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A Norwegian parliamentarian has nominated Israel’s Yad Vashem Holocaust Remembrance Center for the Nobel Peace Prize.

The Jerusalem memorial center is “one of the world’s most significant institutions in the fight against antisemitism, hate ideologies and historical distortion,” Joel Ystebø of Norway’s Christian Democratic Party wrote in a letter addressed to the Norwegian Nobel Committee on Tuesday.

“I believe that the Nobel committee should take a stand on antisemitism by issuing this award to Yad Vashem even though I understand it might be difficult because of all the politics involved,” Ystebø told JNS on Thursday.

The 24-year-old lawmaker, who was elected last year to the unicameral parliament for the conservative opposition party, noted that every Norwegian lawmaker had the right to nominate a candidate for the prize.

“There are many people in Norway who, like myself, are embarrassed by our own government after October 7 for being too soft on Hamas, and this nomination is also to show the people of Israel and the Jewish community that they have many friends in Norway,” he said in the interview.

He wrote in his letter that antisemitism has proven throughout history to be “one of the most persistent and destructive forms of hatred,” citing the rise in anti-Jewish violence around the globe following the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel, which triggered the two-year war in Gaza.

“Today, Yad Vashem serves as a global anchor in the fight against antisemitism and other forms of hatred,” the letter states. “In a time when antisemitism is once again gaining a foothold in public discourse, Yad Vashem reminds us of what is at stake if hatred and lies are allowed to pervade.

“The Nobel Peace Prize has historically honored those who stand against hatred, oppression and injustice,” it continues. “Yad Vashem does precisely this by being at the forefront of the fight against antisemitism, one of the most serious threats to peaceful coexistence in our time. Awarding the Nobel Peace Prize to Yad Vashem would be a clear recognition that the struggle against antisemitism is a struggle for peace, democracy and human dignity.”

Tel Aviv University Professor Dina Porat, a Yad Vashem senior academic adviser, told JNS, “We are witness today to how hatred caused by antisemitism is again ever so relevant to our very time. By its documentation and commemoration, Yad Vashem offers a clear historical picture and warning about the past and the present.”

Founded in 1953 on Jerusalem’s Mount of Remembrance, on the western slope of Mount Herzl, to commemorate the six million Jews murdered during the Holocaust, Yad Vashem has emerged as a top global tourist site for visitors and educators. JNS

{Matzav.com}

Sanctuary policies protect criminals and put communities at risk, President Donald Trump’s border czar Tom Homan said Thursday during his first press conference since arriving in Minneapolis, arguing that public safety must come before politics.

Homan explained that he was sent to Minnesota earlier in the week to help restore order and to target dangerous criminal illegal aliens living in local communities, stressing that his mission is focused on safety rather than publicity.

“I didn’t come to Minnesota for photo ops or headlines,” Homan told reporters. “I came here to seek solutions.”

He pointed to what he described as the consequences of border failures under the Biden administration, saying that more than 10 million illegal aliens entered the United States during that period, including millions of “gotaways” who avoided apprehension.

According to Homan, many of those individuals present serious risks to both national security and public safety. He said President Trump pledged to voters that he would undo those policies and make protecting American communities the top priority.

Over the past several days, Homan said, he has held meetings with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Attorney General Keith Ellison, and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, along with law enforcement officials and other stakeholders, despite their political differences.

“We didn’t agree on everything. I didn’t expect to agree on everything,” Homan said. “But you can’t fix problems if you don’t have discussions.”

One point of consensus, he said, was recognition that Immigration and Customs Enforcement is a legitimate federal law enforcement agency charged with enforcing immigration laws.

Homan also said the administration is developing a plan to reduce ICE’s footprint in Minnesota if cooperation continues and violence declines.

“As we drill down on these great agreements [with Minnesota officials] we’ve got, this great understanding we have means less so we can draw down those resources,” he said.

“When the violence decreases, we can draw down those resources. But based on the discussions I’ve had with the governor and the AG, we can start drawing down those resources.”

He added that the reduction could happen even faster if inflammatory language targeting ICE ends.

Homan emphasized that federal officials are not asking local leaders to act as immigration agents, but rather to work with ICE when criminal illegal aliens are already in custody.

“Jurisdictions that refuse to cooperate with federal immigration authorities are sanctuaries for criminals,” Homan said. “Sanctuary cities are sanctuaries for criminals and endanger the residents of the community.”

He praised the Minnesota Department of Corrections for honoring ICE detainers, saying that such cooperation has improved safety for residents and law enforcement officers alike.

Homan also said progress has been made in discussions with Ellison, who clarified that county jails may inform ICE of scheduled release dates for criminal illegal aliens so agents can take custody in a lawful and controlled manner.

“That’s common sense,” Homan said, arguing that making arrests inside jails is safer than tracking suspects after they return to the community.

He rejected claims that cooperation with ICE deters victims or witnesses from reporting crimes.

“Victims and witnesses don’t want the bad guy back in their neighborhood either,” Homan said.

Homan concluded by saying that continued cooperation will lower crime, conserve resources, and carry out President Trump’s promise to put American safety first, particularly in cities he said have suffered the consequences of years of failed border policies.

