17th of Tammuz

 https://aish.com/48943446/

Beginning three weeks of mourning for the destruction of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem.

The 17th of Tammuz is a fast day commemorating the fall of Jerusalem, prior to the destruction of the Holy Temple. This also marks the beginning of a 3-week national period of mourning, leading up to Tisha B'Av.

The 17th of Tammuz is the first of four fast days mentioned in the prophets. The purpose of a fast day is to awaken our sense of loss over the destroyed Temple – and the subsequent Jewish journey into exile.

Agonizing over these events is meant to help us conquer those spiritual deficiencies which brought about these tragic events. Through the process of "Teshuva" – self-introspection and a commitment to improve – we have the power to transform tragedy into joy. In fact, the Talmud says that after the future redemption of Israel and the rebuilding of the Temple, these fast days will be re-dedicated as days of rejoicing and festivity. For as the prophet Zechariah says: the 17th of Tammuz will become a day of "joy to the House of Judah, and gladness and cheerful feasts."

Fast of the 17th of Tammuz: Historical Background & Customs

 https://www.ou.org/holidays/the_17th_of_tammuz1/

The 17th day in the Jewish month of Tammuz, Jews the world over fast and lament to commemorate the many calamities that have befallen our people on this ominous day.

The purpose of such fasts in the Jewish calendar is, according to Rabbi Eliyahu Kitov’s Book of Our Heritage, “to awaken hearts towards repentance through recalling our forefathers’ misdeeds; misdeeds which led to calamities…”

Other interesting occurrences on this day include Noach sending out the first dove to see if the Flood waters had receded, (Bereishit 8:8) in 1650 (2100 BCE); Moshe Rabbeinu destroying the golden calf, (Shemot 32:20, Seder Olam 6, Taanit 30b – Rashi) and then ascending back up Har Sinai for the second time where he spent the next forty days pleading for forgiveness for the sin of the golden calf, (Shemot 33:11, Rashi).

17th of Tammuz: History, Laws and Customs

 https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/479885/jewish/The-17th-of-Tammuz.htm

The walls of Jerusalem were breached by the Romans, in 69 CE, after a lengthy siege. (Three weeks later, after the Jews put up a valiant struggle, the Romans destroyed the second Holy Temple on the 9th of Av.)

The Jerusalem Talmud maintains that this is also the date when the Babylonians breached the walls of Jerusalem on their way to destroying the first Temple.

The sages explain: “Every generation for which the Temple is not rebuilt, it is as though the Temple was destroyed for that generation.” A fast day is not only a sad day, but an opportune day. It’s a day when we are empowered to fix the cause of that destruction, so that our long exile will be ended and we will find ourselves living in messianic times; may that be very soon.

Trump’s wealth grew on a scale without modern presidential precedent

 https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2026/07/01/trumps-wealth-grew-scale-without-modern-presidential-precedent/

No past president has seen financial gains in office like those reported by President Donald Trump this week — not even Trump.

But Trump’s stock holdings are just a small piece of his record gains as president in his second term, according to the financial disclosures. Trump’s reported income increased by more than $1.6 billion last year, with most of that coming from his vast holdings in cryptocurrency and related ventures, even as his administration relaxed rules on crypto markets.

“Since he retook office, he’s making over a billion dollars a year off of crypto, while at the same time his administration is writing the rules of the road for how crypto will be regulated,” said Lee Reiners, a Duke University lecturer who warned earlier this year about Trump’s potential financial rewards from his cryptocurrency policies.

“Not only is this an unprecedented level of self-dealing and self-enrichment, the scale is really hard to wrap your head around.”

The Trump Family and ‘Honest Graft’

 https://www.wsj.com/opinion/trump-family-finance-world-liberty-financial-steve-witkoff-binance-9187ba1c?mod=hp_opin_pos_1

They are profiting off the Presidency in ways that demean the office.

