Chillul HaShem: Root Causes

 Tefillah request, for refuah of: Shimon Ben Masha & Lea Bas Freeda  

בס"ד

ליל פסח שני,

LevinAt11 radio broadcast Apr. 30, '26/ Pesach Sheni, 

 תכנית ראדיו רב יהודה לעוין שליט"א, כ"ט לעומר, פרשת אמור, תשפו

Main Theme: Chillul HaShem: Root Causes

Topics:

1-56: Chillul HaShem and Kiddush HaShem;

56-60: Integration of females into IDF is  discouraging male National Religious soldiers; some "manpower crisis!" (https://vinnews.com/2026/04/29/religious-zionist-rabbis-warn-if-tank-corps-has-females-yeshiva-students-wont-serve-there/ )

If they really wanted to draft all the Chareidim -- they wouldn't be doing this.  Apparently, their actual goal is to foment a panic - even a panic for good reasons.  Why? In order to exploit the panic for something else... perhaps for "Chareidi"-Aksun cooperation in passing Marriage De-definition in E"Y, R"L - a specter which is a genuine fear given the upcoming elections.

Good Shabbos,

Rabbi Noson Shmuel Leiter,

Executive Director,

Help Rescue Our Children

845.642.1679

Direct: 771.215.8892

Israeli Helpline: 03.721.3337

torahjewsfordecency@gmail.com

Tomim Tih'yeh [countering "New-Age" infiltration]: 

Tomim1679@gmail.com

Presentations on New-Age dangers: 605-313-6831 ext. 2

Heard weekly on New Jersey's WSNR Radio 620AM, co-hosting the renowned Levin At Eleven program, every Thursday evening, 11pm to midnight (ET).

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A letter of interest, thematic to the aforementioned topic of the Parsha:

26 L'Omer, 11 Iyyar, 5786

"LeMa'anchah - For Your Sake"

{In the merit of a speedy recovery for Leah bas Freeda}

Letter / Parshas Emor 5786

Anyone keeping an open, realistic eye on current events recognizes that things don't seem to be going in a very positive direction for Jews - not in terms of physical safety, nor in terms of our spiritual wellbeing, although there are some hopeful developments regarding the latter (for one fascinating example, see Rabbi Ze'ev Smason here:  https://stljewishlight.org/opinion/commentary/becoming-an-oct-8th-jew-remembering-who-we-are/ ).

Well, "the Parsha comes to the rescue" - for those who are interested.

This week's Parsha, Emor (22:32), contains the prohibition against Chillul HaShem (desecration of The Divine Name), followed by the positive commandment - and the Divine Promise (see Seforno) - of Kiddush HaShem (sanctification of The Divine Name).  These two foundational mitzvos provide Klal Yisroel with the keys out of our ever-expanding predicaments - and out of Galus altogether.

The premier role that  dedication to the Honor of Heaven (Kovod Shomayim) plays in being saved from our tribulations, and from Exile altogether, is repeatedly emphasized in the supplications and psukim we recite in Tachanun, especially on Mondays and Thursdays (e.g. Yirmuyahu 14:7, Tehillim 79:9). There, as elsewhere, we repeatedly beseech HaShem to save us for the sake of His Name.

So how do our actions and attitudes comport with our requests?

Do we live our lives in a manner that reflects a genuine concern over Kovod Shomayim?  Or do we invoke Kovod Shomayim when we're up against the self-inflicted consequences of trampling it?  Or is Kovod Shomayim so off-the-radar for us that it's frequent mention doesn't even register altogether?  Or do we opt to delude ourselves into thinking that we care about it - pursuant to redefining Kovod Shomayim as that which comports with our comfort level?

For most of us, there is an impressive degree of improvement potential.  The good news is that, b'Chasdei HaShem, we have many opportunities to improve our Kovod Shomayim track-record - for those of us who are authentically interested.

Central to these aforementioned mitzvos is the readiness to make sacrifices to fulfill the Will of HaShem. 

Being a dedicated Jew often requires sacrifices, or, more accurately, what appear to be sacrifices.

Prior to our first Redemption, from Egypt, HaShem exhorted Moshe Rabbeinu: You're not leaving Egypt alive until you slaughter their object of worship (Avoda Zorah) - namely, the Korban Pesach (the Pascal lamb, an animal prominent in the Egyptian pantheon) - "in their faces" (Shmos Rabbah, Parshas Bo, 16:3).