{Matzav.com}

A long-simmering and deeply contentious issue in the chareidi world burst into the open during a live Israeli radio broadcast, as noted maggid meisharim Rav Menachem Stein delivered sharp and emotional remarks about what he described as the unbearable state of wedding music today.

Rav Stein addressed the topic during his program Sichat HaYom on Kol Chai Radio. To add a professional and musical perspective, the renowned composer and musician Rav Chaim Banet joined the broadcast, leading to an extended, wide-ranging, and highly charged discussion. Listeners also called in, offering firsthand accounts from the “ground level” of wedding halls.

Opening the program the week of Shabbos Shirah, Rav Stein framed the conversation in stark terms. “This is the time when Klal Yisroel celebrates the power of niggun,” he said. “And yet this year, it has become a time for a painful reckoning in the world of weddings.” He asked pointedly when Jewish weddings had transformed from elevated celebrations of the heart into “deafening discotheques,” and whether authentic Jewish simcha had been lost along the way.

One of the most striking moments of the broadcast came from a deeply personal story shared by a caller identified as Daniel, an accomplished yeshiva bochur who described undergoing a severe spiritual crisis during his years in yeshiva gedolah. “I felt like a sealed wall, an iron barrier between me and the Gemara,” he said. At the time, Daniel was heavily immersed in modern, contemporary music for many hours a day, without realizing the connection between that habit and his spiritual decline.

The turning point came at a friend’s wedding, where the band played in an older, traditional style, using sacred niggunim with restrained, measured rhythms. “The next day,” Daniel recalled, “I felt as if a new soul had been planted within me. I dove into the Gemara like someone dying of thirst in the desert.” Rav Stein noted that the story echoed the well-known words of Rav Yissachar Meir zt”l, who would avoid loud weddings and famously said, “How can one attend such a wedding? The neshamos that come down from Gan Eden flee because of the foreign melodies.”

Rav Chaim Banet, the veteran composer who has been involved in chassidic music for more than fifty years, spoke with visible pain about the changes he has witnessed. “I played at weddings for decades,” he said. “Once, the heart was happy. Today, a friend told me: ‘It seems only the feet are happy — the heart is no longer there.’” Rav Chaim recounted a conversation with a secular musician who plays both in Tel Aviv clubs and at weddings in Bnei Brak. “He told me in shock: ‘Rav Chaim, there’s no difference. It’s the same discotheque.’”

Rav Chaim also recalled a gathering convened decades ago by Rav Yigal Rosen, who warned musicians about the spiritual erosion that lay ahead. “The tragedy,” Rav Chaim said, “is that a generation has grown up that no longer knows what good music is. This music has destroyed the inner world of feeling.”

Another caller, Avraham, shared a powerful contrast he had experienced just days earlier. He attended a wedding of a prominent rabbinic family but found the volume and trance-style music unbearable. “I had to step outside; I couldn’t tolerate the decibels,” he said. Wandering into an adjacent hall, he discovered a different wedding altogether — a live orchestra with a choir, gentle melodies, and songs of earlier generations. “The entire hall was dancing. You could talk. There was real simcha,” he said. “I went home carrying the joy of a wedding I wasn’t even invited to.”

Throughout the broadcast, participants offered practical suggestions for restoring dignity and spiritual depth to wedding music. Some emphasized the responsibility of the families making the simcha, arguing that those paying for the music must clearly define expectations in advance rather than surrendering to pressure from outside “event coordinators.” Others urged musicians themselves to take a stand and refuse to play foreign or destructive rhythms, even when requested by the crowd. Several speakers stressed that music is only a symptom, and that deeper chinuch is needed to rebuild a sense of kedusha and refined emotion within the yeshiva world.

In concluding the discussion, Rav Stein returned to a broader perspective. Citing the teachings of the Vilna Gaon and his talmidim, he noted that Moshe Rabbeinu brought down ten distinct forms of song from Har Sinai, later used in the Beis Hamikdash to awaken teshuvah and dveikus. “If a person would hear those precise niggunim,” he said, “his soul would depart from sheer attachment to Hashem.”

As Shabbos Shirah approached, the message of the program was clear and urgent. The choice, Rav Stein said, lies with the community itself: the “boom-boom of the jungle,” or song that pierces the heavens. Rav Chaim summed it up simply and starkly: “This touches our very souls — literally our souls.”

{Matzav.com}

Dear Matzav Inbox,

I don’t know when this happened, but somehow fundraising in the frum world went from something difficult but dignified to something that looks like a bad Purim shpiel that never ends.

Open WhatsApp today and what do you see? Grown Yidden — not kids, not bachurim fooling around — but married people, fathers, mothers, people who are supposed to have some seichel — turning themselves into jokes on their statuses. Begging. Singing. Dancing. Making faces. Doing shtick. All for what? To squeeze out a few dollars.

It’s embarrassing.

Mamish embarrassing.

People are making absolute fools of themselves in public, and we’re supposed to clap and say, “Ah, gevaldig, what mesirus nefesh for tzedakah.” Since when is throwing away kavod habriyos considered a mitzvah?

