Hegseth is a Fool

Todd Blanche Melts Down Defending Absurd Comey Case

The Physically and Mentally Disabled Insights Based on the Teachings of Rav Moshe Feinstein

 https://www.daat.ac.il/daat/english/halacha/tendler_1.htm

Practical and ethical questions regarding the disabled and their interaction within Jewish society have not received much attention from halachic authorities. Yet, these questions have considerable humane, legal ethical, and financial implications.

Jewish law (halacha) recognizes that some Jews have physical and emotional limitations which prevent them from observing all biblical and rabbinic precepts. Jewish law exempts the disabled for any guilt they might feel because of their inability to perform certain commandments, thus affirming that the basic worth and spirituality of the disabled is not diminished in any way. Halacha urges them to achieve their fullest potential as Jews, while exhorting society to assist them in making their religious observance possible.1

But the resources of Society are not limitless, and the limited resources of the Jewish community are insufficient to permit duplication of facilities to provide universal access to the handicapped and disabled. Recommendations concerning societal obligations to the handicapped must of necessity recognize the limitations. Cooperative efforts involving several communities should be encouraged so that facilities such as schools and mikvehs will be available even if the facility is located at a considerable distance from the handicapped person's home.

The resolution of conflicts between the needs of the individual and the obligations of society is the responsibility of Torah leadership which must mediate the balancing of these two forces. Allocation of charitable funds in Judaism is considered to be the proper role of the local Bet Din.2 Funds needed for the proper care of the disabled may require the attention of a national organization to properly allocate the scarce funds of the Jewish community.

Dementia in Halachah

 https://jewishaction.com/health/dementia-in-halachah/

Compounding the personal difficulty of experiencing diminishing cognitive faculties, people suffering from dementia may also encounter disrespect that others inadvertently display towards them. Our rabbis were aware of this and cautioned us to “be careful to continue to respect an elder who has forgotten their Torah knowledge due to circumstances beyond their control, as it says: the tablets and the broken tablets were placed in the Ark of the Covenant.” This statement refers to compassion that must be shown to one who is experiencing dementia, and in fact it is stated in Menachot 99a in the name of Rav Yosef. What is fascinating is that we know from Eruvin 10a that Rav Yosef himself suffered from dementia and his colleagues would gently remind him of his great teachings in order to cheer him up. Sometimes, those suffering from advanced dementia may seem to be only a shell of their former selves. The rabbis remind us, however, that they are still holy. They are still tzelem Elokim (made in the image of G-d) and deserve to be treated with the utmost respect and dignity.  

Caring for individuals with dementia presents profound halachic, ethical, medical and emotional challenges. Each case requires thoughtful navigation, balancing compassion with halachic principles on a case-by-case basis. The Torah provides guidance and wisdom in these areas, helping us make sensitive and informed decisions in these very challenging situations.  

Deterioration and halacha

 It is a clear halacha that even if a parent or talmid chachom deteriorates he is still to be treated with kavod.

But what if it is a spouse who deveopd mental issues or dementia or diabetes or Parkinson's disease after decades of marriage. Is Divorce advisable?

What if this occurs after a couple became engaged or it is discovered  that there was a serious health condition that they had concealed

In a normal situation where there is something intolerable so we say it is just tough accept this as your burden or get a divorce. Chazal say even if you don't like your wife's cooking it is grounds for divorce

I have only found a discussion regarding the husband taking care of a sick wife and this is because of the kesuba. What about the wife taking care of a senile husband?

"The husband must defray all medical expenses in case of his wife's illness. If she suffers from a disease which may be prolonged for many years, although legally he may pay her the amount fixed in her ketubah and give her a bill of divorce, such action is regarded as inhuman, and he is urged to provide all that is necessary for her cure (Ket. 51a; "Yad," l.c. xiv. 17; "Maggid Mishneh," ad loc.; Eben ha-'Ezer, 79; "Be'er Heṭeb," § 5; comp. "Pitḥe Teshubah" to 78, 1, concerning a case where sickness follows a fault of her own)."

