Avoda Zara does it have actual power?

אמת ליעקב דברים פרק ד פסוק יט

(יט) וראית את השמש ואת הירח גו' אשר חלק ה' אלקיך אתם לכל העמים תחת כל השמים8.
עיין במפרשי התורה שישנם בעיקר שני מהלכים בביאור פסוק זה, דיש מפרשים דהשמש והירח נחלקו לכל העמים להאיר להם ומזהירה התורה אותנו שלא נשתחוה להם, אבל הראב"ע והרמב"ן כאן פירשו דיש לכל עם ועם כוכב ידוע ומזל מיוחד, וכן יש מזל לכל עיר ועיר, והם הם המשפיעים על העמים, וכן היא גם שיטת הרמב"ן לעיל בפרשת בראשית [א' פי"ח], עיין שם.
ונראה שיש כאן מחלוקת עיקרית ביסוד ענין עבודה זרה, דשיטת הרמב"ם בכמה מקומות היא דהעבודה זרה אין בה ממש כל עיקר ואין לה כח כלל, וכל המתפלל אליה ועובדה לא רק שהוא עובר על האיסור אלא הוא גם מבזבז זמנו לריק ולשוא, אבל דעת הרמב"ן היא שהקב"ה הטביע בטבע העולם שכל אומה יש לה משפיע משלה בעולמות העליונים והוא יש לו כח מסויים שיכול להשפיע על אומתו כל זמן שאין הדבר נוגע לישראל [דהרי אין מזל לישראל], אלא איסור עבודה זרה שנצטוו בה האומות הוא שאסור להם להתפלל למשמש הזה כי הרי כל כוחו נובע ממה שהטביע בו הקדוש ברוך הוא, ולכן התפילה והעבודה צריכה להיות לאלקי האלקים, כלומר להאלו־ה שהוא ממעל כל האלהים, ולכן צריכים להתפלל להקב"ה עצמו ולא לעבד שלו, אבל ודאי אם עובדים את העבודה שלהם ומתפללים אליה זה משפיע עליו לעזור להם ויש ביכלתו לעשות כן, וזהו ביאור הפסוק אשר חלק ה' אלקיך לכל העמים תחת כל השמים, והיינו שה' חילק לכל אומה אומה את השר והמשפיע שלה.
ועיין בספר שופטים [י"א פכ"ד] בדברי יפתח אל מלך עמון שאמר לו: הלא את אשר יורישך כמוש אלהיך אותו תירש ואת כל אשר הוריש ה' אלקינו מפנינו אותו נירש. ועיי"ש בפירוש הרלב"ג שפירש שעל דרך הלעג אמר כן. אבל לפי שיטת הרמב"ן לא היתה כוונת יפתח על דרך הלעג, אלא כוונתו היתה כפי פשוטו9, דבודאי יש כח לכמוש אלהיך להוריש לך מה שהוא רוצה, ומכיון שזה הוא מה שהוריש לך א"כ איך לך לבוא בטענות נגד ישראל שהם ירשו את מה שהורישם ה' אלקי ישראל, ודו"ק.

 

The complexities of vaccine hesitancy

 https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20210720-the-complexities-of-vaccine-hesitancy

 First, some distinctions. While it is tempting to assume that anyone who refuses a vaccine holds the same beliefs, the fears of most vaccine hesitant people should not be confused with the bizarre theories of staunch anti-vaxxers. "They're very vocal, and they have a strong presence offline and online," says Mohammad Razai at the Population Health Research Institute, St George's, University of London, who has written about the various psychological and social factors that can influence people's decision-making around vaccines. "But they’re a very small minority."

Father of 10-year-old rape victim: 'We give the Bedouin everything, and they laugh at us'

 https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/310379

 The father whose 10-year-old daughter was raped in her bed by Bedouin Arab intruders from southern Israel participated Thursday in a tour of the Negev, along with MKs from the Land of Israel Caucus.

In his words, the father, A., blamed the government authorities for the anarchy in the Negev.

"The State of Israel has reverse racism towards its Jewish citizens," A. told Arutz Sheva. "The Arabs claim that we are an apartheid state. That's true, but only in the opposite direction. The apartheid is towards Jews. It's unthinkable that there should be quick enforcement against a Jew who moves a millimeter out of bounds, when in the Bedouin settlements the law doesn't even exist - including in so-called 'legal' settlements."

Fact Check: Is Asking Someone If They Are Vaccinated a HIPAA Violation?

 https://www.newsweek.com/fact-check-asking-covid-vaccination-status-violation-hipaa-privacy-law-1611758

When Greene was asked by a reporter about her vaccine status, she refused to answer the question, calling it "a violation of my HIPAA rights."

