Loving wife children and master - slavery

The only clear expression that a wife is loved is

שמות פרק כא פסוק ה
וְאִם־אָמֹ֤ר יֹאמַר֙ הָעֶ֔בֶד אָהַ֙בְתִּי֙ אֶת־אֲדֹנִ֔י אֶת־אִשְׁתִּ֖י וְאֶת־בָּנָ֑י לֹ֥א אֵצֵ֖א חָפְשִֽׁי: 

 a jewish thief sold into slavery

if he is married to a Jewish woman his master can give him a non jewish slave to breed other slaves

after 6 years if he declares he loves his master his non Jewish partner ans non Jewish children 

he can remain as a slave  with this master partner and children

why is there no place where the Torah talks about a man loving his Jewish wife and children?!

could not find any discussion in the commentaries!

Yevamos(62b): Our Rabbis taught: Concerning a man who loves his wife as himself, who honours her more than himself, who guides his sons and daughters in the right path and arranges for them to be married near the period of their puberty, Scripture says, And thou shalt know that thy tent is in peace.49 

 according to Ramban is a Rabbinic decree

Rambam(Hilchos Ishus 15:19): And thus our Sages commanded that a man should honor his wife more than himself and love him as himself. If he has money he should increase her welfare according to the money. Furthermore he should not place too much fear on her and he should speak with her pleasantly and he should not be sad or angry.

Making of a Gadol (page 819) Yehiel-Yankev's talmid R' Pinhas Biberfeld: When the Alter tried to convince R' Weinberg not to separate from his wife, he responded, "Where is the drugstore which sells a potion for love?" It may be assumed that R' Weinberg's purpose in repeating this conversation to his talmid was to convey this very idea - that by making the attempt to get him to stay with his wife, the Alter had demonstrated that he did not grasp what degree of compatibility was expected between couples in the new times. Even the extreme forbearance that the Alter knew R' Weinberg was possessed of could not hold a relatively modem marriage together. 

רש"ר הירש בראשית פרק כד פסוק סז
(סז) אף זו תכונה, אשר, ברוך ה', לא ניטשטשה בזרע אברהם ושרה, יצחק ורבקה! ככל שהוסיפה להיות אשתו, כן גדלה אהבתו! כדוגמת נישואין אלה של הבן היהודי הראשון, כן נוסדים הנישואין, רוב הנישואין בישראל, לא על יסוד התשוקה, אלא על פי שיקול התבונה. הורים וקרובים נמלכים בעצמם, אם הצעירים מתאימים זה לזו; משום כך גוברת האהבה, ככל שהם מרבים להתודע זה לזו. אך רוב הנישואין בעולם הלא - יהודי נגמרים על - פי מה שהם קוראים "אהבה", ואין לו לאדם אלא להציץ בתיאורי הנובילות הלקוחים מהחיים, כדי להיוכח מיד, מה רבה שם התהום בין ה"אהבה" שלפני הנישואין לבין זו שלאחריהם, איך הכל אחר - כך תפל וחסר טעם, מה שונה הכל מתיאור הדמיון, וכו'. "אהבה" זו היתה עוורת, ועל כל שעל בעתיד - אכזבה; לא כן הנישואין בישראל, שעליהם הוא אומר: ויקח את רבקה ותהי לו לאשה ויאהבה! שם החתונה איננה שיא הפריחה, אלא השורש לאהבה!

Orchos Tzadikim(Shaar 5 – Love): The love of women should be in the following manner. He should think that she is saving him from sin, and keeping him distant from adultery and through her he is fulfilling the mitzva of having children, and she raises his children, and she works for him the entire day, and she prepares food and other needs of the household. Because of her activities he is free to learn Torah and to be involved in other mitzvos. She is helping him to serve G‑d.

Kedushas Levi(Bereishis 224:67): And Yitzchok brought her into his mother’s tent and she became his wife and he loved her. What was the reason that the Torah tells us that Yitzchok loved Rivkah? A possible answer is based on the fact that there are two types of love a man has for a woman. The first type is the physical lust that a man has for a woman because he wants to satisfy his desires. Because this type of love is solely concerned with what he wants,  it is actually not love for the woman at all but entirely love of himself. The second type is the love which is not concerned with satisfying his physical lusts but rather is because she is an instrument that enables him to fulfill the commands of his Creator – thus he loves her just as he loves the other mitzvos. This is called love of his wife. That is the meaning of “And Yitzchok loved her.” He had no thoughts regarding physical lust but only loved her because she enabled him to fulfill the mitzvos of G‑d.

Netziv(Bereishis 24:64): And Rivkah lifted her eyes – and she saw Yitzchok while he was still praying and he was at that moment like an angel of G‑d – extremely awesome. and she fell off her camel – Because of her great fear and awe. However she did not know who she was afraid of. If she had been sitting with Eliezer the servant on the same camel and she had been sitting behind him then she would have relaxed when she would have seen the man go and greet the servant and seen them talking together like all men. Then eventually when she would have been informed who it was – her fear would already have dissipated. But since she was sitting together with Eliezer she didn’t wait – but asked immediately who it was out of great fear. Who is that man - that makes me agitated and frightened? We see in Bereishis Rabbah that the term “that” implies someone fearsome and frightening. Therefore when she heard that it was her husband she took out her veil and covered her face out of her great fear and embarrassment because she realized she wasn’t fit to be his wife. From that moment on that fear was permanently planted in her heart and she was not able to have the relationship with Yitzchok that Sarah had with Avraham and Rachel had with Yaakov. In particular when the others objected to something their husbands had done they were not embarrassed to speak firmly with them.  Rivkah was different. All of this served as a necessary preliminary to the events that would follow in Parshas Toldos when Yitzchok and Rivkah had strongly different views. Nonetheless Rivkah could not find the courage to stand up to Yitzchok and defend her views – even though it was true that Esav was a fraud. The same thing happened at the time of giving the berachos. In fact all of this was the means by which G‑d caused the berachos to be given to Yaakov in this manner as we will explain later. All was done with Divine Providence from the beginning - that Rivkah should arrive when Yitzchok was praying and thus she should see him as an awesome and frightening spectacle – it all happened according to G‑d’s Will.