This whole thing has turned into a clown show. One guy ups the other. If last week someone danced, this week someone has to dance harder. If someone cried, the next one has to cry louder. If someone embarrassed himself a little, the next one has to embarrass himself completely. A race to the bottom, live-streamed for everyone to see.

Hours of nonsense. Paid for with maximum bizayon. What a joke.

Once upon a time, fundraising meant knocking on doors, making phone calls, sitting with people, explaining a need, having some basic derech eretz. It wasn’t easy, but it was normal. It had a certain menschlichkeit to it. Today? Today it’s who can make the biggest spectacle of himself on a status.

And don’t tell me “this is the matzav” or “this is the new way.” That’s nonsense. This isn’t a new way. It’s a lazy way. A cheap way. A way that trades dignity for attention and calls it hishtadlus.

If goyim were doing this, we’d be laughing at them. If some other community was acting this way, we’d shake our heads and say they’ve lost all self-respect. But when it’s us, suddenly it’s holy?

No. It’s mi’us. Yidden should have some self respect. And no, the ends don’t justify the means.

It makes the entire frum world look like bafoons. Like we have no גבול, no shame, no sense of what’s normal anymore. Everything is fair game as long as it’s “for a good cause.”

There are good causes. There are real needs. But turning ourselves into walking jokes is not the solution. Tzedakah doesn’t require turning into an imbecile on WhatsApp.

We can help people without humiliating ourselves. We can raise money without degrading ourselves. And we can stop pretending that this circus is healthy, normal, or something to be proud of.

Because it isn’t.

A very fed-up observer

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[COMMUNICATED]

by Rabbi Eliezer Sandler

The concept of the Yissachar-Zevulun Torah Learning Pact goes back well over 3,500 years, to the time of Yaakov Avinu and his sons. It is named for the Torah pact between two of his sons – Yissachar the scholar and Zevulun the merchant. Not only was it an equal pact but, Chazal explained, the deed of Zevulun/the Sponsor is considered even greater than that of Yissachar, because without the support of Zevulun, Yissachar would not have had the wherewithal to study Torah undisturbed.”

It is well-known that when it comes to learning Torah, people who sponsor the learning, often do so, not just as a donation. By financially supporting specific Torah scholars, they enter into a binding, written, signed and sealed learning partnership pact whereby the Sponsor (the Zevulun) is deemed by Halacha as if he personally studied the Torah completed by the Scholar (the Yissachar). (See below.) 

Thus, those who support the Talmidei Chachomim at Shas Yiden via a Yissachar-Zevulun Pact merit a portion in every daf of the entire Talmud Bavli and associated texts that they study, and complete the entire cycle in the space of ONE year. Some of the Sponsors opt to continue sponsoring repeat cycles of Shas which accrue to them.

Sar Hatorah, Maran Hagaon Harav Chaim Kanievsky, zt”l, Nasi Shas Yiden, emphasized: The most mehudar Yissachar-Zevulun pact to support in our times is that offered by Shas Yiden – it comprises the entire Shas, Rashi and Tosfos – all in just one year!

Rav Chaim explained why this pact with Shas Yiden is the most mehudar. Chazal say that the highest level of learning is when one understands what he is learning b’iyun u’ve’amkus. However, even higher than that is when one remembers b’al peh all what he has learned. I have farhered the Shas Yiden avreichim geonim many times and can attest ZEI KENNEN SHAS (they know Shas)!

YES! YOU CAN MAKE

your OWN SIYUM on the ENTIRE Shas, Rashi & Tosfos IN JUST ONE YEAR!

The Yissachar-Zevulun Pact in Halacha

The Shulchan Aruch in Yoreh De’ah Chapter 246 regarding the efficacy of the Yissachar-Zevulun Sponsorship Pact for the Zevulun (the Sponsor) states clearly:  It is deemed as if he (the one sponsoring the learning) himself learned all the Torah studied under the pact. 

All the learning under the Shas Yiden Yissachar-Zevulun Pact is yours בעוה”ז ובעוה”ב (in both This World and the World to Come)! Concerning this, the Netziv of Volozhin comments that in Olam Habah, the Zevulun sponsor will sit together with the Gedolei Torah of the past and merit to participate in their discussions and pilpulim on all the Torah learned.

Achieve Almost 7 million Mitzvos in One Year

The Vilna Gaon in Shnos Eliyahu Pe’ah 41 states that one should hold precious every word of Torah that he learns because each word is considered a mitzvah of its own. 

Thus, since in Talmud Bavli, Rashi and Tosfos there are 6,608,891 words, that translates into almost 7 million mitzvos accruing through Yissachar-Zevulun at Shas Yiden. 

Official Shtar from Shas Yiden

Each Yissachar-Zevulun pact is confirmed by an official contract (shtar) from Shas Yiden specifying the learning of the entire Shas, and is witnessed by talmidei chachomim.

All who wish to enter into a Yissachar-Zevulun Pact for the entire Shas during ONE year should contact Shas Yiden to make arrangements: 718-702-1528.

The opportunity to complete the entire Shas has been a cherished way to honor family members and others as a prized achievement. It has also proven to be a source of comfort for mourners to obtain such a zechus for their dear ones during the year of mourning – a siyum of the entire Shas can be completed on the yahrzeit!