On July 20 she said: "With HIPAA rights, we don't have to reveal our medical records and that also involves our vaccine records."

False.

Greene's claim that being asked about her vaccination status was a violation of her HIPAA rights is false.

HIPAA rules prevent certain entities from improperly disclosing your health information. The rules do not mean that no one can ask you about your health information.

The Woman Spearheading the Fight Against Sexual Assault in ultra-Orthodox Society

https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium.MAGAZINE-the-woman-spearheading-the-fight-against-sexual-assault-among-haredim-1.5455644 

 Attorney Rivka Schwartz remembers vividly the first time she ever heard about sexual abuse within the family. She was 16 at the time, attending summer camp. She and one of her best friends – also a Haredi, or ultra-Orthodox, girl from Bnei Brak – were having trouble falling asleep. They talked well into the night, and Schwartz’s friend revealed something that astounded her.

McConnell urges Americans: ‘Get vaccinated’ as cases spike

 https://apnews.com/article/health-government-and-politics-coronavirus-pandemic-af236206a9e74e614479d10b5bc4555c

 McConnell has been one of the most outspoken members of his party in urging vaccinations to stop the virus spread, speaking often in his home state of Kentucky of the need for people to get the shot.

Without criticizing prominent Republicans who refuse the vaccine or mock the severity of the virus, including members of Congress, he has expressed dismay at those who choose to go unvaccinated.

Joint Arab List chief rushed to hospital

 https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/310305

The chairman of the Joint Arab List faction, MK Ayman Odeh, was rushed to the hospital Wednesday afternoon, after complaining of severe kidney pains.

Odeh was evacuated to Rambam Medical Center in Haifa Wednesday for treatment, with aides saying his pains were apparently caused by kidney stones.

Several other Arab lawmakers have been hospitalized recently for kidney stones, including Joint Arab List MK Ahmed Tibi, and United Arab List chief MK Mansour Abbas.

Orthodox Jews have the best sex - opinion

 https://www.jpost.com/opinion/orthodox-jews-have-the-best-sex-opinion-674351

 As for Judaism’s rules about sex which, she so derisively dismisses, the interesting thing is this: Judaism has almost no rules about sex, something I highlighted at length in my book Kosher Sex. Every position and every pleasurable interaction is allowed. Indeed, about the only things that are forbidden are pornography, because you’re being excited by strangers and not each other; and having sex during menstruation, because Judaism wants the “erotic barrier” of sexual forbiddenness of several days each month to magnify lust and desire. Husbands and wives need a period of sexual separation in order to hunger for each other’s bodies again.
Indeed, the Orthodox Jewish marriage is based far more on lust than love, a point easily demonstrated by the 10th commandment. It expressly forbids lusting after your neighbor’s wife, which by direct implication means you sure as heck ought to be lusting after your own.

He spent two decades in prison for church murders. New DNA evidence shows someone else did it

https://edition.cnn.com/2021/07/20/us/georgia-man-exonerated-church-murder-trnd/index.html 

A man who spent two decades in prison for a 1985 double homicide during church bible study has been exonerated, with all charges against him dropped.

Newly discovered DNA evidence from a hair sample shows Dennis A. Perry, 59, "may have been acquitted if that evidence had been available" during his 2003 trial for the murders of Harold and Thelma Swain in Georgia, according to a news release from Glynn County District Attorney Keith Higgins.

 

 Authorities identified Perry as the main suspect based mainly on testimony from an informant who wanted a $25,000 reward and ultimately was paid $12,000 in exchange for testimony -- something that was never disclosed to Perry's attorneys, the release from Georgia Innocence Project said.

Rabbi Morgenstern

 

The Golden Calf

 https://www.etzion.org.il/en/tanakh/torah/sefer-shemot/parashat-ki-tisa/golden-calf-1

             In contrast to Rashi and the Rasag, the majority of the commentators do not interpret the sin of the golden calf as pure idolatry. When the people requested an idol, they were not so foolish as to think that a man-made idol made from their own jewelry was actually the God who took them out of Egypt.