Rav S. R. Hirsch(Bereishis 24:67):... A man’s love for his wife grows with time. An example is the marriage of the son of the first Jew. This is the way it is with the majority of Jewish marriages. They are not built on the basis of lust (cheshek) but rather on careful deliberations. The parents and relatives make the decision as to whether these young people are compatible with each other. As a consequence of this objective compatibility, love grows with the marriage as the couple spends more time together. In contrast the majority of non-Jewish marriages in the world are based on what they call “love”. One has only to look around to have clear proof that there is a great chasm between the “love” prior to marriage and that which exists after the marriage. One sees how quickly things change after marriage and are so different than what people imagined they would be. This “love” is blind and false. In contrast the Jewish marriages are described by this verse, “And he took Rivkah and he married her and he came to love her.” The Jewish wedding is not the result of the flowering of love but is the cause of it.

Rav Chaim Paltiel(Bereishis 24:67): And Yitzchok loved her This statement of the Torah is surprising – does that mean that originally he hated her? A possible answer is when he had the first sexual intercourse with her - he did not find signs of virginity. That was becasue she had fallen off the camel when she first saw him and this caused her to lose the signs of virginity and therefore she had the halachic status of one was lost the signs because of a physical blow (muchas eitz) – not because of intercourse. As a result of not finding the signs of virginity he hated her because he suspected that she had had relations with other men. She protested that she had done nothing wrong with any man. Eliezar also defended her innocence of wrong doing. She explained that when she fell of the camel, the force had caused her to lose the signs of viriginity. She added, “Perhaps G-d will do a miracle and I will find the signs of virginity.” They went to the field where she had fallen and they found the signs of virginity on a stone and a dove was sitting on them in order to preserve them from the sun.

Netziv(Bereishis 24:67): And he loved her – This that it says that he married Rivka is not proof  that he loved her. That is because he was forced to marry her since it was not easy to find a virgin specifically from his family. Therefore it was necessary for the Torah to inform us explicitly that in fact he found a special loving relationship with her that led to his being comforted from the distress of the death of his mother.

Yad Rama(Sanhedrin 76b): The braissa says that if a man loves his wife as himself – that means that he should have mercy on her as he is merciful to himself but more than himself is not relevant. That is because love is something which is in the heart and a person is not able to love another more than he loves himself. However regarding honor that is something for which it is possible that he can honor her more than himself with clothing which is nicer than what he gets for himself.

Netanyahu still 'King Bibi' on Israel's margins

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/276513

 Mizrahi voters and more recent immigrant groups like Russian speakers have felt their Jewish identity threatened by the left's conception of Israel as "a modern, Western state," he said.

"Likud gives [Mizrahim] the impression that their individual lives are part of the great history of Israel and the Jewish people," the professor added.

Mizrachi voters also personally trust Netanyahu and believe "he can defend the interests of Israel and theirs," he said.

As for the Prime Minister's upcoming trial on accusations of accepting improper gifts and offering a media mogul benefits in exchange for positive coverage, Matslaoui was dismissive.

"Bibi got cigars and champagne and his wife got some jewelry... So what!" the trader said.

"Bibi is our prince."

 

Trump tightens his grip on intelligence

https://www.politico.com/news/2020/02/26/trump-tightens-his-grip-on-intelligence-117451

 But it also revealed a deeper trend: namely, the steps Trump has taken to shield the public from intelligence that could be politically damaging for him, and keep the flow of information coming out of the agencies firmly under his control.

 

With Hawks Like This, Who Needs Leftists?

BS"D

With Hawks Like This, Who Needs Leftists?

1 Adar, 5780 °°  Feb. 26, '20

Opinion and Perspective,

By Binyomin Feinberg,

FeinbergBinyomin@gmail.com

~~~~~~~~~~~

To check for updates, on first view of this article, as well as throughout the week,  please visit https://saveHischildren.blogspot.com -

or/and see updates for month of Shvat '80:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1lddXuWtrhFZxLVA4__PVS7Zo53zNRPk8Cz7nIfxSXBE
~~~~~ 

The Israeli Army recently released a new Five-Year Plan for a major military upgrade, named "Momentum" (https://www.meforum.org/60436/the-idf-implements-mef-victory-concept ). Defense Minister Naftali Bennett, who approved the plan and presented it to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, explained that the plan "will allow the IDF to strike the enemy faster, more intensely, with a stronger destructive capacity, thus overcoming the enemy and bringing victory," adding that "The plan puts the principle of victory back at the top of the list of priorities." It is designed to increase offensive and defensive capabilities sevenfold.

The cost is projected to be NIS 30 billion ($8.75 Billion) - annually - to bolster Israeli military "air, ground, sea, and cyber capabilities, its intelligence superiority, and technological prowess."

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Aviv Kochavi presented the plan, stressing the urgent nature of the threats Israel now faces, saying "they won't wait" for Israel to resolve its electoral crisis. Israelis are expected to vote at the beginning of March, for the third national election in a year, although without much prospect of differing results (perhaps illustrating Einstein's famous maxim, regarding repetition of the same actions while expecting different results).

It was reported that "Momentum focuses on strengthening the military's war readiness, placing an emphasis on the operational edge of the IDF's elite point units in all corps, upgrading the quantity and quality of the munitions used but the Air Force, and transforming the army into a deadly and multidimensional technological force across all spheres of battle, including cyber and electronic warfare."

"Implementing this plan will make the IDF exponentially faster, more precise, and deadlier," Kochavi was quoted.

However, the tough talk bubbling over this ambitious plan appears to contrast a bit with another IDF milestone, of sorts. As Michael Peck reported in The National Interest (January 28, 2020), in an article titled "The Israeli Army Is Unprepared for a Ground War with Iran and Hezbollah" (https://www.meforum.org/60343/the-israeli-army-is-unprepared-for-a-ground), the Army is suffering from an acute neglect of some basic military needs.

