Euthanasia permitted?

  AND HE CALLED THE NAME OF THAT PLACE BETH-EL, BUT THE NAME OF THE CITY WAS LUZ AT THE FIRST. that is the Luz in which the angel of death never bore sway. What then did they do with the old people? When they were very old, they were led without the city wall and there they died.) R. Abba b. Kahana said: Why was it called Luz?- Whoever entered it blossomed forth into meritorious acts and good deeds like a luz (nut tree). The Rabbis said: As the nut has no mouth [opening], so no man could discover the entrance to the town. R. Simon said: A nut tree stood at the entrance to the city. R. Leazar b. Merom said in the name of R. Phinehas b. Hama: A nut tree stood at the entrance of a cave; this tree was hollow, and through it one entered the cave and through the cave the city. 

U.S. Close to Surpassing 1M COVID Deaths Since Pandemic Began

 https://www.newsweek.com/us-close-surpassing-1m-covid-deaths-since-pandemic-began-17035985

Despite the easing of most pandemic-related restrictions across the country, hundreds of people continue to die from the virus every day and the total U.S. death toll undisputedly remains the highest in the world. Nearly 200,000 American children lost one or both of their parents, according to an AP estimate.

Recent attempts to secure additional funding to fight the pandemic have stalled in Congress. President Joe Biden's request for $22.5 billion in COVID relief funding failed last month over a Republican demand to reinstate the Trump-era Title 42 immigration policy.

Lavrov's 'Hitler was a Jew' claim is part of the long history of Russian antisemitism

 https://daastorah.disqus.com/admin/moderate/pending

In a subsequent statement, the Russian Foreign Ministry enthusiastically promoted Lavrov's view by pointing the finger at Kyiv and at past instances of Ukrainian antisemitism. The Russian Foreign Ministry labelled Lapid's angry reaction as 'anti-historical'. Yet this deflection strategy conveniently ignored Russia's long history of antisemitism — stretching back to the 1920s when references were made to the Jewish origins of Trotsky, Zinoviev and Kamenev, Bolshevik revolutionaries who opposed Stalin.

Angels are natural forces

 Moreh Nevuchim (2:06.03) Say to a person who is believed to belong to the wise men of Israel that the Almighty sends His angel to enter the womb of a woman and to form there the fœtus, he will be satisfied with the account; he will believe it, and even find in it a description of the greatness of God's might and wisdom; although he believes that the angel consists of burning fire, and is as big as a third part of the Universe, yet he considers it possible as a divine miracle. But tell him that God gave the seed a formative power which produces and shapes the limbs, and that this power is called "angel," or that all forms are the result of the influence of the Active Intellect, and that the latter is the angel, the Prince of the world, frequently mentioned by our Sages, and he will turn away; because he cannot comprehend the true greatness and power of creating forces that act in a body without being perceived by our senses.

Moreh Nevuchim (2:06.03) Our Sages have already stated--for him who has understanding--that all forces that reside in a body are angels, much more the forces that are active in the Universe. The theory that each force acts only in one particular way, is expressed in Bereshit Rabba (chap. 1.) as follows: "One angel does not perform two things, and two angels do not perform one thing"; this is exactly the property of all forces. We may find a confirmation of the opinion that the natural and psychical forces of an individual are called angels in a statement of our Sages which is frequently quoted, and occurs originally in Bereshit Rabba (chap. lxxviii.): "Every day God creates a legion of angels; they sing before Him, and disappear." When, in opposition to this statement, other statements were quoted to the effect that angels are eternal--and, in fact, it has repeatedly been shown that they live permanently--the reply has been given that some angels live permanently, others perish; and this is really the case; for individual forces are transient, whilst the genera are permanent and imperishable. 

