As is often the case, Trump dashed off his attention-hoovering tweet at an opportune moment Thursday morning. The worst economic decline ever recorded in U.S. history had just been announced. An aid package to save tens of millions of consumers was stuck in a deadlock. The rampant pandemic at the core of the problem was spiraling further out of control. And his poll numbers were floundering just three months away from the election.
Friday, July 31, 2020
Trump defends tweet on possible Election Day delay at contentious press conference
Claiming at Thursday's White House briefing that the 2020 elections could be "fixed" and "rigged," President Trump again highlighted the risks of nationwide, universal mail-in balloting in stark terms -- including by citing news articles and experts who have raised similar concerns.
Before taking questions, Trump honored former Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain, noting that "unfortunately, he passed away from a thing called the China virus." Trump also hit Democrats' plans to keep schools and businesses closed, saying they would cause "probably more death" and economic destruction than coronavirus itself.
Within seconds, Trump was pressed on his tweet earlier in the day that suggested the election could be delayed due to mail-in ballot fraud. He responded that delays in mail-in ballot results, including lost ballots, could mean the election winner isn't clear for weeks or even months after Election Day.
Thursday, July 30, 2020
שיימינג נוסף בחסות בית הדין: נחשף האיש שאחראי לסרבנות הגט של בנו
כבר 15 שנה מעגן איש את אשתו שהפכה לנכה לאחר שלקתה באירוע מוחי. במרכזה של הפרשה הקשה עומד יעקב הופמן, אביו של הבעל, אדם אמיד תושב ארה"ב, שעל פי בית הדין הרבני הוא העומד מאחורי החלטת בנו להתנגד לגירושים. לאחר שצווי עיכוב יציאה מהארץ וקנס בסך כמיליון ש"ח שאושר בבג"ץ לא השפיעו על האב - הוחלט לפרסם את שמו ותמונתו
Rabbi Shmuel Kamenetsky: 'Worrisome' if Trump not elected
Rabbi Shmuel Kamenetsky, Rosh Yeshiva of Philadelphia and member of the Moetzes Gedolei Hatorah of Agudas Yisroel of America, said the prospect of Trump not winning in the presidential election was "worrisome."
Contested Flynn dismissal to go before full appeals court as legal saga drags on
The dispute over the
The order was issued Thursday by the court. Called an "en banc" hearing, all 11 judges on the appeals court will sit in on a rehash of arguments that were made before a three-judge panel in June, which led to a 2-1 ruling in favor of Flynn. The former Trump aide had requested the appeals court to order the judge in the case to approve of a Department of Justice (DOJ) motion to dismiss charges against him.
Swift backlash after Trump suggests delaying election
Members of the media, politicians and others on both sides of the aisle swiftly condemned
Over This We Mourn
BS"D
"Over This We Mourn"
By Binyomin Feinberg
8 Av, 5780 °° July 29, '20 Erev Tisha B'Av (Parshas Naso)
Communal Protest of Evil:
Firstly,
on occasion of the fast day of Tisha B'Av, starting tonight, Wednesday
night, we refer our esteemed readers to a previous post, https://
We
also know that "Middah Tova Merubah," i.e. Divine Reward is far more
generous than Divine Retribution is strict. As much as failure to
properly protest persecution could destroy the Bais HaMikdosh, how much
more potent is properly speaking out in rebuilding it. In this day and
age, despite the multitudinous hazards of technology, we are blessed
with the capacity to speak out against rishus (evil) like never before.
We cannot force people to listen, but many, many certain would. (We
hope and pray that these posts as well humbly serve as at least a modest
example of what can be done by concerned individuals to combat rishus,
even on the other side of the world.)
"What
can I do?" many ask. It's related from one of the Torah sages of the
previous generation that it's not that G-d gives tasks to the capable;
rather, he graces those who take the initiative to undertake vital
causes with the capacities they'll need to succeed.
In
"Kovetz He'oros" on Yevamos, Aggada, chapter 10, the world-renowned
disciple of the saintly Chofetz Chaim (d.1933 CE), Rav Elchonon
Wasserman (martyred by the Nazis, y.s., in the Holocaust), distinguishes
sharply between threats to the Jewish People that endanger our physical
survival - as was Nazism, and threats to our spiritual survival - as
was Communism. The former are in the category of a "ma'aseh HaShem,"
demanding our spiritual efforts, including repentance and prayer. The
latter - threats to our spiritual existence - demand our vigorous
efforts to resist in the physical plane.
Reb
Elchonon relates how the saintly Chofetz Chayim regretted that he
didn't actually launch a physical revolution against the virulently
anti-Jewish
What's
striking is how nowadays even a few individuals - of average capacity -
can access the wherewithal to lauch a global "Awareness Revolution" -
all without shooting a single bullet. By identifying potent stories of
courageous individuals, and leveraging related current events, one can
publicly expose all sorts of evil being perpetrated by powerful abusers,
state, corporate, and individual offenders.
We
also know that IF we do our small part properly, G-d often - eventually
- provides us with the wherewithal to accomplish far beyond what we
originally dreamed we could.
°°°
And now, for some of the latest news on innocent girls being targeted for the Israeli military draft:
On Sunday, we posted these, regarding a Ukrainian immigrant Ba'alas-Teshuva being targeted by Maitav, Kesanya Z.:
Subsequently, we learned that Batsheva D., a religious girl not even 17 years old, was recently targeted
She had innocently called the Draft Office to learn standard procedure to apply for her religious exemption from the female draft. On the spot, the army recruiter nonchalantly instructed her to come directly to a scheduled religiosity "interview," a "Rayon Dat."
Volunteers who assist girls in these matters over the past couple of years note that this is the first case in which they've seen such blatant and early-stage deception of a 16 year-old religious girl by Maitav; not only had she not stepped into the Draft Office, or even mailed in her religiosity verification affidavit.- she had not even visited the Rabbanut to obtain her religiosity affidavit to begin with - and nevertheless got summoned to a Rayon Dat.
° Explaining the "Method behind the Madness," one of the senior volunteers observed that by initiating the Rayon Dat process early, the Israeli government places any resistant girls into the "draft-complication" process ("histabchut") earlier on as well.
