Tzuraas is Natural or Miraculous

Bamidbar Rabbah (19:03) On what account is a leper cleansed with the aid of the tallest of tall trees and with the lowest of low ones, namely, with the cedar tree and the hyssop? He had been punished with leprosy owing to his having exalted himself like the cedar tree. Having humbled himself like the hyssop he was healed by the aid of a hyssop.

Birchas Asher (Vayikra13:01) According to those who agree with the view of Rambam one can ask from the words of the gemora that  there is no tzuras in Babylonia because they eat beets, drink beer, and bathe in the waters of the Euphrates.\that means that Tzuras is physiological In contrast there is a medrash about turas of houses in which it was a sign from God to find hidden treasure. Thus we see that our Sages were not in agreement about this and there are conflicting views

Kesubos (77b) Rabbi Yoḥanan said: For what reason are there no lepers in Babylonia? Because they eat beets, drink beer, and bathe in the waters of the Euphrates, all of which are good for the body. It is prohibited to go four cubits to the east of a leper. R. Simeon b. Lakish said: Even a hundred cubits. They did not really differ; the one who said four cubits referred to a time when there is no wind blowing, whereas the one who said not even a hundred cubits, eferred to a time when a wind is blowing. R. Meir would not eat eggs that came from an alley of lepers. R. Ammi and R. Assi would not enter a leper's alley. Resh Lakish, when he saw one of them in the city, threw stones towards him, and said: ' Go to your place, and do not defile other people,’ as R. Hiyya taught: He shall dwell alone of them, hid himself from him, 

Magen Avraham (O.C. 173:1): The combination causes leprosy – It is possible that in modern times there is not so much danger because we know that many things that are mentioned in the Talmud as being a danger because of ruach rah and other reasons do not cause harm today because nature has changed. Also it is a function of the nature of the particular country…

Moreh Nevuchim (03:47) Tzaraas is a miracle received in our nation by tradition, in the same manner as the effect of the trial of a faithless wife. The good effect of this belief is evident. Leprosy is besides a contagious disease, and people almost naturally abhor it, and keep away from it.

Ralbag (Vayikra 13:47) Tzara’as on these objects is caused by moisture and heat… this causes them to be damaged and destroyed… the discoloration is what you’d find in moldy places, like water near a dump, where things turn green or red.

Ramban (Vayikra 13:47) AND WHEN THE PLAGUE OF LEPROSY IS IN A GARMENT. This is not in the natural order of things, nor does it ever happen in the world outside Israel, and similarly leprosy of houses is not a natural phenomenon. But when Israel is wholly devoted to G-d, then His spirit is upon them always, to maintain their bodies, clothes and houses in a good appearance. Thus as soon as one of them commits a sin or transgression, a deformity appears in his flesh, or on his garment, or in his house, revealing that G-d has turned aside from him…

Vayikra Rabbah (17:03) For ten sins does leprosy come upon the world: (i) idol-worship, (ii) gross unchastity, (iii) bloodshed, (iv) the profanation of the Divine Name, (v) blasphemy of the Divine Name, (vi) robbing the public, (vii) usurping [a dignity] to which one has no right, (viii) overweening pride, (ix) evil speech, and (x) an evil eye. 

Vayikra Rabbah (17:06) When the Canaanites heard that the Israelites were approaching, they set to and hid their valuables in the houses and in the fields. Said G-d: ' I promised the Israelites’forefathers that I would bring their children into a land full of all that is good,’ as it is said, And houses full of all good things. What did G-d do?-He brought plagues upon a house

Trump criticizes the press for failing to report fake accomplishments

https://edition.cnn.com/2026/09/22/politics/trump-press-fake-accomplishments

 President Donald Trump, defending his decision to ban CNN and two other media outlets from the White House, argued Monday that the press has “an obligation” to report on his accomplishments.

But Trump immediately cited two supposed accomplishments that do not actually exist.

We don’t report that he “settled eight wars” because he didn’t. We don’t report that there is “$21 trillion pouring in” to the United States because there isn’t. Both numbers are wildly inflated.

Trump’s claims about having won a “landslide” victory, having “the best economic numbers for the country” and that “we’ve done so well” with Iran are some combination of too subjective and too vague to debunk, though it’s clear all three can be reasonably challenged. But his claims that “I’ve settled eight wars” and “we have $21 trillion pouring in” are incorrect, as CNN has repeatedly noted when he has made the same or similar claims on numerous previous occasions.

Gaza journalist who met with Mamdani admits he buried Oct. 7 footage of Israeli hostages being beaten to protect perpetrators

 https://nypost.com/2026/09/21/world-news/gaza-journalist-who-met-with-mamdani-admits-he-buried-footage-of-israeli-hostages-being-beaten-to-protect-perpatrators/

A Gaza journalist who has met with Mayor Mamdani and been honored with a Nobel Peace Prize nomination and a spot on the Time100 list admitted that he buried footage of Israeli hostages being beaten by a Palestinian mob on Oct. 7, 2023 in order to protect the perpetrators.

Photographer Motaz Azaiza also revealed that all media in Gaza is controlled by Hamas through a single WhatsApp group — and the terror group will target any journalist who publishes criticism.

Azaiza — who has become one of the most famous journalists in Gaza — was in the territory on Oct. 7, when Hamas marched the hostages taken from Israel through the streets of Gaza, where all hell broke loose.

“Photographers in Gaza have become accustomed to lowering their cameras the moment someone says something bad about Hamas, he said, “because anyone who dares to show reality is persecuted relentlessly.”

He said he had to flee the territory after publishing people criticizing Hamas. He now lives in Qatar.

Despite Azaiza withholding the footage of the hostages being beaten as part of his coverage of the war, some of the hostages who were paraded around the Gaza Strip on Oct. 7 eventually spoke out about the ordeal.

Itay Regev, a survivor of the Nova Music Festival massacre, said Hamas had driven him and others around the streets of Gaza and displayed them like human “trophies” to the angry crowds.

