Today Trump proved there is no way he can fake sounding smart about anything

Democrats gloat as MAGA World explodes over Epstein files

https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5393110-democrats-maga-world-epstein-files/ 

Democrats are experiencing a devilish glee as MAGA World clashes over the Trump administration’s push to defuse conspiracy theories surrounding the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.

In cable news interviews, social media posts and formal calls to release more Epstein files, Democrats are highlighting the administration’s handling of the case in hopes of exacerbating the unusual tensions between President Trump and a conservative base that’s stood firmly behind the president on virtually every issue he tackles.

One Way to Win Trump Over: Nominate Him for the Nobel Prize

 https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/one-way-to-win-trump-over-nominate-him-for-the-nobel-prize-4f76e5f8?mod=hp_lead_pos5

African leaders tell the president during a meeting at the White House that he should win the prestigious award

President Trump often bristles at questions from the media. But he perked up when a reporter asked a group of African leaders if he should be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

“I didn’t know I’d be treated this nicely, we could do this all day long,” Trump said as the African heads of state—gathered Wednesday at the White House for a summit—opined on whether the Norwegian Nobel Committee should bestow its award on America’s polarizing president.

Measles, RFK Jr. and Dr. Fauci

 https://www.wsj.com/opinion/measles-cases-vaccines-cdc-rfk-jr-public-health-1fd6c7fd?mod=hp_opin_pos_4

Cases hit a 33-year record amid falling vaccination rates. This is what happens when the public loses confidence in health officials.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Wednesday reported that measles cases hit a 33-year record amid declining children’s vaccination rates. This is a warning about how quickly public-health progress can backslide, especially when people in authority fan public fear about the risks of vaccination.

Most measles cases this year have occurred in a Texas Mennonite community with low vaccination rates, though there have also been notable outbreaks in New Mexico, Kansas and Kentucky, among other states. The measles virus ranks among the most contagious. The fact that there haven’t been more cases this year owes to herd immunity acquired over decades from high vaccination rates among children and adults.

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. nonetheless insists that the decision to get vaccinated is personal while he makes spurious claims that discourage people from vaccination. “There are adverse events from the vaccine. It does cause deaths every year. It causes all the illnesses that measles itself cause, encephalitis and blindness, etc., and so people ought to be able to make that choice for themselves,” he said on Fox News this spring.

Trump promised 200 deals by now. He’s gotten 3, and 1 more is getting very close

 https://edition.cnn.com/2025/07/09/business/tariff-trade-deadline-delay-trump-bessent

At the conclusion of his first 100 days in office in late April, President Donald Trump made a stunning statement about his progress on tariff negotiations: He had completed trade deals with 200 countries. More than two months later, Trump has announced just three of those agreements – with China, the United Kingdom and Vietnam.

So what happened?

Wednesday marks the day that Trump had set three months ago as a deadline for all countries to reach a deal or face higher “reciprocal” tariffs. Trump has since publicly acknowledged that pausing those “Liberation Day” tariffs until July 9 left insufficient time to negotiate with practically every country around the world.

Trump had initially expected to complete more trade deals by Wednesday’s deadline, but in recent weeks he’s been convinced that landing those deals can’t happen more swiftly, sources familiar with the matter tell CNN. That’s why his public rhetoric has shifted in recent weeks to saying he would send out letters that set higher tariffs on America’s trading partners, effectively getting results on the board while talks continue.

So Trump agreed to push the deadline back to August 1 to give countries that are close to a deal a little more time for talks – particularly the European Union, which is on the verge of announcing a trade deal with the United States.

Trump: ‘I haven’t thought about’ who ordered Ukraine weapons pause

 https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5392555-trump-ukraine-weapons-shipments/?tbref=hp

President Trump told reporters Wednesday he hadn’t thought about who inside his administration ordered the pause in shipments of munitions to Ukraine, as the Defense Department is expected to resume weapons shipments to Kyiv.

