When Is Physical Discipline Technically Permitted? According to Halacha a teacher may, in limited circumstances, administer disciplinary punishment to a student as part of the educational process.[10] This permission exists only when the discipline is genuinely necessary for the child’s education or to correct inappropriate behavior.[11] The purpose must be entirely educational and for the benefit of the child, not an expression of anger or frustration. Furthermore, the teacher should only punish a student when he knows with certainty that the student engaged in conduct that warrants discipline, and not based merely on suspicion or assumption.[12] Furthermore, one is to always first try to discipline the child through other methods prior to hitting him, and only if these methods do not work may the child be hit.[13] There are many disciplinary philosophies in practice today which substitute hitting for other more useful and harmless methods.[14] It is incumbent upon teachers to train themselves to become effective disciplinarians so their children are disciplined, but not in an abusive manner.
Friday, November 6, 2026
Teacher who beats his Beats Students and they die - Good Teacher?
Bechoros (46a) a certain teacher of children, upon whom Rav Aḥa administered a vow to cease teaching based on the consent of the public, as he was negligent with regard to the children by hitting them too much; and Ravina had his vow nullified and reinstated him, as they did not find another teacher who was as meticulous as he was.
Rashi (Bechoros 46a) פשע בינוקי - מלקה אותן ומתים:
Orthodox vs. Sellout Bloc-Voting voting
בס"ד
Hegseth’s ‘fight, fight, fight’ video pours fuel on impeachment flames
https://edition.cnn.com/2026/11/06/politics/iran-pete-hegseth-impeachment-midterms
In an ardent social media video Thursday, Hegseth vowed, “We Stand, We Fight” amid rising speculation he may become a scapegoat for the Republican disaster in midterm elections shaped by the unpopular Iran war.
Apart from Trump, few in Washington are willing to publicly defend Hegseth, especially after an electoral rout which showed the public’s disdain for a war the defense secretary has enthusiastically waged. So Hegseth took matters into his own hands with a video seemingly aimed at a single viewer: Trump.
Hegseth’s speech was accompanied by a blitz of supportive social media posts by aides in what increasingly looks like an orchestrated campaign to save his job. The message to Trump and the MAGA movement is clear — if Hegseth walks the plank, it will mean an enormous defeat for the president. A senior administration official told CNN’s Haley Britzky on Thursday that “the Pentagon and White House made their positions crystal clear tonight. They are coming out swinging in support of Hegseth and that should tell you everything you need to know.”
Michael Oren: The midterms ended the US-Israel special relationship
https://www.timesofisrael.com/michael-oren-the-midterms-ended-the-us-israel-special-relationship/
The midterms were a disaster for US President Donald Trump and the Republican Party.
To analyze the implications of the 2026 midterms, we are joined once again by Michael Oren, a scholar of the Middle East, Israel’s former ambassador to Washington, and an expert on the US-Israel relationship.
He said that the 50-year special relationship between Israel and the US ended on Tuesday, and the implications will be felt beyond the issue of military aid.
Even though Israel wasn’t responsible for many of the processes driving US politics, it is on the receiving end of them. MAGA isolationism and the rise of the Democratic Socialists might have their roots in domestic politics, but they have profound implications for Israel.
Israel, said Oren, accelerated those processes by failing to curb West Bank violence and avoiding any mention of peace with the Palestinians or Syria.
Jerusalem can mitigate some of the fallout and soften some of the blows, he said. Still, it should start diversifying its military and economic partners, and make clear that it will not be bound by any deal between the US and Iran.
Welcome to Trump’s Lame-Duck Era
https://time.com/article/2026/11/04/trump-lame-duck-era/
On the eve of an election that threatened to upend his presidency, Donald Trump went to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, where he had overseen a multimillion-dollar renovation that went awry when its new coating peeled and algae turned the water green. Aides hoped the President would focus on the concerns weighing on ordinary Americans: soaring gas prices, expensive groceries, a new war in the Middle East. Instead, Trump spent much of his 53-minute speech talking about construction projects rather than the struggles of the nation he had been elected to serve.