The article opens:

"If Israel has to go to war tomorrow against Iran or its Lebanese proxy Hezbollah, there's a problem. The Israeli mechanized division that would defend Israel's northern border, or enter Syria or Lebanon to eject Iranian and pro-Iranian forces, [is] in bad shape.  The 319th Division, stationed in northern Israel, is short of equipment such as tanks, and the equipment it does have is in poor condition, according to an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) audit cited by Israeli news site Ynet.

"According to the audit's findings, 52 percent of combat vehicles are unfit for use and there is a 20 percent shortage of weapons and night-vision equipment for soldiers," Ynet said.

"The auditors found that many armored vehicles were lacking during proper maintenance checks, with 68 of them sitting uncovered and unprotected against the elements. Dozens of other vehicles were found unusable due to faulty tires and broken engines, ...

According to an audit by the IDF itself, 52 percent of the 319th Division's combat vehicles are unfit for use."

The Ynet expose  sported photos of dilapidated military vehicles, and vehicles unprotected by tarps against the elements.

Auditors identified similar neglect of the 319th Division's support units, as well. "The Northern Command's logistics unit, upon which the 319th Division relies in times of war, has a shortage in communications equipment and vehicles for medical evacuation, and the division's medical unit hasn't had a commanding officer or lieutenant for almost a year."

"One reason for the 319th Division's woes is that there isn't enough equipment to meet both operational and training needs. 

'The audit found that about half of the 319th Division's Mark 4 Merkava tanks and almost 100 communication devices have been lent to the Armored Corps training unit, located more than 350 kilometers [217 miles] from their main storage and maintenance areas in the north," Ynet said.

"These tanks are worn out, impairing their emergency and combat capabilities. A high-ranking officer in the IDF Northern Command said that the issue of lending equipment and armored vehicles is a military decision, citing the Mark 4's production lines being incapable of accommodating both the standard and training units."

Mr. Peck cogently provides a broader perspective, adding the observation that "the 319th Division's woes reflect a larger pattern in the IDF. In the 1973 October War, Israeli units hastily mobilized to stem the surprise Arab invasion found themselves with shortages of equipment and gear that had been poorly maintained."

Mr. Peck doesn't address this point, but we'd be amiss to omit the fact that the leftist Israeli Establishment was considered criminally negligent in ignoring warnings about a serious Arab attack prior to the Yom Kippur war. Arab invaders and leftist Jewish arrogance together killed over 2,500 of the Israeli Army's best young soldiers, many of whom were killed fighting heroically while being massively outnumbered. Reports like these raise the question of whether the Israeli government is repeating history.

"In the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah War, Israeli troops suffered from shortages of basic items, from food and waterto ammunition, as well as poorly trained logistics personnel.

"The IDF may have only hours to prepare for battle along Israel's northern border.

"Ironically, the IDF – which prides itself on flexibility to rapidly adapt to the chaos of battle – bases its approach on the mission-oriented tactics of the World War II German army. Yet despite being a virtuoso on the battlefield, the Wehrmacht's logistics skills were often lacking: German troops constantly ran out of fuel, ammunition and food during Operation Barbarossa, the 1941 invasion of the Soviet Union.

"... as this writer learned while observing an Israeli armored brigade on maneuvers along the Golan Heights in February 2019, the IDF may have only hours to prepare for battle along Israel's northern border.  Time to fix mistakes is a luxury Israel does not have," the article concludes.

(The author of that article, Michael Peck is a contributing writer for the National Interest, and a Writing Fellow at the Middle East Forum.)

***

However, the exquisitely blended blundering bluster of the Army should be measured against the tangible steps the Army has indeed been courageously taking in confronting impending national security threats: All-Women tank crews.  Last week (at the approach to the consummation of the Holy Weeks of Shovavim), it was reported that the Israeli Army is introducing all female tank combat crews, apparently to protect the country from ISIS attacks in the South, and the like. No, we couldn't have made this up: https://www.jns.org/the-idfs-pioneering-all-female-tank-crews-provide-strategic-protection-for-israels-south/#

Apparently, the Israeli Army has upgraded the religious standards of their military "Equality" crusade. No "Ta'aroves" (gender mixing) in these tanks, R"L, nor any need for those pesky mechiztos, like those hanging in some Chareidi buses.

Why in the world? Has recent exposure of the human-trafficking agenda of the Army's female draft prompted Teshuva (repentance) at the highest levels? Has Draft Office Commander of Vice Avner Lotati finally been sent to work in Hollywood?   Well, if so, why are there an estimated several dozen girls still languishing in military prisons Four and Six, wishing to avoid conscription into the Mizron Tzahali Paradigm?

Well, perhaps, this Army frumming initiative may have been reciprocal in nature.  Perhaps this overture is the Army's way of telegraphing "hakarat hatov" (a "thank you") in response to recent cooperation by a handful of trailblazing frum women, who've lately been spotted providing the IDF free headhunter services, by naively sending ostensibly "weak" girls into Rayon Dat interrogations.  (Presumably, this is being done with the best of intentions - to save the "weak" girls from falling into the Army (the latter being the very goal-by-design of the Rayon Dat).)

But questions still abound. Will the female tank personnel be provided tefillin, to actualize Spiritual Equality with the men? Will there be an accompanying Yo'etzet attached to every unit? What about an Ayin-Horah lady on call, if fighting ever gets really difficult for these neshei chayil? Another major question remaining is: will these Equality-showcasing units units be open to heterosexual women as well?...

Survey: every fifth European believes a Jewish cabal runs the world

https://www.ynetnews.com/article/ryftAnm4U

 Fifth of respondents also say Jews exploit Holocaust victimhood for personal gain; 1 in 4 say Israel's policies make them understand anti-Semitism

The Billion-Dollar Disinformation Campaign to Reelect the President.

https://www.theatlantic.com/most-popular/

How new technologies and techniques pioneered by dictators will shape the 2020 election.