At a Tuesday Cabinet meeting, the president was asked who had approved the weapons halt; he replied, “I don’t know. Why don’t you tell me?”

A reporter on Wednesday asked the president if he had been able to figure it out, and he said it wasn’t top of mind.

“Well, I haven’t thought about it. Because we’re looking at Ukraine right now and munitions. But … no, I have not gone into it,” Trump said.

He was then pressed on what that says about his administration that such a big decision can be made without his knowledge, and Trump insisted he signs off on big decisions.

Starting Next Month: Increased enforcement campaign against haredi draft dodgers

 https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/411388

Draft notices - By the end of July 2025, about 54,000 notices were sent to all candidates for military service up to age 16.5. Additionally, those with deferred service will be required to appear in order to enlist them.

Increased Enforcement - Starting from next month, there will be increased and equitable enforcement against draft evaders, including shortening the time taken to declare someone a draft evader and issue an arrest warrant, from about two months to about one and a half months, and in the next stage to about four months from the first draft notice.

Border Inspections - IDF updated on increased enforcement in cooperation with the Population Authority, police, and border crossing staff. Draft evaders caught at the border will be arrested for recruitment.

Proactive Enforcement and Intelligence Operations - Frequent proactive operations are expected, aiming to improve the handling of deserters and draft evaders. The IDF has announced plans for raids, checkpoints, and arrests in areas with high rates of draft evasion.

Elon Musk's Grok praises Hitler, shares antisemitic tropes in new posts

 https://www.axios.com/2025/07/08/elon-musk-grok-x-twitter-hitler-posts

Based on ADL's "brief initial testing, it appears the latest version of the Grok LLM is now reproducing terminologies that are often used by antisemites and extremists to spew their hateful ideologies," per the post.

Semicha Rivash

 Rivash (#271) First we must clarify what is the semichah which is practiced in France and Germany which the rabbis issue and those in turn give semicha to others. . It is clearly agreed that the semicha that existed in the time of our Sages of the Talmud was in order to judge cases involving capital punishment and fines which required experts. In other words people with semicha which was given by those others who had semicha and they gave semicha to others. The chain of semicha ultimately went back to Moshe. Those that had semicha were fit to serve on the Sanhedrin. That original semicha no longer exists as there are no longer anyone today that has semicha  that goes back to Moshe. In addition the original Semicha can not exist outside of Israel. Both the giver and recipient of the original semicha needed to be located in Israel. You can’t say that this original semicha wa simply getting permission to judge others against their will and if they erred to be exempt.  The gemorah Sanhedrin says one who got permission to judge from the Reish Galusa was exempt if he erred and this was true even outside of Israel since the Reish Galusa was the leader in Babylonia. .However this permission was not semicha and furthermore the permission did not give him the ability to judge fines which is permitted only with the original semicha.  Actually this is something totally different. The Reish Galusa is a substitute for a king. Thus he has the power to control the people. Therefore anyone who judges without his permission and errs must pay out of his own pocket unless the litigants had voluntarily agreed to accept whatever he decides. If he gets permission it is as if they agreed to what ever he decides and thus he is exempt if he errs. The same applies if the judge got permission the political leader in Israel. Thus perhaps the semicha that is done in France and Germany is simply getting permission to judge by force and to be exempt if he errs.  That can’t be because then he should be getting permission from the Reish Galusa or from the leader of Israel – both of those position no longer exist. Today the only way the judge can be exempt if he errs is to have the litigants or the community to agree to accept whatever he decides . The semicha today seems to simply mean that a student today needs to get permission from his teacher to make halachic rulings  This is true even if he is clearly an expert.  The gemorah explains that even an expert might not know how to communicate with the litigants properly and a Rabbinic decree was made that a student must always get permission from his teacher before making halachic rulings for others. In addition it seems to be a law involving showing proper respect to one’s teacher. Thus this permission is needed only as long as the teacher is alive.