It was a bewildering capstone to a strange campaign. Allies marveled at Trump’s inability to stay on message as he crisscrossed the country. He boasted that oil companies were making a fortune as Americans struggled with energy costs. He claimed New Yorkers were no longer allowed to call their mothers “mom,” suggested renaming New Mexico “New America,” and repeatedly mimicked a Democratic Senate candidate vomiting at the sight of meat. Time and again, he veered into bizarre digressions about men's physiques. As one Trump aide put: “It’s hard to reach voters who can’t afford gas when your candidate keeps talking about Arnold Palmer’s endowment and Jon Husted’s ass.”
Trump’s confidantes often remarked that he cared little about the outcome of the midterms. He regarded his party's loss of seats in Congress as an inescapable historical pattern. He had a point: Barack Obama's Democrats took a beating in consecutive midterms, and George W. Bush's Republicans were drubbed in 2006. Trump himself oversaw the loss of dozens of House seats in 2018. Advisers tried convincing the President that he had some agency over the election’s trajectory, but “he had trouble getting past the history,” one of Trump's top advisers says. He grew resigned to the gridlocked slugfest ahead and dismissive of the investigations and potential impeachment proceedings Democrats could embark upon. “They’ll probably go after me,” he told TIME in late September, “and I’ll go after them.”
Aides are bracing for a wave of staff turnover, a combination of attrition and Trump dispensing with officials who have frustrated him. The result could be a further retreat into an insular circle of loyalists who are unable or unwilling to deliver bad news or curb his impulses. Inside the White House, advisers have been contemplating the implications of divided government. “His natural inclination is to work with Democrats or Independents or whatever,” says another senior aide. “But he’s aware of the investigations and the games the other side will play, and he’s prepared to fight back.” Already, the Democratic wave had already emboldened the party’s leaders. The expected incoming chair of the House Oversight Committee delivered a succinct warning on X: “LAWYER UP.”
Thursday, November 5, 2026
Medicine and Magic
When religion was strong and science weak,
men mistook magic for medicine.
Now, when science is strong and religion weak,
men mistake medicine for magic.
—THOMAS SZASZ
South Africa is first country to ban antisemitic conspiracy film saying Jews now aren't 'real Jews'
https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/antisemitism/article-913736
South Africa has become the first country to issue a nationwide ban on screening and distribution of an antisemitic film that claims Black people are the "real Jews."
Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America is a 2018 film that puts forward the theory that Black Hebrew Israelites are the true descendants of biblical Israelites, and that today’s Jews are not the real Jews. The film also claims there is an international Jewish conspiracy that aims to defraud Black people.
It was screened in June 2023 at the Soweto Theatre in South Africa, and the film was reported to the ombudsman by the local Jewish community.
Trump says he’ll accept the results after weeks of priming voters to doubt them
Despite concerns about what President Donald Trump would do, the midterms proceeded normally on Tuesday.
Amid palpable anxiety that the Trump administration would interfere with the midterms, Tuesday’s elections unfolded smoothly, with mostly minor, standard-issue hiccups.
The Justice Department sent more than 900 monitors to polling locations across the country, a historically large deployment. But fears that they would interfere with the day’s operations — or that troops or ICE agents would be deployed — proved unfounded.
With sweeping wins for Democrats in both the House and the Senate, President Donald Trump told the New York Times late Tuesday night that he would accept the results. And across the country, losing candidates conceded their races to their opponents rather than suggesting any form of malfeasance.
AFTER THE ROUT: Trump Shrugs Off Republican Election Disaster, Shows Reporters His White House Ballroom and Helipad
President Donald Trump made his first public appearance Wednesday following one of the Republican Party’s most devastating midterm election defeats in decades, but rather than dwell on the political catastrophe that handed Democrats control of both chambers of Congress, the president invited reporters to tour his massive White House ballroom construction project, enthusiastically discussing marble floors, towering columns, chandeliers and a newly constructed helicopter landing pad.
Yet the president appeared largely untroubled by the results as he walked through the unfinished ballroom, surrounded by construction workers wearing hard hats. He spoke at length about the building’s architectural features, the quality of its materials and his ambitious plans to transform the White House grounds.
