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The IDF launched a major air operation Thursday night against Houthi targets in Sanaa, Yemen, striking more than ten sites in the heart of the Iran-backed group’s stronghold. “The IDF is operating decisively against the Houthi terrorist regime, while simultaneously intensifying strikes against the Hamas terrorist organization in Gaza, and will continue to act to remove any threat to the citizens of the State of Israel,” the army said in a statement. The IDF accused the Houthis of working under Iranian direction and funding since the outbreak of the war, destabilizing the region and disrupting global shipping lanes. Defense Minister Yisrael Katz issued an ominous warning: “As we warned the Houthis in Yemen: after the plague of darkness comes the plague of the firstborn. Whoever raises a hand against Israel—his hand will be cut off.” According to Arabic media, Israeli Air Force jets carried out precision strikes on multiple targets in the Houthi capital. An Israeli security source told Kan News the operation targeted a gathering of senior Houthi officials, who were believed to be assembled to watch a speech by the group’s leader, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi. Yemeni military sources told the Hezbollah-affiliated Al-Mayadeen network that the strikes caused no casualties among top officials, vowing that “the hands of the Yemeni people will yet reach the Zionist war criminals.” Israeli security officials, however, described the attack as a major rapid operation enabled by precise intelligence, hitting multiple sites within minutes. The results are still under assessment. The strikes followed a series of aerial threats from Yemen. Earlier Thursday, the Israeli Air Force intercepted two drones launched by the Houthis that triggered air-raid sirens in southern border communities, including Bnei Netzarim and Naveh, near the Egyptian frontier. “Following the hostile aircraft infiltration sirens that sounded a short while ago in the communities near the Gaza Strip, a UAV launched from Yemen was successfully intercepted by the IAF,” the military confirmed, noting there were no reports of injuries or damage. A second drone was downed about 90 minutes later before it reached Israeli territory. On Wednesday, air-raid sirens sounded across central Israel, including in Jerusalem and Beit Shemesh, as the IDF intercepted a ballistic missile fired from Yemen — one of more than 70 missiles and 20 drones the Houthis have launched at Israel since the October 7 Hamas invasion ignited the war. The strikes marked the second major Israeli operation in Yemen this week. On Sunday, the IDF targeted military sites in both Sanaa and Hodeidah after the Houthis fired a cluster warhead missile at Israel, the first of its kind used against the Jewish state. The warhead split into 22 bomblets mid-air, scattering fragments near homes but causing no casualties. Israeli officials said the Houthis’ use of advanced Iranian weaponry underscores the growing regional stakes. With Hamas under fire in Gaza and Hezbollah engaged in cross-border clashes from Lebanon, Israel now faces a multi-front campaign that extends more than 1,200 miles south to Yemen. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

The Dirshu Daf HaYomi B’Halacha L’Bochurim program this year was a mainstay in over twenty camps throughout the United States and Canada with more than four thousand bochurim participating!  The Daf HaYomi B’Halacha L’Bochurim program began about a decade ago wherein Mesivta (high school) aged bochurim were invited to participate in a Mishnah Berurah learning program during the course of the month of summer camp. Through the Mishnah Berurah learning program, they learn or hear a shiur on a set amount of Mishnah Berurah each day. This year, the limud was from siman 290 – 298, covering the halachos of Mincha on Shabbos, shalosh seudos and Maariv and havdala, on Motzoei Shabbos. Mishnah Berurah booklets delineating sixteen shiurim are distributed to each bochur. After the first set of five shiurim, one day is set aside for chazara with the bochurim using the sikum booklets summarizing the halachos learned.  They are also given shailos for chazara featuring fifteen multiple choice questions in either English or Lashon Kodesh. These two versions of the shailos enable bochurim from different walks of life and yeshivos to have the format with which they are most comfortable. After the second set of five shiurim there is chazara once again and then, the last series of six shiurim is followed by a final chazara.  Bochurim are given prizes and are eligible to enter a raffle for choice Dirshu sefarim after each series of shiurim. This incentivizes them and brings excitement to the program.  Last week, Dirshu’s Nasi Rav Dovid Hofstedter, shlita, was invited to Camp Agudah of Canada, located in Port Carling, Ontario, where there is a thriving Daf HaYomi B’Halacha program. Upon arrival he was greeted with great enthusiasm by the bachurim and in discussions with Rabbi Zoberman, who heads the Dirshu program, Rabbi Zoberman related how the program has been a transformative experience for the bachurim and how excited they are to participate in the program. Rav Hofstedter spoke to the bochurim and gave them a shiur with divrei chizuk. Many of the bochurim lined up to give him shalom and told him what a tremendous impact the program was having on them. Rav Aharon T, a Rebbi in a camp related, “at times when I circulate the camp at night making spot checks to ensure that all is in order I see bochurim in the bunkhouses, heads bent over the distinctive Dirshu Mishnah Berurah pamphlets, chazering or checking something out. It is amazing to see how involved they have become in the program, to the extent that even in their free time in the bunkhouse they are learning!” Perhaps the greatest testament to powerful impact that the program can have for years to come was the story related by Rabbi Yitzchok Spigelman, Dirshu’s American Director. “In advance of the camp season, I got a call from a rebbi in a camp asking if he could bring the Daf HaYomi B’halacha to his camp. I asked him if he was familiar with the program and he said, ‘Of course! I myself participated in the program about a decade ago as a bochur. I am still learning Mishnah Berurah every day as a result of that one summer!”

A heated confrontation broke out on Wednesday evening during a live broadcast on Israeli’s Channel 12 News between journalist Menachem Horowitz and Boaz Naki, a spokesman for the Peleg Yerushalmi, as tensions over the draft law continue to intensify.

During the debate, Horowitz criticized the current exemption structure for yeshiva students, saying: “אנשים עם כיפות סרוגות נהרגו ונטבחו והם תלמידי חכמים לא פחות מהבן שלך” — “People with knitted kippahs were killed and slaughtered, and they are no less talmidei chachamim than your son.”

Naki immediately pushed back, responding sharply: “לא כמו בני התורה שיושבים ולומדים” — “They are not like the bnei Torah who sit and learn.”

The discussion escalated further when Naki challenged the comparison between the mother of a soldier on the frontlines and the mother of a chareidi yeshiva student. He remarked:
“מי שהולך ל-8200 ויושב בחדר ממוזג גם מפחד למות? אני עושה יותר מ-8200” — “Someone who goes to Unit 8200 and sits in an air-conditioned room — is he also afraid of dying? I’m doing more than 8200.”

Horowitz fired back: “אתם לא מתגייסים, כי אתם שמעתם על מאות אנשים שנהרגו בקרבות. אתה רוצה את הבן שלך בראש השנה לידך” — “You’re not enlisting because you’ve heard about hundreds of people killed in battles. You want your son next to you on Rosh Hashanah.”

Naki later referred to comments made by the current IDF Chief of Staff, stating: “הרמטכ”ל אמר דבר חשוב, שצריכים כולם להתגייס, הוא התכוון על הצפונבונים שלא מתגייסים בהמוניהם” — “The Chief of Staff said something important, that everyone should enlist, but he was talking about the privileged northerners who don’t draft in large numbers.”

He then questioned why, according to him, tens of thousands of soldiers released from service under former Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi were not being recalled to active duty.

The debate reached its peak when Horowitz asserted: “בני ישיבות ההסדר יותר תלמידי חכמים” — “Students in hesder yeshivas are greater talmidei chachamim.”

Naki shot back furiously: “שקר, אתה יודע שזה שקר” — “That’s a lie, and you know it’s a lie.”

