Friday, February 28, 2025

Conceal material which can cause confusion

Ohr HaChaim (Devarim 34:6): I saw in the commentary of the Ibn Ezra that Yehoshua - and not Moshe - wrote the last verses in the Torah. However, when explaining the plain meaning of the text one should not state the view that Moshe did not actually complete the writing of the Torah [Even though this view is stated by our sages in Bava Basra 15a]. I myself have heard that people get confused from this view which can lead to denial of the validity of the Torah. In fact, this is the claim of the non Jews that the Jews made up the text and that there are things in it that didn’t happen … Therefore one should only present the view that Moshe wrote the whole Torah as it states in Bava Basra (15a).

Rambam (Moreh Nevuchim 1:17): Don’t think that theology is the only thing that should be withheld from the masses. Most of science should also be kept from them. In fact, we have repeatedly cited the statement of our sages (Chagiga 11b) that Maaseh Bereishis [physics according to the Rambam] should not be taught in the presence of two people. This concealment of information from the masses is not unique to Judaism but was also characteristic of the philosophers and the non Jewish sages of the ancient world. They would conceal the basic principles of wisdom by presenting them as riddles… Now if the secular sages found a need to conceal information from the masses by using figurative expressions and similes - even though there was no danger of loss - surely it is appropriate for the religious community not to express issues which are difficult for the masses to understand or that they understand it different than what is meant.

Rambam (Moreh Nevuchim Introduction): The seventh reason why an author seems to contradict himself occurs when discussing very deep and profound issues. It is necessary to conceal some aspects of the information and to reveal some. In order to accomplish this concealment it might be necessary in one place to utilize one set of principles and in another context it might be necessary to utilize a different set of fundamental principles - even though the principles contradict each other. Obviously, the author should write in such a way that the ignorant masses are totally unaware of the internal contradiction.

Shabbos (13b): If it hadn’t been for Chanania ben Chezkiah the book of Yirmiyahu would have been concealed because there are statement in it which appear to contract the Torah. He was able to show that it did not contract the Torah.

Shabbos (30b): The Sages wanted to conceal the book of Koheles because its words seem to contradict each other. Why wasn’t it concealed? Because the beginning is words of Torah and the end is words of Torah…

Judge halts mass firings of federal workers at some agencies

 https://edition.cnn.com/2025/02/27/politics/judge-mass-firings-federal-probationary-workers-likely-unlawful/index.html

A federal judge in San Francisco on Thursday found that the mass firings of probationary employees were likely unlawful, granting some temporary relief to a coalition of labor unions and organizations that has sued to stop the Trump administration’s massive trimming of the federal workforce.

The ruling puts one of the most comprehensive pauses so far on the attempts of President Donald Trump’s administration to carry out mass firings across federal agencies.

The case specifically grappled with the involvement and oversight of the Office of Personnel Management, led by acting director Charles Ezell, in directing agencies to cut back their workforces beginning with shorter-term, or probationary, employees.

Murdoch’s Paper Pleads With RFK Jr. to Change His Tune on the Measles Vaccine

 https://www.thedailybeast.com/murdochs-paper-pleads-with-rfk-jr-to-change-his-tune-on-the-measles-vaccine/

The New York Post challenged the anti-vax crusader to back measles vaccines as Texas grapples with outbreak.

Trump’s favorite hometown paper just demanded Robert F. Kennedy Jr. convince them he’s not a “crank” and go to measles-hit Texas to “preach the truth” about vaccines.

The New York Post’s Trump-endorsing editorial board called on the secretary of health and human services to “prove” that he really did believe in the safety and efficacy of vaccines in Thursday’s edition.

“Go to Texas, Mr. Secretary, and preach the truth as only a convert can: This vaccine is safe, and getting children jabbed is an act of love," the board challenged the nation’s top health official.

Lost and found: Early commentary on Maimonides’s Mishneh Torah on display in Jerusalem

 https://www.timesofisrael.com

A unique manuscript featuring a previously lost 15th-century commentary of Maimonides’s monumental work Mishneh Torah is on display for the first time at the National Library of Israel (NLI) in Jerusalem and available online, the library announced on Monday.

The work, described in Hebrew as Mezukak Shivatayim (Distilled Sevenfold), extensively quotes Jewish sages whose names and works are unknown to modern rabbis and scholars, opening the way to recover thinkers’ lost wisdom. The commentary also offers a unique glimpse into the life of one of the most vibrant Jewish communities in the late Middle Ages: the Jews of Provence, part of modern-day France.

Thursday, February 27, 2025

'No more tunnels, no more fears': Trump shares 'Trump Gaza' vision in AI video

 https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-843779

A song can be heard featuring the lyrics, "Donald Trump will set you free, bringing the life for all to see, no more tunnels, no more fear, Trump's Gaza is finally here."

Trump on calling Zelensky a dictator: ‘Did I say that?’

 https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5167646-trump-zelensky-dictator/

When asked by a reporter whether he still believed Zelensky was a dictator, Trump responded: “Did I say that? I can’t believe I said that. Next question.”