Semichah in the Talmud and Today

 https://outorah.org/p/27206/

The Rivash (cited by Rama Y.D. 242:14) writes that the new “semichah” is a form of permission to issue rulings in the vicinity of his rebbi. As we know one is not allowed to issue halachic rulings in the vicinity of one’s rebbi unless the rebbi grants him permission to do so. This semichah is formally granting the student permission to issue halachic rulings. Therefore, notes the Rama, if the rebbi has passed on it is unnecessary for the student to receive semichah.

Remah (Y.D. 242:14) Every scholar who is capable of deciding halachic questions but doesn’t is whithholding Torah and causing problems for the public And it is said about him (Mishlei 7:26), And numerous are her victims  Remah  The nature of semicha that we have today is that all those who are competent to decide issues of halacha will decide them and that it will be known that what they teach is with the permission of their teachers who gave them semcha. Therefore, if their teacher had already died, no semicha is required to decide halacha. Similarly if he is viewed as a talmid chaver he doesn’t need semicha to decide halachic issues. In any situation which doesn’t require permission from his teacher he doesn’t need semicha (this is according to Rivash #271, and not like the view of the Nachlas Avos) Some say that one who lacks semicha but issues Gittin and Chalitzos – his action are viewed as invalid. One should be concerned for this view unless it is clearly known that they are clearly highly competent but they are they are self effacing because of humility. Others disagree and are lenient. In situation that might produce an Aguna one should be lenient if the Get and Chalitza has already been given but not otherwise since the customs of Jews viewed as Torah. It also seems to me that to give the title of Moreinu to one issuing Gittin even though this is not the way semicha was done originally because today today it simply has the significance of the person being authorized to do this 

Semicha: Then and Now by Rabbi Hershel Schachter

 https://download.yutorah.org/2014/1053/817656/semikhah-then-and-now.pdf

The institution of semicha was introduced to the Jewish people when Hashem commanded Moshe to designate Yehoshua as his successor by placing his hands on his disciple’s head (Bamidbar 27:23). The Gemara (Sanhedrin 13b) comments that from that time on, semicha is no longer given in this manner, but rather through a declaration, by a teacher calling his student “rebbe” and giving him permission to impose fines ordained by the Torah. That same passage also informs us that we no longer have the concept of genuine semicha in our days. The transmission of semicha must be done by someone who himself received semicha through a continuous chain dating back to Moshe Rabbeinu. At some point in history, this chain was interrupted. Though we no longer have this genuine semicha, both its original characteristics and its absence have ramifications for us today.  

On a more practical level, how does the absence of genuine semicha manifest itself in our time? The answer depends on how we determine which situations actually require a rabbi with semicha to decide. This discussion seems to revolve around a disagreement between Tosfos and the Rambam. Tosfos (Yevamos 47a) appear to assume that semicha is a requirement for membership on a beis din. Any time a beis din is needed to rule on a case, only individuals with  semicha can sit on the beis din. The Rambam disagrees and rules that semicha is not a requirement for the beis din. Rather, any hora’ah, or halachic decision, can only be made by one who has received semicha. Let us consider some cases in which this disagreement is relevant.

If we don’t have genuine semicha, what is the purpose of the semicha that is issued nowadays? Even though we no longer confer the original semicha, we may still fulfill Rebbe's institution(Sanhedrin 5b) that one cannot issue rulings (or for the Rambam, even recommendations) without asking permission from his rebbe first. When a rebbe feels that his student is qualified to give halachic advice, he will give the student permission to do so. Semicha today authorizes new musmachim to respond to halachic questions. Its purpose is more to adhere to the statement of Rebbe than a commemoration of what semicha used to be

Finally, the Mishna (Sanhedrin 86b) states that the punishment of a zaken mamre (one who rules against the Beis Din Hagadol) does not apply to a "talmid." Rashi explains that a talmid cannot be a zaken mamre because zaken mamre is someone who issues a formal hora’ah against the Beis Din Hagadol. Yet in defining a talmid, Rashi writes that a talmid is someone under the age of forty. At that age, one is not old enough to issue a hora’ah and therefore one is not considered worthy of hora’ah. The Rambam, however, (Mamrim 3:5) has a different definition of who is worthy of hora’ah. For these purposes, it is one who has semicha. This would appear to be based on the Rambam's understanding that a hora’ah requires one with semicha. If the individual who rules against the Beis Din Hagadol does not have semicha, then his decision is not classified as hora’ah. Any ruling that this individual issues would be considered good advice or a recommendation as to where to look for further guidance, but not a binding halachic statement.