WATCH:

{Matzav.com}

The U.S. economy rebounded this spring from a first-quarter downturn due to fallout from President Donald Trump’s trade wars. In an upgrade from its first estimate in July, the Commerce Department said Thursday that U.S. gross domestic product — the nation’s output of goods and services — expanded at a 3.3% annual pace from April through June after shrinking 0.5% in the first three months of 2025. The department had initially estimated second-quarter growth at 3%. The first-quarter GDP drop, the first retreat of the U.S. economy in three years, was mainly caused by a surge in imports — which are subtracted from GDP — as businesses scrambled to bring in foreign goods ahead of Trump’s tariffs. That trend reversed as expected in the second quarter: Imports fell at a 29.8% pace, boosting April-June growth by more than 5 percentage points. The Commerce Department reported that consumer spending and private investment were a bit stronger in the second quarter than it had first estimated. Consumer spending, which accounts for about 70% of GDP, grew at a 1.6% annual pace, lackluster but better than 0.5% in the first quarter and the 1.4% the government initially estimated for the second. Even with an upward revision, private investment dropped at a 13.8% annual pace from April through June. That would be biggest drop since the second quarter of 2020 at the height of the coronavirus pandemic. A reduction in private inventories cut almost 3.3 percentage points off second-quarter GDP growth. Spending and investment by the federal government fell at a 4.7% annual clip on top of a 4.6% drop in the first quarter. A category within the GDP data that measures the economy’s underlying strength came in stronger than first reported, growing 1.9% from April-June, same as in the first quarter. This category includes consumer spending and private investment, but excludes volatile items like exports, inventories and government spending. Since returning to the White House, Trump has overturned decades of U.S. policy that had favored freer trade. He’s slapped double-digit taxes on imports from almost every country on earth and targeted specific products for tariffs, too, including steel, aluminum and autos. Trump sees tariffs as a way to protect American industry, lure factories back to the United States and to help pay for the massive tax cuts he signed into law July 4. But mainstream economists — viewed with disdain by Trump and his advisers — say that his tariffs will damage the economy, raising costs and making protected U.S. companies less efficient. They note that tariffs are paid by importers in the United States, who try to pass along the cost to their customers via higher prices. Therefore, tariffs can be inflationary — though their impact so far has been modest. The erratic way Trump has imposed the tariffs — announcing and suspending them, then coming up with new ones — has left businesses bewildered and uncertain about investments and hiring. Heather Long, chief economist at Navy Federal Credit Union, said the resilience of the job market — the government also reported Thursday that fewer people applied last week for unemployment benefits — is “giving people confidence to open their wallets for the basics and some little splurges.” But she expected the economy to stay in a ”slower speed mode with spending […]

France, Germany and the United Kingdom started a process Thursday to reimpose United Nations sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program, further isolating Tehran after its 12-day war with Israel saw its atomic sites repeatedly bombed. The mechanism, termed “snapback” by the diplomats who negotiated it into Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, was designed to be veto-proof at the U.N. and is likely to go into effect. It would again freeze Iranian assets abroad, halt arms deals with Tehran and penalize any development of its ballistic missile program, among other measures, further squeezing the country’s reeling economy. The European move starts a 30-day clock for the sanctions to return, a period that likely will see intensified diplomacy from Iran, whose refusal to cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency’s inspectors started the crisis. The U.N. General Assembly in September will also likely see Iran as a top focus. France and Germany’s foreign ministers suggested they viewed “snapback” as a way to spur negotiations with Tehran. “This measure does not signal the end of diplomacy: we are determined to make the most of the 30-day period that is now opening to engage in dialogue with Iran,” French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot wrote on the social platform X. Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in a statement that he decried the move as “unjustified, illegal, and lacking any legal basis” in a call with his European counterparts. “The Islamic Republic of Iran will respond appropriately to this unlawful and unwarranted measure,” he said, without elaborating. Europeans warned Iran ‘snapback’ could come The three European nations warned Aug. 8 that Iran could trigger snapback when it halted inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency after Israeli strikes at the start of the two countries’ 12-day war in June. Israeli attacks then killed Tehran’s top military leaders and saw Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei go into hiding. Iran threatened Thursday before the announcement to abandon all cooperation with the IAEA if “snapback” moves forward. “We have told them if this happens, the pathway we have opened for working with the IAEA will be completely affected and the process will likely be stopped,” Kazem Gharibabadi, a deputy foreign minister, told state television. “If they opt for snapback, it makes no sense for Iran to continue working with them.” Using the “snapback” mechanism likely will raise tensions further between Iran and the West in a region still burning over the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip. “The U.S. and its European partners see invoking the ‘snapback’ as a means of keeping Iran strategically weak and unable to reconstitute the nuclear program damaged by the U.S. and Israeli strikes,” the New York-based Soufan Center think tank said Thursday. “Iranian leaders perceive a sanctions snapback as a Western effort to weaken Iran’s economy indefinitely and perhaps stimulate sufficient popular unrest to unseat Iran’s regime,” it added. Iran appears resigned Iran initially downplayed the threat of renewed sanctions and engaged in little visible diplomacy for weeks after Europe’s warning, but has engaged in a brief diplomatic push in recent days, highlighting the chaos gripping its theocracy. In Tehran on Thursday, Iran’s rial currency traded at over 1 million to $1. At the time of the 2015 accord, it traded at 32,000 to $1, showing the currency’s precipitous collapse in the time since. The rial hit […]

To the Leadership of New Square,

Hello, we’ve never met, but we’re well aware of your position.

You’ve made it loud and clear: you want to enforce a Judenrein mile around New Square, and you’re determined to get it done.

Let’s call it what it is, arrogant, backwards, and completely detached from reality. Where did you pull the “mile” from? Why not two miles? Or five miles? Or a techum Shabbos? This isn’t Torah, it’s fantasy.

You claim to have written some letter ten years ago requesting that Yidden not buy within a mile of New Square. If we had seen that back then, we would’ve assumed it was a joke. Who in their right mind tries to control where a fellow Yid lives, just because it doesn’t fit your kehilla’s preferences? That’s not how normal communities function.

Let’s be honest: if a different Rebbe, not yours, had told you to stop the Skver expansion, would you give it a second of thought? Of course not. So don’t expect us to either.

There was no such thing as a widely understood or accepted “mile rule” when families moved in. Not in halacha, not in law, not in any shared communal understanding. You invented it, expected blind obedience, and are now shocked that no one took it seriously.

Nobody was informed, because nobody outside of your shtetel recognized it as a real or binding concept. And even if someone had mentioned it, there’s no reason anyone would have taken it seriously, because the idea that one kehilla can unilaterally redraw the map around itself, with no halachic basis, and no legal standing, is simply not how Torah communities or civilized society operate.

So you’ve decided to escalate and pick a fight with your Yiddishe neighbors. No, not with fire and arson like in 2011. You learned the hard way that violence has consequences. This time you’ve decided to wage economic and demographic warfare. Buying homes and illegally renting them out to multi-family tenants, including illegal migrants in order to sabotage the neighborhoods around you.

Let’s be clear: this isn’t just shady. It’s criminal. You’re breaking halacha and, l’havdil, federal, state, and local law. Worst of all, you’re breaking the basic norms of decency that every Jewish community, every one, has upheld for generations.

You will be stopped – that’s a fact.

The question is – how ugly and expensive it’s going to get for you.

Even before the law catches up to you, you’re already paying a price. You’ve ignited a storm. Matzav, the Jewish Velt, the Mikveh nies, CBN, Imamother, WhatsApp chats, it’s everywhere, and it’s not flattering. And what’s the story? A once looked up to and respected kehilla acting like a gang of bullies and crooks. You’re becoming a national disgrace. Another scandal, another headline, you’re being spoken about in the same breath as Lev Tahor – a fringe cult that no one wants to touch.

You built something meaningful over sixty years. Skver used to mean something. A respected name. A good hechsher. A community known for warmth and ehrlichkeit. That’s all on the verge of going up in smoke. For what? To block a few Yiddishe families from living peacefully, that’s what you’re burning it all down for?

This was stupid. Not just wrong—stupid. You’re throwing away your credibility, your standing, your future. And you’re doing it for a cause that has no halachic foundation, no precedent in Jewish history, and no chance of success.

Skver is not self-funded. You rely on outside donors. What do you think they’re going to say when they realize their tzedakah dollars are financing mafia tactics and illegal rentals? Once they understand what’s being done in their name, support will evaporate. No one wants to fund chillul Hashem.

What exactly do you think you’re accomplishing?

You really think if you push Yidden a mile away, your kehilla won’t see them? Won’t talk to them? Won’t think? Won’t wonder?

You think isolation stops curiosity? You think isolation stops the yearning for freedom?

This isn’t about us. Your young people are leaving because of you, because forced conformity and mind control are unsustainable. Because personality cults dressed in religious clothing have a shelf life. Because when you don’t allow people to breathe, think, question, or grow, you don’t produce tzaddikim – you produce escapees.

That’s not on us. That’s on you.

And no, this is not going away. We will keep this front and center until it’s resolved. You will either sell those homes, or you will rent them out legally.

You want to be “frim”? Start with the Gemara. Start with the Shulchan Aruch. Rent to Jewish families if you care so much about kedusha. But we don’t expect that from you. Apparently, that’s not your thing.

At the very least, you will be forced to follow the law. Dina d’malchusa dina. The world is not hefker!

You’ve made a catastrophic miscalculation. It’s not too late to stop the bleeding. Climb down quietly – or be dragged down, loudly. Either way, this ends with your defeat. The only question is: how much of your kehilla’s dignity, reputation, and future are you willing to destroy before that happens?

