State of Orthodoxy in America? - A sample of one

I was sitting on a bench in the local shopping center yesterday when I was approached by a young man who obviously wanted someone to talk with. After he asked me in English how long I was living in the neighborhood. He then started smoking a cigarette. He apparently was a new worker at one of the local businesses and this was his break time. He then stated he was from a modern Orthodox community in New Jersey. " Even though the Rav is a well-known figure in the Modern Orthodox world the congregation is basically Conservative Jews, some even drive to Shul on Shabbos. He had gone to YU for a year. Had been introduced to drugs by a roommate. Another roommate had committed suicide. Furthermore, his father was a drug addict who provided no emotional support to him. He personally was now working on being more religious since he came to Israel. He then excused himself saying he needed to get back to work.

While this is a sample of one - Does it reflect the reality of America? Whatever problems we have in Israel - pale in comparison to this nightmare he described.  

Eyewitness was blind: Chicago man freed after twelve years in prison for murder

 https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/382542

Darien Harris, a resident of Chicago, spent more than twelve years of a 76-year sentence in prison for murder due to a witness testimony that connected him to the crime.

According to CTV, Harris was released this week when it was clarified to the judge that the key witness in the case was blind.

At the age of eighteen, Harris was arrested on suspicion of murder in a gas station which happened while he chanced to be walking along a nearby street. The sole evidence for his conviction came from a security camera, which showed an unidentified man exiting a vehicle and shooting the victim, and testimony from one Dexter Saffold.

Red Cross refused to give medicine to Gaza hostages, Netanyahu tells families

 https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-779463

An International Committee of the Red Cross representative refused to bring a box of life-saving medicine to Israelis taken hostage in Gaza, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed in a Monday address to the Knesset plenum.

"I met with the Red Cross; I handed them a box of medicine for some of the hostages shown here. Some of them really need it...I told a representative to take this box to Rafah; she said no. It was a difficult conversation," he told a special Knesset session attended by families of hostages, who were heard shouting "Now!" at the prime minister as he explained the return of all hostages would take time.

Harvard president’s corrections do not address her clearest instances of plagiarism, including as a student in the 1990s

 https://edition.cnn.com/2023/12/20/business/harvard-president-claudine-gay-plagiarism/index.html

Jonathan Bailey, a plagiarism expert who runs the site Plagiarism Today, told CNN that instances of plagiarism are often followed by calls for a harsh rebuke.

“People tend to want to paint plagiarism with a broad brush as something that should be immediately cause for termination or immediately cause for the strongest action,” Bailey said. “But that’s just not how it works in the real world. A lot of factors are looked at and considered when deciding how to respond to it.”

“This is a nuanced case, and that nuance is kind of impossible because of how politically charged it is right now,” said Baile

Sickened by the Chilul Hashem?

 https://cross-currents.com/2009/07/07/sickened-by-the-chilul-hashem/

Here’s an idea to consider. Rabbi Yaakov Horowitz has written urging the rest of the Torah community to stand up without equivocation and combat the unspeakable primitivism of many of the Yerushalayim protesters. He takes most of the media accounts seriously. He points a finger at “askanim” who are really in charge, and not Gedolim whom others presuppose are in charge. He cites approvingly the statement of an American philanthropist that he will withhold his sizable donation to a favorite yeshiva until its Rosh Yeshiva publicly condemns the form of the demonstrations. (Note: he does not – and I would not – urge us regular folks to withhold money from the yeshivos that are the lifeblood of Klal Yisrael.)

Hishstadlus What is it?

Having spent many hours on the texts regarding parnossa. I have been amazed at the lack of clarity regarding  hishstadlus. It is rarely mentioned in primary sources such as Tanach or Talmud. It is mentioned with regard to another unclear concept bitachon. Yosef is punished for too much hishstadlus. The most direct discussion I have found is in Mesilas Yeshorim 21. I also could not find it in Rambam

Mesilas Yeshorim (21:07) However, that which can protect a person and save him from these detriments is trust in G-d. Namely, that a person casts his burden entirely upon G-d, knowing that it is certainly impossible for a man to lack what was designated for him, as our sages taught: "all of a person's sustenance [for the year] is fixed for him from Rosh Hashana [to Yom Kippur]" (Beitzah 16a). Likewise, they said: "no man can touch what was prepared for his fellow even to the extent of a hair's breadth" (Yomah 38b).