Trump’s Most Dangerous Destruction Yet

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/02/trumps-most-dangerous-destruction-yet/607021/

What the president is doing to America’s intelligence community could have enormous repercussions for the 2020 election and the country’s preparedness for threats from around the world.

 

Trump's wishful thinking won't stop coronavirus impact

https://edition.cnn.com/2020/02/25/opinions/trump-downplay-coronavirus-ghitis/index.html

 President Donald Trump keeps telling us not to worry, that the fast-spreading COVID-19, the coronavirus, is "going to go away," soon, probably by "April," and that a vaccine is "close." The experts, including federally-employed top scientists, say he's wrong on all these counts. (Please don't fire them!)

Why is the President lying? Take a guess. Because he thinks the virus, and fear of contagion, is bad for him. On that count, he's absolutely correct. Unfortunately, claiming that the virus is not a big problem does nothing to ease the infection rate or the economic impact that is sure to span the globe before long.

 

Jewish academic: Under attack, US ultra-Orthodox are misunderstood, ‘terrified’

https://www.timesofisrael.com/jewish-academic-under-attack-us-ultra-orthodox-are-misunderstood-terrified/

 Do these communities feel the anti-Semitism coming from the right and the left?

Yes. There is a perfect storm right now of many factors. There seems to be something in our society that is allowing these ideas to intensify.

Trump is a complicated thing because on the one hand a lot of Orthodox Jews really like him for their perception of his support for Israel, but at the same time he gives press passes to virulent anti-Semites. He’s winking at anti-Semitism.

On the left Louis Farrakhan has gained pronounced influence. He was gone for years but recently his profile has grown. And if you don’t know better, if you don’t know anyone Jewish, you just sort of accept what he says.

It’s a scary time. On the one hand, Jews have never had it better. On other hand, they are under daily attack. It’s a paradox, but it’s true.

 

Syrian Refugees Fleeing Assad's Onslaught in Idlib Have Nowhere Left to Hide

https://time.com/5790278/syria-idlib-humanitarian-catastrophe-assad/

Although President Trump said in a Feb. 15 phone call with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan that Russia should halt its support for regime “atrocities”, the White House has been near silent on the bloodbath in Idlib, where human rights groups have documented the death of nearly 2,000 civilians in the past year.

“The Trump Administration has publicly assured the Russians and the Assad regime that they will not have to deal with U.S. military strikes aimed at protecting civilians from mass homicide and state terror,” Frederic Hof, who advised President Barack Obama on Syria told TIME recently. “For people like Vladimir Putin and Bashar al-Assad, this is a bright green light to do as they wish.”

 

Would Sanders, Bloomberg or Warren move the US embassy back to Tel Aviv?

https://www.jpost.com/Us-Elections/Would-Sanders-Bloomberg-or-Warren-move-the-US-embassy-back-to-Tel-Aviv-618842

"What I happen to believe is that right now, sadly, tragically, in Israel, through Bibi Netanyahu, you have a reactionary racist who is now running that country," Sanders said.

 

Trump and Weinstein are both on trial. Only one is still considered too powerful to fail

https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/10/26/16526922/donald-trump-impeachment-harvey-weinstein-sexual-assault

“It’s not only the Republicans in Congress” who were willing to give Trump a pass, said Lawless. “It’s also the country. People think this behavior is unacceptable, but when push comes to shove, there are circumstances under which they’ll tolerate it because there are other things that matter more to them.”

Trump lashes out at liberal supreme court justices and demands recusals

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/feb/25/trump-supreme-court-sonia-sotomayor-ruth-bader-ginsburg

 It would be exceptional for any supreme court justice to recuse themselves from all cases involving the White House.

otomayor’s dissent was written in the style justices use after losing a divided ruling. It depicted accurately how the Trump administration has asked the supreme court to intervene in cases playing out in lower courts at a higher rate than George W Bush and Barack Obama combined.

“Claiming one emergency after another, the government has recently sought stays in an unprecedented number of cases, demanding immediate attention and consuming limited court resources in each,” Sotomayor wrote. “And with each successive application, of course, its cries of urgency ring increasingly hollow.”

Sotomayor was critical of the court allowing this to happen, and wrote that such interventions usually fall in the Trump administration’s favor.

 In November 2018, Trump’s relentless focus on the courts prompted supreme court chief justice John Roberts to intervene. After Trump said a federal judge was biased because of the president who appointed him, Roberts denied the assertion.

“We do not have Obama judges or Trump judges, Bush judges or Clinton judges,” said the conservative appointed by George W Bush in 2005. “What we have is an extraordinary group of dedicated judges doing their level best to do equal right to those appearing before them. That independent judiciary is something we should all be thankful for.”

Trump ignored the rebuke.

 

"Orthodox" gay marriage and the path to destruction

https://www.timesofisrael.com/after-endorsing-same-sex-marriages-a-us-orthodox-rabbi-performs-his-first/   


Rabbi Avraham Gordimer, 24/02/20
 http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Article.aspx/25249

 Last week, Avram Mlotek, a graduate of Open Orthodoxy's  Rabbinical Training Instittue,Yeshivat Chovevei Torah (YCT),, posted:

“I had the privilege of officiating a wedding on Sunday. In many ways, it was like any other simcha I've officiated: joyous, Jewish, spiritual, full of love. What made it different was that they were two men who joined in sacred, covenantal relationship. This coming week Jewish communities will hear two words uttered in synagogues across the globe: naaseh v'nishma, we will do and we will listen. We will act and we will understand. As I shared to the chatanim, the grooms, it is their passion, charge and desire for action which made this holy day possible. While some may not yet or ever fully comprehend, it is their actions, deeds and maasim tovim, their mitzvot, which will speak for themselves with inherent worth and value. Mazel tov!”

