Reviving the Dead

 Bava Basra (74b) Once we were travelling on board a ship when we saw a precious stone that was surrounded by a snake. A diver descended to bring it up. Thereupon the snake approached with the purpose of swallowing the ship, when a raven came and bit off its head and the waters were turned into blood. A second snake came, took the head of the decapitated snake and attached it to the body, and it revived. Again the snake approached intent on swallowing the ship. Again a bird came and severed its head. Thereupon the diver seized the precious stone and threw it into the ship. We had with us salted birds. As soon as we put the stone upon them, they took it up and flew away with it.

Megila (7b) Rabbah and R. Zera joined together in a Purim feast. They became inebriated, and Rabbah arose and cut R. Zera's throat. On the next day he prayed on his behalf and revived him. Next year he said, Will your honour come and we will have the Purim feast together. He replied: A miracle does not take place on every occasion. 

Resurrection outside Israel

 Kesubos (111a)  The dead outside the Land will not be resurrected; for it is said in Scripture, And I will set glory in the land of the living, implying the dead of the land in which I have my desire will be resurrected, but the dead of the land in which I have no desire will not be resurrected.

Kesubos (111a)  Thy dead shall live, my dead bodies shall arise; does not the expression ‘Thy dead shall live’ refer to the dead of the Land of Israel, and ‘My dead bodies shall arise’ to the dead outside the Land; while the text, And I will give glory in the land of the living was written of Nebuchadnezzar concerning whom the All-Merciful said, ‘I will bring against them a king who is as swift as a stag’? — The other replied: Master, I am making an ex position of another Scriptural text: He that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein. But is it not written, My dead bodies shall arise? — That was written in reference to miscarriages

Kesubos (111a)  And spirit to them that work therein teaches, said R. Jeremiah b. Abba in the name of R. Johanan, that whoever walks four cubits in the Land of Israel is assured of a place in the world to come. Now according to R. Eleazar, would not the righteous outside the Land be revived? — R. Elai replied: They will be revived by rolling to the Land of Israel. R. Abba Sala the Great demurred: Will not the rolling be painful to the righteous? — Abaye replied: Cavities will be made for them underground.

Kesubos (111a)  Thou shalt carry me out of Egypt and bury me in their burying-place. Karna remarked: There must be here some inner meaning. Our father Jacob well knew that he was a righteous man in every way, and, since the dead outside the Land will also be resurrected, why did he trouble his sons? Because he might possibly be unworthy to roll through the cavities.

Ressurrection of the Dead

 Rabbeinu Bachya (Bereishis 11:11) “these are the descendants of Shem.” You do not find the word death, or “the died,” in connection with any of the descendants of Shem who have been enumerated here  as you find it mentioned when the Torah enumerated the generations between Adam and Noach. It is possible that the reason is that the kingdom of David the Messiah will be descended from them, and in due course the Messiah will be the cause of banishing death altogether.  When he comes it will be 837 to the completion  of 6000 years. After 837 years will begin thr 7000th year when everything will be peaceful and life will be forever. Non Jews will not be resurrected but only we Jews the descendants of Shem

Federal judge blasts potential ‘government misconduct’ in Comey case

 https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2025/11/17/comey-james-cook-trump-prosecutions-misconduct

A U.S. magistrate judge ordered the Justice Department to release all grand jury material to the former FBI director, citing possible government misconduct that could lead to the dismissal of charges.

Gaza proves you can't solve everything with business deals

 https://www.israelhayom.com/opinions/gaza-proves-you-cant-solve-everything-with-business-deals

Once, before dreaming of the presidency, Donald Trump confessed he was "drawn almost pathologically to complex deals, partly because they tend to be more interesting." This approach succeeded spectacularly and almost miraculously for him and for us in securing the release of hostages from Gaza, both living and deceased. Yet concerning Phase 2 of the Gaza ceasefire agreement, the notion of "the complex and interesting deal" has emerged, at least for now, as either a fiasco or an illusion. It displays excessive naivety or pretense, occasionally drifting into fantasy territory. We harbor no ingratitude toward the man without whom the hostages would almost certainly continue languishing in Hamas tunnels today. However, we cannot escape the obligation to confront reality honestly, and most importantly, to comprehend how it emerged.

Trump-Backed Gaza Plan Gets UN Approval

 https://www.newsweek.com/trump-backed-gaza-plan-approved-un-israel-hamas-11062530

The U.N. Security Council on Monday approved a U.S. plan for Gaza backed by President Donald Trump, authorizing an international stabilization force for the war-ravaged territory and outlining a possible future path toward an independent Palestinian state.

