Friday, October 16, 2026

LevinAt11 10-15-2026 broadcast

 BS"D

ע"ש שבת פרשת נח, תשפ"ז - תהא שנת פגר זדים

Linked* below is this week's LevinAt11 broadcast, פרשת נח, October 15, '26:


תכנית ראדיו רב יהודה לעוין, שליט"א, ערב שבת פרשת נח, תשפ"ז
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Tefillah request, for refuah shelaima of:

1. Rav Yehuda ben Masha HaLevi (Levin);

2. Shimon ben Masha; 

3. Lea bas Freeda;  

4. Reuven ben Chava;

5. Yechezkel ben Feiga Zlota;

6. Neryah Dov ben Chana (Leiter).

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Topics Included:
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1. Lakewood Va'ad supports subversive Senator Cory Booker - a known ally of the anti-Jewish LGBTQ movement - and issues a carefully-worded letter - exposing how sold-out they actually are:


We yet again need to call out artificial Jewish leadership - not despite the need to respect authentic Torah authority -- but specifically because of it.

(Till 26 minutes);

  2. Objection to Prop 1 in NYC;

3. New Square Politburo urges their community to vote for [Stealth-Euthanasia proponent] incumbent Gov. Kathy Hochul, despite the NY elections being held in the wake of the (preventable) passage of Physician-Facilitated Murder.

This election in NY State will be seen - by those who matter within political class - as a referendum on murder - specifically, Physician-Facilitated Poisoning of the medically vulnerable (aka "Assisted Suicide") - which the NY legislature just passed, and which Gov. Hochul just signed, in this past legislative session.

Regarding the massive, public Chillul HaShem endemic to frum campaigning - see last week's letter in the post below of Parshas Beraishis.

• Again: If any candidates ask for your support - ask them what they've done to address the foundational moral threats we face (see letter below).

• It's necessary for every individual to intelligently outreach to voters, as well as to Rabbonim you're close with.

4. (Final Quarter) A brief summary of the scandalous misconduct at The Golden Venue tonight, censoring my question to Mike Lawler over some of his recent pro-transgender-tyranny votes, including:


 

Fair Use ##

H.R. 3492: Protect Children’s Innocence Act

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To amend section 116 of title 18, United States Code, with respect to genital and bodily mutilation and chemical castration of minors.

The bill’s titles are written by its sponsor.




H.R. 3492: Protect Children’s Innocence Act

Dec. 17, 2025 at 6:40 p.m. ET. On Passage of the Bill in the House.

This was a vote to pass H.R. 3492 in the House.

By PartySelected Caucuses
All VotesRepublicansDemocratsBlue Dog CoalitionRepublican Study CommitteeRepublican Governance Group
Yea51%
 
 
216
213
 
3
 
2
 
147
 
23
 
Nay49%
 
 
211
4
 
207
 
6
 
0
2
 
Not Voting
 
 
6
3
 
3

Statistically Notable Votes

VoteDistrictPartyLegislator
NayCO – 8  R  Evans, Gabe
NayNY – 17  R  Lawler, Michael
YeaNC – 1  D  Davis, Donald
NayPA – 1  R  Fitzpatrick, Brian
VoteDistrictPartyLegislator
YeaTX – 28  D  Cuellar, Henry
YeaTX – 34  D  Gonzalez, Vicente
NayUT – 3  R  Kennedy, Mike

Statistically notable votes are the votes that are most surprising, or least predictable, given how other members of each voter’s party voted and other factors.



The two Republicans who voted against Trump’s transgender troop ban

Eric Garcia
Wednesday 22 July 2026 11:41 EDT


  • An amendment proposed by Rep. Lauren Boebert to codify a ban on transgender people serving in the U.S. military according to their gender identity failed in the House by a vote of 212-217.
  • Two Republican representatives, Mike Lawler of New York and Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, notably opposed Boebert's amendment.
  • Rep. Nancy Mace successfully passed an amendment prohibiting TRICARE, the military health insurance plan, from covering certain gender-related medical procedures and treatments.
  • Mace's TRICARE amendment passed 219-208, with five Democratic representatives joining Republicans in its support.
  • A second amendment by Rep. Mace, which bans transgender individuals assigned male at birth from participating in women’s K-12 sports at Department of Defense-run schools, also passed 221-203."
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• Important News: How inexpensive it is to save girls from the Female IDF Draft (Giyus Banos)
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- From Chomosayich, an established volunteer women's organization in Israel, which has saved and assisted thousands of girls from the ongoing IDF escalations against "easy-target" girls, over the years.

Q) How far can your donation go in saving girls from falling into the Israeli Army? 

In other words, for how little can you save one neshomoh?

A) FACT: For as little as TEN DOLLARS YOU CAN SAVE A TEENAGE GIRL FROM BEING DRAFTED INTO THE EXPLOITIVE ARMY!

FACT: GIRLS LOCATED FURTHER AWAY FROM CHAREIDI CENTERS CAN BE SAVED FOR A MERE 15 DOLLARS.

The cost of saving these neshomos is, in many cases, so low that it's scandalous that we're not seeing far more donations.  Inexcusably, most of the tzibbur is simply being kept in the dark.

