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EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said Tuesday that the Trump administration is launching a major initiative to combat PFAS contamination in drinking water, including a $1 billion effort aimed at helping communities remove the chemicals from public water systems.

Speaking on Newsmax’s “Carl Higbie FRONTLINE,” Zeldin said addressing PFAS contamination remains a top priority for President Donald Trump and senior administration officials.

“This is something that is an important priority for President Trump, the Trump administration, for the MAHA commission, including [HHS] Secretary [Robert F.] Kennedy [Jr.], our chairman,” Zeldin said on “Carl Higbie FRONTLINE.”

Zeldin noted that the administration’s focus on PFAS began during Trump’s first term and is now continuing under the current administration.

“This started in a big way during the first Trump administration and is now continuing here through this latest Trump administration.”

He said the administration wants to avoid placing the financial burden for PFAS cleanup directly onto ordinary consumers through higher water bills.

“What we don’t want to have happen is a water system responsible for picking up the cost to remove PFAS from the water system, and they pass it off to the ratepayers so that people then are on the hook for cleaning up contamination of their own water supply,” Zeldin added.

“That is not the right approach to this.”

Zeldin also emphasized that the EPA is working to maintain legally sustainable standards governing PFAS contamination while complying with federal law.

“We are making sure that we have standards that are on the books with regard to PFOA and PFOS and also making decisions that are legally durable following the law, specifically the Safe Drinking Water Act,” Zeldin continued.

“All of these and more add up to a very robust, comprehensive PFAS-fighting strategy,” he said.

Under one proposed EPA rule, public water systems would still be required to comply with federal limits on PFOA and PFOS contamination, though qualifying systems could seek an extension giving them until 2031 to meet the standards.

Water systems that do not apply for extensions would still be required to comply by the previously established 2029 deadline.

According to the EPA, the proposed extension period would provide utilities additional time to complete water testing, engineering analysis, financing arrangements, and construction projects needed to implement PFAS treatment technology. Officials also said the additional time may allow treatment methods to improve and become less expensive.

The agency further announced plans to reevaluate drinking water regulations involving additional PFAS-related substances, including PFHxS, PFNA, GenX chemicals, and broader hazard index standards tied to PFAS contamination.

{Matzav.com}

[COMMUNICATED]

HealthSharing began gaining popularity as a way to alleviate the strain of these exorbitant costs. Since the late 1900s, other religious factions have used HealthShares to combat healthcare expenses and to create a medical system in-line with their beliefs. 

The results were enticing:

      – significantly lower healthcare expenses        
      – choice of providers without “out-of-network” limitations
      – no fighting with insurance companies and their bureaucracy 

Slowly, members of our community started joining other religious HealthShares, reaping the benefits they had to offer. 

But there was one catch. 

By definition, HealthShare means a group of people coming together under shared religious beliefs to share in each other’s medical expenses. Shared beliefs are a necessary government regulation for legally recognized HealthShares – and something all members must sign in agreement on. 

The questions emerged. 

Are there halachic ramifications for frum individuals and families joining a Christian-based HealthShare? 

What if there are no alternatives for the frum community? 

United Refuah HealthShare, the first and only Jewish HealthShare, was founded in 2017 by Rabbi Boruch Chaim Manies and other prominent members of the Cleveland community.

There was one goal: to bring affordable healthcare to the frum community – without the questionable halachic and hashkafic participation in non-Jewish HealthShares. 

It has since exploded, saving members an estimated $180 million to date. 

Find out if United Refuah is the right fit for you and your family. 

Limited time offer! Switch from another HealthShare and get your 3rd month of membership free*! Promo Code: Shavuos-Matzav

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[Video below.] Vice President JD Vance sharply rebuked a reporter during Tuesday’s White House press briefing after accusing him of delivering a politically charged monologue instead of asking a straightforward question.

The tense exchange began when Andrew Feinberg of The Independent spent roughly 90 seconds posing a lengthy question alleging that President Donald Trump “seems to be talking up stocks that he owns, selling them, and enriching himself.”

As Feinberg continued his extended setup, Vance interrupted at one point and remarked that it was a “hell of a question.”

When Feinberg finally concluded, Vance immediately criticized the framing of the question.