Americans tell pollsters they don’t think they are getting ahead financially. But President Trump and his family are having no trouble, judging from his 2025 financial disclosure report released Tuesday. The Trump clan is cashing in on the Presidency in big and sketchy ways.

The 927-page report shows Mr. Trump made some $1.4 billion last year from crypto alone. Yowzers. This includes $635 million in royalties from the memecoin that Mr. Trump launched days before his inauguration. Trump Organization business affiliates make money from what are akin to transaction fees when the memecoin is traded.

Anti-Semitic Politicians in America Today

 https://aish.com/anti-semitic-politicians-in-america-today/?utm_source=googlegrants&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=19561819333&utm_term=&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=19561819333&gclid=Cj0KCQjw9ZLSBhCcARIsAEhGKgPq7uZIR84M_590NUGO1KapRyNLU3EFtE34XCOxbL-CgfeTHOiwY0gaAotuEALw_wcB

Patrick Little says he’s dedicating his life to exposing Jews who supposedly “control” the United States. He “woke up to the Jewish question” and has described himself as “counter-Semitic” who wants the United States to be “free from Jews.” Little is running for California’s U.S. Senate seat and defeat four-term Senator Diane Feinstein, whom Little describes as a “Zionist (expletive)”.

It’s long been a staple of anti-Semitic conspiracy theories that Jews somehow manipulate global events. It was chilling to hear this anti-Jewish trope being parroted by an elected city official, and it was especially worrying to hear this old conspiracy theory in a bizarre new form: to blame Jews for a snowfall implies a hatred that’s visceral and extreme. It soon emerged that this was no momentary lapse, when reporters uncovered evidence that White had donated constituent funds to a Nation of Islam event at which anti-Jewish statements were made.

With so much hatred directed against Jews and other minorities in America today, it’s crucial to speak out against anti-Semitic speech, wherever it comes from. With elections looming across the country, and the Midterm Elections coming up soon, it can be tempting to put politics ahead of human decency and look for ways to dismiss candidates’ hateful rhetoric. Doing so would be a significant mistake.

Soul - One or Three?

Rabbeinu Bachya (Bereishis (02:03). Some claim that the soul is a single force which however has three sub-categories. 1) the category which houses our desires, something we have in common with all the animals. 2) the source of growth, something possessed both by animals and all manner of plants. 3) the ability to think coherently, the soul of wisdom. All these functions are part of a single soul. Others claim that there are three distinct souls operating within man all of which are distinct from one another. The intelligent soul is an entity of its own, the potential to grow is an independent force. The animal kind of soul, which is the seat of all desires, i.e. the desire to eat, drink, procreate or simply indulge in sex, as well as the desire to sleep, are all part of the animalistic soul in man and constitute a separate soul. They are a part of what man has in common with the animal kingdom. The seat of that particular soul is the liver Its seat is in the liver.The force that enables man to grow physically. he shares such a force with all the trees, etc. Just as trees possess such built-in powers, man too possesses such a growth potential. As distinct from the seat of all desire which is presumed to be in the liver, this force does not have a specific location but is present in all parts of man‘s body. It remains active until a certain point in is life. The soul of intelligence is something exclusive to man, something he shares with beings in the higher worlds, beings which live forever in their sacred domains The seat of this soul is in man’s brain, and it is generally referred to as neshama This is what the Torah described in our verse as that which G-d “blew” into Adam’s nostrils. We also have a verse in Isaiah 42,5 “He gives a soul to the people on earth.” There are numerous similar verses throughout the Bible. According to the view of the philosophers who believe that each person has three separate souls, we find support for our sages in Sanhedrin 65 who report that the famous teacher Rava created a human being. When he brought this creature before Rabbi Zeyra, Rabbi Zeyra spoke to him whereas the creature could not answer back. Thereupon Rabbi Zeyra said to that creature (Golem): “you are man-made; go back to the dust you have been made of.” This passage in the Talmud is proof that man has three distinct souls. Rava, who was familiar with Kabbalah, and had studied the Sefer Yetzirah, had infused this creature with the “soul” which governs motion. He was unable, however, to provide his creature with the power of speech. The power of speech stems from the soul called man became a living creature

