Prime Minister's Office:

US President Donald Trump invited Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to a meeting at the White House on Tuesday, February 4th.

Prime Minister Netanyahu is the first foreign leader to be invited to the White House during US President Trump's second term.

The Negev desert, southern Israel. 🇮🇱 😊😍

Photo: Gal Twig.

🇺🇸 🇮🇱 U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio:

"Hamas cannot control the Gaza Strip ever again."

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗱𝗶𝗱 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴, 𝗱𝗶𝗱 𝗶𝘁??? 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴. 𝗜𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗮𝗹𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗰𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿: 𝗚𝗮𝘇𝗮 = 𝗛𝗮𝗺𝗮𝘀. 𝗕𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝗵𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗿𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘀𝘁𝘀!

The moment when 80-year-old Gadi Moses reunited with his children after 481 horrific days of captivity in Gaza.

I had a rough week. Unfortunately, I caught the flu, and only now am I starting to feel better. This weekend, I will be traveling to Lithuania to visit the Jewish communities before the holiday of tu bishvat - New Year for Trees. Tu BiShvat for Hebrew Year 5785 begins at sundown on Wednesday, 12 February 2025 and ends at nightfall on Thursday, 13 February 2025.

This day marks the season in which the earliest-blooming trees in the Land of Israel emerge from their winter sleep and begin a new fruit-bearing cycle.
We mark the 15th of Shevat by eating fruit, particularly from the kinds that are singled out by the Torah in its praise of the bounty of the Holy Land: grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives and dates. On this day we remember that “man is a tree of the field” (Deuteronomy 20:19), and reflect on the lessons we can derive from our botanical analogue.
According to Biblical law, there is a seven year agricultural cycle, concluding with the Sabbatical year. When the Holy Temple stood in Jerusalem, on years one, two, four and five of this cycle, farmers were required to separate a tenth of their produce and eat it in Jerusalem. This tithe is called Maaser Sheni, the Second Tithe, because it is in addition to the (two percent which must be given to the Kohain, and the) ten percent which is given to the Levite.

On the third and sixth years of the cycle, instead of the owners eating the Maaser Sheni in Jerusalem, they gave this second tithe to the poor, who were permitted to consume it wherever they wished.
[On the Sabbatical year, no tithes are separated. All produce which grows during this year is ownerless and free for anyone to take.]
It was therefore of vital importance to ascertain when the new year started for produce. It was established that a fruit which blossomed before the 15th of Shevat is produce of the previous year. If it blossomed afterwards, it is produce of the "new year." [By comparison, grains, vegetables, and legumes have the same New Year as humans, the 1st of Tishrei.] Why is this so? In the Mediterranean region, the rainy season begins with the festival of Sukkot. It takes approximately four months (from Sukkot, the 15th of Tishrei, until the 15th of Shevat) for the rains of the new year to saturate the soil and trees, and produce fruit.

All fruit which blossom beforehand are a product of the rains of the previous year, and are tithed together with the crops of the previous year.
Although this day is Rosh Hashanah for trees, we attach special significance to this holiday because "Man is [compared to] the tree of the field" (Deuteronomy 20:19). Through cultivating strong roots – faith and commitment to God – we produce many fruits.

The photo above show school children planting trees, which is a custom in Israel during Tu BiShvat