Yeshiva World News

An explosion struck an Israeli-owned cargo ship sailing out of the Middle East on Friday, an unexplained blast renewing concerns about ship security in the region amid escalating tensions between the U.S. and Iran. The crew and vessel were safe, according to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, which is run by the British navy. The explosion in the Gulf of Oman forced the vessel to head to the nearest port. The incident recalled the summer of 2019, when the same site saw a series of suspected attacks that the U.S. Navy blamed on Iran, which Tehran denied. Meanwhile, as President Joe Biden tries to revive nuclear negotiations with Iran, he ordered overnight airstrikes on facilities in Syria belonging to a powerful Iranian-backed Iraqi armed group. Dryad Global, a maritime intelligence firm, identified the stricken vessel as the MV Helios Ray, a Bahamian-flagged roll-on, roll-off vehicle cargo ship. Another private security official, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence matters, similarly identified the ship as the Helios Ray. 1/2 Israeli owned MV HELIOS RAY suffers explosion within the Gulf of #Oman. Vessel inbound Singapore from Dammam Saudi Arabia when incident occurred 44nm NW Muscat. Owner tells Reuters damage = two holes, diameter approx 1.5m.https://t.co/ufdRoPmOcY pic.twitter.com/d5B03UwAc1 — Dryad Global (@GlobalDryad) February 26, 2021 Satellite-tracking data from website MarineTraffic.com showed the Helios Ray had been nearly entering the Arabian Sea around 0600 GMT Friday before it suddenly turned around and began heading back toward the Strait of Hormuz. It was coming from Dammam, Saudi Arabia, and still listed Singapore as its destination on its tracker. Israel’s Channel 13, in an unsourced report, said the assessment in Israel is that Iran was behind the blast. Israeli officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Iranian government did not comment on the blast Friday. The blast comes as Tehran increasingly breaches its 2015 nuclear accord with world powers to create leverage over Washington. Iran is seeking to pressure Biden to grant the sanctions relief it received under the deal that former President Donald Trump abandoned nearly three years ago. Iran also has blamed Israel for a recent series of attacks, including a mysterious explosion last summer that destroyed an advanced centrifuge assembly plant at its Natanz nuclear facility and the killing of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, a top Iranian scientist who founded the Islamic Republic’s military nuclear program two decades ago. Capt. Ranjith Raja of the data firm Refinitiv told the AP that the Israeli-owned vessel had left the Persian Gulf Thursday bound for Singapore. On Friday at 0230 GMT, the vessel stopped for at least nine hours east of a main Omani port before making a 360-degree turn and sailing toward Dubai, likely for damage assessment and repairs, he said. The vessel came loaded with cargo from Europe. It discharged vehicles at several ports in the region, Raja added, including in Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, with its last port of call at Dammam. While details of the explosion remained unclear, two American defense officials told the AP that the ship had sustained two holes on its port side and two holes on its starboard side just above the waterline in the blast. The officials said it remained unclear what caused the holes. They […]

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A man in his 20s was detained by the police outside the home of HaGaon HaRav Chaim Kaniesky on Wednesday and was found to be revealing a sharp knife, Kikar H’Shabbos reported. The man, who was recently released from jail, arrived at the home of HaRav Chaim and told the Gadol’s attendants that he needs “to convey an important message to the Rav.” HaRav Chaim’s attendants noticed that his behavior was suspicious and called the police. The police apprehended the man and found a sharp knife on his person. The man is apparently mentally unbalanced. He later told the police that “it bothers me that the Rav calls for people to be vaccinated against the coronavirus.” He also said that it bothers him that the Rav “doesn’t support Binyamin Netanyahu in the elections,” and therefore, he came “to convey a message to him.” לתחנת המשטרה בבני ברק הובא כעת אלמוני שנעצר לאחר שביקש להיכנס לבית הגר"ח קנייבסקי כשברשותו סכין. החשוד אמר לבני הבית כי "יש לו מסר לגר"ח". שליח מטעם בית הרב מגיש כעת תלונה במשטרה @behadrei_bhol pic.twitter.com/xw6I3sBXVw — אבי גדלוביץ' (@avigad27) February 24, 2021 “It was a great neis, it could have ended in a tragedy,” HaRav Chaim’s attendants, who later formally filed a police complaint against the intruder, told Kikar H’Shabbos. “Hundreds of people pass here every day to receive a bracha. We were lucky that we noticed him – he seemed pressured and very confused. It’s not clear what his intentions were.” On Thursday, the man, who is a resident of Ashdod, was brought before the Tel Aviv Magistrate’s Court, where the judge extended his detention for four days and ordered that he be sent for a psychiatric evaluation. (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