Birth Right and Corruption

Extra Soul

 Or HaChaim (Devarim 20:10) Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai said in Zohar volume 2 page 62 that G-d sends man an additional soul to guide him on the right path and to save him from committing sins against Him. In our paragraph we may perceive G-d as addressing this additional soul telling it: "when you approach a city. The idea is that this soul is intended to save the body from the evil urge; it is in line with the verse in Kohelet 9,14 which continues,"against which a great king comes and lays siege to it, An insignificant looking wise man saves that small city from the onslaught of the great king using his wisdom" "and you call out to her: 'peace'." The meaning is that you do not immediately wade into the your evil urge and try to conquer it in one single frontal assault; rather you first suggest that it also give heaven its due, as a result of which it will experience great benefits. As a result the evil urge will allow that man has a duty also vis-a-vis heaven. After all, secular activities such as eating and drinking in this life also enable man to perform his spiritual tasks better. As a result of this accomodation with the evil urge one assures oneself of not losing one's hereafter altogether. "If she is not prepared to surrender peacefully," If the "city" does not accept the soul's proposal to allow heaven its due, or that even after man began to become a penitent he slid back into sin, then you have to make all out war against the evil urge.We know that once an attempt to become a penitent fails, the chances are that the forces of evil will redouble their efforts against any religious instincts a person has.

‘Unhinged and racist’: Hayes EVISCERATES Trump’s birthright argument

Supreme Court upholds birthright citizenship

 https://edition.cnn.com/2026/06/30/politics/live-news/supreme-court-cases-news

• Birthright citizenship upheld: In a big loss for President Donald Trump, the Supreme Court upheld birthright citizenship, striking down his executive order. Chief Justice John Roberts, calling citizenship “the right to have rights,” wrote for the court that “the Framers of the Fourteenth Amendment extended that promise to ‘every free-born person in this land.’ We keep that promise today.” Read the full opinion.

Email NJ Reps NOW Vs. A2218/S2260

 

