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The Trump administration says all SNAP recipients will now be required to reapply for benefits following the discovery of widespread fraud.

HAPPENING NOW: The annual “class picture” of Chabad Shluchim is taking place Sunday morning at the annual International Conference of Chabad-Lubavitch Emissaries (Kinus Hashluchim). The photo, taken under the iconic gables of 770 Eastern Parkway, Chabad headquarters in Brooklyn, N.Y., features thousands of black-hatted rabbis and represents not just an annual conference tradition – it […]

A striking sight was witnessed on Motzoei Shabbos at Ben Gurion Airport: the renowned mashpia, Rav Tzvi Meir Zilberberg, was seen wrapped entirely in his tallis, his head lowered in humility, as he departed for the United States on a fundraising mission to complete the construction of his bais medrash in Yerushalayim.

In keeping with his lifelong commitment to kedushah and tzniyus, Rav Zilberberg covered himself in his tallis from the moment he entered the airport terminal until he boarded the plane. His aides, who accompanied him closely, ensured that every detail was arranged in accordance with the highest standards of modesty, shielding him from any improper sights or sounds, including avoiding any encounter with women.

On the aircraft, a special business-class section was reserved entirely for him in advance by his attendants. Every seat surrounding him was purchased to maintain complete privacy and to prevent any immodest exposure. Airline staff were instructed beforehand that only male flight attendants would be permitted to enter his section and attend to his needs.

Throughout the journey, Rav Zilberberg remained enveloped in his tallis, immersed in holiness and focused on his spiritual mission.

The mashpia will remain in the United States through Wednesday as part of a dedicated campaign titled “Kulanu Shutafim” (“We Are All Partners”), aimed at raising funds to complete the construction of his bais medrash in Yerushalayim.

{Matzav.com}

A Chicago federal judge appointed by former President Joe Biden has ruled potentially hundreds of illegal immigrants must be released from federal custody, because the judge determined ICE and Border Patrol under President Donald Trump may have violated a deal struck between the Biden administration and pro-immigrant activists limiting the federal government’s ability to arrest, […]

Yashar party chairman and former defense minister Gadi Eizenkot harshly condemned the violent assault on Shas MK Yoav Ben Tzur, which took place last night outside the Yazdim shul in Yerushalayim following the weekly shiur of the Rishon L’Tzion, Rav Yitzchak Yosef. Dozens of extremists reportedly hurled stones and garbage at Ben Tzur’s car while shouting insults over his involvement in advancing the draft law.

In a statement released Sunday morning, Eizenkot said: “The attack on MK Ben Tzur is a severe expression of the loss of governance and the loss of shame among lawbreakers who are getting encouragement from leaders.”

He called the incident “an event that demands immediate action and the arrest of all the violent draft evaders involved.” Eizenkot added that “this growing phenomenon of detachment from the State of Israel requires a deep, systemic response—beginning with education, enlistment, and citizens’ responsibilities. It must not continue.”

The Shas party also issued a sharp condemnation, saying: “The Shas movement strongly denounces the brutal attack on the vehicle of MK Yoav Ben Tzur, carried out this evening in Jerusalem by a small group of rioters. Acts of violence of this nature, which result in chillul Hashem, are not the way of the Torah and do not represent any God-fearing public.”

According to a police statement, officers from the Lev HaBira station and Border Police units responded quickly to the scene. The rioters had ambushed Ben Tzur near the shul, caused damage to his vehicle, and threw bags of garbage at it. Police evacuated the MK safely, and no injuries were reported.

“The Israel Police views any attempt to harm public officials with the utmost severity and will act decisively to bring all those responsible to justice,” the statement said.

Opposition leader Yair Lapid also condemned the attack, declaring, “I strongly denounce the assault on MK Yoav Ben Tzur. This is not the way of the Torah, and it is not the way of the State of Israel. These violent criminals must be dealt with firmly.”

{Matzav.com}

Hundreds of Iranians gathered Friday at a mosque in northern Tehran to pray for rain as the country faces one of its most extreme droughts in decades — a crisis so severe that officials have warned the capital could face evacuation if winter arrives without significant rainfall. At the Emamzadeh Saleh mosque, men and women […]

Avrohom Avinu’s unwavering insistence on purchasing the Me’aras Hamachpeilah for full price, as described in yesterday’s parsha, Parshas Chayei Sarah, continues to inspire reflection thousands of years later. Now, Israel’s Ministry of Housing has used that very transaction to illustrate lessons relevant to today’s real estate market — touching on property registration, the dangers of pressure buying, and the reality that prices have always seemed to rise.

