Friday, May 27, 2022
Trump joke
Igros Moshe on Kollel Income
http://machzikeihadas.blogspot.com/2009/07/igros-moshe-on-kollel-income.html
Lauren Boebert on Gun Control: 'When 9/11 Happened, We Didn't Ban Planes'
https://www.newsweek.com/lauren-boebert-planes-911-gun-control-uvalde-school-shooting-1710690
Thursday, May 26, 2022
Israeli security officials demand 'immediate' explanation
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/328233
Shulchan Arukh, Yoreh De'ah 246
Shulchan Arukh, Yoreh De'ah 246
How can people justify studying Torah all the time?
https://ohr.edu/ask/ask003.htm
Rabbis and Taxes
Wednesday, May 25, 2022
Terrorist to get a free nose job?
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/328194
Scientist: 'Abu Aqleh was shot by a Palestinian terrorist, says evidence'
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/328190
Shooting at Texas elementary school leaves 19 children dead, horrifies nation
https://www.politico.com/news/2022/05/24/uvalde-texas-school-shooting-00034864
Uvalde School Shooting: How You Can Help After 20 Killed at Elementary
https://www.newsweek.com/uvalde-school-shooting-how-you-can-help-after-20-killed-elementary-1709814
Biden: When in God’s name are we going to stand up to the gun lobby?
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/328135
“When in God’s name are we going to stand up to the gun lobby? When in God’s name are we going to do what we know in our gut needs to be done?” said Biden, adding, “The idea that an 18-year-old can walk into a gun store and buy two assault weapons -- it's just wrong.”
GOP primary win for Georgia secretary who wouldn’t ‘find’ votes for Trump in 2020
Tuesday, May 24, 2022
Ra'am: We got huge budgets for Arab sector
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/328114
Shin Bet foils Hamas plot to assassinate MK Ben Gvir, bomb Jerusalem rail with drone
Southern Baptist Convention vilified sex abuse survivors - report
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-61554996
Sexual harassment, power abuse allegations rattle Germany’s liberal Jewish community
Monday, May 23, 2022
Marjorie Taylor Greene Pushes Bill Gates Monkeypox Conspiracy
https://www.newsweek.com/marjorie-taylor-greene-pushes-bill-gates-monkeypox-conspiracy-1708789
The antisemitic roots of the Great Replacement theory
Palestinian fatally hurt on Temple Mount wasn’t hit by sponge bullet – report
Does turmeric’s reputation translate into real health benefits?
'No one's paying any attention': The week that Republicans ignored Trump's election lies
https://www.politico.com/news/2022/05/22/republicans-ignored-trumps-election-lies-00034242
Secrets of the Cave of the Patriarchs
https://aish.com/secrets-of-the-cave-of-the-patriarchs/
Sunday, May 22, 2022
The rise and rise of the Strictly Orthodox
https://www.thejc.com/judaism/all/the-rise-and-rise-of-the-strictly-orthodox-6H0fjFJI1wWsbutnRVUOFV
Trump shares CPAC Hungary platform with notorious racist and antisemite
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/may/21/trump-shares-cpac-hungary-platform-racist-antisemite
Hungarian journalist who called Jews ‘stinking excrement’ addresses CPAC conference
The two-day conference featured speeches from former US president Donald Trump; Fox News host Tucker Carlson; Trump’s former White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows; and Republican lawmakers from Florida and Maryland.
Gur Hassidic factions fight for second night in a row, clash with police
https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-707329
Thursday, May 19, 2022
Female Jewish leaders sue Haredi news site for blurring their faces
https://www.timesofisrael.com/female-jewish-leaders-sue-haredi-news-site-for-blurring-their-faces/
Hospitals strike after relatives of deceased patients attack staff
https://www.jpost.com/health-and-wellness/article-707077
Modern Orthodox ,moderate in passion
Wednesday, May 18, 2022
Blemished Gedolim IV
Ramban (Bereishis 12:10) Know that Abraham our father unintentionally committed a great sin by bringing his righteous wife to a stumbling-block of sin on account of his fear for his life. He should have trusted that G-d would save him and his wife and all his belongings for G-d surely has the power to help and to save. His leaving the Land, concerning which he had been commanded from the beginning, on account of the famine, was also a sin he committed, for in famine G-d would redeem him from death. It was because of this deed that the exile in the land of Egypt at the hand of Pharaoh was decreed for his children.
