Netziv (Devarim 32:5): It is known that the destruction of the First Temple was because of idolatry, sexual immorality and murder which angered G‑d. The destruction of the Second Temple was because of sinas chinom. We have explained in Bamidbar (35:34) that they were involved in the study of Torah and serving G‑d nevertheless most of the killing was done for the sake of G‑d. In other words they would label as a Sadducee (heretic) anyone who transgressed any of the commandments. They would then have them punished as a heretic and thus their conduct was very destructive – even though they thought they were motivated by concern for the honor of heaven. … Thus the problem of the Second Temple was that ostensibly good deeds were now mixed with bad motivation. Thus it was hard to separate the good from the bad since the bad was done for the sake of heaven.
Tuesday, October 15, 2024
On one of your posts someone asked where Rambam got his idea that moon is different
Avraham Broide
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sublunary_sphere
In Aristotelian physics and Greek astronomy, the sublunary sphere is the region of the geocentric cosmos below the Moon, consisting of the four classical elements: earth, water, air, and fire.[1][2]
The sublunary sphere was the realm of changing nature. Beginning with the Moon, up to the limits of the universe, everything (to classical astronomy) was permanent, regular and unchanging—the region of aether where the planets and stars are located. Only in the sublunary sphere did the powers of physics hold sway.[3]
Evolution of concept
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Plato and Aristotle helped to formulate the original theory of a sublunary sphere in antiquity,[4] the idea usually going hand in hand with geocentrism and the concept of a spherical Earth.
Avicenna carried forward into the Middle Ages the Aristotelian idea of generation and corruption being limited to the sublunary sphere.[5] Medieval scholastics like Thomas Aquinas, who charted the division between celestial and sublunary spheres in his work Summa Theologica, also drew on Cicero and Lucan for an awareness of the great frontier between Nature and Sky, sublunary and aetheric spheres.[6] The result for medieval/Renaissance mentalities was a pervasive awareness of the existence, at the Moon, of what C. S. Lewis called 'this "great divide"...from aether to air, from 'heaven' to 'nature', from the realm of gods (or angels) to that of daemons, from the realm of necessity to that of contingence, from the incorruptible to the corruptible"
However, the theories of Copernicus began to challenge the sublunary/aether distinction. In their wake, Tycho Brahe's observations of a new star (nova) and of comets in the supposedly unchanging heavens further undermined the Aristotelian view.[7] Thomas Kuhn saw scientists' new ability to see change in the 'incorruptible' heavens as a classic example of the new possibilities opened up by a paradigm shift.[8]
US intervention points to growing concerns over Israel’s air defences
Drones may fly more slowly than missiles, but the Iranian-designed carbon-fibre models used by Hezbollah are hard to see and difficult for radar to pick up, a task made more complicated because they are flown deliberately low. Manoeuvrable, this drone, said to be Sayyad 107, resisted GPS guidance jamming, possibly because it used Russian or Chinese alternatives.
Kids and teens who get covid more prone to diabetes, study finds
https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2024/10/14/kids-teens-covid-diabetes/
Children were 50 percent more likely to be diagnosed with diabetes at the six-month mark if they had endured a coronavirus infection compared with children who had another respiratory infection, according to findings published in JAMA Network Open.
Hezbollah’s drones are a fierce and evasive threat to Israel
Over the years, Israel has built up its aerial defense array to provide broad protection against short-range rocket fire and medium- and long-range missiles, although experts caution it is not airtight. While the system has taken down drones repeatedly, many have penetrated Israel’s airspace and sidestepped its defenses, in some cases with deadly results.
Monday, October 14, 2024
GOP Internal Poll Showing Donald Trump Struggling Leaves Pollsters Stunned
Pollsters and analysts were left stunned after an internal polling memo circulated by the Senate Leadership Fund, a Republican super PAC, showed former President Donald Trump struggling in key battleground states.
The memo, dated October 8 and obtained by Politico, included polling where Trump trailed Vice President Kamala Harris by 3 points in Michigan and by 1 point in Pennsylvania. The candidates were tied in Nevada and Arizona, while Trump led in Wisconsin by 1 point.
Columbus probably Spanish and Jewish, study says
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckg2049ezpko
Famed explorer Christopher Columbus was likely Spanish and Jewish, according to a new genetic study conducted by Spanish scientists that aimed to shed light on a centuries-old mystery.