Rav Gestetner

Leftist professor: 'Israel needs to close off haredi cities to prevent spread of COVID-19'

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/276465

 

In a Facebook post, Goldblum, who has a PhD in organic chemistry, wrote: "They're hiding the truth from you, because of the elections: The virus is spreading quickly in Israel since the Koreans visited the Cave of the patriarchs. In Italy they have closed off towns and cities to prevent the spread of the disease. Israel needs to close off Elad, Bnei Brak, and Modi'in Illit and Beitar Illit, and Netivot and Beit Shemesh, as well as large neighborhoods in Ashdod and Jerusalem."

All of the locations Goldblum named are home to large haredi communities.

Bernie Sanders: I thought this question might come up ..

Graham: Trump a 'race-baiting, xenophobic religious ...

What’s Next for Psychology’s Embattled Field of Social Priming

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/whats-next-for-psychologys-embattled-field-of-social-priming/

 This is not the only area of research to be dented by science’s ‘replication crisis’. Failed replication attempts have cast doubt on findings in areas from cancer biology to economics. But so many findings in social priming have been disputed that some say the field is close to being entirely discredited. “I don’t know a replicable finding. It’s not that there isn’t one, but I can’t name it,” says Brian Nosek, a psychologist at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, who has led big replication studies. “I’ve gone from full believer to full sceptic,” adds Michael Inzlicht, a psychologist at the University of Toronto, Canada, and an associate editor at the journal Psychological Science.

Lost 1,000-year-old Hebrew Bible found on dusty Cairo synagogue shelf

https://www.timesofisrael.com/lost-1000-year-old-hebrew-bible-found-on-dusty-cairo-synagogue-shelf/

 In July 2017, Israeli historian Yoram Meital stumbled upon a handwritten 1028 CE biblical codex that was lying abandoned on a dusty shelf in a Cairo synagogue. Wrapped in simple white paper of the sort one finds on tables in cheap eateries, at 616 pages, the Zechariah Ben ‘Anan Manuscript is one of the era’s most complete and preserved examples of the “Writings,” the third and concluding section of the Hebrew Bible. It had been lost to scholars for almost 40 years.

 

Netanyahu threatens war as sirens continue to wail in southern Israel

https://www.jpost.com/Breaking-News/IDF-hits-Palestinian-Islamic-Jihad-targets-in-Gaza-and-Syria-618547

 "If you don't shoot them, we will shoot you. I'm talking about a war"
 

Sanders: AIPAC provides a platform for leaders who express bigotry

https://www.jpost.com/Breaking-News/Sanders-AIPAC-provides-a-platform-for-leaders-who-express-bigotry-618552

  Democratic Presidential nominee hopeful Bernie Sanders will not be attending the conference of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), he has said, claiming that the organization gives a platform "for leaders who express bigotry." AIPAC said his comments were "truly shameful."

Far-right ‘Jew coup’ media outlet TruNews banned from YouTube

 https://www.timesofisrael.com/anti-semitic-media-outlet-trunews-banned-from-youtube-for-hate-speech/

 Platform headed by pastor who has said Jews want to kill ‘millions of Christians’ apparently barred for violating site’s hate speech rules; has been accredited by White House

Netanyahu: Benny Gantz's closest advisers compared President Trump to Hitler

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/276343
 

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu spoke with Fox News' Mark Levin about the "deal of the century" and how it might be implemented following the March election.

In the interview, Netanyahu explained that the rival center-left "Blue and White" party, led by MK Benny Gantz, is "a leftist party in disguise."

 "Remember, the majority of Israelis are basically right and center-right. So in order to get center-right voters, they pretend to be a center-right party and that they will take up the terrific Trump plan that has been put forward by [US] President [Donald] Trump that's very good for Israel, that has Israel applying Israeli law, adding to Israel's sovereign territory important places like the Jordan Valley."

Rush Limbaugh Says Same Democrats Who Tricked George W. Bush Into Iraq War and WMDs Are Now Pushing Trump-Russia Evidence

https://www.newsweek.com/rush-limbaugh-says-same-democrats-who-tricked-george-w-bush-iraq-war-wmds-are-now-pushing-1488580

 Limbaugh said the same intelligence agencies who "set up" Bush to sell Congress on the Iraq War are now "deploying every weapon" against the Trump administration. His Friday radio broadcast rehashed his own conspiratorial version of the lead-up to America's 2003 invasion of Iraq. He claimed "deep state" intelligence agencies and the Democratic Party faked evidence of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) in order to embarrass Bush's Republican administration. Limbaugh accused Democrats, the FBI and CIA of colluding against Trump in a similar way today by "making up evidence" of Russian ties.

 

Russia-linked disinformation campaign fueling coronavirus alarm, US says

https://www.timesofisrael.com/russia-linked-disinformation-campaign-fueling-coronavirus-alarm-us-says/

State Department officials say social media accounts tied to Moscow are promoting conspiracy theories that Washington is behind COVID-19 outbreak

 

John King takes on Trump Jr.'s attack: This is dangerous

Anderson Cooper on Rod Blagojevich claim: Just nuts

Blagojevich: I broke no laws, crossed no lines

does halacha change?

אמת ליעקב שמות פרק כד פסוק יח

(יח) ויהי משה בהר ארבעים יום וארבעים לילה.

עיין בפרקי דרבי אליעזר [פמ"ו] דאיתא בזה"ל: ריב"ק אומר מ' יום עשה משה בהר קורא במקרא ביום ושונה במשנה בלילה ולאחר מ' יום וכו', ועיי"ש. ונראה שבעל כרחך זמן תורה שבעל פה הוא בלילה, דהא קי"ל דברים שבכתב אי אתה רשאי לאומרן בעל פה32. ומזה [אנו למדים] שכל מצבי האדם מסוגלים לתלמוד תורה, אלא שכל מצב יש לו תורה מיוחדת, ודו"ק.