Yissachar-Zevulun Pact –

Beyond the Grave

The legendary visionary and “Father of Yeshivos”, Reb Chaim of Volozhin, was the founder of the famous yeshiva in the town of Volozhin and the beloved talmid of the Vilna Gaon. 

Reb Chaim had an ongoing Yissachar-Zevulun pact with a local shoemaker – a man who was not learned but who dearly valued Torah learning. They had a ‘deal’ whereby the shoemaker would pay the monthly financial support needed for Reb Chaim and his family. For this financial support, the shoemaker would have an equal share in all Reb Chaim’s daily Torah study – both in the mitzvah of Torah study בעוה”ז and that the knowledge of the Torah learned would continue to be his בעוה”ב (in the World to Come).

One day the shoemaker passed away suddenly. During the shiva period, Reb Chaim was facing a perplexing halachic question and researched high and low for a solution. That night the shoemaker appeared to him in a dream and gave him the full solution that he sought. Reb Chaim was amazed and commented, “Azoi gich, Azoi Gich – So quickly, so quickly has he acquired the zchus and knowledge of the Torah that I have studied!”

In the words of Gedolei Torah:

Maran Hagaon Harav Chaim Kanievsky, zt”l, Nasi Shas Yiden:

“In just ONE year, through Yissachar-Zevulun at Shas Yiden, you can be zoche to the entire Shas forever – בעוה”ז ובעוה”ב (in olam hazeh and olam habah).

“Moreover, whoever supports Shas Yiden is zocheh to fulfill both Yissachar-Zevulun and support of aniyei (the poor of) Eretz Yisroel in the fullest sense of the word.

“Those who support Shas Yiden will be saved from chevlei (the travails of) Moshiach – spiritually and materially, and will be zoche to have ehrlicher bonim u’vanos yir’eishomayim ”

Maran Hagaon Harav Dov Lando, shlit”a, Rosh Yeshiva, Slabodka:

“Who compares to the Shas Yiden? Incredible talmidei chachomim geonim who raised the bar in limud Hashas b’iyun u’v’amkus. Blessed are those who enter a Yissachar-Zevulun pact with them.”

Hamashpia Hagadol Reb Meilech Biederman, shlit”a:

 “Yissachar-Zevulun at Shas Yiden – best possible deal, and in just 1 year! 100% partnership! 100% Shas x 5 times! 100% Shisha Sidrei Mishna – בעוה”ז ובעוה”ב”

Sanzer Rebbe, shlit”a:

“A first in 2000 years of Jewish history! Until Shas Yiden, never a Torah institution where ALL the avreichim metzuyonim v’geonim know the entire Shas by heart”

Harav Yaakov Hillel, shlit”a:

“Therefore, the great mitzvah to support the efforts [of the Talmidei Chachomim] with generous donations in order that they should continue diligently with their studies to enhance the greatness of the Torah and its glory. 

ShasYiden.com

Rav Reuven Ravitz zt”l, a distinguished talmid chochom who devoted more than five decades to teaching Torah in Kfar Saba and Nechalim and was among the most respected elder figures of Petach Tikva, passed away on Wednesday evening at the age of 93.

Rav Ravitz was born in Tel Aviv’s Montefiore neighborhood as the eldest son of Rav Aryeh Leib Ravitz zt”l, who served for many years as av beis din of Tel Aviv. From a young age, he was known for his yiras Shomayim and deep commitment to limud haTorah.

In his youth, he studied at Yeshivas Chevron, where he became closely attached to the roshei yeshiva and mashgichim of the era, including Rav Yechezkel Sarna, Rav Moshe Chevroni, Rav Aharon Cohen, and the famed mashgiach Rav Meir Chodosh. He later continued his studies at Yeshivas Ponevezh, where he further developed his Torah scholarship under the guidance of the yeshiva’s roshei yeshiva.

Upon reaching marriageable age, Rav Ravitz married the daughter of Rav Yitzchok Pasternak, one of the founders of the Kfar Ganim neighborhood in Petach Tikva. The couple established their home in the city, where they lived for approximately seventy years.

For many years, Rav Ravitz taught at Yeshivas Nechalim during a period when many talmidim were continuing on to the major yeshivos. With great dedication, he worked tirelessly to draw numerous young men into a life of Torah and yiras Shomayim within the walls of the yeshivos.

He was also a longtime presence in the Beis Medrash Toras Eretz Yisroel in Petach Tikva, where he immersed himself in uninterrupted Torah study. In his later years, he learned at the Chevron Beis Medrash in the city, where he served as a living example of perseverance in learning and exemplary character traits. Known as a faithful transmitter of tradition, he shared countless accounts, teachings, and personal observations about Torah giants of previous generations with whom he had close קשר, including the Chazon Ish and the roshei yeshiva of Chevron and Ponevezh.

For roughly fifty years, Rav Ravitz delivered shiurim to members of the third generation in the Kfar Ganim neighborhood. Even during the coronavirus pandemic, he continued these shiurim by telephone and through individual study sessions, maintaining his commitment with remarkable devotion.