Scientists believe the explorer, whose expedition across the Atlantic in 1492 changed the course of world history, was probably born in western Europe, possibly in the city of Valencia.
They think he concealed his Jewish identity, or converted to Catholicism, to escape religious persecution.
Trump calls Aurora a ‘war zone.’ Even its Republican mayor disagrees
https://www.politico.com/news/2024/10/11/trump-aurora-colorado-immigration-gangs-00183533
Aurora city spokesperson Ryan Luby told POLITICO in a statement that local police identified 10 members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, and nine had been arrested. The city’s Republican mayor, former five-term congressman Mike Coffman, has repeatedly tried to tamp down fears that his city has been taken over by migrant gangs.
“Former President Trump’s visit to Aurora is an opportunity to show him and the nation that Aurora is a considerably safe city – not a city overrun by Venezuelan gangs,” Coffman said in a statement.
Iranian plot exposed: Terror cell led by Ramat Gan couple foiled
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/397611
In the framework of the aforementioned relationship, Victorson, who was aware that the individual on the other side was an Iranian agent, followed the agent's instructions and carried out various tasks, including spraying graffiti, hanging flyers, hiding money, and even torching cars near Yarkon Park in Tel Aviv. Later, Vladislav was asked to sabotage communication networks and ATMs and to set fire to forests.
Arizal and Halacha
Igros Moshe (OC 4:3) –While normally in a matter disputed by poskim we rely on the view of Kabbala but this means the views of the Zohar as it is the view of Tannaim but not the Arizal who in spite of his greatness is viewed as only one of the poskim
The Controversy over Rabbi Feinstein
https://en.yhb.org.il/revivim1003/
In the previous column I brought the story of Rabbi Shlomo Riskin shlita about Rabbi Soloveitchik ztz”l, who responded to Rebbetzin Feinstein’s request to ask her husband Rabbi Moshe Feinstein to withdraw his heter (halachic permission) for artificial insemination, so that the zealots would stop harassing them. Rabbi Soloveitchik agreed, even though he told Rabbi Riskin that Rabbi Feinstein would not back down, because he was “courageous like a lion.” Following this I was asked, how is it possible that Rabbi Soloveitchik agreed to ask Rabbi Feinstein to retract a ruling that he believed was the truth according to the Torah?!
Head Covering for Women - needed for Beracha?
https://ph.yhb.org.il/en/03-10-06/
Reciting berakhot is not considered to be standing before the King, so a woman in private, when the laws of tzni’ut do not require her to cover her hair, there is no need for her to cover her head while reciting a berakha. However, Yabi’a Omer 6:15 and Halikhot Bat Yisrael 5:3 state that married women must cover their heads when mentioning God’s name, even when in complete privacy. Still, in practice, many married women normally recite the bedtime Shema and Ha-mapil without a head covering. It seems that the reason for this is what I wrote above, that the obligation to wear a yarmulke when reciting berakhot is based on the pious custom to cover one’s head throughout the entire day. Since the yarmulke inspires fear of God all day, it follows that one must also wear it while invoking God’s name. However, women, who do not customarily wear a yarmulke to inspire fear of God, need not wear one when mentioning God’s name either. There is proof for this in m. Ĥalla 23: “A woman may sit and separate the ĥalla while nude.” Nude here obviously means bareheaded, for it would not make sense that she is required to cover her head but allowed to recite the berakha while nude. R. Shlomo Zalman Auerbach rules this way too, saying that women’s custom to cover their heads in the mikveh while making the berakha on immersion does not obligate them in this practice for all other berakhot (Halikhot Bat Yisrael 5 n. 6). Therefore, a woman who wakes up in the middle of the night to relieve herself is not obligated to cover her head while reciting Asher Yatzar. Likewise, a woman who walks around her house bareheaded (when there are no strangers around) and wants to drink something is allowed to recite She-hakol and Borei Nefashot without a head-covering.
Biden sends antimissile system and 100 troops to Israel, deepening U.S. role
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2024/10/13/biden-thaad-missile-defense-israel/
The United States is sending one of its most advanced missile defense systems and about 100 U.S. troops to Israel, deepening U.S. involvement in the escalating war in the Middle East amid U.S. expectations of an imminent Israeli assault on Iran.
Netanyahu: UN must withdraw south Lebanon peacekeepers from combat zones
PM accuses Hezbollah of using UNIFIL as ‘human shields,’ urges Guterres to get take the forces ‘out of harm’s way,’ far from terror group’s strongholds