° It's important to realize who's being targeted here. It's not the girls who comply with the Rayon Dat, but specifically the most upright - those who don't (reminiscent of the proverbial paradigm: "No good deed shall go unpunished").
° Additionally, at an earlier age, the Rayon Dat can be administered when girls are more susceptible to being tripped up, duped into enlisting, or intimidated into enlisting.
°
Moreover, this "zerizin mak'dimin" schedule will grant the Army Draft
Office more time before draft age (18) to try to emotionally and
psychologically wear down the girls and their families, thereby
broadcasting to the weaker ones that it's not worthwhile to even bother
"fighting City Hall."
Bear
in mind that the Israeli military has a huge amount of funding at their
disposal to seek out and identify - and then effectively stalk and
traffic - these teenage girls, relentlessly, by virtue of the
fungibility of foreign aid obtained under pretext of national security
and legitimate defense needs.
°
This "Head Start" headhunter initiative could also be seen as part of
the broader Maitav effort to whitewash the Rayon Dat phenomenon. The
very notion of Rayon Dat, in such cases, is actually an extralegal
maneuver. It's been put into practice without benefit of due process of
law. Otherwise put, If you can't make it Law via legislation, do so by
procedural innovation. This extralegal dexterity also helps avoid
conflict with the concern over implementation of procedures against the
will of the people, because the people won't even know what hit them
until they've already become accustomed to it, and unfortunately
resigned themselves to the Rayon Dat directives as a done deal.
°°°
May we soon witness the Final Redemption in the merit of helping expedite it.
~~~
Wednesday, July 29, 2020
Pro-Hydroxychloroquine Doctor Says 'Lying' Fauci Is Playing With Lives
The physician, who voiced unsubstantiated claims
about hydroxychloroquine's impact on COVID-19 earlier this week,
targeted NIAID director Dr. Anthony Fauci on Twitter Wednesday morning.
Revenge of the Never Trumpers: Meet the Republican Dissidents Fighting to Push Donald Trump Out of Office
https://time.com/5870475/never-trumpers-2020-election/
Jack Spielman has been a Republican his whole life. But over the past four years, he has come to two realizations.
Increasingly upset by President Donald Trump’s
“appalling” behavior, his cozy relationships with dictators and the
ballooning national debt, Spielman says his first epiphany was that he
couldn’t cast a ballot for Trump again. But for the retired Army
cybersecurity engineer, the final straw was the President’s retaliation
against impeachment witness Lieut. Colonel Alexander Vindman, who
retired in July after Trump fired him from the National Security Council
in February. Spielman decided he had to do more than just vote for
presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden; he had to persuade others to
do the same. So Spielman filmed a video for a group called Republican
Voters Against Trump (RVAT), explaining his views. “I want to do some
part,” Spielman tells TIME, “to try to correct the wrong that I did in
voting for this man.”
Trump ends press briefing after defending pro-hydroxychloroquine doctor who says virus has a 'cure'
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-press-briefing-coronavirus-hydroxychloroquine-doctor
President Trump
abruptly ended a tense press conference at the White House on Tuesday,
after he defended Houston Dr. Stella Immanuel as a "very impressive" for
touting hydroxychloroquine -- just hours after Twitter deleted the
president's retweet of a video featuring Immanuel speaking about the
drug.
At the briefing, CNN reporter Kaitlan Collins highlighted some of
Immanuel's past comments, including that alien DNA is being used in
medical treatments and that doctors want to make people immune from
religion.
She was on-air, along with many other doctors. They were big fans of
hydroxychloroquine. I thought she was very impressive. ... She said that
she's had tremendous success with hundreds of different patients. I
thought her voice was an important voice, but I know nothing about her."
Collins continued shouting questions, prompting the president to head out.
CNN
has its own history of questionable claims about hydroxychloroquine:
Last week, Dr. Harvey Risch, a Yale epidemiology professor, rejected a CNN anchor’s "ludicrous" claim that the drug is too dangerous to even talk about as a potential COVID-19 treatment.
Trump sticks by discredited hydroxychloroquine
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-53575964
US President Donald Trump has again
defended the use of hydroxychloroquine to ward off coronavirus,
contradicting his own public health officials.
He said the malaria medication was only rejected as a Covid-19 treatment because he had recommended its use.
His remarks come after Twitter banned his eldest son for posting a clip promoting hydroxychloroquine.
There is no evidence the drug can fight the virus, and regulators warn it may cause heart problems.
Last month, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) cautioned against the use of the drug for treatment of the coronavirus, following reports of "serious heart rhythm problems" and other health issues.
Trump undermines his pandemic response with more misinformation and self-obsession
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/07/29/politics/donald-trump-coronavirus-response/index.html
President Donald Trump's return as the face of the Covid-19 response has deteriorated into a misinformation masterclass that explains why America is in such a mess.
In an extraordinary performance Tuesday, as the daily death toll again soared toward 1,000 and the number of Americans dead approached a tragic milestone of 150,000, Trump again foreswore the most basic requirements of national leadership in a crisis.
At a White House briefing
that turned almost into a parody of his own mismanagement of the
pandemic, he complained that the government's top infectious diseases
expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, had better approval ratings than he did.
He
painted a misleading picture of a viral surge still raging across
Southern and Western states that is showing new signs of spreading
deeper into the heartland, saying large portions of the country were
"corona-free."
And he launched a stunning new pitch for
hydroxychloroquine, the anti-malaria drug beloved by conservative media
but that has not been shown in rigorous clinical trials to be an
effective treatment for Covid-19.
Given
the trail of sickness and death that has unfolded in recent months, it
was bizarre though not surprising that the President would return to the
controversy over hydroxychloroquine. On Monday night, he retweeted videos describing hydroxychloroquine as a "cure" that meant Americans didn't need to wear masks.
