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THE ENTIRE ELUL IN RIBNITZ FOR JUST $180 – GRAB IT NOW.
Elul has started.
Entire Sefer Tehillim.
Said every morning.
At the tziyon of the Ribnitzer Rebbe, zy”a.
One name. One request. One powerful 40-day connection.
$180 = 40 days of protection, tefillah, and heartfelt Tehillim for your name.
Get yours now.
Secure your name today.
Don’t wait — start yours now.
With Rosh Hashanah approaching, Rabbi Yaakov Jan, Chief Rabbi of Uman, has been immersed in a packed schedule as the city braces for the arrival of more than 50,000 Jewish visitors to the kever of Rav Nachman of Breslov.
In recent days, Rabbi Jan hosted Israel’s ambassador to Ukraine, Michael Brodsky, at his residence. During their meeting, the ambassador outlined the extensive preparations being made ahead of the massive influx of pilgrims expected over the Yom Tov. Representatives of the Breslover Center in Uman also joined the meeting. Rabbi Jan expressed appreciation for the ambassador’s involvement and for the close cooperation between Israel, the local community, and Ukrainian authorities.
Separately, Rabbi Jan received the regional police commander together with representatives of the Israel Police. This gathering, also attended by members of the Breslover Center, focused on the unique security measures planned for the Rosh Hashanah pilgrimage. Security officials explained that a comprehensive plan is in place for deploying police across Uman and the area around the tziyun to ensure the safety of the tens of thousands of visitors.
Alongside these meetings, Rabbi Jan issued a public letter directed to all those visiting the gravesite throughout the year, and especially before Rosh Hashanah, warning against bringing drugs of any kind into Ukraine. “Do not bring cigarettes with medical substances,” he cautioned.
The letter comes in the wake of last year’s incidents, when several chassidim were arrested after attempts to smuggle various narcotics into the country. Ukrainian police have made clear that they will be strictly enforcing the prohibition against bringing drugs into the country during this year’s pilgrimage.
{Matzav.com Israel}
As the Yomim Nora’im approach, the Bohusher Rebbe paid a special visit this week to Rav Moshe Shternbuch to receive his blessing for the coming year.
During the meeting, the two spoke at length about the minhagim of tzaddikim during the month of Elul. At the conclusion of the visit, the Rebbe of Bohush requested a brocha in honor of the yemei harachamim v’selichos.
Rav Shternbuch responded with a moving brocha, and added a personal request and mission for the Bohusher Rebbe: “Convey to the holy Shechinah words of defense on behalf of Klal Yisroel. Klal Yisroel are all tzaddikim.”
He continued: “Your eyes should see only good, and you should be able to tell the Shechinah Hakdosha that all of Klal Yisroel are tzaddikim. Those who have left the path are nebachim, exceptions to the rule. The truth is that we are all yirei Shomayim; among us there is no one who is not a yerei Shomayim. With this we will arouse in Shomayim that the yeshuah should come immediately.”
Rav Shternbuch further blessed the Rebbe: “Each day you should grow closer and closer to Hakadosh Boruch Hu. Fortunate are you and your portion. You have, baruch Hashem, a great influence on Yidden, and you can accomplish so much. Chazak v’ematz, chazak v’ematz.”
At the close of the visit, Rav Shternbuch presented the Bohusher Rebbe with a newly published sefer, Uvdos V’Hanhagos, prepared by his talmidim. The sefer contains firsthand testimonies of what Rav Shternbuch personally observed from his rabbeim.
{Matzav.com Israel}
The IDF revealed on Wednesday that suicide drones have become the primary means of eliminating Hamas operatives in Gaza, marking a dramatic shift in battlefield tactics.
According to the military, the “Atalef” (bat) suicide drone has been deployed widely across ground units, eliminating the need for assistance from the air force to carry out targeted strikes against Hamas fighters.
The army further explained that even at the platoon level, consisting of just a few dozen soldiers, each unit is now equipped with its own drones for reconnaissance and intelligence gathering.
Some of these drones are programmed to fly into newly encountered buildings, searching for hidden Hamas tunnels or explosive devices left as traps.
Others are launched to scan terrain, such as nearby hills, ensuring troops are not walking into ambushes before they proceed with an advance.
The IDF also disclosed that 14 training schools are currently preparing 20,000 soldiers to operate these drones, underscoring how central they have become in combat strategy.
Prior to the war, drone operations were generally controlled by the air force and made available to ground troops only under special circumstances, typically at the battalion level, which represents around 250 soldiers. Today, however, drones are a routine part of the smallest combat units, giving the ground forces unprecedented independence and technological reach.