Moreh Nevuchim (2:06.03)Again, we read (in Bereshit Rabba, chap. lxxxv.), in reference to the relation between Judah and Tamar: "R. Jochanan said that Judah was about to pass by without noticing Tamar, but God caused the angel of lust, i.e., the libidinous disposition, to present himself to him." Man's disposition is here called an angel. Likewise we frequently meet with the phrase "the angel set over a certain thing.'' In Midrash-Koheleth (on Eccles. 10:7) the following passage occurs: "When man sleeps, his soul speaks to the angel, the angel to the cherub." The intelligent reader will find here a clear statement that man's imaginative faculty is also called "angel," and that "cherub" is used for man's intellectual faculty. How beautiful must this appear to him who understands it; how absurd to the ignorant!

Angels are conscious beings with free will

 Moreh Nevuchim (2:07) We have already explained that the term "angel" is a homonym, and is used of the intellectual beings, the spheres, and the elements: for all these are engaged in performing a divine command. But do not imagine that the Intelligences and the spheres are like other forces which reside in bodies and act by the laws of nature without being conscious of what they do. The spheres and the Intelligences are conscious of their actions, and select by their own free will the objects of their influence, although not in the same manner as we exercise free will and rule over other things, which only concern temporary beings. I have been led to adopt this theory by certain passages in Scripture: e.g., an angel says to Lot: "For I cannot do anything," etc. (Gen. 19:21); and telling him to deliver himself, the angel says: "Behold I have accepted thee concerning this thing" (ver. 21). Again: "Take heed before him, and listen to his voice," etc. (Exod. 23:21). These passages show that angels are conscious of what they do, and have free will in the sphere of action intrusted to them, just as we have free will within our province, and in accordance with the power given to us with our very existence.

Robert Regan, GOP Candidate Who Told Women to 'Enjoy' Rape, Loses Race- GOP supports Torah valies?!

 https://www.newsweek.com/robert-regan-gop-candidate-told-women-enjoy-rape-loses-race-michigan-1703331

Regan had been considered the leading contender to win the race as the 74th district has traditionally been deep red and has never been represented by anyone other than a Republican.

‘We are against Nazism, they are not’: Russian campaign labels Swedes Nazis

 https://www.timesofisrael.com/we-are-against-nazism-they-are-not-russian-campaign-labels-swedes-nazis/

Russia has intensified its propaganda campaign against Sweden, accusing the Scandinavian nation of Nazism.

Posters linking national Swedish heroes with the Nazis have appeared at bus stops around Russia, according to reports on Tuesday.

Was Hitler Jewish?

 https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/was-hitler-jewish

One of the most frequently asked questions about the Holocaust and the Nazi party is whether Adolf Hitler was Jewish or had Jewish ancestors. The question received new media attention in May 2022 when Russia’s foreign minister claimed Hitler had Jewish blood.

Defending Rabbi Greenblatt's mistaken heter

 על היתרו המפורסם נדון באשכול נפרד https://forum.otzar.org/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=24608

ובלי להיכנס לדון על היתרו זה (ובפרט שהאשכול ההיא נעולה), אכתוב מה שסיפר בנו הרב דוד נ"י בהספדו על אודות ההיתר הזה. כהקדמה הזכיר שאביו התיר ב' עגונות בחייו. אך אלפי עגונות התיר ע"י שנסע כל שבוע במשך שבעים שנה(!!) בכל רחבי העולם כדי לסדר גיטין וחליצות. המשיך המספיד ואמר שבנוגע להיתרו זה, הגיב אביו בכאב על כל הרדיפות שסבל, שצר לו מאד שכעת כאשר בעל הוראה יראה בעיניו להתיר עגונה, ימנע מזה מחשש פן יפגענו כל חרון אף שבעולם. כעת נעשה יותר קשה לבנות ישראל העגונות. זה כל מה שסבל מזה, כל הענין האישי לא נגע אליו כלל. ע"כ מאת בנו המספיד.

ואוסיף ששמעתי פעם מנכדו ששמע ממנו שהיו שלשה דברים שהעלימו ממנו/רימו אותו בעת שנתן התירו, שאם היה יודע מהם לא היה נותנה, אך בדיעבד סבר שאינם נוגעים לתוקף ההיתר (כמדומה שאחד מהדברים היה שרימו אותו לומר ש[יבלחט"א] הגר"ש קמנצקי שליט"א כבר הסכים להתיר, ובזה יובן למה לא התנה שההיתר תהיה בתנאי שיסכים עמו א' מגדולי הדור ואכמ"ל), וכיון שהתיר, סידר להם חו"ק, שזו האחריות נטל על שכמו בעת שהתיר.