“Let me answer your question here. That was a doozy,” Vance said. “Before I answer your question, I want to just observe there are different ways to ask a question, okay.”

Vance then accused the reporter of embedding accusations and political commentary into the question itself.

“You can just ask a question, try to get your answer, or you could do like a speech where you say, ‘You know Mr. Vice President… you know you’re a terrible human being and so is the president and so is the entire cabinet,’ and then I’m like ‘What’s your question,’ and then your question is ‘How dare you.’ Come on, man, have a little bit of objectivity in the way that you ask these questions because there were a lot of things in that speech masquerading as a question that didn’t actually get asked,” Vance added.

After criticizing the question, Vance proceeded to respond directly to the substance of Feinberg’s claims.

“Number one, the president doesn’t sit at the Oval Office on his computer on his, like, Robin Hood account, buying and selling stocks, that’s absurd. He has independent wealth advisers who manage his money. He is a wealthy person. He has had success in business,” he said. “He’s not making these stock trades himself, and your question imputes that… It doesn’t say it exactly, but a reasonable person listening to that question would assume the president is sitting around and doing that; he’s not.”

Vance also addressed congressional stock trading and said both he and Trump support banning lawmakers from trading individual stocks while in office.

“Second of all, you’re right, I’m a big fan of banning members of Congress from trading stocks, so is the president of the United States,” he added. “All of us believe that nobody should be taking proprietary information gained from public service and buying and selling stocks… We want to ban that process. And I think the way to lead by example is banning that process, banning that approach, and making it illegal, which is exactly what the president has proposed doing.”

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New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said at a Jewish American Heritage Month reception at Gracie Mansion, which leading Jewish leaders boycotted, that he planned to add $26 million in funding to prevent hate crimes to his proposed budget for the 2027 fiscal year.
Few Jewish government officials or nonprofit leaders attended the reception, which came on the heels of a video that the mayor posted shortly before Shabbos began marking “Nakba” day, which Palestinians say marks the “catastrophe” of the founding of the modern Israeli state.

The mayor’s annual event is usually full of crowds of elected and organizational representatives shmoozing and networking. This year, every major Jewish organization in the city, from the Anti-Defamation League to the Jewish Community Relations Council-N.Y. to the UJA-Federation of New York, declined to attend the reception, which doubled as a dairy-filled gathering ahead of Shavuos.

The mayor, who has said that he would have the Israeli prime minister arrested in New York City and whose spokeswoman said that shuls violate international law if they host pro-Israel events, said at the reception that Jews, who comprise about 12% of city residents, are victims of more than 50% of the hate crimes in the Big Apple.

Hate crimes targeting Jews were up 182% in the city in Mamdani’s first month in office. Since then, the New York City Police Department has twice changed the way that it reports hate crimes and has said that such crimes are dropping. The NYPD and the mayor’s office have denied that Mamdani directed the police to change the way it reports such statistics.

Prior to the event, the UJA-Federation of New York said its leaders would not “be attending the Jewish Heritage Month celebration at Gracie Mansion being hosted by a mayor who denies a core pillar of our heritage—the State of Israel as the homeland of the Jewish people.”

Among those noshing on blintzes and mini-cheesecakes with the mayor this year were representatives of the anti-Zionist groups Jewish Voice for Peace and Jews for Racial and Economic Justice, as well as the liberal group New York New Jewish Agenda, which says that it supports “a democratic vision of Israel.”

Satmar’s Rabbi Moshe Dovid Niederman and Rabbi Moishe Indig, also of Satmar in Williamsburg, were both among the 150 attendees.

The few Jewish elected officials in attendance were former city comptroller Brad Lander, who is now running for Congress and who features Mamdani in his campaign, and two New York City Council members: Lincoln Restler, who represents downtown Brooklyn and Brooklyn Heights, and Harvey Epstein, who represents Greenwich Village and the Lower East Side.

Irwin Kula, president emeritus of CLAL: The National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership, gave the evening’s invocation.

“When the Torah was given at Sinai, the rabbis insist not just the generation of the desert, but every generation across all of time stood at that mountain,” Kula said. “Every age. Every class. Every persuasion. In other words, the tradition insists—even those who would one day deeply disagree with one another, who would one day be almost impossible to reach across the divide to, who would wound each other—all stood together at Sinai.”