Your Neighbors in the Mile

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{Matzav.com}

Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook has sued the Trump administration in an effort to overturn the president’s attempt to fire her, launching an unprecedented legal battle that could significantly reshape the Fed’s longstanding political independence. The lawsuit seeks an injunction to block her firing and “confirm her status” as a member of the Fed’s governing board. If the courts uphold Trump’s firing of Cook, it would significantly increase the president’s control over one of the few remaining independent agencies in Washington. Most observers expect the case to end up at the Supreme Court. No president has sought to fire a Fed governor in the institution’s 112-year history until Trump posted a letter on media late Monday saying that Cook was fired. Trump said the reason for her removal were allegations that she committed mortgage fraud in 2021, before she was appointed to the board. The Supreme Court has signaled that the president can’t fire Fed officials over policy differences, but he can do so “for cause,” typically meaning misconduct or neglect of duty. Cook has not been charged with any crime. The lawsuit, filed by Cook’s lawyer Abbe David Lowell, argues that the allegations don’t involve misconduct by Cook while in office and haven’t been proven. Cook should also have been given a chance to answer the charges, the suit says. “The unsubstantiated and unproven allegation that Governor Cook ‘potentially’ erred in filling out a mortgage form prior to her Senate confirmation—does not amount to ’cause,’ the lawsuit says. “Allowing the President to remove members of the Board over policy disagreements would also render illusory the Board’s independence,” the suit says. The president’s decision comes as he has repeatedly attacked Fed Chair Jerome Powell and the other members of the Fed’s interest-rate setting committee for not cutting the short-term interest rate they control more quickly. It currently stands at 4.3%, after Fed policymakers reduced it by a full percentage point late last year. The suit argues that the allegations of mortgage fraud are simply a pretext to fire Cook because she hasn’t voted to lower interest rates: “the mortgage allegations against her are pretextual, in order to effectuate her prompt removal and vacate a seat for President Trump to fill and forward his agenda to undermine the independence of the Federal Reserve.” Powell signaled last week that the central bank was leaning toward cutting its rate at its next meeting Sept. 16-17. Those attacks have opened up the White House to the criticism that its firing of Cook over alleged mortgage fraud is just a pretext to open up another seat on the board for a Trump loyalist. Trump has said he will only appoint people to the Fed who will support lower rates. The Fed exercises expansive power over the U.S. economy by adjusting a short-term interest rate that can influence broader borrowing costs for things like mortgages, auto loans and business loans. If the courts ultimately green-light Trump’s firing of Cook, it could erode the Fed’s political independence, which enables it to take unpopular steps like raising interest rates. A less-independent Fed could leave Americans paying higher rates because investors would demand a higher yield to own bonds to offset potentially greater inflation in the future, pushing up borrowing costs throughout the economy. (AP)

Of course, you heard about the chessed. How amid the darkness of October 7 and its aftermath, amid the missiles, the wounded or fallen soldiers, the hostages’ torment, the thousands of Jews who almost overnight became refugees – the light of Am Yisrael prevailed. There was the light of unity when the nation came together. The light of volunteers, old and young, rich and poor, chareidi and not-yet-religious, bringing socks and barbecues and Shabbos meals and hospital visits and countless other deeds meant to comfort and strengthen a shocked and hurting nation. In Chessed Under Fire, ArtScroll’s newly released (and already bestselling!) book by Rabbi Nachman Seltzer, you will discover yet another luminous light: the non-stop, unique, and incredibly effective chessed of Shai Graucher and his team. Take a look at this fascinating Inside ArtScroll interview, where Rabbi Seltzer and Shai share incredible stories of chessed that bring the book’s pages vividly to life. Who would have thought to put washing machines and dryers on the back of a flatbed truck, so soldiers covered with the filth of battle could have a clean change of clothing?  Who realized early on just how powerful barbecues and food trucks could be in lifting morale? Who understood the importance of the spiritual needs of soldiers and arranged for the printing of tens of thousands of a special battlefield edition of the Schottenstein Edition Talmud? Shai Graucher and his team, that’s who! The amazing story begins literally the night after October 7, when Shai was approached by well-known philanthropists Bob Book and Jay Schottenstein. They realized that this was no passing phase, the country was at war, and they tasked Shai with the mission of reaching out to the thousands who needed help.  Shai answered the call, and he and the organization he founded, B’Yachad Nenatzeiach, threw themselves into the challenge — in hospitals and army bases, at funerals, and in the homes of those who had lost a loved one, whether taken as a hostage or fallen as a soldier in battle. But Shai’s work didn’t actually begin on October 7. It started when he was a young boy watching the generous and genuine loving kindness of his parents, the famed singer Dedi Graucher and Dedi’s wife, Malca. His “chessed lessons” continued in a small room on Rechov Rashbam, as he became a ben bayis – almost a family member – in the simple home of Rav Chaim Kanievsky, zt’l. For years, Shai visited Rav Chaim regularly,   soaking in his guidance. He also fundraised extensively for Rav Chaim’s tzedakah causes, helping generate millions of shekels for poor families, widows, and yeshivos. In Chessed Under Fire, Rabbi Nachman Seltzer turns his much-hailed storytelling talents to the incredible story of Shai and his team. We’ll join Shai as he alleviates the financial distress of a bereaved mother and as he brings a pony to a courageous boy living in the shadow of missile attacks. We’ll be with him as Shai and music legend Avraham Fried dance together with troops about to enter Gaza. We’ll attend brissos of infants who will never meet their fathers, and travel down south and up north and all through Eretz Yisrael with Shai, making birthday parties for war orphans or dedicating Sifrei Torah in memory of fallen soldiers. And the music-lovers among us (isn’t that everyone?) will particularly enjoy the special bonus feature: a tribute to Dedi Graucher. Though the background is heartbreaking, Chessed Under Fire is not a book about sadness. It is an inspiring reminder of how much one person, with determination and caring, can do – and a testament to Klal Yisrael’s resilience and infinite kindness. Don’t miss the chance to be inspired—and be sure to pick up your copy of Chessed Under Fire at ArtScroll.com or your local bookseller. {Matzav.com}

A leaf written in the holy handwriting of the Kabbalist Rabbi Chaim Vital (the Maharchu), foremost disciple of the Arizal, containing: divine names, amulets, incantations, medical prescriptions, and more. Among the wondrous segulos found on the present leaf is a segulah for livelihood, ensuring that one’s sustenance shall not be lacking, achieved through the recital of a divine name or its contemplation in thought (see section 403).

A shocking case continues to unfold as Ariel Katzenberg, a Christian missionary who posed as a chareidi rabbi and was recently exposed on the program “Open Studio,” remains under police investigation following a complaint filed by the anti-missionary organization Yad L’Achim — yet, Matzav.com has learned, he continues operating in various cities, living a double life that included officiating at weddings, performing conversions, and selling mezuzos using forged documents.

Katzenberg, who was unmasked earlier this week, is suspected of moving between several cities — including Bnei Brak, Migdal, and now Tiveriah — while Yad L’Achim works to block his activities and warn communities of the threat.

Justice Minister and Acting Minister of Religious Affairs Yariv Levin commented on the case, stating: “Professionals at the Ministry of Religious Affairs are currently conducting inquiries with all local religious councils across the country to obtain information about weddings or conversions performed by this individual. If it is determined that any were indeed conducted by him, the ministry will immediately file a complaint with the police.”

Investigators revealed that Katzenberg lived in the heart of Bnei Brak and later moved to Tiveriah, all while leading a double life. Outwardly, he presented himself as a rabbi, conducting conversion ceremonies and weddings, teaching Torah, and even writing and selling mezuzos. Behind this façade, however, was a Christian missionary who believes in Yoshka, allegedly forging official documents and leading unsuspecting individuals into baptism ceremonies.

Yad L’Achim obtained critical evidence from security cameras that Katzenberg himself had installed, as well as forged documents he submitted to recognized batei din across Israel. These findings led to the exposure of the case and prompted calls for a full-scale police investigation.

{Matzav.com Israel}

The negotiations over Israel’s controversial draft law remain deadlocked as efforts to reach a compromise continue to falter. Three weeks after assuming his role as chairman of the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, MK Boaz Bismuth is working behind the scenes to revive the legislation, opting for discreet, closed-door discussions rather than public confrontation.

So far, only one open session has taken place. Bismuth plans to present a “principles document” next week — a roadmap meant to outline a workable formula for the law. Yet, insiders admit that few genuinely believe the plan has a realistic chance of success.

A central sticking point is Ariel Atias, the key chareidi representative in the negotiations. Last week, Atias had pledged to draft the agreed-upon terms reached with Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein before the Iranian strike. However, an entire week has passed and no draft has materialized.

As of now, no principles document has been finalized ahead of next week’s resumed committee discussions, despite last week’s understanding between Bismuth and the chareidi factions that such a draft would be ready by then.

Chareidi sources are increasingly candid about their frustration: “Atias is exhausted, pessimistic, and doesn’t want his name attached to any version of the law. He’s dragging his feet, and there’s no way to get him to commit to a final position,” one insider admitted.

Officials in the Prime Minister’s Office share this sentiment, suggesting that Atias is deliberately stalling rather than working toward a resolution. “We felt this already back in Edelstein’s time in July,” a senior official said. “People sit with Atias for hours, but nothing comes out of it. No document, no progress.”