אמנם בעיקר דין זה יש לתמוה, הא הלכה פסוקה היא שדברים שבכתב אסור לאומרן בע"פ ודברים שבע"פ אי אתה רשאי לכותבן, ומה אנו רואין כעת הלכה למעשה, הפוסקים טרחו וגבבו לנו היתרים שונים לדברים שבכתב לאומרן בע"פ, ולהפך דברים שבע"פ התירו לכתוב משום עת לעשות ד', אבל ההיתר הזה נתרחב ונתפשט עד שכל גדולי ישראל ברכו ברכת שהחיינו כשזכו להעלות דבריהם על הכתב, ובלי שום היסוס וחשש כתבו דברים שבע"פ, ולמצוה וזכות הוא נחשב, ואיך נתהפך הדבר מן הקצה אל הקצה?

מקובל הוא אצל כל מאמין בעיקרי דתנו, כי התורה המצויה עתה בידנו היא היא הנתונה למשה רבינו. וברור הוא אצל כל אחד, כי משה רבינו ועזרא הסופר והלל הנשיא והרמב"ם והרמ"א כולן נטלו בימי החג אותן ארבעת המינין שאנו נוטלין. וכן תקעו באותו השופר שאנו תוקעין. ואותו התפילין והציצית והמזוזה המצויות עתה בידנו, הן הן שהיו בידי התנאים והאמוראים והגאונים והרבנים הראשונים והאחרונים. אבל מה נשתנה מצות ת"ת עד שמדור לדור רואין אנו שמשתנים אופני קיום מצוה זו וכמה מדיניה קבלו צורה אחרת לגמרי?

הבה נברר דברינו: בתחלה מי שיש לו אב מלמדו תורה מי שאין לו אב לא היה לומד תורה מאי דרוש: ולמדתם אותם ולמדתם אתם, התקינו שיהו מושיבין מלמדי תינוקות בירושלים, מאי דרוש: כי מציון תצא תורה. ועדיין מי שיש לו אב היה מעלו ומלמדו מי שאין לו אב לא היה עולה ולמד, התקינו שיהו מושיבין בכל פלך ופלך ומכניסין אותו כבן ט"ז כבן י"ז ומי שהיה רבו כועס עליו מבעט בו ויוצא. עד שבא יהושע בן גמלא ותיקן: שיהו מושיבין בכל עיר ועיר ומכניסין אותן כבן ו' כבן ז' [ב"ב דף כ"א ע"א]. הרי שבמצוה זו שינו וחזרו ושינו, תקנו וחזרו ותקנו, ומי התיר להם לבטל דרשת ולמדתם אתם ודרשת כי מציון תצא תורה?

לפי דברי המשנה [אבות פ"ה מכ"א] בן חמש למקרא בן עשר למשנה בן ט"ו לגמרא, וכן היתה ההלכה הפסוקה, מתחלה חייב הבן ללמוד תורה שבכתב כולה ואח"כ לומד משנה וגמרא. ואעפ"כ בזמן גדולי הפוסקים האחרונים, הב"ח והש"ך, עד דורותינו אלו, דורות שהיו זהירים בקיום כל המצוות עם כל פרטיהן ודקדוקיהן, ובכל זאת הזניחו את התנ"ך. וזכורים אנו שגם בימינו כשהתינוק עדיין אין לו ידיעה ואפילו שטחית בתורה שבכתב כבר מתחיל הוא למוד הגמרא ומזניחין לגמרי את לימוד התנ"ך. וכבר טרחו אחרונים למצוא מקור למנהג זה [ש"ך ביו"ד סי' רמ"ה], אבל מי הוא שהרשה להם ריפורמות כמו אלו. ובאמת מצינו שגם בימי רבי מתחלה דרשו גמרא אין לך מדה גדולה מזו, ואח"כ דרשו ולעולם הוי רץ למשנה יותר מן הגמרא [ב"מ דף ל"ג ע"א], הרי ששינו אופני קיום מצות ת"ת לפי צורכי השעה. אבל מדוע באמת לא הגדירה התורה עצמה חוקי וגדרי קיום המצוה החשובה הזאת שהיא כנגד כולם וכל דור ודור תורתו בידו?

יסוד הדבר בכל אלה לפי דעתי הוא: ולמדתם אותם ושמרתם לעשותם "גדול תלמוד שמביא לידי מעשה". המעשה הוא הוא המגדיר את צורת מצות הלימוד, אופן קיומה וחומר הנלמד, צורתו ותכנו, ולפיכך עם שנוי העתים וחליפת הדורות משתנים אופני הלמוד וחלקי התורה הנלמדים. בתחלה כשכל ישראל היו למודי ד' וכל אחד מישראל היה יכול בעצמו ללמד את בנו תורה, ודאי שהאב הוא המלמד היותר מוכשר, כי מי כמוהו יודע ומכיר את אופי בנו וכשרונותיו, איזה ענין מסוגל הוא יותר לתפוס וכדומה, אבל אח"כ במשך הזמן שנתרבו עמי הארץ, וא"כ אם ננקוט שרק האב ילמד את בנו א"כ בני עמי הארץ יהיו עמי הארץ עד סוף כל הדורות, התקינו להושיב מלמדים. אבל מכיון שכן צריך להושיבם בירושלים, ששם ראו התלמידים את הקדושה השוררת בחיים וכהנים העוסקים בעבודתם, וזה ודאי שיפעל על התלמידים להתמסר לתורתם בכל לבם ונפשם [תוס' ב"ב שם], אבל היו נכנסים רק כבני ט"ז, ועד אותו הזמן שהיתה שולטת הקדושה לא היו בועטים ברבותיהם, אבל אח"כ היו בועטים ברבותיהם, והוכרחו להושיב בכל עיר ועיר בכדי שיוכלו להכניס גם בני ו' וז'. ואף שבכל פלך ופלך היה אפשר להושיב מלמדים יותר חשובים ומוכשרים, אבל מפני ירידת הקדושה הוצרכו לתקן גם זאת, כי בני ו' אי אפשר להוליך מעיר לעיר.