Revelation raises questions about reporting from Gaza

 https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/433489

Motaz Azaiza says he filmed Gazans assaulting hostages but withheld the footage out of concern that Israel would identify them. He also revealed pressure exerted by Hamas on journalists.

Palestinian Arab photographer Motaz Azaiza says he possesses footage from October 7 that he did not publish, including recordings showing Gaza residents beating and assaulting hostages in the Gaza Strip.

According to Azaiza, the decision to keep the material off the internet was deliberate: He feared that the footage would help Israel identify those involved and take action against them.

One of his revelations concerns a WhatsApp group called “Smart." According to Azaiza, its members include journalists from Gaza, and it is managed by a media figure affiliated with Hamas. He said the group was also used to organize attacks against media personnel who dared to publish criticism of the organization.

“Photographers in Gaza have become accustomed to lowering their cameras the moment someone says something bad about Hamas," he claimed.

An eight-step guide to blaming Israel

 https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/433475

The beginner should start with a simple rule: Never permit an event to have more than one cause if Israel can be blamed.

Next up is correct chronological selection. History is dangerous because it contains events that interfere with arguments. The solution is simply to begin the story after those events.

Israel must never be crudely compared with what its enemies do. It should be measured against an imaginary country operating under ideal conditions available only in thought experiments.

Tumah

 Kuzari (3 49) The Rabbi: Impurity and holiness are contradictory ideas; one cannot be thought of without the other. Without holiness we should not know the signification of impurity. Impurity means that the approach to holy objects, hallowed by God, is forbidden to the person so affected. Such would be priests, their food, clothing, offering, sacrifices, the holy House, etc. In the same way the ideas of holiness include something which forbids the person connected with it to approach many ordinary objects. This chiefly depends on the vicinity of the Shekhinah, which we now lack entirely. The prohibition which still holds good, of cohabiting with a woman in her period or after confinement has nothing to do with impurity, but is an independent divine law. The practice we observe to keep aloof from them as much as possible is but a restriction and hedge to prevent cohabitation. The regulations of impurity proper ceased to exist for us, because we live in 'an unclean land and in unclean air,' especially as we move about among graves, vermin, lepers, persons affected with issue, corpses, etc.

Zohar (1:64a) As the Left Arm above grasps the Female and lovingly draws her to him, so below the serpent, which is the left arm of the unclean spirit, and joined with it he that rides on it, draw near to the moon and draw her tightly to them, so that she becomes defiled. Israel, therefore, here below offer up a goat, to which the serpent is drawn away. The moon then purges herself, ascends on high, and unites herself to the higher sphere to receive blessing, and her lower face, which was darkened, becomes bright. So here on the Day of Atonement, since the evil serpent is occupied with the he-goat, the moon breaks loose from him, and earnestly pleads the cause of Israel, and watches over them like a mother over her children, so G-d blesses them from above and forgives their sins. Afterwards, when Israel celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles, the “right side” is awakened on high, so that the moon may attach herself to it and her face may become completely bright. She then shares out blessings to all those presiding chiefs of the lower world, so that they may be fully occupied with their own portions, and not attempt to draw sustenance from the side from which Israel obtained their portion. 

Zohar (1 70a) G-d will one day sweep away the unclean spirit, as it is written, And the unclean spirit I will cause to pass out of the land, and further, He will swallow up death for ever, and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people will he take away from off all the earth, for the Lord hath spoken it. God  will also one day restore the moon to its full light, and dissipate the darkness brought on her by the evil serpent, as it is written, And the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of the seven days , the reference here being to the primordial light which G-d stored away during the period of the creation.’

Zohar (1 125b) ‘I marvel at the wicked Balaam, how all his actions proceeded from the side of impurity. We here learn the mystical lesson that all species of witchcraft are linked up with, and proceed from, the primeval serpent who is the foul and unclean spirit. Hence all sorceries are called serpents. And whoever becomes addicted to them pollutes himself, nay more, he has first to become polluted in order to attract to himself the side of the unclean spirit. For it is a dictum of our teachers that corresponding to the impulses of a man here are the influences which he attracts to himself from above. Should his impulse be towards holiness, he attracts to himself holiness from on high and so he becomes holy; but if his tendency is towards the side of impurity, he draws down towards himself the unclean spirit and so becomes polluted. For this reason, in order to draw towards himself the unclean spirit from that supernal serpent, the wicked Balaam besmirched himself nightly by bestial intercourse with his ass, and he would then proceed to his divinations and sorceries. To begin with he would take one of the familiar serpents, tie it up, break

Yona and Whale

Ibn Ezra (Yona 02:01) and Jonah remained:no one can survive in the belly of a fish even for an hour, so if this is the duration, it must have been a miracle. 

Malbim (Yona 02:01)Hashem appointed a great fish. Hashem prepared a great fish at that place, which swallowed Jonah whole without breaking his bones. It is well known that it is naturally impossible for a person to survive inside a fish for even a single hour, since a human being must breathe cool air from outside. However, because death had already been decreed upon Jonah and he was regarded as though he had been born anew, Hashem endowed him with the nature of an unborn child, which is formed and sustained for nine months within its mother’s womb without breathing external air, as Abravanel explained. This was one of the Creator’s wonders, like the miracle of Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah in the fiery furnace, and similar miracles. 

Mamdani and Trump emerge from Gracie Mansion sit-down with nothing but praise

 https://www.politico.com/news/2026/09/21/mamdani-trump-gracie-mansion-meeting-01086582

 In a continuation of one of the most unexpected bromances in American politics, Mayor Zohran Mamdani and President Donald Trump praised each other Monday after meeting privately at the mayor’s residence in New York City for a wide-ranging discussion about everything from interior design to housing to immigration.

“I want what’s good for New York. I want what’s good for the country. So if I had a choice of having him be a bad mayor, or a horrible mayor — I don’t want that. I want him to be a great mayor, and he’s certainly got potential, got great potential,” Trump, standing alongside Mamdani, told reporters on the lawn of Gracie Mansion before giving the mayor a slap on the back.

