Rabbeinu Bachya (Bereishis (02:03). Some claim that the soul is a single force which however has three sub-categories. 1) the category which houses our desires, something we have in common with all the animals. 2) the source of growth, something possessed both by animals and all manner of plants. 3) the ability to think coherently, the soul of wisdom. All these functions are part of a single soul. Others claim that there are three distinct souls operating within man all of which are distinct from one another. The intelligent soul is an entity of its own, the potential to grow is an independent force. The animal kind of soul, which is the seat of all desires, i.e. the desire to eat, drink, procreate or simply indulge in sex, as well as the desire to sleep, are all part of the animalistic soul in man and constitute a separate soul. They are a part of what man has in common with the animal kingdom. The seat of that particular soul is the liver Its seat is in the liver.The force that enables man to grow physically. he shares such a force with all the trees, etc. Just as trees possess such built-in powers, man too possesses such a growth potential. As distinct from the seat of all desire which is presumed to be in the liver, this force does not have a specific location but is present in all parts of man‘s body. It remains active until a certain point in is life. The soul of intelligence is something exclusive to man, something he shares with beings in the higher worlds, beings which live forever in their sacred domains The seat of this soul is in man’s brain, and it is generally referred to as neshama This is what the Torah described in our verse as that which G-d “blew” into Adam’s nostrils. We also have a verse in Isaiah 42,5 “He gives a soul to the people on earth.” There are numerous similar verses throughout the Bible. According to the view of the philosophers who believe that each person has three separate souls, we find support for our sages in Sanhedrin 65 who report that the famous teacher Rava created a human being. When he brought this creature before Rabbi Zeyra, Rabbi Zeyra spoke to him whereas the creature could not answer back. Thereupon Rabbi Zeyra said to that creature (Golem): “you are man-made; go back to the dust you have been made of.” This passage in the Talmud is proof that man has three distinct souls. Rava, who was familiar with Kabbalah, and had studied the Sefer Yetzirah, had infused this creature with the “soul” which governs motion. He was unable, however, to provide his creature with the power of speech. The power of speech stems from the soul called man became a living creature
Wednesday, July 1, 2026
Extra Soul
Or HaChaim (Devarim 20:10) Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai said in Zohar volume 2 page 62 that G-d sends man an additional soul to guide him on the right path and to save him from committing sins against Him. In our paragraph we may perceive G-d as addressing this additional soul telling it: "when you approach a city. The idea is that this soul is intended to save the body from the evil urge; it is in line with the verse in Kohelet 9,14 which continues,"against which a great king comes and lays siege to it, An insignificant looking wise man saves that small city from the onslaught of the great king using his wisdom" "and you call out to her: 'peace'." The meaning is that you do not immediately wade into the your evil urge and try to conquer it in one single frontal assault; rather you first suggest that it also give heaven its due, as a result of which it will experience great benefits. As a result the evil urge will allow that man has a duty also vis-a-vis heaven. After all, secular activities such as eating and drinking in this life also enable man to perform his spiritual tasks better. As a result of this accomodation with the evil urge one assures oneself of not losing one's hereafter altogether. "If she is not prepared to surrender peacefully," If the "city" does not accept the soul's proposal to allow heaven its due, or that even after man began to become a penitent he slid back into sin, then you have to make all out war against the evil urge.We know that once an attempt to become a penitent fails, the chances are that the forces of evil will redouble their efforts against any religious instincts a person has.
Tuesday, June 30, 2026
Supreme Court upholds birthright citizenship
https://edition.cnn.com/2026/06/30/politics/live-news/supreme-court-cases-news
• Birthright citizenship upheld: In a big loss for President Donald Trump, the Supreme Court upheld birthright citizenship, striking down his executive order. Chief Justice John Roberts, calling citizenship “the right to have rights,” wrote for the court that “the Framers of the Fourteenth Amendment extended that promise to ‘every free-born person in this land.’ We keep that promise today.” Read the full opinion.
Email NJ Reps NOW Vs. A2218/S2260
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Will Schnall Vote Absent on A2218??
BS"D
June 30, '26
Rav ...
Lakewood, NJ
Rav ... שליט"א,
The venerable legacies of HoRav Aharon Kotler and Rav Avidgor Miller, ZY"A, are currently being jeopardized.