Avrohom sought to acquire a burial plot for his wife, Sarah Imeinu. Though the Bnei Cheis courteously offered him a choice of their gravesites, they refused to sell him a permanent family plot. When Ephron HaChitti stepped forward and offered both the field and the cave as a gift, Avrohom declined, determined to pay the full value in cash. “I will give the price of the field; take it of me, and I will bury my dead there,” he said.

According to Ariel Rosenberg, head of the Sales Law Department and director of the Homebuyers Protection Division at Israel’s Ministry of Construction and Housing, the “first real estate transaction in Tanach” carries three lessons that remain valid in the modern market:

1. The importance of proper registration — what we’d now call a title deed or tabu.

2. The wisdom of avoiding deals made under emotional pressure.

3. The timeless complaint that property prices only ever go up.

Rosenberg notes that Avrohom paid Ephron 400 shekel kesef — a substantial sum. But how much is that worth in today’s currency? The weight of the silver was about 640 kilograms, though some opinions place it anywhere between 4.5 kilograms and 17 tons. With silver currently priced around $1,250 per kilogram, that amount equals approximately $800,000 — or about 2.6 million shekels. That’s roughly a quarter of a million shekels more than the average price of a home in Israel today.

The structure above the Me’aras Hamachpeilah was built many centuries after Avrohom’s time, yet using its size as a basis for calculation offers perspective. Measuring 34 by 59.16 meters — a total of 2,111.4 square meters — Avrohom effectively paid around 1,231 shekels per square meter, an impressive figure for his era.

By comparison, a recent tender in Kiryat Arba for 156 residential units closed at a price of about 115,000 shekels per apartment — roughly 5% of what Avrohom paid — and that’s without accounting for the inflation of 3,704 years.

Even in the days of our forefather Avrohom, it seems, real estate was no bargain — and the market trend, as always, was only upward.

{Matzav.com}

An overwhelming majority of Americans believe freedom of speech is headed in the wrong direction, according to a new poll. The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), through its National Speech Index, tracks attitudes toward free speech on a quarterly basis. The latest tracking shows that 74% of Americans believe things are headed in […]

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu doubled down Sunday on Israel’s categorical rejection of a Palestinian state and insisted that Hamas must be fully dismantled before any rebuilding of Gaza can begin — even as the Trump administration signals it may abandon key elements of its own post-war plan, throwing U.S.–Israel coordination into crisis. Speaking at the […]

A hateful antisemitic message spray-painted on a Brooklyn sidewalk late Friday has drawn condemnation from New York City officials, including newly elected Mayor Zohran Mamdani, whose victory earlier this month came amid deep concern from Jewish leaders about rising antisemitism across the city. New York City Council member Lincoln Restler, who is Jewish, said he […]

A report released this morning by Israel’s National Insurance Institute paints a troubling picture of hunger and poverty across the country, showing that food insecurity remains widespread — particularly among the chareidi community.

According to the 2024 Food Security Report, 2.78 million Israelis lived with food insecurity last year, including about one million children. The data show that 26.5% of households in Israel faced some level of difficulty obtaining sufficient nutritious food. The situation is especially severe in the Arab community, where 58% of families experience food insecurity, and among chareidi households, where the rate stands at 25%. Nearly 10% of all households nationwide suffer from very low food security.

While the overall percentage of families facing food insecurity fell slightly compared to the previous year — from 30.8% in 2023 to 27.2% in 2024 — experts caution that the problem remains severe and widespread. The report’s authors urge the government to increase welfare payments and direct aid to struggling families, noting that rising healthcare expenses and the burden on the welfare system continue to grow.

The findings also highlight a strong connection between income and access to food. Among households in the lowest income bracket, almost half (47.6%) suffer from food insecurity, compared to only 9.5% among those in the highest bracket.

Food insecurity is particularly common in large families, with 30.3% of households with six or more members affected. It is also prevalent among single-person households (29.1%) and two-person households (26.8%).

Beyond the immediate human toll, the report warns of long-term financial consequences. Poor nutrition leads to higher healthcare costs, contributing millions of shekels annually to expenses tied to obesity and chronic diseases.

Acting Director-General of the National Insurance Institute, Tzvika Cohen, said the findings should serve as a wake-up call: “Israeli society must strive and work decisively to significantly reduce food insecurity among children and the elderly. A moral society cannot allow such inequality, reflected in the growing inability of families to access healthy food. We must do everything possible to improve this situation. This report provides policymakers with a clear picture so they can take action to strengthen food security for all residents of Israel.”

{Matzav.com}

Reports from Washington indicate rising tension between Israel and the White House over a potential sale of American F-35 stealth jets to Saudi Arabia. Israel has privately warned that approving such a deal could erode its military advantage and compromise sensitive technology.

According to Kan News, outgoing Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer traveled to Washington last week, where he met with senior Trump administration officials and relayed Israel’s objections. During those talks, Dermer emphasized the dangers of transferring such advanced aircraft to a country that maintains close ties with Russia and China, both seen as potential security risks to Israel and the West.

