Evil Eye

 Avos (02:09) Which is the evil way from which a man should remove himself far? R. Eliezer said, an evil eye; R. Joshua said, an evil associate; R. Jose said, an evil neighbour; R. Simeon said, one who borrows and repays not  

Avos (02:11)  R. Joshua said: an evil eye, the evil inclination, and hatred for one's fellow creatures put a man out of the world.

Bava Basra (118a) A person should he on his guard against an evil eye. And this indeed is the purpose of what Joshua said unto them; as it is written, And Joshua said unto them: ‘If thou be a great people, get thee up to the forest It is this that he said to them: ‘Go and hide yourselves in the forests so that an evil eye may have no power over you’. They said unto him, ‘We are of the seed of Joseph over whom the evil eye has no power’. as it is written, Joseph is a fruitful vine, a fruitful vine by a fountain, and R. Abbahu said: Do not render, ‘by the fountain,’ but ‘those who transcend the eye’. R. Jose son of R. Hanina said, [this is inferred] from the following verse: And let them grow like fishes into a multitude in the midst of the earth. This means that as the fishes in the sea are covered by the waters and no eye has any power over them, so, in the case of the seed of Joseph. no evil eye has any power over them.

Bava Basra (141a) If a daughter is born first, it is a good sign for the children. Some say, because she rears her brothers; and others say. because the evil eye has no influence over them. 

Bava Metzia (30a) He may not spread it a lost article upon a couch or a frame for his needs, but may do so in its own interests. If he was visited by guests, he may not spread it over a bed or a frame, whether in his interests or in its own! — There it is different, because he may thereby destroy it, either through an evil eye or through thieves.

Bava Metzia (107a) One may not stand over his neighbour's field when its crop is full grown.

Bava Metzia (107b) For Rab went up to a cemetery, performed certain charms, and then said: Ninety-nine have died through an evil eye, and one through natural causes. Samuel said: This refers to the wind. Samuel follows his views, for he said: All illness is caused by the wind. But according to Samuel, what of those executed by the State?  Those, too, but for the wind which enters and plays upon the wound, an ointment could be compounded for them which would cause the severed parts to grow together, and they would recover. R. Hanina said: This refers to the cold. For R. Hanina said: Everything is from Heaven, excepting cold draughts, as it is written, Cold draughts are in the way of the froward: he that doth keep his soul shall be far from them. R. Jose b. Hanina said: This refers to the excretions, for a Master said: The nasal and aural excretions are injurious when in great quantities, but beneficial in small. R. Eleazar said: This refers to diseases of the gall. It has been taught likewise: By sickness’, illness caused by the gall is meant; and why is it called ‘mahala’? Because it sickens the whole human frame. Alternatively, because eighty-three illnesses are dependent upon the gall, and all of them may be rendered nugatory by eating one's morning bread with salt and drinking a jugful of water.

Berachos (20a) R. Johanan was accustomed to go and sit at the gates of the bathing place. He said: When the daughters of Israel come up from bathing they look at me and they have children as handsome as I am. Said the Rabbis to him: Is not the Master afraid of the evil eye? — He replied: I come from the seed of Joseph, over whom the evil eye has no power, as it is written, Joseph is a fruitful vine, a fruitful vine above the eye, and R. Abbahu said with regard to this, do not read ‘ale ‘ayin, but ‘ole ‘ayin’. R. Judah son of R. Hanina derived it from this text: And let them multiply like fishes in the midst of the earth. Just as the fishes in the sea are covered by water and the evil eye has no power over them, so the evil eye has no power over the seed of Joseph. Or, if you prefer I can say: The evil eye has no power over the eye which refused to feed itself on what did not belong to it.

Berachos (55b) If a man on going into a town is afraid of the Evil Eye, let him take the thumb of his right hand in his left hand and the thumb of his left hand in his right hand, and say: I, so-and-so, am of the seed of Joseph over which the evil eye has no power, as it says: Joseph is a fruitful vine, a fruitful vine by a fountain. Do not read ‘ale ‘ayin [by a fountain] but ‘ole ‘ayin [overcoming the evil eye]. R. Jose b. R. Hanina derived it from here: And let them grow into a multitude  in the midst of the earth; just as the fishes] in the sea are covered by the waters and the evil eye has no power over them so the evil eye has no power over the seed of Joseph. If he is afraid of his own evil eye, he should look at the side of his left nostril.

