Friday, March 22, 2024

Love Work

 Magen Avos (01:10) Love work. In this way the world will exist and His Torah will be fulfilled because if he does not have a job he will have to be a dependent on others  and come to be a thief. And they said in Yerushalmi, (01 Peah) Choose life  refers to a profession they also said in the Midrash Koheles, See life with the woman you love, acquire a profession with the Torah you love, and they also said in Kiddushin (Chap 01) anyone who does not teach his son a profession is in effect teaching him to be a thief. In Bava Metzia it said and you told them the way they should walk, this is the house of their lives, that is, to teach them a profession to earn a living from it, and this is a mitzvah from the Torah and even if he has sources of wealth he should still work since the Torah says for six days you should work since idleness causes mental illness. There are many statements in the gemora praising those who work. 

Overcharging is prohibited only to Jews

 Maharal Baer HaGolah 07) And also what was said in the tractate of Baba Metziya, that overcharging a non Jew is permissible, as in the text "And no man shall give to his fellow," because this means that when a person sells something to his friend and it is found that he gave it to his friend in exchange for something that must be returned to him, even if the seller himself did not know at the time of the sale, this is an extreme position which is not found in the law of the nations, and the Torah is stricter, and but only if he is his fellow in the Torah and mitzvos 

Honesty in Business

 Menoras HaMeor (08) The greed of men and their pursuit of the pleasures of the world causes them to oppress their fellows in all their business, and in their work and in their goods. And perhaps they think that this oppression, since it is not theft  is not prohibited therefore the Torah warns us  by saying, "No one should oppress his brother", to teach us that a person must conduct business honestly, even though everyone who engages in business has no intention but to profit from it Nevertheless  the Torah commands that he neither take nor sell for more or less than its worth

Genetically Modified Pig Kidney Is Transplanted Into Living Patient

 Genetically Modified Pig Kidney Is Transplanted Into Living Patient

A 62-year-old man suffering from end-stage kidney disease received a genetically modified pig kidney in an unprecedented transplant at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, a step forward in the effort to help people waiting for organs.

Thursday, March 21, 2024

Comer Keeps Stepping In It as Impeachment Witness Dishes Dirt on Giuliani

 https://www.thedailybeast.com/comer-keeps-stepping-in-it-as-impeachment-witness-dishes-dirt-on-giuliani?ref=home

Committee chair Rep. James Comer (R-KY) stepped on rake after rake during the hearing, consistently undermining his own conference’s case. Star witness Lev Parnas was largely responsible for disseminating the mistruths about Biden to Republican lawmakers, working with the ex-New York City mayor-turned-Trump crony to dig up damaging dirt in advance of the 2020 presidential election. The two traveled to Ukraine for the job, and came back with eye-popping tales of corruption involving Biden and his son Hunter.

But on Wednesday, Parnas said, “The only information ever pushed on the Bidens and Ukraine has come from one source and one source only: Russia and Russian agents.”

Was America Safer Under Donald Trump Than Joe Biden?

 https://www.newsweek.com/was-america-safer-under-donald-trump-joe-biden-1881831

President Joe Biden this week touted a "record decrease in crime" after the FBI released its quarterly crime data, sparking criticism from Donald Trump's campaign as he seeks to quell concerns about crime ahead of the November presidential election.

The FBI crime data released on Tuesday showed a drop in nearly every type of crime from the fourth quarter of 2022 to 2023, a victory touted by the White House, which attributed the decline to legislation signed into law by Biden, such as the American Rescue Plan.

Diaspora Jews rally around Eylon Levy, demand his reinstatement

 https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/article-792984

The group We Are Tov (the Hebrew word for good) launched a petition on Wednesday, calling for the reinstatement of the suspended Government Spokesperson Eylon Levy. 

The petition, made on Change.org, has a goal of 10,000 signatories and has already accumulated over 8,000. 

We Are Tov, addressing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office, wrote, “We, the undersigned, urge the Prime Minister's Office to lift the suspension imposed on Eylon Levy, the Israeli Government's spokesman. 

Hostage families blast plans for first Jerusalem Purim parade in 40 years

 https://allisrael.com/hostage-families-blast-plans-for-first-jerusalem-purim-parade-in-40-years

However, the Jerusalem Municipality defended its decision, arguing that this year’s Purim parade would reflect the mood of a nation at war:

“The decision to hold the Adloyada was made with understanding and sensitivity to public discourse, especially the feelings of the families of the hostages, fallen and wounded. Unlike routine Adloyada parades, this event will reflect the current spirit and period. The Adloyada represents the legacy of the fallen, including many from Jerusalem who, in their bravery, instructed us to continue living our lives, which entail both sorrow and joy.