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FREE Rental site servicing Lakewood, Monsey and NOW BROOKLYN    Check it out!! Join the thousands of happy landlords and tenants! LakewoodEZrentals launched its web site only a few short months ago to service a tremendous need in our growing communities.  Now landlords can list their properties for FREE at any time of day or night and along with photos of the property.  Tenants are  happy to have one great site which has hundreds of listings at their fingertips and allows for real time notifications as new properties are listed.  LakewoodEZrentals.com was an immediate success and therefore due to popular demand MonseyEZrentals.com was born, and BrooklynEZrentals.com followed shortly thereafter.   Another really unique opportunity is for homeowners who are going away for a weekend or summer vacation and would like to see if they can attract a tenant while they are away.  You can list your property even last minute, name your price and enjoy FAST CASH all for FREE!    Commercial/retail space is another focus of these great web sites.  Advertising commercial properties can be very expensive, and require months of advertising until the space is rented.  LakewoodEZrentals , MonseyEZrentals and BrooklynEZrentals are super easy to use and are FREE to list.   Many owners of small offices who want to share their space, empty garages or basements which can be used for office space or warehouses now have a place to list their space without any fees. ITS FAST, ITS FREE AND ITS EZ!  CHECK OUT THESE GREAT SITES TODAY!! www.LakewoodEZrentals.com www.BrooklynEZrentals.com   www.MonseyEZrentals.com      

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The House approved a $1.9 trillion pandemic relief bill early Saturday in a win for President Joe Biden, even as top Democrats tried assuring agitated progressives that they’d revive their derailed drive to boost the minimum wage. The new president’s vision for flushing cash to individuals, businesses, states and cities battered by COVID-19 passed on a near party-line 219-212 vote. That ships the massive measure to the Senate, where Democrats seem bent on resuscitating their minimum wage push and fights could erupt over state aid and other issues. Democrats said the still-faltering economy and the half-million American lives lost demanded quick, decisive action. GOP lawmakers, they said, were out of step with a public that polling shows largely views the bill favorably. “I am a happy camper tonight,” Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., said Friday. “This is what America needs. Republicans, you ought to be a part of this. But if you’re not, we’re going without you.” Republicans said the bill was too expensive and said too few education dollars would be spent quickly to immediately reopen schools. They said it was laden with gifts to Democratic constituencies like labor unions and funneled money to Democratic-run states they suggested didn’t need it because their budgets had bounced back. “To my colleagues who say this bill is bold, I say it’s bloated,” said House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif. “To those who say it’s urgent, I say it’s unfocused. To those who say it’s popular, I say it is entirely partisan.” Moderate Democratic Reps. Jared Golden of Maine and Kurt Schrader of Oregon were the only two lawmakers to cross party lines. That sharp partisan divide is making the fight a showdown over who voters will reward for heaping more federal spending to combat the coronavirus and revive the economy atop the $4 trillion approved last year. The battle is also emerging as an early test of Biden’s ability to hold together his party’s fragile congressional majorities — just 10 votes in the House and an evenly divided 50-50 Senate. At the same time, Democrats were trying to figure out how to assuage progressives who lost their top priority in a jarring Senate setback Thursday. That chamber’s nonpartisan parliamentarian, Elizabeth MacDonough, said Senate rules require that a federal minimum wage increase would have to be dropped from the COVID-19 bill, leaving the proposal on life support. The measure would gradually lift that minimum to $15 hourly by 2025, doubling the current $7.25 floor in effect since 2009. Hoping to revive the effort in some form, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., is considering adding a provision to the Senate version of the COVID-19 relief bill that would penalize large companies that don’t pay workers at least $15 an hour, said a senior Democratic aide who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal conversations. That was in line with ideas floated Thursday night by Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., a chief sponsor of the $15 plan, and Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden, D-Ore., to boost taxes on corporations that don’t hit certain minimum wage targets. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., offered encouragement, too, calling a minimum wage increase “a financial necessity for our families, a great stimulus for our economy and a moral imperative for our country.” She said the House would […]