Sotah (36b) And Joshua said unto them, If thou be a great people, get thee up to the forest. He said to them, ‘Go, hide yourselves in the forests that the evil eye may not have sway over you’. They replied to him, ‘The evil eye can bear no sway over the seed of Joseph’; for it is written: Joseph is a fruitful bough, a fruitful bough by a fountain, and R. Abbahu said: Read not ‘ale ‘ayin [by a fountain] but ‘ole ‘ayin [overcoming the eye]. R. Jose b. Hanina said: It is derived from this passage, And let them grow  into a multitude in the midst of the earth — as the water covers the fish in the sea so that the evil eye bears no sway over them, so the evil eye bears no sway over the seed of Joseph

Side Effects of Sidelining

 https://mishpacha.com/side-effects-of-sidelining/

Rebbi, here’s my sh’eilah. Locally, there’s a Modern Orthodox school called Bnei Melachim. It sounds crazy, but my wife and I are seriously considering switching Shloimy to that school. We realize that it will radically shift the trajectory of his life, but we can’t shake the feeling that they somehow “got it right” in an area where our culture did not.

But first we have to address your observation… that the kids in the modern school seem to be more wholesome, and act with more derech eretz.

So it comes down to math: The more you are mevatel, even if legitimately so — the more you create an aura of negativity and bittul. Being cynical to a child robs him of his natural innocence, and implicitly teaches him the middah of bittul, and its sister, chutzpah.

But the more you move to the right — almost by definition — the more of society you will reject. Innovation and all nonreligious matters are regarded with suspicion, analyzed and critiqued. Secular trends, means of communication, and the like are often rejected… and for good reason. Thus, at the far right, chassidim will reject most of American society; moving “left,” yeshivish will be more liberal, and Modern Orthodox even more so. That is their respective hashkafah, and all are valid.

The White House Urges Republicans to Ignore Trump’s Diversions

 https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/2026/02/trump-gop-republican-midterm-elections/686116/

Last Thursday, the White House tried to get President Trump to focus on the economic concerns driving the midterm elections. Instead, he issued a 10-to-15-day ultimatum to Iran, claimed that his wife’s documentary was so good that some women had seen it four times, and accused his predecessor Barack Obama of releasing classified information about space aliens.

Few actually watched his 68-minute speech on the economy later that afternoon at the Coosa Steel Corporation in Georgia. But even if they had tuned in, they would have found Trump’s recitation of his economic talking points overshadowed by his banter about wanting to award himself the Congressional Medal of Honor, claims that the FBI found “plenty of stuff” when it raided Fulton County’s election office, or the suggestion, denied by his own advisers, that inflation was no longer an issue: “I’ve won affordability.”

So it fell to aides at the White House to email reporters with the message top political advisers have tested and refined as the best way to move voters in 2026. Their strategy is to highlight the accomplishments of the administration—tax cuts, lower gas prices, foreign investment—while promising that more is to come. “Republican leadership is building a brighter, more prosperous future for all Georgians—and today’s visit underscores President Trump’s unrelenting commitment to finishing the job,” the press release said.

House Republicans want nothing to do with Trump’s toxic SAVE Act.

 https://newrepublic.com/post/213213/republicans-ditch-trump-save-act-budget-bill

Nobody aside from Trump and Garnel thinks this is reasonable.

“Congress must pass the SAVE America Act. How easy is that to do? Unless you want to cheat,” Trump said Thursday night. “The only reason you wouldn’t do it is you want to cheat, because your policies are so bad and your candidates are so pathetic that you can’t get away or can’t get elected any other way.”