Mamdani — a democratic socialist who once freely called the Republican president a fascist but has taken a softer approach since taking office — returned the compliments by thanking Trump for committing to take conversations to “a new level” about securing federal funding for building more than 12,000 units of housing on top of an old rail yard in Queens.

Terror before Yom Kippur: Netanel Shakron, a father of six, murdered near Neveh Tzuf

 https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/433422

Netanel Shakron, arrived at the spring with his eldest son to immerse ahead of Yom Kippur and was murdered by an Arab terrorist. The terrorist was apprehended at a Ramallah hospital.

The Samaria Regional Council announced on Sunday afternoon that Netanel Shakron, a resident of Alei Zahav, was murdered in the shooting attack at the Ein Raya spring near Neve Tzuf in Binyamin.

Shakron, a father of six, arrived at the spring on Sunday morning with his eldest son to immerse ahead of Yom Kippur. He is survived by his wife, Meirav, and their six children. The eldest is in 11th grade, while the youngest is four years old.

Mamdani blasts Netanyahu again: A ‘war criminal’ and ‘architect of a horrific genocide’

 Mamdani blasts Netanyahu again: A ‘war criminal’ and ‘architect of a horrific genocide’

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani renewed his criticism of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday, describing him as a “war criminal" while acknowledging that, despite statements made during his mayoral campaign, he does not have the authority to arrest the Israeli leader.

Mamdani had pledged during his campaign that he would instruct the New York Police Department to arrest Netanyahu if the Prime Minister entered the city. In a July interview with The New York Times, he said he was exploring potential means of detaining Netanyahu. However, he later conceded in a video that the mayor of New York City lacks the legal authority to enforce an ICC arrest warrant and instead urged the federal government to act.

Israeli Yeshivos are in Dire Financial State

 https://belaaz.com/news/first-litvish-rosh-yeshivah-ever-to-spend-rosh-hashanah-in-uman-rav-sorotzkin-breaks-with-years-of-us-fundraising-trips-after-10m-offer

HaGaon Rav Shalom Ber Sorotzkin, Rosh Yeshiva of the mosdos, has landed in Uman on Thursday and checked into the Hotel Zakopna ahead of Rosh Hashanah, making him, according the first Litvish Rosh Yeshiva to spend Rosh Hashanah at the tzion of RebNachman of Breslov.

According to the report, the donor, a close supporter of the Rosh Yeshiva, committed to a massive gift, in the range of millions of dollars and tens of millions of shekels, toward sustaining the Torah and chesed institutions under Rav Sorotzkin’s leadership. But he attached a clear condition: the Rosh Yeshiva would have to join him in Uman for the Yom Tov itself.

Facing that condition, and with thousands of Ateres Shlomo avreichim owed three months of stipends, Rav Sorotzkin chose to accept the arrangement, securing his institutions’ financial footing for the year ahead.

Police officer critical, gunman fighting for life after shooting near Ontario synagogue on Yom Kippur

 https://www.timesofisrael.com/police-officer-critical-gunman-fighting-for-life-after-shooting-near-ontario-synagogue-on-yom-kippur/

A police officer was hospitalized in critical but stable condition and a 29-year-old gunman was in life-threatening condition after an exchange of gunfire Sunday near a synagogue in Ontario as members of the Jewish community marked Yom Kippur, authorities said.

Canada’s CBC identified the shooter as Sean Ward, a resident of Quinte West. The officer was named as Const. Jeff Smith.

Ward drove up in a truck, was stopped half a block from the synagogue, and opened fire, authorities said. The province’s Special Investigations Unit said it would make sense to believe that the synagogue was deliberately targeted, but stressed that this was speculation.

Networks pull out of White House TV pool in solidarity with CNN

 https://thehill.com/homenews/media/6101588-tv-networks-donald-trump-pool-disruption-msnow-cnn-politico-white-house-ban/

Fox News Media, ABC News, CBS News, NBC News and CNN responded to the ban in a rare joint statement, saying “the public has a vital interest in receiving accurate, independent information about its government.”

“No administration should restrict a news organization because it objects to its reporting,” the outlets added.

The statement came after the White House pool said in a note to subscribers on Monday that “effective today, the TV pool will not be covering events designated as pool coverage of the President.”

‘Handled Well’: Dutch Officials Legally Euthanize Toddler in First-Ever Killing of New Child Euthanasia Law

 https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2026/09/handled-dutch-officials-legally-euthanize-toddler-first-ever/

Dutch officials euthanized a 2-year-old suffering from multiple medical conditions, and an official investigation reacted positively to the decision.

NL Times, an English-language news outlet based in the Netherlands, reported that the child, who was born at 26 weeks gestation and lived for two years afterward, was killed at the end of 2025.

But investigators concluded the euthanasia procedure was “handled well,” in the words of NL Times.

The child had brain damage, cerebral palsy, and visual impairment, according to the outlet.

CNN, MS NOW, Politico say their journalists have been denied access to the White House

 https://thehill.com/homenews/media/6099619-trump-bans-ms-now-cnn-politico/

The White House denied CNN, MS NOW and Politico journalists access to its grounds Saturday, the networks announced, a day after President Trump said he was banning them from the premises after accusing them of producing “purposefully negative stories.”

“Earlier this morning MS NOW journalists were denied access to the White House grounds. The White House belongs to the American people and the decisions made inside are funded by our tax dollars,” MS NOW wrote in a statement posted just after 8 a.m. Saturday. “MS NOW intends to take any and all steps necessary to defend our First Amendment rights and the essential role of independent journalism in our democracy.”

Trump announced his decision to bar CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House “effective immediately” in a Friday Truth Social post, accusing the three outlets of reporting false information about him and his administration.

When “Healing” Means Cutting Off Your Parents?!

 https://matzav.com/matzav-inbox-when-healing-means-cutting-off-your-parents/

I am talking about this increasingly common idea that “healing” somehow means going back through your childhood, identifying everything your parents did wrong, giving it a psychological label, and then deciding how much access your parents deserve to have to you.

