Democratic voters driven more by opposition to Trump than party platform in fight for the House, poll finds

 https://www.politico.com/news/2026/09/13/democratic-voters-trump-opposition-midterms-poll-01073868

Democratic voters are more motivated to get to the polls by their widespread dissatisfaction with President Donald Trump rather than the policies their candidates are putting forward, according to a CBS News poll released Sunday.

Among likely Democratic voters, 54% said they primarily wanted to stop Trump and the GOP from advancing their agenda, while 46% wanted to help Democrats enact theirs. By contrast, 57% of Republicans said they were seeking to help Trump and the GOP advance their policies, while 43% wanted to stop Democrats.

Voters gave Trump an overall approval rating of 39%, with 61% disapproving of his performance, per the poll. And his endorsement could actually serve as a liability for Republican candidates — with 48% of likely voters saying a Trump endorsement would make them less likely to support a candidate, compared with 21% who said it would make them more likely.

Avodas HaShem

 Rav Chaim Shmuelevitz (Sichos Mussar #33 5731): Everyone is required to thoroughly examine his deeds especially before Rosh HaShanna - the Day of Judgment. This obligation is not just to discover transgressions and lapses in observance of the commands. It also includes the evaluation whether one's path in serving G d is the correct one for him since everyone has a unique path. The issue  of Avodas HaShem is such that a person could keep all the mitzvos yet have a completely false approach to serving G-d. The problem is compounded by the fact that he might have incorrectly assumed that what he was doing would be pleasing to G d. Nevertheless all his efforts would have been to accomplish a mistaken goal. Consequently if he has not carefully evaluated the correctness of his plan then all his efforts and sacrifices are wasted. Furthermore he is punished according to the degree of effort he made to accomplish this wrong plan. This can be seen from the fact that Rav Yochanon ben Zakkai who was not only the leading Torah scholar of his time but also had succeeded in saving Torah for all future generations was frightened before his death. He cried before his students and said "I see before me two paths - one to Gan Eden and the other to Gehinom and I don't know where they are taking me. Shouldn't I cry?" His fear was not because of failing to keep the whole Torah. His fear was solely because he might have failed to properly have done his Avodas HaShem. There is the additional problem with Avodas HaShem - that one simply can't repent for doing it incorrectly since it is easy to be mistaken and assume that you are doing the right thing.  

Why 3 years after Oct. 7, antisemitism in Canada remains at an alarming high

 https://www.timesofisrael.com/why-3-years-after-oct-7-antisemitism-in-canada-remains-at-an-alarming-high/

Amid a spate of attacks against Jewish targets in Toronto and Montreal, many Canadian Jews and their allies question whether the government is doing enough

Since Hamas’s terror attack on the Nova festival and on residents of several kibbutzim in southern Israel on October 7, 2023 — which killed 1,200 people and saw 251 taken hostage — incidents of antisemitism in Canada rose dramatically.

What is clear is that this rise in antisemitism is a Canadian concern. And how we respond to it as a country says as much about our civic health as it does about the safety of any one community.

Aveira Lishma-Transgressing for a Mitzva

 Keser Rosh(132) An aveira Leshma has not been permitted at all from the time of the giving of the Torah otherwise why have the 613 Mitzvos

Horayos (10b) A transgression with good intent is more meritorious than the performance of a commandment with no intent; for it is said, Blessed above women Jael be, the wife of Heber the Kenite, above women in the tent shall she be blessed. Who are the women in the tent? Sarah, Rebeka, Rachel and Leah.

Nazir (23b): A transgression performed with good intention is better than a precept performed with evil intention.

https://minchasasher.com/shiur/parsha-shiurim/aveira-good-intentions-5776/

It would have seemed from this Gemara that one has an open license to commit an Aveira if one has a good intention in mind. However, Rav Chaim Volozhiner[5] flatly rejects such an interpretation. He says that if that were the case then there is no need for 613 Mitzvos. All one would need is good intentions; there would be no need for a structured list. He therefore says that once Torah was given that is the absolute rule. Only before Torah was given, and during our time to the B’nei Noach, there is permission to act in accordance to what seems to be correct, even if it’s an Aveira. What about Ya’el? To that he has two answers. Firstly that she knew and perceived deep Kabbalistic secrets pertaining to this relation. But none of us nowadays have such knowledge. Secondly, it was done to save all of Klal Yisrael.