Asked why he continued devoting so much attention to construction projects while facing serious political challenges, Trump defended his priorities, explaining that he enjoys overseeing improvements to the White House and other Washington landmarks.
“I like it,” he said. “For me, it’s relaxing.”
NY Rep. Mike Lawler loses re-election in blue wave — despite swell of support from large bloc of Orthodox Jewish voters
Republican New York Rep. Michael Lawler lost to Democratic rival Cait Conley in Tuesday’s blue tsunami despite carrying the large bloc of Orthodox Jewish voters in the Hudson Valley’s 17th district, sources said.
The two-term congressman won 71% of election precincts in the Town of Ramapo, which has a large number of Orthodox and Hasidic voters.
Still, Lawler did not perform well enough in traditional Republican strongholds to counter the tide of Democratic and anti-Trump voters who supported Conley in heavily blue precincts in the Westchester portion of the district.
Trump blames Iran war for midterm loss while touting ballroom construction
https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/6188142-live-updates-trump-democrats-congress-control/
In his first public appearance since Republicans lost big in the midterms, President Trump showed off the construction of the White House ballroom.
“It’s for the country, and it’s free,” he said.
Trump also told reporters that the Iran war was the “primary reason” for the GOP’s losses.
Hours earlier, Vice President Vance said in a lengthy post that that the conflict with Iran was the main reason why the GOP saw Democrats seize the House, the Senate and multiple governor’s mansions in Tuesday night’s midterms.
Trump agreed with Vance’s assessment but argued if he had to launch the war against the Islamic Republic again, he would do it.
Wednesday, November 4, 2026
Wall Street Journal editorial board: Trump ‘main architect’ of GOP midterm ‘rout’
The Wall Street Journal’s editorial board cast much of the blame on President Trump for GOP losses Tuesday, as Democrats are poised to take control of both the House and Senate.
“Republicans may console themselves that midterm defeats in second presidential terms are common. But this was more than a normal defeat,” the board wrote in a piece published early Wednesday.
“True to form, President Trump is already blaming everyone else, but he is the main architect of this rout,” the board added.
Vance says GOP lost midterms due to Iran war, and that voters want to ‘change our relationship to Israel’
https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog-november-4-2026/
US Vice President JD Vance, citing voters, says two lessons from Republicans’ heavy losses in yesterday’s midterm elections are that the Iran war must end and that the US must change its relationship with Israel.
Vance was widely reported to have opposed the war before the US and Israel launched it on February 28. Israel has largely not participated in strikes on Iran since April.
Vance’s post is retweeted by Trump’s son Donald Jr., who writes, “Every word of this is 100% 100% 100%.”
JD Vance blames Iran war and Israel for GOP midterm bloodbath
https://nypost.com/2026/11/04/us-news/jd-vance-blames-iran-war-and-israel-for-gop-midterm-bloodbath/
Vice President JD Vance broke his silence late Wednesday morning on the blue tsunami that completely wiped out Republicans across the country on Election Day, blaming the drubbing squarely on the war in Iran.
“In the next few months, there’s going to be a lot of gaslighting. Expect to hear any number of establishment politicians say the solution to our woes is amnesty,” Vance posted on X.“But anyone pushing amnesty is lying to you. The reason we lost is the war,” he added. “The president himself said so last night. If you’d like to argue it was worth it, that losing the Senate for the next 6 years was worth it, then do so.”
I felt negative going into Tuesday, but even I was shocked by this. In his polling, he saw that a lot of Trump 2024 voters were angry and planning to vote for Democrats. He asked those voters who had abandoned us what would cause them to come back on our team. The top four answers, accounting for nearly all of the responses were:
1) End the war
2) Focus on cost of living/inflation
3) Put America First
4) Change our relationship to Israel
Dispute
Yam Shel Shlomo (Introduction to Bava Kama): The Kabbalists wrote an explanation as to how two conflicting views could both be true. It is the consequence that all souls that would ever exist were at Sinai and accepted the Torah through 49 different conduits. The sounds that were both seen and heard (Shemos 20:15) refers to the information which was transmitted through these 49 conduits. Each person perceived the Torah through his own conduit and according to his ability to comprehend. Thus, he received the Torah according to the strength of his soul above and according to the degree of his spiritual elevation. Each one received information which differed from the others. Consequently, the Halacha would be for one that the object under discussion would be spiritually pure while a second person would inherently see the object as spiritually impure. A third person would see the object as not being in accord with either of the previous. Thus despite their disagreement, all of the views are true. This needs to be understood.
