What is a Tree?

 https://www.yeshiva.co/midrash/6863

 The Chazon Ish (Orlah 12:3) is dissatisfied with both of these approaches because there is no source in Chazal for this definition of a tree. However, he agrees that eggplants are not prohibited because of orlah for a very different reason. He contends that orlah can only ban the produce of a tree for its first three years but cannot ban the species completely. Therefore, a species that produces fruit for no more than three years cannot be a tree whose fruit is orlah. Instead, we must conclude that this plant is not a tree and therefore its fruit is not orlah.

Israeli military court convicts French-Israeli settler's killer

 https://www.ynetnews.com/article/hjg6mmvut

 An Israeli military court on Wednesday convicted a Palestinian man of the December killing of a French-Israeli citizen in the north of the West Bank.

Esther Horgen, a 52-year-old mother of six, had gone out jogging but did not return and was found dead in a forest near the Tal Menashe settlement.

Pfizer Vax Immunity Waned in Israel, Regardless of Age

 https://www.medpagetoday.com/infectiousdisease/covid19vaccine/95288

 Immunity against the Delta variant from Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine waned after a few months across age groups, Israeli researchers found.

Not surprisingly, rates of infection in July were higher among adults ages 60 and up who were fully vaccinated in January compared with those who were fully vaccinated in March (rate ratio [RR] 1.6, 95% CI 1.3-2.0), reported Yair Goldberg, PhD, of the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa, and colleagues.

'RINOs Stole Election, We Steal Lives': Pennsylvania GOP Commissioner Details Death Threats

 https://www.newsweek.com/rinos-stole-election-we-steal-lives-pennsylvania-gop-commissioner-details-death-threats-1643300

Philadelphia City Commissioner Al Schmidt, the official responsible for overseeing the 2020 election in Pennsylvania's biggest city, made the remarks while testifying at a Senate Rules and Administration Committee hearing on Tuesday. He said that supporters of the former president labeled him a "traitor" and a RINO, short for "Republican in name only," for correctly counting the votes.

 Schmidt then read a message that demanded he "tell the truth or your three kids will be fatally shot." The threatening message also contained Schmidt's home address, the names of each of his children and a picture of his house.

Other threats included the phrases "heads on spikes, treasonous Schmidts," "perhaps cuts and bullets will soon arrive at [Schmidt's address]" and "RINOs stole election, we steal lives." The alleged threats admonished Schmidt for supposedly having "betrayed" the country by not backing Trump's false claims and warned that "cops can't help you."

 

Hamas head urges Sheikh Jarrah families to reject compromise

 https://www.jpost.com/arab-israeli-conflict/hamas-head-urges-sheikh-jarrah-families-to-reject-compromise-683273

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh has urged families from the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah to reject a compromise that would allow them to remain in their homes for 15 years.

Earlier this month, the High Court of Justice presented the compromise to four Palestinian families facing possible eviction from their homes, which were owned by Jews before 1948.

According to the proposed compromise, during the time that the families remain in their homes, the issue of land ownership could be adjudicated, but in the interim, the court would recognize them as protected tenants and the Jewish Nahalat Shimon Company as the owners of the property.

 

US State Dept confirms: Israel would have to authorize Palestinian consulate in Jerusalem

 https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/us-state-dept-confirms-israel-would-have-to-authorize-palestinian-consulate-in-jerusalem-683334

 The State Department confirmed that it could not open a consulate to the Palestinians in Jerusalem without Israel’s authorization, in a Senate hearing on Wednesday.

Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-TN), who proposed a bill this week to ensure that the only American diplomatic entity in Jerusalem would be the embassy to Israel, asked Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources Brian McKeon about the matter in a meeting of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

“President [Joe] Biden’s proposal to open a second U.S. mission in Jerusalem would begin to reverse the recognition of Jerusalem, and it would divide Israel’s eternal and undivided capital city,” Hagerty said.  “I just want to confirm something on the record. Is it your understanding that, under US and international law, the Government of Israel would have to provide its affirmative consent before the United States could open or reopen the US consulate to the Palestinians in Jerusalem, or does the Biden Administration believe it can move forward to establish a second U.S. mission in the Israel capital city of Jerusalem without the consent of the Government of Israel?”

Shatnez?

 We just had a sweater checked for shatnez in Jerusalem -it was claimed that every fiber was shatnez

We donated it  to a Shatnez checker in NY who displays these garments    - he checked it and said not a single fiber of Shatnez in garment.

 Obviously they both can't be right

I surveyed a number of stores and they claimed never having found shatnez

It seems wool and linen are rarely used together since synthetic fibers are stronger and cheaper.

 It would seem that following the concept of rov there should be no need to check? Comments?

U.S. voices opposition to Israel's plans for new West Bank settlement homes

 https://www.ynetnews.com/article/s1hnxaruf

The United States voiced strong opposition to Israel's plans to advance thousands of settlement units in the West Bank, saying these moves were inconsistent with efforts to lower tensions and were damaging to the prospects of a two-state solution that Washington has advocated.

ראש הישיבה הסביר וזעק: זו הסיבה לגזירות של הממשלה

 https://www.kikar.co.il/404020.html

ראש הישיבה הגאון רבי גרשון אדלשטיין, התייחס הערב (שלישי) בשיחתו השבועית, בפעם ראשונה, לגזירות ממשלת בנט-לפיד-כהנא על הציבור החרדי וזעק בכאב: "איך יהודי מסוגל לעשות גזירות על יהודים?".

ראש הישיבה דיבר בכאב על הרצון של חברי הממשלה, לגרום ביטול תורה ולהצר את צעדי הציבור החרדי וקרא לציבור להתחזק בדברים הצריכים חיזוק, כדי למנוע את הגזירות.

ל'כיכר השבת' נודע, כי ראש הישיבה הורה בימים האחרונים לחברי הכנסת של דגל התורה, לפעול בכל הכח למנוע את הגזירות וכעת קרא לציבור להתחזק כדי להציל את עם ישראל מהגזירות.

