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Mark Levin speaks at the Republican Jewish Coalition Leadership Summit in Las Vegas, Nevada, in one of the most potent speeches you’ll ever hear.

WATCH:

TYPICAL DEMOCRAT ELECTION RIGGING: A California voter has accused Governor Gavin Newsom and Democrats of election misconduct, claiming a voting machine malfunctioned and only allowed a “yes” vote on the Prop 50 redistricting measure.

Sec. Duffy: “We’ve never had a shutdown that’s lasted this long… our controllers have done a great job showing up… they’re going to go into a second pay period without a paycheck… Let’s not hold Americans hostage.”

US Trade Rep. Ambassador Greer on the Democrat shutdown: “Any time you’re having to curtail transportation, which is one of the great advantages we have in the United States… obviously that’s going to have an economic impact.”

Officers from Lahav 433’s Gideonim Unit, working with IDF troops and Shin Bet agents, arrested a suspect in central Ramallah accused of carrying out multiple shooting attacks on civilian communities and security forces.

The IDF’s Arabic Spokesperson issued an urgent warning to residents of the southern Lebanese villages of al-Taybeh and Teir Diba, urging them to immediately evacuate buildings marked in red on attached maps, along with nearby structures.

Hezbollah’s Al-Akhbar newspaper praised Mamdani’s victory, describing it as a turning point in Israel–New York relations under the headline, “Israel and the Big Apple – A Turning Point.”

The IDF says it carried out an airstrike in the Tyre area of southern Lebanon targeting terrorists of Hezbollah’s construction unit. According to the military, the terrorists were gathered at a site used to produce equipment for rebuilding terror infrastructure destroyed in last year’s fighting.

Israeli authorities have informed the family of Tanzanian national Joshua Mollel that Hamas returned his body to Israel last night. Mollel, a 21-year-old agricultural intern at Kibbutz Nahal Oz, was murdered and abducted on October 7, 2023. Six slain hostages, including five Israelis and one foreign national, remain held in Gaza.

BREAKING: Nancy Pelosi announces she will not seek reelection after nearly 40 years in Congress.

Do you remember visiting the Kosel and seeing all types of Jews together? Didn’t that beautiful sight envelop you with immense pride and joy?  Did you ever wish you’d see such unity elsewhere? Last Shabbos, BJX was packed with Jews of every conceivable background. A true mosaic of Yidden from all walks of life and […]

Poland and Romania are deploying a new weapons system to defend against Russian drones, following a spate of incursions into NATO airspace in recent months that exposed the alliance’s vulnerabilities and put Europe on edge. The American Merops system, which is small enough to fit in the back of a midsize pickup truck, can identify drones and […]

In a fiery interview Wednesday night on Radio Galei Yisrael, Israeli Economy Minister Nir Barkat deflected responsibility for Israel’s skyrocketing cost of living, instead blaming a series of other government bodies — including the Finance Ministry, the Competition Authority, and the Israel Land Authority (ILA).

“The Competition Authority is interfering with us,” Barkat declared during the wide-ranging 30-minute segment on the program The System. “The Finance Ministry has no interest in dismantling monopolies. Period.”

Barkat argued that the very agencies tasked with curbing the cost of living are the ones standing in the way of progress. “The authorities that are supposed to help reduce prices are delaying the necessary actions,” he charged.

When asked about dysfunction within his own ministry — particularly regarding the Competition Authority — Barkat revealed, “I asked the director of the Competition Authority to resign, but the attorney general blocked the process.”

He further claimed that the Finance Ministry itself derailed his efforts to control prices during wartime. “We tried to advance legislation to restrain prices during the war, and the finance minister vetoed it,” he said.

Addressing his flagship reform initiative, promoted under the slogan “What’s good for Europe is good for Israel,” Barkat insisted that deeply entrenched monopolies are deliberately trying to sabotage progress. “The monopolies in Israel are strong and are attempting to obstruct the reform,” he said.