{Matzav.com Israel}

Two Microsoft employees who occupied Microsoft President Brad Smith’s office in Redmond, Washington on Tuesday and refused to leave have been fired, Reuters reported. A Microsoft spokesperson says the workers were terminated following “serious breaches of company policies and our code of conduct” stemming from “the break-in at the executive offices.” The No Azure For Apartheid protest group issued a statement saying that Anna Hattle and Riki Fameli received voicemails notifying them of their termination. “We are here because Microsoft continues to provide Israel with the tools it needs to commit genocide while gaslighting and misdirecting its own workers about this reality,” Hattle said in a statement. Bloomberg reported on Tuesday that Microsoft asked the FBI to investigate certain current or former employees connected to the protests. The group has been protesting against the company for months, demanding it cut ties with Israel and pay reparations to Palestinians. (YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)

Prime Minister Netanyahu joined the condemnations against the far-left Haaretz newspaper, which published an op-ed calling IDF general Avi Bluth a “Nazi officer” and “war criminal.” It should be noted that the self-hating Jews at Haaretz have caused Israel immense damage, as proven by a study by the Im Tirtzu NGO, which showed how Israeli sources, including Haaretz and various left-wing organizations, repeatedly appear in claims, decisions, and reports published against Israel in the international arena since the October 7 attack. Levy wrote outrageous and hateful comments about Bluth, including an antisemitic reference to his kippah, in response to Bluth’s comments that the Palestinian village of al-Mughayyir would “pay a heavy price” in the wake of a shooting attack carried out by one of its villagers. Levy wrote, “Uberkommandant (Nazi general) Avi Bluth, the head of the army’s Central Command, decided that he’ll show them. With his military kippah perched on his head, his blood-curdling sharp tongue, boundless arrogance, and sick double standards of morality, he ordered ‘redesign operations’ to be implemented so that ‘everyone will be deterred.'” Levy continued by claiming that Bluth and “the settlers are from the same village—the same hairstyle and the same kippah worn at an angle. When they appoint an officer like Bluth to the Central Command, they are appointing a settler’s aide.” Levi added, “How do you sleep at night, General, with this racist morality? This is what Bluth learned in Eli: the Jews are the masters of the land. The settlers are allowed to ignite, destroy, uproot, and murder as they please. Every man has a name, given to him by G-d. This ‘blood general’ is now transforming the face of the West Bank and the moral image of the entire country. Maybe he will be appointed commander of the next genocide, after Gaza.” The statement from Netanyahu said, “Prime Minister Netanyahu strongly rejects the despicable accusations against the commander of Central Command, Maj.-Gen. Avi Bluth and the settlers in Yehudah and Shomron. This is an anti-Semitic blood libel characteristic of our enemies throughout the world.” “The prime minister expresses his support for Maj.-Gen. Bluth and the IDF soldiers who work day after day to eradicate terrorism in Yehudah and Shomron. They do so with determination and uncompromising morality, and we all salute them.” Defense Minister Yisrael Katz also published a condemnation: “I reject with disgust the despicable attacks by Haaretz on Central Command chief Avi Bluth…who acts decisively to protect the Jewish settlers and the security of the State of Israel in accordance with government policy—an activity that has led to a decrease of about 80% in terrorist attacks in Yehudah and Shomron and has saved many lives.” Blue and White chairman Benny Gantz also slammed Haaretz, writing, “I have known Avi Bluth for many years, since he was a young officer and later as my chief of staff. He is a professional officer, working around the clock to save lives, always adhering to the laws of war and the values of the IDF.” “Avi is an officer that everyone in the IDF and the country can be proud of, and the incitement against him is shameful and should be condemned. Avi, you are a soldier of the country, and we are proud of you.” (YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will make his first visit to China in six years to attend a military parade next week, the two countries said Thursday, in an event that would bring him together with a large group of world leaders for the first time since taking office in late 2011. With Russian President Vladimir Putin also coming for the parade, the event will likely underline the three-way alignment among Beijing, Moscow and Pyongyang in the face of a U.S. push to bolster its alliances with South Korea and Japan. North Korea’s state media said Kim was invited to visit China by President Xi Jinping. Kim will be among 26 foreign leaders who attend next Wednesday’s parade in Beijing to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II and China’s resistance against Japan’s wartime aggressions, China’s foreign ministry said. “We warmly welcome General Secretary Kim Jong Un to China to attend the commemorative events,” Hong Lei, China’s assistant minister of foreign affairs, told a press conference. “Upholding, consolidating and developing the traditional friendship between China and the DPRK is a firm position of the Communist Party of China and the Chinese government.” DPRK refers to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, North Korea’s official name. Kim’s first attendance of a multination event Since inheriting power upon his father’s death in December 2011, Kim has met Xi, Putin, U.S. President Donald Trump, former South Korean President Moon Jae-in and others. But all those summits were bilateral meetings and Kim hasn’t attended any big multilateral events with foreign leaders. “Given that other leaders attending are mostly from pro-Russia and pro-Chinese countries, Kim likely intends to form solidarity with those Global South countries while showing he’s leader of a normal country,” said Moon Seong Mook, an analyst for the Seoul-based Korea Research Institute for National Strategy. Observers say Kim is likely emboldened by his country’s expanding cooperation with Russia, which has helped him bear the brunt of U.S.-led sanctions and break out of diplomatic isolation. North Korea has been supplying troops and ammunition to support Russia’s war against Ukraine in return for economic and military assistance. Others coming for the parade include the leaders of Iran, Belarus, Serbia, Cuba, Indonesia, Myanmar, Pakistan and Malaysia. No leaders from major Western countries including the U.S. are expected to attend, in part because of their differences with Putin over the war in Ukraine. The parade is expected to feature some of China’s newest weaponry and a speech by Xi. It’ll the first time Xi, Kim and Putin gather at the same event China, North Korea and Russia are embroiled in separate confrontations with the U.S., but they haven’t formed a clear three-way alliance so far. Xi, Putin and Kim haven’t met in trilateral formats, though they’ve met one another bilaterally. “Kim’s attendance is significant for his own international stature, but it also holds weight in the balance of alliances between the U.S. and China,” said Soo Kim, a former CIA analyst. “Xi, Putin, and now Kim attending the parade cements a visible statement about the alignment between the three countries.” The three leaders likely share desires to check the strengthening cooperation among the U.S., South Korea and Japan, which have been meeting regularly and expanding trilateral military exercises. Despite their shared goal, it’s not clear how far China, North Korea and Russia will go to further cement ties. […]

[COMMUNICATED]

A leaf written in the holy handwriting of the Kabbalist Rabbi Chaim Vital (the Maharchu), foremost disciple of the Arizal, containing: divine names, amulets, incantations, medical prescriptions, and more.

Among the wondrous segulos found on the present leaf is a segulah for livelihood, ensuring that one’s sustenance shall not be lacking, achieved through the recital of a divine name or its contemplation in thought (see section 403).

27th of Av, 5785

A Talk on Current Matters: From a Shmuz Delivered by HaGaon Rav Chaim Mendel Brodsky Shlita

Rosh Yeshiva, Yeshiva Gedolah of Toronto

Delivered before a group of talmidim

To preserve the form of the words as they were spoken without any changes that might cause the intent to be imprecise, we have tried to bring it in writing word for word in the form of the spoken words at the time:

We live in a time when the outside world has corrupted its ways and has descended dramatically in all concepts of human dignity, menschlichkeit, and every form of humanity. We should not think that this does not affect our world. Baruch Hashem, we are fortunate that we have our world—the world of Torah—but we must guard it above all else so that these influences do not penetrate it, and preserve with all dearness the understanding of the foundations of Yiddishkeit so that they do not cool or become degraded.

I am expressing the thoughts of my heart, and what I am about to say is not for a newspaper, I am speaking here as a father speaking to his sons around his table. This is what I feel here—a relationship of a father to his sons, and we are speaking “among ourselves.”

At a time when the winds of the world penetrate our camp, winds that are very strange to the Yiddishkeit that we know.

There is a concept of “losing the sense of smell”, and when it comes to Ruchniyus, we must not lose our “sense of smell”. We were not born today, and we were privileged to see great people and what the form of Yiddishkeit was like for them, and when there are certain things that don’t smell right, it’s hard to remain silent

I am not a person to speak publicly, and I speak only within my own dalet amos, and here this is my dalet amos. A person has the right at his own table to express the feelings of his heart, and he expresses them to those close to him.