Trump has repeatedly claimed European aid for Ukraine was in the form of a loan, while the U.S. provided aid that it would not recoup. Starmer, like French President Emmanuel Macron did alongside Trump on Monday, interjected to note that much of Europe’s assistance for Ukraine was a “gift.”

Elon Musk’s business empire is built on $38 billion in government funding - Drain the Swamp?!

 https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/interactive/2025/elon-musk-business-government-contracts-funding/

Elon Musk and his cost-cutting U.S. DOGE Service team have been on a mission to trim government largesse. Yet Musk is one of the greatest beneficiaries of the taxpayers’ coffers.

Over the years, Musk and his businesses have received at least $38 billion in government contracts, loans, subsidies and tax credits, often at critical moments, a Washington Post analysis has found, helping seed the growth that has made him the world’s richest person.

The payments stretch back more than 20 years. Shortly after becoming CEO of a cash-strapped Tesla in 2008, Musk fought hard to secure a low-interest loan from the Energy Department, according to two people directly involved with the process, holding daily briefings with company executives about the paperwork and spending hours with a government loan officer.

The U.S. Government Turned Away Thousands of Jewish Refugees, Fearing That They Were Nazi Spies

 https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/us-government-turned-away-thousands-jewish-refugees-fearing-they-were-nazi-spies-180957324/

In a long tradition of “persecuting the refugee,” the State Department and FDR claimed that Jewish immigrants could threaten national security

Trump’s Threats Lift Canada’s Liberals From Almost-Certain Defeat

 https://www.wsj.com/world/americas/trumps-threats-lift-canadas-liberals-from-almost-certain-defeat-d5837806?mod=hp_lista_pos2

Canada was set to hold an election this year that was going to be a referendum on the unpopular Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Now it’s all about President Trump.

Trump to pull nearly 1,660 Afghan refugees from flights, say US official, advocate

 https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-administration-canceling-flights-nearly-1660-afghan-refugees-say-us-2025-01-20/

Nearly 1,660 Afghans cleared by the U.S. government to resettle in the U.S., including family members of active-duty U.S. military personnel, are having their flights canceled under President Donald Trump's order suspending U.S. refugee programs, a U.S. official and a leading refugee resettlement advocate said on Monday.

The group includes unaccompanied minors awaiting reunification with their families in the U.S. as well as Afghans at risk of Taliban retribution because they fought for the former U.S.-backed Afghan government, said Shawn VanDiver, head of the #AfghanEvac coalition of U.S. veterans and advocacy groups and the U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The U.S. decision also leaves in limbo thousands of other Afghans who have been approved for resettlement as refugees in the U.S. but have not yet been assigned flights from Afghanistan or from neighboring Pakistan, they said.

What political scientists see as worrisome, Republicans see as welcome

 https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2025/02/26/trump-threats-democracy-experts-polling/

Many Trump supporters welcome a strongman government, with 55 percent viewing it positively.

Hey, RFK: Go to Texas and prove you mean it on vaccines

 https://nypost.com/2025/02/26/opinion/hey-rfk-go-to-texas-and-prove-you-mean-it-on-vaccines/

In seeking Senate approval to take his new job, Health Secretary Robert Kennedy insisted he’d come around on the safety and efficacy of (most) vaccines.

Now he has a chance to prove he really meant it.

The measles outbreak in Texas (and now New Mexico) just claimed its first life, an unvaccinated school-age child who’d been hospitalized in Lubbock last week.

It was the first US measles death since 2015.

More may be ahead: Most of the Texas cases are among the Mennonite faith community, where resistance to vaccinations is strong.

Wednesday, February 26, 2025

BBC Gaza documentary translates ‘Jihad’ to ‘resistance,’ ‘Jews’ to ‘Israeli army’

 https://www.timesofisrael.com/bbc-gaza-documentary-translates-jihad-to-resistance-jews-to-israeli-army/

The controversial BBC documentary on life in Gaza has again come under scrutiny, as a report Monday accused the film of “whitewashing” references to terrorism, Jihad, Hamas and prejudice against Jews in the English translation of the original Arabic dialogue.

The film, “Gaza: How To Survive a War Zone”, was pulled from BBC‘s online streaming service last week after a Telegraph report found that the documentary’s narrator was the son of a major Hamas governmental figure.

On Monday, a new report in the Telegraph found that the English translation of the film repeatedly mistranslated certain words in an attempt to “whitewash” the statements of the ordinary Gazans who were interviewed in the documentary.

RFK Dismisses Measles Outbreak That Killed Kid as No Biggie

 https://www.thedailybeast.com/rfk-claims-measles-outbreak-that-killed-first-us-kid-in-decades-is-totally-normal/

Donald Trump’s health secretary waved off the active Texas outbreak—where pediatricians on the ground have reported children being accepted into care unable to properly breathe—as a normal thing that happens every year.

“There have been four measles outbreaks this year in this country, last year there were 16,” he told a reporter from Trump’s cabinet meeting. “It is not unusual, we have measles outbreaks every year.”

His presence as a prominent figure in the anti-vax community has been credited with leading to an increase in the number of parents who now refuse to vaccinate their children—a movement that may now be causing a spike in measles cases.