Leading haredi rabbi asks: 'How can Jews make decrees against Jews?'

 https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/315791

 Rabbi Gershon Edelstein, head of the prestigious Ponovezh yeshiva, on Tuesday evening responded to the Israeli government's new "decrees" on the haredi public, Kikar Hashabbat reported.

In his weekly class, Rabbi Edelstein questioned, "How could a Jew be capable of making decrees on Jews?"

Kikar Hashabbat was informed that Rabbi Edelstein recently instructed MKs from the United Torah Judaism's Degel Hatorah faction to fight the decisions with all their might. Now, he has called on the public to increase their care in order to save the Jewish people from the "decrees."

Contruction on park near Arab graves sparks widespread outrage

 https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/contruction-on-park-near-arab-graves-sparks-widespread-outrage-683198

Despite the claims by Palestinian media of bones being uncovered and graves being disturbed, Justice Daniel Mordechai Dembitz ruled in a hearing at the Jerusalem Magistrates Court on October 14 that not enough clear evidence had been provided to prove that this was the case and that there was evidence that the claimants had even violated previous court rulings and given false testimony.

  Dembitz stressed that the court was provided with photos of a few bones that appeared to be human and not organized in the position of burial or as part of a full skeleton. The photos also did not include any concrete notes nor any clarification about who took the photos.

Jan. 6 Protest Organizers Say They Participated in ‘Dozens’ of Planning Meetings With Members of Congress and White House Staff

 https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/exclusive-jan-6-organizers-met-congress-white-house-1245289/

 As the House investigation into the Jan. 6 attack heats up, some of the planners of the pro-Trump rallies that took place in Washington, D.C., have begun communicating with congressional investigators and sharing new information about what happened when the former president’s supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol. Two of these people have spoken to Rolling Stone extensively in recent weeks and detailed explosive allegations that multiple members of Congress were intimately involved in planning both Trump’s efforts to overturn his election loss and the Jan. 6 events that turned violent. 

Rolling Stone separately confirmed a third person involved in the main Jan. 6 rally in D.C. has communicated with the committee. This is the first report that the committee is hearing major new allegations from potential cooperating witnesses. While there have been prior indications that members of Congress were involved, this is also the first account detailing their purported role and its scope. The two sources also claim they interacted with members of Trump’s team, including former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, who they describe as having had an opportunity to prevent the violence.

Yeshiva deans ban students from donating blood until 'normal' version of forms is restored

 https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/315741

In Har Hamor Yeshiva, Mitzpe Ramon Yeshiva and several other Zionist yeshivas, students have been told to refrain from donating blood via MDA until the original version of the documents which ask for "name of father" and "name of mother" is restored.

In recent months, several organizations have been altering official documents, replacing "father" with "parent 1" and "mother" with "parent 2."

Usually, a Magen David Adom (MDA) van arrives at Zionist yeshivas once every three months, in order to enable the students to donate blood on site.

Danger! Missionaries in your home!

 https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/315747

These things need to become clear to all Jews regardless of their level of observance or non-observance. To have warm and fuzzy feelings for Christian Messianic Evangelical groups, colleges, individuals, preachers and their online programs just because they are "Zionist" or "Jewish" or can spout chapters of the Bible, is a mortal danger to the present and future of the Jewish people, no less than the rockets and terrorists of Hamas and Hezbollah.

Abracadabra: Israel Museum exhibit explores Jewish magic

 https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/abracadabra-israel-museum-exhibit-explores-jewish-magic-683100

What separates religion from magic? How is the Jewish world connected to magic and why did certain prayers become associated with protective rituals?

A new exhibition at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem attempts to answer these thorny questions.

Titled “Hear, O Israel: The Magic of the Shema,” the show hones in on the Shema, an important Jewish prayer that has been recited for millennia. The first verse of the Shema – “Hear, O Israel: the Lord is our God, the Lord is one” – comes from Deuteronomy and expresses the centrality of monotheism to the Jewish faith.

 But as the exhibition at the Israel Museum demonstrates, the prayer was also incorporated into Jewish amulets since ancient times.

Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik’s Lectures on Genesis, through IX

  https://www.hakirah.org/vol27Triebitz.pdf

 https://www.hakirah.org/Vol29Triebitz.pdf

Based upon Rabbi Robert Blau’s notes taken at Bernard
Revel Graduate School in the late 1940s.

Edited and Annotated by: R. MEIR TRIEBITZ

The Human and Social Factor in Halacha by Rav Aharon Soloveitchik

  https://traditiononline.org/the-human-and-social-factor-in-halakha/

Illustrations apart, however, the cogency and legitimacy of a "human"approach to pesak, appears, to many, problematic. They would have us believe that the ideal posek is a faceless and heartless supercomputer into whom all of the relevant data is fed and who then produces the right answer. Should ths standard not be met, the shortfal is to be regarded as a failng, the lamentable result of human frailty-in Bacon's terms, a manifestation of the besetting "idols" which hamper and hinder the capacity for reasoned judgment. On this reading, the process of pesika,properly conçeived and executed, bears no semblance to an existential encounter between seeker and respondent. It entails, rather, the application of text to problem, the coupling of code and situation. This conception does not necessarily preclude reckoning with the specific circumstances of the question and questioner, as these may very well bepart of the relevant objective data. The prevailng tendency, however,would be to dwarf this factor; and as to the human aspect of the meshiv, that would be obviated entirely. He, for his part, is to be animated by the precept that "we do not have mercy in judgment," and hence, to pass on the merits of the issue with imperviously stony objectivity

Towards-a-sociology-of-psak

 https://traditiononline.org/towards-a-sociology-of-psak/

 Within the context of this paper, all of this has meant the growth of right-wing or "sectarian" Orthodoxy-the "yeshiva world" is, overwhelmingly, the world of right-wing Orthodoxy-and the growth of the perspective which is more punctilious and stringent, both in terms of psak and in terms of observance. To clarify and demonstrate this point, it is now necessary to distinguish between two types of Modern Orthodoxy. One may be called philosophical, while the other is more appropriately characterized as behavioraL. Within the category of philosophical Modern Orthodox (or "Centrist Orthodox") would be those who are meticulously observant of halakhah but are, nevertheless, philosophically modern. Within this context, being modern means, at minimum, having a positive perspective on general education and knowledge and being positively disposed to Israel and religious Zionism. 

