How Joe Biden's Classified Documents Compare to Donald Trump's

 https://www.newsweek.com/how-joe-biden-classified-documents-compare-donald-trumps-1772552

Cases are very different. Most notably, when Biden's lawyers found these documents, they immediately notified the Archives and turned them over," lawyer and former federal prosecutor Peter Zeidenberg told Newsweek.

"In Trump's case, it was the government that realized the documents were missing and then tried, repeatedly and ultimately unsuccessfully, to get them back. Even after being served with a grand jury subpoena, Trump did not return all of the documents," he said.

"And in Trump's case, these highly classified documents were scattered all over his hotel, including in unlocked storage areas and his desk drawer. Finally, Biden had a security clearance throughout the time he had these documents, while Trump's security clearance was revoked after he left office. So cases are really only superficially similar."

Classified documents found from Biden’s time as VP, White House cooperating with DOJ

 https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/3806056-classified-documents-found-from-bidens-time-as-vp-white-cooperating-with-doj/

Matthew Miller, a former Justice Department spokesperson during the Obama administration, tweeted, “Worth noting what former government officials have said since Mar a Lago raid: classified docs get mistakenly removed from government facilities fairly frequently. You report it, turn in the docs, the government does a damage assessment, and that is the end of it.”

“OR…you cover it up, lie about it repeatedly to the government, and force them to raid your premises to retrieve the docs (ie act like a sociopath), in which case you can expect a criminal charge,” Miller added.

Astrology and off the derech teenagers

 I was asked to deal, as a psychologist, with a troubled teenager who was the estranged son of an important American rabbi. The son was no longer observant. I did his horoscope which indicated  strong conflicts (aspects) which strongly overruled his desire to behave. I told this to his father, I was told later the father and son had reconciled and developed a strong positive relationship though the son did not change. The father simply accepted that this was a case of onas and that his son could not control himself. I have heard that some gedolim view off the derech children as not having free will in this area. This is also possible justification for the common advice to accept the off the derech child with unconditional love.

Another case in which I used astrology involved the son of a friend who was in Kollel and was also the grandson of a chassidic rebbe. The Rosh Kollel asked me to try and help the troubled boy. He told me don't try psychotherapy - he has already gone to a few and doesn't trust therapy. I asked the son  if I could do his horoscope. He replied cynically he didn't believe it or any other system. But to test me he gave the birthday of his closest friend. I told him the friend was a criminal and would end up in jail. Several days later the friend was in fact arrested and I was validated. Instead of therapy I suggested learning Berachos. We in fact made a siyum attended by the Bostoner Rebbe. He went on to get married and get a job and in general to behave as expected. I view this as a case where Torah overcame Mazzel

This is Donald Trump's Favorite Movie. "He Watches it Again and Again and Again."

 https://bestlifeonline.com/news-donald-trumps-favorite-movie/

The biographer Tim O'Brien once wrote about watching the movie with Trump. When the film depicted Norma Desmond crying, "Those idiot producers. Those imbeciles! Haven't they got any eyes? Have they forgotten what a star looks like? I'll show them. I'll be up there again, so help me!," Trump whispered to O'Brien, "Is this an incredible scene or what? Just incredible."

The ‘Never Kevin’ Chaos Is Tearing Fox News Apart

 https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-never-kevin-chaos-is-tearing-fox-news-apart?ref=home

By the time Wednesday arrived, Carlson made it clear that he was fully siding with the “Never Kevin” crowd, all while most of his Fox cohorts were begging the group to fold and end the standoff.

Haredi woman from NY released from marriage to Lebanese Muslim husband

 https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/article-727966

At the end of 2021, the young woman, who was part of the Jewish Syrian community in New York, married a man who had been attending yeshiva in Brooklyn. His relatives did not attend the wedding, and during the wedding celebrations, the woman found her new husband's passport which revealed to her that he was not named Eliyah as he told her - his name was Ali and he was a Lebanese Muslim man.