Mesilas Yeshorim (21:08) A person could have sat idle and the decree would have been fulfilled (his designated portion would have come to him), had it not been preceded by the fine imposed on every human being: "by the sweat of your brow shall you eat bread" (Gen.3:19), whereby a person is required to make some effort for obtaining his livelihood, for thus the exalted King decreed. 

Mesilas Yeshorim (21:09) This is like a tax imposed on the human race which one cannot escape from paying. Therefore, our sages, of blessed memory, said (Sifri 15:18): "I might think one can sit idle, but scripture says (Devarim 28:20): 'in all that you set your hand to do' ".

Mesilas Yeshorim (21:10) Only that it is not the efforts (hishtadlut) that help. Rather, the efforts are necessary, but once one has put in some effort, he has already discharged his obligation and there is place for the blessing of Heaven to rest upon him, and he need not consume his days in exertion and labor. This is what king David said: "For not from the east or from the west, nor from... but it is G-d who executes judgment, [putting down one and lifting up another]" (Tehilim 75:7-8), and king Shlomo said: "Do not weary yourself to grow rich; cease applying your understanding" (Mishlei 23:4).

Mesilas Yeshorim (21:11) Rather, the true path is that of the "early Pious ones", who made their Torah primary and their work secondary, and succeeded in both (Berachot 35b). For once a man does a little work, from then on, he need only trust in his Master, and not be distressed by any worldly matters. Then his mind will be free and his heart ready for true Chasidut and perfect divine service.

Duties of the Heart (Bitchon 3:36)  Secondly, if a man were not forced to exert himself in seeking a livelihood, he would kick (become defiant) and chase after sin, and he would ignore his debt of gratitude to G-d for His goodness to him. As written: "And the harp, and the lyre, the timbrel, and flute, and wine, are in their feasts: but they regard not the work of the L-ord, neither consider the work of His hands" (Yeshaya 5:12), and "But Yeshurun grew fat, and kicked: you are grown fat, you are grown thick, you are covered with fatness; then he forsook G-d who made him, and lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation" (Devarim 32:15). And the sages said "it is good the study of torah with working for a livelihood because the toil in both removes thoughts of sin, and all torah study without work will in the end be abandoned and bring to sin" (Avot 2:2). And all the more so for one who has no share in either torah or work, nor directs his attention to any of these pursuits.

Netanyahu, Gantz assail Barkat for saying IDF tactics endangering soldiers

 https://www.timesofisrael.com/netanyahu-gantz-assail-barkat-for-saying-idf-tactics-endangering-soldiers/

Barkat, seen as a potential future rival to Netanyahu as leader of the Likud party, told ministers, “The number of air force bombardments has fallen dramatically. Soldiers are being sent to booby-trapped buildings like [sitting] ducks.”

Netanyahu responded, “The fact that you keep saying this doesn’t make it true. There are operational considerations.”

Netanyahu, justifying his policies, said, “There are countries [whose positions] we have to take into account. If we don’t do that, eventually there’ll be a UN decision to impose a blockade on us. The whole world will be against us.”

Asked about Barkat’s criticism, the IDF Spokesman, Daniel Hagari, said later Sunday that “any IDF force on the ground that requires air support, for any mission, gets the necessary protection.”

Netanyahu rejects 'untrue' WSJ claim Biden halted IDF attack on Hezbollah

 https://www.jpost.com/israel-hamas-war/article-779397

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed as “erroneous” a Wall Street Journal report that the IDF halted plans to preemptively attack Hezbollah in Lebanon in the first days after the start of the Gaza war in October.

“I have seen erroneous reports to the effect that the US prevented, and is preventing, us from operational actions in the region; this is incorrect. Israel is a sovereign state,” Netanyahu said on Sunday.

‘You no longer represent us’: New Jersey Muslims mobilize against longtime congressman over Israel stance

 https://www.politico.com/news/2023/12/22/bill-pascrell-new-jersey-muslim-vote-00132858

“I can’t control the politics of Israel,” he said, according to a video of his remarks obtained by POLITICO. “But they have every right to protect themselves and defend themselves. Case closed.”