 The behaviorally Modern Orthodox, on the other hand, are not deeply concerned with philosophical ideas about either modernity or religious Zionism. By and large, they define themselves as Modern Orthodox in the sense that they are not meticulously observant. In many ways, their definition of themselves as Modern Orthodox has the same basis as did those whom Marshall Sklare found to define themselves as Conservative. That is, when asked, "What do you mean when you say you are Conservative?," the responses were, typically: "Now-I'd guess you'd call it middle of the road, as far as (not) being as strict as the Orthodox, yet not quite as Reformed as the Reformed," or ." . . I don't like the old-fashioned type, or the Reform. I'm between the two of them. "28 Similarly, most of those who define themselves as Modern Orthodox do so in reference to right-wing or "sectarian" Orthodoxy, and they define themselves as modern in the sense that they are not as observant. As Heilman and Cohen put it,

Horowitz donates blood after Israel repeals ban on gay blood donation

 https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/horowitz-donates-blood-after-israel-repeals-ban-on-gay-blood-donation-683016

 Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz donated blood on Monday following Israel's repealing of the ban on gay blood donation.

"There is no difference between blood and blood," Horowitz, who is gay, said during his blood donation at the Magen David Adom compound in Jerusalem. "The ban on gays donating blood was the remnant of a stereotype that should be left in history."

Horowitz had pushed to remove part of the blood donation questionnaire that barred gay men from donating blood.

Israel okays $9 billion plan to fight gaps between Jewish and Arab citizens

 https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/israel-okays-9-million-plan-to-fight-gaps-between-jewish-and-arab-citizens/

 The government approves a far-reaching plan that allocates NIS 30 billion ($9.4 billion) over five years to fight persistent gaps between Arab and Jewish Israelis.

Now passed by the cabinet, the proposal will head to the Knesset, where it is set to be passed alongside the state budget next month.

The plan includes NIS 9.6 billion (nearly $3 billion) to improve education in Arab cities and towns; NIS 5.2 billion ($1.6 billion) for Bedouin Arabs in the southern Negev desert; NIS 650 million ($202.7 million) to bridge health gaps between Arabs and Jews; NIS 2 billion (some $624 million) to improve Arab communities’ crumbling infrastructure, and more.

Facebook Yanks Jair Bolsonaro Video Claiming COVID-19 Vaccines Cause AIDS

 https://time.com/6110398/facebook-bolsonaro-covid-vaccines-aids/

 RIO DE JANEIRO — Facebook and Instagram have removed from their platforms a live broadcast that Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro delivered in which he said people in the U.K. who have received two coronavirus vaccine doses are developing AIDS faster than expected.

Facebook’s press office confirmed in an emailed statement to The Associated Press that the content was removed Sunday night because it violated Facebook policy regarding COVID-19 vaccines.

“Our policies don’t allow claims that COVID-19 vaccines kill or seriously harm people,” the statement said. The company didn’t respond to AP questions regarding why three days elapsed before the much-criticized content was removed nor whether language barriers played a role, as Bolsonaro was speaking in Portuguese.

Objectivity and choosing an unbiased rabbi and hashkafa

 https://www.yeshiva.co/ask/7083

Question

It seems every Halachic authority I consult is biased towards his particular sect’s hashkafa. How can I find objective advice?

Answer

Kudos- for your fantastic question (as usual!). Without a doubt, there is an overlapping between a rabbi’s hashkafa (world outlook or philosophy) and his halachic decisions. This isn’t “bias” but it is the very definition and part of the beauty of the Oral-traditional process, where we view the “70 different faces of the Torah” which complete and “harmonize” each other, as something positive. In other words, machloket (argument) is not only inevitable when people (especially Jews, and even more so, rabbis!) are involved, but it’s actually found on every single page in the Talmud, and is exactly the Oral process which God formulated in His eternally relevant Torah!

Just Say No’ And Its Effects

 https://landmarkrecovery.com/just-say-no-and-its-effects/

 Years after the start of Just Say No, numerous studies in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s looked at the effects of anti-drug marketing efforts and found that they weren’t as effective as they sought out to be.

'Kissing disease' among teens could trigger MS - study

 https://www.jpost.com/health-and-wellness/kissing-disease-among-teens-could-trigger-ms-study-682655

 Results show children and teens contracting mono between the ages of 11 and 19 have a significantly higher risk of developing multiple sclerosis as an adult.

Six-year-old Survivor Kidnapped From Italy to Israel Must Be Returned, Court Rules

 https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-six-year-old-survivor-of-cable-car-accident-to-return-to-italy-israeli-court-rules-1.10323350

 Six-year-old Eitan Biran, who survived a cable car accident near Lake Maggiore this summer that killed both his parents, will be returned to his aunt in Italy, an Israeli court ruled on Monday.

The boy's paternal aunt, Aya Biran Nirko, filed a civil custody suit following the abduction by his maternal grandfather, 58-year-old Shmuel Peleg, in September, seeking his return to Italy. 

The judge who made the ruling on Monday rejected the grandfather's claim that Eitan's usual home was in Israel, as well as the claim that he generally lived in both Israel and Italy. The judge noted that Eitan had moved to Italy with his family when he was only a month old. She also rejected Peleg's argument that special consideration should be given to the boy's parents plans before they died to move to Israel.