The original iteration of the SAVE America Act sparked nationwide backlash for proposing numerous amendments to the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, perhaps chief among them a requirement that voters bring either a passport or birth certificate to register to vote. Critics argued that the mandate would unduly restrict millions of Americans from voting, pointing out that half of the country’s population lacks a passport and furthermore that the legislation as written would make it difficult for anyone who changed their name—including married women—to register.

The bill would also require voters to present photo identification when casting a ballot, and a total ban on mail-in voting. Trump has described the latter procedure as “crooked” and “corrupt,” despite the fact that he himself has cast several mail-in ballots.

SAVE Act Could Require $1,000 Trips to Register to Vote

https://www.newsweek.com/murkowski-save-act-could-require-1000-trips-to-register-to-vote-12214305

 Senator Lisa Murkowski, an Alaskan Republican, detailed her opposition to the GOP-backed Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act in a Friday opinion piece that was published in the Wall Street Journal, warning that the bill could force some Alaskans to spend more than $1,000 to travel and register to vote in addition to new barriers for rural and Native communities.

Murkowski added that the legislation could force some Alaskans in remote communities to spend more than $1,000 to register to vote in person, with residents in some parts of the state potentially facing even higher travel and lodging costs to reach an election office. Alaska is by far the nation's largest state, covering more than twice the land area of Texas.

She also pointed out that Alaska Native voters and older residents without readily available birth certificates could encounter additional difficulties proving eligibility under the bill's requirements. Alaska has one of the nation's largest Indigenous populations, with roughly 15 percent of residents identifying as American Indian or Alaska Native.

Five takeaways from Trump’s big elections speech

 https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5973514-save-america-act-push/

President Trump delivered an address to the nation on Thursday evening in which he sought to paint the state of U.S. election security as indefensible. 

Numerous commentators noted that, even if one took Trump’s Thursday’s claims at face value, they did not back up the most dramatic concept often pushed by him and his most committed supporters — that direct fraud had “flipped” votes away from him, or that tranches of fake votes had been cast for Biden.

To his critics, it’s just another step on the road by which Trump tries to cast doubt on past elections he lost —  or future ones his party might lose.

Former Deputy DNI: Trump's speech was "dangerous"

 https://edition.cnn.com/politics/video/former-deputy-dni-trumps-speech-was-dangerous

Sue Gordon served under President Obama and President Trump. She called Trump's claims of election interference was "a dangerous speech and an incredibly important topic".

Souring on JD Vance, many Jewish Republicans rally behind Marco Rubio for 2028

 https://www.timesofisrael.com/souring-on-jd-vance-many-jewish-republicans-rally-behind-marco-rubio-for-2028/

Prominent GOP figures don’t back a bid by the vice president amid concerns over his invoking conspiracy theories, and silence on right-wing antisemitism and voices like Tucker Carlson

It’s no secret that JD Vance has lost the confidence of many Jewish Republicans, who have taken issue with the vice president’s reprimanding of Israeli officials, indulgence of anti-Israel conspiracy theories and silence on Tucker Carlson, the prominent pundit who has turned against Israel.

But Vance is still thought by many to be US President Donald Trump’s likeliest successor at the top of the party’s ticket in 2028, leaving the GOP’s Jewish supporters with the question of whom to back when Trump’s second term ends.

Many are finding an answer elsewhere in the Trump administration.

Key Takeaways From Donald Trump’s Speech Debunked

https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-speech-election-china-save-act-midterms-12207558 

In a prime-time address Thursday, President Donald Trump alleged a far-reaching campaign of election interference involving China and the U.S. "deep state," using the speech to push for tougher election security measures, stricter voter registration standards and a renewed investigation into the 2020 presidential election.

Claims that the 2020 U.S. presidential election was "stolen" or "rigged" have been extensively investigated and repeatedly found to lack credible supporting evidence. Dozens of lawsuits challenging the election's outcome were heard in state and federal courts, including by judges appointed by both Republican and Democratic presidents—including Trump. These cases were dismissed or ruled against because they failed to present evidence of fraud on a scale that could have changed the election's outcome.

