Meron tragedy - dispute between Amoraim

 Pesachim (64b) THE FIRST DIVISION ENTERED etc. It was stated, Abaye said: We learned, ‘They [the doors] locked themselves’(Or, were locked-miraculously, without human agency.); Raba said, We learned: THEY LOCKED. Wherein do they differ? — They differ in respect of relying on a miracle. ‘Abaye said, We learned, They locked themselves’; as many as entered, entered, and we rely on a miracle.( That the doors should shut themselves when sufficient had entered) Raba said, We learned, THEY LOCKED, and we do not rely on a miracle. 

In this way the Paschal lamb is slaughtered in three groups of thirty people each, although the total number of people involved is only fifty.

The mishna teaches that the first group entered, after which they closed the doors to the Temple courtyard. It was stated that the amora’im disagreed about the precise wording of the mishna. Abaye said: We learned in the mishna that the doors of the Temple courtyard miraculously closed by themselves. Rava said: We learned in the mishna that people would close the doors of the Temple courtyard at the appropriate time.

What is the practical difference between them? The practical difference between them is with regard to whether we rely on a miracle. Abaye said: We learned in the mishna that the doors closed by themselves; as many people as entered, entered, and we rely on a miracle to close the doors so that an excessive number of people not enter and thus create a danger (Rabbeinu Ḥananel). Rava said: We learned in the mishna that people would close the doors, and we do not rely on a miracle to ensure that the courtyard not become overly crowded.

Yeshiva University suspends all student clubs as it appeals case against LGBTQ alliance

 https://www.jta.org/2022/09/16/ny/yeshiva-university-suspends-all-student-clubs-as-it-appeals-case-against-lgbtq-alliance

Rachael Fried, a Y.U. alum and the director of Jewish Queer Youth, an organization that has been supporting the YU Pride Alliance in its bid for recognition, criticized the latest move. “Stern afforded me the opportunity to serve as president of the student body in a shomer Shabbos and Torah environment — I certainly would not have been able to do so in another university,” she told the New York Jewish Week, using terms meaning religiously observant. “I do not believe I would have attended YU undergrad had there not been student council or student clubs in which I could participate.”

“To postpone all student clubs, leadership, and essentially all student-led initiatives on campus in order to avoid allowing queer students to create community and share pizza in a dignified way is wrong, cowardly, and shameful,” Fried said.

Miracles - is a Jew required to believe in them?

 https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/332555/jewish/Maimonides-13-Principles-of-Faith.htm

Belief in miracles is not one of the 13 principles of faith. If a Jew rejects miracles is he a heretic?

Who's being cruel? Politicians debate use of migrants as pawns.

 https://www.politico.com/news/2022/09/18/migrant-buses-adams-desantis-abbott-00057350

Adams criticized Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas for not coordinating with his staff on the matter when Abbott directed busloads of migrants to New York.

“Coordination in crisis is something that we must do together,” he said. Adams added on ABC’s “This Week” that he reached out to the Abbott administration for organization, without success.

The Republican governor has sent thousands of migrants to New York, Washington and Chicago over the last few months to call attention to what he sees as an immigration crisis. Gov. Doug Ducey of Arizona, a Republican, has also done so, though he hasn’t come in for the same level of criticism because he has worked more closely with other officials.

Ramban's view of nature?

 The Ramban is widely believed to view that there is no nature but everything is a miracle. Is this true?

Ramban (Devarim 13:16) ”Through the great open miracles, one comes to admit the hidden miracles which constitute the foundation of the whole Torah, for no one can have a part in the Torah of Moses our teacher unless he believes that all our words and our events, [as dictated in the Torah], are miraculous in scope, there being no natural or customary way of the world in them, whether affecting the public or the individual. Instead, if a person observes the commandments, His reward will bring him success, and if he violates them, His punishment will cause his extinction. It is all by decree of the Most High, as I have already mentioned. The hidden miracles done to the public come to be known as is mentioned in the assurances of the Torah on the subject of the blessings and imprecations,

וכשאנו מעיינין יפה, אנו רואין, שאין לאדם חלק בתורת משה רבינו ע"ה עד שיאמין שכל דברינו ומעשינו כלם נסים, אין בהם טבע ומנהגו של עולם, שהרי יעודי התורה כלה נסים ומופתים גמורים הם... (תורת ה' תמימה, וראה שם עוד)