Turning to Israel’s housing crisis, the minister pinned the blame squarely on the Israel Land Authority. “The Israel Land Authority is speculating with land,” Barkat said, when asked why young Israelis remain perpetual renters.

Concluding the interview, Barkat called for a radical restructuring of how land is managed in the country. “I call to dismantle the Israel Land Authority, divide its powers into two parts, and transfer the management of industrial zones to my ministry,” he said, adding that “the Accountant General in the Finance Ministry is an enthusiastic supporter of dismantling the Israel Land Authority.”

{Matzav.com}

A dramatic development in the investigation of the Sdei Teiman leak affair occurred on Thursday afternoon when the Justice Ministry’s Legal Adviser, Yael Kotik, signed a legal opinion barring Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara from heading the investigation into the leak of the Sdei Teiman video by disgraced Military Advocate General Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi. Kotik stated that […]

Toronto police are searching for a suspect seen on surveillance video vandalizing Kehillat Shaarei Torah (KST), marking the tenth time the shul has been attacked in less than two years.

The most recent act of vandalism occurred early Tuesday morning, when a hooded figure, armed with what looked like a hammer, smashed multiple windows before fleeing the scene. Cameras captured the assailant striking one window, sprinting past the front walkway, and shattering two more.

Authorities have confirmed that an investigation is underway into what they suspect is hate-motivated mischief directed at a house of worship. Police described the suspect as wearing a black hooded jacket, black pants, and black shoes with white details.

The Canadian Jewish News reported that KST has faced repeated hate incidents, from defaced hostage signs and anti-Israel stickers to prior window-smashing attacks. The first occurred in April 2024, followed by another just weeks later in May.

Even after installing security cameras and fencing last summer, KST Executive Director Michael Gilmore said the intruder likely entered through a neighboring property. “It’s falling over. We’ve been trying to keep it propped up on our end,” he told The CJN.

Just hours after the latest attack, the shul continued with its scheduled 7:00 a.m. Shacharis. “We just kind of keep on moving on with our lives,” Gilmore said, noting that he’s grown used to pre-dawn alerts and the constant costs of repairing damage.

Gilmore also expressed frustration with Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow’s remarks at a recent gala, where she spoke of “a genocide in Gaza.” He commented, “I don’t think she wants to incite violence against the Jewish community, but when she doesn’t care that her words will incite violence, we have to be protected from somewhere else.”

Rabbi Joe Kanofsky, who leads the congregation, said that while no one has been physically harmed, the emotional toll is heavy. “The community is a place where people come together as a faith community to thank God for the good life that we have and to pray for an even better world for everyone. This is obviously pretty far away from what we believe or what we hope happens around us,” he said.

He added that the community remains resilient. “We see that those who are determined to hurt other people seem pretty determined, so we have to double down on our commitment for good and for positive thoughts and prayer,” said Rabbi Kanofsky.

The vandalism comes amid a sharp rise in antisemitic crimes across Toronto following the outbreak of the war against Hamas terrorists in Gaza on October 7, 2023. A report released by the Toronto Police Service in May revealed that 2024 saw record levels of hate crimes, with Jews once again the primary target.

In one recent case, eggs were thrown at the Yorkville Jewish Centre in August. Surveillance video showed a man shouting obscenities while pelting the building. In another incident last month, anti-Israel vandals defaced Cedarvale Park—the same day Jews worldwide celebrated the release of 20 hostages from Gaza.

Just one day after the latest KST attack, violence erupted again when a mob of protesters stormed an event hosted by Students Supporting Israel at Toronto Metropolitan University, breaking a glass door and injuring one of the speakers.