Suddenly, every difficult mother is a narcissist. Every controlling father is toxic. Every disagreement is a boundary violation. Every uncomfortable family dynamic is trauma. And every adult child who doesn’t want to deal with his or her parents anymore is “protecting my peace.”

Parents are human beings. They make mistakes. Some make lots of mistakes. They lose their tempers. They say stupid things. They favor one child sometimes. They push too hard. They don’t listen enough. They worry too much. They interfere. They have their own baggage from the homes they grew up in. Sometimes they hurt their children deeply without even realizing it.

Rav Ruderman's Daughter

 https://jwa.org/print/pdf/node/29295

JEAN FREEDMAN: This is an interview with Hanna Weinberg. It's June 10th, 2001. We're in Baltimore, Maryland. I'm Jean Freedman, recording this for the Jewish Women's Archive, Weaving Women's Words project. OK. I always start out my interviews the same way, and that's by asking the interviewee to tell me the full name and when and where they were born?

HW: Well, my father was a rabbi. Established, in America, the Ner Israel Rabbinical  College. My mother's family also was -- her father was a rabbi. We come from a long line of Talmudic scholars.

HW: Through my husband's people -- coming to my husband with problems -- I saw that this was needed and started that in somebody's house. Not in -- right in the proper, like where we live. And started working on domestic abuse.

JF: OK. So, you were telling me how your work with domestic violence started. You said your father had known this problem in Europe -- and people just closed the shutters. But you decided you wanted to do -- open the shutters.

Therapy Has a Relationship Problem

 https://time.com/article/2026/08/29/therapy-has-a-relationship-problem/

Psychotherapy itself is predicated upon the healing power of human connection, yet therapists can be surprisingly quick to undervalue relationships outside the therapy room. Furthermore, relationships themselves teach basic psychological capacities such as regulating emotions, tolerating disappointment, and negotiating differences—skills which therapy is supposed to cultivate.

Too often, we mistake relational distress for relational dysfunction. Wall Street Journal columnist Elizabeth Bernstein recently highlighted this eloquently. She reported on therapists who encouraged adult children to go “no contact” with their parents, often after surprisingly little effort to mend ruptures. In a survey of roughly 7,000 estranged parents, one-third believed their adult child’s therapist had influenced or even recommended the decision to cut ties. That should give us pause.

The issue extends well beyond parents and children. Similar patterns appear in marriages and among siblings, friendships, and other close bonds. Therapists have become too quick to support ending difficult relationships instead of helping people develop the skills to repair them.

Stories of gedolim are often fabricated for inspiration

 Originally published 6/14 - relevant to the current discussion of the Chofetz Chaim's Dybuk.

Rav Hillel Zaks (Mishpacha – "Living the Legend" page 55 June 2, 2014): Rebbetzin Faiga Chaya Zaks was once quoted as having said that 85 percent of the stories told about her father aren't reliable. In response, Rav Hillel and his brother Rav Yaakov Yehoshua asked, "How could di Mamme have said that? It's surely over 90 percent?!" 

In the family, the biography written by Rav Moshe Meir Yoshor is considered the most reliable of all that's been written about the Chofetz Chaim, in part because it was done during his lifetime. Reb Yisroel Meir once left a certain work on the Chofetz Chaim on the table just to see Rav Hillel's reaction to it. 

"You know, the writer of this book is afraid to face me," Rav Hillel remarked. 

"What's wrong with it?" Reb Yisroel Meir's wife asked. 

"Let me show you," said Rav Hillel. Opening to a random page, he read out loud a story about a Radin bochur who went to take leave of the Chofetz Chaim before going home, The Chofetz Chaim looked at him and said, "Is that the way a ben Torah looks when he goes home?" At that, he went into the back and came out with a jacket to replace the torn one the bochur was wearing. 

"Now, what do you think," Rav Hillel said. "The Chofetz Chaim had a rack of clothes in the back and said, 'You know, you look like a 45 regular'? The only part of the story that could be true is that somebody came in to say goodbye to him." 

Twenty-two years ago, Rav Hillel, Rav Yaakov Yehoshua, and Rav Yisroel Meir sat shivah in Yerushalayim for their mother. A visitor sat down in the front and said, "I know for certain that the Chofetz Chaim had a ramp in his house, which he'd practice running up and down in anticipation of the rebuilding of the Beis Hamikdash." 

Just then, the brothers heard someone in the back of the room say with obvious dry humor, "Mir dacht zich az der salon fun der Chofetz Chaim iz nit gevehn azoy groys ... [I don't think the Chofetz Chaim's living room was that big]." 

It was the voice of Rav Avraham Yehoshua Soloveitchik.
======== update  6/20/2014

Rav Nosson Kaminetsky (Making of a Godol page xx):  (In composing this book, I have generally accepted as authentic stories about earlier generations even when they were not conveyed by my father or some other unusually reliable individual. I was reluctant, of course, to rely on reports that emanated from people whom I considered unable to judge events properly, but I did not suspect anyone of prevaricating intentionally. Similarly, unless the writer was blatantly' tendentious, I assumed that printed facts were credible. (I have this faith in people despite a report by R' Velvel Kercerg that Rebbitzen Feigel Zaks, the Chafetz-Chaim's youngest daughter, told him, "Eighty percent of what they tell about [my father] is not true." I cannot help but assume that in order to bring out bluntly the idea that not everything told about R' Yisrael-Meir Kagan, author of Chafetz Chaim, is true, his daughter exaggerated the percentage of untruths.)