Failure of rabbinical leadership to see the consequences of their actions
Blemished Gedolim III
Rambam (Shemonah Perakim #7): You should know that every prophet only experienced prophecy after he has acquired all the appropriate personality traits… Chazal indicated this by saying that “Prophecy only manifests itself in one who is wise, strong and rich.” … Strength here is referring to moral strength not physical strength as we find in Avos (4:1), “Who is strong? He who controls his passions.” However prophecy is not conditional on these personality traits being perfect. We see that even though Shlomo HaMelech was a prophet nevertheless he possessed imperfections as we see by his desires i.e., his many wives… We also see that David HaMelech was a prophet in spite of acting cruelly. Even though this cruelty was only manifested against idol worship and heretics and he was merciful with Jews, nevertheless G‑d said that because of this imperfection he was not allowed to build the Temple. We find that Eliyahu had a problem with anger - even though it was directed entirely to heretics - our Sages tells us that he was consequently not fit to be a leader nor was his zealotry appropriate for others to emulate. We find Shmuel also manifested failings in his fear of Shaul and Yaakov in his fear of Esav. These type of improper attributes are a barrier against a prophet getting close to G‑d. The more imperfection the greater distance is created. Consequently the imperfection can diminish the quality of prophecy or eliminate it altogether…
Women and witchcraft
Moreh haNevuchim (3:37) In most cases the condition is added that women must perform these actions. Thus it is stated in reference to the means of obtaining rain, that ten virgins dressed with diadems and red garments should dance, push each other, moving backwards and forwards, and make signs to the sun: the result of this long process was believed by the idolaters to be a downpour of rain. It is further stated that if four women lay on their back, with their feet spread and lifted up, said certain words and did certain things whilst in this disgraceful position, hail would discontinue coming down in that place. The number of these stupid and mad things is great; in all of them without exception women are required to be the agent.
Moreh haNevuchim (3:37)
It is the object and center of the whole Law to abolish idolatry and utterly
uproot it, and to overthrow the opinion that any of the stars could interfere
for good or evil in human matters, because it leads to the worship of stars. It
was therefore necessary to slay all witches as being undoubtedly idolaters,
because every witch is an idolater: they only have their own strange ways of
worship, which are different from the common mode of worship offered to those
deities. But in all performances of witchcraft it is laid down as a rule that
women should be employed in the chief operation; and therefore the Law says,
"Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live" (Exod. 22:17). Another reason
is the natural reluctance of people to slay women.
Russia Accuses U.S. of Blocking Peace Deal So War Kills More Russians
https://www.newsweek.com/russia-accuses-us-blocking-peace-deal-war-kills-more-russians-1707471
Retired colonel speaks out on Russian TV
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-61484222
Convicted paedophile Grynhaus released despite minister's call to keep him jailed
Health minister allows artificial insemination for ‘chained’ women
https://www.timesofisrael.com/health-minister-allows-artificial-insemination-for-chained-women/
Madison Cawthorn Concedes Primary, Loses to Chuck Edwards
https://www.newsweek.com/madison-cawthorn-concedes-primary-loses-chuck-edwards-1707624
Tuesday, May 17, 2022
Finland and Sweden want to join NATO. Here's how it works and what comes next
https://edition.cnn.com/2022/05/14/europe/sweden-finland-nato-next-steps-intl/index.html
Trump Kept Asking if China Was Shooting Us With a ‘Hurricane Gun’
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/trump-hurricane-gun-china-world-war-1350638/
Who are the real insiders?
