Matzav

Rav Moshe Shternbuch addressed the recent election of New York City’s new Muslim mayor, Zohran Kwame Mamdani, whose history of harsh anti-Israel rhetoric has stirred deep concern among Jewish residents.

Speaking during his weekly shiur delivered to listeners abroad, Rav Shternbuch sought to calm fears, emphasizing that nothing happens without Hashgachah Pratis.

“The Jews in New York are going through a difficult time,” the senior posek began. “A Muslim mayor was elected, and many Yidden in New York are afraid of him.”

He then urged, “We must remember that Hakadosh Baruch Hu is with us! Because Hashem is with us, that non-Jew can’t harm us at all. Chas veshalom, we must not become confused and think he has the power to hurt us.”

Rav Shternbuch illustrated his point with a well-known story about the Brisker Rav: “Rav Chaim Brisker used to say, ‘When I walk in the streets of Brisk and a gentile approaches me, he may want to kill me, and he may be able to kill me — but why doesn’t he? Because Hashem makes him lazy.’”

Applying the same lesson to the current situation, Rav Shternbuch said, “So too here. This gentile — Mamdani — may want to do harm, and perhaps he can. But if Hakadosh Baruch Hu doesn’t want it, he will be lazy and do nothing.”

The posek hador concluded his remarks with a clear message of faith and reassurance: “We must not worry or be afraid of him. We must simply trust in Hashem. There is no need to fear. Hashem will take care of us.”

{Matzav.com}

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In a fiery and impassioned address delivered at Beis Medrash Beis Yehoshua in Yerushalayim, the renowned Chassidishe mashpia, Rav Menashe Yisroel Reisman, launched a searing critique of roshei yeshiva and mashgichim who expel or refuse to accept talmidim into their yeshivos. He warned that the abandonment of these young men is “worse than any draft decree” and decried the silence surrounding their plight.

Quoting from Gemara Nedarim 32a, Rav Reisman opened his remarks: “Rav Avahu said in the name of Rav Elazar: Why was Avraham Avinu punished, resulting in his descendants’ enslavement in Mitzrayim for 210 years? Because he made use of Torah scholars for his army, as it says, ‘And he armed his disciples, those born in his house.’” Rav Reisman explained that Avraham’s punishment came because he sent talmidei chachamim to fight in battle, a transgression so grave it brought centuries of servitude upon his children.

“On the basis of this very Gemara,” the mashpia continued, “thousands upon thousands have filled the streets, crying out through the night to prevent even one bochur from being drafted into the army.”

But then his tone shifted sharply. “The cry ascends to the heavens!” he thundered. “Yes, you protest for these causes—but what about the precious boys, finer than gold, who are not accepted into yeshivos? What about those who are expelled for trivial reasons, cast out for the smallest missteps? What about those wandering souls who drift through the streets? This is a mirror from Heaven, showing us what we have chosen to ignore. No one reports these crimes—no one tells our gedolim what’s really happening.”

Rav Reisman called for deep cheshbon hanefesh: “We need 600,000 Jews to fill the streets and cry out with a great and bitter wail over this sin—the sin of rejecting bochurim from our yeshivos. These are holy souls we are driving away.”

Alluding to the recent tragedy during the massive Yerushalayim rally, the mashpia offered a chilling interpretation: “Perhaps Hashem orchestrated that at the very gathering meant to defend Torah learning, such a tragedy occurred. A bochur took his own life, and afterward we learned that he suffered persecution in his yeshiva and that no one paid attention to his pain. The message is clear to anyone who understands.”

“This was a remez from Hashem,” Rav Reisman concluded. “At that very asifah, Heaven was telling us: you cry out about drafting talmidei chachamim, but what about the boy who was mocked, tormented, and abandoned? For him, there is no protest, no demonstration, no outcry.”

{Matzav.com}

The Knesset on Monday night passed in first reading a bill that would make permanent a temporary order banning Qatari network Al Jazeera‘s operations in Israel.

The temporary order, “Preventing a Foreign Broadcasting Organization from Harming State Security (Temporary Provision‒Swords of Iron),” was extended for six months in May and is set to expire on Nov. 30.

According to the explanatory section of the current bill, which was proposed by Knesset member Ariel Kallner of the Likud Party:

“Due to the need to preserve the powers and tools required to deal with foreign channels whose broadcast content seriously harms national security, even unconnected from the ‘Swords of Iron War,’ it is proposed to determine that the temporary order will become a standing order and its validity will not depend on significant military operations or the declaration of a special situation on the home front.”