We would serve ourselves well by preparing ourselves to properly utilize similar tests - to more genuinely merit the Final Redemption as well.  It's not an entitlement (not that anything really is).

We've just passed the halfway point of Sefiras HaOmer. The very aliyah in which these aforementioned mitzvos appear (Shlishi) corresponds to that halfway point (Day 26, the beginning of the second half).  Perhaps this correspondence can be taken as an allusion to improve ourselves in regard to lessons central to the Sefirah period, preparing us for Mattan Torah on Shavuos.

One lesson, relating to Kovod Shomayim, may be the importance of respecting those who employ the aforementioned quality of mesiras nefesh to transmit Torah with its full authenticity -  shunning the distortion of Torah - Ziyuf HaTorah (being the greatest threat to Judaism, Mishnas Reb Aharon, 1:2:3:6) that so often accompanies venues offering what appears to be Torah-based guidance.  Such venues often tell people what they want to hear - instead of what they really need to hear.

The latter, more populist providers tend to attract far more respect than they earn.  The former articulators of Torah often earn far more respect than they generally receive.

By ignoring the latter in favor of the former we perform a disservice to ourselves and families, disgrace the Torah and it's most authentic representatives, and project the image that Emes (Truth) doesn't really matter - itself a terrible Chillul HaShem. And all this is perpetrated in the name of Kovod HaTorah, to boot.

So, ask yourself, which leaders actually lead, and which follow in the guise of leading (כפני הכלב)?  Who is alerting Klal Yisroel to the non-"Politically-Correct" Torah imperatives we need to hear most?  And who (as HoRav S. R. Hirsch ZY"A observed) is grandstanding where courage is least needed?

We get the leadership we earn.  If we incentivize feel-good "lead"-ership, that's what we'll get.  We find such critique in Nach: leadership failing to alert the tzibbur to what they need to hear.  However, many people automatically dismiss critique of whomever they chose as their leaders.  Do we feel that the critiques in the Neviyim don't apply to us?  Do we feel that Yechezkel, in his devastating criticism of Jewish leadership prior to the Final Redemption (in Perek 34), was too "negative" or "extreme" to take seriously?

When we close the Shmoneh Esrei with the Tefillah "Asei LeMa'an Sh'mecha," we ought to ask ourselves: what are we willing to sacrifice for Kovod Shomayim?  Perhaps we ought train ourselves to step outside of our comfort zone to sacrifice something for a vital Kovod Shomayim need, even if it's small.

Good Shabbos,

Boruch Levy

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Ship Ukraine says carries stolen grain will not offload in Israel after diplomatic row

 https://www.timesofisrael.com/ship-ukraine-says-carries-stolen-grain-will-not-offload-in-israel-after-diplomatic-row/

A shipment of grain that Ukraine says was stolen by Russia will not be unloaded in Israel, an Israeli official told The Times of Israel on Thursday, after several days of back-and-forth between Kyiv and Jerusalem over the fate of the controversial cargo vessel.

According to the official, the decision to not offload the ship was made by Israeli importer Zenziper, not by government officials. Kyiv praised the move as a “welcome development.”

Traders have told Reuters that it is impossible to track the origin of wheat once it is mixed.

Silk Screen Scrolls vs. the Agunah Smoke Screen by Rav Shalom C. Spira

 Today (14 Iyar, 5786) celebrates the Daf Yomi completion of Menachot, the tractate which contains a detailed passage (29a-31b) how to write a Torah scroll. R. Yitzchak Abadi [who just ascended to the Heavenly Academy this past Chanukah] is remembered for his novel and well-meaning proposal to reduce the cost of this mitzvah by way of the silk screen process. The reason Rabbi Abadi's proposal failed (be-mechilat Kevod Torato) is documented by Rabbi J. David Bleich in a 25-page treatise at Survey of Recent Halakhic Periodical Literature: Silk Screened Torah Scrolls - Tradition Online . However, R. Moshe Sternbuch, Teshuvot ve-Hanhagot, V, no.  301, adds one further consideration (measuring a mere half-page), and one that is also relevant to rejecting Saul Lieberman's approach to the agunah problem [an approach which is incompatible with Orthodox Judaism, as I explained in my previous column at Daas Torah - Issues of Jewish Identity: Reb Moshe's 40th Yartzeit and the Agunah Problem                    Rav Shalom C. Spira ].