{Matzav.com}

An American man and his teenage son died last month after they were swarmed by wasps while ziplining at an adventure camp in Laos and stung many dozens of times, a hospital official said Thursday. Dan Owen, the director of an international school in neighboring Vietnam, and his son Cooper were attacked by the insects […]

A massive car explosion tore through a Bronx street Wednesday night, hurling a fireball into the sky and injuring seven New York City firefighters in one of the most harrowing incidents the department has faced this year. The explosion erupted just after 7 p.m. on Westchester Avenue between Intervale Avenue and Kelly Street in Longwood, […]

By Rabbi Pinchos Lipschutz

There is much to write about and comment on this week. The elections and their results are hot topics, as are the goings-on in Eretz Yisroel and the recent disturbing comments by Vice President Vance. Opinions abound about causes, yet solutions feel distant and elusive.

But an important lesson of this week’s parsha is that our primary obligation is to concentrate on the way we treat others.

The parsha opens with Hakadosh Boruch Hu appearing to Avrohom as he recuperated from his bris milah. In the midst of the conversation, Avrohom saw three strange men approaching and ran to greet them and welcome them to his home.

Millions of people who have studied this parsha throughout the ages have asked why Avrohom interrupted his conversation with Hashem to offer food, drink and respite to three desert wanderers.

Avrohom Avinu, who was chosen by Hashem to be the father of our nation, had just passed another of the ten nisyonos, reaching the pinnacle of human achievement as Hashem, so to speak, came to visit him, yet he forfeited that opportunity to offer help to strangers. How are we to understand that?

Rav Dovid Soloveitchik explained that while meriting gilui Shechinah is a sign of immense spiritual attainment, the highest achievement for a person in this world is to perform mitzvos. Avrohom, as elevated as he was spiritually, understood that his ultimate obligation in that moment was to perform the mitzvah of chesed presented to him.

Whenever anything transpires, a Jew’s first question must be: What does the Torah say I should be doing now? There can be monumental occurrences taking place, but our minds must focus on what Hashem wants us to be doing at that time. Impulses, emotions, or the allure of personal spiritual highs must never overshadow our obligation to act in accordance with Torah guidance.

Rav Yehoshua Leib Diskin served as rov of Brisk and later of Yerushalayim. He was known throughout Klal Yisroel for his stunning Torah brilliance and was also a tremendous baal chesed. When living in Yerushalayim, poor people would come to his home for lunch, which was the main meal of the day. Rav Yehoshua Leib would sit at the head of the table, engrossed in his learning, barely eating anything, while those in need enjoyed their daily nourishment.

One day, as everyone else was eating, he got up from his seat and went over to an elderly man sitting at the opposite end of the table. The Torah giant sat down next to the man and began cutting his bread into small pieces, peeling off the crusts, dipping them into soup, and feeding the man piece by piece. Observers noticed that the old man had no teeth and understood why the rov was feeding him the softened bite-sized portions.

After the meal, one of Rav Yehoshua Leib’s talmidim approached him and asked how he knew that the man had no teeth and was struggling to eat. “I was watching you as I was eating,” the student said, “and saw that you were totally absorbed in the sefer in front of you. How could you have noticed that the man needed help?”

Rav Yehoshua Leib responded to his student, saying, “I am surprised at you. Why are you asking such a question of me and not of Avrohom Avinu? Hakadosh Boruch Hu Himself came to visit him, and he was certainly entirely immersed in the supreme spiritual significance of closeness with Hashem.

“How could it be that in the midst of this encounter, he saw three people who appeared to be wanderers? Not only that, but he ran toward them to offer them food and drink. How is it possible to be at the height of spiritual ecstasy and still see what is transpiring outside of one’s immediate daled amos?

“How could he break his concentration, especially considering that the people he saw and interrupted for were lowly and profane?

“The answer,” Rav Yehoshua Leib told the man, who was nodding along, concentrating on every word the great gaon was saying, “is that this is the defining way for a Jew to act. This is what Hakadosh Boruch Hu demands from us: Even when you are totally engrossed in a deep sugya, even when you are completely enveloped in an awesome spiritual experience, you must pay attention to what is happening around you and notice if someone requires assistance.”