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The Biden administration and Israel will reconvene a strategic working group on Iran and will be holding talks in the coming days, Axios reported on Wednesday. The talks, which will focus on intelligence reports on Iran’s nuclear program, are intended to prevent a public standoff on the Biden administration’s stance on rejoining the Iran nuclear deal. The talks will be held via a strategic working group established under Obama after Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s visit to the US in 2009. During the first phone call of US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan with Israeli National Security Adviser Meir Ben-Shabbat in January, Sullivan proposed resuming the working group. Earlier this week, Netanyahu held a meeting with top Israeli officials regarding the situation with Iran, and one of the decisions reached at the meeting was to accept Sullivan’s proposal to resume the working group. Israel’s top priority in the first meeting, which will be held via videoconference, is to ensure that the latest Israeli intelligence on Iran’s nuclear program aligns with US intelligence. (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

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Israel will launch a pilot program to monitor returning travelers with electronic bracelets during home quarantine as an alternative to mandatory quarantine in state-run hotels. About 100 travelers will wear the bracelets (on their wrists or ankles), which will monitor their location for their two-week quarantine period upon arrival in Israel via Bluetooth and GPS technology. If the pilot program is successful, Israeli travelers who test negative for the coronavirus at Ben Gurion Airport will have the option of wearing the bracelet instead of quarantining in a hotel. According to B’Chadrei Chareidim, there will be an alternative to the bracelet for those who want to isolate at home but don’t want to wear the bracelet on Shabbos – a type of tracking through voice recognition that can be used on Shabbos. On Wednesday, the coronavirus cabinet approved the reinstatement of mandatory quarantine in state-run hotels for returning travelers as a temporary measure until an alternative solution could be found. Israel is determined to thwart the entry and spread of new coronavirus variants into the country and the electronic bracelet is the latest measure in its efforts. (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

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By Rabbi Yair Hoffman for 5tjt.com Never before in Jewish history was there such a need for kosher Megillahs.  The COVID 19 pandemic has caused numerous people to go into quarantine – either because they got COVID or were exposed to it.  These people need either to lein the Megillah themselves or to hear it from someone with antibodies who risks it. Either way, more Megillahs are changing hands this Purim then ever before. And speaking of hands, what happens if someone touches a Megillah klaf during the seudah?  Does he or she need to wash again? THE VIEW THAT ONE DOES WASH The Chayei Odom (Klal 40 Sif 20) writes that if someone touches a Torah, Tefillin, or a Megillah – he must wash his hands.  This is because Kisvei Kodesh impurify the hands.  However, the Chayei Odom writes that since he did not see it in the Poskim, one washes without a blessing. THE VIEW THAT ONE DOESN’T HAVE TO WASH The Chofetz Chaim at the end of Siman 164 in his Biur Halacha cites proofs from Rav Hai Gaon and other Rishonim that the impurity under discussion is only in regard to Trumah becoming impure but not to Chullin food. CONTRADICTION BETWEEN TWO BIUR HALACHOS However, later on, in his Hilchos Pesach (Biur Halacha beginning of Siman 475). The Chofetz Chaim cites the Shibulei HaLeket that clearly understands the Tumah as referring to food as well. FINAL ANSWER So what’s the answer?  At this point, this author does not have a resolution to the contradiction.  However, since the issue does seem to be a debate between Rav Hai Gaon and the Shinulei HaLeket, it is probably best to handle the Megillah with gloves and avoid the issue altogether. SHOUTOUT TO MR. KAPLAN Glad the Megillah was helpful! The author can be reached at yairhoffman2@gmail.com

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10K Batay Yisroel is a project rooted in a horrific accident and the reaction of two ordinary– yet extraordinary– families who transcended that tragedy and transformed it into an incredible organization. Yisroel Levin a”h and Elisheva Kaplan a”h, were engaged and preparing to build their own Bayis Bi’yisroel when a terrible car accident took them from us and left the world a smaller place. At their levaya, R’ Shaya Levin beseeched that in exchange for these pure souls, 10,000 shidduchim be made. 10K Batay Yisroel was then created in order to make R’ Levin’s request a reality. The goal of 10K is to unite the klal and empower the individual to join the effort in creating ten thousand shidduchim, one suggestion at a time. 10k has been privileged to host numerous events that have been watched both live and on demand around the globe, enjoyed and appreciated by thousands of viewers. Some of our events include: a premiere event imparting the importance and significance of each shidduch suggestion; a Shadchanim Panel and Rabbonim Panels giving practical relevant guidance; numerous virtual shidduch meetings and our most recent event given by Mrs. Rochel Goldbaum, a sought after dating mentor, on how to properly redt shidduchim. The feedback received regarding the impact of these events and all 10k activities is constant and continuously reinforces the need for inspiration and guidance in the realm of redting shidduchim. Since the inception of the organization, 13,651 shidduch suggestions were logged, 1,965 first dates were facilitated and there have been 138 engagements; 138 future Batay Yisroel BE”H established in memory of the home we lost. The organization is committed to do more this year for singles and it is only with your help that it will be possible. Over these thirty-six very special hours of Ta’anis Esther and Purim, we are asking you to donate $36 (or any amount you can) and together reach our goal of $10,000 in order to make future events, more inspiration and more guidance a reality. Please help in building future Batay Yisroel by joining the Purim Campaign at: 10KBatayYisroel.org/PURIM Event sponsorship opportunities are available: email 10KBatayYisroel@gmail.com for details (sponsors to be included on all event materials) Tax ID: 83-4319211 Below: Read some of the incredible feedback we’ve received & feel free to share the flyer! Full a list of engagement stories, please visit: 10KBatayYisroel.org/10K-stories and view general feedback at 10KBatayYisroel.org/feedback A full listing and recording of our events can be seen at: 10kbatayyisroel.org/PURIM