Rambam (Marriage 14:17) When a woman becomes ill, her husband is obligated to provid medical treatment for her until she recovers. If the husband sees that her illness is prolonged, and he will be forced to spend much money treating her, he may tell her: "Here is the money due you by virtue of your ketubah. Either pay for your treatment from this money, or I will divorce you and pay you what is due you and abandon you." Although he is given this prerogative, it is not ethical to act in this manner. [As mentioned by the Maggid Mishneh and the Kessef Mishneh, there are authorities who maintain that there is an explicit prohibition preventing a husband from divorcing a wife who is too ill to care for herself. The later authorities, however, follow the Rambam's view. In the Ashkenazic community, there is a question if the Rambam's ruling applies in the present age, after the ban of Rabbenu Gershom, which prevents divorcing a woman against her will. (See the Chelkat Mechokek 79:3, which quotes an opinion that states that as long as the husband is prepared to meet all the financial obligations of the divorce, he has the prerogative to divorce a woman against her will, even when she is ill.)]

Kesubos (51a) IF SHE SUSTAINED AN INJURY IT IS HIS DUTY TO PROVIDE FOR HER MEDICAL TREATMENT, BUT IF HE SAID, HERE IS HER LETTER OF DIVORCE AND HER KETHUBAH, LET HER HEAL HERSELF’, HE IS ALLOWED [TO ACT IN ACCORDANCE WITH HIS DESIRE].

Shulchan Aruch (EH 79:3) If a woman contracts a lasting disease, he is able to say to her that the  ketuba  can be assumed if she heals herself or the  ketuba  can be absolved and give her the  ketuba , but this is not proper behavior because it is not  derech eretz . 

Tradition - not Talmudic derivation- is source of halachos

Doros Rishonim (4:13): The Rambam’s words which are focused on the general principles of the nature of Tradition and the interpretation of the verses (drashos) indicate that the drashos and the format of the drashos as well as the given and take of the gemora regarding the drashos don’t constitute proof that the halacha under discussion is a Torah halacha. The proof whether a halacha is a Torah halacha can only be determined within the context of the discussion in the gemora. If analysis indicates that it is a Torah law then we conclude that the tradition is that this a Torah law. However if the analysis shows us that this is a rabbinic law then we can not conclude the contrary  from the fact that the gemora is describing it as being learnt from a drasha of Torah verse. That is because the Tradition is foundation of everything. Therefore in this case the drasha and limud is only serving as an asmachta (memory device). Thus the status of a halacha as being from the Torah is not determined by how it is seems to be derived - but rather that is what our Tradition says. Thus if  our Tradition says a halacha is rabbinic – it is rabbinic even though there are many interpretations from Torah verse. The form of apparent deriviation does not add or subtract from the status established by Tradition that it is rabbinic.

Doros Rishonim (Chapter 11): Concerning all the dershos, they are only to provide support for a halacha which is known by Tradition and the derasha is simply to show that there is nothing which is not alluded to by the Torah. They are also used to support a halacha which has been decided from concepts found in the Mishna or from a Tradition transmitted by their teachers or because of logical reasoning based on the concepts of the Torah [but the derasha is not the source of the halacha].

'Weak': DOJ fraud charges against SPLC use an unusual legal theory

 https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2026/05/02/southern-poverty-law-center-indictment-fraud-case/89732727007/

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche alleged at an April 21 news conference that the Southern Poverty Law Center, a decades-old Alabama nonprofit dedicated to dismantling white supremacy, defrauded donors by using their money to pay informants within white supremacist groups.

"Paying informants to then dismantle the organization seems like something that people would expect to be one of the tactics that are used, so that seems like a very weak case to me," Amy Markopoulos, a former federal prosecutor who spent years in the DOJ's fraud section, told USA TODAY.

In a statement to USA TODAY, DOJ spokesperson Natalie Baldassarre said the grand jury that indicted the Southern Poverty Law Center on 11 counts only heard a portion of the evidence, and the government remains confident in its case.

Those counts accuse SPLC of seeking donations to "dismantle" violent extremist groups, without telling donors that some of the donations – more than $3 million over nine years – would be used to pay high-level leaders of such groups to be informants.

After yearslong fight, agunah wins get as court seizes American husband’s Israel assets

 https://www.ynetnews.com/jewish-world/article/bkfzrdvcwl

After 3 years of stalled proceedings in US, liens on husband’s assets in Israel and mounting sanctions force breakthrough, pushing him to appear in rabbinical court and grant long-awaited divorce

L., who had been denied a religious divorce for three years, received her long-awaited get in recent days after heavy financial sanctions were imposed on her recalcitrant husband, who lives abroad but owns property in Israel.

The couple, who lived together for more than a decade in the United States, separated in 2023. Since then, L. had tried unsuccessfully to obtain a get. Despite proceedings she pursued in rabbinical courts in the U.S., and despite a ruling requiring the husband to grant the get, he continued to refuse, declaring he would never give it.