“So we are all, even now, standing at Sinai. Together. Receiving the same revelation,” he said at the invocation. “Hearing it differently.”

Mark Treyger, CEO of the Jewish Community Relations Council-N.Y., which hosts the Israel parade in Manhattan, in which Mamdani, breaking with decades of mayoral tradition, has said he will not march, did not attend the Gracie Mansion reception. He told the New York Post prior to the event that “it’s a really telling and concerning sign of where things stand in New York City right now.”

Kula told JNS after the reception that he found it to be “filled with hope.”

“One of the striking things was the very different cross-section of Jews who were in the room—liberal-progressive folks rather than mainstream, legacy institutional leadership,” he said.

Kula also told JNS that he found it “ironic, sad and illuminating” that most of New York City’s Jewish leaders boycotted the event. That, he said, “highlights the ongoing collapse of the mainstream, liberal Zionist consensus around which legacy leadership and institutions organized for the past 50 years.”

He closed his invocation with a blessing for the mayor.

“May you be given the continued strength, the emotional depth and the wisdom to hold the complexity of this city, to parse and nuance, with care and precision, the meanings of Zionism, of antisemitism and the inextricable connection of Jewish identity and Palestinian dignity, in ways that open new possibilities of solidarity among all New Yorkers who believe in the infinite value of every human being,” he said. JNS

{Matzav.com}

Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin sharply criticized Israel on Tuesday following the interception of a Gaza-bound flotilla, calling the operation “absolutely unacceptable” and pledging to raise the matter before the European Union.

Martin condemned Israel’s actions after Israeli naval forces stopped a convoy of 57 vessels that had departed from Turkey carrying hundreds of anti-Israel activists attempting to challenge the naval blockade surrounding Gaza.

“In the first instance, what happened is absolutely unacceptable and is wrong,” Martin declared, as quoted by the BBC, adding that Ireland intends to elevate the dispute to the “European Union level.”

Irish Deputy Prime Minister Simon Harris delivered even stronger criticism, accusing Israel of violating international maritime law during the operation.

“My heart goes out to President Connolly and her family, and indeed all of the families of those detained,” Harris stated. “What Israel has done is, in my view, illegal.”

Harris argued that the arrests violated international law and claimed Israel continues to ignore criticism from world leaders.

“unfortunately Israel seems to ignore the condemnation of the international world,” Harris said. “That’s why I think it’s important that we look at the actions that can be taken.”

Among those detained aboard the flotilla was the sister of Irish President Catherine Connolly. The president said Monday that she was “very proud” of her sister’s participation in the mission.

The flotilla had set sail from Marmaris, Turkey, and consisted of dozens of vessels carrying activists seeking to breach Israel’s blockade of Gaza.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry announced Tuesday evening that the Israeli Navy had completed the interception operation and taken all activists aboard into custody.

“Another PR flotilla has come to an end. All 430 activists have been transferred to Israeli vessels and are making their way to Israel, where they will be able to meet with their consular representatives,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Israeli officials dismissed the convoy as a propaganda effort designed to benefit Hamas.

“This flotilla has once again proved to be nothing more than a PR stunt at the service of Hamas,” the statement added.

Israel also reaffirmed that it intends to continue enforcing the maritime blockade around Gaza.

“Israel will continue to act in full accordance with international law and will not permit any breach of the lawful naval blockade on Gaza,” the statement stressed.

{Matzav.com}

Authorities investigating the deadly shooting attack at a San Diego mosque are examining a disturbing manifesto believed to have been written by the two teenage gunmen before the massacre, according to law enforcement sources.

Investigators are working to determine whether the 75-page document was authored by 17-year-old Cain Clark and 19-year-old Caleb Vasquez prior to the attack that left three people dead before the two suspects turned the guns on themselves.

According to sources familiar with the investigation, the document contains extremist ideology, racial hatred, and repeated calls for societal collapse and violence.

The manifesto reportedly includes Nazi imagery and symbols identical to those seen on Clark during a livestream of the attack, including references to the Black Sun symbol associated with Heinrich Himmler and Atomwaffen, a violent neo-Nazi organization.