Trump blames Fox News while his MAGA media allies blame everything but him
https://edition.cnn.com/2026/11/04/media/trump-blames-fox-news-midterms-maga-media
President Donald Trump began election night by lashing out at Fox News. He implausibly tried to blame the conservative network for the GOP’s devastating midterm losses.
Fox “bears responsibility for these losses by constantly and consistently putting on the Dumocrat opposition, and worse,” Trump declared on Truth Social shortly before midnight Eastern time.
Tonight is one such time for the Republican Party,” radio host Buck Sexton wrote on X.
He went on: “Way too many mistakes. Bad messaging. Poor candidates. High prices. Unnecessary war that did not go as promises. We get up tomorrow and carry on. But there are lessons here.”
Rambam - Aristotle
Sefer HaBris (Section 1 2:6): The Givat HaMoreh wrote in the introduction to his sefer that the reason that it took such a long time for the full development of philosophy was because of the great wisdom of Aristotle and his unprecedented stature. Because of this his views were followed by all the scholars generation after generation in a slavish manner. It was viewed that anybody who disagreed with him was as if he were arguing on self-evident reality. In exactly the same way, the reason that there has been a long delay in the development of our theology is because many think that to disagree with something that the Rambam said is to disagree with something which is self evidently true. The two processes are almost identical because in fact the concepts of the Rambam are those of Aristotle - as is well known. However all men of integrity while they love the Rambam – love the truth more. This is as the philosopher said, “I love Aristotle and I love Socrates but the truth I love more.”
Trump allies blame Iran war for GOP’s devastating midterm losses: ‘Hope Schumer calls Netanyahu and thanks him’
Many of President Trump’s longtime loyalists are blaming the Iran war for tanking Republicans in the midterm elections — saying the economic pain of the conflict caused the GOP to lose the House and Senate.
“I hope Chuck Schumer calls Bibi Netanyahu and thanks him for his victory. This war was a disaster. People need to be clear-eyed about it,” a Republican strategist involved in the midterm campaigns told The Post.
“It took some time, almost two years, but we finally have an answer to the question of what happens when you take military and political advice from a mouth breathing buffoon like Mark Levin,” fumed a source close to Trump. “Every piece of data we have says it was the war and gas prices.”
Donald Trump’s Republicans suffer landslide defeat – what this means for the world
Donald Trump’s Republican Party has received a stunning rebuke in the US midterm elections. Republicans went into the evening hoping that the polls might be wrong and that they could at least cling on to control of the Senate. But by midnight in Washington, the GOP was staring down what looked like its worst defeat in 50 years.
Republican losses were not just confined to the type of swing districts that parties usually worry about on election night. The scale of the losses was staggering. They lost Senate seats in deep red states such as Texas and South Carolina. They lost districts they had gerrymandered and in which they were supposed to be unbeatable. They lost seats that even the sharpest analysts thought were safe.
Why? For months, surveys have shown that voters are fed up with high prices, with the war in Iran, and with what is increasingly being talked about as the Trump administration’s corruption. A president who was narrowly elected on the promise of a steady economic hand instead spent two years pursuing an extreme ideological agenda favoured only by a minority of Americans. He ignored what voters were saying, and now they have delivered a harsh verdict.
"This is troubling" | Hannity confronts Republican defeat, warns of lessons ahead
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/435636
Fox News host Sean Hannity responded to the Republicans' midterm election defeat by arguing that the results followed a familiar historical pattern in American politics, in which presidents with dominant political personalities suffer significant setbacks halfway through their terms but can recover in the next presidential election.
Democrats Take Congress in Stunning Rebuke of Trump
Democrats have taken control of the Senate and House as a blue wave surged across the country and voters delivered a rebuke of President Trump. The party flipped Senate seats in Maine, Iowa, Kansas, Ohio, Texas, South Carolina and North Carolina and numerous seats in the House.