We have discussed the chareidi chiloni divide the Ashkenaz Sephardi split FFB vs Bal tshuva, young vs old, American vs Israeli, Litvaks vs Chasidim as well as Orthodox vs non Orthodox. The real question is who thinks they belong and are not only see themselves as insiders but the transmitters of the true mesorah
I was told the only people who feel that they truly belong are the grandchildren of gedolim - everyone else feels like an outsider.
Pre-army program head arrested for alleged sexual acts against girls
https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-706867
Monday, May 16, 2022
Walking with G-d
Rabbeinu Bachya (Bereishis 06:09) Noach’s third virtue is described by the words “Noach walked with G-d.” This virtue of “walking with G-d” is something so exceptional that we find it mentioned only very rarely. Nonetheless, it is one of the imperatives G-d (Moses) commanded the Jewish people (Deut. 13,5) when He said:, “You shall follow the Lord your G-d, etc.” Interestingly , in our verse the Torah does not describe Noach as having walked behind G-d, The Torah says “he made himself walk.” This was not a construction that can be applied to an entire nation and this is why Moses did not phrase his imperative as,”make yourselves follow (in the footsteps of) the Lord your G-d.” Only select individuals ever attain such a lofty spiritual level and only after having become outstandingly righteous people The very attainment of that level of comprehension of the forces at work in our universe reveals that the person who commands it has an appreciation of G-d and His Majesty. This is what David meant when he said (Psalms 19,2) “the heavens declare the glory of G-d , the sky proclaims His handiwork.” ….This is also why our sages (Shabbat 75) have said: “anyone who knows how to calculate the various seasons and horoscopes correctly and fails to use his ability is the subject of the verse (Isaiah 5,12) “and he fails to take note of what He is designing.” We have another scriptural verse (Psalms 82,5) “they neither knew nor understood, they make themselves walk in darkness;” this verse too describes people who, though able to comprehend the mysteries of nature, fail to pay attention to this and to draw the appropriate conclusions regarding their conduct on earth. The reason that Noach’s name is mentioned three times in this verse is because of the three levels of perfection he had attained, i.e. he was righteous, perfect, and he walked with G-d.
Israeli TV show puts wall between secular and ultra-Orthodox Jews
Many Israelis increasingly see secular-Haredi disaccord about the future of the state as a greater concern than the Palestinian issue, and fear it could tear the country apart from the inside.
Secular Israeli Fear of the ultra-Orthodox Has Turned Into Hatred
Haredim, not Arabs or Iran, are the biggest threat to Israel - opinion
Do Israel's haredim really live off the state?
https://en.globes.co.il/en/article-do-israels-haredim-really-live-off-the-state-1001359942
Sunday, May 15, 2022
Secular Jews are the true "fearful" ones
Over heard at a recent graduating class of hareidi women in a special program to train them in scientific knowledge
One of the secular professors commented " \They just want to steal our knowledge"
Fact-checking “2000 Mules,” the movie alleging ballot fraud
https://www.denverpost.com/2022/05/08/2000-mules-fact-check/
CLAIM: At least 2,000 “mules” were paid to illegally collect ballots and deliver them to drop boxes in key swing states ahead of the 2020 presidential election.
THE FACTS: True the Vote didn’t prove this. The finding is based on false assumptions about the precision of cellphone tracking data and the reasons that someone might drop off multiple ballots, according to experts.
Donald Trump Slams Fox News, Echoes Dinesh D'Souza's '2000 Mules' Complaint
10 people killed in a racially motivated mass shooting at a Buffalo supermarket, police say. The 18-year-old suspect is in custody
https://edition.cnn.com/2022/05/14/us/buffalo-ny-supermarket-multiple-shooting/index.html\\\
Experts consider easy access to guns a root cause of the violence, and open-carry states lower the barrier for people to own and carry guns in public. But the spike in violence since summer 2020 has been general, across cities and states with lax and strict gun laws, with progressive and conservative prosecutors, as well as Republican and Democratic mayors and governors.