The Gemara (Yevamos 79a) states that there are three characteristics that define the Jewish people: rachmonim, bayshonim, and gomlei chassodim. We are merciful, we are modest, and we do acts of kindness. It’s not only that we help people in trying situations when they turn to us. The heart and eye of a Jew must always be cognizant of those around him, so that he can be proactive in alleviating their pain.

It is interesting to note that the Torah tells us that Avrohom interrupted a conversation with Hakadosh Boruch Hu to care for the anonymous travelers, yet it tells us nothing about that conversation. Instead, the Torah provides a lengthy description of how he provided for the strangers.

Everything in the Torah is intended to elevate us and to teach us how to conduct ourselves. Apparently, the important part of the story is that we learn from it how to do chesed and care for others.

How would we react in such a situation? If we were engaged in something important and a stranger came to the door collecting, would we respond with the same urgency and sensitivity? Being kind to someone we like or admire is easy. Greatness is measured by how we treat those who are unfamiliar, inconvenient, or even disagreeable. The way we treat a nudnik after a long, hard day reveals our character far more than any spiritual accomplishment.

Anyone can be nice to a likable person. The true test of greatness is how we treat ordinary people who may be different from us and for whom we have no special affinity.

Avrohom treated each visitor as a dignitary, because, to him, every opportunity to perform a mitzvah mattered. This perspective shaped the lives of countless gedolim and gutteh Yidden who followed in his footsteps.

People streamed to the tiny apartment of the Chazon Ish, whose yahrtzeit is this week, seeking his advice and blessings and to discuss matters of Torah and communal welfare. Often, he was in a weakened state and would lie in bed as people spoke to him. Somebody once asked him why he gave so much of his time to listen to and answer so many people. He explained, “If I had money, I would use it to help people. Since I do not, I fulfill the mitzvah of gemillus chassodim in this manner.”

In fact, on the day of his passing, when he was extremely weak, his attendants wanted to lock the door to his apartment to prevent people from entering to speak with him. When he learned of this, the Chazon Ish told them to unlock the door and allow people to enter. “Chesed is what keeps me alive,” he said.

Every person has an obligation to help others in any way he can. If he can’t write a check, he can make a call. If he can’t make a call, he can give advice. And if he can’t give advice, he can at least listen and show empathy. Needs are abundant and there is always a way to make a difference.

A secular Israeli couple became connected to Torah and moved to Bnei Brak to raise their daughter among religious people. Upon their move, they faced a serious problem that many who are not baalei teshuvah are unfortunately familiar with: No school would accept the girl they had sacrificed so much for. Someone brought the issue to Rav Elazar Menachem Man Shach, rosh yeshiva of Ponovezh and leader of Torah Jewry, whose yahrtzeit is also this week, and made him aware of the problem.

As a student of Avrohom Avinu, and as a man whose every step was guided by what the Torah demanded of him in any given situation, Rav Shach phoned the person who headed Chinuch Atzmai, the religious school system in Israel, and asked for his assistance in getting the girl accepted into the local school. The leader told Rav Shach that he was unable to assist him in his mission. He explained that the principal of the school was a very tough woman, and he had a very hard time dealing with her. He was certain that if he reached out to her, it would be a wasted effort.

Rav Shach found the woman’s number and called her himself. When she answered, he said, “Hello, this is Leizer Shach calling. I want to speak to you about a fine girl who belongs in your school.”

How would you react if Rav Shach called you with a request?

Not this woman. She turned him down.

“They are baalei teshuvah,” she said. “I can’t take the girl in. The board of parents who oversee the school will never permit such a thing.”

Despite her arrogance and obstinacy, the gadol hador continued the conversation. “Please give me their names and phone numbers,” he said.

There were a dozen people waiting outside Rav Shach’s room to speak with him. He had many other pressing issues to deal with, but ensuring that a bas Yisroel had a school to attend was a priority.