In 2022, a group of prominent conservative legal experts—including former federal judges, Republican election attorney Benjamin Ginsberg, former Solicitor General Ted Olson and ex-U.S. Senators John Danforth and Gordon Smith—released a report titled Lost, Not Stolen, concluding that "Joe Biden was the choice of a majority of the Electors" and that there was "absolutely no evidence of fraud" sufficient to alter the results.

Trump's Ex-Campaign Manager Is Running An Israeli Influence Operation Targeting the MAGA Base

 https://time.com/article/2026/07/13/brad-parscale-israel-influence-operation/

After the U.S. and Iran agreed to a ceasefire deal on June 17, a senior U.S. official was monitoring the online reaction when they noticed something surprising. 

President Donald Trump’s aides had expected his supporters to celebrate the agreement. Instead, online influencers in Trump’s MAGA movement were excoriating it on social media. One shared an Israeli op-ed titled, “You Could Have Been the Greatest President of All—But You Failed.” Several posted the same video of Qatar’s prime minister appearing to snub Vice President J.D. Vance in Israel, arguing it showed regional powers dismissing the Trump Administration’s “naivete.” Others accused Trump of surrendering before achieving his stated objective of eliminating Iran’s nuclear program. Many of the posts appeared almost simultaneously, with similarities in language and tone.

‘Go to hell’: Vance rails at reported Israeli-backed online campaign smearing Iran MOU

 https://www.timesofisrael.com/go-to-hell-vance-rails-at-reported-israeli-backed-online-campaign-smearing-iran-mou/

In Joe Rogan interview, VP claims some elements within Israeli ‘system’ are ‘beyond a shadow of a doubt manipulating and trying to change American public opinion to keep the war going on indefinitely’

US Vice President JD Vance fumed on Wednesday at a reported Israeli government-funded influence campaign aimed at criticizing the efforts of President Donald Trump’s administration to negotiate an end to the Iran war.

“There was this Time article that came out yesterday… It lists a bunch of people who have been paid by a former Trump campaign person who was himself paid by certain elements within the Israeli government, and those people are attacking me viciously for trying to accomplish the negotiation objective that the president set for the country,” Vance said during an interview with podcaster Joe Rogan, calling it a “very discreet, extremely well-funded campaign to try to derail the negotiations.”

Time revealed on Tuesday that Trump’s former campaign manager has been leading a pro-Israel influence campaign directed and funded by the Israeli government, targeting young Americans within Trump’s MAGA base.

Petira of HaRav Yosef Rabinowitz ZT”L, Longtime Flatbush Rav

 https://www.theyeshivaworld.com/news/general/2575306/bde-petira-of-harav-yosef-rabinowitz-ztl-longtime-flatbush-rav.html

https://matzav.com/rav-yosef-rabinowitz-ztl/

YWN regrets to inform you of the petira of HaRav Yosef Rabinowitz ZT”L, longtime Rav of Khal Zichron Aryeh Leib in Flatbush, where he served the kehillah for more than 40 years.

The levaya will take place today at 12:30 p.m. at 2915 Avenue J in Brooklyn. Special screens and speakers will be available for Kohanim at Rabbi Scheinkopf’s shul across the street.

The kevurah will follow at Beth David Cemetery, 300 Elmont Road, Elmont, NY.

Those unable to attend the levaya may watch the livestream at: http://zkstream.com/lryr.

Levaya Rav Yehoshua Max

https://thelakewoodscoop.com/news/petirah-of-reb-yehoshua-max-zl-of-lakewood/

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81764884715?pwd=naDprUuard7VTj4W9OOkPpg655vDxl.1

 

Supreme Court freezes law barring arrest of haredi draft-evaders

 https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/430210

Supreme Court justice temporarily freezes implementation of newly-passed law halting the arrest of haredi draft evaders, orders State to justify.

On Tuesday, the Knesset plenum approved legislation to halt the arrests of haredi draft dodgers in its second and third readings with a majority of 58 votes against 54.

MK Meir Porush (United Torah Judaism) slammed the Supreme Court's decision, claiming that it is not legal, and that any soldier or police officer who participates in arresting haredi draft-evaders will be acting in violation of the law.