Rav Nosson Kaminetsky(Making of a Godol page xxv): R' Mordkhai Schwab, however, had a negative view of "storytelling" when he told me, "The Satmarer Rav, R' Yoilish Teitelbaum, never told stories because he said, 'You cannot educate through lies - sheker].'" R' Mordkhai agreed with R' Yoilish in reference to stories intended to glorify their principals while dehumanizing them. R' Yoilish echoed a statement by R' Yehoshua'-Yoseph Preil, Rav of the Lithuanian town of Krok. In a 5656 (1896) review of Toldos Yisroel of Zev Ya'avetz, published a year earlier in Warsaw, R' Preil set down the following ethic: "To create stories that never happened and present them as facts for the sake of teaching morals - woe is to the musar precept built on as brittle a foundation as a lie! '' Even hasidim, the celebrated story tellers who are more suspect than others in creating legends about their leaders (from whom the Satmarer Rav was evidently trying to distance himself by his statement), are careful in separating fact from fiction. I was told by R' Shimon Deutchy that he had asked the Lubavitcher Rebbe, R' Menahem-Mendel Schneerson, whether when writing about the arrest and release of his father-in-law, R' Yoseph-Yitzhaq Schneerson, he should mention or omit the fact that R' Yoseph-Yitzhaq's secretary, R' Hayyim Lieberman, was arrested and released with him. (R' Lieberman was opposed to R' Menahem-Mendel's ascendancy to the Lubavitch throne and did not recognize him as Rebbe after he assumed the position.) R' Menahem-Mendel responded, "History must be written   [true to its truth]" - and explained his redundancy: "This includes not polishing up any word.  Also Pulmus HaMussar  (The Musar Controversy), a book about the dispute in the late 5650's (1890's) in which most of the great Torah figures came out publicly against the Musar movement. The author, Musar adherent R' Dov Katz, tells how "many opinions were heard" by him "that we should avoid the entire affair "; but "several Musar personalities" including R' Yehiel-Yankev Weinberg and R' Hatzqel Sarna insisted not only that he should write about the controversy, but - as R' Sarna put it - that "he set down in writing the full affair without omitting any detail, be what it may." 

Moderation and Extremism in the Scheme of Creation

 https://traditiononline.org/good-and-very-good-moderation-and-extremism-in-the-scheme-of-creation-by-norman-lamm/

On the verse, “And God saw everything that He had made and behold it was very good” (tov me’od) (1:31), the Midrash comments – enigmatically and paradoxically:“‘very good’—that is death.” When the individual parts, assigned the mission of tov, presume to the glory of the very good, of tov me’od, a prominence reserved by the Creator for the whole, death establishes its ominous foothold. And, as the late talmudist and kabbalist R. Joseph Engel commented: every “very” leads to death..

The biblical account of creation and the emergence of man is therefore largely a tale of virtue run amok, and thus the ideal whole – earth as Paradise – reduced to a meaner and more perilous place as a lower level of equilibrium replaces that of Genesis, an attenuated “whole” which accommodates itself to mortality and immorality, to exile and homelessness, to pain and suffering as the price for man’s absurd rejection of moderation. In the words of Ecclesiastes (7:16), “Be not righteous overmuch, neither make yourself overwise; why should you destroy yourself?”

Passionate Moderation in an Age of Extremism: Rabbi Norman Lamm’s Message for Today, with Rabbi Dr. Tzvi Sinensky

 https://scottkahn.substack.com/p/passionate-moderation-in-an-age-of

What Rabbi Lamm called “passionate moderation.”That phrase can sound almost contradictory. We often associate moderation with compromise, caution, or a reluctance to take a strong stand. Rabbi Lamm meant something very different. His moderation demanded the ability to hold multiple values at once, to recognize complexity without sacrificing conviction, and to combine passionate commitment with intellectual and theological humility.

Rabbi Lamm believed that it was possible to be passionate without being extreme, confident without being dogmatic, and deeply committed without pretending that every difficult question has a simple answer. Perhaps that vision of passionate moderation is something we need today more than ever.

Perfection and Moderation

 Chazon Ish (Letters 3:61): Just as the unvarnished facts and truth are synonymous so are uncompromising perfectionism and greatness. Perfectionism means to develop something to the ultimate degree. One who advocates moderation and despises perfectionism, his lot is with the frauds or with those lacking understanding. Without perfectionism, there can be no completion and if there is no perfection, there is no beginning. The beginning is with constant questions and replies. The perfecter is the brilliant respondent who orders everything in its rightful place. We regularly hear announcements from well known groups that they have nothing to do with uncompromising perfectionists. They nevertheless describe themselves as being the true Jews with appropriate faith to Torah. We simply note, however, that just as there is no such thing amongst lovers of wisdom as love for minimum knowledge and hate for the very wise there is similarly no such thing as loving Torah and mitzvos moderately and hating the uncompromising perfectionists. All the foundations of emuna, the 13 principles and their derivatives, are inherently incompatible with the lightweight wisdom and superficial life that exists in this world. In contrast clear recognition, energetic involvement; high precision in emuna is the hallmark of the perfectionist. Those who proudly testify on themselves that they have not tasted the sweetness of uncompromising perfection are simultaneously testifying that they are missing emuna in the foundation of religion both intellectually and emotionally. Their attachment is only lukewarm. The perfectionists, who despite their genuine wish to have pity on these doctrinaire moderates, do not honor and respect their opponents. The yawning abyss that separates them is naturally only widened as the result of the disputes that occur when they interact with each other. The only true moderation that can exist is that which results naturally to those who love the perfection and strive towards it and educate their children to strive for the peak. In contrast how unfortunate are those “moderates” who cast aspersions on the perfectionists. The obligation of our education is to perfection. The only genuine protection of the educational system is to be contemptuous and to ridicule those who denigrate perfection. However given the burning spirit of youth it is not appropriate to strongly condemn specific individuals amongst the unfortunates. Instead, the youth should be developed to have true love of Torah that requires personal effort and heavenly pleasantness and they should not have obstacles placed on this road. Those schools that are labeled as moderate schools, they are not successful because of the fraud that is inherent in moderation… 

Tumah

 Malbim (Vayikra 16 :16) There are two types of impurity: the impurity of the body—which is the opposite of purity—and the impurity of deeds—which is the opposite of holiness. When we examine the entire Bible, we do not find the community of Israel being ascribed the first type of impurity; rather, the impurity ascribed to them is that which is the opposite of holiness—namely, becoming impure through abominable deeds, or the impurity of the Sanctuary itself (i.e., defiling the Tabernacle and the Temple). A close examination reveals that the matters for which impurity is ascribed to the community as a whole are limited to idolatry, sexual immorality, and bloodshed. 