Minneapolis Police Reportedly Identify Viral 'Umbrella Man' As White Supremacist
https://www.npr.org/sections/live-updates-protests-for-racial-justice/2020/07/28/896515022/minneapolis-police-reportedly-identify-viral-umbrella-man-as-white-supremacist
Police say the masked, umbrella-wielding man who smashed windows at a
Minneapolis auto parts store two days after George Floyd's death has
ties to a white supremacist group and specifically sought to inflame
racial tensions.
According to the Minneapolis Star Tribune,
Minneapolis police arson investigator Erika Christensen wrote in a
search warrant affidavit filed this week that the man's actions created a
hostile atmosphere and sparked a series of events that turned
previously peaceful protests chaotic. She said she believed his "sole
aim was to incite violence."
Trump Jr. bashes Twitter over suspension: 'This never happens to ... the left. It only hurts conservatives'
https://www.foxnews.com/media/donald-trump-jr-responds-twitter-suspension-hydroxychloroquine
Donald Trump Jr. joined "Tucker Carlson Tonight"
Tuesday to respond to the 12-hour suspension of his Twitter account
after he posted a video featuring doctors endorsing the use
of anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine to treat coronavirus.
"I've
been saying this for a long time," the presidents eldest son told host
Tucker Carlson. "I wrote my first book about justice and censorship
coming from the big tech giants from California -- as homogenous a group
as you could possibly imagine. If they are censoring my account, they
are censoring others and they've been trying to do this for a while.
"I've
been talking about the deplatforming, that demonetization of people
that are preaching conservative values," Trump Jr. added, "because you
have to note, this never happens to someone saying something that
benefits the left. It only hurts conservatives."
Trump abruptly ends briefing after being pressed over retweeting misinformation
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/07/28/politics/donald-trump-coronavirus-briefing/index.html
Even amid an attempt by President Donald Trump's aides to shift his focus back to coronavirus,
he continues to hear from a wide range of associates -- including the
CEO of a far-right television network -- who are undermining the
administration's health experts and questioning their approach to the
pandemic, people familiar with the conversations say.
Trump
resumed his daily news briefings on Tuesday afternoon, where he again
touted advancements on vaccines and treatments for the virus. After
largely ignoring the pandemic for weeks and denying its severity, the
White House revived the briefings last week to demonstrate presidential
leadership.
But the approach has hit early stumbling blocks.
When
Trump was pressed by CNN's Kaitlan Collins about his words of support
for a doctor who downplayed masks and suggested alien DNA was used in
medical treatments, he cut the briefing short and stormed out.
Tuesday, July 28, 2020
Barr clashes with Democrats over policing and Roger Stone sentencing: 'I'm telling my story — that's what I'm here to do'
Democrats launched into several
impassioned attacks on Barr, and in multiple exchanges he and the
lawmakers raised their voices and interrupted one another. When
Democrats cut off Barr during their time to question him, he often used
the next round of Republican questioning as a chance to respond.
House
Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler, a Democrat from New York, pressed Barr
on whether federal troops deployed to cities were being used as "props"
for Trump's reelection. Democratic Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas
pushed him on whether the Trump administration was fighting systemic
racism in policing, and Democratic Rep. Hank Johnson of Georgia accused
Barr of aiding Trump's longtime friend Roger Stone and first national
security adviser Michael Flynn.
Barr
dismissed the Democratic charges, saying that he acted independently to
protect the rule of law in the Stone and Flynn cases, that he disagreed
there was systemic racism in police departments and that federal
officers had been sent to protect federal buildings "under attack" and
combat violence crime.
'Shame on you': Democrats attack Barr for carrying out Trump agenda
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jul/28/william-barr-hearing-democrats-federal-agents-trump
Democrats
clashed angrily with Donald Trump’s attorney general on Tuesday, over
the aggressive deployment of federal agents to US cities three months
before a presidential election.
The attorney general denied the interventions were motivated by Trump’s re-election.
Don Lemon, Chuck Todd make cameos at Barr hearing when Jim Jordan plays video of 'peaceful' protesters
A variety of MSNBC and CNN hosts made cameos during Attorney General William Barr's testimony before the House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday when Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, used
his opening statement to put an emphasis on mainstream media’s efforts
to paint sometimes violent protesters as “peaceful.”
“I
want to thank you for defending law enforcement, for pointing out what a
crazy idea this defund the police policy ... whatever you want to call
it, is, and standing up for the rule of law,” Jordan said. “We have a
video we want to show that gets right to this point.”
Jordan then played a powerful video montage featuring a variety of
mainstream media members referring to recent protests as
“peaceful,” which included everyone from CNN’s Don Lemon to NBC News’
Chuck Todd dismissing violence amid images of burning buildings and
attacks on law enforcement.
Trump Pushes Fake COVID Cure From Fringe Doctors, Banned by Facebook
https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-pushes-fake-covid-cure-from-fringe-doctors-banned-by-facebook
At least one of the accounts
the president retweeted on Monday night was from a follower of QAnon,
the conspiracy theory that alleges a “deep state” cabal of pedophiles is
plotting against Trump.
Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube scrub platforms of viral video making false coronavirus claims
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/07/28/tech/facebook-youtube-coronavirus/index.html
A
video featuring a group of doctors making false and dubious claims
related to the coronavirus was removed by Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube
after going viral online Monday.
The
video, published by the right-wing media outlet Breitbart News,
featured a group of people wearing white lab coats calling themselves
"America's Frontline Doctors" staging a press conference in front of the
US Supreme Court in Washington, DC.
President
Trump shared multiple versions of the video with his 84 million Twitter
followers Monday night despite the dubious claims running counter to
his administration's own public health experts. Spokespersons for the
White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Donald Trump says Dr. Fauci misled the public on hydroxychloroquine and shares a video of a doctor saying the drug can prevent the virus in Twitter spree
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8566907/Donald-Trump-goes-Twitter-binge-retweets-posts-praising-hydroxychloroquine.html
- President Donald Trump retweeted a slew of posts praising controversial drug hydroxychloroquine for treating COVID-19 on Monday night
- He shared a retweeted that slammed Dr. Anthony Fauci for 'misleading' the country by dismissing hydroxychloroquine, and supporting drug Remdesivir
- He shared video of Dr. Stella Immanuel's speech outside Capitol Hill on Friday where she claimed the anti-malaria drug is a 'cure' for the virus
- She slammed 'fake doctors' who doubt the efficacy of the drug and said to the public 'you don’t need a mask'
- Trump shared videos of her speech twice, and both were removed
Georgia Republican senator removes ad that made Jewish opponent’s nose bigger
https://www.timesofisrael.com/georgia-republican-senator-removes-ad-that-made-jewish-opponents-nose-bigger/
Republican Sen. David Perdue of Georgia has taken down a digital
campaign ad featuring a manipulated picture of his Democratic opponent
Jon Ossoff, who is Jewish, with an enlarged nose.
