Ohr HaChaim (Vayikra 26:12) And I will turn to you, etc." This is related to our Sages saying That Jews are not determined by Mazel. G-d uproots this mazel from one place and placed it in another place. So even though children life and livelihood are said to be controlled by mazel and not merit. G-d changes the Mazel This is why G-d had to say: "I will turn to you" before mentioning that He would make the Jewish people fruitful. The word “I will turn” is indicative of G-d personally involving Himself in the fertility of the Jewish people instead of leaving the matter in the hands of the agent He has appointed as part of the laws of nature to deal with such tasks. It is also possible that when the verse continues with "I will multiply you," that this refers to a second key G-'d holds in His hands, i.e. the key to livelihood. Adequate food assists physical growth. The word I will establish then refers to the third key G-d holds in His hands, the key to life and death. The word I will turn may thus be understood as G'd granting us access to all the three keys in His possession.
Wednesday, July 26, 2023
Haredi newspaper: 'We joined to promote the Draft Law, not the reform'
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/374689
The haredi Hamodia newspaper on Wednesday morning rejected the attacks on the Agudat Yisrael faction, with which the paper is affiliated.
Agudat Yisrael, a hasidic faction, is one-half of the United Torah Judaism (UTJ) party. The other faction in the party is Lithuanian-haredi Degel Hatorah.
The attacks follow the submission of a proposal to pass Basic Law: Torah Study, which the paper says was submitted over ten days ago. Hamodia noted that Agudat Yisrael did not join the coalition in order to pass the judicial reform, but in order to advance a Draft Law.
UTJ proposes Basic Law to equate Torah studies with IDF service
https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/politics-and-diplomacy/article-752379
The ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism Party (UTJ) proposed on Tuesday a Basic Law aimed at anchoring in law the exemption from IDF military service for students in religious academies (yeshivot).
The first clause of the bill, called Basic Law: Torah Study, says, "Torah study is a supreme value in the heritage of the Jewish people."
The second clause says, "The State of Israel as a Jewish state views the encouragement of Torah study and Torah students with utmost important, and regarding their rights and duties, those who dedicate themselves to studying Torah for an extended period should be viewed as having served a significant service to the State of Israel and the Jewish people."
Grassley faces criticism over release of FBI document
https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/4119251-grassley-faces-criticism-over-release-of-fbi-document/
But that has in no way calmed the waters as Democrats increase their attacks over what they view as unsubstantiated claims that were already dismissed in full by the Trump administration.
Rav Reuven Feinstein proposes a Takanah - How does it deal with the disaster of the Kaminetsky-Greenblatt heter?
1) that a takanah should be made that no one is allowed to get involved in a case when there's a reputable bais din presiding on a case, otherwise the koach of bais din gets diminished and causes anarchy.
2) that no letter should be signed without listening to both sides.
3) that in this case only the Baltimore bais din has the full picture.
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Questions regarding Rav Reuven Feinstein's proposal (by a number of readers)
1) Why is there a need of a Takana when what he is proposing is stated in the Shulchan Aruch?
a. If a duly constituted BD ruled—it should be over. Of course that BD should be supported in every which way.
b. Acccording to what he writes anyone can now say—and if so, you can be sure that anyone will now say—if they on one party’s “side”—that the BD’s pesak “is a din me’uvas”!
c. It is illogical to call for any person who wants to help when there is already a pesak BD to first hear both sides— that is what the BD did! Why would this person do a better job than the BD? How will this person ensure that HE will “hear “all the facts” from “all the parties”...? And if he comes to a different conclusion—he should help defy the BD?
4. The basic issue is that if you refuse to mention that there is a current problem then you need to pretend that the system itself needs fixing instead of the particular incident
Rabbi Yechezkel Roth zt"l
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yechezkel_Roth
He was the leader of a venerated Bais Horaah in Borough Park, Brooklyn, and is one of leading Poskim in the world.[7]
Fox Insiders Shudder at Gutfeld’s Latest Holocaust Controversy: ‘Yikes’
A spokesperson for the ADL, additionally, noted that while it wasn’t exactly clear what Gutfeld was actually suggesting on Monday, it seemed apparent that he didn’t have a full grasp of the facts.
“It is not clear from Gutfeld’s comments if he is arguing that Jews learned skills in the Holocaust, or that Jews who had skills had a better chance of staying alive. The latter is something that is well-documented, while the former is nonsense. That said, many millions of Jews, who, in Gutfeld’s words, had “utility,” were still murdered,” the spokesperson told The Daily Beast.
HaRav Feinstein - Avoiding inappropriate humility
Tuesday, July 25, 2023
Showering During the Nine Days
https://www.ohr.edu/this_week/insights_into_halacha/5228
This ‘Shower Exclusion’ during the Nine Days for hygienic purposes is ruled decisively by the vast majority of contemporary authorities including Rav Yosef Chaim Zonnenfeld zt”l, Rav Yechiel Michel Tukachinsky zt”l, Rav Moshe Feinstein zt”l, Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach zt”l, Rav Yaakov Kamenetsky zt”l, the Klausenberger Rebbe zt”l, Rav Yosef Shalom Elyashiv zt”l, Rav Shmuel Halevi Wosner zt”l, Rav Ben Tzion Abba Shaul zt”l, Rav Ovadiah Yosef zt”l, Rav Mordechai Eliyahu zt”l, Rav Yisrael Halevi Belsky zt”l, Rav Efraim Greenblatt zt”l, the Sha’arim Metzuyanim B’Halachah, and Rav Moshe Sternbuch.[16]
Likud minister demands Attorney General investigate Ehud Barak
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/374649
Regev explained, "In the aforementioned video clip, former Prime Minister Ehud Barak was recorded detailing his plan in a Zoom conversation with a group of protest activists." She added that the plan included "inciting civil disobedience in an intentional fashion, falsely presenting a danger to democracy with funding and investments totaling millions of shekels, leading to the point of no return - a civil war - as he begs them to create clashes with the police, saying, 'The more clashes there are with the police, the more it will grow stronger.'"
For a Solution to Israel's Turmoil, Go Back to the Beginning
https://www.newsweek.com/solution-israels-turmoil-go-back-beginning-opinion-1814995
Indeed, it seems clear that no one has a long-term solution to this problem—and if this government falls, the next one can pass legislation overturning this new law, since the Knesset can change both how its Supreme Court Justices are selected and what matters the court can adjudicate at any time.
The answer to all this is in front of us: Israel needs a written constitution that cannot be changed by the Knesset.
Golden Calf reason for having children
Zohar (1 61a )If Israel had not sinned by making the golden calf, they would not have borne children and no new generations would have come into the world” R. Abba replied: ‘If Adam had not sinned, he would not have begotten children from the side of the evil inclination, but he would have borne offspring from the side of the holy spirit. But now, since all the children of men are born from the side of the evil inclination, they have no permanence and are but short-lived, because there is in them an element of the “other side”. But if Adam had not sinned and had not been driven from the Garden of Eden, he would have begotten progeny from the side of the holy spirit-a progeny holy as the celestial angels, who would have endured to eternity, after the supernal pattern. Since, however, he sinned and begat children outside the Garden of Eden, these did not take root, even in this world, until Noah arose, who was a righteous man and entered the ark, so that from the ark there went forth all the future generations of mankind, who spread thence into the four quarters of the earth.’