Other provisions of the bill include expanding the powers of the communications minister to deal with hostile news outlets, and eliminating the need for court approval to take actions against them.

“We are fighting not only against those who shoot at us. Limiting the fight to that misses the entire concept of the Islamist imperialist threat,” Likud lawmaker Ariel Kallner told JNS on Tuesday. “We are fighting against that ideology and against those who, through propaganda, recruit terrorists. Al Jazeera is one of their weapons. They brainwash people, incite hatred—and the result is Oct. 7,” he added, referring to the Hamas-led invasion of southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

Kallner noted that Israel is in a constant state of war against this threat and warned that the entire Western world faces growing danger.

Al Jazeera, he said, operates with two main “arms.” One, he explained, functions as an intelligence arm—taking photos, revealing the locations of Israeli soldiers, publishing that information worldwide and leaking it to terrorist groups. The other is its propaganda arm, through which the network presents itself as a journalistic outlet.

“Some of our former hostages, like Noa Argamani, were held by Al Jazeera employees, and some of them even took part in the Oct. 7 massacre,” said Kallner. “I can’t say that without Al Jazeera Oct. 7 wouldn’t have happened, but it is certainly one of the tools of this Islamist threat.”

“We must protect ourselves and not allow them to broadcast freely and spread propaganda,” he continued.

In 2024, lawmakers voted 71-10 to pass the original legislation giving Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the authority to shut down Al Jazeera. Under that law, the communications minister may act against a foreign channel that harms the state’s security, with the consent of the prime minister and the approval of the Cabinet.

The measure enabled authorities to order television providers to stop broadcasting the Qatari news outlet, close its offices in Israel, seize its equipment, shut down its website and revoke press credentials for staff.

In September, Jerusalem announced its intention to revoke all press passes of Al Jazeera reporters working in territory under its control.

Qatar, which hosts Hamas leaders and has provided the terrorist group with hundreds of millions of dollars, played a role in mediating the release of some hostages from Gaza in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. JNS

{Matzav.com}

Is the coalition on the brink of collapse over the draft law? Commentators Yaakov Rivlin and attorney Avi Bloom offered sharply differing analyses during a discussion on the Main Edition program with Avi Mimran, assessing the prime minister’s fragile standing with his chareidi partners and the growing internal tension surrounding the controversial legislation.

Bloom began by asserting that “Netanyahu keeps delaying discussions in the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee about the draft issue — not because he’s evading it, but because he has no answers from the chareidim.” Despite numerous meetings with gedolim, Bloom said, “there’s still no agreed formula. Meir Porush himself told me, ‘I’m not submitting any draft to the Rebbes because I have no idea whether it’s something we can move forward with.’”

Bloom added that Netanyahu “knows full well this law won’t pass without clear chareidi consent, and it’s possible he’s already thinking ahead — perhaps toward elections.”

Rivlin, however, argued that “the real battle isn’t in the Knesset — it’s among us. There’s no internal consensus, neither in the Litvishe Moetzes nor among the chassidim. Everyone knows there’s a deep divide between supporters and opponents of the law.” The heart of the issue, he said, is simple: “Can we live with a law that calls for drafting 4,800 bochurim a year? Everything else is just noise.”

Turning his attention to public expectations, Rivlin criticized the notion that Netanyahu should “defend the chareidim,” calling it “a badge of shame. We have representatives in the Knesset — let one of them get up and speak. We don’t need a feudal lord to protect us.”

Bloom disagreed. “The chareidi public is Netanyahu’s most loyal partner. When vile statements are made in the plenum, it’s only natural to expect him to stand up and say — the chareidi community is not an enemy, it’s a faithful ally.”

Rivlin countered, “He didn’t defend Ben-Gvir either when he was under fire. Everyone defends himself — enough with this mindset that someone needs to protect us.”

The discussion then shifted to the ideological divide within the chareidi camp. “There are groups that don’t want any law at all,” Rivlin said. “Their approach is chaos — as long as there’s no law, they’re happy.” Bloom warned that “anyone who imagines that the Torah world can simply cut itself off from the state is mistaken. Without a law, thousands of families will starve. Even now, roshei kollel can’t raise funds — the donors are closing the spigots.”