Assemblyman Avi Schnall (D) - who carries the name of Bnei Torah - and projects the image of "representing" Torah principles - seems - at the moment - to be intent on absenting himself on A2218 - unless he gets pressure from Rabbonim he fears NOW, who urge he actively vote NO.
Although it's hard to fathom his intentions with certitude, we have no room for error, especially given the implication and tenor of Aguda's recent statement, insinuating that they "helped win the battle" - just as we're, in reality, in process of losing the war. And we lose nothing by actively insisting Schnall do that which we should not need to even tell him to do.
Action Request:
Can you please urge Schnall (Asmschnall@njleg.org/
(848) 245-9486) to actively vote NO - against the final version of A2218, whatever form it assumes*?
Can you also perhaps urge other Rabbonim to do so likewise, immediately? The votes are scheduled today.
{* after the process of amending it is completed}
The Assembly session was to have started at 11, although may be late due to budget. Calls from Rabbonim he cares about probably could get through to him now, as could emails, very possibly.
PR:
The Rabbonim should also know that there has been PR about the danger of the amended bill in:
1) the MonseyMevaser.com this past week,
2) on CBN WhatsApp the night before last, and
3) via an email blast today.
We can't let anyone - especially Aguda - claim - or insinuate - that this amended bill is anywhere near acceptable.
And realize how bad this will all be with the provision requiring a liberal interpretation!
Section 12 (a) includes the following fatal flaw:
"The provisions" (of the bill) ... "shall be liberally construed to effect the purpose thereof."
Abstaining broadcasts: Our silence is for sale, even when it comes to taking a principled stand against the "legalized" wholesale murder of preborn infants, and evil, abusive transgender-tyranny.
That would be an unforgivable Chillul HaShem.
~~~
[Realize that, in her post below, Mrs. Tasy is perhaps more focused on her organization's advocacy role, namely saving preborn infants from the plague of "legalized" abortion, but the bill includes "protection " of transgender procedures as well, in the definitions.]
The added emphasis below is mine.
Thank you in advance,
Rabbi Noson Shmuel Leiter,
Executive Director,
Help Rescue Our Children
Email: nathanadvisors@gmail.
845.642.1679
Direct: 771.215.8892
Israeli Helpline: 03.721.3337
Presentations on New-Age dangers: 605-313-6831 ext. 2
Heard weekly on New Jersey's WSNR Radio 620AM, co-hosting the renowned Levin At Eleven program, every Thursday evening, 11pm to midnight (ET).
~~~~~~ ~~~~~~ ~~~~~~
---------- Forwarded message ---------
Date: Sun, Jun 28, 2026, 12:26 AM
New Jersey Right to Life: A2218/S2260 Amended But Threat Remains
New Jersey’s Abortion Shield Bill Was Amended. So, Who Are They Really Protecting?
June 15, 2026
By Marie Tasy, Executive Director, New Jersey Right to Life
There is a particular frustration in watching a deeply flawed bill steamroll through the Legislature, driven by a blind and erratic obsession with so called “reproductive health” and with little regard for transparency, the Constitution, or the people it will affect. That is what occurred with NJ Bill A2218/S2260.
New Jersey Right to Life testified at multiple committee hearings. Throughout the process, amendments were repeatedly introduced at the last minute and withheld from the public until after testimony had concluded, preventing us the opportunity for meaningful public review and informed comment. We were even denied the ability to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee on the bill’s constitutionality by the committee chair.
On June 11, the bill was scheduled for an Assembly floor vote and was pulled due to constitutional concerns. Legislative leaders stripped out one of its most dangerous provisions entirely, the section that would have allowed lawsuits against individuals for causing reputational, financial, or emotional harm simply because of their connection to reproductive health care advocacy. Removing it outright was a clear admission that the objections to it were valid.
That is a win. But it is not enough.
The amended bill still creates a new crime of “interference with reproductive health care services” and still authorizes expansive criminal and civil lawsuits, punitive damages, injunctions, and attorney’s fees. It still uses language subject to interpretation, based on “feelings,” that leaves far too much room for selective enforcement against peaceful sidewalk counselors, prayer vigil participants, and others engaged in constitutionally protected activity. When asked during committee testimony by Assemblyman Jay Webber (R-26) to identify specific incidents of violence at New Jersey abortion facilities that would justify these new penalties, a Planned Parenthood representative could not name a single example.