When one needs to speak, even if speaking to understanding people, there is a possibility that the words will reach the ears of someone who will not understand them properly and will interpret them according to his own desire and not according to our intention. However, we find at the time of the creation of Adam that Hashem Yisbarach said, “נעשה אדם,” and the Midrash says: רבי שמואל בר נחמן בשם רבי יונתן אמר בשעה שהי’ משה כותב את התורה הי’ כותב מעשה כל יום ויום כיון שהגיע לפסוק הזה שנא’ ויאמר אלוקים נעשה אדם בצלמנו כדמותנו אמר לפניו  רבון העולם מה אתה נותן פתחון פה למינים אתמהא. אמר לו כתוב והרוצה לטעות יטעה אמר לו הקב”ה משה, האדם הזה שבראתי לא גדולים וקטנים אני מעמיד ממנו שאם יבוא הגדול ליטול רשות מן הקטן ממנו והוא אומר מה אני צריך ליטול רשות מן הקטן ממני והן אומרים לו למד מן בוראך שהוא ברא את העליונים ואת התחתונים כיון שבא לבראת את האדם נמלך במלאכי השרת, עכ”ל.

What is Hakadosh Baruch Hu saying? That one must speak with derech eretz, and regarding the concern that some will err, on that it is said, whoever is a “רוצה לטעות” and wishes to err, let him err. And there is no shortage of those who are “רוצה לטעות”, and we speak to those who are not “רוצה לטעות”. And if, Chas V’shalom, it reaches the ears of someone who is a רוצה לטעות, that is their issue, and we do not need to concern ourselves with them. In the commentary of the מהרז”ו on that Midrash he explains, “‘לאיש כזה אין לנו לחוש לטעותו שהרי יטעה עכ”פ,” when there is an agenda, he will err anyway, and nothing will help.

There are certain things that we have never seen, and we must never see them. We cannot justify such conduct by attributing it to ירידת הדורות. These are things that are the opposite of everything that we understand in Yiddishkeit

That there could be a reality where ehrliche Talmidei Chachamim and chashuva Talmidei Chachamim that go into an Inyan for a צורך with an Achrayus, and with Ehrlechkeit, and I am not talking שלא בידיעה, I KNOW WHAT I AM TALKING ABOUT. [On a blatt Gemara I can’t say I know what I am talking about, but on this I can say “I know what I am talking about”] and now they are pursued and degraded, and a metzius is created where there is an chasuve beis din of important Talmidei Chachamim, and they can degrade such a beis din [certainly there are sometimes instances of what is called a “rogue beis din” There are sometimes people that are אנשים שאינם מהוגנים that make themselves into a beis din, and there we must be careful], but to attack a Chasuva beis din and degrade them and make them into nothing?!

When there is a halachic discussion, there can be two opinions, and there are many rulings issued by important batei din in the previous generation where there is room for a Torah scholar to disagree with them as is darkah shel Torah. And if they do not reach agreement, even to write an entire book with Torah words based on which he rules differently. In this case, they can do the same. But with that, one dismisses and makes a beis din into nothing? Chalila! Such a thing has not been heard, such a thing should not be heard.

And also that it becomes a topic in the street, and everyone becomes a מאן דאמר on it, learning from this and thinking that it is permitted to do so!

I say to you, such a thing could not have happened in the previous generation in any place, not here and not in any place—this is a הימעל’ס געשריי!

“את ה’ אלוקיך תירא לרבות תלמידי חכמים,” which Shimon HaAmsuni was פורש so that one should not include another יראה, until Rabi Akiva came and said that this includes the honor of Talmidei Chachamim, that it is not another fear, but harming a Talmid Chacham is harming the honor of Hashem, for the honor of Hashem in the world is founded on the honor of Talmidei Chachamim, as Rabbeinu Yonah writes. And to make the honor of Talmidei Chachamim degraded among people, so that it becomes a mockery in everyone’s mouth, this is harming the honor of Hashem and Yiras Shamayim.

Certainly, the seriousness of halacha must be guarded above all, and here everything WAS done with great Achrayus. If they want to write a Tshuva, let them write a sefer about it, and that is the way of Torah. I am not coming to protest; I sit in my house, but I want our people, our B’nei Torah who have straight understanding, not to be confused by this.

And here the degradation is of Talmidei Chachamim on both sides, and everyone can sense that other forces are involved here—gangsterism—and there are hooligans involved here who are turning the wheels.

This is a cry to the heavens!

And we have a problem: how do we process such a thing, that they use the names of great people.

How do we relate to this?… I want to say something about this, and it is an Eidele refined thing. I am saying this in this room “to our people.” There is no need for the great people to be degraded by anyone from either side of the matter. We are talking here about great people, כולם אהובים כולם ברורים. There is an important point, and I want to tell you a story to highlight this point. Everyone knows that there was at that time a sharp controversy in Eretz Yisroel where Rav Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld had to wage a sharp campaign against Rav Kook. Others, when they hear sharp criticism, think that this means the person becomes “written off.”

I will tell you an incident that happened to me when I was a yungerman. There was a period when I was close to Rav Elyashiv, and it was Chol HaMoed Sukkos, and I was sitting in his sukkah. In the middle, his mechutan, Rav Shlomo Zalman came to visit him, and I tried to leave the sukkah, thinking it was not my place to stay. However, Rav Elyashiv commanded me to stay, and I had the opportunity to observe. The entire visit, they spoke words of Torah and important stories, and it all revolved around Rav Kook, saying things over from him and they said in his name what he showed from a certain Tosafos. I am telling you this as an introduction to the following story that Rav Chaim Nussbaum shlita of Toronto told us. His great-grandfather was present at ברכת החמה that was in Yerushalaim around the year 5680 in the Old City, and it was about two weeks before Pesach. After ברכת החמה, the people greeted each other that we should be zoche to return here in two weeks to bring the Korbon Pesach with the coming of Moshiach. One of the people there called out to Rav Yosef Chaim, “And what will you do if Rav Kook will be the Kohen Gadol?” [Loaded question], And Rav Yosef Chaim answered, “A Kohen Gadol he should be, just not the Rav of Yerushalaim.” We see here the form of a controversy in its proper format, that at the same time one needs to wage a very sharp campaign, there is the distinction that “Kohen Gadol he should be, just not the Rav of Yerushalayim.” The person remains in his full importance, to the point that he could be the Kohen Gadol who enters the Kodesh Hakadashim and is the most Heilig person in all of klal Yisrael, upon whose Avoda the entire Jewish people depends. But there is a campaign with full firmness that he should not be the Rav of Yerushalayim. Is this called harming and degrading when speaking like this? There is such a reality. This is how a controversy once looked, where they knew how to “appreciate” even when there is criticism; it is not a contradiction. There is no need for anyone’s Kavod to be degraded here. And it is not degradation to say that he should be Kohen Gadol, just not the Rav of Yerushalayim.

But this “plague” should not creep in among us, there can be such a metzius. Now is a time when the outside world is a crazy world, and when there is such a situation, something of it penetrates into us, and we must guard against it very much so that we are not harmed by it and that the yashrus of our intellect is not damaged.

When I speak, who am I to speak? I am speaking to myself. My job is to transmit the mesorah as I saw from my father and the Mesorah I saw from my father-in-law [Rav Nochum Partzovitz Zatzal]. And I can say with full confidence that I know how my father-in-law, would relate to this, and how [my grandfather] Rav Chaim [Shmulewitz] would relate to this—there is no question.

Once we spoke about the Dubner Maggid, and it is worth repeating how he explains the words of the Midrash on the verse ” אחות לנו קטנה ושדיים אין לה מה נעשה לאחותינו ביום שידובר בה “We have a little sister”—this is Avraham Avinu, the pasuk speaks at the time when Hakadosh Baruch Hu came to rest His Shechina upon Avraham, and this pasuk revolves around that. There was a doubt; the Malachim doubted if they could build upon him the entire klal yisral. And on this it is said, if she is a door, meaning he is not founded in his place but turns on his hinge, he is not worthy to build upon, he endures only for a time. But if she is a wall, meaning he establishes things like a wall, then he is worthy to build upon a silver palace, meaning they can build upon him the entire klal yisrael. And on this Avraham answered, “אני חומה ושדי כמגדלות,” meaning I will in the future establish groups upon groups of Talmidei Chachamim who will nurse the entire klal Yisrael. And it was explained here that there was a doubt about Avraham Avinu that “שדים אין לה” and it is not worthy to build upon him the entire Klal Yisrael, and on this Avraham answered, “אני חומה ושדי כמגדלות.” What was the discussion here?

The Dubner Maggid explains that the doubt of the Malachim was that Avraham Avinu elevated the world to high perceptions, and even though there was a mesorah from Shem and Ever, but Avraham achieved much more than that. And on this the malachim doubted “ושדים אין לה”—from where does he draw his foundations and who are his rabeim on this, without “rebbes” is not a wall, and they cannot build upon him, because today one can think thus and tomorrow think differently. A “wall” is only when it comes from “rebbes” and there is a mesorah on it from generation to generation. And this is what they doubted: who are his rebbes on this? And Torah that has no rebbes is not a wall, and they cannot build upon it. So what is really the answer to this?

