Biur Halacha (156:1): Torah study without work becomes lost & causes sin - The seforim write that this rule is addressed to the masses since not everyone is able to have the merit to exist on the high level to be involved exclusively with Torah study. However, there are always individuals who are in fact able to devote themselves totally to Torah study. [This is what is mentioned in Berachos 35b, “Many did like R’ Shimon Bar Yochai and they were not successful in Torah. That means that the masses were not successful in exclusive Torah study – but there were individuals who were]. And G d will surely provide them with a livelihood as the Rambam (Hilchos Shemitta chapter 13) wrote, “And not just the tribe of Levi alone…” And it is obvious that if there already exist men who wish to support them in order that they devote themselves to Torah study that this directive to combine work and Torah study is not relevant. The proof for this is provided by the Yissachor-Zevulun relationship.
Sunday, January 14, 2024
Canada distances itself from South Africa's lawsuit against Israel
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/383539
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canada believes in the importance of the ICJ but that does not mean it supports South Africa’s case against Israel.
Saturday, January 13, 2024
'South Africa is Iran's useful idiot'
https://www.ynetnews.com/article/syjdii2ua
Goldstein contends that South Africa is Iran's "useful idiot" and that everything that has happened since October 7 is not related to the Palestinians or a Palestinian state. Instead, it is tied to Iran's aspirations to destroy the State of Israel.
According to him, "South Africa is a tool for Iran or a willing participant in these malicious plans. Allowing Hamas offices to operate freely in Cape Town is not just a betrayal of Israel and democracy but also an affront to Christians in Africa. What Iran is doing is spreading global jihad in Africa, causing more killings and suffering than anywhere else in the world."
"African Christians are being murdered simply for their religious beliefs, and this is not just a media story. Israel is at the forefront of defending the forces of good, and if we abandon it, it will usher in a dark period of barbarism and irrationality. This South African government that supports Iran is part of a pattern of behavior that turns its back on biblical values."
Biden Strikes the Houthis, at Last
One misguided criticism of Mr. Biden’s use of force is the claim from the Congressional backbenches that he’s violated the Constitution. “The President needs to come to Congress before launching a strike against the Houthis in Yemen and involving us in another middle east conflict,” Rep. Ro Khanna tweeted, to take one example.
He’s wrong. Presidents have used force to combat threats to American commerce and citizens since Thomas Jefferson sent Marines to fight the Barbary pirates. The Houthis have endangered U.S. sailors and ships—as have other Iran proxies some 130 times across the Middle East.
The Constitution gives the Commander in Chief broad authority to respond to such attacks without having to get permission from Mr. Khanna. If Congress wants to contribute to restoring global order, it would pass a resolution supporting Mr. Biden’s strikes and increase the defense budget.
Trump ordered to pay $393,000 in legal fees for NYT, reporters
Donald Trump must pay nearly $400,000 in legal fees to The New York Times and three of its reporters, a judge ruled Friday.
The former president unsuccessfully sued the Times, along with reporters Susanne Craig, David Barstow and Russ Buettner, over a 2018 Pulitzer-winning story on the Trump family’s wealth and tax filings.
Why no real magic today or demons?
Rav Kaminetsky (Emes L’Yaakov Shemos 7:22) And the Egyptian magicians did the same with their spellsConcerning the question why are there are no true magicians today or demons or spirits (dybuk) that our ancestors told us about? Similarly there are many types of knowledge that we don’t have or know about. The answer seems to me that this is the result of a case of measure for measure that G-d arranged to ensure that we have free-will and not err. That is why as explained by the Ramban (Shemos 14:21) G-d had a strong wind blowing during the Splitting of the Sea so the Egyptians could err and say it was happening because of the wind and therefore they could also cross the sea as the Jews had. Consequently when there were prophets who performed miracles to persuade them to do G-d’s will, if they didn’t also have real magicians who could do these miracles then they would have had no free-will like what happened to Pharaoh. Even though with the plague of lice the magicians acknowledged that it was the finger of G-d. Pharaoh said in his heart that was because the magicians were lying in order to conceal that Moshe was a greater magician than they. Therefore as long as there was prophecy there needed to be real magic. Afterwards since they still had bas Kol there were also invisible spiritual forces like demons. As long as there were people who could do amazing signs and wonders there were demons which were manifestations of hidden dark spiritual powers.
However later when no one was able to do miracles and everything was purely material and only intellect and desire were involved that is why our Sages have stated that no one as great as Moshe will ever occur again. amongst the Jews though it is possible amongst the Babylonians, it is possible to have someone like Bilaam. In order to allow free-will, That is why in the time of Moshe it was necessary to have Bilaam. This is a general rule This explains why Yosef responded to Pharoh when he said “I heard that you interpret dreams.” By saying it is not his knowledge but rather G-d’s concern for Pharoh’s welfare Similarly with Daniel, Nevuchadnezer said to Daniel “can you tell me what my dream means?” Daniel answered that the meaning is not obtained with esoteric knowledge since only G-d can reveal it, Daniel was thus denigrating this esoteric knowledge which had created a barricade between man and G-d’s providence. This is expressed by the statement that these esoteric arts were considered the epitome of knowledge and understanding in the eyes of non-Jews,
However according to what I have written it is possible that
the Rambam believed that in the time of
the gemora since there were Amoraim who had the power to resurrect the dead and
perform other miracles therefore of necessity it was needed to have the dark
spiritual powers such as demons – in order to have a balance for
free-will. So therefore only in modern
times when true spiritual powers are hidden will will there be a corresponding
concealment of the dark forces such as
demons
And I remember that when I was in Kelm, that Rav Ekchonon Wasserman wrote in the name of the
Chofetz Chaim “that the famous event of a dybuk that occurred in his lifetime
was likely the last appearance of this type. That was because that to the
degree the power of Torah and true spirituality is reduced the power of the dark
forces of impurity are likewise reduced.”