Ramban (Vayikra 26:11) Now we have already that all these blessings are miracles, for it is not natural that the rains should come in their due season, and that we should have peace from our enemies, and that they should have faintness of heart so that a hundred of them flee before five, as a result of us observing the statutes and commandments of G-d, nor that everything should be the opposite i.e., that none of these things should happen because of us planting in the Seventh year [which we are forbidden to do]. But although they are hidden miracles, for they are brought about by means of the natural events of the world occurring according to their habit, yet the Torah mentions them separately because they come to be known as miracles because of their constant and continuous occurrence in the whole Land. For if one righteous man lives and G-d takes away sickness from him, and he lives out his days, this also happens to some wicked people and is thus not acknowledged as miraculous. But when an entire land and a whole people always have rains coming in their season, and plenitude, security, peace, health, strength and defeat of their enemies, in a manner unparalleled in the whole world, it becomes known to all that this is the Eternal’s doing.. Therefore He said in connection with these blessings And all the peoples shall see that the Name of the Eternal is called upon thee, and they shall be afraid of thee.. And the opposite of this will occur because of the curses, when punishments will come upon the whole Land, just as He said, and I will make your heaven as iron,. and punishments of sickness, as He said, and sore sickness, and of long continuance,. meaning that the food will be spoiled and bring about sickness, and thus the miracle will be made known to all because of its continued existence amongst the whole people. Therefore it is written, And the generation to come, your children that shall rise up after you, and the foreigner that shall come from a far land, shall say when they see the plagues of that Land, and its sicknesses.. For they will not wonder at that [single] man upon whom all the curse that is written in this book shall lie. for it happens many times in the natural order of the world, among all nations, that bad happenings come upon a certain individual. It is only with reference to that Land that they will wonder, and that all the nations will ask, Wherefore hath the Eternal done thus unto this Land? for all will see and understand that the hand of the Eternal hath done this. And [by way of reply] they will say, Because they forsook the covenant of the Eternal, the G-d of their fathers.In general then, when Israel is in perfect accord with G-d, constituting a large number, their affairs are not conducted at all by the natural order of things, neither in connection with themselves, nor with reference to their Land, neither collectively nor individually, for G-d blesses their bread and their water, and removes sickness from their midst, so that they do not need a physician and do not have to observe any of the rules of medicine, just as He said, for I am the Eternal that healeth thee.. And so did the righteous ones act at the time when prophecy [existed], so that even if a mishap of iniquity overtook them, causing them sickness, they did not turn to the physicians, but only to the prophets, as was the case with Hezekiah when he was sick.. And Scripture states of Asa, king of Judah, by way of rebuke, Yet in his disease he sought not to the Eternal, but to the physicians.. Now had the practice of consulting physicians been customary among them, why should the verse mention as a sinful act Asa’s consulting the physicians, since his guilt was only because he did not [also] seek G-d? But the verse can be compared to someone saying: “That person did not eat unleavened bread on the Festival of Passover, but instead [ate] leavened bread.”. For he who seeks the Eternal through a prophet, will not consult the physicians. And what part do the physicians have in the house of those who do the will of G-d, after He has assured us, and He will bless thy bread, and thy water, and I will take sickness away from the midst of thee,. whereas the physicians are concerned [mostly] with food and drink, warning [the patient] against [eating] certain foods and commanding him [to eat] others. Thus also the Rabbis said: During all the twenty-two years that Rabbah reigned [as head of the Academy at Pumbeditha], Rav Yoseph did not call even a blood letter to his house” as he, being a righteous person, was protected directly by G-d and needed no physicians, and they also say by way of proverb “A gate which is not open for the commandments i.e., a house wherein the commandments are not observed is open for the physician.” This is also the meaning of their saying: “People should not have to take medicaments, but they have become accustomed to do so.” That is to say: had they not accustomed themselves to taking medicines, people would become sick according to the degree of punishment corresponding to their sin, and would be healed by the will of G-d, but since they accustomed themselves to medicaments, G-d has left them to natural happenings. This is also the intent of the Rabbis’ interpretation: a. “And he shall cause him to be thoroughly healed. From here [you deduce the principle] that permission has been given to the physician to heal.” They did not say that “permission was given to the sick to be healed” [by the physician], but instead they stated [by implication] that since the person who became sick comes [to the physician] to be healed, because he has accustomed himself to seeking medical help and he was not of the congregation of the Eternal whose portion is in this life,. the physician should not refrain from healing him; whether because of fear that he might die under his hand, since he is qualified in this profession, or because he says that it is G-d alone Who is the Healer of all flesh, since after all people have already accustomed themselves to seeking such help. Therefore when men contend and one smites the other with a stone or his fist. the one who smote must pay for the healing,. for the Torah does not base its laws upon miracles, just as it said, for the poor shall never cease out of the Land, knowing beforehand that such will be the case. But when a man’s ways please the Eternal, he need have no concern with physicians.

Rabbi Eliyahu Dessler: There is no difference between miracle and nature. Everything is nature! The entire world exists only because of Hashem's will, and His will is His doing and leadership. Since everything that He wills manifests itself. What we call a "miracle" are simply the manifestations of Hashem's will that we are not accustomed to, and therefore that novelty is viewed as a miracle from our point of view. What we call "nature" are things that Hashem's will is consistently manifesting and we are accustomed to...

It is an ultimate test for man. The "nature" is a "miracle" in disguise. Everything is Hashem's direct will, and "nature" is an optical illusion, in order for man to have free will and have a place to make mistakes and choose the true path.

