Tuesday, February 28, 2023

Does God have a body?

 https://www.jpost.com/magazine/judaism/does-god-have-a-body-331789

Maimonides also deemed the early mystical work Shiur Koma, a midrashic work from the Heichalot literature that graphically depicts God’s exact measurements, as heretical and stemming from non-Jewish hands. Following in his father’s footsteps, Maimonides’s son Abraham maintained that believing in a corporeal God was equivalent to worshiping demons or idols, and further sniped that it was no surprise that Christians were generally supportive of those Ashkenazi scholars who vociferously opposed Maimonidean teachings.

Maimonides #3 - God's Incorporeality

 https://aish.com/48924072/

Although the concept of God's incorporeality is generally understood, the parallel concept of His non-spirituality is not well known. Although God is frequently referred to as a spiritual Being, we apply the term loosely for lack of another word. If a material object is defined as being confined to time and space, while something spiritual is confined in terms of time but not in terms of space, then it must be concluded that God is neither physical nor spiritual. The Almighty is confined neither in space nor in time. All material and spiritual beings were created by Him, as it is written (Genesis 1:1): "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth."

The Last Word With Lawrence O’Donnell Highlights: Feb. 2

Fox News bomb goes off: Murdoch confesses they endorsed the lie as billion dollar case heats up

Tucker Carlson Thinks Ohio Train Tracks Are Anti-White

 https://www.thedailybeast.com/tucker-carlson-thinks-ohio-train-tracks-are-anti-white?ref=scroll

Fox News’ Tucker Carlson hinted at a new conspiracy theory to explain the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, and it’s that the train coming off the tracks in an area with a lot of white people was probably on purpose.

“East Palestine is overwhelmingly white and it’s politically conservative and that shouldn’t be relevant, but it very much is,” Tucker is quoted as saying.

McCarthy Gave Tucker the Jan. 6 Tapes. Trump Allies Are Threatening to Sue

 https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/kevin-mccarthy-jan-6-tucker-carlson-tapes-maga-lawsuit-1234687833/

“Why not other media? Why not Newsmax? Why did he just give one host, on one cable network, this information?” Eric Bolling, another longtime friend of Trump’s, said on his Newsmax TV show on Thursday. During Trump’s failed effort to cling to power following the 2020 presidential election, Fox brass were actively worried that Newsmax was pulling away too many of the cable-news giant’s viewers, as the two channels competed to attract Trump-loving, election-denying demographics.

Covid ‘lab leak theory’: What we’ve learned

 https://edition.cnn.com/2023/02/27/politics/covid-lab-leak-what-matters/index.html

The change in opinion by the Energy Department’s intelligence office is far from a total backing of the “lab leak” theory.

For starters, the conclusion was reached only with “low confidence,” as opposed to medium or high confidence.

Zero-calorie sweetener linked to heart attack and stroke, study finds

 https://edition.cnn.com/2023/02/27/health/zero-calorie-sweetener-heart-attack-stroke-wellness/index.html

n response to the study, the Calorie Control Council, an industry association, told CNN that “the results of this study are contrary to decades of scientific research showing reduced-calorie sweeteners like erythritol are safe, as evidenced by global regulatory permissions for their use in foods and beverages,” said Robert Rankin, the council’s executive director, in an email.

The results “should not be extrapolated to the general population, as the participants in the intervention were already at increased risk for cardiovascular events,” Rankin said.

Rupert Murdoch Admits He ‘Could Have’ Prevented Rudy’s Lies on Fox but ‘Didn’t’

 https://www.thedailybeast.com/rupert-murdoch-admits-he-could-have-prevented-rudys-lies-on-fox-but-didnt?ref=home

Fox News owner Rupert Murdoch admitted in a deposition that while he had the opportunity to stop former President Donald Trump’s legal team from peddling election fraud lies on his network, he decided not to take it.

“I could have. But I didn’t,” Murdoch told lawyers for Dominion Voting Systems when asked if he could have ordered Fox News to keep Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell off the air following the 2020 election.

Fauci Speaks Out About COVID Lab Leak Theory After Report

 https://www.newsweek.com/fauci-speaks-out-about-covid-lab-leak-theory-after-report-1784157

In a video interview with The Boston Globe, Fauci—who retired as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the end of last year—urged people not to jump to conclusions. He said the DOE report was made with "low confidence" and he hasn't seen the data used to compile the report.

Instead, Fauci shared data submitted by evolutionary virologists in peer-reviewed journals. He said the information "strongly suggests" the virus was a natural occurrence.

Monday, February 27, 2023

Dead rabbi’s pants expected to fetch thousands pulled from NJ auction

 https://nypost.com/2023/02/25/late-rabbi-chaim-kanievskys-pants-pulled-from-nj-auction/

An auction house planned to sell a top Orthodox Jewish leader’s pants, but pulled the dead rabbi’s trousers off the block after an inquiry by The Post.

Hannity admits the lie as 'time travel' scandal hits Fox News empire

Social pressure

 Shabbos(118b) I have never disregarded the words of my neighbours. I know of myself that I am not a priest, yet if my neighbours were to tell me to ascend the dais, I would ascend it R. Jose also said: I have never in my life said anything from which I retracted.[Rashi refers this] to his opinions on other people: even if unfavourable he did not retract even in the owner's presence, because he did not state them in the first place without being perfectly sure of their truth.

Tosfos

אילו היו אומרים לי חברי עלה לדוכן - לא ידע ר"י מה איסור יש בזר העולה לדוכן אם לא משום ברכה לבטלה של כהנים אמרה תורה לברך את ישראל: 

Darchei Moshe, Orach Chaim 128:1:1

כתבו התוס' פרק כל כתבי (שבת קיח:) לא ידעתי מה איסור יש בזר העולה לדוכן אם לא משום ברכה לבטלה שלכהנים אמרה תורה לברך עכ"ל. ומצאתי כתוב ע"ז ולפ"ז יכול הישראל לעלות עם הכהנים והם יברכו לרוב עם הדרת מלך מה טוב אכן לא נהגו באולי אשר אף בלא כהנים יעלו עכ"ל ועל דברי התוס' קשה לי דהא איתא בהדיא בכתובות פרק שני (כד:) דזר הנושא את כפיו עובר בעשה ואפשר דר"י לא קאמר אלא כשעולה עם כהנים אחרים אבל לבד הוא עובר בעשה וצ"ע:  

Sunday, February 26, 2023

Mazal

 Ohr HaChaim (Vayikra 26:09 Israel is not subject to the restrictions inherent in the term mazzal, G-d will turn aside the horoscopic influences and apply a different set of rules to the dispensation of the blessings involving the three areas to which G-d personally holds the keys. Although, our Sages say life children and food are dependent on mazal, G-d will make an exception to this rule by "moving the relevant constellation  "aside," to enable Israel to overcome negative influences.