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A secretive Israeli nuclear facility at the center of the nation’s undeclared atomic weapons program is undergoing what appears to be its biggest construction project in decades, satellite photos analyzed by The Associated Press show. A dig about the size of a soccer field and likely several stories deep now sits just meters (yards) from the aging reactor at the Shimon Peres Negev Nuclear Research Center near the city of Dimona. The facility is already home to decades-old underground laboratories that reprocess the reactor’s spent rods to obtain weapons-grade plutonium for Israel’s nuclear bomb program. What the construction is for, however, remains unclear. The Israeli government did not respond to detailed questions from the AP about the work. Under its policy of nuclear ambiguity, Israel neither confirms nor denies having atomic weapons. It is among just four countries that have never joined the Non-Proliferation Treaty, a landmark international accord meant to stop the spread of nuclear arms. The construction comes as Israel — under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — maintains its scathing criticism of Iran’s nuclear program, which remains under the watch of United Nations inspectors unlike its own. That has renewed calls among experts for Israel to publicly declare details of its program. What “the Israeli government is doing at this secret nuclear weapons plant is something for the Israeli government to come clean about,” said Daryl G. Kimball, executive director of the Washington-based Arms Control Association. With French assistance, Israel began secretly building the nuclear site in the late 1950s in empty desert near Dimona, a city some 90 kilometers (55 miles) south of Jerusalem. It hid the military purpose of the site for years from America, now Israel’s chief ally, even referring to it as a textile factory. With plutonium from Dimona, Israel is widely believed to have become one of only nine nuclear-armed countries in the world. Given the secrecy surrounding its program, it remains unclear how many weapons it possesses. Analysts estimate Israel has material for at least 80 bombs. Those weapons likely could be delivered by land-based ballistic missiles, fighter jets or submarines. For decades, the Dimona facility’s layout has remained the same. However, last week, the International Panel on Fissile Materials at Princeton University noted it had seen “significant new construction” at the site via commercially available satellite photos, though few details could be made out. Satellite images captured Monday by Planet Labs Inc. after a request from the AP provide the clearest view yet of the activity. Just southwest of the reactor, workers have dug a hole some 150 meters (165 yards) long and 60 meters (65 yards) wide. Tailings from the dig can be seen next to the site. A trench some 330 meters (360 yards) runs near the dig. Some 2 kilometers (1.25 miles) west of the reactor, boxes are stacked in two rectangular holes that appear to have concrete bases. Tailings from the dig can be seen nearby. Similar concrete pads are often used to entomb nuclear waste. Other images from Planet Labs suggest the dig near the reactor began in early 2019 and has progressed slowly since then. Analysts who spoke to the AP offered several suggestions about what could be happening there. The center’s heavy-water reactor has been operational since the 1960s, far longer than most reactors […]

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Israel’s Health Ministry permanently revoked the medical license of a doctor who publicly denied the coronavirus, spoke out against vaccinations, and offered forged vaccination certificates for pay. Arieh Avni, who recently opened a clinic in Bnei Brak, owns a website popular among Israeli anti-vaxxers, where he publishes articles on conspiracy theories about COVID-19 and vaccines as well as slanders senior Israeli health officials. He also links to his articles on a Facebook page he runs. One of his recent outrageous statements was “anyone who administers a vaccine is, to me, like Mengele.” “There is no doubt that [Avni’s] harsh and blatant statements in articles he published on his website, Facebook and recently also on YouTube against the coronavirus vaccination pose a real danger to public safety and health,” wrote retired judge Amnon Strashnov, who was appointed by Health Minister Yuli Edelstein to preside over the case. “That is in addition to his unrestrained and baseless remarks toward the medical community and the heads of the Health Ministry, which go far beyond what is reasonable and permissible in the context of freedom of expression, which is an important and protected value in any democratic society – and you have a clear prescription for the complete anarchy that the recipient is trying to cause, while boasting the title of doctor.” Avni recently formed a political party called the Rapeh (Heal) Party. (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