Following the discovery, the woman left her husband and flew to Israel. Ali then turned to the New York rabbinical court and converted to Judaism before flying to Israel himself in search of his wife.

The deal McCarthy struck was an inexplicable act of self destruction

 https://edition.cnn.com/2023/01/07/opinions/mccarthy-speaker-vote-house-republicans-dent/index.html

While congratulations are in order to Speaker McCarthy, the role has been considerably weakened due to the reported concessions he made during this unseemly political shakedown. Clearly, the hardliners exacted more than a pound of flesh from McCarthy and most of the House GOP conference that will make governing exceedingly difficult.

It begs the question: Is surrendering your way to victory really winning? And when will this appeasement ever end, considering it only makes this extremist faction more powerful?

Rabbi responds to uproar: The Torah forbids gay relations, what do you want from me?

 https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/365564

Rabbi Meir Mazuz, head of the Kisei Rahamim Yeshiva, responded in his weekly lesson on Saturday night to the uproar following his remarks last week against the Gay Pride Parades and against Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana, the first openly gay Knesset Speaker in Israel’s history.

"The country is in an uproar. What? I said? No one else said the same thing? The Torah said 'it is an abomination', what do you want from my life?" said Rabbi Mazuz.

Last week, Rabbi Mazuz implicitly hinted that Ohana, who served as Public Security Minister at the time of the Meron disaster in 2021, was responsible for the disaster.

Wife should be ruled by husband: Torah Temima

Torah Temima (Bereishis 3:16): And he will rule over you - we learn from this that a woman asks for intercourse through her actions while the man asks for it directly and this is a good trait for women (Eiruvin 100b). Even though the trait of modesty is a good trait, nevertheless it is a curse that she can’t openly express her desires to her husband. It should be noted that this doesn’t explain the language “And he will rule over you” in terms of its literal meaning of having a master… Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezar (Chapter 14) notes that this is one of the curses of a woman and she should have her ear bored as a permanent slave and as a maidservant. The Radal says that this teaches that it has been decreed that a woman always has to pay attention to the words of her husband. It is logical that the reason for the practice of piercing a woman’s ears for jewelry is an allusion to the fact that she is enslaved to her husband as is noted in Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezar. If so then why isn’t the expression in this verse “He shall rule over you” explained according to this understanding [and instead the gemora says it means that she can’t asked openly for intercourse]? … Nevertheless it definitely would appear that the verse doesn’t lose its literal meaning and that is also meant. Therefore in terms of the relationship of a husband and wife, the wife is obligated to accepted the authority of her husband as we find in the Rambam (Hilchos Ishus 15:20): “Our Sages have commanded that the wife view her husband as a king and lord.”Aside from the language of this verse this idea of rulership can also be seen in the Sifre…that a woman does not have permission to speak before her husband. This is also possibly the source that Pesachim (108a) that a woman does not have to recline at the Pesach Seder in the presence of her husband. The reason being that he rules over her. She is exempt in the same way that a student is in the presence of his teacher. He cannot recline in the manner of freedom because of his fear and respect of his teacher. It is logical that this is the reason that a woman who does not fulfill the wishes of her husband is called a moredes (rebel). Since it is an obligation to accept him as king and lord [as stated in Rambam] therefore when she does the opposite - it as if she had rebelled against the kingdom. …

What has Kevin McCarthy given up, and at what price?

 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-64194129

It took 15 ballots, a midnight vote and a near-fistfight in the hallowed chambers of Congress, but Kevin McCarthy has now been elected Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Through a combination of cajoling, arm-twisting and finger-jabbing, the California congressman succeeded in convincing enough of the 20 holdout Republicans to support him - or at least not explicitly oppose his bid for the Speaker's gavel.

Getting those recalcitrant Republicans on board, however, was not an easy job. Mr McCarthy has had to make promises, and key concessions, that limit his own power and increase the influence of conservatives in the House of Representatives.