In the 1990s, he was active as a member of the association supporting the Montefiore nursing home in Petach Tikva. In that role, he advised on matters affecting the welfare of residents and assisted the institution’s leadership with financial issues. His warm demeanor and personal qualities made him a beloved figure and an integral part of the city’s communal landscape.

Two years ago, Rav Ravitz was awarded the title of Yakir Ha’ir, Honorary Citizen of Petach Tikva, by Mayor Rami Greenberg in recognition of his lifelong contributions to Torah and community life.

Rav Ravitz merited to raise generations of students, educating them in Torah and yiras Shomayim, and to build a family rooted in the traditions of Torah and reverence, seeing generations of ישרים מבורכים.

He is survived by his family. His brother was Rav Avraham Ravitz zt”l, the former Knesset member and the longtime chairman of Degel HaTorah.

The levayah took place Wednesday night at his home at 64 Trumpeldor Street in Petach Tikva. The procession passed the Chevron–Heichal Yechezkel Beis Medrash, with kevurah at the Segulah Cemetery in Petach Tikva.

Yehi zichro boruch.

{Matzav.com}

Please say Tehillim for the Zakan Roshei Yeshivos, HaGaon HaRav Elyakim Schlesinger, who is in need of Tefillos. Rav Schlesinger, who is around 104 years old, is the Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivas HoRomoh in London. His name for Tehillim is Elyakim ben Bayla.

Tom Homan: In the past few days, I met with Governor Walz, Attorney General Ellison, Mayor Frey… One thing we all agreed on was that ICE is a legitimate law enforcement agency that has a duty to enforce the laws enacted by Congress and keep this community safe.

Tom Homan in Minneapolis: “President Trump promised the American people, including the residents of Minnesota, that he would work to ensure our communities are safe…this administration is absolutely focused on identifying removable aliens that pose a public safety threat and national security threats—and the numbers prove it.”

NEAR DISASTER IN YERUSHALYIM: A serious incident was narrowly avoided on Thursday after a fuel tanker fell from a height into the middle of a major highway in Jerusalem, near the chareidi neighborhood of Neve Yaakov. Video footage shows the tanker plunging directly onto the roadway but, Bichasdei Hashem,, did not strike any vehicles and […]

A potentially catastrophic incident was narrowly avoided on Thursday in Jerusalem, after a fuel tanker fell from a height and crashed into the middle of a major highway near the chareidi neighborhood of Neve Yaakov. Dramatic video footage shows the tanker plunging directly onto the roadway. Bichasdei Hashem, the truck did not strike any vehicles, […]

Yeshiva University announced that Douglas Murray, a well-known British journalist, an outspoken supporter of Israel and one of the chassidei umos ha’olam, is joining its faculty in a newly created academic role.

Murray, who is not Jewish, is a familiar voice in international media, where he frequently comments on Israel and global affairs. University officials described his appointment as a significant addition that brings a prominent public intellectual into the school’s academic life.

According to the university, Murray has been named its first-ever President’s Professor of Practice, a role that, it explained, “recognizes leaders who have shaped public discourse and invites them to contribute that perspective to university life.”

As part of his appointment, Murray will teach within the honors program, offering lectures for a poetry course titled “The Values of Verse: Sacred and Secular Perspectives.”

“Great poetry is not an ornament of civilization,” Murray said in a statement. “It is one of the ways civilizations think, remember and endure.”

“I’m honored to join Yeshiva University in a setting where those questions are taken seriously and explored with intellectual rigor,” added Murray.

{Matzav.com}

The Knesset plenum approved the 2026 state budget in its first reading late Wednesday night, with 62 lawmakers voting in favor and 55 opposing.

The dramatic development of the vote, however, unfolded within the coalition itself, as United Torah Judaism split in an unprecedented manner, exposing sharp internal tensions tied to the draft law. In a rare move, all three Knesset members of Agudas Yisrael — Housing Minister Yitzchak Goldknopf, MK Meir Porush, and MK Yaakov Tessler — entered the plenum and voted against the budget.

By contrast, the members of Degel HaTorah, following the directive of Hagaon Rav Dov Landau and Hagaon Rav Moshe Hillel Hirsch, supported the budget after an intensive day of consultations with gedolim and discussions with Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chairman Boaz Bismuth. Shas chairman Aryeh Deri was notably absent from the vote.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich sought to downplay the rift, saying the government would not have brought the budget to a vote without a chareidi commitment to support it through all three readings. According to Smotrich, “the chareidim are not linking the budget to the draft law.”

Degel HaTorah responded swiftly with an unusually sharp public rebuttal, rejecting the finance minister’s assertion. “The statement by the finance minister claiming that we supposedly committed to vote for the budget in the second and third readings — did not happen and was never agreed to, and everyone knows this,” the faction said in a statement.

{Matzav.com}

A senior adviser to Iran’s supreme leader issued a stark warning on Wednesday, saying any US military action against Iran would trigger an immediate and sweeping response, including strikes on Tel Aviv.

Ali Shamkhani, an adviser to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, delivered the warning in a social media post published in Farsi, Hebrew, and English. In the post, Shamkhani wrote, “A ‘limited strike’ is an illusion. Any military action by the US – from any origin and at any level – will be considered the start of war⁩, and its response will be immediate, all out⁩, and unprecedented, targeting heart of Tel Aviv⁩ and all those supporting the aggressor.”