Violence, threats, trespass, property damage, harassment, and obstruction are already illegal in New Jersey. The Legislature’s own Office of Legislative Services has confirmed the bill will increase costs for prosecutors, courts, and corrections to address a problem supporters have not documented.
Also still troubling are the immunity provisions:
• Professional licensing boards are prohibited from disciplining providers based solely on their reproductive health care activity.
• Insurance companies are barred from taking adverse action against providers who perform services on patients from states where those services are illegal.
• New Jersey law enforcement and courts are prohibited from cooperating with other states’ investigations or proceedings related to reproductive health care, even when minors are involved.
• Any law from another state seeking to prosecute someone for reproductive health care activity is declared against New Jersey public policy and cannot be applied in state courts.
These provisions raise serious concerns about accountability. New Jersey has already seen the consequences of weak cross state oversight. Steven Chase Brigham, a New Jersey abortionist, ran an illegal bi-state late term abortion operation. He would begin procedures in New Jersey and have patients drive to a secret facility in Maryland to complete them. After one botched procedure left an 18-year-old with a ruptured uterus, police discovered the bodies of 34 late term aborted babies in a freezer at the Maryland location. Brigham was charged with ten counts of murder. The charges were ultimately dropped on a jurisdictional technicality. A2218/S2260 would make exactly this kind of cross state accountability even harder.
Kermit Gosnell, the Philadelphia abortionist whom even the secular media called a serial killer, operated for years under lax oversight before his crimes were exposed. The lesson of both cases is the same: when accountability disappears, women and children pay the price.
So who is this bill really protecting? Not the women and young minor girls who will be exploited by traffickers, abusers, and unscrupulous providers who will use these protections to evade accountability both inside New Jersey and across state lines.
The bill raises serious questions about federalism, interstate cooperation, free speech, accountability, and the proper role of government. It deserves far more scrutiny than it has received.
The Legislature was forced to amend this bill repeatedly and ultimately remove one of its most controversial provisions after sustained public criticism. That does not happen when concerns lack merit. It happens when serious flaws are exposed.
At this point, the real question is why this legislation was introduced in the first place. New Jersey already has laws against violence, threats, trespass, harassment, and obstruction. Supporters have failed to demonstrate a need for these sweeping new protections and penalties.
New Jersey deserves laws that protect constitutional freedoms, respect accountability, and serve the public interest, not legislation designed to appease favored political constituencies and shield them from scrutiny, accountability, and make taxpayers bear the cost of enforcing new protections and penalties for a problem supporters have failed to document.
The Assembly should reject A2218/S2260 outright. This law protects no one who needs protection. It is built on definitions so deliberately broad that most New Jerseyans would be stunned to learn what they cover, and it uses those definitions to wall off an entire industry from professional discipline, legal scrutiny, and interstate accountability. When something goes wrong, and history tells us it will, there will be no cooperation, no consequences, and no one left to answer for it.
And that, for the women and children this bill leaves unprotected, is far more than a shame.
####
Israeli defense chief blames Trump for halting all-out Hezbollah push in Lebanon
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz blamed President Trump on Monday for stopping the Jewish state from eliminating all of Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Explaining to reporters that having a “partnership” with the US “has certain constraints,” Katz said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “stood bravely” against Trump’s demands that Israel Defense Forces leave Lebanon through four phone calls.
”Iran constantly pressured the United States to pressure Israel, in order to stop this,” he said, according to a translated transcript of the briefing obtained by The Post. “At that time, we were attacking all of Lebanon, I remind you.”
”I’m sorry for that connection [of the cease-fire extending to Lebanon,] but it was an American interest, that [Trump] really, really wanted to promote the possibility of negotiations with Iran, etc., and he saw this as an obstacle to it.”
Hunter Biden-style sleaze is just as slimy when the Trump boys do it
It was bad when the Bidens did it, and it’s just as bad when the Trumps do it.
Insider deals, finders’ fees and backdoor introductions to family members are business-as-usual in Third World banana republics, but these slimy practices have now been normalized in the White House, to the shame of the nation.