Before being removed, the Facebook ad
showed grainy pictures of Ossoff and Sen. Charles Schumer of New York,
who is also Jewish, above a banner reading “DEMOCRATS ARE TRYING TO BUY
GEORGIA! HELP DAVID PERDUE FIGHT BACK.”
A spokeswoman for Perdue said in a statement Monday that the image
has been removed from Facebook, calling it an “unintentional error” by
an outside vendor, without naming the vendor.
“Anybody who implies that this
was anything other than an inadvertent error is intentionally
misrepresenting Senator Perdue’s strong and consistent record of
standing firmly against anti-Semitism and all forms of hate,” the
spokeswoman said.
How Tom Cotton accidentally told an appalling truth
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/07/27/opinions/tom-cotton-slavery-comments-1619-project-bailey/index.html
It's a belief likely held by millions of White Americans and also by
a number of white historians. It's just that Cotton said it more
plainly and directly than most. It's that ability -- White Americans'
penchant for compartmentalizing and rationalizing when it comes to
issues of race -- that has made it possible for a president as inept and
racist as Donald Trump to have any chance of being re-elected.
How the 1619 Project slandered America
No one challenges the proposition that US history is bound up in a
history of repression and exploitation of minorities, from the slaughter
and dispossession of Native Americans to slavery and Jim Crow laws. But
to assert, on the basis of zero historical evidence, that its very
foundational motivation was the persecution of those minorities is a
conscious effort not to provoke academic debate but to inculcate the
entire country, its people and its institutions in a continuing crime
against humanity.
I Helped Fact-Check the 1619 Project. The Times Ignored Me.
https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2020/03/06/1619-project-new-york-times-mistake-122248
But the
debates playing out now on social media and in op-eds between
supporters and detractors of the 1619 Project misrepresent both the
historical record and the historical profession. The United States was
not, in fact, founded to protect slavery—but the Times is right
that slavery was central to its story. And the argument among
historians, while real, is hardly black and white. Over the past
half-century, important foundational work on the history and legacy of
slavery has been done by a multiracial group of scholars who are
committed to a broad understanding of U.S. history—one that centers on
race without denying the roles of other influences or erasing the
contributions of white elites. An accurate understanding of our history
must present a comprehensive picture, and it’s by paying attention to
these scholars that we’ll get there.
Here is the complicated picture of the Revolutionary era that the New York Times
missed: White Southerners might have wanted to preserve slavery in
their territory, but white Northerners were much more conflicted, with
many opposing the ownership of enslaved people in the North even as they
continued to benefit from investments in the slave trade and slave
colonies. More importantly for Hannah-Jones’ argument, slavery in the
Colonies faced no immediate threat from Great Britain, so colonists
wouldn’t have needed to secede to protect it. It’s true that in 1772,
the famous Somerset case ended slavery in England and Wales, but it had
no impact on Britain’s Caribbean colonies, where the vast majority of
black people enslaved by the British labored and died, or in the North
American Colonies. It took 60 more years for the British government to
finally end slavery in its Caribbean colonies, and when it happened, it
was in part because a series of slave rebellions in the British
Caribbean in the early 19th century made protecting slavery there an
increasingly expensive proposition.
Tom Cotton describes slavery as a 'necessary evil' in bid to keep schools from teaching 1619 Project
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/07/27/politics/tom-cotton-slavery-necessary-evil-1619-project/index.html
Though the founding fathers were divided
on the issue of slavery, with some of them having owned slaves and
others being opposed to it, there doesn't appear to be a record of any of them arguing slavery in the US was a "necessary evil."
Texas law gives no simple answer in Garrett Foster killing at Austin protest
https://www.statesman.com/news/20200727/texas-law-gives-no-simple-answer-in-garrett-foster-killing-at-austin-protest
“It strikes me that in a state where there’s legal conceal carry and
open carry, it’s an interesting question how a jury — if it comes before
a jury — thinks about the question of when it’s reasonable to think
someone walking up to you with a gun in their hand is threatening you,”
she said.
She said she would be skeptical about drawing any conclusions about the lack of charges in the case thus far.
“The police haven’t forfeited any option,” she said.
Monday, July 27, 2020
Mazel and Jews - Ramchal
והנה
נשתעבדו לזה
הסדר כל בני
אדם גם כן,
להתחדש בהם
כפי מה שימשך
להם מן
המערכה, אמנם,
כבר אפשר
שתבוטל תולדת
הכוכבים מכח
חזק עליון
מהם, ועל יסוד
זה אמרו, "אין
מזל לישראל",
(שבת קנ"ו), כי
כח גזירתו
ית"ש והשפעתו
גוברת על הכח
הטובע בהשפעת
המערכה, ותהיה
התולדה לפי
ההשפעה
העליונה, ולא
לפי השפעת המערכת.