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Dear Friends, This winter, as Covid-19 swept through our household the biggest worry was, of course, keeping R’ Dovid safe. Kent, his caregiver, valiantly volunteered to stay by his side for eighteen days straight, despite the risk of contracting the disease. His kindness and heroism, along with the help of friends and neighbors, brought home how much we are dependent on caring and compassionate people. We are forever indebted to our many supporters, some of whom we will never meet, but who have given of their time and money to sustain R’ Dovid and our family. Although the purpose of this appeal is to ask for your continued support, I want to thank each and every one of you for staying by our side and keeping R’ Dovid alive. Each one of you is a precious messenger from Above, sent to give us the strength to face the future and whatever challenges it may bring. Surely this outpouring of kindness will hasten the salvation we all so desperately need. CLICK HERE TO DONATE In the merit of your support, may you and yours be Zocheh to the powerful and timeless Bracha of the venerable Tzadik of Jerusalem, HaRav HaGaon Rav Gamliel Rabinowitz, Shlita who personally visited R’ Dovid: “Donate generously and in this merit you will never be sick, not you or your families for all generations!” Wishing everyone a safe and happy Purim! Warm regards, Rochel Frid SPREAD THE MITZVA! PLEASE BE SO KIND AS TO SHARE THIS APPEAL BY SENDING TO 5 FRIENDS. Endorsed by: HaMekubal HaRav Gamliel Rabinowitz Shlita, Jerusalem, HaRav Aryeh Shulman Shlita, Mara D’Asra Telz Stone, HaRav Michoel Sorotzkin Shlita, Rosh Kollel HaDeah V’Hadibur, Telz Stone, HaRav Yisroel Neuman Shlita, Rosh Yeshivas Bais Medrash Govoha, Lakewood, HaRav Yaakov Hopfer Shlita, Rav Kehillat Shearith Israel, Baltimore, HaRav Yaacov Haber Shlita, Rav Kehillas Shivtei Yeshurun, RBS. CLICK HERE TO DONATE R’ Dovid’s ALS History: In the year 2011 Rabbi David Frid was diagnosed with ALS, which causes complete deterioration of the muscles in the body. In the beginning, he heroically fought to function on his own, even after he was confined to a wheelchair. At present, the disease has progressed to the point where he is now fully paralyzed, on a breathing machine and although fully cognizant, can only communicate with his eyes. He needs 24-hour surveillance to survive. The ongoing costs are mind boggling.The family cannot continue without your support! Please pray for the Refuah Shlaima of Dovid Yehoshua Ben Leba Malka and all those who are struggling with illness. Tizku Le’Mitzvot. CLICK HERE TO DONATE