Trump attorney told National Archives boxes at Mar-a-Lago held only news clippings: reports

 https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/3647649-trump-attorney-told-national-archives-boxes-at-mar-a-lago-only-held-news-clippings-reports/

U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee who is presiding over the case, has blocked the Justice Department from accessing the classified documents until Dearie completes that review. The department appealed the decision on Friday.

Martha's Vineyard: Liberal outlets boast about progressive compassion toward migrants at Massachusetts enclave

 https://www.foxnews.com/media/marthas-vineyard-liberal-outlets-boast-about-progressive-compassion-toward-migrants-massachusetts-enclave

Despite the immediate show of support from the residents of Martha’s Vineyard, local homeless coordinator Lisa Belcastro said the island simply does not have the resources to help the migrants long-term, and they would eventually have to travel "somewhere else."

DeSantis said the negative reaction to the migrants being sent there in the first place showed liberal "virtue signaling" on the issue was a "fraud."

Navy should rename warship that honors Confederate victory, commission recommends

 https://www.politico.com/news/2022/09/13/navy-rename-warship-confederate-uss-chancellorsville-00056487

An independent commission is recommending the Navy scrap the name of a guided-missile cruiser that honors a Confederate battlefield victory, part of a broader effort to scrub the names of Confederate leaders from Defense Department property.

Ron DeSantis, Republican Stuntman

https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2022/09/15/ron-desantis-republican-stuntman-00057055

 Daring to exploit exhausted and traumatized immigrants — children among them — as human pawns in a political game would terrify a normal politician. No matter your views on immigration policy, imagine being treated as political refuse that’s dumped to own the libs. Pulling a stunt like this required the heart of a reptile and the ambition of a Genghis Khan, although the comparison might be unfair to skinks and geckos, which feed primarily on insects, fruit and the occasional mouse. That DeSantis performed his cruelty on migrants not even residing in his state tells you all you need to gauge his status as a scoundrel. It’s hard to decide which horrifies most, that DeSantis, Yale undergraduate, Harvard law, U.S. Navy, would squat this low or that he thought it would charm his followers.

‘Huge mistake’: DeSantis’ migrant transports could undercut support in South Florida

 https://www.politico.com/news/2022/09/17/desantis-migrant-transports-south-florida-00057337

The move by DeSantis dominated the radio and television airwaves in South Florida — where large swaths of Hispanic voters live. One Spanish radio host loudly denounced the move and even compared DeSantis’ actions to that of deceased Cuban dictator Fidel Castro, who relocated Cubans in the early ‘60s.

Florida Paid over $12K for Each Migrant Flown to Martha's Vineyard: Records

 Florida Paid over $12K for Each Migrant Flown to Martha's Vineyard: Records

"If migrants were defrauded, and if this fraud was intended as a vehicle for anyone's material gain including that of an elected official, then there is a case for investigating it as trafficking," Polaris, an anti-human trafficking organization, said in a statement released Friday.

DeSantis Tries to Prove Liberals Hate Immigrants As Much As He Does, Fails Borrowing a tactic from the White Citizens’ Councils.

 https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2022/09/desantis-tries-fails-to-prove-liberals-hate-migrants-too.html

To acquire the bait for his stunt, DeSantis apparently deployed staff into Texas to mislead the targets. “The migrants said a woman they identified as ‘Perla’ approached them outside the shelter and lured them into boarding the plane, saying they would be flown to Boston where they could get expedited work papers,” reports NPR.

You would think this response would have humiliated DeSantis, whose imagination had no room for the possibility that anybody could act so humanely. Instead, conservative media simply responded as if rich liberals had acted in the way Desantis anticipated. The Federalist gleefully reported that liberals were “melting down” as if they were angry at having to accommodate immigrants, rather than at DeSantis’s abuse of immigrants. It became a “fact” in the conservative media that Martha’s Vineyard was responding to the immigrants with terror:

Migrants detail ruse as lawyers, advocates explore possible criminal violations

 https://www.bostonglobe.com/2022/09/16/metro/immigration-lawyers-advocates-explore-possible-criminal-violations/

“What happened to our clients is akin to human trafficking, false imprisonment, or kidnapping,” said Oren Sellstrom, litigation director for Lawyers for Civil Rights, a Boston-based organization whose attorneys have spoken with many of the migrants. “Those are all the types of crimes that federal and state law-enforcement authorities must investigate.”

According to Sellstrom, the undocumented migrants consistently report they were induced to board the planes in San Antonio with false promises of work in Boston, educational opportunities, and help with immigration paperwork. They initially believed they were heading to Boston, he said, and were told only in midflight that their destination would be the Vineyard, an island that many of them had never heard of.

The migrants sent to Martha’s Vineyard have been voluntarily taken to a military base for support, officials say

 The migrants sent to Martha’s Vineyard have been voluntarily taken to a military base for support, officials say

The migrants had been flown from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard on Wednesday in arrangements made by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis – part of a series of moves by Republican governors to transport migrants to liberal enclaves to protest what they say are inadequate federal efforts on southern border security.

Martha’s Vineyard had not been expecting the group, and DeSantis’ move was sharply denounced by the White House, migrants’ advocates and Democratic officials.