Dear Matzav Inbox,
A single, throwaway line from Elon Musk managed to expose a truth many people spend their lives running from.
“Whoever said money can’t buy happiness really knew what they were talking about.”
Cue the sarcasm, the mockery, the eye-rolling. “Cry me a river.” “Try being poor.” “I’d rather be miserable and rich than miserable and broke.” Very clever. Very predictable.
But beneath the snark was something raw and uncomfortable, and that’s exactly why people rushed to drown it out.
Here is a man who has more money than kings ever dreamed of, more access than entire countries, more power than most governments, openly admitting that it didn’t deliver what it promised. Not in a philosophical essay. Not in a self-help book. In one blunt sentence and a sad emoji.
And instead of pausing to listen, the world laughed.
Because if he isn’t happy, the fantasy collapses. If money doesn’t fix the emptiness at the very top, then maybe the problem isn’t “not enough.” Maybe the problem is thinking that having more will finally quiet the noise inside.
We’ve trained ourselves to believe that unhappiness is a budgeting issue. That anxiety is a temporary stage before the next raise. That fulfillment is one deal, one upgrade, one win away. And so when someone who has already crossed every imaginable finish line says, “This isn’t it,” we feel threatened. His honesty interferes with our coping mechanism.
So we mock him. We minimize it. We tell ourselves we’d handle the money better. We’d enjoy it more. We’d be grateful. We’d finally be calm.
But deep down, we know that’s not true.
Money solves problems. Real ones. Painful ones. No one is romanticizing poverty. But meaning, contentment, menuchas hanefesh — those don’t scale with net worth. If anything, they’re often buried under pressure, isolation, and expectations that never stop growing.
The saddest part isn’t that a billionaire admitted he isn’t happy. The saddest part is how desperate we are to pretend he’s wrong.
Because if he’s right, then we may have to confront a far harder question than how to make more money. We may have to ask what we’re actually living for.
And that’s a conversation far more uncomfortable than any sad emoji.
Sincerely,
An observer who thinks the joke is on us
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The White House on Thursday pointed to new research indicating that homicide rates in America’s largest cities fell to their lowest level in more than a century, crediting aggressive law enforcement and border policies under President Donald Trump.
During a press briefing, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt referenced findings published by the Council on Criminal Justice, describing the decline as unprecedented in modern records.
“A study from the Council on Criminal Justice shows that the murder rate across America’s largest cities plummeted in 2025 to its lowest level since at least 1900,” Leavitt said, noting that it “marks the largest single year drop in murders in recorded history.”
Leavitt attributed the sharp decrease to a broad federal crackdown on crime and illegal immigration. “This dramatic decline is what happens when a president secures the border, fully mobilizes federal law enforcement to arrest violent criminals, and aggressively deports the worst of the worst illegal aliens from our country,” she said.
She also highlighted law enforcement data comparing recent arrest figures. According to Leavitt, the Federal Bureau of Investigation made twice as many violent-crime arrests in 2025 as it did in 2024, which she described as the final full year of President Joe Biden’s administration. She added that during Trump’s first full year in office, total FBI arrests were nearly 200 percent higher than during the period from January 20, 2024, to January 20, 2025.
“The FBI also disrupted 1,800 gangs and criminal enterprises, a 210 percent increase from the year prior. The FBI has arrested 1,700 child predators and more than 300 human traffickers across the country,” Leavitt said. “Since President Trump took office, six of the FBI’s top 10 Most Wanted fugitives have been captured.”
The White House also pointed to crime trends in Washington, D.C., where Trump federalized local policing last year and authorized the deployment of the National Guard. According to the administration, crime levels in 2026 to date are significantly lower across nearly all categories compared with the same period in 2025. As of Thursday, the city recorded three murders so far this year, an 83 percent decrease from the 18 murders reported between January 1 and February 5 in 2025.
Other crime categories showed similar declines, with sex abuse offenses down 63 percent, robberies reduced by 58 percent, burglaries falling 44 percent, motor vehicle theft dropping 58 percent, and arson reduced by 100 percent.
White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers echoed the administration’s assessment in comments to Breitbart News earlier this week. “President Trump promised to make Washington, D.C. safe and beautiful again — now it is one of the safest cities in the country,” Rogers said. “Thanks to President Trump’s successful federal law enforcement operation, our nation’s capital has seen a dramatic decrease in crime and homicide.”
{Matzav.com}
Senior rabbonim in Eretz Yisroel have issued a sharp and emotional public appeal calling on the Jewish public to completely avoid the ANU – Museum of the Jewish People in Tel Aviv, formerly known as Beit Hatfutsot, following its refusal to remove exhibits that recognize and legitimize intermarriage.
The extraordinary statement comes after repeated approaches by Yad L’Achim, which has been campaigning for the removal of what it describes as offensive displays that normalize intermarriage and constitute a serious chillul Hashem. According to the organization, museum management has persistently rejected all requests to alter or remove the exhibits.
In their joint declaration, leading poskim, dayanim, and rabbanim warned both adults and children “not to dare set foot on the threshold of Museum ‘ANU,’ nor to come near it for any reason whatsoever,” stressing the spiritual danger posed by the content on display.
The letter is signed by Rav Masoud Ben Shimon, Rav Moshe Bransdorfer, Rav Shamai Kehas Gross, Rav Menachem M. Lubin, Rav Naftali Nussbaum, Rav Moshe Shaul Klein, Rav Sariel Rosenberg, Rav Yaakov Meir Stern, Rav Shmuel Eliezer Stern, and Rav Chaim Schmerler.
In the text of the appeal, the rabbanim wrote that they had received “reliable and deeply troubling information” from the leadership of Yad L’Achim, describing displays at the museum that greet visitors with messages of heresy and public recognition of intermarriage, which they say strike at the very root of Jewish continuity. “Upon hearing these matters,” the letter states, “our souls recoiled in anguish.”
The rabbanim further noted that Yad L’Achim had made numerous attempts over an extended period to engage museum officials and seek the removal of the exhibits, employing every reasonable form of dialogue and advocacy. “To our great sorrow,” the letter continues, “all of these appeals were met with sealed ears and hardened hearts. Woe to us that such things have arisen in our days, particularly at a time when the nation of Hashem is in dire need of salvation.”
Citing the teaching of Chazal that “one who causes others to sin is worse than one who kills,” the rabbanim emphasized the severity with which they view the matter.
In a statement following the publication of the rabbinic call, Yad L’Achim said the leading poskim were shaken by the full scope of the information presented to them regarding the museum’s exhibits and the prolonged struggle with its management.
The organization made clear that the public warning would not mark the end of its efforts. “Alongside the publication of this call,” Yad L’Achim stated, “we will continue to employ every legitimate tool available to us. We will not rest and we will not be silent until the exhibit is removed. It is inconceivable that while the Jewish people face grave external threats, a state-recognized institution in Israel should deal such a devastating blow to Jewish identity by granting malicious and reprehensible recognition to its desecration.”
Yad L’Achim added that the fight against assimilation is being waged worldwide, while “here, in Tel Aviv, a sword is being plunged into Jewish identity under the guise of culture and pluralism.”
{Matzav.com}
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Thursday that a Democratic victory in the midterm elections would lead to aggressive oversight of President Donald Trump, including efforts to address what he described as corruption across Washington.
Speaking on MS NOW’s “All In,” Jeffries argued that Trump has acted as though he should not be subject to the same standards as other presidents. “Donald Trump likes to conduct himself as if he should be held to a standard different than every other American president or former president. And we can’t allow that to happen on all of the things,” Jeffries said.
Jeffries said a Democratic-controlled House would focus both on policy priorities and oversight. “And certainly it’s going to be the case that in a Democratic majority, we’re going to fight hard to tackle the issues that matter, to drive down the high cost of living, fight hard, fight hard, to fix our broken health care system, of course,” he said. He added that Democrats would also move to address ethics concerns throughout the federal government. “But also at the same time, we’ve got to clean up the corruption that exists in Washington, DC, in the Congress, with the Supreme Court, and also deal with Donald Trump and his administration, who spend all of their time. It seems like trying to enrich themselves, their family and their friends, as opposed to focusing on doing their job to make life better for the American people.”
Jeffries said Democrats intend to use the House’s constitutional role as a check on executive power. “We will hold the Trump administration accountable in a manner consistent with what the House should be all about a check and balance on an out-of-control administration,” he said.
Looking ahead to November, Jeffries predicted electoral losses for Republicans, saying Trump is aware of the political stakes. “Donald Trump understands that if there is a free and fair election in November, and we’re going to make sure there is one, that the House is lost, Democrats are going to take back control of the House of Representatives,” Jeffries said.
He also suggested the GOP’s prospects in the Senate are weakening. “And the Senate is looking increasingly shaky as well, because the American people are rejecting this extremism. Donald Trump and Republicans have failed,” Jeffries said.
{Matzav.com}Freezing January temperatures left tens of thousands of New York City residents without heat or hot water, triggering a wave of complaints and putting pressure on Mayor Zohran Mamdani just weeks into his term. While some tenants faulted the city’s response under the new administration, housing officials pointed to enforcement efforts and deep-rooted infrastructure failures.
Interviews published by the New York Post detailed residents across several neighborhoods who said their buildings went extended periods without reliable heat or hot water during the coldest stretch of winter. The accounts described daily disruptions and makeshift solutions as temperatures dropped.
In Williamsburg, tenant Alex Hughes told the Post he had endured “over 40 days of no hot water over the last 11 months” and was then on “day eight or nine straight of no hot water,” saying he resorted to showering at a friend’s apartment.
Similar problems were reported in Astoria, where Nicole Pavez, a city planner, said the heat in her building had been failing almost every night throughout the month.
Residents of public housing described comparable conditions. Malik Williams, who lives at the Lehman Houses, told the Post that his apartment lacked heat for much of January and that he boiled water on the stove in an effort to warm his home.
According to Breitbart, approximately 80,000 people contacted the city’s 311 system in January to report a lack of heat or hot water, marking what it described as the highest monthly total ever recorded.
Separate data released by the city’s Housing Preservation and Development agency showed that, through Jan. 29, there had been 215,045 heat-related complaints during the current heating season, compared with 187,775 complaints at the same point last season.
Mamdani, who was sworn in on Jan. 1, has been pressed to explain how the city is handling emergency responses and enforcing heat regulations amid the surge in complaints.
The report also tied the spike in calls to the mayor’s housing agenda and his decision to appoint tenant advocate Cea Weaver to head the Mayor’s Office to Protect Tenants. The appointment was announced on Jan. 1 alongside an executive action aimed at reviving and expanding that office’s role.
The New York City Housing Authority, which oversees the nation’s largest public housing system, said it maintains a 24-hour heat desk and emergency response operation and has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in heating upgrades in recent years.
Even so, estimates contained in city and NYCHA documents place the cost of restoring the housing authority’s properties to a state of good repair at roughly $78 billion over the next two decades.
{Matzav.com}
