Education interferes with faith

 Likutei Moharan (123) 1. The essence and foundation on which everything depends is one’s binding oneself to the tzaddik of the generation:accepting his word in whatever he says, “This is how it is,” in matters small and great; not deviating, G-d forbid, from his word “to the right or the left” as our Sages teach: even if he tells you that right is left…;casting off from oneself all pseudo-wisdoms;and dismissing one’s knowledge as if one had no intelligence other than what one receives from the tzaddik and rav of the generation, because as long as one retains some of one’s own intellect, one lacks completion and is not bound to the tzaddik. 2. When the Jewish people received the Torah, they possessed great pseudo-wisdoms. For then, the mistakes of those who served idolatry at that time stemmed from great pseudo-wisdoms and philosophies, as is known. Had Israel not cast off from themselves the pseudo-wisdoms, they would not have received the Torah. They might have denied everything, G-d forbid. All that Moshe Rabbeinu did with them would have been of no help to them. Even all the signs and awesome wonders which he performed before their very eyes would not have helped them. Today, as well, there are heretics who deny G-d based on the foolishness and error of their pseudo-wisdoms. 3. But Israel is a holy people. They saw the truth and cast off the pseudo-wisdoms, and “believed in G-d and in His servant Moshe”. Through this, they received the Torah. Thus, Onkelos renders “a nation naval (foolish) and unwise” (Deuteronomy 32:6) as “a nation that received the Torah and did not act wisely.” They received the Torah primarily because they “did not act wisely”—i.e., because they cast off from themselves all the pseudo-wisdoms, as above. 4. This is NaVaL: an acrostic for LeV Netivot (thirty-two paths). These encompass the entire Torah—the true wisdom, vis-à-vis which all pseudo-wisdoms are nullified. Thus, NaVaL is an aspect of Torah, which is called “NoVLot (an incomplete version) of the Upper Wisdom”. For it is really surprising, and everyone wonders about this: What reason is there for naval to be translated as “receiving the Torah”? But now, how sweet are these words of the Aramaic translation. 5. Now, the essential devotion is to be ‘simple and upright, G-d-fearing and diverted from evil’ without any pseudo-wisdoms. 

Trump threatens to burn down the GOP, it’s time to move on

 https://nypost.com/2022/11/21/trump-threatens-to-burn-down-the-gop-its-time-to-move-on/

Trump’s willingness to destroy the party if he does not get his way is not based on principle, but on his own supreme narcissism. His egoism makes him unable to think of a political party as anything but an extension of himself — a cult of personality.

Trump is due credit for stopping progressives’ momentum and achieving important policy successes during his administration. But he does not have the qualities required to win the kind of broad, durable victory I see as necessary to restore America. It is time for the 45th president to step aside.

William P. Barr was attorney general under President Donald Trump. Reprinted with permission from Bari Weiss’ Common Sense.

Tucker Carlson Warned of a ‘Diesel Disaster’ That Never Happened

 https://www.thedailybeast.com/tucker-carlson-warned-of-a-diesel-disaster-that-never-happened

Last month, Fox News star Tucker Carlson sounded the alarm over the dwindling diesel fuel reserves in the United States, warning his millions of viewers that “by the Monday of Thanksgiving week” there would be “no more diesel” and “everything will stop.”

Well, it’s been 25 days and not only has the United States not run out of diesel fuel, but it has slightly expanded its reserves while the price of diesel has dropped.

Importance of having a Rebbe

     Sotah (22a) It has been reported, If one has learnt Scripture and Mishnah but did not attend upon Rabbinical scholars, R. Eleazar says he is an ‘Am ha-arez’ R. Samuel b. Nahmani says he is a boor; R. Jannai says he is a Samaritan; R. Aha b. Jacob says he is a magician. R. Nahman b. Isaac said: The definition of R. Aba b. Jacob appears the most probable; because there is a popular saying: The magician mumbles and knows not what he says; the tanna recites and knows not what he says.

The ‘basement strategy’ is working for Democrats

 https://thehill.com/opinion/campaign/3743212-the-basement-strategy-is-working-for-democrats/

“If the corporate media were still respected and trusted by the public, there would be demands by the public that politicians undergo scrutiny from the press,” Krakauer, a former CNN producer, told me. “But because trust and relevance has eroded so spectacularly, particularly in recent years, the public no longer sees an incentive to have a politician sit for a challenging interview.” 

