Wednesday, July 28, 2021
Trump and DeSantis clash with Biden as the mask wars roar back to life
https://edition.cnn.com/2021/07/28/politics/mask-wars-are-back/index.html
Knesset nixes vote on bill to decriminalize cannabis
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/310747
A bill to decriminalize the use of cannabis will not be brought for a vote Wednesday, after the coalition leaders failed to garner a majority supporting it.
The bill, put forth by New Hope's MK Sharren Haskel, was brought down mainly by opposition from the United Arab List (Ra'am) party.
The bill would ban smoking cannabis only in public areas, similar to
the laws regarding smoking cigarettes. In all other places, police
officers would be banned from conducting a body search, detaining a
suspect, or arresting someone smoking grass.
Health Ministry to begin offering third coronavirus vaccine dose - next week
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/310729
During a Wednesday morning interview with Galei Zahal, Professor Eli Waxman of the Weizmann Institute of Science called on the Health Ministry to approve the provision of a third dose of the coronavirus vaccine.
"You need to understand that we don't have time," he said. "We need to immediately approve the third dose of the vaccine against coronavirus, to start the campaign - and to vaccinate, at the end of the day, the entire population."
Tzadikim- Ohr HaChaim (Bereishis 6:3)
ויאמר השם לא ידון רוחי. G'd said: "My spirit will not abide in man permanently." This verse needs someone to explain it. Our sages have given numerous explanations to it without explaining the plain meaning of the verse. It appears that the Torah wishes to tell us that a change occurred in G'd's dealing with man. During the lifetime of Adam, Eve, Cain and Abel, G'd personally had rebuked man for any misdemeanour. When man's deeds became increasingly repulsive to G'd, He decided not to deal with them on such an intimate basis.
The word רוחי in our verse therefore means "My Presence." Man had forfeited the privilege of proximity to G'd's Presence. G'd's Presence withdrew from man in direct proportion to his deeds. As long as G'd had confronted man directly whenever He had reason to rebuke them they were on the spiritual level of prophets. When man began to profane himself (meaning of החל in 6,1), he no longer enjoyed that status. In the course of time outstanding individuals, צדיקים, appeared on earth. These individuals succeeded in restoring a closer relationship between man and G'd. After the destruction of the Temple there were no more prophets; the most that remained were individuals who possessed a degree of what our sages describe as רוח הקודש, a measure of holy spirit. Ever since Israel's eyes closed, we no longer have even ריח הקודש, a holy fragrance, not to mention רוח הקודש. The absence of this line of direct communication from G'd is the greatest misfortune for those of us who thirst for at least a fragrance of the holiness of our Father in heaven in order to revive our spirits. The curse we speak about originated with the generation of the deluge. G'd supplies the reason for this in our verse. בשר בשגם הוא, man added to his abominations by adding the sin of בשר, adultery to his other sins. G'd hates sexual permissiveness more than anything else. As a result G'd resented having to communicate directly with such people.
The characteristic of the righteous is that they refine the body to give it spiritual content. The characteristic of the wicked is that they do the reverse. They degrade the spirit making it the tool of the body. This leads to the destruction of the universe. G'd referred to this when He said: "My spirit will not find satisfaction in them forever more," not even in the world of eternity. This is because they have turned even their spirit into a tool of the flesh. The Talmud (Sanhedrin 108) states that the people who were destroyed by the deluge do not enjoy a life in the Hereafter.
COVID: Bennett vows decision on 3rd shot is near as cases top 2,000
https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/coronavirus-in-israel-2123-test-positive-in-the-last-day-675016
More than half of the current cases and two-thirds of patients in serious condition were fully vaccinated, the Health Ministry reported.
In a major upset against a candidate backed by Donald Trump, Jake Ellzey wins runoff for Fort Worth-area congressional seat
https://www.texastribune.org/2021/07/27/susan-wright-jake-ellzey-texas-6-congressional-seat/
Susan Wright and Ellzey came out on top of a May 1 special election that featured 21 other candidates. She finished first with 19% of the vote, while Ellzey got 14%.
Trump endorsed Susan Wright in the final days before the May 1 election. He got more involved in the runoff, issuing three statements reiterating his endorsement, starring in a robocall for her and headlining a telephone rally for her on Monday night.
Ellzey relied on support from former Gov. Rick Perry and U.S. Rep. Dan Crenshaw of Houston, a fellow Navy veteran who came off the sidelines in the runoff. Perry and other Ellzey allies suggested Trump had been misled into endorsing Susan Wright.
Gov. Greg Abbott, who had stayed out of the race, issued a statement congratulating Ellzey on his "hard-fought victory."
Ellzey wins US House seat in Texas in closely watched race
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/ellzey-wins-us-house-seat-in-texas-in-closely-watched-race
Jake Ellzey, the Texas Republican, won a special congressional election against Susan Wright, the widow of late Rep. Ron Wright, who had the support of former President Trump.
"The Trump candidate goes down in TX special That’ll give folks something to chew on!" David Axelrod, the former senior adviser to President Obama, tweeted.
The Trump factor played out on the periphery during the contest. In
2016, he won the district by 12 points, and lost some ground to
candidate Joe Biden in 2020, after securing only a 3-point win there.
Political insiders say the race between Ellzey and Wright was a litmus
test for Trump in Texas and perhaps a gauge of his influence in
general.
At least 50 academics resign from CUNY over anti-Israel resolution
https://www.ynetnews.com/article/h17ub1ard
Paper accusing Israel
of 'massacring Palestinians' introduced in wake of latest Gaza conflict
and stirs uproar among faculty; 'you have chosen to support a terrorist
organization, Hamas,' Jewish professor laments
Tuesday, July 27, 2021
World Jewish Congress to Jewish CUNY profs: 'We have your backs'
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/310671
The appeal to faculty to resign from the union was launched by Yedidyah Langsam, chair of Brooklyn’s College’s Computer and Information Science Department, who said in a letter to James Davis, president of the union, that the resolution made “many Jewish faculty and students uncomfortable with being associated with Brooklyn College and CUNY to the point of fearing for our safety.”
The pandemic is 'spiraling out of control' due to unvaccinated people, Trump administration official says
https://edition.cnn.com/2021/07/25/health/us-coronavirus-sunday/index.html
For anyone who loves freedom and hates mask mandates or remote learning, Dr. Jerome Adams has a blunt message: Get vaccinated. \
"And it's coming because this pandemic is spiraling out of control yet again. And it's spiraling out of control because we don't have enough people vaccinated."
Reform movement: Min. Kahana's kashrut reform insignificant, preserves rabbinate monopoly
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/310652
Noa Setat, director of the Reform Center for Religion and State, responded on Twitter to Minister Kahana's proposed reforms in the kashrut certification marketplace:
"Minister Kahana's kashrut reform is indeed a small step in the right direction, but when one examines the intricacies of the law one realizes that this is an insignificant step, when in practice it perpetuates the discrimination of a large non-Orthodox public.