On Thursday night, the expanded and newly renovated main Dushinsky Beis Medrash was filled to capacity and beyond, as thousands of bnei torah gathered under the leadership of Admorim, Rabbanim, and members of the Badatz of the Eidah HaChareidis to hear the Shabbos Shuvah drasha from Harav Moshe Shternbuch shlit”a. The annual drasha has long been a source of hadracha and chizuk to the masses of Yerushalayim. This year, despite the Beis Medrash doubling in size through extensive renovations, the venue was still unable to contain the immense crowd that streamed in from all over the city. For nearly an hour, Rav Shternbuch spoke divrei halacha and aggadah before the overflowing crowd. At the front sat the members of the Badatz, the Admor of Dushinsky seated with his characteristic simplicity among the mispalelim, and numerous Rabbanim and dayanim representing kehillos across the Eidah HaChareidis. Opening his words, the Gaavad spoke with heartfelt emotion about the plight of the bochurim who have been imprisoned in recent months due to the gezeiras hagiyus. “Many bochurim are sitting now in detention, for the sole reason that they gave their lives not to go into their army. We must strengthen them—ashreichem that you were caught for the sake of Torah. Stand strong with mesirus nefesh against them.” From there, he turned to the government, decrying its actions in extraordinarily sharp terms. He compared today’s decrees to the darkest periods in Jewish history. “The heads of the government act worse than the nations, like the Inquisition in its time, which persecuted Jews only because they kept Torah and mitzvos. And woe to us that this is what has befallen us in our days, when they seek to disturb our avodas Hashem. The entire world must be shaken over this.” The entire Beis Medrash was visibly moved when the Gaavad suddenly burst into bitter weeping. In a voice choked with tears, he exclaimed: “These days we say Avinu Malkeinu, kallei dever v’cherev v’shmad mei’al bnei brisecha. We must have kavana in these tefillos that Hashem should annul this gezeiras shmad! Their entire goal with drafting bnei Torah is to uproot shmiras haTorah, chas v’shalom.” Concluding his drasha, Harav Shternbuch issued a clear psak regarding yeshiva bochurim and the draft. “I have said many times, and I repeat: according to halacha it is absolutely forbidden to go into their army. This is not a chumra or a middas chassidus, but pure halacha. Bochurim who receive draft notices must discard them immediately. Do not argue with them, simply say clearly: we are following our Rabbanim, who have forbidden joining the army.” As the drasha ended, the throngs of participants accompanied the posek hador out of the Beis Medrash and onto Rechov Shmuel Hanavi, singing a thunderous rendition of “Ki Orech Yamim” that echoed through the night. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
I would like to open with a profound statement from a revered Torah giant, Reb Leib Malin, zt”l, whose words on the Yeshiva system are both powerful and timeless. He famously wrote in his Hakdama to HaTevunah Journal: “הַיֵּשִׁיבָה הַקְּדוֹשָּׁה, בָּהֶן הָיָה כָּל הַרְכּוֹש שֶׁל הַכְּלָל יִשְׂרָאֵל בַּגָּלוּת. בָּהֶן הִשְׁתַּמְּרָה הַתּוֹרָה וְיִרְאָה בְּכָל טָהֳרָתָה, כַּאֲשֶׁר מִלְפָנִים. בָּהֶן הִשְׁתַּמְּרָה הַעֲמָלָה שֶׁל תּוֹרָה וְהַעִיּוּן בִּפְנִימִיוּת תּוֹרָה. בָּהֶן הָיְתָה נִכֶּרֶת מַלְכוּתוֹ שֶׁל הַקָּדוֹש-בָּרוּך-הוּא. בָּהֶן הָיְתָה הַתּוֹרָה שׁוֹלֵטֶת וְגְבִירָה וְאֵין עוֹד מִלְבַדָּה. כַּשֶּׁהָיוּ נִכְנָסִים לִכְתוֹלֵי הַיְּשִׁיבָה, הָיוּ מַרְגִּישִׁים אֵיךְ שֶׁכָּל הַחָלָל מִמּוּלָא מִתּוֹרָה, בָּהֶן כָּל הוֹן וְיָקָר נִמְצָא.” In these words, Reb Leib Malin, zt”l, has expressed, in the clearest and most powerful manner, the centrality of the Yeshiva to the survival and flourishing of the Jewish people. The Yeshiva is not simply an academic institution; it is the heart and soul of the Jewish world, the place where Torah and Yiras Shamayim are transmitted from generation to generation. It is the place where Hashem’s kingship is palpable, where the labor of Torah study is central, and where the light of our faith shines brightest. Now, with all due respect to the writer on YWN, to suggest that Yeshiva is no longer worth it, or to imply that we should reconsider sending our children to Yeshiva because of certain challenges, is not only mistaken—it is profoundly dangerous. The idea that we should question the very institutions that have preserved Torah for centuries, through every trial and tribulation, is something that no true Torah Jew should entertain. The letter states: “Can we really teach ואהבת לרעך כמוך while turning a blind eye to self-inflicted and socially harmful addictions that begin in the very halls of Torah?” and later questions: “Are yeshivos really a place that our sons can learn Torah? Or are they just there for an academic Judaism, devoid of any real Torah growth?” I could not disagree more with such sentiments. Yes, smoking is indeed a serious issue that must be addressed in the Yeshiva system. But the problem with smoking is a symptom, not the disease. The issue