The New York Times reports that Eric and Donald Trump Jr., sons of President Donald Trump, and Kyle and Brandon Lutnick, sons of Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, are tied to a billion-dollar tungsten-mining deal that the US government is financing in Kazakhstan.
The prez himself actually called into a meeting between Howard Lutnick and Kazakhstan’s president as the deal was being finalized.
Torah Knowledge?
Vayikra Rabbah (04:04) Ten things serve the soul: The gullet for food, the wind-pipe for the voice, the liver for anger, the lungs for drinking, the intestines to grind the food, the spleen for laughter, the stomach for sleep, the gall for jealousy, the kidneys think out and the heart decides; and the soul is above them all G-d, says to the soul: ' I have made thee superior to all of them, and yet thou goest forth and committest robbery and violence, and sinnest!
Pesachim (94b) The Sages of Israel maintain: The sun travels beneath the sky by day and above the sky at night; while the Sages of the nations of the world maintain: It travels beneath the sky by day and below the earth at night. Said Rabbi: And their view is preferable to ours, for the wells are cold by day but warm at night.
Chasam Sofer (Nidah 18a): What are the meanings of the anatomical terms mentioned in this Mishna? After I researched medical books and medical writers as well as scholars and surgical texts, I have concluded that we cannot deny the fact that reality is not as described by Rashi, Tosfos and the drawings of the Maharam of Lublin. We have only what the Rambam wrote in the Mishna Torah and his Commentary to the Mishna - even though the latter has statements which are unclear. However, you will find correct drawings in the book Maaseh Tuviah and Shevili Emuna…. Therefore, I did not bother at all with the commentaries of Rashi and Tosfos in this matter since it is impossible to match them with true reality. You should know this.
Shulchan Aruch (E. H. 156:4): A women is not exempt from yibum or chalitza until she gives birth to a child who completed 9 months of pregnancy Rema: Some say that in modern times an 8 month baby is also viable even though the gemora specifically rejects this possibility. The fact is that many have expressed amazement at this ruling of the gemora because our experience contradicts it. Therefore we must say that nature has changed from the time of the gemora in this matter and so it is with a number of other issues (Beis Yosef quoting the Tashbatz)…
Soul
Bereishis Rabbah (14:09) The soul fills the body, and when man sleeps it ascends and draws life for him from above
Chagigah (12b) Yet the soul of my lord shall be bound up in the bundle of life with the Lord thy God. The spirits and the souls which are yet to be born, for it is written: For the spirit that enwrappeth itself is from Me, and the souls which I have made. And the dew wherewith G-d will hereafter revive the dead, for it is written: A bounteous rain didst Thou pour down, O God; when Thine inheritance was weary, Thou didst confirm it There too are the Ofanim and the Seraphim, and the Holy Living Creatures, and the Ministering Angels, and the Throne of God; and the King, the Living God, high and exalted, dwells over them in Araboth, for it is said: Extol Him that rideth upon Araboth whose name is the Lord. And whence do we derive that Araboth is called heaven? From the word riding, which occurs in two Biblical passages. Here it is written: Extol Him that rideth upon Araboth. And elsewhere it is written: Who rideth upon the heaven as thy help.
Menachos (99b) The Torah was given in forty days and the soul is formed in forty days: whosoever keeps the Torah his soul is kept, and whosoever does not keep the Torah his soul is not kept. A Tanna of the School of R. Ishmael taught: It is like the case of a man who entrusted a swallow to the care of his servant and said to him, ‘Do you think that if you suffer it to perish I will take from you an issar for its value? No, I will take your soul from you.