Drawing a historical parallel, Rivlin compared the current dispute to the famous debate between the Chazon Ish and the Satmar Rav: “The Chazon Ish understood that the Torah world couldn’t survive without the state — and today we see the results: hundreds of thousands learning Torah, a massive teshuvah movement — all thanks to that historic decision.”

Bloom concluded on a spiritual note: “At the end of the day, the yeshivos are the mezuzah of the state. As long as the state helps support Torah learning, it carries deep spiritual meaning. Anyone who wants to sever that connection is essentially removing the mezuzah from the house.”

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After nearly four years of deliberation, retired judge David Hashin is expected to release his long-awaited arbitration ruling in the decades-long dispute that has divided Ponevezh Yeshiva. Both sides have been informed that the decision will be issued pending final payment arrangements.

The ruling will determine the future of the famed yeshiva and could finally bring closure to the bitter conflict between the two factions, know generally as the Sonim and the Mechablim.

Payments Before the Verdict

According to information obtained by sources, both parties must pay Judge Hashin a total of 700,000 shekels — 350,000 from each side — in addition to 300,000 shekels still owed by the Mechablim. Only after these payments are completed will the arbitration ruling be released.

No one — apart from Hashin himself — yet knows the content of the verdict. However, several possible outcomes have been discussed in the media and by those close to the case.

Possible Outcomes

Option 1: Dividing the Hill
One scenario would divide the Ponevezh campus into northern and southern sections — though this is considered among the less likely possibilities. Under such an arrangement, the Sonim faction would retain the southern section, including dormitories and administrative areas, while the Mechablim would control the northern side, which includes the smaller beis medrash with the gold Aron Kodesh.

Option 2: Complete Removal of One Faction
A more dramatic option would grant the Sonim faction full control over the hill, forcing the Mechablim to relocate elsewhere in Bnei Brak. Such a decision would likely come with substantial financial compensation, and possibly the transfer of the “Ponevezh” name and brand to the Mechablim — a reversal of the current situation, in which the Sonim faction legally controls the yeshiva’s title and organization.

Option 3: The Reverse — Total Transfer to the Mechablim
The least probable, though theoretically possible, ruling would be the opposite: awarding complete control of the campus to the Mechablim, requiring the Sonim faction to evacuate, with compensation provided by the Mechablim for their relocation.

Option 4: “Gud Oy Agud ” Formula
Another potential solution would allow both sides to submit sealed offers stating how much they are willing to pay to retain the campus. The side willing and able to meet the higher bid would retain the property. In such a scenario, observers believe the Sonim faction is more likely to prevail financially.

Regardless of which outcome emerges, the ruling is expected to be historic — either cementing the long-standing division or bringing about a dramatic realignment. For now, the Torah world awaits the decision, contingent on the full payment to the arbitrator.

{Matzav.com}

A senior Chareidi official involved in the ongoing negotiations over Israel’s proposed draft law has expressed deep skepticism that a final version will ever be approved. “There won’t be a draft law because there is no agreement on it,” he said Monday night in the Knesset. “It’s quite possible that it simply won’t pass.”

The official, who has been closely tracking developments around the legislation meant to define the status of yeshiva students, added, “It’s convenient for the Chareidim as well to delay the legislation, which probably wouldn’t have a majority in the Knesset and likely wouldn’t withstand a Supreme Court challenge.”

He predicted that after the failure to pass the bill, the Chareidi parties and Prime Minister Netanyahu would reach a mutual understanding on holding elections “after Pesach.”

This comes as the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, chaired by MK Boaz Bismuth, has not convened this week to discuss the latest draft of the proposed law. While in the past Chareidi MKs would have protested such delays, this time they have not pressed for renewed discussions. Sources indicate that despite appearances last week that rabbinic leaders had approved moving forward, prominent gedolim remain opposed to key clauses in the current draft, stalling the process further.

Behind the scenes, Shas leader Aryeh Deri and United Torah Judaism chairman Moshe Gafni have been consulting on possible revisions to the bill to address the demands of the committee’s legal adviser, Attorney Miri Frenkel-Shor. She has called for significant amendments, including raising first-year enlistment targets to around 5,700—a figure about a thousand higher than what the Chareidi side agreed to—and retaining a controversial clause requiring yeshiva students and kollel members to record attendance through fingerprint verification.