Officials described the writings as a chaotic mixture of antisemitic, anti-liberal, anti-Trump, homophobic, and misogynistic rhetoric, driven largely by anger and resentment over the authors’ personal grievances and frustrations.

Law enforcement sources said investigators possess a copy of the manifesto and currently believe it is authentic.

Jennifer Du, who lives across the street from Clark’s Southern California home, said she encountered the teen one day before the shooting.

“It’s been unreal. I saw him literally the day before. He just stood there,” Du, 30, told The California Post.

“I didn’t know if he was watching me or something, but he just got food delivery and went back in.”

Another neighbor, identified only as Marne, said Clark’s family appeared ordinary and recalled frequently seeing the teenager practicing martial arts.

“As far as we knew he was very nice. They were a nice family,” said the neighbor, Marne, 85, who declined to provide her last name.

“We were just flabbergasted,” she added of finding out about the attack. “We thought, ‘Oh my god,’ we couldn’t believe it. Just flabbergasted.”

One section of the document, believed to have been written by Clark, reportedly rejected both left-wing and right-wing politics while expressing hatred toward both sides.

Investigators said Clark allegedly wrote that he identified ideologically with Adolf Hitler and cited notorious mass murderers including Ted Kaczynski, Timothy McVeigh, and Anders Breivik as inspirations.

The document also reportedly praised the gunman responsible for the 2019 Christchurch mosque massacre in New Zealand, referring to him as “Saint Terrant” and describing that attack as a model for livestreaming mass violence intended to inspire copycat attacks.

Authorities said the writings contained racist and hateful attacks directed at numerous groups, including Muslims and Jews, while describing the authors as “accelerationists” seeking to ignite an “all-out race war” that would lead to societal collapse.

In another portion believed to have been written by Vasquez, he allegedly expressed anguish and humiliation over his height.

Investigators said Clark also wrote that he felt no remorse over the planned attack and indicated that, if he survived, attorneys would deal with the aftermath.

The manifesto further reportedly stated that the shooting was not motivated by a desire for fame, but rather by hatred toward the victims and other cultures, while also indicating that Clark never expected to survive the assault.

Online accounts linked to Clark allegedly featured Nazi slogans as well as images of Adolf Hitler and German military formations from World War II.

Police said Clark and Vasquez killed three people during Monday’s attack, including mosque security guard and father of eight Amin Abdullah, whom authorities credited with helping prevent an even larger loss of life. An online fundraiser established for Abdullah’s family raised nearly $2 million within its first day.

The other two victims were identified as mosque members Nader Awad and Mansoor Kazziha.

Investigators also said at least one of the suspects allegedly took a firearm from his parents’ residence and left behind a suicide note referencing racial pride.

According to authorities, the livestream footage appears to show Clark fatally shooting Vasquez before turning the weapon on himself.

The FBI and local law enforcement agencies continue to investigate the massacre and are expected to carry out additional search warrants in the coming days.

{Matzav.com}

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A terrible tragedy struck the Los Angeles frum community on Tuesday when a 4-year-old girl was niftar after being unintentionally left for hours inside a hot vehicle following her morning ride to school in Valley Village, California.

According to sources, the young child was picked up in the morning as part of a carpool headed to Yeshiva K’tana of Los Angeles. For reasons that remain unclear, the girl never left the vehicle upon arriving at the school.

Authorities believe the driver, seemingly unaware that the child was still seated inside, parked the vehicle and left, not realizing the little girl remained trapped in the intense heat for hours.

The devastating discovery was made later in the day when the child’s mother arrived at the school expecting to pick up her daughter, only to be told that the girl had never entered the school building that morning.

Panic immediately spread as the horrifying realization set in, and emergency responders rushed to the scene in a desperate effort to save the child. Despite their efforts, the girl could not be revived.

The tragedy has sent shockwaves throughout the Jewish community, leaving families and neighbors shattered by the unimaginable loss.

Israeli officials currently expect Ben Gurion Airport to remain operational even if fighting with Iran resumes, marking a significant shift from previous rounds of conflict in which Israeli airspace was shut down immediately after hostilities began.

According to a report by Channel 14, the assessment is based on what Israeli officials describe as a dramatic decline in Iran’s missile-launch capabilities following earlier military operations.