U.S. Donations to Chomosayich:

••• See the half-page ad in the new Upstate Jewish Business Directory. •••

Call Today.
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The following is a link to a  Guidebook provided by the pro-Israel organization "Chotam." It's an English guide for observant and traditional girls to avoid enlistment in the IDF: 


(* This very publication is a stinging indictment of the Israeli Army Draft Office, and the antireligious Establishment behind its escalating crusade to rob Torah-observant / traditional girls of their legal entitlement to a religious exemption from military service. The very need to publish such a guide speaks volumes of the danger posed to the next generation of Jewish mothers by "fellow Jews." The professional, psychological-warfare techniques that these 16- and 17-year-old girls need to be trained to defend against, all alone - without even legal counsel or a family member - are almost as outrageous as they are anti-Torah. The institutionalization of such techniques indicate how intent the Israeli military is on drafting increasing numbers of Torah-observant girls, and to what depths they're willing to stoop to do so.)
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A Good Shabbos to our supporters and partners, and wishes for a good, sweet, productive and uplifting year.

Rabbi Noson Shmuel Leiter,

Executive Director,

Help Rescue Our Children

Email:  torahjewsfordecency@gmail.com

845.642.1679

Direct: 771.215.8892

Israeli Helpline: 03.721.3337

Heard weekly on New Jersey's WSNR Radio 620AM, co-hosting the renowned Levin At Eleven program, every Thursday evening, 11pm to midnight (ET).

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Previous Programs:

Last week, פרשת בראשית


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Summary/ write-up [recently posted version]: 

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Philosophy

Derech Emunah (2:303): You should know that the majority of philosophy came to us from Aristotle who was a Jew from a Jewish family in Jerusalem from the tribe of Benyamin…He gave us and taught us much more than what he learned from us.

Kuzari (2:66): Shlomo spoke with Divine power and his great intellect and natural talents concerning all types of knowledge. From the ends of the earth, people came to him to hear his knowledge and to transmit it to the world - even as far as India. In truth the root of all wisdom and its principles was copied from the Jews - first by the Chaldeans and afterwards the Persians and Medes. Afterwards this knowledge went to the Greeks and Romans. However, because these events are distant in time and the many intermediaries in the process it has not been mentioned in the books of science and wisdom that it was taken originally from the Jews. These books mention only that they originated in Greek and Roman sources. …

Rabbeinu Bachya (Bamidbar 18:29): It is well known that philosophical understanding is not of fundamental importance for us since it is only from intellectual analysis… The wise of Israel base themselves on the words of our Sages who were the scholars of truth which was learned from the prophets. They are the ones who know everything according to its truth.

Ralbag (Milchemes HaShem 1:14): You should know that we do not adopt theological views that are incompatible with the Torah. In fact, in general the conclusions of philosophical thought are not accepted if they contradict our faith. Whenever we find such contradictions, we should assume that it is the result of our shortcomings. Therefore, one should not alter his religious beliefs because of apparent conflicts with philosophical arguments. That is our practice also when we see that our religious faith requires views that differ from what is determined solely on the basis of reason. This approach is obligatory for all religious people. Because if the door were open to reject those aspects of religion that were in apparent conflict with what is taught by pure reason  -  then religion would be finished and its benefits would disappear from the members of the faith. Then there would be major disputes and confusion amongst the members of the religion because of the lack of faith. This would produce major harm that could not be ignored. It should be understood that this point applies to everything discussed in this book. In other words, if it appears to any member of the faith that reason requires believing something which contradicts any aspect of the accepted religious beliefs, he should abandon the conclusions of reason and continue with his religious beliefs. He should attribute his inability to reconcile religion and reason to human inadequacies.

Rambam (Letter to Ibn Tibbon): Aristotle reached the highest level of intellect that man is capable of without the aid of the Divine influence which leads to prophecy for which there is no higher stage.

Rashba (Commentary to Agada Bava Basra 74b pp. 102-106):  You should know that when one of our pious Torah sages reads the words of the philosophers, it is possible that he might agree with them. Even if he finds contradictions between Biblical verses and the philosophers, he can explain those verses in a manner that conforms to philosophy. In other words he can view the verses as metaphoric and not literal - since he isn’t rejecting anything learned from prophecy and he isn’t discarding any mitzvos by doing so.  However when it comes to matters concerning Biblical verses or our Tradition that are widely accepted by our Sages as literally true – then the sage will insist on understanding them literally according to our Tradition. He will do this even though he knows that the philosophers strongly reject such a literal understanding. For example, the belief that the dead will be literally resurrected is not unequivocally found in Biblical verse. It is seems reasonable that all the relevant verses might be explainable as being allegorical e.g., such as those in Yechezkeil (Chapter 36). Nevertheless such a metaphorical approach is rejected by the sage in favor of the literal one because our Tradition insists that these verses be taken literally. In such cases, the sage acknowledges that the widely accepted traditional understanding takes precedent over the philosophical rationalist view. He readily admits in such conflicts that we do not pay attention to rational analysis which goes against our Tradition because the wisdom of G d is beyond our intellectual grasp. Of necessity in every instance that we have a clear Tradition from our ancestors, we cannot reject this Tradition – unless it is established that the traditional understanding is impossible – G d forbid! Why should we destroy our Tradition since we know that it would not have become wide spread except for the fact that it has been received generation after generation all the way back to Moshe or the Prophets… Consequently while we need to acknowledge that many verses in Bible are allegorical, nonetheless we need to accept the truth that some verses are describing actual miracles and that G-d has the ability to change nature according to His wishes…. Therefore when our Tradition requires a literal understanding why should it be discarded just because it is against a rationalistic philosophical understanding? … 

