Rav Moshe was opposed to the common statement that a person should live to 120 years. Rav Shurkin notes that Rav Moshe viewed it not as a positive wish but a restrictive negative one.
Monday, July 21, 2025
Sunday, July 20, 2025
Scientists Warn: Popular Sugar Substitute Linked to Brain Cell Damage
https://scitechdaily.com/scientists-warn-popular-sugar-substitute-linked-to-brain-cell-damage/
New research indicates that erythritol, a sugar substitute commonly recommended for individuals with obesity or diabetes, may carry unexpected health risks.
Tulsi Gabbard calls for Obama to be prosecuted over 2016 election claims
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/18/tulsi-gabbard-obama-2016-election-russia
Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence, has called for Barack Obama and former senior US national security officials to be prosecuted after accusing them of a “treasonous conspiracy” intended to show that Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential election win was due to Russian interference.
She said Obama and senior officials in his administration had “[laid] the groundwork for … a years-long coup” against Trump after his victory over Hillary Clinton by “manufacturing intelligence” to suggest that Russia had tried to influence the election. That included using a dossier prepared by a British intelligence analyst, Christopher Steele, that they knew to be unreliable, Gabbard claimed.
The attempt to return the spotlight back to the Russia investigation – long derided by Trump as a “hoax” – comes as the US president finds himself in the maelstrom of the lingering scandal over the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, who was found dead in his prison cell in 2019 while awaiting prosecution on sex-trafficking charges.
Gabbard’s nomination as national intelligence director was one of Trump’s most contentious. It drew criticism because of her lack of previous intelligence experience, having never even served on a congressional committee on the subject, and a track record of supportive comments about Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and repeating Kremlin talking points on the war with Ukraine.
Gabbard claims Obama officials ‘manufactured intelligence’ of 2016 Russian election interference
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard released a report Friday alleging Obama administration officials manipulated intelligence related to Russian interference in the 2016 election.
The very intelligence agencies that Gabbard now oversees have long concluded that Russia sought to influence the 2016 election — an assessment that was backed by other outside entities.
That includes a three-year bipartisan Senate investigation that concluded in a more than 1,300 page report that Russia was aggressive in seeking to interfere with the election on Trump’s behalf, including by launching a massive social media campaign.
Gabbard’s memo, as well as another 114 pages of related documents, primarily rests on claims there was no indication of a Russian effort to directly manipulate the actual vote count.
However, that is not at odds with the conclusion of the intelligence community or the Senate report, which determined there was “no evidence that any votes were changed or that any voting machines were manipulated.” The Obama administration said it had seen no evidence that hackers tampered with the results.
“It’s a day that ends with ‘y’ and Donald Trump desperately wants to change the subject, so Director Gabbard is rehashing decade-old false claims about the Obama Administration. Few episodes in our nation’s history have been investigated as thoroughly as the Intelligence Community’s warning in 2016 that Russia was interfering in the election,” House Intelligence Committee ranking member Jim Himes (D-Conn.) said in a statement.
Saturday, July 19, 2025
Leader Strong or Sensitive?
The Torah describes how Moshe reacted to being told he would soon die. He thought that meant that Pinchas would be the new leader. But since Pinchas was a zealot he would not be a good leader. G-d reacted to his request to appoint a new leader that he should choose Yehoshua and appoint him publically and also put some of his own power into Yehoshua. This serves as the basis for a fundamental dispute as to what a true leader should be. Moshe was afraid of an inflexible leader who demanded the same of everyone. The gemora indicates that Yehoshua was merely a reflection of Moshe. This understood as saying Yehoshua related differently to others and in fact was a weak leader as condemned by the Sages of that generation. Others say that the metaphor of the moon was that he didn’t develop his own approach and did not grow greater than what Moshe gave him and this is why he was condemned. Others say that the new generation needed a weaker leader than Moshe. We see that the idea of a sensitive leader versus a strong harsh one is an old unresolved debate.
Bamidbar (27:15-21) 15. And Moses spoke to the Lord, saying, 16. Let the Lord, the God of the spirits of all flesh, set a man over the congregation, 17. Who may go out before them, and who may go in before them, and who may lead them out, and who may bring them in; that the congregation of the Lord be not as sheep which have no shepherd. 18. And the Lord said to Moses, Take Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is spirit, and lay your hand upon him; 19. And set him before Eleazar the priest, and before all the congregation; and give him a charge in their sight. 20. And you shall put some of your honor upon him, that all the congregation of the people of Israel may be obedient. 21. And he shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall ask counsel for him according to the judgment of Urim before the Lord; at his word shall they go out, and at his word they shall come in, both he, and all the people of Israel with him, all the congregation.
Bava Basra (75a) And thou shalt put of thy honour upon him but not all thy honour. The elders of that generation said: The countenance of Moses was like that of the sun; the countenance of Joshua was like that of the moon. Alas, for such shame! Alas for such reproach!