Kafr Qasim massacre

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kafr_Qasim_massacre

 Following public protests, eleven Border Police officers and soldiers involved in the massacre were charged with murder in a military court. The trial was presided over by Judge Benjamin Halevy. On October 16, 1958, eight of them were found guilty and sentenced to prison terms. Malinki received 17 and Dahan 15 years imprisonment. The court placed great emphasis on the fundamental responsibility of Shadmi, though the latter was not a defendant. Shadmi was subsequently charged as well, but his separate court hearing (February 29, 1959) found him innocent of murder and only guilty of extending the curfew without authority. His symbolic punishment, a fine of 10 prutot, i.e. a grush (one Israeli cent), became a standard metaphor in Israeli polemic debate.^[17] The fact that other local commanders realised they had to disobey Shadmi's order was cited by the court as one of the reasons for denying Dahan's claim that he had no choice. None of the officers served out the terms of their sentences.^[18]

The court of appeal (April 3, 1959) reduced Malinki's sentence to 14 years and Dahan's to 10. The Chief of Staff further reduced them to 10 and 8 years, then the Israeli President Yitzhak Ben-Zvi pardoned many and reduced some sentences to 5 years each. Finally, the Committee for the Release of Prisoners ordered the remission of one third of the prison sentences, resulting in all the convicted persons being out of prison by November 1959.^[19] Soon after his release, Malinki was promoted and put in charge of security for the top secret Negev Nuclear Research Center. In 1960, Dahan was placed in charge of "Arab Affairs" by the city of Ramla.^[20]

Left-wing parties demand recognition of 'massacre; in Kafr Qassam

 https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/315645

 With just weeks to go before the state budget must pass if the government is to survive, yet another threat to the stability of the coalition has emerged, again from its left-wing parties, already furious at the decision to go ahead with the reestablishment of the Samarian town of Evyatar as well as last week’s decision by Defense Minister Benny Gantz to declare six “humanitarian” organizations to be terrorist entities due to their affiliation with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).

Now Kan News reports another bombshell thrown into the government ranks – MK Aida Touma Suleiman of the United Arab List (UAL) is about to introduce legislation that would make learning about the massacre that allegedly took place in Kafr Qassam in 1956 part of the regular school curriculum. The UAL and Meretz coalition parties have already indicated that they will promote this bill with all the parliamentary influence they can muster.

Meanwhile, both Yamina and New Hope may be expected to oppose the legislation, and they could also be joined by Benny Gantz’s Blue & White party.

Little-Known Facts About The Chofetz Chaim – On His 86th Yahrzeit

 https://www.jewishpress.com/sections/features/little-known-facts-about-the-chofetz-chaim-on-his-86th-yahrzeit/2019/09/26/

 Interestingly, the Chofetz Chaim only cites two contemporary gedolim in his Mishnah Berurah, namely the Or Someach (Rabbi Meir Simcha of Dvinsk) and Rabbi S. Z. Hirschowitz, a lesser known rav in Latvia. The Chofetz Chaim and the Or Someach had serious differences on the question of whether the rabbinate in Czarist Russia should be secularly educated and the Chivat Zion movement, yet he did not hesitate to cite this gadol.

In several Russian rabbinical conferences, the Chofetz Chaim aligned himself with the fifth Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Sholom Ber Schneersohn, and Rabbi Chaim Soloveitchik of Brisk in strongly opposing any secular education for Russian rabbanim.

Why is Trump running for president again? To stay out of jail

 https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2021-10-24/why-is-trump-running-for-president-again-to-stay-out-of-jail

 And there, no matter how the legal wrangles turn out, lies the answer to a persistent question about Trump: What makes him run?

Ego, surely, in part. A desire to take revenge on his adversaries too.

But two practical reasons, as well.

One is money. Political contributions may be the most reliable revenue stream the Trump family enterprise has at the moment.

The other, equally important, is to bolster his legal defense. As long as he’s running (or even sort of running), Trump can denounce every inquest and subpoena as just another part of a political vendetta. It’s a way to hold his troops together — and to make every prosecutor think twice. 

 He’s notching up another presidential first: He’s running for reelection to stay out of jail.

Former Meretz head Zehava Gal-On to national camp: Get out of here, racist animals

 https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/315659

In Gal-On’s opinion, those in the political center should stop trying to pander to the right-wing: “The answer to give those on the right is simple: Listen, you piece of racist animal, you homophobe, you other-hater, you misogynist, you who want to drag us into a Taliban regime – we’re not afraid of you. We have values – equality, love of our fellow man, freedom, harmony. So, get out of here before we deal with you the way we dealt with the original fascists.”

Massive allocations to Israel's Arab sector here to stay - Abbas

 https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/politics-and-diplomacy/massive-allocations-to-israels-arab-sector-here-to-stay-abbas-683025

 Ra'am (United Arab List) head Mansour Abbas took credit for more than NIS 30 billion allocated to the Arab sector at a Knesset press conference on Monday.

Abbas said the allocations would have an immediate positive impact on all parts of Arab, Bedouin and Druze society.

"There is a new agenda for Israel and Arab society," Abbas said. "We are taking responsibility and initiative. These plans implement the vision of Ra'am."

Mishne Berura: Status & Nature

I received the following letter - as a response to my recent posting of the Chazon Ish's letter - with permission to publish it.

I had written:   Chazon Ish: The paradox of majority rule & Daas Torah

So far have found this is the view of Get Poshut,Sheilas Dovid, Shach, Maharetz Chajes, Rav Moshe Feinstein, Minchas Chinuch. It is probable that the Mishna Berura disagrees. This is rather odd since it seems the majority view is that they need to meet and discuss it so how could the Mishna Berura disagree? It also seems that the Chazon Ish didn't hold by Daas Torah ie the view of the Gedolim or even majority of Gedolim - but rather that of the local rav.