Saturday, May 14, 2022
White House says it 'misstated' that vaccines were unavailable when President Biden took office
https://sports.yahoo.com/white-house-says-apos-misstated-020212359.html
Thursday, May 12, 2022
MK Bezalel Smotrich: Government must stop planned Arab-Israeli procession in Lod
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/327417
Believability
Sefer HaIkkarim (1:20:1) A thing perceived by an unusually popular and trustworthy person or by a number of persons of superior powers of comprehension or by an unusually large number of persons, is more likely to satisfy the mind of its reality and to be firmly believed than a thing not so accredited. For this reason God desired that the Torah should be given through Moses with great publicity and in the presence of a mighty multitude of six hundred thousand people. For according to the wise men of the Cabala this number includes all physiognomies, hence the publicity could not be greater, though the number of persons had been multiplied many times.
According to the Rabbis, the revelation was published before the whole world. Commenting on the verse, The Lord came from Sinai, and rose from Seir unto them; He shined forth from mount Paran …, they say, Why Seir and why Paran? The answer is, that God offered the Torah to all the world, who refused to accept it. Then Israel came and accepted it. The meaning is that since there were then seventy nations in the world and the text of the Bible mentions only Seir and Paran, it is clear that the reference is not to mount Seir and the wilderness of Paran, but to the whole world. Knowing that founders of religion were to arise in the future in Seir, i. e., the people of Edom and those associated with them, and in Paran, i. e., the people of Ishmael and those related to them,—two nations including the whole world, and both descended from Abraham, the first true believer, God published before these nations His revelation of the Torah to Israel, pointing out to them that the revelation of a divine law must be published very widely, else it is not divine. This is so because an order which passes between God and the prophet alone leaves a suspicion or doubt in the minds of others, even of those living in the same generation, not to mention those who come after. Thus even in the case of Moses, the Israelites did not fully believe in his prophetic character until the day of the revelation on Sinai, when they heard the voice speaking to him, as we saw before.
This is the reason why the Torah was not given completely to Abraham, Isaac or Jacob that they should command their children after them to keep the way of the Lord. For though the tradition should be handed down by them continuously from father to son, some suspicion or doubt might occur to those who came after in future generations, because those who received the law first were individuals. The case is different where the thing is clearly perceived by a very great number of persons embracing many wise and intelligent men, representing a great variety of opinions. This is the reason why the Torah was given through Moses with such great publicity, in order, namely, as I said before, that no suspicion or doubt should remain in the minds of the recipients and their associates, nor in the minds of those who come after, so that the tradition may be as firm and true as it is possible to make it.
Wednesday, May 11, 2022
Trump endorses Thomas Massie, incumbent opposed by Republican Jewish Coalition
Donald Trump endorsed Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican congressman whose opposition to a Holocaust education bill helped earn him the rare distinction of being an incumbent criticized by the Republican Jewish Coalition.
Massie is one of a number of Republicans the former president is backing in the primaries ahead of this year’s midterm congressional elections in a bid to prove he still has sway in the party. Trump has also endorsed Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, another incumbent Republican the RJC’s affiliated political action committee has opposed in a primary.
'Like with al-Dura, IDF will be proved innocent'
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/327383
OAN Clip Acknowledging 'No Widespread Voter Fraud' Viewed Over 300K Times
The fight for truth over the killing of an Al Jazeera reporter in Jenin.
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/327380
Robert Regan, GOP Candidate Who Told Women to 'Enjoy' Rape, Loses Race
Florida’s examples of banned topics in math books derided as ‘political theater’
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/apr/22/florida-examples-prohibited-topics-math-textbooks
“Those examples were given with no context and were not even elementary-level material,” Andrew Spar, president of the Florida Education Association that represents more than 150,000 educators, said. “So it seems like it’s more about smoke and mirrors of trying to accomplish a political agenda than really about what we are teaching our kids.”
“What educators and parents are concerned about is if we don’t have teachers in our classrooms, or bus drivers to get kids to school on time, then our kids aren’t learning math or any other subject,” Spar said.
