Emes LYakov (Vayikra 21:2 Emor) In the gemora (Kesubos 17a) in describing dancing before a bride there is a dispute between beis Hillel and Beis Shammai. Beis Hillel says to always praise her while Beis Shammai says that one should not say anything which isn't true and even if someone made a bad purchase it is prohibited to praise it while Beis Hillel says that people need to be nice to each other and not hurt someone's feelings even if that means to lie. This also explains what is stated in Kabbalah seforim that in the Future the halacha will not be as Beis Hillel but like Beis Shammai because only then will the absolute truth be dominant while in our world we are concerned with what seems true to the majority of people.
Saturday, May 17, 2025
Trump berates Walmart over price hikes: ‘Eat the tariffs’
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5305499-donald-trump-walmart-tariffs-price-hike/
President Trump on Saturday lambasted Walmart over its decision to raise prices this week due to the high costs associated with the Trump administration’s trade war.
“Walmart should STOP trying to blame Tariffs as the reason for raising prices throughout the chain,” the president wrote on Truth Social. “Walmart made BILLIONS OF DOLLARS last year, far more than expected.”
The Trump Doctrine of the Deal
President Trump stormed through the Middle East on the first foreign trip of his second term this week, and he didn’t shrink from bold moves or confident assertions. His big speech, in Saudi Arabia, even laid out what might be called a Trump Doctrine, if that phrase can be used about a President who is so transactional.
Mr. Trump is offering a form of foreign-policy realism rooted in good commercial relations and a focus on negotiating peace and stability. He doesn’t much care what kind of government countries run as long as they want good relations with the U.S. He’s looking for deals, even with enemies. He thinks mutual interest in prosperity can overcome even strong ideological differences—and he has no interest in promoting American values, including liberty or democracy.
His Middle Eastern policy is taking this doctrine on a test drive. He took the advice of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to repeal sanctions on Syria’s new Islamist government. He even met the former jihadist now running Damascus, Ahmed al-Sharaa, whom he called “attractive, tough.” In Trump world, those are the highest compliments.
Friday, May 16, 2025
Suspected abuse at Jerusalem kindergarten: Teacher arrested after documented harming helpless children
https://www.ynetnews.com/article/dxslkah46
Police arrested a WIZO kindergarten teacher in Jerusalem's Ramat Eshkol neighborhood on suspicion of abusing toddlers after she was documented harming them. Police estimate there were hundreds of incidents of problematic behavior by the teacher. During the detention hearing, a police representative stated that "these are helpless children who have endured severe abuse for six months." The teacher's detention was extended until Monday.
Trump’s Trip Lays Bare a Stark Advantage Some Arab States Have Over Israel
As word spread that the Arab country of Qatar may give President Donald Trump a luxury airplane, Israeli citizens passed around a suggestion in chat groups on how to match that offer: giving Trump his own parking spot in the traffic nightmare that is Tel Aviv.
It was a joke, of course. But it underscored a reality that’s dawning on Israelis like never before as Trump tours the Middle East this week. Compared with many of its neighbors, Israel doesn’t have much in the way of tangible financial benefits to offer a U.S. president whose preferred form of statecraft is economic.
Trump’s firing of FEMA director unsettles GOP senators
https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/5302942-senate-republicans-criticize-fema-firing/
The swift retaliation against an administration official over testimony before a congressional panel is jarring to Republican lawmakers, who worry that it could chill the willingness of officials to answer questions candidly at future hearings.
And the move signals that the president is serious about eliminating FEMA, something that many Republican senators strongly oppose.
Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), whose home state was hit hard by Hurricane Helene in September, said it was a mistake to fire Hamilton over his testimony.
Laura Rozen on What Trump's 'made-for-TV Diplomacy' Means for Israel and the Middle East
Many of the changes in Trump's Middle East policies – particularly regarding Iran – since his first term, Rozen noted, can be attributed to a power shift in the Republican Party.
As a result, "strangely, you see MAGA people who are almost with the more traditional progressive Democrats when it comes to looking for a diplomatic solution on Iran, which is not something we saw in Trump's first term. It feels a little bit disorienting, even here in Washington."
Who really led the Bar Kochba revolt? New research sheds light on rebellion’s enigmas
Jewish veterans from the Roman army — and not Shimon Bar Kochba — may have initially led the 2nd-century Jewish rebellion against the Romans commonly known as the “Bar Kochba Revolt.”
The revolt — launched by outraged Jews protesting Emperor Hadrian’s decision to construct a city dedicated to Jupiter on the ruins of Jerusalem — is one of the events connected to the Jewish holiday of Lag B’Omer, observed on May 15-16 this year.