Chazon Ish [i](Beginning of Kelayim): [[It is well known that the requirement to follow the majority applies only to a beis din which is in session, but regarding scholars holding different views who lived at different times or in different places, the question of majority or minority is not relevant. In a particular area where most of the Torah derives from a particular rabbi and his disciples, and the disciples' disciples, it is correct to follow their rabbi even in a matter in which the majority (of authorities) holds a different opinion.[...]

================
The respondent - who wishes to remain anonymous wrote the following:

I have b'Mesorah from 3 different sources that the Mishne Berura's approach was a departure from normative:

1) My Zaideh - a contemporary of Rav Yaakov and Rav Aharon (actually even though the same age he arrived in Slabodka 3 years before they did) who was a Rov in Europe and in Chicago told my father who told me that the Mishne Berura was NOT accepted in Europe at all. The Aruch HaShulchon was considered the Posek (Sefer) to consult

2) Rav Schwab told me that when he visited R. Chaim Ozer and he shared that he had just been by the Chofez Chaim. Rav Chaim Ozer responded to him, "Un vos zogt de Ba'al Habo'os!"

3) When I was a young Yeshiva Bochur in Washington Heights and we would come with the Mishne Berura's conclusion as an objection to the accustomed Hanhogo of the Kehila, Rav Breuer would give us a knowing benevolent smile and say, "The Minhogim of the Kehilla predate the Mishne Berura by a couple of hundred years"
 
The popularization in our day that the Mishne Berura is "Posek Acharon" is the result Of Rav Aharon and Rav Yaakov's strong support but others were vigorously opposed to the whole approach. See also Chazon Ish (Igros 1:32) on the use of newly uncovered manuscripts to modify standard Halocho
 
The position of the Chazon Ish below is a gemoro in Horoyos 2b. ie that someone who is Higiah l'Horoyo is responsible for his own Halachic decisions and cannot just "cave in" to Daas Rabim of Talmidei Chachomim. If he does he is considered To'eh b'Mitzvo Lishmoeh Divrei Chachomim.. This is paskened Halocho l'Maaseh in Rambam Shgogos. and brought by Ramban in his Hasogos to Sefer HaMitzvos Shoresh 1 on Lo Sosur (pg 14 of old editions).. only if the Sanhedrin convenes and votes down his position must he capitulate. otherwise he is obligated to follow his own understanding and conclusion even if runs contrary to the majority. The Ramban cites Rabi Yehoshua & Rabon Gamliel concerning Yom Kipur
 

Trump's stolen election lie is on the ballot in 2022, thanks to these candidates

 https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-s-stolen-election-lie-ballot-2022-thanks-these-candidates-n1281680

 The future of U.S. elections is on the ballot in 2022, largely because former President Donald Trump can’t let go of the past.

“The single biggest issue — the issue that gets the most pull, the most respect, the biggest cheers — is talking about the election fraud of 2020’s presidential election,” Trump said last week at a rally in Iowa, again pushing the lie that a second term was stolen from him and that Joe Biden is not the legitimate president.

In next year’s races for governor and secretary of state, for Congress and all the way down to state legislative seats, Republicans eager for Trump’s support have embraced these baseless claims. Democrats, eager to rally their base in a potentially unfavorable political climate, have branded GOP candidates as propagators of “the Big Lie.”

‘Down the rabbit hole’: Arizona GOP goes full fringe

 https://www.politico.com/news/2021/10/20/arizona-gop-fringe-516322

 Just when it seemed Arizona Republicans couldn’t make more of a spectacle, they found another way.

As the party hardens around its fealty to former President Donald Trump, the GOP is filling up its midterm ballot with a roster of conspiracy theorists and extremists that could threaten the party’s prospects in a state that’s drifted leftward in recent elections.

Tens of millions of filthy, used medical gloves imported into the US

 https://edition.cnn.com/2021/10/24/health/medical-gloves-us-thailand-investigation-cmd-intl/index.html

 Trash bags stuffed full of used medical gloves, some visibly soiled, some even blood-stained, litter the floor of a warehouse on the outskirts of Bangkok.

Nearby is a plastic bowl, filled with blue dye and a few gloves. Thai officials say migrant laborers had been trying to make the gloves look new again, when Thai health authorities raided the facility in December.

There are many more warehouses just like it still in operation today in Thailand -- trying to cash in on the demand for medical-grade nitrile gloves, which exploded with the coronavirus pandemic. And they're boxing up millions of these sub-standard gloves for export to the United States, and countries around the world amid a global shortage that will take years to ease.

A months-long CNN investigation has found that tens of millions of counterfeit and second-hand nitrile gloves have reached the United States, according to import records and distributors who bought the gloves -- and that's just the tip of the iceberg. Criminal investigations are underway by the authorities in the US and Thailand.

מרן הגר"ח קנייבסקי נשאל: מתי הולכים אחר רוב הפוסקים?

 https://www.kikar.co.il/403754.html

 הרב טיגר: "עכשיו רציתי לשאול את הרב כמה דברים, הרי הרב זוכר שאני עושה את ה"דרך איש" הזה, את הכללים של ה"חזון איש", רציתי לשאול את הרב כמה דברים שמאד מפריעים לי, יש את ה"חזון איש" הידוע (ריש כלאים) שאומר אין כח רוב אלא במושב בית דין, סתם ככה אם יש רוב בפוסקים לא מחוייבים לפסוק כמו רוב הפוסקים, ככה הוא האריך פה, ובמקום אחר הוא כתב, וזה נדפס ב"חזון איש" עצמו (קובץ אגרות ח"ב סי' כ"א), אם רוב הפוסקים קבעו את ההלכה והחולקים בבחינת יחידים הלכה זו הלכה קבועה היא, הרי הוא כתב מפורש שזו לא הלכה קבועה, אין פה כח רוב"

Testing Abraham: Justice in Sodom Before Loyalty in the Akedah

 https://www.thetorah.com/article/testing-abraham-justice-in-sodom-before-loyalty-in-the-akedah

 Summary

Abraham’s dilemma illustrates a calculus of ultimate concern. Only through the confrontation of one’s two primary concerns can one ascertain which is ultimate. Abraham’s top two commitments were loyalty to God and loyalty to justice. Heretofore, they had converged one reinforcing the other. God constructs a test to see which will emerge supreme. The test makes God appear unjust to see which way Abraham sways; unwavering commitment to justice or unwavering commitment to God. Paradoxically, by siding with justice Abraham validates his election by God. Thus, the story of Abraham testing God’s commitment to justice turns out to be also a story of God testing Abraham’s commitment to justice.