Rav Yaakov Kaminetsky, zt"l: Zealotry is necessary - but only if guided by a clear understanding of Torah

Emes L’Yaakov (Bereishis 49:7): ... Look at what I wrote previously in Bereishis (34:5). There I explained that it is certain that that this represents a punishment for Shimon and Levi, nevertheless Yaakov specifically appointed these tribes to these exalted responsibilities of educating the children and supervision of holy food. That is because only Shimon and Levi manifested the kano’as (zealotry) required for these jobs. This was seen by their response to Yaakov concerning the rape of their sister Dinah (Bereishis 34:5): “Is our sister to be a prostitute?” They alone were referred to as the brothers of Dinah because they were willing to sacrifice themselves for her welfare. Thus for these positions to be fulfilled successfully it is necessary to appoint people who have the attribute of kano’as (zealotry) and mesiras nefesh (total devotion) to serve G-d and His Torah. These positions require men who when they see something irregular, will immediately be aroused for the sake of G-d like an inferno and they will serve their position well. Therefore Yaakov specially appointed Shimon and Levi for this work.

However if we look carefully to see whether they in fact did these jobs according to their father’s expectations, we see that only the tribe of Levi actually did the work of education but not the tribe of Shimon. It was only the tribe of Levi that served as a strong barrier against those who arose to nullify the covenant with G-d. In contrast we don’t find that Shimon was involved in this work. The reason for this is clear. Only the tribe of Levi was exempt from working for Pharaoh during all the years of slavery. Thus only the tribe of Levi was able to sit and be immersed in Torah study. Only when kano’as (zealotry) is grounded and defined by Torah parameters - is it successful. That is why when the Leviim saw the terrible chilul HaShem that resulted from the sin of the Golden Calf they immediately expressed their zealotry for G‑d and killed even friends and relatives who were participating in the sin. Similarly when there were Jews in the Wilderness who wanted to return to Egypt, it was the Leviim who were in the vanguard against them. During the entire time that passed from the events concerning Dinah until the Redemption from Egypt they maintained their zealotry - but it was always bounded and guided by their deep knowledge of Torah.

In contrast, while the kano’as of Shimon was also strong it was not guided by Torah and thus did not have proper nature. When did his “kano’as" manifest itself? It was in the events of the worship of Baal Peor. It was Zimri who expressed this “kano’as” against the rule of Torah provided by Moshe. It was used to uproot the attribute of modesty which was then prevelant amongst the Jews. He expressed his zealotry by his open involvement in sexual immorality with the non‑Jewish woman. Therefore it was only the kano’as of Pinchus, from the tribe of Levi ,who was guided by the laws of the Torah who was able to attack Zimri and defeat him and stop the plague that was punishing the Jews. Kano’as which is not guided by halacha does not have the ability to be successful because it ultimately just destroys the kanoi. It is only the gedolim in each generation who have the proper intuition and sensitivity to know and decide when it is necessary to be a kanoi and to protest and when it is best to remain silent. This ability is only acquired by those who have the keys to Torah in their hands.

The Climb to Greatness

 https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox/FMfcgzQhWTrDwJLhNnGBnTcpXKhDVxnG?projector=1&messagePartId=0.1

THERE is no way to capture the phenomenon that was Rav Yehoshua Max, neither in words nor with pictures. He was an ish peleh, a fiery meteor that illuminated our generation — and then was gone. We will try, however, to present a partial portrait of this gaon and tzaddik, so as to bring an aliyah to this special neshamah and to connect in some way to that great tzaddik that was amongst us and aspire to reach loftier levels of greatness.

When Rav Yehoshua was yet a bachur, his Rebbi muvhak, Rav Aharon Schechter, declared that he was destined to be among the future gedolei hador. In his early years as a yungerman, his rebbi Rav Yaakov Drillman attested that he was an illui in the league of the legendary Meicheter and Visker illuyim. Rav Yaakov Drillman remarked at the levayah that there should have been 600,000 people in attendance, in honor of a gaon of his unparalleled stature. Those who truly knew Rav Yehoshua were not shocked by these statements. Who was this singular adam gadol, and how did he become the gaon and tzaddik that he was?

LevinAt11 ShabosShuva

 בס"ד

Fri, Sep 17, '26

ערב שבת שובה, תשפ"ז

Linked* below is this week's LevinAt11 broadcast of Sept. 17, '26.

* https://ci3.googleusercontent.com/meips/ADKq_NakbZe_YcarsXKRLaICNfi88uKn7bvA2ZhWWds5s8idw00nUXSCp9M75IL2Zc9Y09vmSxEDO3Kv5EJUlGY9C4S4WYH8mMHfQ4qBQ1ZIlJuA5jStDSDX5sfFAw=s0-d-e1-ft#https://ssl.gstatic.com/docs/doclist/images/icon_10_generic_list.png

תכנית ראדיו רב יהודה לעוין, שליט"א, שבת שובה/ פרשת האזינו, תשפ"ז

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Tefillah request, for refuah shelaima of:

1. Rav Yehuda Ben Masha HaLevi (Levin);

2. Shimon Ben Masha; & 

3. Lea Bas Freeda  

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Topics Included:

1. Communal Teshuva on basic matters of public policy (in Israel) as the key to restoring hope in our troubled times;

2. More on the most recent reportage on the White House house meeting with Rabbis from Orthodox communities that tend to be directed to vote in blocks.

