Benefit from Sin

Berachos (31b) If Thou wilt indeed look. R. Eleazar said: Hannah said before G-d,: Sovereign of the Universe, if Thou wilt look, it is well, and if Thou wilt not look, I will go and shut myself up with someone else in the knowledge of my husband Elkanah, and as I shall have been alone they will make me drink the water of the suspected wife, and Thou canst not falsify Thy law, which says, She shall be cleared and shall conceive seed. Now this would be effective on the view of him who says that if the woman was barren she is visited. But on the view of him who says that if she bore with pain she bears with ease, if she bore females she now bears males, if she bore swarthy children she now bears fair ones, if she bore short ones she now bears tall ones, what can be said? As it has been taught: She shall be cleared ad shall conceive seed: this teaches that if she was barren she is visited. So R. Ishmael. Said K. Akiba to him, If that is so, all barren women will go and shut themselves in with someone and she who has not misconducted herself will be visited! No, it teaches that if she formerly bore with pain she now bears with ease, if she bore short children she now bears tall ones, if she bore swarthy ones she now bears fair ones, if she was destined to bear one she will now bear two. What then is the force of If Thou wilt indeed look?  The Torah used an ordinary form of expression.

The true meaning of Trump’s choice for America’s new top spy

 https://edition.cnn.com/2026/06/03/politics/trump-pulte-dni-election-security-analysis

His elevation on Tuesday of Bill Pulte, director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, to serve as America’s new acting top spymaster was therefore a classic political move.

The DNI is charged by law with acting as America’s top intelligence official. The role may include briefing the president on potential terrorist attacks, assessing an adversary’s possible moves in wartime, overseeing the most secret counter-intelligence activities and securing presidential approval for covert actions.

The statute creating the Office of the Director of National Intelligence stated the director “shall have extensive national security expertise.” Trump said Tuesday on social media that Pulte had “deep experience managing the most sensitive matters in America, the safety and soundness of the Markets” and $10 trillion at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. But Pulte’s record, despite a successful career in high finance, appears to fall well short of the law’s stipulation.

Pulte is an uber-loyalist and a regular in the Mar-a-Lago inner circle; he’s known for rigorously defending Trump on television; and he has shown he’s willing to use the power of government to go after Trump’s enemies. As housing director, he sent the Justice Department criminal referrals on allegations of mortgage fraud against several of Trump’s perceived political enemies.

Israel placed its sovereignty in US hands, and Trump’s Lebanon ceasefire proved it

 https://www.ynetnews.com/article/sybsnh3xge

After Trump announced a Lebanon ceasefire and called his Netanyahu talk 'productive,' the PM again threatened Dahieh strikes, drawing a furious second call as Iran talks loomed; an Israeli official says Jerusalem is 'boxed in' by a recurring US pattern in Lebanon, Gaza and Iran

Even those close to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu acknowledge that his late-night call with U.S. President Donald Trump was highly tense. The clash came not during the first conversation between the two leaders, but in a second call after Trump had already announced a ceasefire in Lebanon.

Trump’s post triggered a political storm in Israel. Opposition leader Yair Lapid described Israel as a protectorate, while former prime minister Naftali Bennett wrote: “Jerusalem. Beit Shemesh. Lebanon. Gaza. The location is different, the story is the same. A government that has lost control of Israeli sovereignty. Chaos everywhere. We will restore security to Israel’s citizens.”

Trump and Netanyahu Are Clashing Over How to End the Iran War

 https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/trump-netanyahu-iran-war-lebanon-8fdba5cb?mod=hp_lead_pos7

President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu launched the war against Iran with an unprecedented level of coordination. Now three months later, they are fighting over how to bring the conflict to a close.

Trump wants a diplomatic agreement that would reopen the Strait of Hormuz, dispose of Iran’s enriched uranium and end a conflict that has driven up energy prices and divided his political base. Netanyahu faces pressure at home to intensify military operations against Hezbollah, Iran’s most important regional proxy and a U.S.-designated terrorist group.

Israel-Lebanon talks resume, Hezbollah keeps fighting in violation of agreement with Trump - report

 https://www.jpost.com/international/article-898158

During talks between Israel and Lebanon on Tuesday, senior members of the Israeli delegation said that Hezbollah did not stop fighting, despite promising US President Donald Trump to do so on Monday.

Delegations from both Lebanon and Israel met at the US State Department on Tuesday to begin a scheduled two-day resumption of negotiations.

Members of the Israeli delegation also said that Hezbollah publicly rejected the equation of a ceasefire in southern Lebanon in exchange for a ceasefire in northern Israel.

The negotiations come a day after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu canceled a strike on Beirut at the urging of Trump, with Iranian officials warning that military action taken by Israel against Lebanon would cause a halt in communication between Iran and the US. 

Divine Providence

 Chovas Halevavos (04:03) G-d watches over and directs the lives of all men, He does not abandon any of them (from bestowing good or benefiting them according to their needs nor neglects any of them from saving them from damages. None of their matters, small or great are hidden from Him, and no matter can distract Him from remembering another matter, as written: "Why should you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, 'My way has been hidden from the L-ord, and my judgment  is passed over from my G-d'?" 