Roger Stone Claims COVID Vaccination Has 'Injured or Killed Millions of Americans'

 https://www.newsweek.com/roger-stone-claims-covid-vaccination-has-injured-killed-millions-americans-1641970

 Roger Stone falsely claimed that the COVID-19 vaccine has injured or killed millions of Americans while speaking at a large gathering for anti-vaccine advocates on Saturday.

While speaking at the "Truth About Cancer" conference in Nashville, Tennessee, Stone, a prominent ally of former President Donald Trump, accused Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, of lying about the origins of the COVID-19 virus.

He also asked when "29 FBI agents" will storm Fauci's house.

Rambam - why some peoplw should be killed

 ספר מורה נבוכים - חלק ג פרק יח
 ואחר מה שהקדמתיו מהיות ההשגחה מיוחדת במין האדם לבדו משאר מיני בעלי החיים, אומר, כי כבר נודע שאין חוץ לשכל מין נמצא, אבל המין ושאר הלליות דברים שכלים, כמו שידעת וכל נמצא חוץ לשכל אמנם הוא איש או אישים. וכשיודע זה יהיה נודע גם כן שהשפע האלוהי הנמצא מדובק במין האדם - רצוני לומר, השכל האנושי - אמנם הוא מה שנמצא מן השכלים האישיים, והוא מה ששפע על ראובן ושמעון ולוי ויהודה:
 ואחר שהוא כן, יתחייב, לפי מה שזכרתיו בפרק הקודם, כי אי זה איש מאישי בני אדם שהשיג מן השפע ההוא חלק יותר גדול, כפי הכנת החומר שלו וכפי התלמדו, תהיה ההשגחה עליו יותר בהכרח, אם ההשגחה נמשכת אחר השכל, כמו שזכרתי; ולא תהיה אם כן, ההשגחה האלוהית בבני אדם כולם בשוה, אבל יהיה יתרון ההשגחה עליהם כיתרון שלמותם האנושי זה על זה. ולפי זה העיון יתחיב בהכרח שתהיה השגחתו ית' בנביאים עצומה מאד ולפי מדרגותם בנבואה, ותהיה השגחתו בחסידים ובטובים כפי חסידותם וישרונם - אחר שהשיעור ההוא משפע השכל האלוהי הוא אשר שם דבר בפי הנביאים והוא אשר ישר מעשי הטובים והשלים חכמות החסידים במה שידעו. ואמנם הסכלים הממרים, כפי מה שחסרו מן השפע ההוא, היה ענינם נבזה וסודרו בסדר שאר אישי מיני בעלי החיים, "נמשל כבהמות נדמו"; ומפניזה היה קל להרגם, אבל צווה בו לתועלת. וזה הענין הוא פינה מפינות התורה ועליו בנינה - רצוני לומר, על שההשגחה באיש איש מבני אדם כפי מה שהוא:

 HAVING shown in the preceding chapter that of all living beings mankind alone is directly under the control of Divine Providence, I will now add the following remarks: It is an established fact that species have no existence except in our own minds. Species and other classes are merely ideas formed in our minds, whilst everything in real existence is an individual object, or an aggregate of individual objects. This being granted, it must further be admitted that the result of the existing Divine influence, that reaches mankind through the human intellect, is identical with individual intellects really in existence, with which, e.g., Zeiḍ, Amr, Kaled and Bekr, are endowed. Hence it follows, in accordance with what I have mentioned in the preceding chapter, that the greater the share is which a person has obtained of this Divine influence, on account of both his physical predisposition and his training, the greater must also be the effect of Divine Providence upon him, for the action of Divine Providence is proportional to the endowment of intellect, as has been mentioned above. The relation of Divine Providence is therefore not the same to all men; the greater the human perfection a person has attained, the greater the benefit he derives from Divine Providence. This benefit is very great in the case of prophets, and varies according to the degree of their prophetic faculty: as it varies in the case of pious and good men according to their piety and uprightness. For it is the intensity of the Divine intellectual influence that has inspired the prophets, guided the good in their actions, and perfected the wisdom of the pious. In the same proportion as ignorant and disobedient persons are deficient in that Divine influence, their condition is inferior, and their rank equal to that of irrational beings: and they are "like unto the beasts" (Ps. 49:21). For this reason it was not only considered a light thing to slay them, but it was even directly commanded for the benefit of mankind. This belief that God provides for every individual human being in accordance with his merits is one of the fundamental principles on which the Law is founded.

Fact check: Biden's approval rating is higher than Trump's term low

 https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2021/09/23/fact-check-bidens-approval-rating-higher-than-trumps-term-low/8347107002/

 Despite the recent decline in Biden's approval, Trump's ratings were lower during his time in office.

"Biden's approval rating has clearly taken a turn for the worse in the past several weeks, but he is still faring better than Trump at this point in their presidencies," Burden said. "Trump had one of the lowest and steadiest approval ratings of any modern president."

How Biden’s slumping approval rating stacks up to past presidents

 https://fortune.com/2021/10/07/biden-approval-rating-stacks-up-to-past-presidents/

 At the same point in their first-term, presidents Ronald Reagan (55.6%), George H.W. Bush (67.6%), Bill Clinton (50.2%), George W. Bush (82.9%), and Barack Obama (52.3%) all had much higher approval ratings. Meanwhile, Biden's current rating is a bit higher than Trump's 38.1% rating was on Day 261 in office.