Setting aside personal considerations and ego to fulfill this mitzvah, he sat at his table and called each parent representative one by one. “Hello, this is Leizer Shach. I am calling to discuss an issue with you…”

He spoke with each parent who was a class representative and resolved the matter. The girl was accepted to the school, and Rav Shach kept tabs on her development.

Rav Shach had never met the girl or her parents, yet he felt that the Torah demanded of him that if he could get the girl into the school, he had an obligation to do so. Without concern for his personal dignity or time, he sat by the phone, lobbying the principal and then the individual school board members on behalf of the girl. Every ben Yisroel and bas Yisroel is entitled to be in a Torah school, and if he could make that happen, he would.

This is demanded not only of a gadol b’Yisroel, but of every person. If we can help others in any way and in any situation, we have an obligation to set aside our personal considerations, ignore our ego or hesitations, and, no matter how uncomfortable it may be, do what we can to help them.

Getting a child accepted into a school in our community can be a most humbling task, and if we can do something about the situation in general, or about a particular family’s circumstance, it is incumbent upon us to do so.

It is beyond the scope of this article, but not too long ago, dedicated mechanchim would go door to door in Jewish communities, pleading with parents to send their children to a religious school. Today, in many communities, bli ayin hara, due to their tireless efforts, Torah has taken root and schools are flourishing—and, consequently, very selective. Yet, what prompted Rav Shach to make all those calls remains true: Every Jewish child is entitled to a seat in a classroom. And as rachmonim bnei rachmonim, we must be there for those children.

The success of Klal Yisroel, and one of the secrets to our endurance through centuries of adversity, is that there have always been—and still are—good people who, in the quiet of the night and the loneliness of righteousness, sacrifice much to do what is right and necessary in every situation. Because of such people, communal schools are built, teachers are paid living wages, and children are afforded a proper chinuch. Because of those who place Olam Haba before Olam Hazeh, there are rabbeim and moros in classrooms across the country and around the world this week teaching our children about Avrohom Avinu, Rav Yehoshua Leib Diskin, Rav Shach, the Chazon Ish, and the countless gedolim and simple good people of every community who have helped individual Yidden and Klal Yisroel flourish.

That is the lesson of this week’s parsha and the reason the Torah records this story for Yidden of all generations to study and learn from. The opportunities for chesed are all around us. We need to learn from Avrohom Avinu’s example and seize them.

Quite often, a mitzvah is performed in anonymity, without fanfare or recognition, and there is little motivation that by doing it, you will be seen as some kind of hero. But we must do it anyway.

Every person experiences difficult times. Often, the hardest part of a nisayon is the loneliness that accompanies the struggle and the pain of feeling utterly alone. The embarrassment and agony of reaching out for help only add to the challenge.

So, while there may be countless hot topics to debate and discuss, the best thing we can do—for ourselves, for others, and for the world—is to tune in to the people around us, to notice and be there for them. It’s not always easy, and it can be draining, but this is what defines us and makes us better people.

We live in a challenge-filled era, the time leading to the arrival of Moshiach. Rav Elozor famously taught (Sanhedrin 98b), “Mah yaaseh adam veyinutzel meichevlo shel Moshiach? Yaasok b’Torah uv’gemillus chassodim.” To be spared from the terrible pangs that precede the coming of Moshiach, one must immerse himself in Torah study and acts of kindness.

There can be no better advice for us in these trying times. Let us follow it. May we all merit to be present at the coming of Moshiach, may it be very soon, in our days.

{Matzav.com}

Newly elected Mayor Zohran Mamdani, the 34-year-old democratic socialist who stormed City Hall on a promise to make New York “affordable for everyone,” is already facing his first — and potentially defining — political confrontation: Albany. Mamdani’s sweeping campaign agenda — city-run grocery stores, universal childcare, and free public buses — hinges on steep new […]

The nation’s airways are on a collision course with chaos. As the federal government shutdown enters its 37th day — the longest in U.S. history — the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has issued an extraordinary order to cut air traffic by 10% at 40 of the country’s busiest airports, citing a worsening crisis of overworked, […]