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By Rabbi Yair Hoffman for 5TJT.com There is nothing quite like lifting the burden of someone who is facing challenges with no apparent resources. Whether that person be young or old, they have carried a burden that they feel uncomfortable sharing. Chazal knew the joy and happiness that both parties, actually, feel. This is the Mitzvah of Matanos l’Evyonim on Purim. THE MITZVAH AND ITS SOURCES The Mitzvah of Matanos L’Evyonim on Purim is discussed in the Gemorah at the bottom of Megillah 7a, Tani Rav Yoseph. The Mitzvah is to give at least one gift to two different poor people on the day of Purim. The plural form of the word “L’Evyonim” appearing in the verse teaches us that it must be given to two people. There is also another Gemorah in Bava Metziah 78b that discusses the charity plate of Purim. It is a debate among the Rishonim whether or not this Gemorah is discussing the Mitzvah of Matanos L’Evyonim, or whether it deals with a separate Mitzvah of providing for the Purim needs of the poor. NATURE OF MITZVAH There also seems to be another debate among the Rishonim as to the nature of the Mitzvah. Is it a Mitzvah of Tzedakah, or is Matanos L’Evyonim its own special Mitzvah of the day of Purim – a Mitzvah associated with creating happiness? We will see that this issue is a matter of further debate among the Poskim. On account of this debate, there are a number of differences in halacha as to the nature of fulfilling this Mitzvah. MAASER FUNDS Can you fulfill the Mitzvah with Maaser funds? If it is Tzedaka – then, yes. If it is a happiness Mitzvah then it may not be fulfilled with Maaser funds. Is an ani – a poor person obligated to fulfill this Mitzvah? If it is Tzedaka – then no. The obligation of an Ani to give Tzedaka is once per year. If it Simcha, however, then he must give the matanos l’evyonim. Even a poor person who himself has reached a financial state that he must ask for charity, must still give. PREAMBLE Rav Alexander Ziskind of Grodno was one of the only two individuals who ever received an approbation on a sefer from the Vilna Gaon himself. In his Sefer, Yesod v’shoresh HaAvodah, (12:6) he recommends that one should recite the following preamble before fulfilling the Mitzvah: L’shaim ichud kudsha brich hu, hareini muchan l’kayem mitzvas assei shekasuv besorasainu hakedosha shetzivani yotzri ubori “Nason titian” u “pasoach tiftach” vegam mitzvas assei shel kaballah “umatanos l’evyonim.” It is clear that the Yesod v’Shoresh HaAvodah understands that this Mitzvah is Tzedakah. The Ramban (Bava Metziah 78b) explains that the main purpose of this Mitzvah is to spread Simcha – joy and delight. HOW IT MAY BE FULFILLED This obligation may be fulfilled through any type of gift — money, food, drink, or clothing. One should, however, try to give a substantial monetary gift. If one does use money, ideally it should be enough to buy bread weighing at least three eggs — five slices, approximately. At the very least, however, one must give a perutah or its equivalent value to each of two poor persons. A perutah is 1/1244th of an ounce of silver. Many Poskim, however, are […]

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Dear fellow Jew! My name is Deborah Hazan. Mortified and humiliated, I turn to you with a broken heart because I have no choice. It seems like a lifetime ago that my husband, a well-to-do, respected member of the community, provided and cared for us so graciously. Now I am a widow, left alone to raise 13 children, the youngest with Down Syndrome.  For 5 years, my husband battled cancer, succumbing to the horrible disease a few months ago after much pain and suffering. When my husband first fell is, I left my job as a teacher to take care of him, sometimes at home, sometimes in the hospital. We ran from treatment to treatment, at each stage praying that this time something will work. How many hopes! How many disappointments! CLICK HERE FOR HELP>> How much is the life of a husband and father worth? We spared no means. We spent all of our savings and took steep loans to finance expensive treatments. But HaShem decreed otherwise, and my dear husband passed away. And now I am alone, without my beloved husband, left to pay off our heavy debts while caring for 13 orphans, one of whom is disabled. I have tried so hard. I did not want to ask for charity. I believe I would be able to scrape by if not for the burden of our debts. But what can I do? The situation has become such that we stand to lose our house. Where will I go with my children? How can I keep a roof over their heads? It has become too much for me. CLICK HERE FOR HELP>> Compassionate Jews! Please help me! Please save me and my children! I am not asking for the comfort of our past life. I am only asking for a roof over our heads. I can no longer withstand this terrible load, but I must stay strong for my children. That is why I have come to plead. Please, save me! CLICK HERE FOR HELP>>

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The Knesset on Wednesday approved legislation allowing the Health Ministry to share the personal information of non-vaccinated Israelis with local authorities. The third and final reading of the law was approved by 30 votes in favor, with 13 voting against the measure, which has aroused controversy due to privacy concerns. The law allows the personal data of non-vaccinated Israelis to be transferred to municipalities, and the Education and Welfare ministries. The law states that “the information will be passed on to the authorities subject to an active request and the presentation of a plan to encourage immunization among the population included in the database.” “An official who is authorized by the Health Ministry director-general will receive the names, ID numbers, addresses and telephone numbers of citizens who are eligible to be vaccinated but have not done so.” A Knesset statement published after the bill was passed emphasized that “in order to minimize invasion of privacy and prevent misuse of the information, the law stipulates that the information transmitted will be used solely to encourage immunization and any other use of the data is prohibited.” Furthermore, the information will be made available to only a restricted number of officials, who will have to sign a confidentiality agreement. The data will be deleted no later than 60 days after it is received. Officials will also be prohibited from contacting anyone they are familiar with from their personal lives. Several rights groups plan on filing a petition against the law to the Supreme Court. (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

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COVID-19 has destroyed so many people’s livelihoods. The lockdowns in Israel and the inability to work, to earn, to do anything, has completely decimated the poor and the not-so-poor in new ways never seen before. Please, hear the cry of your brothers and sisters in Israel and send financial help! The money raised will be distributed on Purim Day, making this a pure gift of matanos levyonim, a pure gift of tzedaka to help those less fortunate than you. Every donation to this cause will bring you countless zechusim and mitzvahs, for it will reach all of these cases. Give as much as you can, so that when the gabboim knock on the doors of these homes and give them an envelope full of hope and comfort, full of smiles, Hashem will remember you and your needs with a smile. May Hashem bless all those who give Tzedakah with many berochos and yeshuos. Tizku lmitzvot. CLICK HERE TO DONATE!