Dermer reportedly made it clear that Israel fears such a sale could lead to the leak of sensitive security information to Russia and China, Saudi Arabia’s strategic partners, and could also undermine Israel’s qualitative aerial edge in the Middle East—a cornerstone of the country’s national security and regional deterrence.

Saudi Arabia has put forward a request to purchase 48 F-35 fighter jets from the United States, but Israeli officials say the proposal is still at an early stage. They are waiting to see the outcome of next week’s planned meeting between President Donald Trump and Saudi Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman, which could determine whether the deal moves ahead.

President Trump addressed the matter over the weekend, acknowledging that the request is on the table and suggesting that a decision may come soon. “They want to buy a lot of planes,” Trump said, adding that he hopes Saudi Arabia will join the Abraham Accords.

For Israel, however, the implications go far beyond a single transaction. Officials warn that allowing another regional power access to the same aircraft used by the Israeli Air Force would erode its long-standing qualitative edge—one guaranteed by decades of U.S. policy. The coming days, as Trump and bin Salman meet, are expected to be crucial in determining whether that balance will remain intact or shift dramatically across the Middle East.

{Matzav.com}

Quietly tucked inside Republicans’ funding deal to end the government shutdown is a provision wiping the congressional Pay-As-You-Go (PAYGO) scorecard, effectively forgiving nearly $3.4 trillion in deficits. When Republicans passed their budget reconciliation bill in July, which included a permanent extension of the 2017 tax cuts, they broke precedent by operating under current policy baseline. […]

Today is the eleventh anniversary of the massacre in Har Nof, in which five of the neighborhood’s residents were killed.

Eleven years ago, in the middle of Shacharis on the morning of the 25th of Cheshvon, two terrorists armed with guns, an ax and a butcher’s knife entered Kehillas Bnei Torah in Har Nof and began to attack the mispallelim. Rav Moshe Twersky, Rav Aryeh Kupinsky, Rav Kalman Zev Levine, Rabbi Avraham Shmuel Goldberg, and Rabbi Yechiel Chaim Rotman were killed.

Hashem yikom domom.

{Matzav.com Israel}

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R’ Boruch Sholom Kahan z”l, a distinguished Chabad chossid known for his lifelong devotion to Torah and avodah, was niftar at the age of 91.

Born in Kharkov in 5694, he grew up in a home steeped in mesirus nefesh. His family’s unwavering faith under Soviet oppression shaped his character from the youngest age. When he was just two, they settled in Tel Aviv, where he was among the early students of the pioneering Chabad schools that were emerging at the time. There, he absorbed the chassidishe warmth and fiery inspiration of mashpi’im such as Reb Chaim Shaul Brook, Reb Shlomo Chaim Kesselman, and Reb Zalman Moshe Hayitzchaki.

A first cousin of Rav Yoel Kahn, the renowned choizer, R’ Boruch Sholom shared with him the same deep commitment to preserving and transmitting Chassidus. That dedication would define his life’s mission.

In 5717, braving the harsh winter seas, he undertook a difficult voyage to America to meet the Rebbe. That journey marked the start of a lifelong bond — filled with yechidusen, personal guidance, and profound exposure to the Rebbe’s formative years of leadership.

Gifted with a mastery of the typewriter he had learned as a young bochur, R’ Boruch Sholom became instrumental in preparing the weekly edited sichos that formed the foundation of Likkutei Sichos. His precise transcriptions captured the Rebbe’s words with clarity and faithfulness, preserving them for generations to come.

He also safeguarded rare reshimos of the Frierdiker Rebbe and created transcripts and recordings that remain invaluable today. His discreet recording of Purim 5718 preserved the opening hours of that farbrengen—material that, remarkably, the Rebbe later requested to hear.

In 5720, he relocated to New Haven, Connecticut, to serve as a shochet. Years later, in 5736, he joined the plastic factory of Reb Dovid Deitsch, where he worked with diligence and integrity. Throughout those years, his passion for mivtzoim never waned.

R’ Boruch Sholom became one of the earliest pioneers of mitzvah tanks outside New York, spreading Yiddishkeit with energy and joy. His work on college campuses, particularly at Yale University, left an enduring impact—bringing Jewish identity and pride to countless students, many of whom eventually returned to a life of Torah and mitzvos.

He is survived by his devoted wife, Devorah, and their daughter, Mrs. Sara Dubov of Wimbledon, England, along with grandchildren who continue his legacy of light and dedication.

Yehi zichro boruch.

{Matzav.com}

A stroke of Hashgocha in Georgia has turned one ticket holder into a multimillionaire overnight. The Georgia Lottery confirmed that a single ticket sold in the state matched every number in Friday night’s Mega Millions drawing, claiming an eye-popping estimated $980 million prize — the eighth largest jackpot since the game began.