View This Jblast as a web page

Fair Use, adopted from CBN post: 🚨 NJ Gender/Abortion-On-Demand Enforcement Bill Heads to Final Vote Tuesday A community askan, speaking with CBN, is urging all New Jersey Orthodox communities - especially Lakewood - to immediately call/email their state legislators — including Sen. Robert Singer, and Assemblymen Avi Schnall and Sean Kean, and Passaic's Assemblyman Gary Schaer — ahead of a planned vote in both houses Tuesday on a bill (A2218/ S2260) that could penalize parents and rebbeim for refusing to allow children to undergo "gender reassignment." The bill, as originally drafted, created a new criminal offense for "interference with gender or reproductive health care services," exposing parents, rabbeim, or educators to potential prosecution for opposing a minor's gender transition. First Amendment activists, including leftists, sounded the alarm - and the language was altered - but still punishes "threats of violence" (or "perceived" violence) and "intimidation." Despite the amendments, the askan warned that other dangerous language remains — including a clause directing judges to interpret the law in the broadest, most plaintiff-friendly way possible — which could still leave rabbeim, educators, and parents exposed to prosecution. He also described the current bill as "both inherently threatening and - additionally - a dangerous stepping stone" toward harsher legislation and enforcement down the road." ### Rabbossai, it would be an unfathomable CHILLUL HASHEM if any Orthodox representative would abstain from actively opposing this Gezaira, especially while non-Jews are actively combating this avlah: https://njrtl.org/new-jersey-right-to-life-review-of-the-june-8-2026-amendments-to-a2218/ https://njrtl.org/a2218-why-is-a-pediatric-group-supporting-this-bill/ Please see below for a sample letter and contact information: Sample email to please immediately send to legislators against NJ's "amended" transgender/abortion-at-whim-enforcement Gezeira S2260/ A2218 -- to be voted on in both houses of the NJ legislature TODAY (Tuesday) : "BS"D June 30, '26 Dear Assemblyman/ Senator ......... , As voters living in ......, we urge you to please actively VOTE NO against S2260/ A2218 - in any form. This bill - even in its' amended form - threatens to criminalize certain types of Torah-mandated efforts to stop abusive and barbaric "transgender" procedures and abortion-at-whim. As such, it remains an Anti-Religious Edict - not all that different than those evil Greek decrees against which the Maccabees fought to the death to defeat. A Yeshiva Rebbe, Rov, Rosh Yeshiva, Principal, Teacher/Morah, Social Worker, mental health professional, therapist, chevrusa, mentor - perhaps even a parent - could potentially face massive fines - and hefty jail time - for merely trying to verbally convince a girl or boy out of getting "gender-altering" (sic) drugs or surgery to "become" (sic) that which they are not, or convince a young woman not to murder her preborn infant (and pursue adoption if need be), or even for just saving her/him from being under the influence of evil parties grooming susceptible victims into their anti-Torah transgender/abortionist worldview -- provided a judge would find them in violation of the broad and vague provisions - remaining in this bill - criminalizing "interference" and "intimidation." In addition to misinterpretations of liberal judges, we need to consider the provision that legally requires a judge to interpret the bill liberally - in favor of the anti-morality movement. Furthermore, any legislation which advances - in any manner - the transgender or abortion-at-whim agenda is antithetical to the moral values of our Torah, and the principles on which the Constitutional Republic, almost 250 years old, was established. Any such legislation, regardless of "protections," merely enables those seeking to harm children and attack our communities to get ever closer to their predatory goals. Whether this evil decree passes or not, we cannot allow our representatives to remain on the sidelines in this governmental war being waged against our youth and against our Torah. Thank you in advance for employing genuine leadership when truly needed." Name, Town, Email Address  Please contact THIS MORNING: LAKEWOOD: Assemblyman Avi Schnall: (848) 245-9486 / Asmschnall@njleg.org Assemblyman Sean Kean: (732) 974-0400 asmkean@njleg.org Senator Bob Singer (732) 987-5669 sensinger@njleg.org Everyone should also call: Assemblyman Gary Schaer (Passaic) : (973) 249-3665  AsmSchaer@njleg.org, Passaic: Assemblyman Clinton Calabrese: (201) 943-0615 AsmCalabrese@njleg.org Sen. Paul Sarlo: (201) 804-8118 SenSarlo@njleg.org ........  ........ Other Offices: Assemblyman and Majority Leader L. Greenwald and Melinda Kane: (Cherry Hill) (856) 435-1247 Assemblywoman Dr. Margie Donlon: (732) 704-3808 AswDonlon@njleg.org Assemblyman Wayne P. DeAngelo: (609) 631-7501 AsmDeAngelo@njleg.org _____ To identify, or get contact info on your rep: NJ Legislative Contact Info For Senate & Assembly: v: 609-847-3905 or (800) 792-8630    w: www.NJLeg.state.nj.us  or email: LegInfo@NJLeg.org

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Will Schnall Vote Absent on A2218??

 BS"D

June 30, '26

Rav ...

Lakewood, NJ

Rav ... שליט"א,

The venerable legacies of HoRav Aharon Kotler and Rav Avidgor Miller, ZY"A, are currently being jeopardized.

Assemblyman Avi Schnall (D) - who carries the name of Bnei Torah - and projects the image of "representing" Torah principles - seems - at the moment - to be intent on absenting himself on A2218 - unless he gets pressure from Rabbonim he fears NOW, who urge he actively vote NO. 

Although it's hard to fathom his intentions with certitude, we have no room for error, especially given the implication and tenor of Aguda's recent statement, insinuating that they "helped win the battle" - just as we're, in reality, in process of losing the war.  And we lose nothing by actively insisting Schnall do that which we should not need to even tell him to do.