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Yaakov Atias was only 42 years old when he passed away, after fighting Covid for 3 weeks! He left behind a young widow and 3 young daughters ages 6-14! ​CLICK HERE TO DONATE NOW His wife Yochevd is left broken and doesn’t know how she will manage without her husband’s support. Yocheved is also due to give birth in a few months and doesn’t know how she will get through it without Yaakov! ​CLICK HERE TO DONATE NOW The children are now young orphans! Now they have to cope with this tragedy at age 6! Who will take care of them and help their mother raise them and provide them what they need? Who will be there for the young widow when the new baby arrives? Who will give Yocheved the support she needs to be able to nurture her baby while taking care of her other 3 children? ​CLICK HERE TO DONATE NOW Yocheved and her children are still in shock! They are trying to cope with the new reality they are living in now. NO HUSBAND! NO FATHER! And now Yocheved is facing large debt left behind, besides the daily expenses that need to be covered with a minimal source of income! ​CLICK HERE TO DONATE NOW Please open your heart to these 4 broken hearts! Support a widow and her orphans get back on their feet, and help them reach the $250,000 goal, so they can wipe away the debt and put away for a weeding fund for the 3 daughters. ​CLICK HERE TO DONATE NOW May you merit all the Bracha that Hashem promises those who support widows and orphans! THE NEW BABY WON’T HAVE A FATHER! PLEASE HELP THE PREGNANT YOUNG MOTHER AND HER 3 CHILDREN!

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February is usually the peak of flu season, with doctors’ offices and hospitals packed with suffering patients. But not this year. Flu has virtually disappeared from the U.S., with reports coming in at far lower levels than anything seen in decades. Experts say that measures put in place to fend off the coronavirus — mask wearing, social distancing and virtual schooling — were a big factor in preventing a “twindemic” of flu and COVID-19. A push to get more people vaccinated against flu probably helped, too, as did fewer people traveling, they say. Another possible explanation: The coronavirus has essentially muscled aside flu and other bugs that are more common in the fall and winter. Scientists don’t fully understand the mechanism behind that, but it would be consistent with patterns seen when certain flu strains predominate over others, said Dr. Arnold Monto, a flu expert at the University of Michigan. Nationally, “this is the lowest flu season we’ve had on record,” according to a surveillance system that is about 25 years old, said Lynnette Brammer of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Hospitals say the usual steady stream of flu-stricken patients never materialized. At Maine Medical Center in Portland, the state’s largest hospital, “I have seen zero documented flu cases this winter,” said Dr. Nate Mick, the head of the emergency department. Ditto in Oregon’s capital city, where the outpatient respiratory clinics affiliated with Salem Hospital have not seen any confirmed flu cases. “It’s beautiful,” said the health system’s Dr. Michelle Rasmussen. The numbers are astonishing considering flu has long been the nation’s biggest infectious disease threat. In recent years, it has been blamed for 600,000 to 800,000 annual hospitalizations and 50,000 to 60,000 deaths. Across the globe, flu activity has been at very low levels in China, Europe and elsewhere in the Northern Hemisphere. And that follows reports of little flu in South Africa, Australia and other countries during the Southern Hemisphere’s winter months of May through August. The story of course has been different with coronavirus, which has killed more than 500,000 people in the United States. COVID-19 cases and deaths reached new heights in December and January, before beginning a recent decline. Flu-related hospitalizations, however, are a small fraction of where they would stand during even a very mild season, said Brammer, who oversees the CDC’s tracking of the virus. Flu death data for the whole U.S. population is hard to compile quickly, but CDC officials keep a running count of deaths of children. One pediatric flu death has been reported so far this season, compared with 92 reported at the same point in last year’s flu season. “Many parents will tell you that this year their kids have been as healthy as they’ve ever been, because they’re not swimming in the germ pool at school or daycare the same way they were in prior years,” Mick said. Some doctors say they have even stopped sending specimens for testing, because they don’t think flu is present. Nevertheless, many labs are using a CDC-developed “multiplex test” that checks specimens for both the coronavirus and flu, Brammer said. More than 190 million flu vaccine doses were distributed this season, but the number of infections is so low that it’s difficult for CDC to do its annual calculation […]