Blue tsunami delivers Dems both chambers of Congress in stunning defeat for GOP and Trump’s handpicked candidates
A blue tsunami delivered Democrats the House of Representatives and the Senate Tuesday night, sweeping away once-safe Republican seats and unleashing immediate finger-pointing and preparations for fights with Congress.
A historic series of defeats, including Democrats flipping Senate seats in Iowa, Kansas, Maine, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina and Texas — with equally staggering results in House races — positioning New Yorkers Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries to lead the Senate and House.
“America is back,” Jeffries said. Schumer added that the Dems had won “against all odds” and that “relief was on the way.”
Voters punish Trump with dramatic swing to Democrats
Democrats win control of House and Senate in biggest Republican loss in half a century.
The American voter dealt President Donald Trump a historic rebuke on a scale not seen since 1974, propelling Democrats into control of both houses of Congress with commanding wins in places they hadn’t carried in decades.
Democrats won both the Senate and governor’s races in Texas by double digits — their first statewide victories there since 1994. They took a U.S. Senate seat in South Carolina, and the Georgia governorship for the first time since 1998. Kansas sent a Democrat to the Senate for the first time since 1932.
Among their early House victories were a Kentucky district that voted for Trump by 15 points and two Florida seats that Republicans redrew to shift right. The head of the House GOP’s campaign arm trailed in his own race with 99 percent of the vote counted. As of 12:01 a.m.
Ben Shapiro Says Republicans Must Avoid Poor Candidates, Prioritize Stability After Midterm Losses
Conservative commentator Ben Shapiro said Tuesday that the first lesson for Republicans from the midterm election results is not to run terrible candidates.
Speaking during The Ben Shapiro Show’s election-night coverage on The Daily Wire, Shapiro argued that candidate quality remains a decisive factor in every cycle. He pointed to the Texas Senate race, where Republican Ken Paxton faced high unfavorable ratings, saying that incumbent Sen. John Cornyn would have presented a stronger matchup against Democrat James Talarico. Shapiro noted that some Republican candidates, including those in Ohio and Maine, remained competitive despite the broader environment.
Democrat El-Sayed wins Michigan's US Senate race against Republican Mike Rogers, main pollsters say
https://www.jpost.com/american-politics/article-913770
Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed is projected to win his closely watched race against Republican Mike Rogers, leading pollsters reported on Wednesday, with the anti-Israel candidate set to fill the seat being vacated by retiring Democratic Senator Gary Peters.
In his speech, El-Sayed also referenced his past criticism of Israel, saying that "we don't want our money sent to do apartheid, or genocide, or war."
El-Sayed has stirred controversy throughout his campaign due to his stance on Israel, having accused the Jewish state of genocide over the war against Hamas in Gaza. Israel rejects the claim, while Rogers disputes it.
The now-victorious candidate reiterated his accusation during an interview with CBS’s 60 Minutes on Monday, further arguing that the United States continues to declare its support for a two-state solution while its actions help prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state, specifically in the form of military assistance to parties working against its formation.
In massive rebuke to Trump, Democrats projected to control Congress
https://edition.cnn.com/2026/11/03/politics/live-news/midterm-election-congress
Momentous sweep: Democrats will flip control of both the House and Senate in a resounding and historic victory, CNN projects. They capitalized on President Donald Trump’s historic unpopularity to win a major victory and significant power to check his final two years in office.
President’s response: Trump told The New York Times he will accept tonight’s results, shutting down — for now — questions about whether he would challenge the outcome. And in an interview with Fox News, he said he didn’t see the GOP losses “as a hit on me.”
Notable Democratic wins: James Talarico is expected to win a Texas Senate seat, which has eluded Democrats for 38 years, Adam Hamilton will win in deep-red Kansas and Annie Andrews will replace Sen. Darline Graham in South Carolina.
Special Post-Election Introspection 2026-11-04
בס"ד
Executive Director,
Help Rescue Our Children
Email: torahjewsfordecency@
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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