The message came shortly after US President Donald Trump issued renewed warnings to Iran in response to the regime’s crackdown on anti-government protesters.

On Tuesday night, Trump said he hoped Tehran would agree to negotiations with Washington, while again emphasizing that the United States has bolstered its military presence in the Middle East.

Addressing a rally in Iowa, Trump said, “There is another beautiful armada floating beautifully towards Iran right now. So we will see.”

“I hope they make a deal. I hope they make a deal,” he added.

Trump reinforced his remarks on Wednesday with a post on Truth Social, writing, “A massive Armada is heading to Iran. It is moving quickly, with great power, enthusiasm, and purpose. It is a larger fleet, headed by the great Aircraft Carrier Abraham Lincoln, than that sent to Venezuela.”

He continued, “Like with Venezuela, it is, ready, willing, and able to rapidly fulfill its mission, with speed and violence, if necessary. Hopefully Iran will quickly ‘Come to the Table’ and negotiate a fair and equitable deal – NO NUCLEAR WEAPONS – one that is good for all parties. Time is running out, it is truly of the essence!”

“As I told Iran once before, MAKE A DEAL! They didn’t, and there was ‘Operation Midnight Hammer,’ a major destruction of Iran. The next attack will be far worse! Don’t make that happen again. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”

Trump has repeatedly cautioned that the United States would respond forcefully if Iranian authorities proceed with executions of anti-regime demonstrators.

According to a report aired Wednesday evening by Kan 11 News, Israeli sources believe Trump’s rhetoric signals he may be weighing a far-reaching move on Iran that could include regime change.

Earlier this week, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei also warned that the Islamic Republic would issue a “comprehensive and regret inducing” response to any act of aggression.

{Matzav.com}

Hi everyone.

My name is Ahuva Rotkin. (That’s me in the picture above.)

I would like to thank everyone for helping me with my first surgery, which gave me my ear. It feels so much more comfortable to walk around with two ears, just like everyone else.

Although we used the top doctor in the field in Los Angeles, Hashem decided that we should face some complications. I already had to go back a second time to fix my ear, and unfortunately, the surgery was not successful because I got an infection. The second surgery was covered by insurance, but now my ear has developed a hole, so we need to do another skin graft to close it up. Insurance will not cover the third surgery, which needs to be done as soon as possible to avoid infection.

We are flying to Los Angeles this week, and the surgery is planned for Friday. We are $12,000 short of covering the expenses.

Whoever is able to help my Totty and Mommy do this for me would make me very happy! I bentch you to never know any pain, and may Hashem give you only good. Thank you so much!

You can help out by donating HERE.

Love, 

Ahuva

By Rabbi Pinchos Lipschutz

Finally, after generations of enslavement in Mitzrayim and a dramatic redemption, Klal Yisroel reaches the apex of creation, standing at Har Sinai and receiving the Torah from Hakadosh Boruch Hu. They hear the Aseres Hadibros and are awed and inspired to live lives of holiness, following the will of the Creator.

One of the mitzvos included in the Aseres Hadibros is Shabbos. We study the posuk of “Zachor es yom haShabbos lekadsho” (20:8), which literally translates as “Remember the Shabbos day to make it holy.”

The pesukim then state that we are to work six days of the week and rest on the seventh, not doing any work on that day, because Hashem created the world in six days and rested on the seventh. Therefore, He blessed the Shabbos day and sanctified it.

The Ramban explains the posuk of “Zachor es yom haShabbos lekadsho” to mean that it is a mitzvah to remember to sanctify Shabbos and keep it holy. He cites the posuk which states, “Vekarasa laShabbos oneg likdosh Hashem” (Yeshayahu 58:13), and writes that when we rest on Shabbos, we do so because it is a holy day. We therefore take a break from even thinking about mundane matters. Instead, we seek to satiate our souls in the way of Hashem and study Torah.

In Parshas Beshalach (16:28–29), the Torah discusses Shabbos in reference to the monn. A double portion fell on Friday because none fell on Shabbos. The posuk states, “Reu ki Hashem nosan lochem es haShabbos — See that Hashem has given you the Shabbos.”

The Seforno explains that the posuk is teaching us to reflect on the fact that Hashem has given us Shabbos, which has two components that set it apart from the rest of the week: firstly, through its mitzvos, and secondly, because it is a gift that Hashem gave to the Bnei Yisroel.

This is probably based on the Gemara in Shabbos (10b), which states that Hashem told Moshe that He has a good gift among His treasures by the name of Shabbos, and He wishes to present it to Klal Yisroel.

What is the gift? Is it the entirety of Shabbos, or is it a component of Shabbos?

In the sefer from Rav Meir Soloveitchik al haTorah, in Parshas Beshalach, it is brought from the Brisker Rov that he deduced from a Rashi in Bereishis (2:2) that the rest component of Shabbos, menucha, is not just a lack of work, but a special creation that Hashem presented to us. He says that Shabbos has two components. The first is its mitzvos, and the second is the menucha.

The Brisker Rov concluded that the menucha of Shabbos was especially created for the Jewish people and is the gift that Hashem gave us.