Childhood sexual abuse, mental health, and religion across the Jewish community

 https://www.researchgate.net/publication/324804927_Childhood_sexual_abuse_mental_health_and_religion_across_the_Jewish_community

Current estimates of childhood sexual abuse among Jews in the United States are only available for females and do not include a spectrum of religiosity. We examined sexual abuse, mental health, and religion, in a religiously diverse sample of male and female Jewish adults from North America, using a novel methodology to minimize sampling/response biases. A total of 372 diversely religious Jews participated. Prevalence of any form of childhood sexual abuse was statistically equivalent to national rates, except that females reported less involuntary penetration (OR = 0.53). All Jewish religious groups reported equivalent levels of sexual abuse, except that history of involuntary penetration was greater among formerly (but not presently) Orthodox Jews (OR = 3.00). Across our sample, sexual abuse was associated with increased likelihood of psychiatric diagnosis (OR = 1.34), greater mental distress (F ranging from 2.99 to 9.08, p < .05 for all analyses), lower religious observance (F = 4.53, p = .03), and lower intrinsic religiosity (F = 4.85, p = .03). Further, across our sample we observed a moderate buffering effect of spiritual/religious factors against mental distress (ΔR2 values ranging from 0.028 to 0.045, p <.01 for all analyses). Thus, we found childhood sexual abuse to occur across the spectrum of Jewish religious affiliation and greater prevalence among formerly Orthodox individuals. Furthermore, history of childhood sexual abuse was associated with greater risk for psychiatric distress and less religious involvement, however spiritual/religious engagement and belief appeared to facilitate resilience in the context of abuse.

Study finds widespread history of sexual abuse among formerly Orthodox

 https://www.timesofisrael.com/study-finds-widespread-history-of-sexual-abuse-among-formerly-orthodox/

While Jews are no more likely to be sexually abused than other Americans, individuals who have left the Orthodox community are more than four times as likely to have been molested as children than the general population, a new study has found.

The study, by two Orthodox Jewish researchers, surveyed more than 300 participants over a three-year period. Its authors — Dr. David Rosmarin of Harvard and Dr. David Pelcovitz of Yeshiva University — said their report was an attempt to address a lack of research on the prevalence of sexual abuse in the Jewish community.

When a Gadol is afraid to correct his mistaken Psak

Gittin (56a) Rabbi Yoḥanan says: The excessive humility of Rabbi Zekharya ben Avkolas destroyed our Temple, burned our Sanctuary, and exiled us from our land.

Chida אמר ר' יוחנן ענותנותו של ר' זכריה וכו' בא להעיר עיקר גדול בעבודת ה' שצריך האדם לשקול בפלס כל אשר הוא עושה להיות צופה ומביט רואה את הנולד וכמ"ש פעמים שביטולה של תורה זוהי קיומה וזה יתד שהכל תלוי בו לשקול בשקל הקדש אשר יעשה האדם בכל עניניו בין במילי דעלמא בין במילי דשמיא צדיק יבחן הדרך הטוב והישר לשעתו ולעת"ל שלא תצא תקלה ח"ו וכיוצא וישים עיניו ולבו לשמים כי לא ימנע טוב להולכים בתמים יורנו בדרך יבחר. ובהא דקאמר ענותנותו של ר' זכריה רבני אשכנז פירשו דרך צחות ודרך דרש הבאתי דבריהם בספרי הקטן ראש דוד פרשת ויגש ע"ש. ובמדרש איכה יש איזה שינוים בהך עובדא ע"ש:

Igros Moshe (YD 1:101)שו"ת אגרות משה יורה דעה חלק א סימן קא

ומש"כ ידידי איך רשאים אנו לסמוך על חדושים כאלו שבארתי למעשה ובפרט שהוא נגד איזה אחרו' הנה אני אומר וכי כבר נעשה קץ וגבול לתורה ח"ו שנפסוק רק מה שנמצא בספרים וכשיזדמנו שאלות שלא נמצאים בספרים לא נכריע אותם אף כשיש בידנו להכריע, ודאי לע"ד אסור לומר כן דודאי עוד יגדיל תורה גם עתה בזמננו ומחוייב כל מי שבידו להכריע כל דין שיבא לידו כפי האפשר לו בחקירה ודרישה היטב בש"ס ופוסקים בהבנה ישרה ובראיות נכונות אף שהוא דין חדש שלא דברו אודותו /אודותיו/ בספרים. ואף בדין הנמצא בספרים ודאי שצריך המורה ג"כ להבין אותו ולהכריע בדעתו קודם שיורה ולא להורות רק מחמת שנמצא כן דהוי זה כעין מורה מתוך משנתו שע"ז נאמר התנאים מבלי עולם שמורין הלכה מתוך משנתם בסוטה דף כ"ב עיין שם בפרש"י. ואף אם הכרעתו לפעמים נגד איזה גאונים מרבותינו האחרונים מה בכך הא ודאי שרשאין אף אנו לחלוק על האחרונים וגם לפעמים על איזה ראשונים כשיש ראיות נכונות והעיקר גם בטעמים נכונים ועל כיוצא בזה אמרו אין לדיין אלא מה שעיניו רואות כמפורש בבבא בתרא דף קל"א עיין שם ברשב"ם, כיון שאינו נגד הפוסקים המפורסמים בעלי הש"ע שנתקבלו בכל מדינותינו ועל כיוצא בזה נאמר מקום הניחו להתגדר בו וכרוב תשובות האחרונים שמכריעין בחדושים כמה דינים למעשה. אך אין להיות גס בהוראה וצריך למנוע כשאפשר אבל במקום צורך גדול וכ"ש במקום עיגון כעובדא זו ודאי מחוייבין גם אנחנו להורות אם רק נראה לנו להתיר ואסור לנו להיות מהענוים ולעגן בת ישראל או לגרום להכשיל באיסורין או אף רק להפסיד ממון ישראל. ועיין בגיטין דף נ"ו ענותנותו של ר' זכריה בן אבקולס החריבה את ביתנו שקשה למה אמר ענותנותו מה שייך זה לענוה ועיין במהר"ץ חיות דבר נכון וג"ז ממש כיוצא ומוכרחין אנו להורות גם למעשה כשנראה לנו בראיות ובהבנה ישרה ובפרט במקום עיגון כזה ולהציל ממכשול כזה. 

Supreme Court has voted to overturn abortion rights, draft opinion shows

 https://www.politico.com/news/2022/05/02/supreme-court-abortion-draft-opinion-00029473

The Supreme Court has voted to strike down the landmark Roe v. Wade decision, according to an initial draft majority opinion written by Justice Samuel Alito circulated inside the court and obtained by POLITICO.

The draft opinion is a full-throated, unflinching repudiation of the 1973 decision which guaranteed federal constitutional protections of abortion rights and a subsequent 1992 decision – Planned Parenthood v. Casey – that largely maintained the right. “Roe was egregiously wrong from the start,” Alito writes.

“We hold that Roe and Casey must be overruled,” he writes in the document, labeled as the “Opinion of the Court.” “It is time to heed the Constitution and return the issue of abortion to the people’s elected representatives.”

Supreme Court draft opinion that would overturn Roe v. Wade published by Politico

 https://edition.cnn.com/2022/05/02/politics/roe-v-wade-supreme-court/index.html

In a stunning breach of Supreme Court confidentiality and secrecy, Politico has obtained what it calls a draft of a majority opinion written by Justice Samuel Alito that would strike down Roe v. Wade.

The draft was circulated in early February, according to Politico. The final opinion has not been released and votes and language can change before opinions are formally released. The opinion in this case is not expected to be published until late June.

CNN has not independently confirmed the document's authenticity. Politico says it has authenticated the draft. A Supreme Court spokesperson declined to comment to CNN.