Oops!: Trump's first 100 days marked by incompetent screw-ups and frantic walk backs

Why Does the Chazzan Repeat the Amidah?

 https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/3319017/jewish/Why-Does-the-Chazzan-Repeat-the-Amidah.htm

Why is the repetition said even when there may not be such people present?

The sages instituted that it be said after every Amidah,5 since otherwise we’d need to interrogate each individual in attendance to ascertain whether there is a congregant who fits the criteria for the repetition.6

Nowadays, virtually no one fits the criteria. But there is another reason for the repetition—we recite the Kedushah and Modim prayers during this time.7

Torah Learning during repetiotion of Amida

Igros Moshe (OC  IV #19) Question: Is it permitted to be studying Torah during Repetition of Amida? Answer It seems that Magen Avraham doesn’t object as long as amen is said at end of each beracha. However others object because others might learn from this to ignore selichos and other prayers as well as not to answer amen. This is true if there are 10 people listening to the full repetition. However if there are less than 10 it is prohibited since according to the original decree there needs to be 10 people listening to the entire repetition. Therefore if there are only 9 people participating fully and answering amen, it could be that the beracha said by the shliach tzibor is considered in vain  Therefore everyone should view himself as part of the essential ten.  Consequently it is forbidden to learn during the repetition of the amida

Rav Moshe and Gedolim

 A major point of interest was Rav Moshe's influence on gedolim. Concerning wearing a plastic rain covering on a hat Rav Moshe said it was prohibited. In contrast Rav Aharon Kotler viewed that it was permitted. However Rav Aharon told people not to use it in deference to Rav Moshe. Similarly I once visited Ner Yisroel and observed Rav Ruderman learning from a sefer during the repetition of the Amida. When I came the following year he didn’t pick up a sefer and learn during that time. I asked one of his students who said that Rav Ruderman had heard that Rav Moshe was against the practice so he stopped. The son of a major rabbi from California told me that his father had gone to Rav Moshe a number of times regarding cases of Aguna and that he had got a heter based on mekach ta'os. After Rav Moshe was niftar he had a new but similar case so he went to Rav Eliashiv to get a heter. Rav Eliashiv told him that he didn't agree with the heter and would not give it. But those given by Rav Moshe were valid in spite of his disagreement with the justification.

Heart Transplants are Murder!

Igros Moshe (YD II #174) Question Heart transplant from another person – a new procedure that a number of Doctors are now starting to do. Answer I don’t want to show a lot of proofs and analysis because all those who add analysis and proofs are simply making the issue worse. That is because it seems to be saying that proofs are needed since it is a complicated matter. As a consequence it will lead to leniencies when some of the proofs are refuted even though the proofs were not genuine. Thus they serve to weaken the case against transplants because people will conclude it is simply a matter disputed by great authorities and it is legitimate to choose either side.  G-d forbid!. Therefore I will respond to this issue in this letter in a clear ruling clearly and absolutely and will avoid all dialectics and analysis  stating unambiguously that this procedure of heart transplants that doctors have recently started to do is simply the killing of two people. The doctors are killing with their own hands the one who is donating the heart since he is still alive not only according the Torah for which it is a capital crime , but also according to the doctors since there are some who are truthful and say the donor is alive when the heart is removed. However because of their wickedness they are not interested in preserving the donor’s life because he is not expected to live much longer anyway.  In addition they are killing with their own hands the recipient  who can live for many more years sometimes even for decades with his heart condition. It is well established that heart disease patients can live long lives. This that a heart transplant is done  results in the deaths of the donor and recipient in a short time sometimes even hours. Others linger for a few days.  While it is true there is a case in Africa that the recipient is still alive after 6 months, nevertheless the consensus is that it is impossible for him to continue living.  It is astounding that countries around the world permit the evil doctors to kill two people since it is known that  neither typically lives. Therefore the governments should punish these doctors who are literally murderers even though the patient consents. The agreement is a mistake because of the seduction of the evil doctors.  Beside that a person is not allowed t to kill himself. My response to this question  should be publicized without modifying my language

Igros Moshe (YD II #146) Question: Heart Transplant from a murdered person who was definitely dead before the heart is removed and obviously doesn’t mean killing the donor is it permitted? Answer It is prohibited because we don’t trust at all two claims of the doctors. 1) That the sick patent can’t live with his own heart 2) That he will live with the transplanted heart.  We have seen that they are not accurate in their claims in these areas as we see that all the transplant recioients have died in a short time and with his own heart it is clear that he can live for a much longer time than if he got a transplant. Therefore all doctors who do heart transplants are real  murderers. In most cases even if the patients heart is weak and sick he is not considered a treifa and therefore these doctors are also deserving the death penalty

Igros Moshe (Choshen Mishpat II #72) Question Are heart Transplants permitted?Answer They are considered that the doctor is killing them – the donor and the recipient as I have written a number of times. I have also said this is not a matter to continue to debate since there is no basis for leniency. I have discussed this with my son in law Rav Moshe Dovid Tendler and I looked at the Medical Journals  and it is clear that there have been no improvements in that a recipient has survived for a number of years and even the time he lives is very painful and he needs constant medical attention. This procedure is prohibited in America except in one place for one very expert doctor. This makes no sense. There are also many countries which have prohibited this as as unnecessary murder The doctors are lying when they claim that transplants are good for the patients.The opposite is true and the doctors that perform transplants should be punished as cold blooded killers because they know that there is no benefit. .