is not with the Yeshiva system itself—it is with individuals within it who may stray from the path of perfect righteousness. The solution is not to throw out the entire institution, but to fix what needs repair and continue to uphold the Yeshiva as the central foundation of Torah life. The Yeshiva has always been a place of Torah growth—of deep, sincere connection with Hashem. Every single Great leader of our people, were products of the Yeshiva system, albeit different intricacies in every generation, which molded them into leaders who upheld the Torah’s highest ideals and were committed to a life of purity, holiness, and service to Hashem. Did any of them ever question the institution of the Yeshiva, despite its flaws? No. They worked to elevate it, to correct its issues, and to keep its sanctity intact. To suggest that the Yeshiva is no longer the proper place for our children is to suggest that we abandon the very means through which our children inherit their Jewish identity. There is no greater tragedy than to question the value of the Yeshiva. Where else would we send our children to grow in Torah and in their relationship with Hashem? To Columbia University? To a […]
HaGaon HaRav Moshe Brandsdorfer, the renowned Yerushalmi Posek, the Av Beis Din of Heichel Horaah, published a sharply worded letter on Sunday, after four toddlers, all residents of the Mea Shearim/Beis Yisrael area, passed away from measles within a week. The letter stated: “With a shattered heart over what happened yesterday on Shabbos Kodesh, that a precious baby was niftar from measles, the fourth baby who was niftar, r’l, from measles in the past five days in our neighborhoods of Mea Shearim and Beis Yisrael.” “In the last two weeks, many parents have approached me, confused and very scared because people are dissuading them from vaccinating their children for measles. And this is against the instructions of the Badatz due to ‘ונשמרתם מאוד לנפשותכם.'” “Therefore, all those who try to convince parents not to vaccinate their children against measles – this matter borders on murder and the spilling of blood and violates ‘לא תעמוד עך דם רעך.'” “And it is possible that a time like this, when the virus is rampant in our area, that it’s permissible to vaccinate against measles even on Shabbos and Yom Tov, if the doctor says that delaying it could be life threatening.” (YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)
President Donald Trump on Sunday blamed Tylenol for what he described as an “autism epidemic” in the United States, urging pregnant women to avoid the common pain reliever despite a lack of scientific evidence supporting such claims. Standing alongside Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz, Trump said women should “fight” against using acetaminophen, the generic name for Tylenol. “Don’t take Tylenol. Don’t take it,” Trump said repeatedly, claiming communities without access to the drug have “no autism” and citing the current U.S. diagnosis rate of about 1 in 31 children. The administration also announced plans for the Food and Drug Administration to add warning labels to acetaminophen products and to promote leucovorin, a folate derivative used in cancer treatment, as a potential intervention for autism. The move reflects Kennedy’s long-standing skepticism of vaccines and environmental exposures in neurodevelopmental disorders, though Trump’s remarks leaned heavily on acetaminophen as a cause. However, concerns that Tylenol, one of the most widely used medications for pain and fever during pregnancy, may increase the risk of autism in children are not supported by strong scientific evidence, according to recent studies and expert reviews. Over the past decade, several observational studies reported slight associations between prenatal acetaminophen exposure and autism spectrum disorder in children. Those studies suggested a marginal increase in risk, but the differences were extremely small — typically less than one-tenth of one percent. Researchers now say those findings are likely explained by other factors, including family genetics, parental health conditions, or the underlying reasons the drug was taken in the first place, such as infection or fever. When scientists applied more rigorous methods, such as sibling-comparison studies that control for shared family background, the link between acetaminophen and autism disappeared. A large population-based study published in 2024 found no evidence of increased risk once family factors were accounted for. Public health authorities have taken note. The Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration have both said that current data do not justify changes to clinical guidance. Both organizations emphasize that the existing evidence is observational, limited by potential bias, and does not establish a cause-and-effect relationship between Tylenol and autism. Experts stress that while ongoing research is important, the weight of current evidence indicates that acetaminophen use during pregnancy is not a causal factor in autism. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