ואמנם משפטי
ההשפעה הזאת
של הכוכבים גם
הם מוגבלים,
כפי מה שגזרה
החכמה
העליונה
היותו נאות,
וקצת מדרכיה
נודעים לפי
סדרי המבטים,
והוא מה
שמשיגים
הוברי השמים,
אכן לא כל
אמיתת סדריה
מתגלית בזה,
על כן לא
ישיגו החוזים
הכוכבים אלא
קצת מהענינים
העתידים, ולא
בשלמות, וכל
שכן שכבר יש
בטול
לתולדותם, כמו
שאמרנו, ועל
זה אמרו חז"ל
"מאשר" ולא כל
אשר, (רבה בראשית
ה' ב'). (דרך ה' חלק
ב פרק ז א וב)
Mitzva can overcome mazel - Maharal
ואין מזל
לישראל, פירוש
שאפשר להכריע
את המזל על
ידי מצות, אף
שאינו מתפלל
כלל, רק מעצמו
נהפך על ידי
מצות, דעל ידי
תפילה דבר
פשוט דמועיל
שהוא יתברך יעשה
מה שירצה
בשמים ובארץ, אבל כך
אמר שאין מזל
לישראל,
דהיינו לכלל
ישראל אין מזל
שישלוט המזל
עליהם, ואף
ליחיד אם עושה
מצוה דבר זה
שקול... כאשר
עושה מצוה
אלקית נבדלת,
דבר זה הוא על
המזל. ואין
הפירוש שלא
ישלוט המזל עליהם
כלל, כי הכל
לפי מה שהוא,
כי אם המזל
כנגד ישראל
מאד, צריכים
ישראל זכות
גדול להכריע
את המזל, כמו
במצרים, שהיה
מורה המזל
רעה, כמו שאמר
"ראו כי רעה
נגד פניכם",
והשי"ת הפך
אותו לטוב
בשביל זכות
אבות. מכל
מקום אין מזל
לישראל שיהיה
שולט לגמרי
עליהם, דבר זה אינו,
וזה משמעות
אין מזל
לישראל, שיהיו
לגמרי תחת
המזל כמו שהם
שאר האומות...
(שם שם קנה ב,
וראה עוד
ישראל-מזל)
...כי ראוי
האדם בפרט
שיהיה הנהגתו
לא כמו בהמה, שאין
מזל לבהמה, רק
הנהגת הבהמה
היא טבעית,
והנהגת האדם היא
רוחנית, כי יש
לו מזל. וכיון
שיש לו מזל,
המזל נראה על
ידי סימן, וכן
מועיל סימן
שעושה למטה
שיהיה האדם
בטוב למעלה,
שאין הנהגת
האדם כמו
הבהמה, שאין
לה כח ומזל
למעלה... לכך
יסתם פיהם של
דוברי שקר
המדברים על
צדיקים עתק,
שחושבים דבר
זה כמו ניחוש,
ואין הדבר כן,
רק שהוא סימן
טוב בשעה
שראוי אל זה,
וכמו שאמרו ז"ל
סימנא מילתא
היא... (שם
הוריות יב א)
Mazel doesnt control in Israel - Ramban
Ramban(Bamidbar 11:16)
ותקיא הארץ -
...אבל סוף הדבר
בכתוב שאמר
"בהנחל עליון
גוים בהפרידו
בני אדם, יצב
גבולות עמים
וגו', כי חלק ה'
עמו וגו'", והענין
כי השם הנכבד
ברא הכל ושם
כח התחתונים בעליונים,
ונתן על כל עם
ועם בארצותם
לגויהם כוכב
ומזל ידוע
כאשר נדע
באצטגנינות,
וזהו שאמר אשר
חלק ה' אלקיך
אותם לכל
העמים, כי חלק
לכולם מזלות
בשמים
וגבוהים
עליהם מלאכי
עליון, נתנם
להיותם שרים
עליהם, כענין
שכתוב ושר
מלכות פרס
עומד לנגדי...
והנה ה' הנכבד
הוא אלקי
האלקים
ואדוני האדונים
לכל העולם,
אבל ארץ ישראל
אמצעות הישוב,
היא נחלת ה'
מיוחדת לשמו,
לא נתן עליה
מן המלאכים
קצין שוטר
ומושל
בהנחילו אותה
לעמו המיחד
שמו זרע
אוהביו...
והנה בחוצה
לארץ אף על פי
שהכל לשם
הנכבד, אין טהרה
בה שלמה בעבור
המשרתים
המושלים עליה,
והעמים תועים
אחרי שריהם
לעבוד גם
אותם, ולכך יאמר
הכתוב "אלקי
כל הארץ יקרא",
הוא אלקי
האלקים המושל
על הכל, והוא
יפקוד בסוף על
צבא המרום
במרום להסיר
ממשלת
העליונים
ולהרוס מערכת
המשרתים, ואחרי
כן יפקוד על
כל מלכי האדמה
באדמה, וזהו ענין
הכתוב שאמר
בגזרת עירין
פתגמא ומאמר
קדישין שאלתא,
יאמר כי הדבר
ההוא הנגזר על
נבובכדנצר
היא גזרת
עירין פתגמא
ומאמר קדישין
שאלתא, שגזרו
על הכוחות
הנאצלין מהן
לעשות כך, ויקראו
עירין, כי
מאצילות
יתעוררו
הכחות בכל הפעולות...
(ויקרא יח כה)
שבעים איש
מזקני ישראל -
כבר הזכירו
רבותינו כי
שבעים אומות
הן בשבעים
לשון, ויש לכל
אחת מזל ברקיע
ושר למעלה,
כענין שנאמר
בדניאל "ושר מלכות
פרס", וכתב אצל
מלכי יון והוא
שנאמר "יפקוד
ה' על צבא המרום
במרום", ואמרו
כי פרי החג
ירמזו בהם... (במדבר
יא טז)
Astrology Encyclopedia Judaica
The majority of the talmudic sages believed in the decisive role played
by celestial bodies in determining human affairs in the sublunar world.
On the one hand the patriarch Abraham and his descendants are spoken of
as having been elevated beyond subjection to the stars (Gen. R. 44:12;
Yal., Jer. 285), but on the other hand, the blessing bestowed on him in
Genesis 24:1 is interpreted as the gift of astrology
(Tosef., Kid. 5:17). Astrological consultation is one of the methods
suggested by Jethro to Moses for governing the Children of Israel
(Mekh., Amalek 2). Several instances are cited of astrologers whose
predictions of future events came true (e.g., Shab. 119a). Gentile
rulers were considered to have been especially well versed in astrology or to have consulted astrological experts; but knowledge of astrology
was also attributed to King Solomon (Eccl. R. 7:23 no. 1).