Rav Elchonon Wasserman (Kovetz Shiurim 2 46:9): It is true that you find that some of the classic sources permit the study of philosophy. In fact, the Chovas HaLevavos apparently views the study of philosophy as a mitzva. He bases himself on the verse You should know the G d of your father (that faith should be based on knowledge. Those who disagree assert that the mitzva of faith is belief based on the tradition we have from our ancestors rather than from philosophical analyses. However, on the practical level today the dispute is irrelevant since it is obvious that even according to those who permit philosophical analyses it is only when harmful consequences are not common. That is relevant only for those people who are high level Torah scholars and whose religious views guide their intellectual activities and who are so solidly committed that all the winds in the world won’t alter their views. It is only for such people that it is said that there is a mitzva to clarify their faith through philosophical analyses. However, not for lesser people such as ourselves who are in great danger to be influenced and led to error. One should never deliberately place himself in a dangerous place. Furthermore, you should recall that the mitzva of faith starts at the age of 13 for a boy and 12 for a girl. Can you conceive that the Torah would obligate everyone from child to adult, youngster and women to be philosophers like Aristotle? G d doesn’t cause impossible dilemmas for people. It is clear that those who permit or obligate philosophy are only referring to unique individuals who are not found at all in our time.

Rema (#7): I am more concerned with avoiding independent study of Kabbala than with studying philosophy. That is because there is a greater danger in erring in Kabbala than philosophy as we see from the warning of the Ramban in his introduction to his commentary to the Torah.

Rema (Toras HaOlah 3:4): And R’ Moshe Butreal wrote in his commentary to Sefer Yetzira that the wisdom of Kabbala is the wisdom of philosophy but expressed in a different language… The way of Kabbala is itself the way of true and reliable philosophy.

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New UTJ candidate: Situation of Haredim in Israel today is ‘close to what was in the Holocaust’

 https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/new-utj-candidate-situation-of-haredim-in-israel-today-is-close-to-what-was-in-the-holocaust/

A new candidate for the United Torah Judaism party is quoted by Hebrew media as likening the current situation of the ultra-Orthodox community in Israel to Jews during the Holocaust, drawing condemnation.

“I have taken upon myself not to talk about the Holocaust in the first years, but… I have no other definition. Our situation is close to what was in the Holocaust… It reminds me of stories from our grandparents,” he says.

“The shocking remark by soon-to-be MK Eliakim Stark is a disgrace to any Israeli and any Jew,” Winter says. “It doesn’t come in a vacuum, but against the backdrop of the silence of the prime minister and senior government officials in the face of shocking calls against the IDF in the Jerusalem Faction protests.”

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Wednesday, October 14, 2026

Everything is a Miracle

 Ramban (Introduction to Iyov) We believe in absolute Divine Providence—as expressed in the concept that "the eyes of the Lord range throughout the whole earth"—as well as in miraculous providence; that is to say, the phenomena described in the Torah involving miracles. For, upon reflection, there is no distinction between the statement that a certain righteous person will live out his days or that one who eats *terumah* will die, and the splitting of the Red Sea or the manna falling for forty years. Verses such as "I will remove sickness from your midst" and "I will send a plague among you" stand on the same footing as the Plague of the Firstborn, the plague, the drowning of the Egyptians in the sea, and all other miracles; for if we were to say... Consider the plague that struck your midst—akin to the Plague of the Firstborn—alongside the drowning of the Egyptians in the sea and all the other miracles. For if we attribute all sustenance to the natural order, neither man nor beast would die based on merit or transgression; yet, once we believe that God cut a life short before its natural time, we acknowledge that the hand of God performed a miracle and altered nature—just as He parted the sea before His congregation and drowned our enemies within it. The only difference between the two cases is that one is hidden while the other is manifest. Even if one stubbornly insists that the person who ate *Terumah*—in the instance you cited regarding a supernatural death—did not die through a suspension of natural law, but rather that God simply orchestrated events so he would consume foods that induce illness, or perish in battle in the usual course of events or altered his mazel, the fact remains: his destiny was altered due to his sin or improved because of merit and it wasn’t due to the natural course of Nature. If God alters the nature of a person's food—causing him to consume harmful items he would not have eaten had he not sinned—then it is certainly plausible for the nature of wholesome food to be transformed into something harmful to him. Phenomena such as "I will give you your rains in their season" and "The Lord will open for you His good treasury"—as well as the reverse, "the heavens over your head shall be bronze"—are all instances of miraculous changes to the natural order and the celestial influences governing the heavens and the earth.

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