Wednesday, September 18, 2024

Microsoft says Russian operatives are ramping up attacks on Harris campaign with fake videos

 https://edition.cnn.com/2024/09/17/politics/microsoft-russian-operatives-harris/index.html

Russia’s preferences for the presidential race haven’t shifted since 2020 or 2016, when Moscow conducted a range of influence operations aimed at denigrating Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton, respectively, according to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

Tuesday, September 17, 2024

Tzadik - Why Rich or Poor?

 Lekutei Moharan (200:1) The reason the tzaddikim of today are rich whereas in previous times most of them were poor and poverty stricken, is hinted at in the Mishnah: Whoever fulfills the Torah in poverty, will ultimately fulfill it in wealth. For the tzaddikim of today are the very same tzaddikim that lived in previous times—in the mystery of reincarnation. They already fulfilled the Torah in poverty, and therefore now merit to fulfill it in wealth. 

Wealth required for Torah Understanding

 Lekutei Moharan (060:1)Know! there are paths of Torah that involve very great contemplation, such contemplation that can be attained only by means of wealth. Just as with the Torah’s elementary interpretations, “If there is no bread, there is no Torah”, and at the very least one must have a livelihood, so too, for this contemplation, which is very great, a person must have very great wealth. One must possess bounteous riches from which nothing is lacking, since this contemplation requires having all the wealth of the world…

G-d gave Israel to Jews

 Ibn Ezra (Shemos 03:22) And of her that sojourns in her house. For the Jews owned land. Some complain and say that our ancestors were thieves. Can’t these murmurers see that this was a command from on high? There is no sense in asking why? G-d created everything. He gives riches to whom He desires to give it, and when He wishes to, He takes the very same riches away. There is no evil in this, as everything is His.

Honoring the Wealthy

 Eruvin (86a) Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi would honor the wealthy, and Rabbi Akiva would likewise honor the wealthy.

Koheles (10:20) Don’t revile a king even among your intimates. Don’t revile a rich man even in your bedchamber; For a bird of the air may carry the utterance, And a winged creature may report the word.

Sprituality and Wealth

 Akeidas Yitzchak (69:1)Being given the land of Israel and all the material wealth that this entailed, was a prerequisite for Israel to attain its spiritual objectives both nationally and individually. Cleaving to one's piece of land as a basis for one's financial security therefore, became very important. Pious people's habit of jealously guarding what is rightfully theirs, is understandable for that very reason. Also, the Torah seems especially protective about the material wealth of religious leaders. The reason is to shield them against temptation to acquire wealth by dubious means…

Monday, September 16, 2024

 Sotah (22b) King Jannai said to his wife, Fear not the Pharisees and the non-Pharisees but the hypocrites who ape the Pharisees; because their deeds are the deeds of Zimri but they expect a reward like Phineas.

Beware of those who act like Zimri and request a reward like Pinchas!

Counting Non-Observant Jews Towards a Minyan

 https://dinonline.org/2015/06/18/counting-non-observant-jews-towards-a-minyan/

Since the spies were clearly wicked people, and according to the Sages they were even heretics (claiming that Hashem did not have the power to bring the nation into the Land of Israel), it emerges that even the wicked can form an eidah.

Based on this, Rav Moshe Feinstein (Shut Iggros Moshe Vol. 1, no. 23) writes that the same condition applies to saying Kedushah with a minyan. According to many opinions, the only requirement is that the ten people should be Jewish. There are no further conditions, and even secular Jews, who have no connection to the Torah, can count towards a minyan for Kedushah if they are participating in the prayers.

From where do we know that ten men constitute a minyan?

 https://www.israelnationalnews.com/en/news/390123

I find it absolutely extraordinary that we learn about a minyan from two historic events.

One is the Korach rebellion, and the other is the story of the spies.

Jacob vs. Esau, Part 1: The Two Roles

https://aish.com/jacob-vs-esau-part-i-the-two-roles/?utm_source=googlegrants&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=19561819333&utm_term=&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwrp-3BhDgARIsAEWJ6SwO1prCClHUFOnslQRRo4mw_fhw48lggCY-rCgKzoCye0l8FfLfwusaAm3rEALw_wcB

The answer is that the nation of Israel really has two roles in the world – a “Jacob” role and an “Esau” role. The Jacob role is to be internally righteous people – to study Torah, to become more spiritual, and to develop a relationship with God. The studious, tent-dwelling Jacob was clearly grooming himself for such a role from his earliest years.


הרב קידש בחתונה לפי ‘היתר מאה רבנים’ – ונעצר ביציאה מהארץ

 https://www.jdn.co.il/j_world/2266071/

מקורביו טוענים כי הרב לא היה מעורב כלל בהליך ההיתר, וכי תפקידו הסתכם בכיבוד בלבד. עם זאת, נציגי האישה הראשונה הצליחו להשיג את צו עיכוב היציאה בטענה כי הרב תומך בסרבני גט ומסייע להם להינשא באמצעות היתר מאה רבנים

Trump Posts Disdain for Taylor Swift, Vance Defends Pet-Eating Claims

 https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/trump-vance-abandon-policy-attack-springfield-migrants-and-taylor-swift-3c082a28?mod=hp_lead_pos11

The controversy around an unfounded Republican talking point about immigrants eating cats and dogs in Springfield, Ohio, shadowed Donald Trump’s campaign over the weekend, with the state’s Republican governor on Sunday calling the pet-eating rumor “garbage,” and Trump running mate JD Vance defending his circulation of the claims.

“This is a piece of garbage that was simply not true,” Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said Sunday during an appearance on ABC News’s “This Week.” 

Crime down under Biden: Steve Rattner fact-checks Trump's latest claims