Nevertheless, the rabbis of the Talmud were skeptical of the
astrologers' ability to interpret the stars correctly; they conceded the
possibility that the astrologers might be able to predict the future by
consulting the stars, but claimed that they err in understanding the
contents of their forecasts. On the basis of the phrase in Isaiah 8:19,
Among the Jewish philosophers of the Middle Ages *Maimonides
alone rejected astrology completely,
referring to the astrologers' beliefs as vain superstitions unworthy to
be called a science. Upon being asked by the rabbis of southern France
whether it was possible to combine the theories of astrology
with the principles of Judaism, Maimonides replied: "… This science,
which is called the decree of the stars … is no science at all, but mere
foolery
Despite Maimonides' great prestige, his criticism of astrology had practically no influence on subsequent Jewish writers. With the exception of Joseph b. Judah ibn *Aknin
and his enthusiastic admirer R. *Jedaiah
ha-Penini (Bedersi), none of the Jewish philosophers of the succeeding generations opposed or deprecated astrology. Even the rationalistic *Levi b. Gershom
maintained that the activities and events of a man's life were
predestined by the positions and movements of celestial bodies. The
astrologers fail, he asserted, first of all because of insufficient
knowledge about the movements of the stars and the effects of their
changed positions on sublunar beings, and secondly, because of the
intervention of intellect and free will, "for the intellect and the will
are empowered to carry us beyond the limitations imposed by the
celestial bodies" (Milḥamot Adonai 2:2). Shem-Tov ibn *Falaquera
also considered astrology a true science and made use of it. Many of the great rabbis, commentators, preachers, and ethical teachers dealt with astrology and were favorably disposed toward it; *Abraham b. David
of Posquières, in his Hassagot, a commentary on Maimonides' Mishneh Torah; *Naḥmanides
(Commentary on Gen. 1:16; Lev. 23:24, and passim) and his pupil Solomon b. Abraham *Adret
(Responsa, no. 652); *Baḥya b. Asher
(Commentary on Ex. 11:4; and passim); Isaac *Aboab
(Menorat ha-Ma'or, 143; passim); Simeon b. Ẓemaḥ *Duran
(Magen Avot, 72bff., and Tashbeẓ, no. 513); Isaac *Abrabanel
, who cited many proofs "from the science of astronomy in regard to the
celestial conjunctions" for his opinion that the redemption of Israel
would begin in 1503 and come to completion in 1531 (Ma'yenei ha-Yeshu'ah, 12:2); Isaac *Arama
(Akedat Yiẓḥak, 34, 56), though he disapproved of eschatological reckonings based on astrology; Moses b. Ḥayyim *Alshekh
; *Judah Loew b. Bezalel
(Maharal) of Prague, who is reputed to have practiced astrology in the company of his friend Tycho Brahe; David *Gans
; Leone of *Modena
; Joseph Solomon *Delmedigo
of Candia, Jonathan *Eybeschuetz
; and *Elijah
, Gaon of Vilna (Commentary on Sefer Yeẓirah). A definitely negative attitude toward astrology was assumed by Azariah dei *Rossi
(Me'or Einayim, 42, 43).
The Zohar takes astrology for granted and in several places employs imagery and terminology that are clearly astrological (e.g., 3, Ki Teẓe, 281b. Raya Meheimna). It is stated explicitly: "All the stars and constellations in the heavens werePage 620
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appointed to be rulers and commandants over the world… there is not a
single blade of grass in the entire world over which a star or a planet
does not preside, and over that star one [angel] is appointed who serves
in the presence of the Holy One Blessed Be He, each according to his
merit" (2:171d; see Mishnat ha-Zohar
, Tishbi-Lachower trans. vol. 1, 1957, 486). Astrological reasons for the commandments (mitzvot) are occasionally also given 3:251a–b, Raya Meheimna). On the whole, however, the Zohar's kabbalistic system deprives astrology and astrological beliefs of most of their relevance and importance. In Part 3 (Pinḥas, 216b, Raya Meheimna)
it is stated that prior to the giving of the Torah all earthly
creatures were dependent on the stars; after the revelation at Sinai,
however, God exempted those children of Israel who studied and observed
His Law from the rule of the stars, whereas the ignorant and the
skeptical "were not absolved from the stars' jurisdictions." In the Tikkunei Zohar and other kabbalistic works the seven planets were
Tanis (29b)R. Papa said: Therefore a Jew who has any litigation with Gentiles should avoid him in Ab because his luck is bad and should make himself available in Adar when his luck is good
Tom Cotton defends slavery comments
https://www.axios.com/tom-cotton-defends-slavery-comments-black-people-5de7ae99-29d2-4884-9bf9-eb98140587bd.html
What they're saying: Nikole Hannah-Jones, who won a 2020 Pulitzer Prize for commentary for her introductory essay to the NYT project, was among those to address Cotton's comments, saying:
"Imagine thinking a non-divisive curriculum is one that tells Black
children the buying and selling of their ancestors, the rape, torture,
and forced labor of their ancestors for PROFIT, was just a 'necessary
evil' for the creation of the 'noblest/ country the world has ever
seen."
- After Cotton defended his remarks, she replied: "Were the Founders right or wrong ... when they called slavery a 'necessary evil upon which the Union was built”? Because either you agree with their assessment of slavery as necessary or you admit they were lying and it was just an evil and dishonorable choice. Which?" He has yet to respond to that tweet.
Sen. Tom Cotton tries to clarify slavery comment, calls out ‘fake news’
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/sen-tom-cotton-tries-to-clarify-slavery-comment-calls-out-fake-news
Cotton was interviewed in
the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette and spoke about a bill that he sponsored
that seeks to deny federal funds to schools that incorporate the New
York Times’ controversial ‘1619 Project’ into its teaching curriculum.
Cotton
told the paper, “We have to study the history of slavery and its role
and impact on the development of our country because otherwise we can’t
understand our country. As the Founding Fathers said, it was the
necessary evil upon which the union was built, but the union was built
in a way, as Lincoln said, to put slavery on the course to its ultimate
extinction.”
