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The Yarchei Kallah in Yerushalayim ahead of Chag Matan Torah, initiated by the “Torasi V’Umanusi” foundation headed by the Chevron Rosh Yeshiva HaGaon HaRav Yosef Chevroni shlit”a and under the nesius and hadracha of Maran the Rosh Yeshiva HaGaon Rav Moshe Hillel Hirsch shlit”a, concluded with a chashuve massa from Maran HaGaon Rav Moshe Hillel Hirsch shlit”a. The event, which brought together hundreds of anshei maaseh, baalebatim, and kovei itim from all over Eretz Yisrael who were invited to the event, were zoche to a day that was Kulo Torah, Amal, and spiritual hachana for zman matan toraseinu.

The event, hosted by the Yirmiyahu 33 hotel in Yerushalayim, started early morning hours, with the hundreds of participants filling the halls with a great atmosphere of shkius in learning, ritcha d’oraysa, and a special hisromemus ahead of Shavuos. Alongside the many participants on-site, hundreds more connected throughout the day to the live stream of the event, which was broadcasted on various platforms in Eretz Yisroel and Chutz La’Aretz.

Throughout the day, Gedolei Yisroel, Roshei Yeshivos, and Marbitzei Torah shlit”a gave shiurim and shmuses around the sugya of Birchos HaTorah b’iyun, halacha l’maaseh, drush, and mussar, with geshmake Q&A’s in divrei Torah and chizuk among the oilam.

Among the participants and speakers at the event: Rabbeinu HaGadol Maran Rosh HaYeshiva HaGaon HaRav Moshe Hillel Hirsch shlit”a, HaGaon HaGadol HaRav Shaul Alter shlit”a, Maran Rosh Yeshivas Chevron HaGaon HaRav Dovid Cohen shlit”a, HaGaon HaGadol HaRav Yehoshua Eichenstein shlit”a, HaGaon HaTzaddik Rav Shimon Galai shlit”a, Chevron Rosh Yeshiva HaGaon HaRav Yosef Chevroni shlit”a, HaGaon HaRav Elimelech Kornfeld and HaGaon HaRav Daniel Rabin from the Rabbonim of ‘Chelki B’Kehilasi’, HaGaon HaRav Yitzchok Mordechai HaCohen Rubin shlit”a, HaGaon HaRav Yehuda Aryeh Dunner shlit”a, HaGaon HaRav Yisrael Landau shlit”a, HaRav Dovid Braverman shlit”a, and other choshuve Rabbonim.

The central speech of the event was delivered by Rabbeinu HaGadol Maran Rosh HaYeshiva HaGaon HaRav Moshe Hillel Hirsch shlit”a, who spoke about the chashivus to give a chizuk to the olam ha’Torah among the working tzibbur, and the tremendous need to strengthen Yiras Shamayim and keep a kavua mussar seder, even just a seder of 5 or 6 minutes: “It’s a muchrach for every Yid to have a mussar seder, and this doesn’t just belong to a yeshiva bochur or a kollel yungerman. It doesn’t make a nafka mina if a person is a balebos or a ben yeshiva; without limud mussar, a person can forget his tachlis in his day-to-day life. A Yid needs to know that to hold onto Yiras Shamayim, he is mechuyav to learn mussar.”

Maran the Rosh Yeshiva added that the koach of a kavua limud mussar is that it changes a person’s whole hashkafa on life: “A person who learns mussar will suddenly see that things he was sure were a muchrach for him, are not a muchrach at all. And like Reb Yisroel Salanter says, if a person learns a quarter-hour of mussar, he will find out he has a whole hour to learn.”

The seder hayom that the askanim put together for the Yarchei Kallah day, as well as the divrei hisorerus of Maran the Rosh Yeshiva, left a powerful influence among the oilam, creating a special hachana with kabalos l’maaseh to strengthen kviyus itim and limud mussar ahead of the chag of Matan Toraseinu.

Alongside the divrei chizuk and hachana for Kabalas HaTorah from HaGaon HaGadol Rav Shaul Alter shlit”a and HaGaon HaTzaddik Rav Shimon Galai shlit”a, the participants were zoche to have a Q&A session with them on inyanim that are nogea to the tzibbur of kovei itim l’Torah in chayei hamaaseh, with specific reference to their nisyonos, setting up sidrei limud, and keeping a ruchniyusdige seder hayom amidst the tirdos of parnassa and everyday life.

The ‘Shivti’ organization Lehagdil Torah u’leha’adira and Keren ‘Torasi V’Umanusi’, pointed out at the end of the event that given the gevaldige hatzlacha, the massive response, and the big demand, there are expected to be more maamadei Torah and events for the tzibbur of bnei Torah kovei itim throughout the entire year.

The evet was dedicated l’ilui nishmas HaRav Uri Lupolianski zt”l, founder of the ‘Yad Sarah’ organization, who was niftar this past year and was poel his whole life to be marbe chesed and zechuyos in Klal Yisroel.

Passengers traveling with doctor-prescribed marijuana are now officially permitted to bring it aboard commercial flights under a revised policy quietly updated by the Transportation Safety Administration last month.

The move marks a major shift in federal air-travel policy, given that while medical cannabis has been legalized in 40 states and Washington, D.C., marijuana has continued to remain illegal under federal law, which governs airports and aviation security nationwide.

The policy update follows an order signed by President Trump reclassifying marijuana as a Schedule III substance, a change that formally recognizes accepted medical uses for cannabis and opens the door for expanded federally approved research.

According to the TSA’s updated guidance, medical marijuana may now be transported in both checked luggage and carry-on bags. The agency emphasized that its primary concern remains aviation security rather than searching for personal drug possession.

“TSA’s screening procedures are focused on security and are designed to detect potential threats to aviation and passengers,” the policy revised April 27 spells out.

“Accordingly, TSA security officers do not search for illegal drugs, but if any illegal substance or evidence of criminal activity is discovered during security screening, TSA will refer the matter to a law enforcement officer.”

The agency also made clear that the TSA officer stationed at the checkpoint retains discretion over whether any particular item is ultimately allowed through security.

Attorneys interviewed by SFGATE said that travelers carrying small amounts of marijuana are seldom targeted for prosecution by airport authorities, though they cautioned that larger quantities could still lead to legal trouble.

In some cases, authorities continue to crack down aggressively on passengers carrying substantial amounts of cannabis. In March, for example, a 23-year-old Texas man was arrested at Miami International Airport after officials allegedly discovered 75 pounds of marijuana packed inside his luggage. He was later charged with drug trafficking.

{Matzav.com}

Barney Frank, the longtime liberal Democratic lawmaker from Massachusetts who helped shape one of the most sweeping financial reform laws in modern American history, died Tuesday night after suffering from congestive heart failure. He was 86.

“He was, above all else, a wonderful brother,” Frank’s sister, Doris Breay, told NBC10 Boston Wednesday morning in confirming her sibling’s passing. “I was lucky to be his sister.”

Frank spent his final months receiving hospice care at his residence in Ogunquit, Maine, where his husband, Jim Ready, grew up.

Born in 1940 in Bayonne, New Jersey, Frank built a political career that spanned more than three decades in Congress, becoming one of the nation’s most recognizable liberal voices on issues ranging from abortion rights and environmental policy to banking oversight and economic regulation.

After the financial collapse of 2007 and 2008, Frank partnered with then-Sen. Chris Dodd of Connecticut to develop the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, the far-reaching legislation designed to curb abuses in the financial sector and strengthen protections for consumers.

The law introduced several major structural changes to the American financial system. It established the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, created the Financial Stability Oversight Council to monitor systemic threats to the economy, and put procedures in place intended to prevent future taxpayer-funded rescues of failing financial giants through the Orderly Liquidation Authority.

Another key provision of the legislation was the Volcker Rule, which barred major banks from using depositor money for speculative trading and imposed stricter Federal Reserve supervision over the nation’s largest financial institutions.

President Barack Obama signed the legislation into law in 2010.

Frank’s years in public office also included personal and political scandals.

President Trump openly criticized Frank over the years and once mocked his appearance in a post on X after Frank delivered remarks on the House floor in 2011 while wearing a blue crew-neck shirt with a jacket draped over his shoulders.

“Barney Frank looked disgusting … in his blue shirt before Congress. Very very disrespectful,” Trump wrote in a post.

Only weeks before his passing, Frank spoke candidly with Politico about his declining health and his acceptance of death.

“At 86, I’ve made it longer than I thought. At some point, my heart’s just going to give out, and it’s reaching that stage. So I’m taking it easy at home and dealing with it by relaxing.”

Frank’s final book, “The Hard Path to Unity: Why We Must Reform the Left to Rescue Democracy,” is scheduled for release on Sept. 15. In it, he sharply criticized elements of the progressive movement, arguing that Democrats damaged themselves politically by shifting attention away from economic inequality toward social and cultural positions that many voters reject.

For many years, the subject of Har Habayis was viewed in much of the yeshivah world as a closed discussion. The prevailing attitude was simple: the area is overwhelmingly forbidden to enter, the dangers of כרת are severe, and the matter was not something the average frum Jew involved himself with.

But quietly, beneath the surface, something appears to be changing.

Over the last few years, increasing numbers of visibly Chareidi Jews have been seen ascending Har Habayis in accordance with carefully mapped halachic guidelines established by rabbanim and researchers who maintain that certain peripheral areas may be entered after proper preparation. Organized groups, shiurim, and halachic discussions surrounding the topic have become far more common than they once were — even within circles where the subject was rarely spoken about at all.

Now, a recently circulated video featuring Rabbi Yitzchak Breitowitz has added another layer to that ongoing conversation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXI9G_m6GDQ 

See around minute 32:00 in the video

In the video, Rabbi Breitowitz discusses the complexity of the sugya and acknowledges that, according to many shitos, there are areas on Har Habayis that are not part of the מקום המקדש itself and may be permissible to enter under specific halachic conditions. While emphasizing the seriousness and sensitivity of the issue, his comments were widely viewed by listeners as reflecting a more nuanced approach than many in the frum world may have previously assumed.

To be clear, many Gedolim and major poskim over the decades strongly opposed ascending Har Habayis, citing both halachic concerns and the fear that public ascent could lead to confusion regarding prohibited areas. Those concerns remain significant and continue to shape the views of large segments of the Torah world.

At the same time, however, there is a growing sense among some Bnei Torah that the topic itself may deserve more serious examination than it has traditionally received. Much of the newer discussion focuses on the distinction between the areas universally understood to be forbidden and other sections which some authorities argue were never included within the boundaries of the Azarah or Makom Hamikdash.

Perhaps most striking is not necessarily the halachic debate itself, but the fact that the discussion is increasingly taking place openly and respectfully within Torah circles.

For decades, many frum Jews associated any discussion of Har Habayis with political activism or ideological agendas far removed from the עולם הישיבות. Today, however, the conversation is increasingly being framed around the halachic sugya itself: the geography of the Har, the locations of the original boundaries, the requirements of taharah, and the broader question of how Jews should relate to the site of the Beis Hamikdash in our generation.

Whether this shift remains limited or eventually grows into something broader remains to be seen. But one thing is becoming harder to ignore:

A discussion once considered entirely outside the mainstream of the frum world is no longer being dismissed quite so automatically.

MIAMI – A federal grand jury in South Florida indicted former Cuban president Raúl Castro, in an attempt to hold him accountable for the 1996 killing of four people, three of them Americans.

Top Justice Department officials were expected to announce the unsealing of the indictment Wednesday in downtown Miami, the heart of the Cuban exile community.

The extraordinary indictment, which was returned by a grand jury in April, comes as the Trump administration has ratcheted up pressure to try to force political turnover in Cuba’s communist regime, and it is the latest example of the Trump administration using its Justice Department to sway foreign policy.

Castro faces charges of murder, conspiracy to kill U.S. nationals and destruction of aircraft, according to the court docket. Others were also charged alongside him, court records show.

The indictment had not been made publicly available as of Wednesday at 1 p.m. Eastern, though the court docket showed the charges against Castro and a request from the Justice Department to unseal it.

Castro, 94, took over the presidency of Cuba when his brother, Fidel Castro, stepped down in 2008. With Fidel’s death in 2016, he became the island’s preeminent revolutionary hero. Although he left the presidency in 2018, Raúl Castro remained first secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba until 2021.

It is unlikely that Castro will be extradited to the United States to appear in court and face the charges. Absent Cuba’s cooperation, the indictment is likely to remain symbolic unless the U.S. takes aggressive action to remove Castro from Cuba.

The murder charges in the indictment stem from the 1996 shooting-down of two jets flown by Brothers to the Rescue, a U.S.-based humanitarian group formed in 1991 by Cuban exiles in Miami and headed by Jose Basulto, a veteran of the 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion.

The group’s mission became harassing the Cuban government, sometimes flying over Cuban airspace and dropping leaflets urging residents to rise up against the regime. Their campaigns had led to numerous complaints from Havana and assurances from the Clinton administration that it would stop.

On the day the planes were shot down, the group said it was looking for Cuban rafters trying to flee the country in the Florida Straits when the Cuban military downed the planes. Numerous investigations at the time concluded they were over international waters when the planes were downed.

The political fallout was swift, and Cuban Americans had long rallied for Fidel and Raúl Castro – the Cuba’s defense minister – to be charged in the killings.

Federal officials – including acting attorney general Todd Blanche and U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Jason Reding Quiñones – had a news conference set for Wednesday afternoon at Freedom Tower in Miami.

Freedom Tower is a symbolic monument for Cuban-Americans, the place where Cubans who were fleeing the communist revolution in the late 1950s and 1960s were processed and received aid when they arrived in Miami.

President Donald Trump, in an executive order issued the first week of his second term, declared a national emergency regarding Cuba, saying it presents “an unusual and extraordinary threat” because it has aligned itself with countries hostile to the U.S., including Iran, Russia and China.

Amid these tensions, CIA Director John Ratcliffe traveled to Havana last week for meetings with senior Cuban security and intelligence officials, including Raúl Rodriguez Castro, the powerful grandson of Raúl Castro.

The meeting came as extensive blackouts continued on the island, with the government acknowledging it was “without any reserves” to fuel power plants.

The Trump administration has adopted a policy of economic strangulation to try to drive the current leadership from power, actions that have gone above and beyond the U.S. economic embargo imposed more than six decades ago.

The administration’s actions include expanded economic sanctions, a naval blockade preventing ships from carrying oil to the island and the threat of secondary sanctions on any other country or entity that trades with the Cuban government or designated individuals or companies.

Trump has suggested he could utilize a playbook in Cuba similar to the one he used in Venezuela earlier this year.

The Justice Department first indicted Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on narco-terrorism charges in 2020, though he was not extradited at the time. In January, the administration launched an attack on Venezuela, capturing Maduro and bringing him to New York to face charges.

The Trump administration, in part, described the capture as a law enforcement effort to ensure that Maduro faced his day in court on narco-terrorism charges. It left the rest of the Venezuelan government intact, saying that its Maduro-era leaders were cooperating with the United States. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has outlined a similar plan for Cuba, while demanding economic and political changes.

Trump has said that Cuba is “next in line” as soon as he finishes his war with Iran, although the administration has not publicly declared that it intends to use military force to achieve its goals in Cuba.

In March, The Washington Post reported that the Justice Department had formed a working group to examine possible federal charges against officials or entities within Cuba’s government.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida – which includes Miami, the center of the Cuban exile community – has been overseeing the prosecution group.

The indictment’s unsealing came on Cuban Independence Day, which marks the anniversary of the establishment of the Republic of Cuba after the end of U.S. occupation in 1902.

In a “Message to the Cuban People” on Wednesday, Rubio said he was aware of their “unimaginable hardships,” which he said were “not due to an oil ‘blockade’ by the U.S., but from the corruption of their leaders.

“In the U.S.,” Rubio said, “we are ready to open a new chapter in the relationship between our people and our countries. And, currently, the only thing standing in the way of a better future are those who control your country.”

(c) 2026, The Washington Post · Perry Stein, Karen DeYoung 

An unique spiritual undertaking is unfolding this week at Yeshivas Ateres Yisroel in Modi’in Illit, where hundreds of bochurim have accepted upon themselves an extraordinary commitment in preparation for Zman Matan Toraseinu.

The initiative, launched under the leadership of Rav Yoel Shapira, began with the Shloshes Yemei Hagbollah leading into Shavuos.

As part of the program, large numbers of bochurim formally committed themselves to a  taanis dibbur, refraining from mundane speech every day from 10:00 a.m. until 11:00 p.m. — thirteen consecutive hours of absolute silence combined with uninterrupted Torah learning.

The bochurim undertook not to utter a single word unrelated to Torah learning during the entire period.

According to the new yeshiva schedule established by Rav Shapira and the hanhalah, the regular afternoon rest period has been completely eliminated during these days. Bochurim leave the bais medrash only for tefillah and quick meals before immediately returning to their Gemoros.

Yeshiva officials described the initiative as an enormous physical and mental undertaking designed to elevate speech and thought in preparation for Kabolas HaTorah on Shavuos.

The hanhalah noted with satisfaction that more than 60 percent of the yeshiva’s bochurim have already officially joined the historic commitment.

Particularly striking is the fact that the initiative is also being promoted within the yeshiva as a powerful and time-tested segulah for older bochurim seeking their shidduchim.

According to the belief expressed by the roshei yeshiva, the intense continuity in learning together with the prolonged silence inside the yeshiva’s bais medrash has the power to “open the gates of Heaven” and bring long-awaited yeshuos in shidduchim even before Yom Tov.

{Matzav.com}

A growing storm is brewing within the chareidi community over Israeli Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi’s proposed media reform, with educators and public figures warning that the initiative could expose thousands of yeshiva bochurim to unrestricted television and secular media content.

While much of the criticism surrounding Karhi’s reform has centered on political and regulatory concerns, many in the chareidi world say the far greater issue is the potential spiritual danger posed by dramatically expanded access to television programming.

According to details revealed Tuesday, part of the reform would make Israeli television channels and news broadcasts available through a single free state-sponsored application accessible to every citizen.

Under the proposal, viewers would no longer need subscriptions to television providers, special streaming services, or complicated browser access. Instead, anyone could simply open the app and immediately watch television content.

Critics say the result could be unprecedented exposure to secular media among young chareidim.

A source involved in discussions surrounding the reform warned that the proposal could cause serious spiritual damage to the chareidi public.

“If this reform passes, it is going to be a disaster for the chareidi public and particularly for yeshiva bochurim,” the source said. “I heard a senior official in the Communications Ministry say: ‘Our interest is to make television accessible in Israel to populations that are not exposed today’ — meaning the chareidi and Arab public. Now you understand how dangerous this reform is?!”

Chinuch leaders also voiced strong opposition to the plan, arguing that it would place unrestricted television access just one click away from yeshiva students.

“This is a dangerous move that the representatives in the Knesset must fight against,” education officials warned. “It will be a disaster if every bochur has all television networks available at the push of a button, without protection or filtering on the content, leaving them directly connected to secular media culture.”

Political sources within the chareidi parties are likewise expressing concern that some lawmakers may not fully appreciate the broader consequences of the legislation.

“I very much hope that Shas will not make deals with Karhi in order to pass the law,” one chareidi political source said. “Perhaps they do not fully understand the implications of the reform and the amount of damage it could cause to young bochurim.”

The source stressed that the legislation likely cannot pass without support from the chareidi parties.

“It must be understood that without the chareidim, this law has no chance of passing,” the source said. “That is why pressure and public outcry are necessary to ensure they do not mistakenly support it.”

{Matzav.com}