The Ramchal[6] has a similar opinion to Rav Chaim Volozhiner. These Gemarahs play no practical role nowadays. Ya’el’s actions were a specific ruling due to deep Kabbalistic reasoning.

Kappores

Rashba  (1:295) Mar, the Master already wrote: I have found that this custom of kappores was widespread in our town, that they would slaughter an old chicken for the sake of atonement over a young man, they would cut its head and hang it by its feathers at the door with garlic. And this is nonsense in my eyes like the ways of the Ammorites. I've pushed this custom out and by the grace of Heaven, they listened to my word and none of these practices remain anymore in our city.I have heard from different people from Ashkenaz who sit with us in the beit midrash (house of study) that all of the rabbis of their land do this on erev Yom Kippur...I still withheld this from our town.

Shulchan Aruch(Orach Chayim 605:1)That which people are accustomed to perform kapparah before Yom Kippur by slaughtering a rooster for each male and to say verses over it, you should prevent the custom.

Rema (OC 605) And there are those from the Geonim that write about this custom, and similarly it is written from many Achronim, and so is the custom in all these countries  - and you shouldn't change, for it is an ancient custom.

Tzarich Iyun: Tashlich

 https://outorah.org/p/5695/

This custom was soon adopted by many Ashkenazic communities, albeit with variations. Tashlich is mentioned by the Rema (OC 583:2); since the Arizal also approved of the practice, a kabbalistic component was added, and it soon spread to Sephardic communities as well, although not to Yemen.

It is hard to believe that such a widespread custom originated in the fifteenth century without an earlier basis. The Rashban (OC 210) thus suggests that tashlich is based on a Biblical precedent. He cites the anointing of King Solomon (mentioned earlier) as well as Ezra gathering the people at the “water gate,” the nearest gate to the water source, on Rosh Hashanah for a public reading of the Torah (Nechemiah 8:1).

It is interesting to note that there were those who did not practice tashlich at all. The Gra reportedly did not perform tashlich, nor did his star pupil Rabbi Chaim of Volozhin.[17] The Chayei Adam fails to record the custom. From the Aruch Hashulchan (OC 583:4) it seems that tashlich was far from a universal custom; furthermore, the Aruch Hashulchan has an ancillary problem with the custom. He advises women not go to tashlich so as not to create a mixed scene. If they do go, he suggests the men should stay home.[18] Evidently, the custom was not very important to him.[19]

IT'S GROTESQUE': Joe slams Trump from blaming Ukraine for rising diesel prices

Trump LOSES IT After Supreme Court DELIVERS DEVASTATING TAX RETURN BLOW!!!

Tzom Gedaliah Fast Day

 https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/2316462/jewish/Tzom-Gedaliah-Fast-Day.htm

Tzom Gedaliah is a dawn-to-dusk fast (click here for exact times) observed on the day after Rosh Hashanah (if that day is Shabbat, it is observed on Sunday). Commemorating the tragic death of Gedaliah, governor of Judea, the day begins with special Selichot liturgy (click here for a Hebrew PDF).

After the Babylonians destroyed the Holy Temple in Jerusalem and exiled many Jews in 3338 (423 BCE), they appointed Gedaliah ben Achikam as governor of the remaining Jews in the Holy Land. Jews who had taken refuge in the surrounding lands of Ammon, Moab and Edom heard of his appointment and returned to Judea to join his group—the last remnant of the once-mighty Judea. Under his wise and pious leadership, they tilled, planted and cultivated, coaxing the ravaged land back to health.

Prior to Rosh Hashanah 3339, Gedaliah received word that a certain Ishmael ben Netaniah, jealous of his position of power and dissatisfied with his tactical alliance with the Babylonians, was planning to kill him and usurp the leadership for himself. But the trusting Gedaliah refused to believe that Ishmael would act treacherously, and restrained those who wanted to kill Ishmael.