Trump is calling protesters who disagree with him terrorists. That puts him in the company of the world's autocrats
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/07/25/politics/us-protests-trump-terrorists-intl/index.html
Trump has promised to ratchet up his Portland approach, saying in an interview with Fox News on Thursday that he could send as many as 75,000 federal agents to other US cities, in what he calls "Operation Legend."
He
argues that these cities -- all with mayors who are Democrats -- have
been overrun by criminals, particularly as anti-race protests continue.
He has criticized local leaders and police for failing to take a tough
line on crime.
But his critics say Operation Legend is
an unabashed re-election pitch by Trump to project himself as the
country's law-and-order president ahead of the November vote, one that
seeks to paint his Democratic rival, Joe Biden, as anti-police.
What
could easily happen is that these protests transform from an
anti-racism movement to a wider anti-government movement, according to
Luis Schiumerini, an assistant professor of political science at the
University of Notre Dame in Indiana.
The single most damning quote about Donald Trump and coronavirus yet
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/07/20/politics/donald-trump-coronavirus-texas-testing/index.html
In The New York Times' Sunday opus
on how cracks are emerging between President Donald Trump and the
broader Republican Party in how to handle the ongoing coronavirus
pandemic, a single quote stands out.
"The
President got bored with it," Dave Carney, a longtime Republican
strategist who advises Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, told the Times.
That is a stunning
admission from anyone. But most especially from someone like Carney,
who isn't part of the "Never Trump" movement and isn't the sort to just
pop off to impress media types or his fellow consultants.
And
a look back at Trump's response to the virus absolutely validates
Carney's view. In the early months of 2020, Trump downplayed the virus
-- repeatedly.
Israeli woman assaults cop over mask dispute at mall
https://www.ynetnews.com/article/By8NiVseD
The woman, along with her 14-year-old son verbally and physically assaults officers at Malha Mall in Jerusalem for not wearing face masks; the woman also ripped masks off of officers' faces
Sunday, July 26, 2020
Effort is worthless against mazel !
Berachos (64a) R. Abin the Levite said: Whoever tries to force his [good] fortune will be dogged by [ill] fortune,4 and whoever forgoes his [good] fortune will postpone his [ill] fortune.5 This we can illustrate from the case of Rabbah and R. Joseph. For R. Joseph was ‘Sinai’6 and Rabbah was ‘an uprooter of mountains’.7 The time came when they were required [to be head of the Academy].8 They [the collegiates] sent there [to Palestine] to ask, As between ‘Sinai’ and an ‘uprooter of mountains’, which should have the preference? They sent answer: Sinai, because all require the owner of wheat.9 Nevertheless, R. Joseph would not accept the post, because the astrologers had told him that he would be head for only two years. Rabbah thereupon remained head for twenty-two years, and R. Joseph after him for two years and a half.10 During all the time that Rabbah was head, R. Joseph did not so much as summon a cupper to come to his house.11
מהרש"א חידושי אגדות מסכת ברכות דף סד עמוד א
כל הדוחק את השעה כו'. היינו דמזל שעה גורם וא"א לאדם לדחוק את המזל בכחו בחזקה אי לאו בסייעתא דשמיא וכל הנדחה מפני השעה כמו שעשה רב יוסף הרי השעה נדחית מפניו וכפירש"י ויתר כל סוגיא זו מפורש בספ"ב דהוריות ע"ש:
מהרש"א חידושי אגדות מסכת ברכות דף סד עמוד א
כל הדוחק את השעה כו'. היינו דמזל שעה גורם וא"א לאדם לדחוק את המזל בכחו בחזקה אי לאו בסייעתא דשמיא וכל הנדחה מפני השעה כמו שעשה רב יוסף הרי השעה נדחית מפניו וכפירש"י ויתר כל סוגיא זו מפורש בספ"ב דהוריות ע"ש:
US Pollster: Here's why the 2020 polling is wrong - and is even worse than in 2016
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/284136
While most polls suggest Donald Trump’s reelection bid is in serious
trouble, with Joe Biden leading in virtually all battleground states,
and even in some Republican strongholds, a few pollsters are bucking the
trend, suggesting that the 2020 presidential election is far more
competitive than it appears at first blush.
Making Discrimination Vs. BT's Great Again
BS"D
Israeli Army Draft Office: Making Discrimination Against Newly-Observant Jewish Girls Great Again
by Binyomin Feinberg
5 Menachem Av, 5780 °° July 26, '20 (Parshas VaEschanon)
In our most recent update on Refusenik girls being persecuted over their compliance with the Torah prohibitions against submitting to Military Draft directives ( https://daattorah.blogspot.
The
Army insistence on drafting Miss Z. - today, Sunday July 26 - in
blatant disregard of her demonstrable religiosity - constitutes
persecutory treatment. It's also consistent with the Army Draft Office
focus on "easy" female targets, including recent immigrants, especially
from Eastern Europe, and Ba'alos Teshuva - in this case, both combined.
One
legalistic subterfuge - regularly employed by Army draft officers to
disguise persecutory tactics against such girls - is to generously offer
"opportunities" for the girls to "explain" their positions - at the
Draft Office itself, often on their draft date, or at a "Religiosity
Interview" ("Rayon Dat", the acute hazards of which we've previously addressed).
Both
options are, understandably, generally futile, and risky in the
extreme. These Army "offers" are akin to the fox formally inviting the
fish onto the shore, to deliver a presentation of academic arguments
as to why the fish deserves not to be eaten - in front of a fox forum -
and then self-righteously imputing stubbornness to any fish who refuses
such a reasonable, balanced proposal for open dialogue.
Girls
who wisely refuse such "offers" to enable their own spiritual demise
are then painted as suffering from predicaments of their own creation.
Additionally, those selfless volunteers assisting them, available day
and night, are sometimes tarred as sacrificing the prospects of saving
the girl on the altar of their "extreme" position against the girls
accepting these "offers."