We found a solution to this in the Midrash Shocher Tov on the pasuk ” אברך את ה’ אשר יעצני אף לילות ייסרוני כליותי” the Midrash explains that this speaks of Avraham Avinu: “‘אין לי בכל אלה לא מפי רב ולא מפי מורה”. Avraham avinu was saying that he has no Rebbe, ברך ה’ אשר יעצני” שעשה ה’ שני כליותי כמעיין המתגבר, Hashem himself was his rebbe. Avraham avinu could be a talmid and hear the shiur directly from Hakodosh Baruch Hu Himself, and we need Avraham Avinu and his talmidim so that we can hear the shiur. But this is Torah from a “rebbe”! And Torah needs to be from a “rebbe,” and this is what Avraham Avinu means that I establish groups upon groups of Talmidei Chachamim who will nurse the entire klal Yisrael, that the type of Torah I establish is Torah that does not change, Torah that is transmitted from generation to generation, and it is Torah of rebbes transmitted from rebbe to student.

There is Torah with a mesorah from a “rebbe,” and there is Torah without a “rebbe,” and one can distinguish and recognize the difference between them. And what I came to say here is that we have Torah from rebbes, and one can be great to the heavens, but everything needs to be as the rebbes would do. And our rebbes would not allow seeing such a metzius, and there cannot be a lawless world where the honor of Talmidei chachamim is degraded, who are pursued, and those rolling the wheels are of the underworld, figures who do things with cunning, how they sell us everything under a mask…

One should not speak too much. We are talking here about the יראת שמים of every yid, the יראת שמים of the entire klal Yisrael. I would prefer to remain silent, but one cannot remain silent when there is something that harms the ציפור הנפש of כבוד שמים and the honor of the Torah of the entire klal Yisrael.

May hashem help that the Yashrus of intellect and clarity of mind not be harmed, and that we merit the elevation of the Keren of Torah, and that the honor of all Talmidei Chachamim and all the gedolim of the world be preserved in its full form, and that we merit siyata d’shmaya, and that we merit to be נכתב ונחתם for a good year of life and peace and all good.

HEBREW:                                                                                                                                                                                                    כ”ז מנ”א תשפ”ה

שיחה בעניני השעה

מתוך שיחת מוסר שנאמרה ע”י הגאון רבי חיים מענדל בראדסקי שליט”א

ראש הישיבה, ישיבה גדולה ד’טאראנטא

נמסר בפני קבוצת תלמידים

כדי לשמור על צורת הדברים כפי שנאמרו בלי שום שינויים שאולי היו גורמים שהמכוון לא יהא מדוייק, לכן ניסינו להביאו עלי כתב מלה במלה כצורת אמירת הדברים בשעתו

אנו חיים בתקופה שהעולם בחוץ השחית דרכו, וירד פלאים בכל המושגים של כבוד האדם ומענטשליכקייט ובכל צורת האנושיות, ואין לנו לחשוב שאין זה משפיע על עולמנו, וב”ה אשרנו שזכינו שיש לנו עולמנו עולם התורה אבל צריכים לשמור עליו [מכל משמר] שלא יחדרו לתוכו השפעות אלה, ולשמור בכל היקרות את ההבנה ביסודות של אידישקייט שלא יתקררו ולא יזדלזלו.

הנני מביע מהרהורי לבי, ומה שאני עומד לומר אינו בשביל עיתון, אלא אני מדבר פה כאב המדבר לבניו סביב לשולחנו, שזהו מה שאני מרגיש פה יחס של אב לבניו ואנחנו מדברים “צווישען זיך”.

בשעה שהרוחות של העולם חודרות לתוך מחננו, רוחות שהם זרות מאד [very strange] ל”אידישקייט וואס מיר ווייסען”.

יש מושג של איבוד של חוש הריח וכשמגיע לרוחניות אסור לנו לאבד את חוש הריח. לא נולדנו היום, וזכינו לראות אנשים גדולים ומהו הצורה של אידישקייט אצלם, וכשיש דברים מסויימים “that don’t smell right, it’s hard to remain silent”.

איני אדם לדבר בשער, ואיני מדבר אלא בד’ אמות שלי וכאן זה הד”א שלי, ויש לאדם ‘רעכט ביי דער אייגענע טיש’ להביע רגשי לבו והוא מביע אותם לאנשים הקרובים אליו.

כשצריכים לדבר, ואפי’ שמדברים אל אנשים מבינים, יש אפשרות שהדברים יגיעו לאזני מי שלא יבינם כראוי ויפרשם לפי רצונו ולא כפי כוונתנו, אמנם מצינו בשעת בריאת האדם שאמר הקב”ה ‘נעשה אדם’ וז”ל המדרש: רבי שמואל בר נחמן בשם רבי יונתן אמר בשעה שהי’ משה כותב את התורה הי’ כותב מעשה כל יום ויום כיון שהגיע לפסוק הזה שנא’ ויאמר אלוקים נעשה אדם בצלמנו כדמותנו אמר לפניו רבון העולם מה אתה נותן פתחון פה למינים אתמהא. אמר לו כתוב והרוצה לטעות יטעה אמר לו הקב”ה משה, האדם הזה שבראתי לא גדולים וקטנים אני מעמיד ממנו שאם יבוא הגדול ליטול רשות מן הקטן ממנו והוא אומר מה אני צריך ליטול רשות מן הקטן ממני והן אומרים לו למד מן בוראך שהוא ברא את העליונים ואת התחתונים כיון שבא לבראת את האדם נמלך במלאכי השרת, עכ”ל. מה אומר הקב”ה שכך צריכים לדבר ממידת דרך ארץ, ועל החשש שיש שיטעו, ע”ז נאמר הרוצה לטעות יטעה, ולא חסר כאלה שרוצים  לטעות, ואנחנו מדברים לכאלה שאינם רוצים לטעות, ואם חלילה יגיע לאזני מי שרוצה לטעות, הרי זה ענין שלהם ואין לנו לחוש להם ועיי”ש בפי’ הרז”ו שמפרש ‘לאיש כזה אין לנו לחוש לטעותו שהרי יטעה עכ”פ’ כשיש agenda יטעה עכ”פ ולא יעזור שום דבר.

יש דברים מסויימים שמעולם לא ראינו ואסור לנו אף פעם לראותם, ואין לנו לתלות ולהצדיק הנהגה זאת בירידת הדורות, אלו דברים שהם ההיפך מכל מה ‘וואס מיר פארשטייען אין אידישקייט’.

שיהי’ יכול להיות מציאות, שיהיו עהרליכע תלמידי חכמים וחשוב’ע תלמידי חכמים, שירדו לדון בענין לצורך באחריות ובעהרליכקייט, ואני יודע זאת בידיעה ברורה איך שטפלו בענין במלוא האחריות [אויף א בלאט גמ’ קען איך זאך נישט איינרעדען אז איך ווייס וואס איך זאג בברירות, אבער דא זאג איך יע בברירות] ועכשיו ירדפו אותם ויזלזלו בהם, ונעשה מציאות שיהי’ בי”ד חשוב של ת”ח חשובים ושיוכלו לזלזל כך בבי”ד חשוב [בודאי יש מציאות לפעמים של מה שנקרא ‘בי”ד rogue‘ של אנשים שאינם מהוגנים שעושים עצמם לבי”ד ומהם צריכים מאד להשמר] אבל להתקיף בי”ד חשוב ולזלזל בהם ולעשותם לכלום?!

כשיש נידון בהלכה, יכול להיות שיהיו שני דיעות, ויש הרבה פסקי דינים שנפסקו בבתי דינים חשובים בדור הקודם, שיש מקום לתלמיד חכם לחלוק עליהם כדרכה של תורה, ואם לא הגיעו לעמק שוה אף לכתוב ספר שלם בדברי תורה שעל פיהם יוצא לפסוק אחרת, ואף כאן יכולים לעשות כן.

אבל ‘מיט דעם שאפט מען אפ און מען מאכט צו גארנישט א בי”ד’? חלילה! ס’נישט געהערט געווארען אזא זאך, ס’טאר נישט געהערט ווערען אזא זאך’.

וגם שיהי’ נושא ברחוב, וכל אחד נעשה מאן דאמר על זה, שלומדים מזה וחושבים שמותר לעשות כן!

אני אומר לכם, דבר כזה לא הי’ יכול לקרות בדור הקודם בשום מקום, לא פה ולא בשום מקום, זה זועק עד לשמים! [ס’איז א הימעל’ס געשריי]

“את ה’ אלוקיך תירא לרבות תלמידי חכמים”, ששמעון העמסוני פירש, שאין לרבות עוד יראה אחרת, עד שבא ר”ע ואמר שנתרבה בזה כבוד ת”ח, שאי”ז יראה אחרת, אלא פגיעה בת”ח הרי”ז פגיעה בכבוד שמים, שכבוד שמים בעולם מיוסד על כבוד תלמידי חכמים, כמו שכתב רבינו יונה, ולעשות שיהא מזולזל אצל אנשים כבוד תלמידי חכמים שיהא למשל ולשנינה בפי כל אחד הרי”ז פגיעה בכבוד שמים וביראת ה’.