During Operation Am K’Lavi, Iran reportedly opened the conflict with barrages of roughly 100 missiles. In the later Operation Shaagas HaAri, the opening salvos had already declined to only several dozen missiles.

Now, Israeli security assessments reportedly indicate that Iran is no longer capable of launching large-scale barrages and could likely fire only limited volleys consisting of several missiles at a time — perhaps 10 to 15 at most.

As a result, current planning calls for Ben Gurion Airport to continue functioning even during renewed hostilities, although officials stressed that the policy could be reevaluated continuously depending on developments on the ground.

Under the current outlook, Israeli airlines are expected to continue operating flights, though many foreign carriers that recently resumed service to Israel would likely suspend operations again if conflict breaks out.

{Matzav.com}

Deep concern continues to spread among the talmidim and admirers of the tzaddik of Tiveriah, Rav Dov Kook, whose condition reportedly worsened suddenly on Tuesday morning after several days of cautious optimism.

Rav Dov Kook has been hospitalized in serious condition at Poriya Medical Center in Teveria since the end of last week and remains in need of rachamei Shamayim.

Family members and close associates had expressed guarded hope earlier this week after a slight improvement was recorded in the rav’s condition, including a successful attempt by doctors to reduce the level of sedation.

However, talmidim were informed Tuesday that Rav Dov’s condition had suddenly deteriorated, forcing the medical staff to return him to full sedation in an effort to stabilize him.

Shas chairman Aryeh Deri visited the hospital Tuesday to fulfill the mitzvah of bikur cholim. During the visit, he met with the rav’s sons, Rav Shmuel and Rav Yisroel Meir Kook, as well as hospital director Prof. Noam Yehudai, ICU director Dr. Moshe Matan, MK Uriel Busso, Deputy Mayor Yossi Oknin, and city council member Yosef Chaim Bernes.

The visit came one day after Rav Yitzchok Zilberstein, father-in-law of Rav Dov Kook, broke down in tears at the conclusion of his shiur while pleading for tefillos on behalf of his son-in-law.

Rav Zilberstein emotionally declared, “He is a person that the generation stands upon.”

Rav Moshe Chaim Schneider, a close talmid of Rav Dov Kook and chairman of the Sifsei Kohen Institute, which disseminates the rav’s Torah teachings, issued a heartfelt call urging the tzibbur to intensify tefillos ahead of Shavuos.

“We are now approaching Shavuos, an especially auspicious time, when all of Klal Yisroel was healed at Har Sinai,” Rav Schneider said. “Precisely now, we must unite כאיש אחד בלב אחד for the recovery of our rebbe, who dedicated his entire life for the benefit of the tzibbur, worked tirelessly on behalf of the sick, and whose pure tefillos stood by countless Yidden in their times of distress.”

He continued, “The zechus of our rebbe, who serves as a support for thousands and through whose brachos countless people have experienced yeshuos, should stand for all of us. We beg the tzibbur: tear open the gates of Heaven and arouse abundant Heavenly mercy for the complete recovery of our master and rebbe.”

All are asked to daven for the complete recovery of Rav Dov ben Shoshana.

A massive atzeres tefillah is scheduled to take place Wednesday evening, ערב חג השבועות, at 6:00 p.m. on the soccer field facing Rav Dov Kook’s home in Teveria.

{Matzav.com}

Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu is facing growing criticism within his own party over efforts to appoint his longtime personal attorney, Michael Ravilo, as Israel’s next state comptroller, with senior Likud figures warning the move could politically backfire just months before elections.

According to a report by Channel 12 News, several coalition members had sought to advance the candidacy of Supreme Court Justice Yosef Elron, who in the past challenged Supreme Court President Yitzchak Amit. However, sources inside Likud claimed Netanyahu’s office applied heavy pressure surrounding the appointment process, leaving Elron without enough political backing.

The controversy has now drawn in opposition lawmakers as well. Although opposition parties reportedly had no initial intention of supporting Elron, they ultimately decided he was a suitable candidate for the position.

Senior Likud officials sharply criticized Netanyahu’s push for Ravilo, arguing that appointing the prime minister’s former personal lawyer to oversee state accountability would create serious public backlash.

“The insane pressure coming from Netanyahu’s office surrounding the appointment of attorney Ravilo as state comptroller is a strategic mistake that will come back to hit us like a boomerang,” a senior Likud official said. “It is not appropriate for someone who served as the prime minister’s personal attorney to be the person overseeing him. This is a secret-ballot vote, and this whole situation could blow up in our faces.”

The official added even harsher criticism, warning that the political damage could hurt Likud at the ballot box.

“Just months before elections, Netanyahu is doing everything possible to push voters away from Likud,” the official said.

Chinese President Xi Jinping reportedly told President Donald Trump during recent talks in Beijing that Russian President Vladimir Putin may eventually view the war in Ukraine as a major strategic error.

The discussion, first revealed by the Financial Times, took place during extensive meetings between Trump and Xi last week that focused on the war in Ukraine, tensions involving the International Criminal Court, and the broader geopolitical rivalry involving the United States, Russia, and China.

According to the report, Xi conveyed to Trump that Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine could ultimately become a costly miscalculation for the Kremlin.

The reported remarks drew attention because Xi has largely refrained from publicly criticizing Putin or signaling distance from Moscow throughout the war.

Putin is expected to travel to China later this week for meetings with Xi, highlighting the ongoing importance of the “no-limits” alliance announced by Beijing and Moscow shortly before Russia invaded Ukraine more than four years ago.

Neither the White House nor Chinese officials publicly addressed the report. The White House declined comment, while the Chinese Embassy in Washington did not respond to inquiries.

The Financial Times further reported that Trump proposed closer coordination between the United States, China, and Russia in opposition to the International Criminal Court, an institution that conservatives and many Trump allies have accused of overstepping its authority and undermining national sovereignty.

Officials in the Trump administration have repeatedly criticized the ICC for what they describe as politically motivated actions and judicial activism, particularly in cases involving American allies and U.S. personnel.

Xi’s comments reportedly came as Ukraine escalated its campaign of long-range drone attacks deep inside Russian territory, exposing weaknesses in Russia’s defensive systems and adding new economic strain on Moscow.

In recent months, Ukraine has increasingly relied on sophisticated drone operations and precision strikes aimed at Russian oil facilities, fuel storage sites, and military-industrial infrastructure.

Military analysts cited by The Economist said the conflict may be approaching an “inflection point,” noting that Russia has recently suffered net territorial setbacks after months of gradual advances.

Politico reported that Ukraine launched more than 1,300 drones over the weekend in one of the war’s largest coordinated strike campaigns, targeting sites near Moscow and causing major disruptions to civilian air travel across Russia.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the strikes showed that Russia is no longer capable of fully protecting its capital from retaliation.

The expanding reach of Ukraine’s drone warfare program has also heightened fears within Russia about economic instability and rising military losses.

Russia’s economy shrank during the first quarter of 2026, while revenues from energy exports — a crucial source of financing for the war effort — have reportedly dropped significantly.

Some defense analysts now believe Putin could face growing internal pressure as the war continues without a decisive victory.

Although the Kremlin has attempted to minimize the impact of the Ukrainian attacks, even several pro-Russian commentators have acknowledged that Moscow’s air defense systems are facing increasing pressure.

{Matzav.com}

In a rare and historic meeting Tuesday night in Yerushalayim, Slabodka Rosh Yeshiva Rav Moshe Hillel Hirsch paid a special visit to the home of the Belzer Rebbe, marking the first public visit of its kind between the two gedolei Torah.

Rav Hirsch had arrived in Yerushalayim for a special chizuk visit ahead of Zeman Matan Toraseinu, visiting various Torah centers throughout the city. Late Tuesday night, the Rosh Yeshiva traveled to the Belzer Rebbe’s residence for what sources described as an extraordinary and elevated meeting between two of the leading figures of Yahadus HaChareidis.

Sources told Matzav.com that although the relationship between the Belzer Rebbe and Rav Hirsch has been close and ongoing for years, particularly since the Rosh Yeshiva assumed a central leadership role in the Litvishe world, their communication until now had largely taken place quietly through trusted intermediaries and private telephone conversations. This was the first publicized visit by the Rosh Yeshiva to the Rebbe’s home.

Over the past two years, the connection between the Belzer Rebbe and Rav Hirsch has frequently played a significant role behind the scenes regarding major issues affecting the Torah world and the broader chareidi public. On Tuesday night, however, the two gedolim sat together privately for an extended face-to-face discussion.

The uplifting conversation lasted approximately twenty minutes. Much of the discussion centered around the special segulah of the Shloshes Yemei Hagbalah, the days of preparation leading into Kabolas HaTorah on Shavuos.

The Belzer Rebbe reportedly expressed great interest in Rav Hirsch’s worldwide travels on behalf of strengthening Torah and supporting lomdei Torah across the golah. The Rebbe warmly thanked him on behalf of Klal Yisroel for his tireless efforts to bolster the Torah world.

During the conversation, the Rosh Yeshiva shared an emotional historical detail with the Rebbe, recounting that his grandfather had been a devoted Belzer chossid who regularly traveled to the Belzer Rebbes in Galicia. Rav Hirsch added that his grandfather was also named Rav Moshe Hillel Hirsch, and that he himself was named after him.

The Belzer Rebbe also spoke at length with the Rosh Yeshiva about his early years learning under his revered rebbi, Rav Aharon Kotler zt”l, at the Lakewood yeshiva. The two gedolim additionally discussed the longstanding phenomenon in America of baalei batim and businessmen who dedicate themselves seriously to Torah learning and establish fixed daily sedorim despite their demanding work schedules.

Rav Hirsch described to the Rebbe the remarkable growth of Torah learning he has witnessed during his travels among Jewish communities throughout the world. He also elaborated on a major initiative he recently launched in Eretz Yisroel aimed at instilling greater cheishek haTorah and ameilus baTorah among working baalei batim, bringing an atmosphere of serious Torah learning into the lives of those engaged in parnassah.

Toward the conclusion of the meeting, the two discussed pressing issues currently facing the chareidi community. The gedolim reportedly spoke at length about the overall matzav of Yahadus HaChareidis in Eretz Yisroel and stressed that in these challenging times, Chassidim and Litvaks must remain united together “k’ish echad b’lev echad” in order to stand strong against the various decrees and threats facing the Torah world and faithful Judaism.

Before departing, Rav Hirsch offered heartfelt brachos to the Rebbe for a complete refuah and continued strength and longevity to lead his kehilla. The Rebbe warmly reciprocated, blessing the Rosh Yeshiva that he should continue leading Klal Yisroel with strength and good health until the coming of Goel Tzedek.

{Matzav.com}

President Donald Trump said Tuesday that the standoff with Iran could soon come to an end, expressing optimism that Tehran is eager to reach an agreement while again warning that the regime will never be allowed to obtain nuclear weapons.

Speaking during a Congressional picnic at the White House, Trump addressed the escalating tensions with Iran and suggested a resolution could come in the near future.

“I think we’re going to be finished with that very quickly,” Trump said.

“They want to make a deal so badly. They’re tired of this, and we’re going to be finished with that very quickly. Hopefully, we’re going to get it done in a very nice manner,” he added, while once again stressing that “they won’t have a nuclear weapon.”

Trump’s comments came one day after he disclosed on Truth Social that the United States had been preparing to strike Iran on Tuesday before the operation was delayed because of what he described as serious diplomatic discussions.

Speaking with reporters later Monday, Trump elaborated on the decision to postpone the military action.

“We were getting ready to do a very major attack tomorrow. I’ve put it off for a little while, hopefully, maybe forever, but possibly for a little while, because we’ve had very big discussions with Iran, and we’ll see what they amount to,” Trump said.

Earlier Tuesday, Trump indicated that military action had come extremely close to being approved before he ultimately halted the plan.

“I was an hour away” from authorizing a strike on Iran, Trump reportedly said, before explaining why he decided against immediate action.

“I hope we don’t have to do the war, but we may have to give them another big hit,” he added. “I’m not sure yet. You’ll know very soon.”

Trump also accused Iran of pursuing nuclear weapons with dangerous intentions extending far beyond the region itself.

Trump said Iran wants a nuclear weapon “to blow up the Middle East and, frankly, to blow up the world. It’s not gonna happen.”

{Matzav.com}