On Rosh Hashanah, Ishmael came to Gedaliah with ten men, ostensibly to celebrate the holiday with him. While they were eating together, Ishmael and his men got up and killed Gedaliah, as well as all the other Jewish men and Babylonian soldiers who were present.

Lawler deflects on supporting Trump’s $5K dividend pledge: ‘How do you pay for it?’

 https://thehill.com/homenews/house/6086944-lawler-questions-trump-dividend/

Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) on Sunday joined multiple Republican lawmakers in questioning the fiscal sense of President Trump’s proposal to send $5,000 to every American adult. 

Multiple GOP lawmakers have pushed back on Trump’s proposal. Outgoing Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) was among them, arguing the dividends would lead to government “dependency,” which he called evil.

Vice President Vance said Wednesday on Fox News’s “Hannity” that the administration could tap into tariff revenue to fund such a program, while Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Thursday the administration will not utilize taxpayer money to dole out the dividends.

Trump Promised $5,000 Checks. Mike Johnson Won’t Guarantee Them

 https://www.newsweek.com/mike-johnson-wont-guarantee-trump-5000-checks-americans-12436543

House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, declined on Sunday to guarantee that Americans will receive the $5,000 payments promised by President Donald Trump on Wednesday if the GOP maintains its majority in Congress in this year's midterm election, raising questions about the viability of one of the administration's most high-profile recent economic proposals.

Republicans cast Muslim Democrats as chief enemies in ‘dangerous’ midterm pitch

https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/6085055-gop-cruz-muslim-democrats-midterms/ 

The attacks ramped up at Republicans’ first-ever midterm convention in Dallas this past week, where a host of top GOP figures called out New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, two of the country’s most prominent Muslim American Democrats.

Republicans, however, say the strategy is not about religion but rather highlighting what the Democratic Party has become. 

RFK Jr. is going to war against SSRIs. Doctors and patients are caught in the middle.

 https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2026/05/14/why-everyones-suddenly-talking-about-quitting-antidepressants/

For years, the issue lingered at the margins — on patient forums and in a handful of studies. It gained broader attention in early May, when Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced an effort to study and support the “deprescribing” of psychiatric drugs. The Department of Health and Human Services said it will encourage other interventions such as therapy and lifestyle changes to treat mental health conditions, get experts to draft guidelines for going off psychiatric medications and develop materials on potential risks.

Kennedy has long been skeptical of SSRIs, particularly their use in children, which has at times sparked controversy. Still, many scientists — including those who say the administration is overstating the potential harms of SSRIs or missing nuance — say the underlying concern is real.

Some psychiatrists caution against overcorrecting. They worry that the growing focus on withdrawal could discourage appropriate use of antidepressants or lead patients to attribute symptoms during tapering to withdrawal when they may reflect a return of the underlying illness.

Houthis grow stronger as Trump turns his back on US allies

 https://www.israelhayom.com/2026/09/13/houthis-grow-stronger-as-trump-turns-his-back-on-us-allies/

The latest developments in Yemen are bad news for Israel. It is not only the Houthis' takeover of the strategic Bab el-Mandeb Strait, with its damaging implications for global maritime trade and the boost it gives Iran's regional standing. More troubling is the US position, which is shying away from confrontation and effectively leaving Washington's allies to fend for themselves.

US President Donald Trump, addressing the issue over the weekend, said, "The Houthis called us and they don't want to fight with us." It is a striking and troubling retreat from the role of global policeman that Trump sought to project during the first half of his second term. He is presumably reluctant to open another military front ahead of the US midterm elections, amid reports of equipment problems in the US military and shortages of munitions.

Last year, Trump launched a campaign against the Houthis, only to pull back within weeks and leave Israel to fight them alone. Now he has left Saudi Arabia behind as well. Riyadh had pleaded for assistance and now finds itself caught in a pincer movement, with Iran on one side and the Houthis on the other, while its offensive capabilities, and especially its defensive capabilities, remain severely limited.