What is the gift of menucha?

Rav Shimshon Pincus (Shabbos Malkesa 3:4, 2) explains that when a person engages in intense physical labor, he naturally becomes tired and requires rest. This is rooted in the laws of nature, as it reflects a deep spiritual truth: that the source of all life is spiritual. The physical realm, by contrast, is not only distinct from the spiritual, but also serves as a barrier, distancing a person from his spiritual essence and, in turn, from his true source of vitality.

When someone immerses himself entirely in physical labor, he becomes disconnected from this spiritual energy, leading to exhaustion. However, when he ceases his physical exertion and rests, his physical side no longer obstructs his spiritual side. This allows him to reconnect with his true source of life, replenishing his energy and restoring his vitality.

This is compounded when we sleep and our neshamos ascend on high to their Creator, becoming reconnected to their life source. They return to us fully charged, and we wake up energized to take on the day.

The gift that Hashem gave us with Shabbos is that on this day we totally separate from gashmiyus — physical labor, activities, and thoughts — and return to ruchniyus, that which is spiritual. The holiness of Shabbos envelops us. Once we are unburdened from the physical aspects of life that have enveloped us for the past six days, we enter the realm of the kedusha and menucha of Shabbos, as we proclaim, “Yom menucha ukedusha l’amcha nosata.”

Shabbos disconnects us from gashmiyus, enveloping us in the source of energy and life. This is the ultimate gift of menucha that Hashem presented to us.

In order to merit this gift, however, we have to do our part and not only refrain from doing the physical labor of the 39 melachos, but, on Shabbos, elevate ourselves from the mundane through our actions and also through our thoughts. We refrain from discussing, reading about, or thinking about work and the everyday concerns that occupy our minds during the week. Shabbos is a time to step away from the ordinary and reconnect with a higher, spiritual realm. The more we do so, the better off we are and the more energetic we will be.

Menuchas Shabbos is not about lounging around, engaging in shallow conversations, or indulging in gossip without regard for the truth or the harm it may cause. It is not about speaking ill of others, mocking them, or simply passing the time with vacuous chatter.

Those who seek to experience the gift of menuchas Shabbos do so by elevating their ruchniyus through learning, refining their behavior, thoughts, speech, and what they read and focus on.

Shabbos is not solely about refraining from the 39 melachos. It is about rising above our physical, material side as much as possible. It is an opportunity to connect more deeply to our spiritual essence.

Shabbos is a precious gift from Hashem. The more we recognize and appreciate this gift, the closer we draw to Him and the better off we are. Viewing Shabbos as a burden only robs us of the deep opportunities it offers. It keeps us stuck in the triviality of the physical world, sapping our energy and preventing us from experiencing the true depth and perception that this holy day can provide.

The holiness of Shabbos is so profound that, according to the Vilna Gaon, when we eat and drink on Shabbos to fulfill the commandment of oneg, experiencing the joy of eating and drinking on Shabbos, it is as sacred as if we were partaking in a korban. The reason for this, he explains, is that by engaging in these physical acts, we bridge the gap between the physical and spiritual realms, connecting the material (gashmi) and the spiritual (ruchni).

Rav Dovid Cohen elaborates on this by explaining that the essence of kedushas Shabbos lies in elevating the physical world and connecting it to the neshomah. Eating and enjoying food, though a physical act, becomes a spiritual one when done with the intention of fulfilling the mitzvah. As a result, this act is considered so holy that it is as if the person were consuming the meat of a korban.

Imagine that, although we are in golus, without the Bais Hamikdosh and without korbanos, every Shabbos we have the opportunity to eat in a way that is equal to eating korbanos. We don’t have to travel anywhere or do anything special. All we need to do is sit at our Shabbos table, immersed in the sanctity of the day, enjoying the delicacies our mothers and wives prepared for us and the family. Most likely, the recipes they used were handed down to them from their mothers, who received them from their mothers for hundreds of years, each one of whom cooked for a family of mekadshei Shabbos who had the pleasure equivalent to eating korbanos that were shechted in the Bais Hamikdosh.

No matter where they lived or how hard they worked all week, they all enjoyed the transformative powers of Shabbos, the yom menucha ukedusha.

Davening in the Zichron Moshe Shul in the heart of Yerushalayim’s Geulah neighborhood is a special pleasure. The shul and its shtieblach welcome Jews of all stripes, who combine to form the beautiful mosaic that is Geulah in particular and Yerushalayim in general.

I have written previously about the Friday morning when I was there and saw a man sleeping on a bench. His clothing was dirty. His sleep was repeatedly interrupted as he scratched himself in pain from not having showered in many days. It was a pitiful sight, though not unusual in that hallowed shul.

On Friday evening, I passed the shul and stopped by the window of the large bais medrash. I looked toward the mizrach, and there, next to the rov, was the man who, that morning, had been sleeping in squalor on a bench in that very room. From the window, I saw him as he sat at the mizrach wall, facing the mispallelim. He was bedecked in a Yerushalayimer gold bekeshe and shtreimel. He was shining as he sat there with a broad smile on his face. He looked like a malach.

Shabbos transformed him. He was a new person.