    Rabbi Sternbuch [whose responsum is available at שו"ת תשובות והנהגות - ח"ה - שטרנבוך, משה (page 235 of 387) ] writes that when a solo practitioner proposes a leniency without consulting the recognized halakhic authorities of the time, it demands a macha'ah charifah (sharp protest). To that effect, he quotes R. Velvel Soloveitchik as advising under such circumstances that an announcement to forbid be rendered without even entering into reasoned argumentation. 

    What is true [as identified by Rabbi Sternbuch] for invalidating silk screen scrolls is even more true for rejecting frivolous invocation of kiddushei ta'ut as the purported solution to the agunah problem. This is because, in an emergency situation of human dignity, one can actually use an invalid Sefer Torah, as R. Ovadiah Yosef, Teshuvot Yechaveh Da'at, VI, no. 56 rules with respect to the Yemenite Sefer Torah. He explains that the Yemenite scroll is invalid, but until the Yemenite synagogues are persuaded to purchase valid scrolls, a Jew who happens to be called to an aliyah in a Yemenite Shul can recite the blessing in good conscience because of darkhei shalom.

    Actually, Yechaveh Da'at does not explain the reasoning of why darkhei shalom should override the transgression of a berakhah le-vatalah, but I would contend that the answer can be deciphered from another responsum by the same author in Teshuvot Yabi'a Omer, VIII, Yoreh De'ah no. 32. In the latter case, a ba'alat teshuvah found a shiddukh with a Charedi gentleman, and they married. She neglected to tell her groom that [prior to her repentance] she aborted a fetus. Hence, when the bride and groom were finally blessed with a baby boy, the naive-and-gullible groom-turned-father planned a pidyon ha-ben. The wife now runs crying to Yabi'a Omer that the whole pidyon ha-ben is a sham, yet she anticipates that if she discloses the truth to her husband, he will demand a get. Fortuitously, Yabi'a Omer answers that she need not say anything. He proves at length that human dignity overrides the prohibition against a berakhah le-vatalah, such that especially here [where the wife is merely being passive by maintaining her silence] she is not transgressing by letting her husband recite two berakhot le-vatalah. [Interestingly, Yabi'a Omer omits any discussion of the additional ethical problem that the wife is standing by idly as her husband wastes his money. Perhaps we can fill the lacuna by positing that the emotional aggravation that the husband is being spared by his blissful ignorance is worth more than the cost of the vacuous pidyon ha-ben.] Ergo, we can now transpose this lomdut to the responsum in Yechaveh Da'at to understand why human dignity allows recitation of a berakhah le-vatalah over an invalid Sefer Torah.

    By contradistinction, human dignity can never allow stealing a wife from an innocent husband [as per Shulchan Arukh Yoreh De'ah 157:1 that adultery is forbidden even under force majeure]. Indeed, a recent development in Eretz Yisrael [reported at Legal Warning Issued to Channel 12 Reporter After Viral Video of Yeshiva Bochurim Sparks Public Backlash | Matzav.com] seems to indicate that a person who feels he has been insulted can send a lawyer's letter to request an apology. If the apology is hypothetically not offered, there can hypothetically be a defamation lawsuit in Beth Din, pursuant to what R. Mordechai Djavaheri writes on page 7 of his practice bechinah at YUTorah Online [although hopefully a diplomatic resolution can be found to avoid any need to employ Beth Din]. Thus, [while not the specific subject of either the aforementioned news article or the aforementioned practice bechinah,] legal relief is now available for innocent husbands who are wrongly harassed by disciples of Saul Lieberman, the disciples of Saul Lieberman thereby violating Exodus 20:14. As we now approach the holiday of Shavu'ot, when we joyfully reaccept the entire Torah [including Exodus 20:14, which coincidentally will even be publicly read on Shavu'ot], let us recommit ourselves to the sanctity of Jewish marriage as a matter of halakhic conscience. [And see also R. Aryeh A. Frimer on the historical imperative for Jews to courageously refuse the pressure to reform even in a so-called she'at ha-dechak generation. Final section of his article here: Microsoft Word - Frimer . He argues this regarding aliyot for ladies, but a fortiori the historical imperative applies to maintaining the sanctity of Jewish marriage. ]

Rabbi Spira works as the Editor of Manuscripts and Grants at the Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research [a Pavillion of the Jewish General Hospital] in Montreal, Canada.

The YOLO Presidency? The Atlantic reports Trump aims to be one of history's 'great men'

Public rejects Trump’s ballroom by wide margin

 https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2026/04/30/washington-post-poll-trump-ballroom/

Americans reject President Donald Trump’s planned White House ballroom by a 2-to-1 margin, according to a Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll, and they appear largely unmoved by the intensified calls from the president and his allies in Congress to allow the project to go forward.

The president’s planned 250-foot arch and a Treasury Department plan to put Trump’s signature on paper money are also unpopular.

Fifty-six percent of Americans oppose Trump’s decision to tear down the White House’s East Wing to make way for his planned ballroom, funded by about $400 million in private donations, while 28 percent support the project. That is the same division found in an October poll. Reactions are split among partisan lines; about two-thirds of Republicans support the project, while 61 percent of independents and 87 percent of Democrats oppose it.

“It’s astonishing what’s going on,” said Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tennessee), who has criticized the ballroom and arch projects, as well as Trump’s efforts to brand his name across the government. “He has no respect for anybody, any memory, any history. It’s all about him.”

Comey Charges rejected by MAGA

Stabbing spree in London's Jewish neighborhood leaves 1 fighting for life

 https://www.israelhayom.com/2026/04/29/ntisemitic-stabbing-golders-green-london-shomrim/

Shomrim security volunteers apprehended the attacker near the Sadigur synagogue in Golders Green; British PM Starmer calls the attack "deeply concerning."

Matan Bar Noy, the World Zionist Organization's emissary to Britain, posted a shaken video from London immediately after the attack. "I am taking off my kippa now on the street, and also my pin, because the instruction is to conceal all Jewish symbols right now," he said. "It's sad that we are in Britain, a free, democratic country that saved the Jews from the Nazis and the entire free world, and now you cannot walk around here as a Jew in safety. Very sad."

Yaakov Hagoel, chairman of the World Zionist Organization, who is currently in London, said, "I am here to make clear to the British authorities that they are responsible for the safety of Jews in Britain just as they are for every other citizen. Incitement against Jews can cost precious lives, and we are seeing its signs right now, here on the streets of London. We are working together with the authorities to eradicate this terrible phenomenon and allow Jews everywhere to walk freely and safely. I call on British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and London Mayor Sadiq Khan to act decisively against antisemitism in this country."

Two Jewish men badly wounded in terrorist stabbing attack in London’s Golders Green; assailant arrested

 https://www.timesofisrael.com/two-jewish-men-wounded-in-stabbing-attack-in-londons-golders-green-assailant-arrested/

Two Jewish men — one in his 70s and the other in his 30s — were stabbed and seriously wounded on Wednesday in the heavily Jewish London neighborhood of Golders Green in an antisemitic terror attack, the latest in a spate of incidents targeting British Jews.

The assailant, a 45-year-old man who also tried to stab police officers in the attack, was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, police said, later identifying him as UK national born in Somalia without naming him. “Specialist officers from Counter Terrorism Policing are leading the investigation and working with the Metropolitan Police to establish the full circumstances and any links to terrorism,” the statement said.

The newly formed terror group Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya (HAYI) claimed one of its “lone wolves” committed the attack, the SITE Intelligence Group reported. The group is believed to have links to Iran and has claimed credit for some of the recent antisemitic incidents in the UK and elsewhere in Europe.

The local Shomrim emergency response organization, which serves Jewish areas, made the first public report of the incident, saying it had responded immediately and detained the suspect.

Shortly thereafter, it said, police arrived and assisted in subduing him.

“London’s Jewish community have been the target of a series of shocking antisemitic attacks,” said London Mayor Sadiq Khan. “There must be absolutely no place for antisemitism in society.”

Shomrim volunteer who helped subdue London attacker: 'I wanted to protect community' - interview

 https://www.jpost.com/international/islamic-terrorism/article-894621

North West London Shomrim volunteer Yonaton El-Kouby's only thought was protecting the community when he received a report about an incident in the Golders Green neighborhood.