However it is possible that even today that in the places
where there are still Jews with pure
faith and act properly that they also have an extra measure of the dark
spiritual forces – in order to maintain a proper balance. Think about this
deeply!
Israel denies genocide accusations at top UN court, says war in Gaza is self-defense
Israel concluded its hearing by asking the court to refuse South Africa’s request for provisional measures, since it said these would constrain Israel’s ability to defend itself while allowing Hamas to continue attacks.
If “resort to force in self-defense against an enemy hiding behind civilians can be portrayed as genocide and trigger provisional measures,” then “an inevitable tension will be created between the genocide convention and states defending themselves against the ever-increasing capacities of terrorist organizations,” argued Gilad Noam, an Israeli lawyer.
The Big Lie Is the South’s New Lost Cause
https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-big-lie-is-the-souths-new-lost-cause?ref=home?ref=home
Speaking in the South Carolina church where a white supremacist gunman killed nine people, Biden likened the Confederates who embraced the “lost cause”—that the war was about state’s rights, and resisting federal power, as Nikki Haley recently suggested, and not about slavery. “Now, we’re living in an era of a second lost cause,” Biden said, citing the 2020 election and those “trying to turn loss into a lie.”
Friday, January 12, 2024
Bnei Torah Who Work – A New Hashkafic Emphasis
However, in the past twenty years, it has become clear that it is no longer possible for all avreichim to learn for their entire lives even in Eretz Yisroel, as Harav Aharon Kotler, zt”l mentioned regarding the general population of Klal yisroel. Obviously, there are those who need to be involved in other aspects to earn a living, etc.
Although initially there was no special focus on these individuals, and many fell between the cracks. However, today, this matter has expanded, and although Baruch Hashem the great majority of the Bnei Torah population remain within the category of “והייתם לי סגולה”, likewise, there are those who also work and are unable to engage solely in Torah study for their entire lives.
It is imperative, however, that our attitude toward them should not be that they are balei batimwho merely have a connection to the Torah, rather, our attitude must be the exact opposite:
Jews barred from shops amid Turkish antisemitism
When Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was no different from Hitler, and that the Israeli strikes on Gaza were akin to Nazi persecution of Jews in the Holocaust, he was reflecting sentiments of his countrymen as antisemitism in Turkey is reaching new heights.
Texas Independence Plan Suffers Major Blow
https://www.newsweek.com/texas-independence-plan-suffers-major-blow-1859834
The Texas Supreme Court has refused to take up a case filed against the state Republican Party after it rejected a petition calling for a vote on Texas independence to be included on its March primary ballot.
The case was brought by the Texas Nationalist Movement (TNM), a group campaigning for the state to leave the United States and become a fully independent country. On Wednesday, the TNM's petition, with 139,456 signatures, was denied outright, sparking an angry response from secessionist campaigners.
Swedish alarm after defence chiefs' war warning
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-67935464
Oscar Jonsson, a specialist from the Swedish Defence University, said that while war was a possibility, it would require several factors to fall into place: Russia's war in Ukraine coming to an end, its military having the time to rebuild and rearm its fighting force and for Europe to lose US military support.
All of which were within the realms of possibility, he added.
Huge ancient city found in the Amazon
https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-67940671
While we knew about cities in the highlands of South America, like Machu Picchu in Peru, it was believed that people only lived nomadically or in tiny settlements in the Amazon.
The city was built around 2,500 years ago, and people lived there for up to 1,000 years, according to archaeologists.
It is difficult to accurately estimate how many people lived there at any one time, but scientists say it is certainly in the 10,000s if not 100,000s.
Thursday, January 11, 2024
Prayer
https://etzion.org.il/en/philosophy/issues-jewish-thought/issues-mussar-and-faith/prayer
In this chapter, we will discuss the age-old philosophical problem of how prayer works. The question of the efficacy of prayer has plagued philosophers throughout the ages. The philosophical question is often posed as such: if God is perfectly wise and omnipotent, then He knows, in His divine wisdom, what is best. If so, then how can we, when we pray, ask God to change His mind and do something else?
If we are asking Him to do something He was planning to do anyway, then the prayer is in vain. And if we are asking Him to do something which is the opposite of His will, then why would He change His mind?[1] If He has already, with His perfect divine wisdom, willed to do what is most perfect, wise and just, why would He do something less wise or less perfect or less just, simply because we have asked Him to? And if everything God does is for the good,[2] why would we want Him to change His mind?[3]