             What, then, was their intention? Both the Ibn Ezra and his son in law, Rabbi Yehuda Halevi (Spain, before 1075-1141) in his philosophical work, the Kuzari (a polemical work directed against Aristotelian philosophy, Christianity, and Islam), explain that the worshipers did not believe the calf to be an actual god but rather they saw in the calf a physical manifestation, a symbolic representation of the one God. The calf was not a rebellion against God, a worshipping of an alternative power, but was rather an alternative, more corporeal and palpable form of worship:

 

            The Ramban (Rabbi Moshe ben Nachman, Spain, 1194-1274) agrees with the Ibn Ezra that the sin of the golden calf was not idolatry in the pure sense of the term. However he rejects Ibn Ezra's interpretation that the calf was a corporeal manifestation of God. Instead the Ramban suggests that the golden calf was meant to be a replacement for Moses.

            Both the Bechor Shor (Rabbi Yoseph Ben Yitzchak Bechor Shor, France, 12 century) and the Chizkuni (Rabbi Chizkiya ben Manoach, France, mid-thirteenth century) agree with the Ramban that the function of the golden calf was to replace Moses as the leader of Israel. They interpret the word 'elohim' in the people's request, "make us a god" (32:1) not as a god but rather a judge and leader. They also offer an explanation for why Aaron agreed to make an idol, an act which involved great risk and danger of pure idolatry. Why not designate himself or some other influential figure as a replacement for Moses? The Chizkuni and the Bechor Shor (see 32:2) suggest that Aaron feared the possibility of a conflict, a power struggle, which would erupt upon Moses' return. He feared that the replacement for Moses would not step down when Moses would return and this would lead to a division of the people into rival camps, each supporting a different leader. He himself was unwilling to serve as leader so as not to betray Moses. He therefore decided to create a harmless figurehead which could be disposed of with little opposition when Moses would return. Otherwise, Aaron feared the people would designate a king to lead them instead of Moses (see Chizkuni 32:22). 

            To summarize, the commentators disagree as to the nature of the request by the people for an idol. They can be divided into two main groups: those, such as Rashi and the Rasag, who regard the golden calf as a form of pure idolatry, and those, such as the Ibn Ezra, Kuzari, Ramban, Chizkuni, Bechor Shor and Shadal, who reject this idea. In the first group, Rashi is of the opinion that Aaron was coerced into making the idol while Rasag maintains that it was a plot to differentiate between the idolaters and those of true faith. In the latter group of commentators, the Ibn Ezra and the Kuzari posit that the calf was a corporeal manifestation of God while the Ramban, Chizkuni, and the Bechor Shor regard it as a replacement for Moses.

Lapid pressed, Bennett folded: The political drama around Temple Mount worship

 https://www.timesofisrael.com/lapid-pressed-bennett-folded-the-political-drama-around-temple-mount-worship/

Yair Lapid proved on Monday that he’s much more than the alternate prime minister and minister of foreign affairs. He is the man who cut through the talk of a new policy regarding Jewish worship on the Temple Mount. It was he who spoke with Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, after Bennett had issued an extraordinary statement hailing the “maintaining of Jewish worship” at the site, and explained that the publication was a mistake. And it was he who then marketed to journalists the message that there is no change to the status quo on the Temple Mount, Bennett’s announcement notwithstanding.

The Sykes-Picot Agreement and the making of the modern Middle East

 https://theconversation.com/the-sykes-picot-agreement-and-the-making-of-the-modern-middle-east-58780

The mainstay of the plan was that France and Great Britain were prepared to recognise and protect an independent Arab state, or confederation of Arab states – in exchange for Arab help in overthrowing the Ottoman Empire.

Conflicting promises

To get a sense of the broken promises, it’s worthwhile comparing the Sykes-Picot Agreement to two other contemporary documents. These are the McMahon-Hussein letters and the 1917 Balfour Declaration.

Sir Henry McMahon was the British high commissioner in Egypt and Hussein bin Ali was the Sharif of Mecca. In letters they exchanged between 1915 to 1916, Britain clearly agreed to recognise Arab independence after the first world war, in exchange for Arab help in fighting the Ottomans.

The Arabs regarded McMahon’s promises as a formal agreement, which it may very well have been. The boundaries proposed by Hussein included Palestine. But this area was not explicitly mentioned in the McMahon–Hussein correspondence.

Confusing the issue was the 1917 Balfour Declaration, which promised British support for a Jewish “national home” in Palestine. Part of this very short text reads as follows:

His Majesty’s Government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavours to facilitate the achievement of this object…

These conflicting promises remained at the heart of the impasse between two distinct nationalist groups in Mandate Palestine: the Zionists and the Arabs, later to be renamed Israelis and Palestinians.

Sykes-Picot: The map that spawned a century of resentment

 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-36300224

 The Sykes-Picot agreement conflicted directly with pledges of freedom given by the British to the Arabs in exchange for their support against the collapsing Ottomans.