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Pfizer announced Thursday that it has begun studying a third dose of its COVID-19 vaccine, part of a strategy to guard against mutated versions of the coronavirus. Health authorities say first-generation COVID-19 vaccines still protect against variants that are emerging in different parts of the world. But manufacturers are starting to prepare now in case a more vaccine-resistant mutation comes along. Pfizer said it will offer a third dose to 144 volunteers, drawing from people who participated in the vaccine’s early-stage U.S. testing last year. It wants to determine if an additional booster shot given six to 12 months after the first two doses would rev up the immune system enough to ward off a mutated virus. Pfizer and its German partner, BioNTech, also are tweaking their vaccine recipe. The companies are in discussions with U.S. and European regulators about a study to evaluate doses updated to better match variants such as the one first discovered in South Africa. (AP)

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By Rabbi Yair Hoffman for 5tjt.com It is eerie.  It is also what can be called an “Emunah Builder.”   One could perhaps suggest that it is coincidence, but the combination of all of these coincidences in one area, particularly when they are otherwise unexplained is perhaps – too much of a coincidence. WHY THE EXTRA V’ES?  WHY NOT JUST A VOV? Let’s look at the listing of the ten sons of Haman as they are being hung at the end of the Megillah.  There are two columns – the names are to the right side.  On the left side is a series of ten of the same words – V’es. But why?  Why not just have the connecting vov appear before each of the ten names?  Why the ten extra words? To answer this question, we go to one of the Tannaim.  It is either Shimon HaAmasuni or Nechemiah HaAmasuni, a debate in the Talmud.  Either way, he was a second generation Tanna and perhaps even the person known as Nachum Ish Gamzu according to some sources.  The Gemorah in Psachim (22b) and in Kiddushin (57a) both discuss him and his method of exegesis.  He looked at every “Es” in the Torah and stated that it comes to include something else.  But what?  Or who? THE FOUR STRANGELY-SIZED LETTERS Now let’s take a deeper look at the letters of the hand-written Megillah itself.  There are four unexplained irregularities in the orthography of the letters.  Three letters are written in a significantly smaller size.  One letter is written in a much larger size. THE SMALLER LETTERS In the listing of the ten sons of Haman found in the Megillah (Megillah 9:7-9), there are three letters that are written smaller: the taf of Parshandasa, the shin of Parmashta and the zayin of Vizasa. The Gematria value of these smaller letters is 707. THE LARGER LETTER In that last son of Haman, Vizasa, the Vov is written much larger.  Rav Michel Dov Ber Weissmandel zt”l, a tzaddik who saved thousands of people during the holocaust and who tried to save hundreds of thousands of others, made the following discovery: If this Vov represents the sixth millennium of creation, and the other three smaller letters represent the years – the total is 5707.  5707 corresponds to the year 1946 – the year that ten Nazis were also hung at the Nuremberg trials. THE HANGING DATE Although the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg delivered its verdicts sentencing the leaders of the Nazi party to death by hanging on October 1st, 1946, they were hung on October 16th – the 21st of Tishrei. That date corresponds to the final judgement day of the Hebrew year – the point of no return – Hoshana Rabbah. THE BIZARRE DECLARATION Kingsbury Smith of the International News Service, who was chosen by random lot [pur in Hebrew] to represent the American press at the execution of the ten Nazis wrote as follows: …Julius Streicher made his melodramatic appearance at 2:12 a.m. While his manacles were being removed and his bare hands bound, this ugly, dwarfish little man, wearing a threadbare suit and a well-worn bluish shirt buttoned to the neck but without a tie (he was notorious during his days of power for his flashy dress), glanced at the three […]

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This money will be given out in Flatbush & Lakewood on Purim morning to dozens of poor families. Believe it or not, there are families that do not have money to pay for their own Purim Seudas. These people are your neighbors and you don’t even know! Many of these families struggle with their daily bills, and can’t make ends meet. They have all had their share of electric and gas shut-offs, owing money to their grocery, tuition’s, medical bills and other pressing issues. There is no greater Mitzvah then making poor people happy on Purim. While many of us continuously donate to causes in Eretz Yisroel, many times the poor are suffering in our own backyards. The Halacha is clear: “Aniyei Ircha come first”. PLEASE open your hearts and donate generously.  Money will be distributed local Rabbonim

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