וודאי הכבדות של הלכה צריכים לשומרו מכל משמר, וכאן נעשה הכל באחריות גדולה, אם רוצים לכתוב מערכה שיכתבו ספר ע”ז, וכך היא דרכה של תורה. איני בא לעשות מחאה, אני יושב בביתי, אבל אני רוצה שאונזערע מענטשען אונזערע בני תורה שיש להם שכל הישר שלא יתבלבלו מזה.

וכאן הזלזול בת”ח הוא בתלמידי חכמים משני הצדדים, ויכול כל אחד להריח שמעורבים פה כוחות אחרים ‘גאנגסטעריי’ ויש פה ‘חוליגאנעס’ שמעורבים פה ומסבבים בגלגל.

דאס איז א הימעל’ס געשריי!

ויש לנו בעי’ how do we process such a thing, שמשתמשים בשמות של אנשים גדולים.

איך מתייחסים לזה?

הריני רוצה לומר דבר בזה, והוא “א איידעלע זאך”. הריני אומר זאת בחדר זה “צו אונזערע מענטשען”, לא צריך שיזדלזלו האנשים גדולים מאף אחד מצדדי המערכה. מדובר פה באנשים גדולים, שכולם אהובים כולם ברורים. יש נקודה ואני רוצה לומר לכם סיפור להבליט נקודה זו. כולם יודעים שהי’ בזמנו מערכה חריפה בא”י שהוצרך הרב יוסף חיים זוננפעלד לערוך מערכה חריפה כנגד הרב קוק. אחרים כששומעים ביקורת חריפה, סוברים שפירושו שבזה נעשה האדם “אפגעשאפען”.

אספר לכם מעשה שבדידי הוי עובדא כשהייתי אברך הי’ תקופה שהייתי מקורב להרב אלישיב, והי’ זה חוה”מ סוכות וישבתי בסוכה אצלו, ובאמצע הגיע מחותנו הרב שלמה זלמן לבקרו, ואני נסיתי לצאת מן הסוכה, שחשבתי שאי”ז מקומי להישאר, אמנם הרב אלישיב צווני להישאר והי’ לי אז הזדמנות to observe, וכל הביקור דברו בו דברי תורה ומעשיות חשובות, וכולו הי’ מוסב על הרב קוק, שאמרו ממנו דברים ואיך שאמרו בשמו איך שהראה מתוס’ פלוני. וזה אני אומר לכם בתור הקדמה למעשה הבא שסיפר לנו הרב חיים נוסבוים שליט”א מטאראנטא איך שסבו [עלטער זיידע שלו] שהי’ נוכח בברכת החמה שהי’ בירושלים בתר”פ’ס בעיר העתיקה, והי’ זה כשבועיים לפני פסח, ואחרי ברכת החמה, בירכו האנשים איש את רעהו שנזכה לחזור לפה בעוד שבועיים להקריב קרבן פסח בביאת המשיח, וקרא שם אחד מהאנשים להרב יוסף חיים ‘און וואס וועט איהר טאהן אז רב קוק וועט זיין כהן גדול’? [Loaded question] וענה על זה רב יוסף חיים ‘כהן גדול זאל ער זיין, נאר נישט ירושליימער רב’. רואים כאן צורה של מערכה כמתכונתו, שבו זמנית שצריכים לערוך מערכה חריפה מאד יש את ההבחנה ש’כהן גדול זאל ער זיין, נאר נישט ירושליימער רב’, האדם נשאר במלוא חשיבותו, עד כדי שיהי’ יכול להיות כהן גדול שנכנס לפני ולפנים והוא האדם המקודש ביותר בכלל ישראל וואס אויף זיין עבודה שטייט דער כלל ישראל, אבל יש מערכה במלוא התקיפות שלא יהי’ ירושליימער רב, האם זה נקרא לפגוע ולזלזל כשמדברים כך? יש כזה מציאות. כך נראה מערכה פעם שידעו ‘אפצושאצען’ אפי’ כשיש ביקורת, אין זה סתירה. לא צריך שיזדלזל פה כבודו של אף אחד. ואי”ז זלזול לומר שיהי’ כה”ג רק לא ירושליימער רב.

אבל ‘נגע’ זה זאל נישט אריינקריכען ביי אונז א כי הוא זה אז זאל קענען געמאלט זיין אזא מציאות, כעת הוא זמן שהעולם בחוץ הוא ‘א מעשוגענע וועלט’ וכשיש מצב כזה, משהו מזה חודר לתוכינו וצריכים להישמר מזה מאד שלא ניפגע מזה ושישרות השכל לא ייפגע.

כשאני מדבר מי אני לדבר אני מדבר לעצמי my job is להעביר את המסורה איך שראיתי אצל אבי מורי והמסורה שראיתי אצל מורי חמי, ויכול אני לומר בפה מלא שאני יודע איך שמורי חמי הי’ מתייחס לזה ואיך שרבי חיים הי’ מתייחס לזה ס’קיין שאלה נישט.

פעם דברנו מהדובנער מגיד וכדאי לחזור עליו איך שהוא מבאר את דברי המדרש, על הפסוק “אחות לנו קטנה ושדיים אין לה מה נעשה לאחותינו ביום שידובר בה” אחות לנו קטנה זה אברהם שהפסוק מדבר בשעה שבא הקב”ה להשכין שכינתו על אברהם שע”ז מוסב פסוק זה, והי’ ספק שפקפקו מלאכי השרת אם יכולים לבנות עליו את הכלל ישראל, וע”ז נאמר אם דלת היא שאינו מיוסד במקומו רק מסתובב על צירו אינו ראוי לבנות עליו שאינו מתקיים אלא לשעה אבל אם חומה היא שמעמיד דברים כחומה ואז ראוי לבנות עליו טירת כסף ויכולים לבנות עליו את הכלל ישראל וע”ז ענה אברהם אני חומה ושדי כמגדלות שעתיד אני להעמיד כתים כתים של תלמידי חכמים שייניקו את הכלל ישראל, ומבו’ פה שהי’ פקפוק על אברהם אבינו של שדיים אין לה ואין ראוי לבנות עליו הכלל ישראל ועל זה ענה אברהם אני חומה ושדי כמגדלות. מה הי’ פה הנידון?

ומבאר הדובנער מגיד שפקפוקם של מלאכי השרת היתה שהרי אברהם אבינו העלה את העולם להשגות גבוהות ואף שהי’ מסורה משם ועבר אבל א”א השיג הרבה יותר מזה, ועל זה פקפקו מלאכי השרת ‘ושדיים אין לה’, מאין ינק יסודותיו ומי הם רבותיו על זה, שזה בלי “רביים” אי”ז חומה ואין יכולים לבנות עליו שהיום יכולים לחשוב כך ולמחר לחשוב אחרת. ‘חומה’ הוא רק כשזה בא מ”רביים” ויש ע”ז מסורה מדור דור. וזהו שפקפקו מי הם הרביים שלו על זה, ותורה שאין ע”ז רביים אינה חומה ואין יכולים לבנות עליו. ומה הוא באמת התשובה על זה?

ומצאנו פתרון דבר זה במדרש שוחר טוב על הפסוק “אברך את ה’ אשר יעצני אף לילות ייסרוני כליותי” ומבארת המדרש שמדבר פה אברהם אבינו ‘אין לי בכל אלה לא מפי רב ולא מפי מורה’ ומי הוא ה”רבה” שלי?  הרבש”ע בעצמו הוא ה”רבה” שלי, “אברך ה’ אשר יעצני” שעשה ה’ שני כליותי כמעיין המתגבר, אברהם אבינו הי’ יכול להיות תלמיד ולשמוע השיעור direct מהרבש”ע בעצמו ואנחנו צריכים אברהם אבינו ותלמידיו כדי שנוכל לשמוע השיעור, אבל זה תורה מ”רבה”! ותורה צריכה להיות  מ”רבה” וזהו כוונת אברהם אבינו שאני מעמיד כתים כתים של ת”ח שייניקו את כלל ישראל, שהסוג תורה שאני מעמיד הוא תורה שאינה משתנית, תורה שתימסר מדור לדור והוא תורה של רביים הנמסר מרב לתלמיד.

