The Closest We Can Come to Knowing Hashem

 https://www.bircas.org/parshas-mishpatim-5781/

On the night of Simchas Torah, the Chazon Ish was walking outside when he saw a man sitting alone on a bench, crying. He asked him what was wrong.

“I am a convert, and I feel that the Jews don’t accept me as one of them,” the man replied.

“It’s Simchas Torah. Perhaps you could sing for me a nigun?” asked the Chazon Ish.

The man thought for a moment and then began singing an upbeat nigun. The Chazon Ish began clapping along, smiling in approval. Passersby stopped to listen, and soon a crowd formed and all were clapping and cheering along as this man sang and the Chazon Ish danced to his nigun.

“More! Another nigun!” the Chazon Ish called out to the man, who had become the center of attention.

When the festivities came to an end, the Chazon Ish and the convert shook hands, each thanking the other for having given so much chizuk.

A JOURNEY THAT NEVER ENDS

 https://mishpacha.com/a-journey-that-never-ends/

Here’s another incredible story about the Chazon Ish that depicts his deep empathy for others. After World War II, a large girls’ orphanage was opened in Bnei Brak to house the hundreds of young women who had survived the war but had no parents to care for them.

Once, a few neighbors of the orphanage came to the Chazon Ish to complain. “On Shabbos, the girls sing zemiros together, and you can hear their voices outside the building. It’s kol ishah and an outrage.”

The Chazon Ish’s face lit up and he responded, “You don’t know how happy you just made me. Yiddishe maidelach, torn away from their parents who were murdered in the camps, with hardly any memories of what the Shabbos table looked like back in Europe, feel so at home in the orphanage and are so happy that they sing on Shabbos? I cannot thank you enough for bringing me this wonderful besurah!”

The 22 wildest lines from Donald Trump's 12(!)-page statement on the January 6 committee

 https://edition.cnn.com/2022/06/14/politics/donald-trump-statement-january-6-committee/index.html

In response to the second public hearing of the January 6 committee, former President Donald Trump released a 12-page statement -- yes, 12 full pages! -- seeking to rebut the charges leveled against him.

It's filled with the usual name-calling, exaggerations and conspiracy theories that have dominated Trump's post-2020 election life. But it's also a window into the former President's psyche as the January 6 committee weighs whether to recommend a criminal indictment of Trump to the Department of Justice.

I went through Trump's, um, statement. The lines from it you need to see are below.

Flag Day

Trump-world ‘aghast’ at Guilfoyle’s $60,000 speaking fee

Trump's "free speech" platform Truth Social bans users who post footage from Jan. 6 hearings

 https://www.salon.com/2022/06/13/free-speech-platform-truth-social-bans-users-post-footage-from-jan-6-hearings/

Users of Donald Trump's social media platform, Truth Social, were reportedly suspended after mentioning the ongoing January 6 hearings, putting the site's "free speech" bona fides in a harsh light.

The platform, which professes to be "free from political discrimination," came under scrutiny after multiple users took to Twitter to announce that they had been removed from the site after posting content that may have appeared unfavorable to Trump.

Rudy Giuliani Claims Jan. 6 Riot Was 'Put Together by Left to Frame Trump'

 https://www.newsweek.com/rudy-giuliani-jan-6-riot-put-together-left-frame-trump-1714998

Rudy Giuliani has alleged that the Jan. 6 riots were an insurrection secretly planned by the left to frame then-President Donald Trump, the former New York mayor said in the latest episode of his podcast.

"This was something that was put together by the Left movement—doesn't necessarily mean only Antifa, means others that were trying to do anything they could to destroy any attempt that Trump had to rectify the massive voter theft," Giuliani said, refusing to abandon false allegations that the 2020 presidential election was rigged.

Trump releases 12-page response to Jan. 6 hearing

 https://thehill.com/news/administration/3522080-trump-releases-12-page-response-to-jan-6-hearing/

In the 12-page document, Trump repeats a handful of disproven claims to assert the 2020 election was stolen from him and rigged in favor of Democrats, including some that were brought up during testimony by former Trump campaign and administration officials.

The Fox shift: Why Fox News started airing January 6 hearings

Trump Slams Bill Barr After He Dismisses 2020 Election Fraud: 'No Guts'

 https://www.newsweek.com/trump-slams-bill-barr-after-he-dismisses-2020-election-fraud-no-guts-1715469

Trump lashed out at Barr in a post to his Truth Social platform on Monday, hours after footage of Barr's testimony was played during a public committee hearing. Barr testified that claims of massive fraud being responsible for President Joe Biden's victory were "without merit" and "completely bogus" before laughing while assessing the pro-Trump movie 2000 Mules, which purports to show that the election was compromised by a ballot-stuffing conspiracy.

Barr's testimony also revealed that, shortly before he resigned from the Trump administration, he had become concerned that the former president continuing to claim that the election was "stolen" despite no credible supporting evidence indicated he had become "detached from reality."

Haskoma to sefer which disagrees with Chazon Ish

 

"It is in fact impossible for me to agree with his halachic conclusion because in many matters he disagrees with the rulings of the Chazon Ish. However all those who study the material in this sefer will find  great treasure"

Trump raised $250m to fight non-existent voter fraud but gave most of it to his own PAC

 https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-jan-6-committee-fundraising-b2100072.html

Donald Trump’s presidential campaign raised $250 million from supporters by telling them the money would be used to fight voter fraud, but the campaign knew those claims of fraud were bogus and instead diverted the money to his own political organisation, the House committee investigating the January 6 attacked claimed on Monday.

Mr Trump’s campaign sent millions of fundraising emails to supporters encouraging them to donate to help fight voter fraud between election day and January 6, the committee said. Many of those emails asked supporters to donate to an “election defense fund” for legal cases related to the election.

Barr says Trump claimed major fraud before there was "any potential of looking at evidence"

 https://edition.cnn.com/politics/live-news/january-6-hearings-june-13/h_98cc7ae9b8352b1ee9bed985de53c52d

Former Attorney General Bill Barr told the House Jan. 6 committee that then-President Donald Trump claimed there was major fraud underway “right out of the box on election night … before there was actually any potential of looking at evidence,” according to a previously unseen video clip from his closed-door interview with the panel played during today’s hearing. 

Barr’s testimony adds to the committee’s argument that Trump was already laying the groundwork for his unfounded claim that the election was stolen before it was conceivable that anyone had a chance to examine whether any evidence of widespread voter fraud existed. 

Courts grant woman a Get after husband loses ability to speak

 https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-709330

The Rabbinical Courts of Ashkelon successfully arranged a Get, or a Halachic document of divorce, on Monday for a woman whose husband suffered a severe stroke and lost the ability to speak.

While getting him to agree to the divorce was difficult enough, as the man could not speak and his family had a special method of communicating with him, it would be even harder to convince the courts that he genuinely agreed. According to Halacha, the husband must grant a divorce or appoint a messenger and express complete consent in his voice if he has opposed divorce in the past.