“Once again, we have seen the enormous leverage financial sanctions can provide against men who refuse to grant a get, even when they do not live in Israel,” Cohen said. “Thankfully, L. received the long-awaited get thanks to the dedicated cooperation of the Agunot Department and the Haifa Rabbinical Court, and she can now continue her life as a free woman. We will continue working for the freedom and independence of every chained woman in Israel and abroad.”

Iran War

Iran War

Astronaut

Top UK cop: Jews facing greatest ever threat; Starmer mulls banning some anti-Israel protests

 https://www.timesofisrael.com/top-uk-cop-british-jews-facing-greatest-ever-threat-amid-epidemic-of-antisemitism/?utm_source=The+Daily+Edition&utm_campaign=daily-edition-2026-05-02&utm_medium=email

“If you overlay three things now — hate crime, terrorism and hostile state activity — you add all that together, that combined effect with that building of ideology online, that is really dangerous and troubling,” said Mark Rowley, head of London’s Metropolitan Police.

“And Jewish communities feel that and you can see that in how they talk, how it’s making them change their lives. That’s an ­appalling state of affairs,” he said.

He told The Times that British Jews are on the “hate” list of every racist and extremist group.

On Thursday, the UK increased its security alert level to “severe” — the second highest — in part because of the attack in Golders Green, as well as the threat from Islamist extremism and the far-right.

Trump’s allies float a specious theory about treaties

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2026/05/01/trump-nato-withdrawal-defended-by-president-allies/

Another dubious attempt to justify aggrandizing power in the executive branch.

 Supporters of the unitary executive theory argue that the vesting of executive power in the president means a presidential monopoly of all power connected in any way to executive duties. John Yoo, law professor at the University of California at Berkeley, brings to his advocacy of the unitary executive theory learning that is proportionate to his tenacity. He says:

Yoo says leaving NATO “would certainly be a foreign-policy disaster.” But his theory insists that the Constitution relegates Congress to the role of spectator at the disaster. When a theory drags its adherents into such an intellectual cul-de-sac, the theory should be relegated to the ranks of ideas that need to be reconsidered.

Chillul HaShem: Root Causes

 Tefillah request, for refuah of: Shimon Ben Masha & Lea Bas Freeda  

בס"ד

ליל פסח שני,

LevinAt11 radio broadcast Apr. 30, '26/ Pesach Sheni, 

 תכנית ראדיו רב יהודה לעוין שליט"א, כ"ט לעומר, פרשת אמור, תשפו

Main Theme: Chillul HaShem: Root Causes

Topics:

1-56: Chillul HaShem and Kiddush HaShem;

56-60: Integration of females into IDF is  discouraging male National Religious soldiers; some "manpower crisis!" (https://vinnews.com/2026/04/29/religious-zionist-rabbis-warn-if-tank-corps-has-females-yeshiva-students-wont-serve-there/ )

If they really wanted to draft all the Chareidim -- they wouldn't be doing this.  Apparently, their actual goal is to foment a panic - even a panic for good reasons.  Why? In order to exploit the panic for something else... perhaps for "Chareidi"-Aksun cooperation in passing Marriage De-definition in E"Y, R"L - a specter which is a genuine fear given the upcoming elections.

Good Shabbos,

Rabbi Noson Shmuel Leiter,

Executive Director,

Help Rescue Our Children

845.642.1679

Direct: 771.215.8892

Israeli Helpline: 03.721.3337

torahjewsfordecency@gmail.com

Tomim Tih'yeh [countering "New-Age" infiltration]: 