Preface: Without an authentic acceptance, proper understanding, and correct application of these two key principles, some people will never be able to appreciate what we're doing here, on these and related topics:

(א.) "ושמואל אמר... כל מקום שיש חילול השם אין חולקים כבוד לרב" 

- גמרא סנהדרין, סוף דף פ"ב ע"א

(ב.) "אמר להן הקב"ה: בכבודי - לא מחיתם -- על כבודו של בשר ודם  מחיתם?!"

- גמרא סנהדרין, סוף דף ק"ג ע"ב (בענין פסל מיכה ופילגש בגיבעה, ערש"י ד"ה ועל דבר זה)

"אמר רבא... אמר {הקב"ה} להן: בכבודי - לא מחיתם -- בכבוד בשר ודם מחיתם?!"

- גמרא סנהדרין, סוף דף ק"י ע"א (בענין עבודה זרה לשמש ולירח, ומרד קורח נגד מ"ר)

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3. Brief mention was made of Giyus Banos (the female draft), including its' conspicuous absence from the advocacy priorities of those purporting to speak in the name of Judaism and Chareidi Jewry - as well as at the very end.*

{* although without enough time to address the latest news from Israel}

Here's one vital tidbit from Chomosayich, an established volunteer women's organization in Israel, which has saved and assisted thousands of girls from the ongoing IDF escalations against "easy-target" girls, over the years. (See their half-page ad in the new Upstate Jewish Business Directory!)

"הבת הזאת קיבלה זימון לראיון מצהירת דת.  היא לומדת בביע''ק בפריפריה.  הנה העקשנות - בלי שום עזרה של עו''ד - בלי פשרות - רק מסי''נ - ובסייעתא דשמיא מופלאה אנחנו משתדלים למטה והקב''ה עוזר מלמעלה.

צירפתי את הזימון..."

That girl successfully obtained an exemption - mailed to her - without recourse to comprising on Halacha - by succumbing to the Army order to appear for a "Rayon Dat," a Religiosity Interrogation, or by otherwise appearing at the IDF Draft Offices.  Thus, she and her family greatly benefited by the vital guidance and chizuk provided by Chomosayich:

"... ובאמת תודה רבה מעומק הלב על כל העזרה והתמיכה הנפשית שנתתם לנו ובאמת ההכוונה מה לעשות ואיך לעשות ואיך לדבר איתם -- והנה ברוך השם אנחנו אחרי זה..."

[- from a thank-you note from the beneficiaries of the help of Chomosayich]

This is what's being done on a paltry budget. 

Don't imagine what could be done with more money - demonstrate it:  Call Today.

To Donate to Chomosayich:

(347) 661-0172.

The cost of saving these neshomos is, in many cases, so low that it's scandalous that we're not seeing far more donations.*

{* Although most Yidden are simply being kept in the dark, by corrupt financial interests seeking to obscure this issue.}

••• One Golden Tip before Yom Tov: Eat Less, Donate More. •••

It's certainly not the Ratzon HaShem to splurge so much on food for Yom Tov (or Shabbos) when neshomos are being lost - wholesale - for want of a hundred dollars here and there.

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Speaking of Middah Keneged Middah:

The Israeli Army has felt compelled to defend itself, by the following claim:

https://us.list-manage.com/ZeEzWvPp2Q4?e=4fa57d7224&c2id=7507e8b297f0910ef6cf61f0cd652d4e

Isn't it interesting that the IDF -- long known as a bastion of abortion-at-whim, the female-draft, exploitation of women, and mixed-gender transgressions, not to mention tolerance of LGBT wickedness -- is being critiqued (for other reasons) over its' "morality."

See Nefesh HaChayim (of Rav Chaim Volozhin ZT"L) Avos 4:11/13 on 

"תשובה ומעשים טובים כתריס בפני הפורענות"

In particular, see Rav Chaim's closing line: 

If one repents for sins other than those his tribulations are signaling him to correct - then the tribulations will not stop.

Well, if there's one worthy accomplishment that this miserable "most religious & rightwing Israeli government" can claim at the end of its idiotically immoral and bloody term, it's that they've unrelentingly demonstrated the truth of those holy words of Rav Chaim of Volozhin ZT"L. What dedication to Emunas Chachomim...

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Last week's program: ערב ר"ה

https://ci3.googleusercontent.com/meips/ADKq_NakbZe_YcarsXKRLaICNfi88uKn7bvA2ZhWWds5s8idw00nUXSCp9M75IL2Zc9Y09vmSxEDO3Kv5EJUlGY9C4S4WYH8mMHfQ4qBQ1ZIlJuA5jStDSDX5sfFAw=s0-d-e1-ft#https://ssl.gstatic.com/docs/doclist/images/icon_10_generic_list.png

...

An initial write-up and brief  overview, w/ supplemental info appears here:

https://daattorah.blogspot.com/2026/09/levinat11-erev-rh-5787.html

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Preceding week's broadcast: נצבים-וילך

Linked here is the LevinAt11 radio broadcast of Sept. 3, '26.*

* https://ci3.googleusercontent.com/meips/ADKq_NakbZe_YcarsXKRLaICNfi88uKn7bvA2ZhWWds5s8idw00nUXSCp9M75IL2Zc9Y09vmSxEDO3Kv5EJUlGY9C4S4WYH8mMHfQ4qBQ1ZIlJuA5jStDSDX5sfFAw=s0-d-e1-ft#https://ssl.gstatic.com/docs/doclist/images/icon_10_generic_list.png

An initial write-up and brief analysis/ overview appears here:

https://daattorah.blogspot.com/2026/09/levinat11-blockvote-manipulators-wh.html

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Broadcast over: Davidzon Radio:  davidzonradio.com / 718) 303-8000

 Levin 09-10-2026_HQ.mp3

We extend to our supporters and partners a G'mar Chasimah Tovah, and a Good Shabbos,

Rabbi Noson Shmuel Leiter,

Executive Director,

Help Rescue Our Children

Email:  torahjewsfordecency@gmail.com

845.642.1679

Direct: 771.215.8892

Israeli Helpline: 03.721.3337

Heard weekly on New Jersey's WSNR Radio 620AM, co-hosting the renowned Levin At Eleven program, every Thursday evening, 11pm to midnight (ET).