Authorities are few in order that people listen to them

 Maharal (Tiferes Yisroel #69): It is not proper that the words of the Torah, which are words of wisdom, should be in the hands of fools so that each person can think they are just as competent as anyone else to say what is in the Torah. I discussed this in my sefer Be’er HaGolah. I explained that our sages have deliberately concealed their words in many places in order that fools should not have ready access to them. Therefore if the Torah had been written clearly and explicitly – it would be difficult to distinguish who is truly wise from one who is lacking in wisdom. As a consequence it would produce great disputes. This is the opposite of the intent of the Torah that everything in it should make connection, order and unity in creation. It is in order to prevent dispute and schisms that the Torah says that a rebellious elder is deserving of capital punishment (Sanhedrin 88a).  Therefore it is proper that the Torah be in the hands of the few in order that they be listened to. This would prevent the many disputes that we have our day in which everyone imagines that they are a scholar and outstanding religious authority. They believe this because they say, “I can also read seforim.” This causes a number of bad thing which I don’t want to write about. Therefore the Torah is written in a manner that only the elite will comprehend it and so it will be inaccessible to the masses. This universal access to Torah was the cause that the Sanhedrin was not utilized and everyone built a private sanctuary for himself and there was no connection or unity. Thus Devarim (17:11) commands us that when there is a difficult matter it should be dealt with by the Sanhedrin. Thus we see that not writing down the Oral Torah and that it be given to the Sages (rather than the masses) is something inherently necessary for our well being.

Shulchan Aruch is the default view only when Achronim are deadlocked

from Daas Torah - translation is copyrighted

Chazon Ish (C.M. 1:1 Likutim): Concerning the matter of the dispute over semicha in post-Talmudic times, the deciding factor in halachic matters is always according to which side has proofs which are stronger and more reasonable. Even though we normally follow the Shulchan Aruch – nevertheless were are accustomed to deviate from the Shulchan Aruch because the Achronim deviate from its rulings with correct proofs according to the understanding of the gedolim in each generation. So therefore for each halacha we are forced to study the analysis of the Achronim because intellectual reasoning is the decisive factor. However when the matter is deadlocked because the sides are equal – then we follow the disputant who is greater and that is why we accept the rulings of the Beis Yosef and Rema. So therefore in the dispute concerning semicha – according to our understanding those who rejected the new semicha are more cogent and understandable. Those who supported it are not understandable. 

‘Playing the Man’: Global Diplomacy in the Trump Era Is All About Flattery

 https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/08/world/europe/trump-diplomacy-flattery-world-leaders.html

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel handed a letter to President Trump nominating him for the Nobel Peace Prize. But it’s not clear whether stroking the president’s ego has long-lasting effects.

The flattery was as obvious as it was effective. Seated at a dinner table in the Blue Room of the White House on Monday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel handed President Trump a piece of paper.

“I want to present to you, Mr. President, the letter I sent to the Nobel Prize committee,” Mr. Netanyahu said, with the news cameras rolling to capture the moment. “It’s nominating you for the Peace Prize. It’s well deserved, and you should get it.”

Mr. Trump declared the gesture from the prime minister “very meaningful,” though he has long said he believes the Nobel committee would never give him the prize.

The effort to curry favor was the latest evidence that many of the world’s leaders have figured Mr. Trump out. Heaping praise on the American president is the best way to manage him — even if it’s not entirely clear that the schmoozing leads to concrete benefits for their countries.