our Neviim (prophets) to stand with the weak and be a voice for the voiceless - with special emphasis on why the Torah mandates that we stand with and support victims of abuse.

All Alone Again A Tisha B'Av column

Keep The Achdut -- MP3 of a radio interview I gave last year about the shiva visits I paid to the families of the Eyal, Gilad and Naftali -- the 3 young men killed in the run-up to last year's Gaza War.

Eradicating Destructive Zealotry -- on how we need to stand up to the type of zealotry that contributed to the destruction of the Bais Hamikdash

My Grandfather and I -- on how we ought to conduct ourselves in this great country

Learning and Teaching the Lessons of History -- on teaching the lessons of history to our children.

Best wishes for an easy and meaningful fast.

Yakov Horowitz

Dial-in Number:

(209)647-1600

Access Code: 827269#

The Shiur will be recorded.

To listen to the recording there is a different dial in number:

Playback Number:

(209)647-1699

and enter the access code: 827269#