“The event will be dedicated to children, showcasing the courage of our military personnel, evacuees and heroes of the Gaza enclave, while raising awareness about the plight of the hostages."

Fox, Newsmax Losing Patience With GOP’s Biden Hearings

 https://www.thedailybeast.com/fox-newsmax-losing-patience-with-gops-biden-hearings?ref=home

Wednesday’s hearing included testimony from Lev Parnas, a former associate of Rudy Giuliani, who said Republicans’ impeachment push is “predicated on a bunch of false information that is being spread by the Kremlin.”

“Eventually you’ve brainwashed yourself [in]to believing certain things that are not true,” Parnas said of his work with the longtime Trump ally ahead of the 2020 election. “I started thinking [to] myself that this can’t be true. And we were doing something wrong.”

Last month, one of the GOP’s key impeachment witnesses—who said he has ties to Russian intelligence assets—was arrested by the FBI for allegedly lying to the bureau about Biden and his son, Hunter. Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) then tried to claim—despite his past comments—that Alexander Smirnov actually “wasn’t an important part” of his investigation.

Wednesday, March 20, 2024

Trump Claims 2024 Will Be Rigged, Putting Republican Turnout at Risk

 https://www.wsj.com/politics/elections/trump-claims-2024-will-be-rigged-putting-republican-turnout-at-risk-830b213d?mod=hp_lead_pos2

After making years of unfounded claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him, Donald Trump is dialing up warnings that there could be an even bigger theft this time around, a tactic that threatens to complicate Republican turnout efforts.

“Too Big to Rig.” That is the phrase Trump began unveiling in recent weeks, including in an appearance in Greensboro, N.C. His campaign also has printed signs with the slogan to hand out to supporters. The idea behind the pitch is this: Trump needs a lead so large that no one can take it away.

“We want a landslide,” Trump said at the rally. “We have to win so that it’s too big to rig.”

The line has garnered energetic applause from the Trump faithful, but it presents messaging challenges for Republicans. Even as the former president says the voting process could be rigged, he is urging GOP supporters to participate in it anyway. Trump also needs to woo moderate and swing voters, yet they could be turned off by his drumbeat of election-fraud claims.

Rabbi Eliyahu on war against sexual abuse: ‘Do not be ashamed, this is a holy mission,”

 https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/387055

Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu, Chief Rabbi of Tzfat (Safed) and head of the Rabbinical Court for the Prevention of Sexual Harassment in the Haredi-Religious Sector, spoke at a meeting of the Knesset Lobby for the Prevention of Sexual Abuse on the importance of dealing with and fighting sexual offenders.

"I didn't choose to deal with this story of sexual abuse," he shared. "We stumbled upon this, because of the Ezra Sheinberg case, and since then I've seen that it's really a matter of ‘saving lives.’ There is no other way to describe it."

How dangerous is vaping, what is the disposable vape ban and what is the vaping tax?

 https://www.bbc.com/news/health-66784967

Is vaping dangerous?

Vaping is nowhere near as harmful as smoking cigarettes.

But health experts agree that anyone who doesn't smoke should not start vaping.

Children's doctors say vaping may cause long-term damage to young people's lungs, hearts and brains.

The vapour inhaled contains a small amount of chemicals, including the addictive substance nicotine.

More research is needed to fully understand the health effects.

Another issue is that illegal vapes are widely available and are much more likely to contain harmful chemicals or drugs, such as cannabis.

Never start vaping, says girl with lung damage

Vaping and yeshiva world

 https://mishpacha.com/smoke-screen/

The rosh yeshivah shook his head and said, “There have been a lot of cases of this with tall, skinny vapers in Lakewood this year.”

When we heard what Mordy’s rosh yeshivah had said, my husband and I were devastated. If this is such a pervasive problem, why aren’t we doing more to stop it? How did we get to a place where our son, who had been “harmlessly” vaping for the past four years, would end up in the ER with a collapsed lung? But even worse were other questions: Would Levi get it? How addicted was he? While everyone around him vapes constantly, how will he be able to handle that pressure and stay away?

English-language spokesman Eylon Levy said suspended after angering the UK

 https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/english-language-spokesman-eylon-levy-said-suspended-after-angering-the-uk/

Levy was since suspended and has been at home for more than a week, the report says, noting that he was unlikely to return.

News of his suspension comes on the same day that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu bemoaned the fact that Israel had a dearth of spokespeople who could “string two words together” in English.

It also comes following reports earlier in the year that the prime minister’s wife, Sara Netanyahu, was reportedly seeking to have Levy fired over past criticism of the premier, as well as over his participation in protests against the judicial overhaul over the course of last year.