In Middle East, Trump marginalizes Israel without helping Gaza
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/05/16/trump-middle-east-israel-gaza/
As President Donald Trump’s Middle East sojourn drew to a close, a much-vaunted “grand bargain” bringing peace to a restive region was nowhere in sight.
In a trip that seemed more about business than geopolitics, Trump still paid lip service to his hopes for peace. He extended a hand to Iran, gesturing to potential future talks over its nuclear program. He announced a truce with Yemen’s Houthi rebels after authorizing a $1 billion bombing campaign that hasn’t dented the Houthis’ capacity to target Israel or Red Sea shipping. To the surprise of even some U.S. officials, he announced the cessation of sanctions on Syria, a critical move to boost the country’s fledgling, transitional regime. And he decried a legacy of U.S. interventionism in the region.
The signals he sent caused consternation in Israel. Ahead of Trump’s trip, Israeli media and officials were already pointing to the way Trump has bypassed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a right-wing leader closely allied to the U.S. president who received numerous political gifts from the White House in Trump’s first term.
A Gene-Editing Breakthrough Saves Infant With Rare Disease
An infant in Philadelphia has been successfully treated with a customized Crispr gene-editing therapy for a rare and deadly disease, doctors reported Thursday—a breakthrough in the futuristic technology.
Two days after K.J. Muldoon was born prematurely, a neonatologist noticed he was sleepy and feeding poorly. The physician quickly ordered tests, which ultimately returned a grave diagnosis: a metabolic disease called severe carbamoyl phosphate synthetase 1 (CPS1) deficiency, caused by a genetic mutation.
US doctors rewrite DNA of infant with severe genetic disorder in medical first
Doctors in the US have become the first to treat a baby with a customised gene-editing therapy after diagnosing the child with a severe genetic disorder that kills about half of those affected in early infancy.
International researchers have hailed the feat as a medical milestone, saying it demonstrates the potential for treating an array of devastating genetic diseases by rewriting faulty DNA soon after affected children are born.
What Is the Jewish Belief About Moshiach (Messiah)?
https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/108400/jewish/The-End-of-Days.htm
The Scriptures are replete with messianic quotes. In Deuteronomy 30:1 Moses prophesies that, after the Jews have been scattered to the four corners of the earth, there will come a time when they will repent and return to Israel, where they will fulfill all the commandments of the Torah. The gentile prophet Balaam prophesies that this return will be led by Moshiach (see Numbers 24:17–20). Jacob refers to Moshiach by the name Shiloh (Genesis 49:10).
The prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Amos, Joel and Hosea all refer to the messianic era. (For full references, the reader is referred to the book Moshiach by Rabbi Dr. J.I. Schochet.) It is interesting to note that the wall outside the United Nations Building in New York is inscribed with the quote from Isaiah (2:4), “They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, nor shall they learn war any more.” Furthermore, it is clear from the prophets, when studied in their original Hebrew, that Moshiach is a Jewish concept, and his coming will entail a return to Torah law, firmly ruling out any “other” messianic belief.
Russia Could Be Ready to Strike NATO in Two Years
https://www.newsweek.com/russia-strike-nato-two-years-us-europe-ceasefire-agreement-2069537
Eussia could be ready to attack a NATO country within two years if the United States brokers a ceasefire deal in the next few months, according to a new assessment from a leading think tank.
Moscow could pose "a significant military challenge to NATO allies, particularly the Baltic states, as early as 2027," the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) said in a report released on Wednesday evening ET (Thursday U.K. time.)
The think tank said Russia's ability to challenge the alliance would hinge on the Trump administration soon succeeding in its goal to bring the more than three years of bitter war in Ukraine to an end, and for the U.S. to start a withdrawal from NATO.
Trump, whose initial pledge to end the war in Ukraine in just 24 hours has clashed with reality, is said to be becoming increasingly irritated with the pace of progress toward a ceasefire, criticizing Russia's reluctance as he pursues a rapprochement with the Kremlin.
But as the diplomacy ramps up, leaders worry about whether Putin has his eye beyond Ukraine. Estonia's defense minister, Hanno Pevkur, told Newsweek in November that even if the fighting stops and Russian soldiers now in eastern Ukraine are no longer needed there, "hundreds of thousands of troops" will be available for Putin to move closer to the Baltic States.
Moscow would likely be "more willing to use military force in a regional war against one or more European NATO countries if it perceives NATO as militarily weakened or politically divided," Denmark's defense intelligence service said.
Superiority of Israel
Derashos HaRan (04): The prayers of those who live outside of Israel are not so readily heard compared to those who live in Israel. It also follows from this that it is easier to sin with idol worship outside of Israel. Just as it is best to be attached to G d in Israel than outside of Israel - it is easier to rebel against G d outside of Israel and thus be subject to annihilation. … This is not like those “pious” people who mistakenly insist that the religious experience is identical in all places both for the good and bad. …
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