Chovas Halevavos (08:03 Examining the Soul) THE NINETEENTH: (disasters of the world) To make an accounting with oneself in that the Creator has spared him from the disasters of the world, its sufferings, the various diseases which strike people, the calamities which befall them such as imprisonment, hunger, thirst, cold, burning, lethal poisons, dangerous animals, leprosy, insanity, paralysis, or the like - all the while knowing that they are fitting for him and he deserves them due to his previous sins and iniquities before the Creator, and the greatness of what occurred in the past, of his rebelling against G-d, and disrespecting His words, and leaving his duty of thanking and praising Him, and turning away from His service, and neglecting repentance and confession before G-d for his prolonged rebellion despite G-d's continuous favors and constant good on him.

Netanyahu Is Getting in Trump’s Way in the Middle East

 https://mobileapp.newsweek.com/story/12020391/content.html

Iranian officials and U.S. President Donald Trump have balked at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s pledge to escalate the war in Lebanon, exposing apparent daylight between American and Israeli leaders as talks to end the conflicts in the Middle East drag on.

Iran has said that the deal Trump seeks to end more than three months of war in the Middle East—triggered by U.S. and Israeli strikes on the Islamic Republic on February 28—must include Lebanon. Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, who heads Iran’s negotiating team, told Lebanese parliamentary Speaker Nabih Berri that Tehran would halt talks if attacks on Lebanon continued, according to the IRNA state news agency.

With the U.S. and Iran’s appetites for war waning, and Trump looking to secure a peace deal, Netanyahu becomes an “obstacle” to the White House if he steps up the intensity of the conflict, Mekelberg said

Lacking money and support, Trump’s Board of Peace stalls in Gaza

 https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2026/06/01/trumps-board-peace-stalls-out-gaza-reconstruction/

With Hamas disarmament negotiations deadlocked and Israel taking further territory, plans for a grand Gaza reconstruction appear distant.

Seven months after President Donald Trump announced his peace plan for Gaza and more than four months since he convened his Board of Peace to implement and pay for it, the plan is stalled and expected donations to the fund it created are nonexistent.

Security and reconstruction of the destroyed territory seem a distant dream. The glitzy proposal of apartment complexes, high-tech industries and waterfront tourist resorts displayed by Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and Gaza negotiator, at the board’s February meeting has been shelved. For now, the most ambitious proposal is to build temporary housing for tens of thousands of Palestinians once still-unrealized governance and security plans are in place.

Trump, who declared the Gaza war “over” when the 29-member board of world leaders gathered in Washington on Feb. 19 for its first and only meeting, pledged “we’re going to make Gaza an example of success and safety and unity.”

Netanyahu rushed to threaten Hezbollah, and Israel lost its strongest leverage in Lebanon

 https://www.ynetnews.com/opinions-analysis/article/hyxykdhxfx

Analysis: Netanyahu was right to approve strikes on Beirut’s Dahieh, Ron Ben-Yishai argues, but by publicly threatening Hezbollah before acting, he allowed Trump to intervene and deprived Israel of one of its most effective pressure tools in Lebanon

Israel, in its current position, has little choice but to accept U.S. President Donald Trump’s dictate on Lebanon, wait to see whether his negotiations with Iran end in agreement or collapse, and only then recalculate its course on all fronts.

Israel was pushed into this position for several reasons. The first is that Trump is determined to reach understandings with Iran and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, while Tehran has conditioned any agreement on a ceasefire in the Lebanese arena as well. The second is Israel’s diplomatic, military and logistical dependence on the United States, a dependence Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has cultivated, alongside the international isolation in which Israel now finds itself.

Netanyahu was therefore right to accept the recommendation of the IDF chief of staff and senior defense officials and approve a strike on the Dahieh. But instead of threatening on social media and announcing the plan in advance, he should have first allowed the air force to carry out what the IDF calls a “demonstration of capability”: bombing two or three important buildings to show Hezbollah, the Lebanese government and the Shiite community what awaits them.

Such a move would not have prevented Trump from becoming furious, shouting at Netanyahu, humiliating him and leaking the confrontation to the international media in order to appease the Iranians and keep negotiations with them alive, as he did yesterday. But at least there would have been a chance that Hezbollah and its Iranian patrons would lower the flames in Lebanon on their own initiative, to prevent the Israeli Air Force from continuing to topple buildings in the Dahieh.

The love trap: How the relationship with Trump went from gift to farce

 https://www.israelhayom.com/2026/06/02/the-love-trap-how-the-relationship-with-trump-went-from-gift-to-farce/

Negotiations with Iran are stuck because Trump has run out of cards. Every red line has been crossed, and Iran is dictating the rules. Against the backdrop of all the chatter about "love for Israel," the president continues to throw his greatest ally under the bus. There will be those who again portray the grim reality as an achievement, but the truth is that this is a terrifyingly weak president.