 Igros Moshe (YD II #174.1) Question : Can a transplant be done from a person who was decapitated but he is still moving? Answer A decapitated person even if still moving is halachicly dead. 

‘Boomerang in a Very Bad Way’: How Trump’s Antisemitism Push Could Backfire

 https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2025/04/22/trump-antisemitism-backfire-00301548

“By directly linking billions of dollars of federal research funding to ostensibly combating antisemitism, I think it plays very much into long-standing tropes about Jews wielding financial leverage to pursue their so-called interests,” he said in an interview with POLITICO Magazine.

Pascal said the problem of antisemitism in America is very real — on campus and off — but argued Trump’s approach was not the solution in the long run.

“We need to be very vigilant about the erosion of the rule of law and our civil liberties,” Pascal said, “because that is the best defense against antisemitism, not the protection of the strongmen.”

Raid the shelves?! Trump’s failed tariffs spark warning from Walmart after trillions lost

Hegseth had an unsecured internet line set up in his office to connect to Signal

 https://apnews.com/article/hegseth-signal-chat-dirty-internet-line-6a64707f10ca553eb905e5a70e10bd9d

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had an internet connection that bypassed the Pentagon’s security protocols set up in his office to use the Signal messaging app on a personal computer, two people familiar with the line told The Associated Press.

The existence of the unsecured internet connection is the latest revelation about Hegseth’s use of the unclassified app and raises the possibility that sensitive defense information could have been put at risk of potential hacking or surveillance.

Known as a “dirty” internet line by the IT industry, it connects directly to the public internet where the user’s information and the websites accessed do not have the same security filters or protocols that the Pentagon’s secured connections maintain.

Other Pentagon offices have used them, particularly if there’s a need to monitor information or websites that would otherwise be blocked.

Trump’s own strange and tepid wording illustrates his one-sided Ukraine peace plan

 https://edition.cnn.com/2025/04/25/politics/trump-russia-ukraine-peace-efforts-language/index.html

“When Zelensky dares to speak the truth, Trump truly slams him,” John Herbst, the former US ambassador to Ukraine told Paula Newton on CNN International. “When Putin murders civilians with ballistic missiles he’s merely corrected. Or slightly chastised.”

“Stopping the war, stopping taking the whole country. Pretty big concession,” Trump said.

This answer betrays a strange misunderstanding of what happened in the war and shows just how comprehensively Trump views the war through Putin’s lens.

Trump Reveals Russia's 'Pretty Big Concession' in Peace Talks with Ukraine

 https://www.newsweek.com/trump-reveals-russias-pretty-big-concession-peace-talks-ukraine-2063802

President Donald Trump asserted Thursday that Russia has already made a "pretty big concession" in the war in Ukraine by not attempting to seize the entire country. The president also contends that Russia's willingness to engage in peace talks that would "stop the war" is a concession.

However, that claim has been met with strong resistance from Ukraine and many European nations, who argue that merely halting a full-scale land grab hardly qualifies as a meaningful concession.

Trump’s peace offer on Ukraine is generous to Russia, and may not even be enough for Putin

 https://edition.cnn.com/2025/04/24/europe/trump-putin-peace-ukraine-analysis-intl/index.html

 Imposing a deadline on a negotiation for a deal you desperately want is a risky tactic if your only move is to walk away.

President Donald Trump has threatened just this, and emphasized on Wednesday it is proving easier to make a deal with Russia than Ukraine. Yet that seems a perilous misreading of his own predicament. It is easier for Trump to pressure Kyiv, yes, because they are dependent on US aid and intelligence for their mere survival. But that does not mean Russia is more amenable to a deal. In fact, they are palpably dragging their feet.

This is where the gulf between a life in business deals and one steeped in geopolitical negotiation yawns desperately. Now, Trump is not in the world of real estate – he is not trying to get Putin to buy something. Trump is pushing hard and fast for the Kremlin to agree to terms to end the war that Putin has clearly divined will improve, not worsen, over time.

Here’s the most dangerous concession to Putin in Trump’s peace plan

 https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2025/04/24/trump-ukraine-russia-crimea-stimson/

Accepting Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea would upend a core tenet of U.S. foreign policy.

In its well intentioned but rushed and ham-handed attempts to end the war in Ukraine, the Trump administration is flirting with disaster. Apparently, President Donald Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East, real estate developer Steve Witkoff, has crafted a peace plan after traveling to Moscow for three lengthy meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin — but never once going to Kyiv to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The one-sided plan is now being presented to the Ukrainians on a “take it or leave it” basis, with Trump on Wednesday writing online that Zelensky “can have Peace or, he can fight for another three years before losing the whole Country.”

Wristwatch electronic Shabbos

Igros Moshe (OC V #22. 25) Question Is it required to cover the buttons on an electronic watch on Shabbos which constantly shows the time even without pushing the button and is it permitted to move it on Shabbos? Answer  It is permitted to move it and the buttons do not need to be covered. The need for some reminder or cover is only for an actual fire because of concern it might be tilted to burn better. That is why there is no need for a light switch on the wall. However if you might push the button on the watch it is best to cover it or make some reminder on the button

Trump accuses Zelensky of sabotaging U.S. peace plan for Ukraine

 https://www.axios.com/2025/04/23/trump-attack-zelensky-response-ukraine-peace-plan

A source close to the Ukrainian government told Axios that Kyiv sees Trump's proposal as heavily biased toward Russia, with Moscow getting clear-cut wins and Kyiv only vague promises.