Action Request:

Can you please urge Schnall (Asmschnall@njleg.org/ 

(848) 245-9486) to actively vote NO - against the final version of A2218, whatever form it assumes*?

Can you also perhaps urge other Rabbonim to do so likewise, immediately?  The votes are scheduled today.

{* after the process of amending it is completed}

The Assembly session was to have started at 11, although may be late due to budget.  Calls from Rabbonim he cares about probably could get through to him now, as could emails, very possibly.

PR: 

The Rabbonim should also know that there has been PR about the danger of the amended bill in:

1) the MonseyMevaser.com this past week, 

2) on CBN WhatsApp the night before last, and

3) via an email blast today.

We can't let anyone - especially Aguda - claim - or insinuate - that this amended bill is anywhere near acceptable.

 

And realize how bad this will all be with the provision requiring a liberal interpretation!

Section 12 (a) includes the following fatal flaw:

"The provisions" (of the bill) ... "shall be liberally construed to effect the purpose thereof."  

Abstaining broadcasts: Our silence is for sale, even when it comes to taking a principled stand against the "legalized" wholesale murder of preborn infants, and evil, abusive transgender-tyranny.

That would be an unforgivable Chillul HaShem.

~~~

[Realize that, in her post below, Mrs. Tasy is perhaps more focused on her organization's advocacy role, namely saving preborn infants from the plague of "legalized" abortion, but the bill includes "protection " of transgender procedures as well, in the definitions.]

The added emphasis below is mine.

Thank you in advance,

Rabbi Noson Shmuel Leiter,

Executive Director,

Help Rescue Our Children

Email: nathanadvisors@gmail.com

845.642.1679

Direct: 771.215.8892

Israeli Helpline: 03.721.3337

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).

~~~~~~   ~~~~~~   ~~~~~~

https://njrtl.org/new-jersey-right-to-life-review-of-the-june-8-2026-amendments-to-a2218/

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Date: Sun, Jun 28, 2026, 12:26 AM

New Jersey Right to Life: A2218/S2260 Amended But Threat Remains

New Jersey’s Abortion Shield Bill Was Amended. So, Who Are They Really Protecting?

June 15, 2026

By Marie Tasy, Executive Director, New Jersey Right to Life

There is a particular frustration in watching a deeply flawed bill steamroll through the Legislature, driven by a blind and erratic obsession with so called “reproductive health” and with little regard for transparency, the Constitution, or the people it will affect. That is what occurred with NJ Bill A2218/S2260.

New Jersey Right to Life testified at multiple committee hearings. Throughout the process, amendments were repeatedly introduced at the last minute and withheld from the public until after testimony had concluded, preventing us the opportunity for meaningful public review and informed comment. We were even denied the ability to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee on the bill’s constitutionality by the committee chair.

On June 11, the bill was scheduled for an Assembly floor vote and was pulled due to constitutional concerns. Legislative leaders stripped out one of its most dangerous provisions entirely, the section that would have allowed lawsuits against individuals for causing reputational, financial, or emotional harm simply because of their connection to reproductive health care advocacy. Removing it outright was a clear admission that the objections to it were valid.

That is a win. But it is not enough.

The amended bill still creates a new crime of “interference with reproductive health care services” and still authorizes expansive criminal and civil lawsuits, punitive damages, injunctions, and attorney’s fees. It still uses language subject to interpretation, based on “feelings,” that leaves far too much room for selective enforcement against peaceful sidewalk counselors, prayer vigil participants, and others engaged in constitutionally protected activity. When asked during committee testimony by Assemblyman Jay Webber (R-26) to identify specific incidents of violence at New Jersey abortion facilities that would justify these new penalties, a Planned Parenthood representative could not name a single example.