Nidah (30b) Every tongue shall swear refers to the day of birth of which it is said, He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart, who hath not taken My name in vain, and hath not sworn deceitfully. What is the nature of the oath that it is made to take? Be righteous, and be never wicked; and even if all the world tells you, You are righteous, consider yourself wicked. Always bear in mind that G-d is pure, that his ministers are pure and that the soul which He gave you is pure; if you preserve it in purity, well and good, but if not, I will take it away from you
Nidah (31a) There are three partners in man, G-d, his father and his mother. His father supplies the semen of the white substance out of which are formed the child's bones, sinews, nails, the brain in his head and the white in his eye; his mother supplies the semen of the red substance out of which is formed his skin, flesh, hair, blood and the black of his eye; and G-d gives him the spirit and the breath, beauty of features, eyesight, the power of hearing and the ability to speak and to walk, understanding and discernment. When his time to depart from the world approaches G-d takes away his share and leaves the shares of his father and his mother with them
Sanhedrin (37a). For this reason was man created alone, to teach thee that whosoever destroys a single soul of Israel, scripture imputes guilt to him as though he had destroyed a complete world; and whosoever preserves a single soul of Israel, scripture ascribes merit to him as though he had preserved a complete world
Sanhedrin (091a) Antoninus said to Rabbi: The body and the soul can both free themselves from judgment. Thus, the body can plead: The soul has sinned, the proof being that from the day it left me I lie like a dumb stone in the grave powerless to do aught. Whilst the soul can say: The body has sinned, the proof being that from the day I departed from it I fly about in the air like a bird and commit no sin.’ He replied, ‘I will tell thee a parable. To what may this be compared? To a human king who owned a beautiful orchard which contained splendid figs. Now, he appointed two watchmen therein, one lame and the other blind. One day the lame man said to the blind, "I see beautiful figs in the orchard. Come and take me upon thy shoulder, that we may procure and eat them." So the lame bestrode the blind, procured and ate them. Some time after, the owner of the orchard came and inquired of them, "Where are those beautiful figs?" The lame man replied, "Have I then feet to walk with?" The blind man replied, "Have I then eyes to see with?" What did he do? He placed the lame upon the blind and judged them together. So will G-d bring the soul, replace it in the body, and judge them together, as it is written, He shall call to the heavens from above, and to the earth, that he may judge his people: He shall call to the heavens from above-this refers to the soul; and to the earth, that he may judge his people-to the body.
Bereishis Rabbah (34:10) Antoninus asked Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi When is the soul planted in man?When he leaves his mother's womb, replied he. But if you leave meat without salt for three days, said he, will it not putrefy? Rather, from conception Our Teacher agreed with him, for Scripture too upports him: All the while my souI is in me, and the spirit of God is in my nostril, while it is written, And Thy Providence hath preserved My spirit hence, when didst Thou place the soul in me? When Thou didst determine my fate.
Sanhedrin (91b) Antoninus also said to Rabbi, When is the soul placed in man; as soon as it is decreed that the sperm shall be male or female, etc., or when the embryo is actually formed? He replied, From the moment of formation. He objected: Can a piece of meat be unsalted for three days without becoming putrid? But it must be from the moment that God decrees its destiny. Rabbi said: This thing Antoninus taught me, and Scripture supports him, for it is written, And thy decree hath preserved my spirit .
Sanhedrin (103b) The soul of one righteous man is equal to the whole world:
Shabbos (152b) And the dust return to the earth as it was, and the spirit return unto God who gave it: Render it back to him as He gave it to thee, in purity, so do thou return it in purity. This may be compared to a mortal king who distributed royal apparel to his servants. The wise among them folded it up and laid it away in a chest, whereas the fools among them went and did their work in them. After a time the king demanded his garments: the wise among them returned them to him immaculate, but the fools among them returned them soiled. The king was pleased with the wise but angry with the fools. Of the wise he said, Let my robes be placed in my treasury and they can go home in peace; while of the fools he said, Let my robes be given to the fuller, and let them be confined in prison.
Tanis (22b) An individual may not afflict himself by fasting lest thereby he come to need the help of his fellow men and it may be that they will not have mercy upon him. Rab Judah said in the name of Rab: R. Jose's reason is because It is written, And became a living soul; Scripture thereby implies, God says, Keep alive the soul which I gave you.
Yoma (20b) There are three voices going from one end of the world to the other: The sound of the revolution of the sun; the sound of the tumult of Rome, and the sound of the soul as it leaves the body. Some say also the sound of childbirth
Yevamos (62a) If a man had children and they died, he has fulfilled, said R. Huna, the duty of propagation. R. Johanan said: He has not fulfilled it. R. Huna said: He fulfilled’ because he follows the tradition of R. Assi. For R. Assi stated: The Son of David will not come before all the souls in Guf will have been disposed of, since it is said, For the spirit that unwrappeth itself is from Me etc.