“We’re expecting over 9,000 teacher vacancies by the end of the year, according to the state board that he appoints, and we have a massive bus driver, paraprofessional, cafeteria worker, custodian shortage in addition. We’ve heard the governor say or do nothing about it.
“These kinds of antics and political theater going on over these textbooks is exactly what’s driving people out of the profession.”
The Religious Right and the Abortion Myth
US Jewish community mobilizes to resettle Ukrainian refugees amid war
Al-Jazeera journalist killed during IDF op. in Palestinian city of Jenin
https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-706387
Harvard faculty, alums denounce student newspaper for backing BDS
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/327326
The Harvard Crimson’s recent endorsement of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions movement has attracted far more wide-ranging attention than a typical student paper’s editorial page, as faculty and alumni of the Ivy League institution have lined up to denounce the student paper’s op-ed and condemn the shift in Israel discussion on college campuses.
In an open letter, more than 100 Harvard faculty members objected to the paper endorsing an academic and financial boycott of the state of Israel, including the school’s former president Larry Summers; prominent psychologist and author Steven Pinker; endowed law professor Gabriella Blum; former Harvard Medical School dean Jeffrey Flier; and emeritus law professor and longtime pro-Israel advocate Alan Dershowitz.
“We believe that many well-meaning people with no hate in their hearts, including those at Harvard, gravitate to this movement believing that it offers a means for advancing Palestinian rights and peace in the Middle East,” the letter reads. “But the reality is that BDS merely coarsens the discourse on campus and contributes to antisemitism.”
Trump Jr. Defends Dad's Alleged Plan to Bomb Mexico: 'Is That a Bad Thing?'
Trump notches a loss in Nebraska as Herbster goes down in GOP gubernatorial primary: AP
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/nebraska-trump-herbster-primary-governor-lindstrom
Open Letter to Schlesinger twins
Mazel Tov on your bar mitzva
Don't know if you realize its wider implication - in Jewish law that means it is now your responsibility to keep the religious and ethical principles of Judaism
One of the most important of these being to honor and respect both your father and mother
You are in a very difficult position in this area. Never the less you are still obligated
As a minimum you need to ensure that your mother is invited to the bar mitzva
As a psychologist I will simply note that if you can't deal properly with this issue it is very unlikely you will have a good marriage or be a good parent. Not a threat or curse - just a dose of reality
Daniel Eidensohn PhD.
Tuesday, May 10, 2022
Tamar Epstein's Heter: R Shalom Kaminetsky's letter asking for the heter and Rav Nota Greenblatt's teshuva giving the heter
I received the letters of R Shalom Kaminetsky and Rav Greenblatt with permission to publish them. They are not the sharpest copies but ocr doesn't work. There apparently are a number of different versions. Will publish the variations as I receive them.
I just received a set of letters from a different source today with full unconditional permission to publish them - so I will be publishing them without the disclaimer required from the first person. The first person also said he could not send the letters from Rav Greenblatt while the second person could.
It is clear from these letters that R Shalom Kaminetsky was shopping for a heter of mekach ta'os as requested by Tamar Epstein. It is also clear that Rav Greenblatt accepted without question what he was told were the facts of the case and he agreed to give a heter of mekach ta'os. There were no conditions - despite what Rav Greenblatt wrote last week in the letter I published (It is the last letter in this posting).
This letter of R Shalom Kaminetsky also makes an anonymous claim that Aharon was not only mentally ill but had threatened a girl that he had been engaged to before Tamar. Anyone who knows Aharon will realize the claim is a lie. He is not violent nor has he been violent. In all the years this divorce has been in beis din and courts and the public media - there has never been a claim that he is violent. They should have added that he steals candy from babies and throws old ladies down the steps for entertainment. The level that the Kaminetsky's and Tamar's allies stooped is really sickening.
Letters of Rav Nota Greenblatt accepting as fact what Rav Shalom Kaminetsky said and giving a heter for Tamar to remarry without a Get
Letter from Rav Nota Greenblatt claiming the heter was only theoretical and conditional
See post with translation and discussion of this letter