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 Levin 09-17-2026_HQ.mp3

An improved version of last week's letter:

בס"ד

4 Tishrei, 5787/ Parshas Ha'azinu

Living the Legacy of the Chofetz Chaim

Perhaps the first week of the new year would benefit from the following insight on the legacy of the saintly Chofetz Chaim, who's Yahrtzeit just occurred, in the week prior to Rosh HaShona.  His monumental Sefer was written in all of its' painstaking detail in order to guide us in how to speak out when necessary.

"Lo sa'amod al-dam rei'echah" (VaYikra 19:16) - immediately following the  prohibition against Loshon Horah "Lo sai'lech ro'chil b'amecha" - requires us to speak out to save others.

From the heart-rendering consequences of silence in the face of real dangers - we learn how the proper, active observance of the shemiras ha'Lashon is vital to ensure hatzalos nefashos.

One practical application demanding communal improvement, as we approach the Yom Kippur, is this: Perhaps the most tangible, recognizable manner that we - as a community - help or harm society is via voting. 

Everyone in the know realizes that  too many in our community will help elect the lowest proponents of Mabul-class (LGBTQ) abomination, legalized infanticide, and stealth euthanasia - provided the latter throw enough money and zoning permits towards those financial interests who decide for whom "the community" should vote.

Those real-estate magnates and community-actors behind this claim they're seeking the benefit of "the community."  Of course, even that would never justify selling out Halacha or Kovod Shomayim for government benefits.  

Shulchan Aruch is very clear: we are obliged to sacrifice all of our our wealth to avoid committing a prohibition (Yoreh Daiyoh 157:1; also cited in Sefer Chofetz Chaim I:1:6).  How much more so are we prohibited from committing the monumental sin of Chillul HaShem in order to obtain government funding. By voting for greater-evil candidates that's exactly what we're doing - on a public and communal level.

And even in where they'd ostensibly win without us - would you vote for the politician who murdered your parents just because they're supposedly a shoe-in?

Additionally, in reality, most such community actors routinely ignore the actual benefit of the community. Often, they're focused on their own profit and power.  

Are we to believe that it's in our communal interest to:

1. elect leftwing judges who release dangerous murders, molesters and unrepentant scam artists, or

2. legislators who enable them to do so; or

3. to allow government to persecute parents, Rebbeim and Morahs for disciplining youth seeking to transition to the opposite gender or commit abortion; or

4. to allow dangerous abortion pills that any girl - or boy - can get;

5. to allow state government to infiltrate Alphabet-People (LGBTQ2S ad nauseam) ideological runoff into any school - or into our institutions.

In fact, that's the fare they've been electing ("all for the community") for the past several decades - for those who've been watching.

This ongoing communal Chillul HaShem cannot continue without communal Divine Retribution (see Akeidas Yitzchak VaYaira 20 on Sedom). Is there any wonder that we face accelerated Jew-hatred almost everywhere?

And we can intelligently do something about this kitrug against us.

1) Stop enabling it with our silence. If we tolerate evil - we pay for the very evil we enable (see Rashi Shabbos 54b).

2) Stop allowing the thousands of uninformed/ naïve voters - those whom we can reach - to be manipulated to participate in this massive Chillul HaShem.  Intelligently and politely reach out to them via postcards, robocalls and flyers if their local heimishe periodicals persist in refusing to publish ads.

3)  Stop undermining the Torah in the name of funding it (see Mishnas Rav Aharon, of Rav Aharon Kotler ZT"L, 1:2:3:6).  The legacy of the Gedolim of the previous generation exhorts us that we cannot build kosher Torah or kosher communal institutions on unkosher money - money procured by violation of a prohibition.

4) Stop being fooled by political propaganda, regardless of political party. Rav Shach ZT"L exhorted: it's assur to be a tipaish (fool).

Some readers may be particularly responsive to this insight regarding the Mesiras-Nefesh imperative, words perhaps never as relevant as they are now:

"... The greater the difficulty, the more biting the ridicule and sarcasm, and the more numerous the opponent -- then the holier is the principle, and the more sacred is our duty to defend it.

In my opinion, the halachic dictum bishas gezeras ha-malchus afillu mitzvah kallah ke'gon le-shinuyei Arkesa de-mesana, ye'hareg ve'al Ya'avor ... applies not only to political and religious persecution originated by some pagan ruler, but also to situations in which a small number of G-d-fearing and Torah-loyal people is confronted with a hostile attitude on the part of the majority dominated by a false philosophy."*

(Emphasis added here.)

* from: Rav Joseph Dov Soloveitchik, O.B.M. (reprinted in Baruch Litvin, The Sanctity of the Synagogue, p. 111) {quoted by Rabbi Mayer Twersky, in a landmark article entitled "Judaism and Deviant Behavior," appearing in Dialogue, Fall 2013, #4, page 239-240}

So why the deafening silence - as tens of thousands of Acheinu Bnei Yisroel are routinely misled and malinformed into voting for some of the most dangerous people around?

We repeat this lethal cycle of communal silence - and worse - every election, in clear violation of the directives of dozens of Gedolei Rabbonim - including many chassidish ones (including the previous Satmar Rebbe ZT"L) - who started protesting the sellout of Torah principles for material gain well over 40 years ago (documentation available).

The K'lallos we recently read were meant to be feared - in order to be avoided - not experienced.  Lately, Heavenly warnings have been incoming fast and furiously: "Repent!" Which word didn't we understand?

We all want a better year for ourselves and Klal Yisroel. So let's try this: "Lo sa'amod al-dam rei'echah."  It works.

For more information, please email torahjewsfordecency@gmail.com.

May we merit a G'mar Chasimah Tovah by eliminating its' impediments.  Good Shabbos,

Rabbi Noson Shmuel Leiter,

Executive Director,

Help Rescue Our Children

771-215-8892 (C/T)

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