The
real question is: why does anyone ever fall for these entrapment
tactics? That is not a simple question to answer. One answer is: due to
an irrational phobia that by not enabling their own drafting, they
might... get drafted. Another is that many, many girls are routinely
being maladvised by the wrong people - some of whom may be well
intentioned, but are misguided - or themselves malinformed. This type of
faulty advice is found among even a few frum activists who tend to look
at Ba'alos Teshuva, Sefardi girls, etc. as less resolute in
withstanding ongoing Army harassment - and what some describe as "terror
tactics."
In
reality, these (unwittingly condescending) perceptions are often
erroneous, and presumptuous. The qualities of mesiras nefesh (self
sacrifice), strength of character, persistence, and acumen are found in
all types of girls, from all backgrounds. The key to actualize those
qualities - often dormant - is to provide any girl who wants help
everything she needs to help herself. That includes emotional support,
religious chizuk, accurate information, proper guidance, and warm
relationships with sincere women more than willing to sacrifice their
own needs to help save Jewish girls from the exploitive immorality of
the military environment. To make all of this - along with any necessary
legal assistance - available to all girls in need, financial supporters
play a crucial role as well. Additionally, properly publicizing the
plight of such heroic souls is vital in containing and deterring the
military persecution of these girls.
Unfortunately,
only a small fraction of such cases come to attention of the public.
This is because the Israeli government knows that this war for the souls
of Jewish Daughters is being fought not with bullets but with
bulletins, with information rather than with ammunition. As such, the
government and Army unrelenting pursue every avenue, trying to ensure
that those Refusenik-advocates who fight best also fight least-informed.
Thank G-d, those efforts often fail.
The
multifaceted approach the government employs in embargoing information
about girls being pursued by Maitav would require a book to detail and
document. Suffice it for now to observe that whatever cases do come our
way are the tip of the iceberg, and reflect a crisis far broader than we
can convey here.
***
Killing Aliyah, One Girl at a Time:
Furthermore,
the Israeli Army is putting this recent Olah (immigrant girl) through a
purgatory she never would have experienced in her country of origin, or
in practically any country other than the one claiming to be Jewish.
This is reminiscent of the well-known critique about the historical
Israeli government callousness towards immigrants: "The Israeli
government wants Aliyah, not Olim." For cases like this, one could
tweak that: "The government wants Mit'gaysot, not Olot" (they want
female recruits, not female immigrants). Draft Office Persecution of
immigrant Ba'alos Teshuva is not only deeply wrong, it presents a
formidable Kitrug against Aliyah.
This all raises many questions, a modest sampling of which we humbly submit for consideration by our esteemed readership:
1.
If we want G-d to restore the Jewish People to His Holy Land, what are
we waiting for? Where is the outrage, especially by - or at - the
ostensibly religious political parties and media?
2.
Why is it that the same people who made a ongoing campaign to free one
particular incarcerated target of US prosecutorial bias are now
enabling the drafting of hundreds, even thousands of girls into the
Israeli Army - by their cover-up of the Israeli draft crisis? Even if
they didn't care about Jewish girls being sexually abused in the Army,
and persecuted in their efforts to avoid the Draft, they should have a
simple practical interest in reporting real news (as opposed to all the
trivia that passes for contemporary journalism) - news that actually
makes a difference in saving lives and souls.
3.
Why is it that some people manage to find time to raise tens of
thousands of dollars to free dangerous child-molesters from prison
(where they belong), by illicitly soliciting funds under the pretext of
"Pidyon Shvuyim" -- but are nowhere to be seen in helping save girls
from the abusive military and/or Israeli military prison? In stark
contrast, efforts to save these innocent girls are impeccably
legitimate, of unquestionably top priority, and also generally cost far
less money.
4. Do we
imagine that we can discharge our obligations of mourning over the
Churban by partaking of some feel-good inspirational lectures,
delicately designed to sidestep any "controversial" observations, even
those vital for spiritual lifesaving causes staring us in the face? How
much value do inspirational trips have from the perspective of Heaven,
when they serve more as a "potair" than a "mechayev" to do simple,
practical things, including - among many other things - saving Jewish
teenage girls from being forced into the exploitive, immoral Israeli
military - by "our own"?
In
truth, it only takes a few good people to save these precious neshomos.
But the vast majority of the Torah observant world is intentionally
being kept uninformed or malinformed about these Refusenik girls.
We
see from the recent outpouring of Divine Wrath around the world that
G-d is very angry. Unfortunately, there are many things that we find in
our own communities that would account for the current Charon Af
HaShem. Do we imagine that in Heaven our excuses for our overall
passivity are tolerated?
I
was recently informed that a Monsey Rabbi made the following
observation about one lesson which we can imbibe from the Plague of
Corona. We paraphrase here, humbly presenting it to the esteemed
Tzibbur as food for thought:
We
know that G-d is the Ultimate Good, and all that He does is pure good.
Thus, whenever he gives us a punishment, it's to save us from something
even worse.
Several
months ago, G-d closed down almost all of our Torah institutions - our
Kollelim, Yeshivos, Bais Yaakov schools, Synagogues, etc. If this
terrible Decree was to save the Jewish People from something worse, we
must ask:
Q: "What could possibly be worse than closing down all of our institutions?
A: Leaving them open --
the way they were...."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"... And if someone, like Pinchos, is one among a multitude, and every man is against him when he dares to speak out for truth and to fight for the Law -- the more lonely his stand, the greater the number of his adversaries, the more powerful is his word, the mightier his deed."
-- Rav Shamshon Raphael Hirsch OB"M (1808-1888), (in "Judaism Eternal," vol. 2, p. 293)
....
Update link for the month of Tammuz to check in case we post during the week between our regular Wednesday/ Thursday posts:
https://docs.google.com/
"... And if someone, like Pinchos, is one among a multitude, and every man is against him when he dares to speak out for truth and to fight for the Law -- the more lonely his stand, the greater the number of his adversaries, the more powerful is his word, the mightier his deed."
-- Rav Shamshon Raphael Hirsch OB"M (1808-1888), (in "Judaism Eternal," vol. 2, p. 293)
....
Update link for the month of Tammuz to check in case we post during the week between our regular Wednesday/ Thursday posts:
https://docs.google.com/
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