Speaking to The Jerusalem Post, El-Kouby recounted how he helped Metropolitan Police officers subdue a man who stabbed two Jewish residents earlier that day.

Incitement against Jews in the UK had become commonplace, with weekly anti-Israel protests seeing participants calling to “globalize the intifada.” Eventually, someone was going to act on that call to action, Zimmerman explained.

Instead of tackling the incitement against Jews, the Jewish community was expected to hide its identity and retreat from public life.

London attacker is a Somali-born British national, police say

 https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/426304

London Metropolitan Police say suspect in the stabbing of two Jewish men in Golders Green is a 45-year-old British national born in Somalia, He has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and remains in custody.

The London Metropolitan Police on Wednesday night issued an update on the stabbing attack in Golders Green, in which two Jewish men were injured.

The police said the suspect has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder. He was initially taken to hospital but has since been discharged and has been taken to a London police station where he remains in police custody.

“The attack in Golders Green was formally declared a terrorist incident. Officers are carrying out a search at an address in south east London," the statement continued.

Israel's ultimatum to Trump on Lebanon deal

 https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/426305

Channel 12 News reported on Wednesday that Israel’s political echelon has conveyed to the United States that it is requesting that negotiations with the Lebanese government be limited to a strict two-to-three-week period, with the goal of reaching a final agreement by mid-May.

Jerusalem argues that Hezbollah’s continued attacks - including the launching of attack drones and firing toward IDF forces and northern communities - are “eroding" the chances of reaching an agreement.

The Israeli position holds that the current situation, in which the IDF is operating under severe restrictions, is severely damaging both Israel’s deterrence and the security of its residents.

Trump, apparently oblivious, makes the same joke he wants Kimmel fired for

8647 row: Old 86’ing posts by Pete Hegseth and Posobiec

 https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/8647-row-old-86ing-posts-by-pete-hegseth-and-posobiec-on-biden-go-viral-after-comeys-post/articleshow/121231936.cms

MAGA supporters have erupted in anger over a recent social media post by former FBI Director James Comey, which they interpreted as a threat against former President Donald Trump. The controversy has reignited a wider debate about the use of coded language in politics after old posts from prominent MAGA figures, including Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth and influencer Jack Posobiec, resurfaced and went viral.

Following the uproar over Comey’s post, old tweets by prominent MAGA figures resurfaced and went viral, adding fuel to the political fire. Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth’s earlier tweet using the phrase “86’d” in reference to political leaders drew renewed attention. Hegseth had used the term to describe ousting Republican figures such as Kevin McCarthy, Tom McDaniel, and Mitch McConnell, implying a purge within the party to make way for better leadership.

That code has been widely used on anti-Biden merchandise calling for the impeachment or removal of the former president. Posobiec accused Comey and other national security leaders of “openly calling for the assassination” of President Trump, questioning why Comey had not faced arrest.

Matt Gaetz insists his use of ‘86’ is ‘distinct’ from Comey’s ‘threat’ as MAGA accused of hypocrisy over term

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/james-comey-86-gaetz-maga-b2752452.html 

MAGA world erupted in fury on Thursday night over a social media post from former FBI Director James Comey, claiming that his image of seashells spelling out the numbers “8647” constituted a “threat” on President Donald Trump’s life.

Yet, while the Trump administration is investigating Comey and members of the president’s cabinet are even saying he “should be behind bars,” many of the same people raging that this was a call for assassination had previously used the same term to refer to their political opponents – including Joe Biden.

Meanwhile, just last year, Gaetz proudly tweeted that he’d “now 86’d” former Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, former Republican National Committee chairwoman Ronna McDaniel and Sen. Mitch McConnell from their leadership posts, adding that “better days are ahead for the Republican Party.”

“I was speaking in the past tense about things that had already happened,” Gaetz said. “Comey was putting out a call for future action. These are distinct.”

“During Biden's presidency, MAGA sold ‘8646’ t-shirts and bumper stickers and decals. No one thought that meant they were calling for Biden to be killed,” he noted, adding an eBay link to an “8646 In Distressed US Flag Anti Biden Decal Bumper Sticker” for sale.