While Arab Americans are an important constituency for Pascrell, they make up a relatively small bloc in a district that includes two dozen towns in heavily Jewish Bergen County. That’s made it impossible for the representative to please the entire Democratic base.

Praying for Israel

 השבוע ערך הגאון הגדול רבי אהרן פלדמן ראש ישיבת 'נר ישראל' בבולטימור' ומזקני חברי מועצג"ת של אגודת ישראל בארה"ב, ביקור במעונו של מרן פוסק הדור הגר"מ שטרנבוך שליט"א רחוב קצנלבוגן 4 בירושלים.

במהלך הביקור שאל ראש הישיבה את מרן פוסק הדור באיזה נוסח להתפלל בימים אלו, "האם להתפלל להצלחת המדינה".

מרן פוסק הדור השיב בדברים נחרצים: "יש להתפלל ששמו של הקב"ה יתקדש בעולם, וששום יהודי לא יסבול".

מרן פוסק הדור הוסיף: איי.. איך זה יכול להסתדר יחד, התשובה היא שאנחנו לא אפוטרופסים על זה, ואין אנחנו צריכים לדון או לענות איך לסדר את זה.

 

Our 7 best tips to build an exercise habit

 https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2023/12/12/easy-exercise-habits

1. 11-minutes of brisk walking makes a big difference

The biggest gains in exercise come when we just start moving a little. Walking for at least 11 minutes every day could lower your risk of premature death by almost 25 percent, according to a major study of 30 million people. Those 11 daily minutes of exercise also dropped people’s risks for heart disease by 17 percent and for cancer of any kind by 7 percent. For certain cancers, including myeloid leukemia, myeloma and some stomach cancers, the risk fell by as much as 26 percent.

A catatonic woman awakened after 20 years. Her story may change psychiatry

https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2023/06/01/schizophrenia-autoimmune-lupus-psychiatry/

 New research suggests that a subset of patients with psychiatric conditions such as schizophrenia may actually have autoimmune disease that attacks the brain

Markx and his colleagues discovered that although April’s illness was clinically indistinguishable from schizophrenia, she also had lupus, an underlying and treatable autoimmune condition that was attacking her brain.

How Iran used social media to stoke tensions between Israelis

 https://www.calcalistech.com/ctechnews/article/b1zvgnywa

Last January, a video showing demonstrators with pride flags burning the image of Rabbi Chaim Drukman, one of the leaders of the Religious Zionist community who had passed away a week earlier, quickly spread on Facebook, X, WhatsApp, and Telegram, circulated by real users and fake accounts alike. Right-wing users and media could not contain their anger. "Do not absolve yourselves of the heavy responsibility for this demonstration of anti-Zionism and antisemitism," wrote Menny Asayag. Yair Netanyahu, the son of the Prime Minister, was quick to respond: "Remember what they did to Jews who defaced an image of Arabs at a wedding? Arrest and indictment... not that it interests the police, of course." Channel 7 also reported on the incident with the headline "Rabbi Chaim Drukman's image burned in left-wing protest."

They, along with many other users and journalists, were unaware that they had fallen victim to a trap set by a foreign entity, likely Iran, and not only in this case. An investigation by the organization Fake Reporter reveals that since 2021, a foreign influence network connected to Iran has been operating in Israel, spreading lies, incitement, and hate to deepen the rift among Israelis, and to use them to extend its influence beyond the virtual world.

Jack Smith Gets Hold of 'Incendiary' Evidence Against Donald Trump

 https://www.newsweek.com/jack-smith-trump-scott-perry-messages-2020-election-1854097

In a ruling on Tuesday, Chief U.S. District Judge James Boasberg said that more than 1,600 communications sent from Perry, including texts and emails, can be handed over the Special Counsel Jack Smith's office after rejecting the argument they fall under the U.S. Constitution's "speech or debate" clause. The clause states that members of Congress can't be questioned in criminal investigations on matters relating to their legislative duties.

Perry, the chair of the House Freedom Caucus, had his phone seized by the FBI in August 2022 as part of the investigation into the attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results. Perry is alleged to have been in frequent discussions with Trump as part of the plot to install Department of Justice official Jeffrey Clark as attorney general to support the false claim the 2020 election was rigged in the final few weeks of Trump's presidency.