UK Chief Rabbi: Assisted dying bill is 'profoundly disquieting'

 https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/315549

Jewish, Catholic and Anglican leaders in the UK have issued a joint appeal to parliamentarians to reject a bill that would legalize assisted suicide.

In a letter dated October 19, the three religious leaders convey their “profound disquiet” over the Assisted Dying Bill, a private members’ which had its second reading in the UK parliament’s upper house on Friday.

Put forward in the House of Lords in May, the act would “enable adults who are terminally ill to be provided at their request with specified assistance to end their own life.” 

Avraham's concern for justice

 We know Avraham was greatly concerned with justice.

 When his nephew was captured he risked his life to save him

When Yishmael was kicked out he protested

 When Sodom was to be destroyed he objected that perhaps righteous people would be killed

However when he was told to sacrifice his son - he made no protest at all! Why?

Israel to allow vaccinated or recovered tourists to enter starting November 1

 https://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-to-allow-vaccinated-or-recovered-tourists-to-enter-starting-november-1/

 Ministers on Thursday opened Israel’s borders, starting November 1, to tourists who are vaccinated against COVID-19 or have recovered from the disease, the Prime Minister’s Office said.

However, only tourists from countries that aren’t defined as “red” due to high infection rates will be allowed in. Additionally, reports said tourists won’t be allowed in from countries that are seeing an outbreak of the new AY4.2 variant, which has been causing concern.

The vast majority of tourists have effectively been banned from entering Israel since the start of the coronavirus pandemic in March of last year. The reopening of borders has been delayed numerous times throughout the year, as COVID infections waxed and waned.

House votes to hold Bannon in contempt for defying Capitol attack subpoena – as it happened

 https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2021/oct/21/steve-bannon-house-vote-subpoena-capitol-attack-us-politics-joe-biden-latest

 The House voted to hold Steve Bannon in criminal contempt for defying subpoenas issued by the select committee investigating the Capitol insurrection. The matter will now be referred to the justice department, which will have to determine whether to prosecute Bannon, a former senior adviser to Donald Trump.

Exposed: ‘Sleeper cell’ of evangelical Christians posing as Orthodox rabbis

 https://www.thejc.com/news/uk/exposed-sleeper-cell-of-evangelical-christians-posing-as-orthodox-rabbis-1.521679

 A father and son practising as Orthodox rabbis in America have been accused by anti-missionary investigators of being secret evangelical Christians.

The claims over Michael and Calev Isaacson — who have changed their family name from Dawson — would cause disastrous halachic problems for the Jewish community if true.

Sacred rituals performed by the two men include writing holy scrolls, washing the dead, and conducting weddings, divorces and even conversions.

Investigators allege neither man is Jewish, making any rituals in which they took part invalid.

They are suspected of being a “sleeper cell” of evangelical Christians who may ultimately attempt to make aliyah and embed themselves within Israeli society.

The Isaacsons have been accepted and welcomed in a number of Orthodox Jewish communities in locations across the US.

 

US Orthodox rabbis accused of secretly being Evangelical Christians

 https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/us-orthodox-rabbis-accused-of-secretly-being-evangelical-christians-report-682759

Accusations have been leveled against a father and son in the United States who practice as Orthodox rabbis of secretly being Evangelical Christians. 

The father and son in question, Michael and Calev Isaacson, have worked as rabbis in Orthodox Jewish communities throughout the United States. These include Portland, Milwaukee, Houston, and, currently, Phoenix. While in Houston, from 2014-2016, Michael reportedly worked as a supervisor for the local kashrut association.

The accusations against them were leveled by Beynenyu, an Israel-based anti-missionary organization, who claim that they have relocated whenever the suspicions of the local rabbis were aroused 

Judaism and the Death Penalty; Of Two Minds but One Heart

 https://advocacy.ou.org/judaism-and-the-death-penalty-of-two-minds-but-one-heart/

 If one can be certain of anything in a discussion of Judaism’s views regarding capital punishment, especially those held in a public forum, it is that the following statement in the Mishna (Makkot 1:10) will be quoted:

A Sanhedrin that executed [more than] one person in a week is called a “murderous” [court]. Rabbi Elazar ben Azarya states: “[More than] one person in 70 years [would be denoted a murderous court].” Rabbi Tarfon and Rabbi Akiva state: “If we had been members of the Sanhedrin, no defendant would ever have been executed.”

While this passage properly finds its way into all discussions of the Torah’s approach to the death penalty, other Mishnaic statements of equal authority with different perspectives seem to be often overlooked. In fact, the very Mishna quoted above gives the last word to R. Shimon ben Gamiliel, who responds that had they indeed ensured that the death penalty would never be carried out, R. Tarfon and R. Akiva “would have been increasing the murderers in Israel.”

Capital punishment -Tur

 Tut (C.M. 2)