The resolution passed 13-0, with Russia and China abstaining after Moscow declined to use its veto on a measure it had initially opposed while circulating a rival proposal.

Trump says Saudis will get F-35s, bucking Israeli hope he’d condition sale on peace

 https://www.timesofisrael.com/trump-says-saudis-will-get-f-35s-bucking-israeli-hope-hed-condition-sale-on-peace

US President Donald Trump confirmed on Monday that Washington will be selling F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia, whose Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was set to visit the White House on Tuesday.

Israel is thought to not oppose such a sale in principle, while hoping that the US would condition it on Saudi Arabia agreeing to join the Abraham Accords.

The New York Times reported last week that there are concerns in the American intelligence community that the F-35’s sensitive technology could reach China, while also upsetting the balance of power in the Middle East.

Trump’s Middle East plan once backed Israel, now it paves way for Palestinian state

 https://www.ynetnews.com/opinions-analysis/article/sy00wokdx11x

Trump’s Middle East plan initially aligned with Israeli interests, but just two months later, the U.S. is advancing a path to Palestinian statehood

The prospect of an embarrassing defeat convinced Trump to reverse course on Epstein files

 https://edition.cnn.com/2025/11/17/politics/trump-epstein-files-reluctant-reversal

Trump threw his support behind a congressional effort to release all the files tied to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein after it became clear that he could not halt its momentum and that he risked suffering an embarrassing blow on the House floor, people familiar with the matter told CNN.

The stark reality, which was conveyed to Trump by allies and advisers in recent days, drove the president’s abrupt reversal Sunday evening and his comments Monday that he’ll sign the measure if it comes to his desk. It’s a decision he came to reluctantly, but one that is now likely to clear the way for the measure’s overwhelming passage in the House on Tuesday and for the Senate to take it up after that.

Omens

 Rabbeinu Yonah (Sefer HaYirah) And we should not assign any sign except what the Sages said, and if a person has a mitzvah to perform, such as reviewing  a gemora or starting  his son’s education, he should not say, "I will wait until Rosh Hashanah or until Pesach"... And those who are not concerned with omens will not be influenced by them, but those who are concerned, Satan stands at their right hand to oppose  them and strengthen  them in their error.

Work

 Bava Basra (110a) I have the following tradition from my grandfather's family: At all times shall one rather hire himself out to idol-worship than be in need of the help of his fellow creatures. He thought that Abodah Zarah meant actual idol worship, but it is not so, the meaning being, ‘work which is strange to him’; as Rab said to R. Kahana: Flay a carcass in the street and earn a wage, and say not, ‘I am a great man and the work is degrading to me’.

Hamas’s Popularity Rises in Gaza, Complicating Trump Plan to Disarm Militants

 https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/hamas-gaza-popularity-rises-03efb873?mod=hp_lead_pos9

Hamas’s popularity has edged up among Palestinians in Gaza since the cease-fire, ending a slide during the war and posing a challenge to President Trump’s plan to bring peace to the enclave by disarming the militant group.

Once ‘the best’ place for Jews, Canada sees rising antisemitism even after Gaza ceasefire

 https://www.timesofisrael.com/once-the-best-place-for-jews-canada-sees-rising-antisemitism-even-after-gaza-ceasefire/

Attacks continue to force some in the country’s 400,000-strong Jewish community to reconsider their future, even as many believe ‘the vast majority of Canadians are good people’

Antisemitism was already on the rise in the Great White North in the years before the Hamas-led invasion of Israel on October 7, 2023, which left 1,200 slaughtered in Israel and 251 taken hostage to the Gaza Strip, sparking the war. But hate crimes have grown astronomically since then. Many locals insist that while government efforts to clamp down on attacks have been lackluster, rising extremism is largely attributable to a small number of bad actors, not a fundamental change in the tolerance the country is known for.

Trump Backs Vote to Release Epstein Files in Sharp Reversal

 https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/trump-plays-hardball-with-gop-lawmakers-as-epstein-vote-approaches-4700b01b?mod=hp_lead_pos1

President had urged House Republicans to reject the proposal but faced defections within the GOP

President Trump threw in the towel on dissuading House Republicans from backing a measure to release files related to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, saying Sunday night that GOP lawmakers should instead embrace the vote.