Russian Politician Says Strikes on Ukraine Are Fueled by 'Holy Hatred'

 https://www.newsweek.com/russian-politician-strikes-ukraine-fueled-holy-hatred-1760897

Russian strikes against Ukraine are an expression of "holy hatred," a Russian politician has said on state television.

For experts, the evidence in two probes compels charging Trump

 https://thehill.com/regulation/national-security/3742386-for-experts-the-evidence-in-two-probes-compels-charging-trump/

wo reports analyzing two different criminal investigations into Donald Trump have reached a singular conclusion: there is enough evidence to bring charges against the former president. 

Veteran prosecutors and top legal minds this week banded together to offer an assessment of two ongoing probes — one in Georgia examining Trump’s actions in the state leading up to Jan. 6, 2021, the other led by the Justice Department as it explores the mishandling of sensitive government documents at Mar-a-Lago.

GOP' prime focus is not crime or economy but attacking President Biden

 https://apnews.com/article/biden-inflation-donald-trump-business-9af868065b776b21f81fa73e7bafb97d

“The top priority is to deal with inflation and the cost of living. ... What I don’t want to see is what we saw in the Trump administration, where Democrats went after the president and the administration incessantly,” Rep.-elect Mike Lawler of New York said on CNN.

Herschel Walker says in rambling speech he wants to be ‘werewolf, not vampire’

 https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/nov/17/herschel-walker-republican-georgia-werewolf-vampire

n a campaign speech on Wednesday, the Republican candidate for US Senate in Georgia, Herschel Walker, told supporters: “I don’t want to be a vampire any more. I want to be a werewolf.”

The remark was the latest controversial or outright bizarre intervention from the former football star who like other candidates endorsed by Donald Trump struggled to overcome his Democratic opponent in the midterm elections.

Christie rebukes Trump: ‘It is time to stop whispering… It is time to stop being afraid of any one person’

 https://thehill.com/homenews/3743291-christie-rebukes-trump-it-is-time-to-stop-whispering-it-is-time-to-stop-being-afraid-of-any-one-person/

“We keep losing and losing and losing,” Christie said on Saturday. “And the fact of the matter is the reason we’re losing is because Donald Trump has put himself before everyone else.”

Avraham was not inferior to Sarah in prophesy

 Netziv (Bereishis 23”1)  ואחר כ״ז יש להתבונן במה שאמרו שאברהם היה טפל לשרה בנביאות. ואין זה אלא תימא. האדם הגדול אשר דבר עמו ה׳ כ״פ. יהיה טפל לשרה שלא דבר עמה ה׳ כ״א דבור א׳ לא כי צחקת. ומפרשים ברבה שהוא דבר ה׳. אלא הכונה הוא שהיה טפל ברוה״ק. שהרי שני דברים הם רוה״ק הוא מה שאדם מתבודד ומשרה עליו רוה״ק ויודע מה שרואה. אמנם לא דבר עמו ה׳. ונבואה הוא בחינה גדולה ורבה מזה כמו שביארנו. ודוד המלך ע״ה זכה לשניהם ואמר רוח ה׳ דבר בי ומלתו על לשוני. היינו רוח ה׳ הוא רוה״ק המופיע על דבר עצמו. וגם מלתו על לשוני שהוא נבואה ממש. ואברהם היה גדול בנבואה משרה. אבל ברוה״ק היתה שרה מצוינת יותר מא״א. והסיבה לזה הוא משני טעמים. א׳ שאברהם בצדקו היה מנהיג העולם ומדריכם לעבודת ה׳ וכמו שכ׳ לפנינו נשיא אלהים ויבואר לפנינו. ומי שעסקו עם המון רבה אינו יכול להתבודד כ״כ. משא״כ שרה היתה יושבת באהלה בקדושה וטהרה (וע׳ מש״כ הגאון חתם סופר בהקדמתו בזה דברים ראויים אליו ז״ל). שנית דאין רוה״ק חל אלא מתוך שמחה ש״מ. ושרה זה צדקתה להפלא שהיתה באמונתה בבטחון חזק מאד נעלה כמו שמבואר ברבה שאמרה שרה לא״א את בהבטחה ואני באמונה ומי שבא מכח הבטחה ידוע מאמרם ז״ל אין הבטחה לצדיקים בעוה״ז. שמא יגרום החטא. וע׳ מש״כ לעיל י״ד י׳. משא״כ שרה שהיתה חזקה באמונתה בלי שום הבטחה ע״כ לא נתעצבה בכל ימי חייה והיתה שקועה ברוה״ק. וזהו דבר הכתוב שני חיי שרה. דשנים שלה כולם היו בחיי שמחה ונפש המעלה ונשגב בחיי רוחני. וכענין לשון גמ׳ מספר ימיו כפלים. כך אמר הכתוב דשני חייה היו שני פעמים משום שהיו חייה עליזים וסמוכים בה׳ מבטחה. ונראה עוד לפרש ע״פ הפשט משמעות שני מספר שני. ובאשר שרה נעשית ילדה אחרי זקנתה וחזרה לספר חליפות השנים וא״כ היה לה שני פעמים חליפות השנים. בראשונה חיתה תשעים שנה. ובשניה ל״ז שנים. וסך הכל שני חיי שרה היו מאה ועשרים ושבע שנים וע׳ בעל הטורים:

Trump responds to special counsel news with debunked claim about Obama and the Bushes

 https://edition.cnn.com/2022/11/18/politics/fact-check-trump-special-counsel-response/index.html

Facts First: Trump’s claims are, again, false – and they have been debunked by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) itself. As NARA explained in an August statement, Barack Obama did not take the presidential documents Trump claimed Obama had taken. Rather, NARA itself moved documents from the Obama administration to a NARA-managed facility in the Chicago area, near where Obama’s presidential library is being built. NARA similarly explained in a statement in October, after Trump added other past presidents to the baseless narrative, that neither of the Bushes took the documents Trump claimed they had taken. Again, it was NARA that took the Bushes’ presidential documents to facilities that NARA managed near the future locations of their presidential libraries.

Chaim Halpern: Declared unfit by senior London rabbis

Times of Israel   Five senior London rabbis issued a public statement Thursday night declaring that one of their colleagues “is not fit and proper to act in any rabbinic capacity”.

Although the rabbi is not named, it is a reference to Rabbi Chaim Halpern, a leading haredi rabbi who has been accused of sexual misdemeanors with around 30 women who come to him for counseling and rabbinic guidance. Rabbi Halpern resigned as a religious judge and as a rabbinic adviser to several London institutions last month, but has remained in charge of his own synagogue.

Some 30 rabbis originally said they would sign a statement against Halpern after hearing the evidence against Halpern two weeks ago. However, rabbis belonging to the Union of Orthodox Hebrew Congregations, with which Halpern was affiliated, were forbidden to sign it, delaying its publication and prompting widespread criticism from members of London’s haredi community who bemoaned the lack of rabbinic leadership.

The five rabbis who put their name to the letter Thursday night were the former head of the London Beth Din, Dayan Chanoch Ehrentreu; London Beth Din dayanim Menachem Gelley and Yonatan Abraham; and two rabbis from Halpern’s neighborhood of Golders Green, Shimon Weingarten and Berel Knopfler. The latter two are widely regarded as having spearheaded the efforts to call Rabbi Halpern to account.

According to the letter, the rabbis conducted “painstaking and extensive investigations, including interviews with alleged victims,” which left them “in no doubt as to the veracity of our own conclusion that the grave allegations warrant the immediate withdrawal of the [rabbi] from all rabbinic and counseling functions.” They warned the public “about the risks involved in allowing the alleged perpetrator to resume his activities.” [...]

Ephraim Mirvis slams ‘depraved’ Rabbi Chaim Halpern facing fresh sex allegations

 im-mirvis-slams-depraved-rabbi-chaim-halpern-facing-fresh-sex-allegations-4iHSsfcCWto4kVAkHtZ9eO

The Chief Rabbi has accused a Jewish minister facing fresh allegations of sex abuse of manipulating his role to serve his “depraved criminality”. The furious statement by Rabbi Mirvis also accuses Golders Green Rabbi Chaim Halpern of “transgressing halacha”.