US teen discovers cyber bully was her own mother

 https://www.jpost.com/omg/article-726595

A teenage girl who suffered from cyberbullying discovered that the anonymous troll behind hate messages she received over the past year was...her own mother!

Kendra Gayle Licari, from Michigan, abused her daughter online using juvenile slang to keep herself from being identified. She was arrested last month after a year-long investigation, to which FBI experts were called in to help search for the bully.

Even though Licari used a VPN (virtual private network) to disguise the source of the messages and spiced up her messages with juvenile slang to make them look like they were written by a boy or girl, detectives were eventually able to connect the messages to Licari.

McCarthy Thanking Trump 2 Years After Jan. 6 Was 'Disgusting': Ex-GOP Rep.

 https://www.newsweek.com/mccarthy-thanking-trump-2-years-after-jan-6-was-disgusting-ex-gop-rep-1772081

"It is about a coalition, Katie," Jolly added. "And you can extrapolate this out nationally, what we know going into a presidential race, which is Donald Trump's power is slipping, but his grip is so tight over the part of the coalition he holds that the party fractures without him. While Democrats have built a coalition in the last six years of disaffected Republicans and independents, joining their cause for healthcare, education, immigration reform, and criminal justice reform, Republicans have built a coalition of insurrectionists, white nationalists, antisemites, and other people who want to tear down the government, and so that's what we're seeing on display."

Victims Pressured Not to Cooperate With Police in Prominent Yeshiva Sexual Assault Case

 https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2023-01-05/ty-article/.premium/victims-pressured-not-to-cooperate-with-police-in-prominent-yeshiva-sexual-assault-case/00000185-8254-d9f4-abf7-83ff122b0000

Vizhnitz court and Rabbi Efraim Tessler could not be reached for comment. A spokesman for MK Yaakov Tessler, said that he would not comment on “gossip and slander.”

Spiritual growth only outside of Israel

Rav Tzadok (Pri Tzadik Vayechi  1) The 17 years that Jacob was in Egypt revived some of those bad years which befell him. This idea is stated (in ) that if an individual lives a good year close to his old age, it is a good sign for him, and G-d considers it as if all his days were good. All the days of Jacob when he was in pain was not considered to be life because they were not completed in holiness and only in Egypt did he merit to complete them in his holiness. Logic would dictate that since Israel is the place of greatest holiness in the world, as G-d told Abraham to leave Aram and go to the land of Israel, and Isaac was told that he would be blessed if he lived in this land. Jacob himself loved the land, and it would have been fitting for Jacob to complete his life in holiness in the holy land, and not in Egypt which is an impure land, and its people are more polluted than any other.

We find that in the exile in Babylon and in the exile of the second Temple that the main expansion of the oral Torah was specifically in exile. Specifically there the secrets of the Torah were revealed, more than was revealed while the Jews were in Israel. It is specifically from Babylon that the people of the great assembly arose and they were able to establish the law of Arava (c.f. Sukkah 44a) We also see in Sukkah (20A) that Ezra rose from Babylon and established Torah, and thereafter Torah was forgotten. Hillel then went and re-established it (and Hillel was also from Babylon (ed)), Rabbi Chiya and his sons (from Babylon) reconstituted the Torah. It also states in Medrash Shir Hashirim (4:4) that the righteous after the destruction of the Temple constituted the Torah in a greater way than the righteous in their building of the Temple.

This Parasha is closed. Our Rabbis have explained the reasons for it, and they are all true. There is another reason for it being closed. The completion of Jacob's holiness is specifically in Egypt, and not in the land of Israel. This coincides with the notion that the revelation and arrival of the Jewish People which contains the souls which were prepared for the acceptance of the Torah specifically in a foreign land and not in Israel, and that the end of the creation of the world occurs in the land of Egypt. These concepts are closed(Satum) from human understanding.