Friday, July 18, 2025
Tefillin or Torah fall – fasting
Igros Moshe (OH III# 3) Question: It is customary to fast when witnessing a sefer Torah or Tefillin falling what is the basis? Answer: You mention that this is stated in Moed Koton (26) If one see a Torah being burnt he needs to do tear his clothing and similarly if he sees tefillin being burnt. However that is referring to tefiilin bezarua as is stated in the gemora. However it is not clear what bezarua means. The Beis Yosef (YD #340) states that there is no tearing of clothing for a Sefer Torah except if it were burnt by a Jewish king bezarua. The Beis Yosef writes that this indicates that there is no tearing of the clothing unless it was burnt by a Jew and not specifically a king. Bezarua seems to mean that there is deliberate intent for chillul HaShem by destroying something holy and this is stated explicitly by the Meiri and the Eshkol and even if a goy does it. Nevertheless the poskim are discussing burning with the intention of profaning and not a Torah that falls from a person’s hand by accident. Howewver in a case of a Torah falling from a man’s hand even accidentally it is a disgrace to the holy Torah and similarly for all holy writings and tefillin and therefore one should be very upset about this. Therefore there is the custom to be upset and to fast since this might result in repentance. In conclusion as far as the practical halacha everyone who saw it should fast even if it fell by accident Even though the person who dropped intentionally is more obligated. Some say that all the members of the synagogue that own the sefer Torah need to fast, however in practice one can be lenient for those that did not see the fall. The custom is that all that witnessed it even if they don’t belong to the synagogue should fast. Even if it slipped from one hand but not completely it is apropriate to fast . However one who wants to be lenient should not be criticized.
Psak: Choosing vs avoiding error - consequences
Rosh(43:6): Question: A woman has been married for many year and has children. Now she is saying that he disgusts her (ma’us alei). Do we force the husband to give a get? Answer: Even though the Rambam writes, When the wife says ma’us alei we force the husband to give her a get – but Rabbeinu Tam and the Ri disagree. Since this is a dispute amongst rabbinic authorities why should we stick our heads amongst the great mountains and to make a forced get which is not required by the halacha and to permit a married woman to remarry? Furthermore due to our sins, Jewish women today have loose morality. Therefore there is concern that the wife might be interested in another man. Whoever forces a husband to give a get when the wife says ma’us alei is simply multiplying mamzerim. All of this is in regard to what to do if asked. However if the get has been forced already – if they relied on the view of the Rambam – what has been done has been done.
Question: What is the Rosh doing here in regards to deciding between the Rambam and Rabbeinu Tam?
Answer: In fact he isn't deciding between them and doesn't want to. It seems therefore he is following the assertion found in the introduction to Ohr LeTzion of Rav Bentzion Abba Shaul that psak is a not a clear categorization of what is true and what is false but rather it is a strategy to minimize error and harm. He says only in the case of the Shulchan Aruch because it was accepted by clall Yisroel and the Arizal because he spoke with ruach hakodesh - are their rulings absolute decisions of truth. While it seems clear that the Rosh is doing a cost benefits analysis - other poskim such as Rabbeinu Tam, Ramban Shulchan Aruch etc are clearly rejecting the Rambam and saying that he is wrong!
It would seem that in our time - after the Rambam has been rejected and Rabbeinu Tam accepted - that the ambivalent view of the Rosh would not be relevant. However it is cited by contemporary poskim such as Rav Ovadia Yosef to explain why the wife can remain married to her second husband - despite receiving an inappropriately forced get from the first.
An explanation might be that contemporary poskim are also doing a cost benefits analysis rather than deciding what is true. Thus they take the conservative approach of Rabbeinu Tam and don't allow the husband to be forced because they are worried about the possibility of mamzerim if Rambam is wrong. They would also say that a wife divorced by a forced get could not get married with that get.
However if she does get married we have a different problem. There is now a marriage and possibly children. Thus we would definitely have adultery and mamzerim if we had absolutely rejected the Rambam. Therefore we turn around and say - we didn't absolutely reject the Rambam but that he is not the normative lchatchila position. However when faced with the disaster of adultery and mamzerim we say the Rambam can be relied upon bedieved.
To get back to our problem of using force in ma'us alei. The guiding principle that we seem to be using is that we need to avoid the possibility of an invalid get and thus mamzerim if Rambam is wrong. Therefore all our actions need to be based on the rejection of the Rambam and thus we avoid any appearance of forcing the get. However if there is a forced get - then bedieved we would rely on the Rambam that there is no problem of aishis ish and mamzerim - because there is no other way.
Assuming that is really the halachic dynamic - what would be the practical status of children resulting from remarriage? If you had a choice between a possible zivug with a person for whom there was never a question of yichus versus one for whom the valid is solely because there was a pesak that bedieved the child is kosher - which would you chose? In other words which would you chose - glatt kosher in which there has never been a sofek or regular kosher which had a number of questions that were resolved by a rabbi's heter that took 10 pages of reasoning to justify and that other rabbis don't accept?
This issue of perceived quality of yichus is also a consideration - at least l'chatchila - in how we conduct ourselves. In other words we should avoid doing anything which raises halachic questions of yichus - unless there are other issues which are more important.
In addition there are contemporary poskim who view the Rambam has rejected totally and they problably would require that the wife not only not remarry after a forced get but that if she did then she could not stay in the marriage and that children from the second marriage would be mamzerim.
In addition there are contemporary poskim who view the Rambam has rejected totally and they problably would require that the wife not only not remarry after a forced get but that if she did then she could not stay in the marriage and that children from the second marriage would be mamzerim.
Jeffrey Epstein’s Friends Sent Him Bawdy Letters for a 50th Birthday Album. One Was From Donald Trump.
The leather-bound book was compiled by Ghislaine Maxwell. The president says the letter ‘is a fake thing.’
It was Jeffrey Epstein’s 50th birthday, and Ghislaine Maxwell was preparing a special gift to mark the occasion. She turned to Epstein’s family and friends. One of them was Donald Trump.
Maxwell collected letters from Trump and dozens of Epstein’s other associates for a 2003 birthday album, according to documents reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.
Thursday, July 17, 2025
Coca-Cola dodges after Trump says soda will switch back to cane sugar
President Donald Trump said Wednesday that Coca-Cola in the United States will begin to be made with cane sugar, but the company did not explicitly say that was the case when it was asked later about Trump’s claim.
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