Zohar (Bereishis 012b) It behoves a man to labour in the study of the Torah, to strive to make progress in it daily, so as thereby to fortify his soul and his spirit: for when a man occupies himself in the study of the Torah, he becomes endowed with an additional and holy soul, as it is written: “the movement of living creatures”, that is, a soul derived from the holy centre called “living”. Not so is it with the man who does not occupy himself with the study of the Torah: such a man has no holy soul, and the heavenly holiness does not rest upon him. But when a man earnestly studies the Torah, then the motion of his lips wins for him that “living soul” and he becomes as one of the holy angels, as it is written: Bless the Lord, ye angels of his, to wit, those who occupy themselves in the study of the Torah, and who are therefore called His angels on earth.
Berachos (43b) Whence do we learn that a blessing should be said over sweet odours? Because it says, Let every soul praise the Lord What is that which gives enjoyment to the soul and not to the body? You must say that this is fragrant smell.
Beitzah (16b) On the eve of the Sabbath G-d gives to man an enlarged soul and at the close of the Sabbath He withdraws it from him, for it says: He ceased from work and rested: once the Sabbath has ceased woe that the additional soul is lost!
Rosh HaShanna (17a) Wrongdoers of Israel who sin with their body and wrongdoers of the Gentiles who sin with their body go down to Gehinnom and are punished there for twelve months. After twelve months their body is consumed and their soul is burnt and the wind scatters them under the soles of the feet of the righteous as it says, And ye shall tread down the wicked, and they shall be as ashes under the soles of your feet. But as for the minim and the informers and the scoffers, who rejected the Torah and denied the resurrection of the dead, and those who abandoned the ways of the community, and those who spread their terror in the land of the living, and who sinned and made the masses sin, like Jeroboam the son of Nebat and his fellows these will go down to Gehinnom and be punished there for all generations, as it says, And they shall go forth and look upon the carcasses of the men that have rebelled against me etc. Gehinnom will be consumed but they will not be consumed, as it says, and their form shall wear away the nether world. Why all this? Because they laid hands on the habitation, as it says, that there be no habitation for Him, and habitation signifies the Temple, as it says, I have surely built thee a house of habitation. Of them Hannah said, They that strive with the Lord shall be broken to pieces. R. Isaac b. Abin said: And their faces shall be black like the sides of a pot. Raba added: Among them are the most handsome of the inhabitants of Mahuza, and they shall be called sons of Gehinnom.
Reading Donald J. Trump and JD Vance on Iran
https://www.israelhayom.com/opinions/reading-donald-j-trump-and-jd-vance-on-iran/
Given US President Trump's sterling record in confronting Iran – no other US president has actually gone to war against the radical Islamist regime and repeatedly backed Israel's wars of defense against Iran – one wants to give Trump the benefit of the doubt now too when he seeks to defang Iran diplomatically.
But the trash-talking about Israel by Trump and especially by his Vice President, JD Vance, makes this hard to do.
Dr. Michael Doran of the Washington-based Hudson Institute argues, almost convincingly, that Trump is buying time, not surrendering to Iran.
But Trump is prone to conjuring-up huge and historic "peace" deals, believing his own rhetoric even when it flies in the face of reality, and then moving on – leaving allies on their own to deal with messy, very warlike, aftermaths. See Ukraine and Gaza, and now perhaps Lebanon and Iran too.
Thus, in the real world – not an imaginary world of grand civilizational peace and a "new era of US-Iranian relations with some very nice and responsible Iranian leaders" who whimsically reflect "regime change" in Tehran, according to Trump – America's "temporary concessions" to Iran are not easily reversible.
Failure in Iran, defeat in Lebanon
https://www.israelhayom.com/opinions/failure-in-iran-defeat-in-lebanon/
Despite the Israel Defense Forces' impressive military achievements, the Iranian regime survived, Hezbollah is recovering, and Israel has been left without a clear diplomatic achievement. Why do many feel the campaign ended far from the goals that were set?
The courage and heroism of IDF soldiers and pilots, along with precise target intelligence (as opposed to strategic intelligence about the enemy, which failed again this time), produced extraordinary military achievements that will be discussed for years to come. But all this did not amount to victory, leaving us with a sense of a missed opportunity, and even of failure.
We should not be afraid to admit that we failed. Recognizing failure is the first step toward correcting it. True, failure is a harsh word, and some fear using it lest it damage public morale, as though Israel's citizens do not have eyes in their heads and cannot understand for themselves what happened vis-à-vis Iran and in Lebanon. But if we do not look reality squarely in the face, we will not be able to get back on track and win in the future. That is why we can only regret that the October 7 failure has still not been investigated, and that the truth about what happened to us on that day and before it is still not public knowledge.
'Marriage crisis' warning over draft dodgers sparks US ultra-Orthodox fury
https://www.ynetnews.com/jewish-world/article/rk0009efmzg
Senior Vizhnitz figure said ultra-Orthodox men classified as draft evaders and unable to leave Israel struggle to marry women from abroad, prompting sharp criticism from US Haredi voices, including claims that some soldiers 'will never marry' after falling in combat
The fact that ultra-Orthodox men who have not reported to IDF enlistment offices are unable to leave Israel is already well known within the Haredi community. However, in recent days the issue has become a central topic of discussion after rabbis and Haredi public figures warned that it is also creating a crisis in matchmaking, particularly within Hasidic communities that maintain close ties with communities abroad.
However, the focus on matchmaking during wartime has triggered a wave of criticism among ultra-Orthodox communities in the United States. Many argued that while soldiers are being killed in combat and tens of thousands of reservists are spending months away from their families, concentrating on international matchmaking difficulties reflects a disconnected sense of priorities.
Monday, June 29, 2026
Israel-Lebanon framework faces first test as Hezbollah rejects disarmament deal
https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/article-900787
Israel and Lebanon signed a US-brokered framework agreement in Washington on June 26, turning months of cautious negotiations into a formal diplomatic process. But the deal’s hardest test is only beginning: whether Lebanon can impose state authority in the south while Hezbollah remains armed, powerful, and opposed to the arrangement.
On paper, the agreement is a breakthrough. Israel and Lebanon recognize each other’s right to live in peace as neighboring sovereign states and say they intend to end the conflict and, eventually, any state of war between them. In practice, the bargain remains the one that shaped the talks from the start: Lebanon wants Israeli forces out and sovereignty restored; Israel wants proof that Hezbollah will be disarmed and kept away from the border.
Hezbollah’s rejection came quickly. The group called the framework a surrender, rejected any link between Israeli withdrawal and its own disarmament, and made clear it would not be bound by an agreement from which it was excluded. The response was predictable, but it showed the gap between the official negotiating table and Lebanon’s actual balance of power.
Supreme Court won’t save Trump from paying E. Jean Carroll $5M
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/06/29/e-jean-carroll-donald-trump-supreme-court-00979728
The Supreme Court on Monday declined to consider President Donald Trump’s attempt to overturn a 2023 jury verdict holding him liable for the sexual abuse and defamation of writer E. Jean Carroll, dealing a final blow to the president’s effort to thwart one of the most significant legal victories against him.
Carroll’s lawsuit accused Trump of raping her in a Bergdorf Goodman dressing room in the 1990s and then describing her allegations as a “hoax” after she went public with them during the first term of his presidency.
The Supreme Court’s decision not to intervene means Trump will have to pay Carroll the $5 million judgment, plus interest, that the jury awarded her. Trump, however, is still appealing a much larger judgment — $83.3 million plus interest — awarded to Carroll after a second trial that found Trump liable for other acts of defamation.
Defense Minister: Trump's pressure saved Hezbollah
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/429377
Defense Minister Israel Katz claimed that President Trump's demand to link the Iran and Lebanon arenas prevented Hezbollah's collapse.
Defense Minister Israel Katz on Monday presented his assessment of the situation on the northern front, along with an overview of Israel's other fronts, stating that Israel is working to shape a new security reality in Lebanon.
Cain banished from Earth
Zohar (Bereishis 009b) When Cain was banished from the face of the earth, he descended into that land and there propagated his kind. That earth consists of two sections, one enveloped in light, the other in darkness, and there are two chiefs, one ruling over the light, the other over the darkness. These two chiefs were at perpetual war with each other, until the time of Cain's arrival, when they joined together and made peace; and therefore they are now one body with two heads. These two chiefs were named Afrira and Kastimon. They, moreover, bear the likeness of holy angels, having six wings. One of them had the face of an ox and the other that of an eagle. But when they became united they assumed the image of a man. In time of darkness they change into the form of a two-headed serpent, and crawl like a serpent, and swoop into the abyss, and bathe in the great sea. When they reach the abode of Uzza and Azael they stir them up and rouse them. These then leap into the dark mountains”, thinking that their day of judgement has come before the Holy One, blessed be His Name. The two chiefs then swim about in the great sea, and when night comes they fly off to Na'amah, the mother of the demons, by whom the first saints were seduced; but when they think to approach her she leaps away six thousand parasangs, and assumes all shapes and forms in the midst of the sons of men, so that the sons of men may be led astray after her. These two chiefs then fly about through the world, and return to their abode, where they arouse sensual desires in the descendants of Cain to bear children. The heaven above that earth is not like ours, nor are the seasons of seed and harvest the same as ours, but they only return after cycles of many years. These Elohim, then, who have not made heaven and earth may perish from the upper earth of the universe, so that they should have no dominion there, should not traverse it and should not cause men to pollute themselves “through anything that chanceth by night; and for that they will perish from the earth and from underneath the heaven which were made in the name of Eleh, as has been explained above. It is for that reason that this verse has been written in Aramaic, so that the angels should not think that they are alluded to and so bring accusations against us. This, too, is the secret of the last word, to wit, Eleh, which being a sacred name, could not be altered into Aramaic.
NJAAP FOR abortion- transgender-tyranny bill A2218/S2260
BS"D
June 29, '26
Attached is a statement of strong support by the NJAAP for the abortion-at-whim/ transgender-tyranny bill A2218/S2260.
Here is one critique, focusing on abortion-at-whim:
Here is one updated alert for the Orthodox community:
Rabbi Noson Shmuel Leiter,
Executive Director,
Help Rescue Our Children
845.642.1679
Direct: 771.215.8892
Israeli Helpline: 03.721.3337
Tomim Tih'yeh [countering "New-Age" infiltration]:
Presentations on New-Age dangers: 605-313-6831 ext. 2
Heard weekly on New Jersey's WSNR Radio 620AM, co-hosting the renowned Levin At Eleven program, every Thursday evening, 11pm to midnight (ET).
Open Letter to NJ Pediatricians to Oppose NJAAP support of A2218
BS"D
June 29, '26/ Parshas Pinchus, 5786
Dear NJ Pediatricians,
Recently, the NJAAP sent a letter strongly supportive of the looming transgender/abortion-at-whim-
I urge you each to consider an immediate rebuttal to that letter of the NJAAP - and sending it to NJ legislative reps, or at least a few allied reps opposing A2218/ S2260, to circulate to their colleagues.
Such a missive would help expose the fact that very many NJ pediatricians have not sold their souls to the Depravity-Industrial complex, that seeks to profit off vulnerable youth and adults, via barbaric gender "transitional" scams and abortion-at-whim.
It is the pediatricians who have the ability - and responsibility - to act. If you need us to facilitate, please inform ASAP.
The time to act is now, not after passage.
The subversives are active. However, the reason they are so effective is not just because they're active - it's because the rest of the people are not. That must change.
Don't rely on others to act. That has repeatedly proven as foolish as it is counterproductive, and even lethal, as evidenced by the 2018 passage of physician-facilitated poisoning of the medically vulnerable (euphemistically named "Aid In Dying") in NJ -- by one single vote!
FYI, here's one analysis of the bill from a pro-life perspective:
And here's their critique of the NJAAP letter:
Thank you in advance,
Rabbi Noson Shmuel Leiter,
Executive Director,
Help Rescue Our Children
845.642.1679
Direct: 771.215.8892
Israeli Helpline: 03.721.3337
Tomim Tih'yeh [countering "New-Age" infiltration]:
Presentations on New-Age dangers: 605-313-6831 ext. 2
Heard weekly on New Jersey's WSNR Radio 620AM, co-hosting the renowned Levin At Eleven program, every Thursday evening, 11pm to midnight (ET).
~~~~ ~~~~~~ ~~~~~
Subscribe to:
Posts
(
Atom
)