Violence, threats, trespass, property damage, harassment, and obstruction are already illegal in New Jersey. The Legislature’s own Office of Legislative Services has confirmed the bill will increase costs for prosecutors, courts, and corrections to address a problem supporters have not documented.

Also still troubling are the immunity provisions:

• Professional licensing boards are prohibited from disciplining providers based solely on their reproductive health care activity.

• Insurance companies are barred from taking adverse action against providers who perform services on patients from states where those services are illegal.

• New Jersey law enforcement and courts are prohibited from cooperating with other states’ investigations or proceedings related to reproductive health care, even when minors are involved.

• Any law from another state seeking to prosecute someone for reproductive health care activity is declared against New Jersey public policy and cannot be applied in state courts.

These provisions raise serious concerns about accountability. New Jersey has already seen the consequences of weak cross state oversight. Steven Chase Brigham, a New Jersey abortionist, ran an illegal bi-state late term abortion operation. He would begin procedures in New Jersey and have patients drive to a secret facility in Maryland to complete them. After one botched procedure left an 18-year-old with a ruptured uterus, police discovered the bodies of 34 late term aborted babies in a freezer at the Maryland location. Brigham was charged with ten counts of murder. The charges were ultimately dropped on a jurisdictional technicality. A2218/S2260 would make exactly this kind of cross state accountability even harder.

Kermit Gosnell, the Philadelphia abortionist whom even the secular media called a serial killer, operated for years under lax oversight before his crimes were exposed. The lesson of both cases is the same: when accountability disappears, women and children pay the price.

So who is this bill really protecting? Not the women and young minor girls who will be exploited by traffickers, abusers, and unscrupulous providers who will use these protections to evade accountability both inside New Jersey and across state lines.

The bill raises serious questions about federalism, interstate cooperation, free speech, accountability, and the proper role of government. It deserves far more scrutiny than it has received.

The Legislature was forced to amend this bill repeatedly and ultimately remove one of its most controversial provisions after sustained public criticism. That does not happen when concerns lack merit. It happens when serious flaws are exposed.

At this point, the real question is why this legislation was introduced in the first place. New Jersey already has laws against violence, threats, trespass, harassment, and obstruction. Supporters have failed to demonstrate a need for these sweeping new protections and penalties.

New Jersey deserves laws that protect constitutional freedoms, respect accountability, and serve the public interest, not legislation designed to appease favored political constituencies and shield them from scrutiny, accountability, and make taxpayers bear the cost of enforcing new protections and penalties for a problem supporters have failed to document.

The Assembly should reject A2218/S2260 outright. This law protects no one who needs protection. It is built on definitions so deliberately broad that most New Jerseyans would be stunned to learn what they cover, and it uses those definitions to wall off an entire industry from professional discipline, legal scrutiny, and interstate accountability. When something goes wrong, and history tells us it will, there will be no cooperation, no consequences, and no one left to answer for it.

And that, for the women and children this bill leaves unprotected, is far more than a shame.

####

https://njrtl.org/new-jersey-right-to-life-review-of-the-june-8-2026-amendments-to-a2218/

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Israeli defense chief blames Trump for halting all-out Hezbollah push in Lebanon

 https://nypost.com/2026/06/29/world-news/israeli-defense-chief-blames-trump-for-halting-all-out-hezbollah-push-in-lebanon/

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz blamed President Trump on Monday for stopping the Jewish state from eliminating all of Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Explaining to reporters that having a “partnership” with the US “has certain constraints,” Katz said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “stood bravely” against Trump’s demands that Israel Defense Forces leave Lebanon through four phone calls.

”Iran constantly pressured the United States to pressure Israel, in order to stop this,” he said, according to a translated transcript of the briefing obtained by The Post. “At that time, we were attacking all of Lebanon, I remind you.”

”I’m sorry for that connection [of the cease-fire extending to Lebanon,] but it was an American interest, that [Trump] really, really wanted to promote the possibility of negotiations with Iran, etc., and he saw this as an obstacle to it.”