It was Shabbos, and he was a new being, almost unrecognizable from what he had been just a few hours before.

I stood there, soaking in the image and thinking that this is how the geulah will be. We are overcome with shmutz, dirt, pain, and sadness. We are in golus, exiled among the nations and among those who have strayed. We are far from home but we do not despair because we know that the day of our redemption is quickly arriving. We will be cleansed, freshened, and made anew. Joy will return. And in the very place where we experienced pain, humiliation, and suffering, we will find comfort.

Meforshim wonder about the connection between the geulah and the heightened moments when Shabbos enters every week, moments that are combined in the universally recited Lecha Dodi.

We raise our voices and sing, welcoming the kallah, yet the words we chant aren’t as much about Shabbos as they are about Yerushalayim.

We shift from Likras Shabbos to Mikdash Melech, focusing on the Palace of the King. We hope for Hisna’ari and call out for Hisoreri, breaking into dance as we envision the time of Yosis Olayich Elokoyich.

Commentators ask why we chant these poetic expressions about the redemption and Yerushalayim as Shabbos begins. What is the connection?

In Zichron Moshe, as I stood at that window, I saw the transformational power of Shabbos and understood the answer to this question.

Every Shabbos, we are each able to rise from the dust of the workweek, from the darkness of golus — mei’afar kumi.

When Moshiach comes, we will do so as a people, together, just as we sing in Lecha Dodi: “Hisna’ari mei’afar kumi livshi bigdei sifarteich ami al yad ben Yishai bais halachmi korvah el nafshi ge’olah.”

May we all merit, each week, the transformation that Shabbos offers, and the ultimate transformation that Moshiach will bring when he redeems us from the struggles of the six days and ushers us into the world of eternal Shabbos.

{Matzav.com}

The BBC has issued an apology after its International Holocaust Memorial Day coverage failed to explicitly state that the six million people murdered by the Nazis were Jews, an omission that drew sharp criticism and was described as “hurtful, disrespectful and wrong,” according to a report in The Times.

The issue arose during Tuesday morning’s BBC Breakfast, when presenter Jon Kay opened a segment by saying Holocaust Memorial Day was “for remembering the six million people murdered by the Nazi regime over 80 years ago,” without identifying the victims as Jews.

The Campaign for Media Standards highlighted that multiple high-profile BBC presenters used nearly identical language, alleging that the broadcaster had “used the same script all day.”

Lord Pickles, who served as the UK’s special envoy for post-Holocaust issues from 2015 until last year, said the omission amounted to “an unambiguous example of Holocaust distortion, which is a form of denial.”

“This kind of obfuscation was common during the Soviet control of parts of Europe,” said Pickles, now co-chairman of the UK Holocaust Memorial Foundation. “For the BBC to use it today is shocking. They should be fighting antisemitism, not aiding it.”

Karen Pollock, chief executive of the Holocaust Educational Trust, also condemned the wording. “The Holocaust was the murder of six million Jewish men, women and children. Any attempt to dilute the Holocaust, strip it of its Jewish specificity or compare it to contemporary events is unacceptable on any day. On Holocaust Memorial Day it is especially hurtful, disrespectful and wrong,” she said.

Danny Cohen, a former BBC director of television, said the failure to name Jewish victims marked “a new low point for the national broadcaster.”

“It is surely the bare minimum to expect the BBC to correctly identify that it was six million Jews killed during the Holocaust,” Cohen said, according to The Times. “To say anything else is an insult to their memory and plays into the hands of extremists who have desperately sought to rewrite the historical truth of history’s greatest crime.”

In response, the BBC said in a statement: “This morning’s BBC programming commemorated Holocaust Memorial Day. The Today program featured interviews with relatives of Holocaust survivors and a report from our religion editor. In both of these items we referenced the six million Jews murdered during the Holocaust.”

“The chief rabbi recorded the Thought for the Day. BBC Breakfast featured a project organized by the Holocaust Educational Trust in which a Jewish survivor of the Holocaust recorded her memories. In the news bulletins on Today and in the introduction to the story on BBC Breakfast there were references to Holocaust Memorial Day which were incorrectly worded, and for which we apologize. Both should have referred to ‘six million Jewish people’ and we will be issuing a correction on our website.”

The controversy adds to a growing list of disputes involving the BBC and accusations of bias against Israel and the Jewish community.

In November 2023, the broadcaster apologized after wrongly claiming that IDF forces were deliberately targeting medical teams during fighting near Gaza’s Shifa Hospital.

Earlier, the BBC had also reported that Israel was responsible for an explosion at a Gaza hospital, a claim later disproven when the IDF demonstrated the blast was caused by a Palestinian Islamic Jihad rocket. The network subsequently admitted that “it was false to speculate” about the cause.

Last year, the BBC faced intense criticism over its documentary “Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone,” which used the son of a senior Hamas official as a narrator.

After the backlash, the broadcaster conceded there were “serious flaws” in the program.

More recently, the BBC apologized following complaints about a December 26 episode of The Repair Shop, which discussed the Kindertransport without mentioning Jews, despite the operation’s primary purpose of rescuing Jewish children from Nazi persecution during the Holocaust.

{Matzav.com}

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