There is probably no way to sugarcoat the pill after the diplomatic circus we were subjected to on Sunday: Israel is being led by a sophisticated but blackmailable prime minister, trapped by his gamble from way back to put all his chips on Donald Trump; he himself is being led by that same Trump, who never ceases to surprise with the scale of his amateurism, his impatience and the fact that he is, quite simply, a terrifyingly weak president. Because what was in his post about the ceasefire? Fabrications (IDF forces were not on their way to Beirut), a deal that sells the fabrication in exchange for a real concession (the use of IDF force in response to Hezbollah's endless violations of the ceasefires), and above all, throwing an ally under the bus for the sake of "very good talks" with Hezbollah. Oh, how Ukraine understands us now.

This, incidentally, is an opportunity to recall: Beware of leaders who repeatedly remind us how much they love Israel. That simply has to set off warning lights. Why? Because at least some of them will use that card to turn an embrace into a chokehold. As one of the French marshals of the 17th century put it, although the line has been attributed elsewhere as well: "Lord, protect me from my friends. I can take care of my enemies myself."

Trump dealt Israel a strategic blow and eroded the gains against Iran

 https://www.israelhayom.com

Early fears that the US president would “turn” on Israel have become a resounding strategic blow with the leak of the harsh phone call. The operational restraint in Beirut and the jarring tones from the White House now place the flagship project of rolling back Iran’s nuclear program and striking Tehran under a major question mark. 

The Israeli leadership had early concerns about a scenario in which US President Donald Trump would "turn" on Israel, and there is no way to downplay the scale of the strategic blow contained in the "shouting call" Trump held Monday night with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and especially in its publication.

This war dragged on for quite some time largely because of Trump himself, who apparently believed it would be much faster. His administration officials did not foresee the Iranian regime's ability to ignore its military defeat and economic collapse, and to keep playing to the limit the remaining cards it held in the Strait of Hormuz and against the Gulf states.

Israel had warned, mainly during the latest round of negotiations, that Iran was seeking to drag out time in order to benefit from the unfreezing of funds that would help the regime recover. But Israel's firm opposition to the memorandum of understandings on the table triggered significant anger among the officials in the US administration promoting the move, and sparked suspicion that Israel was trying to torpedo it.

That is exactly how Washington interpreted Israel's expanding offensive in Lebanon. And although the administration knew in advance of Israel's intention to strike in Beirut because of Hezbollah's continued fire, the call between Trump and Netanyahu took a difficult and negative turn after Iran threatened to abandon the diplomatic contacts.

Divine Providence for Everything?

 Kuzari (5:20): … The Prime Will is manifest when the Divine Presence is amongst the Jews. However after the destruction of the Temple it became doubtful - except in the hearts of those who have faith - whether specific events were the result of the direct command of G d or the Heavenly spheres or were accidents. There is no definitive way to resolve this issue. Nonetheless it is best to attribute everything that happens to G d, especially major things such as death, victory, war, success and bad fortune.

Trump lashed out at Netanyahu over Lebanon: 'You'd be in prison if not for me'

 https://www.ynetnews.com/article/s1zx5riemg

U.S. President Donald Trump lashed out at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over his announcement that the IDF would strike Beirut, Axios reported, citing three U.S. officials. According to two of the sources, Trump called Netanyahu “crazy” and accused him of ingratitude during their phone call, before ordering him to cancel the strikes.

Axios said one U.S. official noted that Trump knew Hezbollah had been firing at Israel and that Israel needed to defend itself, but felt in recent days that Netanyahu was escalating in a disproportionate way. Another source said Trump was concerned that Israel had killed so many Lebanese civilians and objected to Israel knocking down buildings in Beirut to kill a single Hezbollah commander.

But despite the understandings, sirens continued to sound in northern Israel Monday night and into the early morning. After three hours of quiet following Trump’s post, alerts sounded in the Galilee Panhandle and then in the western Galilee, including Shlomi. The IDF said a rocket fell near Israeli forces in southern Lebanon. Under the understandings, Hezbollah apparently could still fire at Israeli troops in southern Lebanon, raising the question of whether fire at forces inside Israeli territory was also covered by the arrangement. Overnight, sirens sounded in dozens of northern communities and two launches crossing from Lebanon were intercepted. At the same time, a drone exploded near the border.

The difficult call between Trump and Netanyahu

 'You're f***ing crazy': The difficult call between Trump and Netanyahu

Axios reports that Trump fiercely berated Netanyahu in a phone call on Monday, forcing Israel to cancel its planned Beirut strikes.

A high-stakes telephone conversation between US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu deteriorated into a volatile, profanity-laced confrontation on Monday, according to accounts provided to Axios by two American officials and an additional briefed source.

The explosive clash was triggered after Iran threatened earlier in the day to walk away from diplomatic negotiations with the United States in protest of Israel's military operations in Lebanon.

Officials clarified that while the US president recognized Israel's inherent right to defend itself against ongoing rocket fire from Hezbollah, he believed Netanyahu's recent maneuvers - including a broadened ground incursion in southern Lebanon - had crossed into a disproportionate escalation.

Behind the scenes, however, American officials painted a vastly different picture of capitulation. The second US official claimed that Trump completely "steamrolled" the Prime Minister during the encounter. According to that official's account, Netanyahu ultimately yielded to the pressure, responding with: "OK, OK, just make sure everything is taken care of."