יש תורה עם מסורה מ”רבה” ויש תורה בלי “רבה” ויכולים להבחין ולעמוד על ההפרש ביניהם. ומה שבאתי לומר כאן שיש לנו תורה מרביים ויכולים להיות גדולים עד לשמיים אבל הכל צריך להיות כמו שהיו הרביים עושים, והרביים שלנו לא היו מניחים לראות בכזו מציאות ולא יכול להיות הפקר’וועלט שיהי’ מזדלזל כבוד ת”ח שנרדפים רדיפות שמגלגלים בגלגל אונטערוועלטניקער’ס שעושים בערמה איך שמוכרים לנו הכל במסוה…..

מ’דארף נישט רעדען צו פיל, מדובר פה על היראת שמים של יעדער איד, היראת שמים של כלל ישראל. הייתי מעדיף להישאר בשקט אבל אין יכולים להישאר בשקט כשיש דבר שפוגע בצפור הנפש של כבוד שמים וכבוד התורה של כלל ישראל.

זאל דער אייבישטער העלפען שישרות השכל ושצלילות הדעת לא תיפגע ושנזכה להרמת קרן התורה ושכבוד כל התלמידי חכמים וכל הגדולי עולם תישמר במלואה כצורתה ושנזכה לסייעתא דשמיא ושנזכה לכתיבה וחתימה טובה לשנת חיים ושלום וכל טוב.

{Matzav.com}

A horrific school shooting at a Minneapolis Catholic school left at least two children dead and more than a dozen injured Wednesday. The suspected gunman, identified as Robin (formerly Robert) Westman, was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at the scene. As the community reeled from the bloodshed at Annunciation Catholic School, MSNBC host and former Biden White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki reacted by dismissing both the power of prayer and President Donald Trump’s anti-crime crackdown in Washington, D.C. “Prayer is not freaking enough. Prayers do not end school shootings. Prayers do not make parents feel safe sending their kids to school. Prayer does not bring these kids back. Enough with the thoughts and prayers,” Psaki posted on X. Psaki doubled down in a follow-up post, mocking Trump’s D.C. crime crackdown, which has seen the National Guard deployed and the federal government assume direct oversight of the Metropolitan Police. “When kids are getting shot in their pews at a Catholic school Mass and your crime plan is to have National Guard put mulch down around DC maybe rethink your strategy,” she wrote. Law enforcement sources confirmed the shooter as Robin Westman, whose legal documents show a gender change in 2019 from the name Robert. The shooter was also a rabid antisemite. In a manifesto, Westman discussed his desire to murder “filthy Zionist Jews” and wrote slogans such as “Free Palestine.” “If I will carry out a racially motivated attack, it would be most likely against filthy Zionist jews,” he wrote in one stomach-churning entry. “I hate those entitled, penny-sniffing kikes,” he wrote elsewhere in the journal. Westman also wrote that “six million wasn’t enough” and mused about killing President Trump and Jews, but settled on killing “children of innocent civilians,” which he wrote would bring him “the most joy.” “I don’t want to [do] it to spread a message. I do it to please myself. I do it because I am sick,” he wrote. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Israeli intelligence provided crucial assistance to Australia’s security agency with its probe into Iranian-backed antisemitic terror attacks on Australian soil, Sky News Australia reported Wednesday, citing sources familiar with the matter. According to the report, Jerusalem provided information—or a critical lead—regarding one of the explosive devices tied to Tehran’s plots, despite recent strains between the two governments. While most of the investigation was carried out by the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO), which analyzed the complex network surrounding the attacks, the agency ultimately concluded on its own that Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps was behind the attacks. On Tuesday, ASIO head Mike Burgess hinted that a possible “tip” from Israel may have played a role in the investigation. (YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)

A new Harvard/Harris survey conducted in August found that while most Americans believe Gaza is experiencing a famine, the majority place the blame on Hamas. The poll comes as reports of worsening conditions in Gaza continue to dominate headlines across the United States.

According to the findings, 69% of respondents accepted claims that a famine exists in Gaza. Among them, 78% of Democrats said they believed the reports, compared to 65% of Republicans and Independents who agreed.

When asked who was at fault for the famine, 61% of participants pointed to Hamas. Democrats were split on the issue, while a significant 74% of Republicans and 60% of Independents said the terror group was primarily responsible.

The generational divide was also notable. A slim majority of younger respondents placed the blame on Israel, but those over the age of 25 overwhelmingly said Hamas was responsible for the crisis.

Opinions were also divided on whether criticism of Israel during the war stems more from antisemitism or from genuine concern for Palestinian civilians, showing deep polarization on the issue.

The same split was seen regarding accusations of genocide. Americans were evenly divided over whether Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, with younger voters and Democrats more likely to accept the claim.

Despite these divisions, 60% of respondents said they support the U.S. providing both offensive and defensive military aid to Israel.

The poll also revealed a sharp generational difference in attitudes toward Hamas. Among Americans aged 18 to 24, 60% sided with Hamas over Israel. Past surveys from the same pollster have reflected similar results within this age group. By contrast, all other demographic groups expressed greater support for Israel. Overall, U.S. backing for Israel dropped three points compared to July’s results.

Across all respondents, 26% said they favored Hamas over Israel.

Additionally, 58% of Americans said Israel should only agree to a hostage-release deal if Hamas withdraws completely from Gaza, reflecting widespread skepticism of any compromise with the terror group.

The Harvard/Harris poll, released on Monday, surveyed 2,025 registered voters on August 20–21 and carries a margin of error of 2.2 percentage points. It was conducted by Harvard University’s Center for American Political Studies in collaboration with The Harris Poll.

In a separate poll released Wednesday by Quinnipiac University, 37% of Americans said they sympathized more with Palestinians, while 36% aligned with Israel. This marked the highest level of U.S. sympathy for Palestinians and the lowest for Israel since Quinnipiac began asking this question in 2001.

The Quinnipiac findings also showed that 60% of respondents opposed additional U.S. military aid to Israel for the ongoing war against Hamas, while 32% supported it. Unlike the Harvard/Harris survey, Quinnipiac specifically asked about aid tied directly to fighting Hamas, whereas the Harvard/Harris poll addressed military assistance more broadly.

Quinnipiac’s data further revealed that half of Americans believe Israel is committing genocide, while 35% disagreed and the remainder were unsure or declined to answer.

Among Democrats, 77% said they believe Israel is guilty of genocide, compared to just 20% of Republicans.

The Quinnipiac survey included 1,220 registered voters and was conducted between August 21 and 25, with a margin of error of 3.4 percentage points.

{Matzav.com}

The immigration detention center in the Florida Everglades dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz” must keep moving toward shutting down operations by late October, a judge has ruled, even as the state and federal governments fight that decision. U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams late Wednesday denied those requests to pause her order to wind down operations at the facility, which has been plagued by reports of unsanitary conditions and detainees being cut off from the legal system. The facility was already being emptied of detainees, according to an email exchange shared with The Associated Press on Wednesday. In a message sent to South Florida Rabbi Mario Rojzman on Aug. 22 related to providing chaplaincy services at the facility, Florida Division of Emergency Management Executive Director Kevin Guthrie said “we are probably going to be down to 0 individuals within a few days,” implying there would soon be no need for the services. The detention center was quickly built two months ago at a lightly used, single-runway training airport in the Everglades. State officials signed more than $245 million in contracts for building and operating the facility, which officially opened July 1. President Donald Trump toured the facility last month and suggested it could be a model for future lockups nationwide as his administration races to expand the infrastructure needed to increase deportations. Attorneys for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said in their request for a stay that Williams’ order last week, if carried out, would disrupt the federal government’s ability to enforce immigration laws. But the judge in Wednesday night’s order noted that the detainee population already was dwindling at the facility, and that the federal government’s “immigration enforcement goals will not be thwarted by a pause in operations.” Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration is preparing to open a second immigration detention facility dubbed “Deportation Depot” at a state prison in north Florida. Williams said in last week’s order that she expected the population of “Alligator Alcatraz” to decline within 60 days through the transferring of the detainees to other facilities, and once that happened, fencing, lighting and generators should be removed. She wrote the state and federal defendants can’t bring anyone other than those who are already being detained at the facility onto the property. Environmental groups and the Miccosukee Tribe had argued in their lawsuit that further construction and operations should be stopped until federal and state officials complied with federal environmental laws. Their lawsuit claimed the facility threatened environmentally sensitive wetlands that are home to protected plants and animals and would reverse billions of dollars spent over decades on environmental restoration. A second lawsuit also was filed by civil rights groups last month against the state and federal governments over practices at the Everglades facility, claiming detainees were denied access to the legal system. Another federal judge in Miami last week dismissed parts of the lawsuit which had been filed in Florida’s southern district and then moved the remaining counts against the state of Florida to the neighboring middle district. Civil rights groups last Friday filed a third lawsuit over practices at the facility in federal court in Fort Myers, asking for a restraining order and a temporary injunction that would bar Florida agencies and their contractors from holding detainees at “Alligator Alcatraz.” They described “severe problems” at […]