The winning numbers drawn on November 14 were 1, 8, 11, 12, and 57, along with the gold Mega Ball 7. “After growing since the end of June, the Mega Millions jackpot was won for just the fifth time this year on Friday night. A single ticket sold in Georgia matched all six numbers in the November 14 drawing – the white balls 1, 8, 11, 12 and 57, plus the gold Mega Ball 7 – to win the estimated $980 million prize ($452.2 million cash),” the lottery said.

This remarkable win breaks records for the month. “It’s by far the largest prize ever won in the month of November, and the eighth largest jackpot in the history of the game,” officials announced. They added that “in the 40 drawings since the jackpot was last won at $348 million in Virginia on June 27 — the most drawings in a single jackpot run in the game’s history — there were almost 14.3 million winning tickets at all prize levels.”

The last Mega Millions windfall of a similar magnitude occurred nearly a year ago, in December 2024, when a California participant claimed an even larger $1.269 billion payout. Despite the new Georgia win, the all-time record still belongs to Florida’s August 2023 jackpot of $1.602 billion.

In addition to the grand prize, plenty of others cashed in as well. “With the new greatly-enhanced prize values, total non-jackpot prizes won were nearly $343.4 million,” the lottery said, noting that “these include 21 second-tier prizes of $2 million or more (won in Arizona, California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Texas and Virginia).”

The massive prize was fueled by a structural change to the game earlier this year. In April, Mega Millions raised the ticket price from $2 to $5, a move that lottery officials said would allow jackpots to “grow more rapidly” and increase the starting prize from $20 million to $50 million. The result was the quickest jackpot escalation in years.

Joshua Johnston, lead director for the Mega Millions Consortium, said this win highlights the impact of the new system. “$980 million is the largest jackpot that’s been won since the Mega Millions game changed back in April,” Johnston stated.

{Matzav.com}

Governor Kathy Hochul is considering increasing New York’s corporate tax rate to help bankroll Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s sweeping socialist platform, according to new reports. The proposal, still in its early stages, would represent a major policy shift for the governor, who has long promised not to target the state’s wealthiest residents with new taxes.

Politico reported that Hochul has begun discussing the possibility of generating new revenue by raising corporate taxes, a move that could help close New York’s looming $4 billion budget deficit for next year. Bloomberg added that the measure could also fund some of Mamdani’s ambitious citywide initiatives once he takes office.

The two Democrats met Thursday to discuss shared policy priorities, including their goal of establishing universal childcare across the state. The meeting underscored Hochul’s willingness to engage with Mamdani’s progressive agenda, despite her previous resistance to tax hikes demanded by the party’s far-left wing.

If implemented, the proposal would mark a notable break from Hochul’s repeated assurances that she would not raise taxes. “The last thing on my mind” is increasing taxes, her budget director Blake Washington said earlier this week, asserting that “New York was in a good spot financially.” However, with federal aid expected to decline in the coming years, the state faces growing pressure to find new sources of income.

Mamdani has made no secret of his intention to raise the corporate tax rate from 7.5% to 11.5%, aligning it with New Jersey’s rate — currently the highest in the nation, according to the Tax Foundation. Critics warn that such a move would effectively push New York City’s overall business tax burden even higher, since companies already pay multiple local levies.

The mayor-elect insists the tax increase is essential to support his $10 billion package of campaign promises, including free public buses, universal childcare, and the creation of a new Department of Community Safety. Supporters frame the plan as a bold step toward social equity; opponents call it reckless and economically destructive.

Republicans wasted no time pouncing on the reports. Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman blasted the idea, saying, “Kathy Hochul’s failed policies have already pushed businesses and residents out of New York for years. With Zohran Mamdani now steering the direction of this one-party controlled state, it’s clear the Governor is prepared to raise taxes even higher — forcing New York businesses to pay far more than competitors in states like Florida, New Jersey, and Texas.”

Congresswoman Elise Stefanik echoed that sentiment on social media, accusing Hochul of caving to the far left. “[Hochul] will bend the knee to the Socialists who will extract another tax hike out of her,” she wrote, adding that the governor is “weak, inept, and destroying New York’s economy.”

Political strategists expect such attacks to intensify as Hochul heads toward what could be a bruising 2026 re-election campaign. Her public support for Mamdani, a self-proclaimed socialist, has already drawn fire from moderates and conservatives alike.

Meanwhile, both the state and city are staring down significant financial challenges. New York City alone faces a shortfall exceeding $5 billion in the next fiscal year, compounding the difficulties Mamdani will face in implementing his costly proposals. Business groups warn that new taxes could accelerate the exodus of employers and investors already fleeing to lower-tax states.

{Matzav.com}