Tomim1679@gmail.com

Presentations on New-Age dangers: 605-313-6831 ext. 2

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

~~~~~~ ~~~~~~   ~~~~~~ ~~~~~~  

A letter of interest, thematic to the aforementioned topic of the Parsha:

26 L'Omer, 11 Iyyar, 5786

"LeMa'anchah - For Your Sake"

{In the merit of a speedy recovery for Leah bas Freeda}

Letter / Parshas Emor 5786

Anyone keeping an open, realistic eye on current events recognizes that things don't seem to be going in a very positive direction for Jews - not in terms of physical safety, nor in terms of our spiritual wellbeing, although there are some hopeful developments regarding the latter (for one fascinating example, see Rabbi Ze'ev Smason here:  https://stljewishlight.org/opinion/commentary/becoming-an-oct-8th-jew-remembering-who-we-are/ ).

Well, "the Parsha comes to the rescue" - for those who are interested.

This week's Parsha, Emor (22:32), contains the prohibition against Chillul HaShem (desecration of The Divine Name), followed by the positive commandment - and the Divine Promise (see Seforno) - of Kiddush HaShem (sanctification of The Divine Name).  These two foundational mitzvos provide Klal Yisroel with the keys out of our ever-expanding predicaments - and out of Galus altogether.

The premier role that  dedication to the Honor of Heaven (Kovod Shomayim) plays in being saved from our tribulations, and from Exile altogether, is repeatedly emphasized in the supplications and psukim we recite in Tachanun, especially on Mondays and Thursdays (e.g. Yirmuyahu 14:7, Tehillim 79:9). There, as elsewhere, we repeatedly beseech HaShem to save us for the sake of His Name.

So how do our actions and attitudes comport with our requests?

Do we live our lives in a manner that reflects a genuine concern over Kovod Shomayim?  Or do we invoke Kovod Shomayim when we're up against the self-inflicted consequences of trampling it?  Or is Kovod Shomayim so off-the-radar for us that it's frequent mention doesn't even register altogether?  Or do we opt to delude ourselves into thinking that we care about it - pursuant to redefining Kovod Shomayim as that which comports with our comfort level?

For most of us, there is an impressive degree of improvement potential.  The good news is that, b'Chasdei HaShem, we have many opportunities to improve our Kovod Shomayim track-record - for those of us who are authentically interested.

Central to these aforementioned mitzvos is the readiness to make sacrifices to fulfill the Will of HaShem. 

Being a dedicated Jew often requires sacrifices, or, more accurately, what appear to be sacrifices.

Prior to our first Redemption, from Egypt, HaShem exhorted Moshe Rabbeinu: You're not leaving Egypt alive until you slaughter their object of worship (Avoda Zorah) - namely, the Korban Pesach (the Pascal lamb, an animal prominent in the Egyptian pantheon) - "in their faces" (Shmos Rabbah, Parshas Bo, 16:3).

We would serve ourselves well by preparing ourselves to properly utilize similar tests - to more genuinely merit the Final Redemption as well.  It's not an entitlement (not that anything really is).

We've just passed the halfway point of Sefiras HaOmer. The very aliyah in which these aforementioned mitzvos appear (Shlishi) corresponds to that halfway point (Day 26, the beginning of the second half).  Perhaps this correspondence can be taken as an allusion to improve ourselves in regard to lessons central to the Sefirah period, preparing us for Mattan Torah on Shavuos.

One lesson, relating to Kovod Shomayim, may be the importance of respecting those who employ the aforementioned quality of mesiras nefesh to transmit Torah with its full authenticity -  shunning the distortion of Torah - Ziyuf HaTorah (being the greatest threat to Judaism, Mishnas Reb Aharon, 1:2:3:6) that so often accompanies venues offering what appears to be Torah-based guidance.  Such venues often tell people what they want to hear - instead of what they really need to hear.

The latter, more populist providers tend to attract far more respect than they earn.  The former articulators of Torah often earn far more respect than they generally receive.

By ignoring the latter in favor of the former we perform a disservice to ourselves and families, disgrace the Torah and it's most authentic representatives, and project the image that Emes (Truth) doesn't really matter - itself a terrible Chillul HaShem. And all this is perpetrated in the name of Kovod HaTorah, to boot.

So, ask yourself, which leaders actually lead, and which follow in the guise of leading (כפני הכלב)?  Who is alerting Klal Yisroel to the non-"Politically-Correct" Torah imperatives we need to hear most?  And who (as HoRav S. R. Hirsch ZY"A observed) is grandstanding where courage is least needed?

We get the leadership we earn.  If we incentivize feel-good "lead"-ership, that's what we'll get.  We find such critique in Nach: leadership failing to alert the tzibbur to what they need to hear.  However, many people automatically dismiss critique of whomever they chose as their leaders.  Do we feel that the critiques in the Neviyim don't apply to us?  Do we feel that Yechezkel, in his devastating criticism of Jewish leadership prior to the Final Redemption (in Perek 34), was too "negative" or "extreme" to take seriously?

When we close the Shmoneh Esrei with the Tefillah "Asei LeMa'an Sh'mecha," we ought to ask ourselves: what are we willing to sacrifice for Kovod Shomayim?  Perhaps we ought train ourselves to step outside of our comfort zone to sacrifice something for a vital Kovod Shomayim need, even if it's small.

Good Shabbos,

Boruch Levy

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 Levin 04-30-2026_HQ.mp3

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