{Matzav.com}
New York City officials announced Tuesday that major crime continues to trend downward in 2025, with shootings and shooting victims hitting all-time lows for the first eight months of the year, and August being the safest ever recorded, the NY Daily News reports.
Despite a recent surge of shootings in the Bronx and warnings from the White House about crime in the city, NYPD leadership pointed to new data that they said highlights significant progress, from dismantling gangs to expanding police presence across the five boroughs.
“In the first eight months of the year, the NYPD drove down shooting incidents and shooting victims to the lowest levels in our city’s history,” Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said in a statement.
“Belowground on our subways, we have cut crime down to record lows, excluding the pandemic years. Our focus has been on taking illegal guns off the streets, arresting violent gang members, and deploying our most valuable resource — the men and women of the NYPD — on foot posts where they are most needed, and the results are clear: Our strategy is working, and our cops are driving down crime.”
The standout achievement so far this year has been the sharp drop in shootings and the number of people wounded by gunfire.
NYPD figures show 489 shooting incidents and 611 victims citywide, slightly lower than the previous record lows set in 2018, when there were 502 shootings and 612 victims during the CompStat era, which dates back to 1994.
These reductions have helped push overall major crime down by 6.7% in August compared with the same month last year, officials reported.
The data shows major crime has declined every quarter since January 2024, marking seven straight quarters of improvement.
Transit crime also hit new lows in August, making it the safest month ever for subway riders outside of the COVID years of 2020–2021. Robberies in the transit system are also at their lowest levels since records began, officials said.
Burglaries last month dropped to unprecedented lows as well, while retail theft was down 22%, according to police statistics.
“As August closed, we continued to break more records: shooting incidents and shooting victims for the first eight months of the year were at their lowest levels in recorded history, and crime in our subways in August was at the lowest in recorded history,” Mayor Adams said. “But even with the tremendous steps we’ve taken in making our city safer, we know that one crime is still one crime too many, and a number of heartbreaking incidents remain at the forefront of people’s minds. We see so much promise in New York City, and it is readily apparent that our public safety plan is working. We will continue to make adjustments as we see spikes, but thanks to the brave men and women of the NYPD, New York continues to be America’s safest big city.”
The announcement comes as a political boost for Adams, who is facing a difficult reelection fight while fending off President Trump’s suggestion that federal troops could be sent to New York, just as they were deployed in Washington, D.C., last month.
The positive numbers also arrive after a spate of shootings in the Bronx, which led Adams to deploy 1,000 extra officers to the borough and pledge to confront “the gang members, the shooters, the trigger pullers …[to] .. .end this violence.”
Adams has highlighted the NYPD’s anti-gang initiatives, noting that detectives have already carried out a record 55 gang busts this year, resulting in 396 arrests of members and associates.
NYPD leaders also announced that 1,100 new recruits joined the force in August, the largest class sworn in since January 2016.
Altogether, the department has hired 2,911 recruits this year, the most since 2006, with another class still expected before year’s end. Adams said 2025 is on track to set the all-time record for new officers hired in a single year.
Officials also credited police efforts with reducing retail theft, a category of crime that has become notorious for leaving everyday goods locked up in stores like Walgreens.
Data shows retail theft fell 12% in the first eight months of 2025, and by 22% in August alone.
Authorities attributed the success to boosting foot patrols and coordinating with transit officers, who often intercept shoplifters attempting to escape into the subway.
{Matzav.com}Stephen King used the left-wing social media site BlueSky to push the idea that President Donald Trump “probably started the rumor he’s sick or dead” in order to drive up viewership for his upcoming press conference.
“Trump is a hell of a carny pitchman, I have to give him that. When a ton of people tune in, he’s going to say he’s sending troops to Chicago,” King remarked. “Probably started the rumor he’s sick or dead himself,” he continued.
Despite King’s speculation, it was actually progressive activists who fueled gossip about Trump’s health, spreading their own wishful claims over the weekend.
As Matzav.com documented, liberal commentators circulated unfounded reports late Friday night and into Shabbos morning that the president had passed away.
Meanwhile, the audience of Stephen Colbert’s struggling program The Late Show responded with boos when told that President Donald Trump “is very much alive.”
Trump himself responded by mocking his critics, assuring them that he has “never felt better.”
“NEVER FELT BETTER IN MY LIFE,” he declared in a Truth Social post, adding, “Also, DC IS A CRIME FREE ZONE!”
{Matzav.com}