מתחלה ידעו חכמי הדורות להשתמש באותן המדות שהתורה נדרשת בהן; ידעו כל מדה ומדה איך היא נדרשת ובאיזה אופן יכולים להשתמש בה, והיו בקיאין בחסרות ויתרות, ואות יתירה לדרשה נאמרה, וגופי הלכות נלמדין מיו"ד או וא"ו יתירה, ולפיכך היתה קפידא יתרה שלא ללמוד תורה הכתובה בע"פ [אם לא לסומא] משום עת לעשות. ולהפך דברים שבע"פ נאמרו מפה לאוזן ע"י הרב המלמד, ורק המלמד בעצמו היה כותב בעצמו מגלות סתרים, השמועות החדשות ששמע מרבותיו, והיה מעיין בהן לעצמו, שעל ידי הנגלה יהיה זכור מה ששמע מרבו בע"פ, אבל ללמוד מתוך הכתב לא היו נוהגין, כי מי הוא שיכול לדקדק בסגנון ובלשון עד שיוכל המעיין מעצמו לדקדק להבין כל כוונות המחבר, ואין המחבר יכול לכתוב כל כך מדוקדק. עד שחיבר רבינו הקדוש חיבור המשנה מפני מעוט הלבבות ע"י הצרות שהלכו ונתגברו, והחיבור הזה נסדר ונכתב בדקדוק גדול עד שהליטו בה כל הלכות הברייתות (כתובות ס"ט ע"ב)33 בדקדוק לשונה, ומאז כבר התחילה תורה שבע"פ לדחוק רגלי תורה שבכתב, שהתחילו להשתמש כבר בסברות, ורק לפעמים הורו הלכה מתוך המקרא, עד שנשתכחו לגמרי גדרי המדות שהתורה נדרשת בהן ונחתם הש"ס שעליו אין להוסיף מעתה. זהו חתימת תקופת האמוראים, ומשם ואילך אין ההלכה יוצאת מתוך המקרא אלא מתוך המשנה והגמרא, אלא שגדולי הראשונים שאבו מן המקראות בצרוף אגדות חז"ל האמונות והדעות התורניות, ומפני מעוט הלבבות העלו כולם דבריהם על הכתב משום עת לעשות, ונמצאו גם אלה נעשו להלכות פסוקות, כמו של רבינו סעדיה גאון והרמב"ם והרמב"ן ודומיהם, וכיון שנכתבו גם אלו נעשה מעתה המקרא בבחינת אלפא ביתא [הגר"י סלנטר במכתביו34], כלומר כהכנה להבנת תורה שבע"פ הכתובה בזמננו משום עת לעשות, ולפיכך כל עיקר הלמוד נשאר אצלינו בתורה שבע"פ, כי היא היא המביאה לידי מעשה, ומחוייבים אנו לראות שהלמוד יהיה תלמוד המביא לידי מעשה, שכן היא חובת מלמדי תינוקות ללמדם ולחנך אותם בדרך טובה [רש"י ב"ב דף ח' ע"א] והיא צורת תלמוד תורה.

Violence In Syria Stokes Fears Of A Coming ‘Bloodbath.’ Will Trump Act?

https://time.com/5788258/violence-in-syria-stokes-fears-of-a-coming-bloodbath-will-trump-act/

 

Trump hasn’t been shy in vocalizing his aversion to overseas entanglements, but Middle East experts and human rights officials stress that there’s a middle road between refusing to act and engaging in open-ended U.S. military and diplomatic interventions of the kind seen in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“At the very least, the Administration has to come out and say it’s unacceptable to have one million people being uprooted because of a military offensive in which war crimes are routinely being carried out,” says Philippe Nassif, Amnesty International USA’s advocacy director for the Middle East and North Africa. “It’s shameful. Every diplomatic tool should be used to talk to the Russians, Syrians and Turks to deescalate and protect these people fleeing from violence. None of that is happening.”

Neil Cavuto: The president did not poll well after his debates

https://video.foxnews.com/v/6134406973001#sp=show-clips

Nunes drops a bombshell, reacts to reports of Russia trying to help Trump

Trump Is Mad Dems Know Russia Is Meddling To Get Him Re-Elected | The 11th Hour | MSNBC

Trump's Latest Intelligence Meltdown Isn't About the Facts. It's About the Truth

https://time.com/5788479/trump-fires-maguire/

Earlier this month, FBI Director Christopher Wray said in public testimony that Russia was meddling in the 2020 election. So how to explain President Donald Trump’s decision to fire Acting Director of National Intelligence Adm. Joseph Maguire after Maguire defended a subordinate who had briefed Congress on much the same thing?

 

One important difference provides the answer. Maguire’s aide, Shelby Pierson, who heads the DNI’s election security unit, told the House Intelligence Committee last week that it was the consensus assessment of the CIA, National Security Agency, and FBI that Russian hackers aren’t just meddling in this year’s U.S. elections, they’re trying to help Trump win re-election, two officials familiar with the testimony tell TIME.

 

Trump Aides Have Loud, Gladiator-like Fights in the Oval Office and the President Doesn't Mind, Mulvaney Says

 https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-aides-loud-gladiator-fights-oval-office-president-mind-mick-mulvaney-1488180

But Mulvaney told the Oxford Union that aides leave their individual thoughts at the door once Trump makes a decision on a subject. As proof, he pointed to White House economic adviser and free-trade advocate Larry Kudlow, who now publicly backs Trump's use of tariffs.

"My party is very interested in deficits when there is a Democrat in the White House," Mulvaney said, according to the Post. "The worst thing in the whole world is deficits when Barack Obama was the president. Then Donald Trump became president, and we're a lot less interested as a party."

How Jewish American pedophiles hide from justice in Israel

Here's the secret to getting a Trump presidential pardon

https://edition.cnn.com/2020/02/18/politics/donald-trump-pardon-blagojevich-kerik-milken-debartolo/index.html

 President Donald Trump runs his White House (and his life) by two simple principles:

1. Reward your friends

2. Punish your enemies

 

It's just not any more complicated than that.