אף ע"פ שלא הי' דנין בחוצה לארץ דיני נפשות ודיני מכות ולא קנסות אם ראו בית דין שצורך שעה הוא שהעם פרוצים בעבירות דנין בין מיתה בין ממון בין כל מיני עונש. ואם הוא אלם חובטים אותו על ידי עכו"ם ואומרים לו עשה מה שישראל אומר לך: וכתב רב אלפס בפרק הגוזל בהא דקנסיה רב נחמן לההוא גברא דגזלן עתיקא הוה ש"מ דקנסינן בכי האי גוונא אפילו בח"ל. ודוקא גדול הדור כמו רב נחמן דחתניה דבי נשיאה הוה וממונה לדון ע"פ הנשיא או טובי העיר שהמחום רבים עליהם אבל דייני דעלמא לא ע"כ. ונראה שאפי' אין בדבר עדות גמורה שהיה מתחייב על פיהם בדין בשעה שהיו דנין דיני נפשות אלא שיש רגלים לדבר וקלא דלא פסיק אם נראה לדיין שיש צורך השעה לדונו בכך הרשות בידו: וכן יראה מדברי הרמב"ם שכתב יש לב"ד להלקות למי שאינו חייב מלקות ולהרוג למי שאינו חייב מיתה ולא לעבור על דברי תורה אלא לעשות סייג לתורה וכיון שרואין בית דין שפרצו העם בדבר יש להם כח לגדור ולחזק הדבר כפי מה שיראה להם הכל הוראת שעה ולא שיקבעו הלכה לדורות. וכן יש להם [בכל מקום ובכל זמן] להלקות אדם ששמועתו רעה והעם מרננין אחריו שהוא עובר על העריות והוא שיהא קול שאינו פוסק ולא יהיו לו אויבים שמוציאין עליו דבה רעה וכן מבזין את מי ששמועתו רעה ומבזין את יולדיו בפניו וכן יש להם להפקיר ממון שיש לו בעלים ולאבדו כפי מה שרואים לגדור פרצת הדור ולקנוס אלם ולנדותו ולהחרימו ולקללו ולהכותו ולתלוש שערו ולאוסרו בבית האסורים ולהשביעו בשם על כרחו שלא יעשה ושלא עשה כל אלו הדברים לפי מה שיראה לדיין שזה צריך לכך והשעה צריכה לכך ובכל יהיו מעשיו לשם שמים ואל יהא כבוד הבריות קל בעיניו שהרי דוחה לא תעשה של דבריהם וכל שכן כבוד בני אברהם יצחק ויעקב המחזיקים בתורת אמת שיהא זהיר שלא יהרוס כבודם אלא להוסיף כבוד המקום בלבד ע"כ:

Capital Punishment AruchHaShulchan

 Aruch HaShulchan (CM 2)

[שעונשין לצורך שעה ובו ד' סעיפים]: אע"פ שאין דנין בחו"ל ד"נ ומלקות וקנסות מ"מ אם רואים ב"ד שהשעה צריכה לכך שהעם פרוצים בעבירות דנים הכל כפי צורך השעה [ע"פ רשיון המלכות] ואפילו כשרואים ליחיד שהוא פרוץ בעבירות יכולים לקנסו כפי ראות עיניהם ובלבד שתהיה כוונתם לשמים ואפילו אין בדבר עדות גמורה אלא שיש רגלים לדבר וקלא דלא פסיק וליכא אויבים דמפקי לקלא אם נראה שזהו צורך שעה לדונו בכך וכך צריכים לעשות כן אם יש יכולת בידם שאם נעמיד הכל על הדין ונצרך עדים והתראה נמצא העולם חרב ולא חרבה ירושלים אלא מפני שהעמידו דבריהם על ד"ת [רשב"א בתשו'] ויש להם רשות לייסרו בגופו וממונו כפי שרואים לגדור הפרצה ואם הוא אלם עושים ע"י ערכאות המלוכה והם יצוו עליו עשה מה שדת ישראל אומר לך וכל מי שיש כח בידו לעשות סייג לתורה ואינו עושה אין לו סייג בעוה"ז ובעוה"ב ולא נין ונכד ועצור ועזוב [ב"י בשם מדה"נ] וכן מחוייבים להשגיח שלא ימצא חלילה בין ישראל איזה מחשבת מרד אף בלב נגד אדונינו הקיר"ה ושריו וכבר אמרו חז"ל שהקב"ה השביע את ישראל שלא ימרודו במלכיות [כתובות קי"א.] וכתיב ירא את ד' בני ומלך ומלכותא דארעא כעין מלכותא דרקיע: וכח זה הוא רק לגדול בתורה או לטובי העיר שטובי העיר בעירם כחם כב"ד הגדול ובזמנינו מוטל על הרב וטובי העיר לגדור פרצות ישראל בכל יכולתם וכל אשר יעשו [ברשיון הממשלה] איזה מכס מוכרחים הצבור לקיים אף דאיכא רווחא להאי ופסידא להאי כיון שדבר זה נוגע לתקוני הצבור או למיגדר מילתא ומי שמעכב בזה או מקלקל הוא חבירו של ירבעם בן נבט ואל תשגיח אם יש גם מהלומדים שמחזקים המהרסים דמסתמא אין בהם יראת שמים דוק ותשכח: אבל דבר שאינו לצורך תקון מתקוני העיר ולא למיגדר מילתא אין כח ביד טובי העיר רק להכריח את הציבור במה שהיה מנהג מקודם או שקבלו כל הציבור עליהם ואף בדברים בעלמא שאמרו רוצים אנחנו יכולים אח"כ לכופם דכל מילי דציבורא מתקיימים בדברים בלבד דא"א לכל הציבור לעשות קניינים ובלא אלו הפרטים אין כח בידם לעשות במידי דאיכא רווחא להאי ופסידא להאי ועכ"ז אם יש מנהג בעיר שביכולת טובי העיר לעשות כפי הנראה בעיניהם בכל דבר או שאנשי העיר קבלום עליהם שיהיה ביכולתם לעשות כל הנראה בעיניהם אזי ביכולתם לעשות אף במידי דאיכא רווחא להאי ופסידא להאי וטובי העיר שלבם לשמים יעזור להם ד' והבא ליטהר מסייעין אותו מן השמים: כתבו האחרונים דמי שנתחייב מלקות יתן מ' זהובים ובדברים כאלה רשות ביד הב"ד לעשות כפי ראות עיניהם ומעשה היה בימים הקדמונים באחד שנתחייב מלקות וישב בארץ להלקותו ולא בא הממונה להלקותו ופטרוהו רבותינו מלהלקותו עוד כיון שנתבזה בהכנת המלקות [סמ"ע] כמ"ש חז"ל כיון שנקלה פטור [רמב"ם פי"ז מסנה']: