Dear Matzav Inbox,
We love talking about kids and screens. Phones are ruining them. Screens are destroying their attention. Technology is poisoning the next generation.
And then we check our phones.
We tell teens to put their devices away while answering messages during supper. We complain about boys zoning out while scrolling through WhatsApp. We warn about addiction while saying, “I just have to check something quickly,” ten times an hour.
Children learn more from what they see than what they’re told. And what they see is very simple: Adults who can’t sit still without a screen.
A father tells his son to focus while his phone buzzes on the table. A mother lectures about limits while reading messages late into the night. A therapist speaks about self-control while glancing at updates between sessions.
Then we’re shocked when kids don’t take us seriously.
We banned phones. We made rules. We gave speeches. But we never looked in the mirror.
Teenagers aren’t inventing this behavior. They’re copying it. They see adults who are anxious without their phones, distracted during conversations, and irritated when interrupted from scrolling. They hear complaints about “this generation,” while watching the previous one refresh group chats over and over.
We say kids can’t handle responsibility. But how responsible do we look when we can’t leave our phones in another room for an hour?
The problem isn’t that teens love screens. It’s that they grew up watching adults love them first.
If we want our children to have boundaries, we need to show them what boundaries look like. If we want them present, we need to be present. And if we want them to believe that phones are tools—not lifelines—we have to prove it with our own behavior.
Otherwise, all our warnings sound hollow. And kids don’t rebel against hypocrisy. They tune it out.
Dovid Nachman
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{Matzav.com}
Amar’e Stoudemire, the former NBA star who has embraced Orthodox Judaism, met Monday night with Rav Dovid Yosef, the Chief Rabbi of Israel, during the Rishon L’Tzion’s trip to Miami.
During their meeting, Rav Yosef offered Stoudemire a warm bracha, encouraging him to persevere in his spiritual path and public example, telling him: “Continue to strengthen yourself and sanctify God’s name in the world of sports.”
The Chief Rabbi also bestowed a special bracha upon Stoudemire’s newborn son, expressing the hope that the child should be raised to a life of Torah, chupah, mitzvos, and maasim tovim.
Stoudemire, who enjoyed a long and accomplished career in professional basketball, has in recent years undergone a personal journey of geirus and growth in Yiddishkeit. He is now known by his Hebrew name, Yehoshafat ben Avraham.
That journey culminated in August 2020, following years of Torah learning in yeshiva, when he formally completed his geirus through the Beis Din Tzedek in Bnei Brak founded by Rav Nissim Karelitz.
He now spends most of his day learning Torah.
{Matzav.com}
President Donald Trump said in a recent interview that certain civil rights measures designed to combat racial discrimination ended up unfairly disadvantaging white Americans, particularly in college admissions and hiring, even as he acknowledged that those policies also achieved positive outcomes.
Speaking with The New York Times, Trump argued that some initiatives born out of the civil rights era produced unintended consequences that harmed people who were otherwise qualified for opportunities. “White people were very badly treated, where they did extremely well and they were not invited to go into a university to college,” he said, pointing to affirmative action practices in higher education. “So I would say in that way, I think it was unfair in certain cases.”
Trump added that while those policies helped address historical injustices, they also created new inequities. “I think it was also, at the same time, it accomplished some very wonderful things, but it also hurt a lot of people — people that deserve to go to a college or deserve to get a job were unable to get a job. So it was, it was a reverse discrimination.”
Those comments come as the administration presses forward with a broad effort to dismantle diversity, equity, and inclusion programs across government and the private sector, framing the push not as an erosion of civil rights protections but as a restoration of equal treatment based on merit.
That approach is increasingly reflected in federal policy decisions.
Last month, the Justice Department announced a final rule revising regulations under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, eliminating the use of “disparate impact” liability, a legal theory that allows penalties based on unequal statistical outcomes even without evidence of intentional discrimination.
Attorney General Pam Bondi said the move is intended to reaffirm the constitutional requirement that individuals be treated the same under the law, arguing that prior regulations effectively encouraged race-based decision-making by institutions receiving federal funds.
“For decades, the Justice Department has used disparate-impact liability to undermine the constitutional principle that all Americans must be treated equally under the law,” Bondi said in a statement. “No longer. This Department of Justice is eliminating its regulations that for far too long required recipients of federal funding to make decisions based on race.”
{Matzav.com}
Leading rabbinic figures addressed the issue of yeshiva students and the draft on Sunday night at the “Levaker Beheichalo” chinuch conference in Yerushalayim, delivering sharp remarks in support of Torah learners facing increasing pressure from state authorities.
Speaking at the conference, former Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Israel Rav Yitzchok Yosef called for strengthening those immersed in Torah study, particularly at a time when yeshiva students are being targeted. He stressed that Torah learning provides spiritual protection to the Jewish people, especially in times of war.
Referring to recent attacks in southern Israel, Rav Yosef said that terrorists had managed to seize 12 communities, but were stopped from advancing further due to the merit of Torah study. He said that without the protection generated by yeshivos and kollel families, additional cities would have fallen, asserting that the spiritual defense of Torah learners played a decisive role.
Also speaking at the gathering was Moetzes Chachmei HaTorah member and Porat Yosef Rosh Yeshiva Rav Shmuel Betzalel, who shared a personal story about a detained yeshiva bochur from Ponovezh.
Rav Betzalel said that the young man regularly discussed Torah learning with him at the Kosel and was exceptionally knowledgeable in the entire Shas. According to Rav Betzalel, the bochur’s father later informed him that his son had been jailed after arriving three days late to his initial draft summons. “Do you understand what this means?” Rav Betzalel said. “Shas is sitting in prison.”
The conference was organized at the initiative of Yerushalayim Deputy Mayor Tzvika Cohen and was attended by senior members of the Moetzes Chachmei HaTorah, including Rav Moshe Maya and Rav Avraham Salim, along with numerous roshei yeshiva and rabbonim
Among those present were Rav Chaim Cohen of Be’er HaTalmud, Rav Shmuel Beitan of Daas Chaim, Rav Zvi Cohen of Avnei Nezer, Rav Yitzchak Lasri of Eish HaTalmud, Rav Chaim Suissa of Torah V’Daas, and Rav Yisrael Rokach of Mishkan Chaim.
Earlier in the evening, Shas party chairman Aryeh Deri also addressed the conference.
{Matzav.com}
President Trump said Sunday night that he is unaware of any investigation targeting Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, even as the Fed chief disclosed that the Justice Department has subpoenaed the central bank and warned that Powell could face indictment for allegedly misleading Congress.
“I don’t know anything about it, but he’s certainly not very good at the Fed, and he’s not very good at building buildings,” the president told NBC News during a brief interview.
Powell, 72, sent markets reeling late Sunday after issuing a statement acknowledging the subpoenas and confirming that prosecutors have raised the possibility of criminal charges tied to his congressional testimony.
The controversy centers on a massive renovation of the Federal Reserve’s Washington headquarters, a project estimated at $2.5 billion that was first reported by The Post in April. During a June appearance before the Senate Banking Committee, Powell faced pointed questioning over the overhaul, which one former Fed board member derided as “the Palace of Versailles on the National Mall.”
At that hearing, Powell rejected claims that the renovation involved extravagant amenities described in internal planning documents approved in 2021.
“There’s no VIP dining room, there’s no new marble. There are no special elevators,” the Fed chair said under oath June 25. “There are no new water features, there’s no beehives, and there’s no roof terrace gardens.”
In July, Trump and Powell toured the construction site together, appearing side by side in business attire and hard hats as they fielded questions from reporters. During the visit, the two clashed publicly over the true cost of the project, with Powell disputing Trump’s assertion that the price tag had reached $3.1 billion and saying the president was counting expenses related to a separate building.
On Dec. 29, Trump complained that the renovation would exceed $4 billion and threatened legal action against Powell, accusing him of “gross incompetence.”
Trump has repeatedly faulted Powell for moving too slowly to cut interest rates. On Sunday night, Powell suggested the investigation was politically motivated, calling it “a consequence of the Federal Reserve setting interest rates based on our best assessment of what will serve the public, rather than following the preferences of the president.”
“This is about whether the Fed will be able to continue to set interest rates based on evidence and economic conditions — or whether instead monetary policy will be directed by political pressure or intimidation,” Powell said.
Trump dismissed that characterization in his NBC interview. “I wouldn’t even think of doing it that way. What should pressure him is the fact that rates are far too high. That’s the only pressure he’s got,” the president said.
“He’s hurt a lot of people,” Trump added. “I think the public is pressuring him.”
Powell’s term as Fed chair expires in May, and Trump is expected to name a successor in the coming weeks. Powell is slated to remain a member of the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors through 2028 after stepping down from the top post.
{Matzav.com}
Israel and Iran narrowly avoided direct military confrontation on two occasions in recent weeks amid mutual misjudgments and Israeli concerns over a potential surprise attack, according to Tamir Hayman, a former head of Israel’s Military Intelligence Directorate.
Speaking in an interview Monday with 103FM, Hayman said Iranian military preparations created what he described as a “coordination imperative” between Israel and the United States. He explained that the recent close calls stemmed from heightened risks of miscalculation, a dynamic that has pushed the IDF and U.S. forces into deeper operational coordination.
Hayman said American moves against Iran are already in progress and could expand in several directions, depending on how the situation evolves. These measures, he said, might include information and influence campaigns, cyber operations, covert actions, or, if tensions spiral, open warfare.
“There is no zero action at the moment,” Hayman said, indicating that U.S. pressure efforts are already underway.
He pointed to a surge of unexplained reports, rumors, and circulating videos inside Iran, suggesting they may reflect a coordinated cyber and influence campaign combined with internal disruption and subversion. While conceding that not every incident is necessarily connected, Hayman said the cumulative effect has been growing confusion within Iran’s domestic information environment.
Turning to Iran’s political future, Hayman said developments previously viewed as far-fetched can no longer be ruled out. He cited possibilities ranging from heightened nationalist messaging to more dramatic scenarios, such as an extended revolutionary phase led by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, potentially including a temporary ruler under a military dictatorship.
As long as Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei remains in charge, Hayman said, Iran is unlikely to launch a full-scale attack on Israel, given Khamenei’s historically cautious approach. That assessment could change, he warned, if a more aggressive, IRGC-backed figure were to rise to power.
Hayman also reviewed Tehran’s handling of domestic unrest, arguing that attempts at economic relief have failed and that harsh security crackdowns have not succeeded in restoring stability. Under those conditions, he suggested, talks with Washington could become the regime’s only realistic path to easing economic pressure through sanctions relief.
Negotiations, he said, were “not an absurd scenario,” especially if Iran were to offer a dramatic concession on uranium enrichment that might draw the United States into serious talks.
“If the US conducts only a symbolic strike and we are attacked, we will not contain it,” Hayman said. “If Washington mounts a heavy response and our added value is marginal, we should act wisely.”
He stressed that any Israeli military response would be shaped by the scale and character of American action.
On the military front, Hayman said Iran has rebuilt its missile production lines following the Israel–Iran war but has not yet implemented the upgrades it had originally planned. He added that Tehran is now seeking Chinese assistance to significantly expand its manufacturing capacity.
Arguing against launching a new war with Iran at present, Hayman said such conflicts exact a heavy price and force large numbers of Israelis from their homes. Strategically, he said, Israel faces a choice between pursuing regime change or, if conflict becomes unavoidable, reaching a limited arrangement to constrain Iran’s capabilities—though he emphasized that “right now, an agreement is a mistake.”
He closed by outlining scenarios he described as unlikely but plausible, including a harsh IRGC-dominated military regime or a leadership change backed by outside actors. More probable, in his view, are internal reforms designed to reassert control over Iranian society.
The Iranian leadership, he added, continues to portray domestic unrest as the result of U.S. and Israeli interference, urging citizens to rally against external enemies. “There are two million people there whose identities are unclear and who are violent,” he warned, while noting that the regime still retains significant leverage.
{Matzav.com}