 

draining the swamp

https://time.com/5785970/trump-commutes-rod-blagojevich-clemency-blitz/

 President Donald Trump has gone on a clemency blitz, commuting the 14-year prison sentence of former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich and pardoning former NYPD commissioner Bernie Kerik, among a long list of others.

Trump also told reporters that he has pardoned financier Michael Milken, who pleaded guilty for violating U.S. securities laws and served two years in prison in the early 1990s. Trump also pardoned Edward DeBartolo Jr., the former San Francisco 49ers owner convicted in a gambling fraud scandal who built one of the most successful NFL teams in the game’s history.

Blagojevich, who appeared on Trump’s reality TV show, “Celebrity Apprentice,” was convicted of political corruption, including seeking to sell an appointment to Barack Obama’s old Senate seat and trying to shake down a children’s hospital. But Trump said he had been subjected to a “ridiculous sentence” that didn’t fit his crimes.

 

Kerik served just over three years for tax fraud and lying to the White House while being interviewed to be Homeland Security secretary.

“We have Bernie Kerik, we have Mike Milken, who’s gone around and done an incredible job,” Trump said, adding that Milken had “paid a big price.”

Earlier, the White House announced that Trump had pardoned DeBartolo Jr., who was involved in one of the biggest owners’ scandals in the sport’s history. In 1998, he pleaded guilty to failing to report a felony when he paid $400,000 to former Louisiana Gov. Edwin Edwards in exchange for a riverboat gambling license.

Boy Scouts File for Bankruptcy Following Sex Abuse Lawsuits

https://time.com/5785605/boy-scouts-bankruptcy/

Most of the newly surfacing cases date to the 1960s, ’70s and ’80s; the organization says there were only five known abuse victims in 2018. The Boy Scouts credit the change to an array of prevention policies adopted since the mid-1980s, including mandatory criminal background checks and abuse-prevention training for all staff and volunteers, and a rule that two or more adult leaders be present during all activities.

 

Liberals and Conservatives React in Wildly Different Ways to Repulsive Pictures

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2019/03/the-yuck-factor/580465/

 Why do we have the political opinions we have? Why do we embrace one outlook toward the world and not another? How and why do our stances change? The answers to questions such as these are of course complex. Most people aren’t reading policy memos to inform every decision. Differences of opinion are shaped by contrasting life experiences: where you live; how you were raised; whether you’re rich or poor, young or old. Emotion comes into the picture, and emotion has a biological basis, at least in part. All of this and more combines into a stew without a fixed recipe, even if many of the ingredients are known.

 

How the Right Wing Convinces Itself That Liberals Are Evil

https://washingtonmonthly.com/magazine/july-august-2018/how-the-right-wing-convinces-itself-that-liberals-are-evil/

 

IIf you spend any time consuming right-wing media in America, you quickly learn the following: Liberals are responsible for racism, slavery, and the Ku Klux Klan. They admire Mussolini and Hitler, and modern liberalism is little different from fascism or, even worse, communism. The mainstream media and academia cannot be trusted because of the pervasive, totalitarian nature of liberal culture.

Joe Orlow's theory that Evil came to the world solely because of liberals

The liberals have already hijacked democracy and imposed their mindset on the masses. Anything that rebalances society is for the better. If it takes an autocratic President, so be it. At least the autocratic President we have bends his will to that of the people who elected him. And isn't that what democracy is all about?

Donald Trump won the election! Get over it, already. In the past, a government from one party could rule over both parties. But now the country is too split. So the party out of favor feels like they have no say. Which is true, somewhat.

When Bernie gets elected, I'll feel like that, too. So let me enjoy the presidency I brought about while I can.

which situation do you prefer?

Living in USA with Trump as King and his family inherits the job or a democracy based on the present constitution and laws?

Preet Bharara sounds the alarm on Donald Trump's move

If William Barr Truly Believed in Rule of Law, He Would Resign

https://time.com/5784932/william-barr-resign-rule-of-law/

 Barr’s commitment at his most recent confirmation hearing, reaffirming that an Attorney General must prevent political influence from corrupting the course of justice in criminal cases, was important to legitimate his candidacy to lead the department, given the concerns that arose after his nomination. But he has proven himself unable or unwilling to live up to that commitment.

Since he joined the Administration just over a year ago, Barr has operated in a manner that has raised serious questions about whether he is working to benefit the President or the people. He misrepresented the conclusions of the Mueller report. On his watch, DOJ tried to protect the President from legitimate constitutional oversight by withholding the Ukraine whistleblower complaint from Congress. DOJ then summarily declined to open an investigation into the Ukraine complaint and defended Trump’s position that executive branch emails related to Ukraine did not have to be turned over to a media organization that sought unredacted versions, using the same privilege arguments Trump asserted to withhold them from Congress. Although the Department has responded to past questions about Barr’s personal involvement by saying he was aware but did not participate in decision-making, we know from his takeover of Roger Stone’s sentencing that he is fully capable of usurping a case when he does not like how it is being handled. He has also assigned a handpicked U.S. Attorney appointed by Trump to review matters the President has shown interest in.

 

She said a Bethlehem church was in Palestine. But ‘Jeopardy!’ accepted Israel as the right answer.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/01/13/jeopardy-bethlehem-church/

 The Church of the Nativity, which many believe is the birthplace of Jesus, sits by a white-stoned square in the heart of Bethlehem near the controversial concrete barrier that encircles the West Bank. UNESCO, which has selected the church as a World Heritage Site, lists it as one of three such locations in Palestine.

So for many of those who slammed “Jeopardy!” over the weekend, the trivia answer was, well, more than trivial. It was a commentary, implicit or not, on a hotly contested and deeply emotional question in Middle East geopolitics.

The Oslo accords of 1995 give the Palestinian Authority control over Bethlehem and the West Bank, though that is complicated by Israeli settlements and military checkpoints. Under a historic “Status Quo” agreement, the church and other holy sites near it area must be jointly shared and protected by various Christian denominations.