The disagreements over quotas and sanctions remain unresolved, and with the legislative window narrowing, Chareidi leaders now acknowledge that the chances of the draft law moving forward before elections are slim.

{Matzav.com}

President Donald Trump said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer overplayed his hand during the recent government shutdown, arguing that Democrats’ strategy backfired and left their party divided.

“I think he made a mistake in going too far,” Trump told Fox News host Laura Ingraham on The Ingraham Angle. “He thought he could break the Republicans, and the Republicans broke him.”

The political standoff ended when eight Democratic senators crossed the aisle to support the House-passed plan reopening the government, which their own party had blocked multiple times. The Senate ultimately voted 60-40 to approve the measure, with final passage in the House expected later in the week.

The revolt has sparked tension within Democratic ranks, as lawmakers like Rep. Ro Khanna of California called for new leadership. Trump, reflecting on Schumer’s evolution, offered a pointed critique.

“I feel badly ‘cause I know Chuck Schumer,” he said. “I’ve known him since he was a person who loved Israel, and now he’s a Palestinian. He’s become a Palestinian… I’ve never seen a politician change so much.”

The shutdown—the longest in U.S. history—was fueled by debate over extending Obamacare subsidies, disrupting thousands of federal workers and halting major services, including flights and food aid programs.

Trump claimed Democrats’ real motivation was to fund benefits for illegal immigrants. “What they really wanted was $1.5 trillion for people that came in illegally, people that come in through and out of prisons,” he argued.

“We’re trying to get them out, because we don’t want 11,000 murderers in our country. You don’t it. Nobody wants it,” he continued. “And we have drug dealers, and we have everything else, and they wanted to make sure they got good healthcare.”

Covering healthcare costs for those in the country illegally, Trump warned, would have “hurt other people’s healthcare.”

Turning to the broader issue, Trump blasted Obamacare as “horrible” and overpriced. “The premiums have gone up like rocket ships,” he said. “And I’m not even talking about just recently, I’m talking about for years they’ve been going up.”

He said Americans should have more freedom to manage their coverage. “I want, instead of going to the insurance companies, I want the money to go to an account for people where the people buy their own health insurance,” Trump explained. “They’re actually able to go out and negotiate their own insurance.”

When asked how Republicans plan to prevent another shutdown when government funding expires on January 30, 2026, Trump hinted that legislation is in the works.

“Well, we’re trying to put in a bill, as you know, or a bill that you can never do that again,” he said. “You can’t just shut down the government because you’re trying renegotiate a deal that you didn’t.”

{Matzav.com}

UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini has urged that his agency be entrusted with leading Gaza’s postwar recovery, even as global scrutiny mounts over its links to Hamas.

“UNRWA, with its thousands of Palestinian personnel, has the capacity, expertise and community trust required to provide healthcare, education and other public services to a devastated population,” Lazzarini wrote in an opinion piece for The Guardian.

He emphasized that “for decades, the agency’s teachers, doctors and engineers have formed a vital part of a functioning system of public services for millions of Palestinian refugees in Gaza and the region.”

Citing a recent International Court of Justice advisory opinion, Lazzarini said the court “reaffirmed the professionalism of UNRWA’s staff, underlined the agency’s indispensable humanitarian role and concluded that UNRWA remains an impartial and neutral actor.”

However, those assurances stand in stark contrast to the evidence Israel has presented linking UNRWA employees to the October 7, 2023 Hamas massacre. Israeli intelligence revealed that several agency staffers participated in the slaughter, distributing ammunition, kidnapping a woman, and directly joining the attack at Kibbutz Be’eri, where 97 people were killed.

In response to the revelations, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appointed a panel headed by former French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna to review the allegations. When the group issued its findings in April, it admitted to identifying “neutrality-related issues” within UNRWA but argued that Israel had not yet provided sufficient proof that large numbers of its employees belonged to terror groups.

Testimonies have continued to emerge since then. Emily Damari, an Israeli woman freed after 470 days as a hostage in Gaza, disclosed that she was imprisoned in a facility operated by UNRWA.

Adding to the controversy, USAID reported in April 2025 that the United Nations had actively blocked an American probe into connections between UNRWA’s Gaza staff and Hamas.

Despite mounting evidence and criticism from both Israel and Washington, the International Court of Justice ruled last month that Israel must continue to permit humanitarian aid deliveries into Gaza through UN agencies — including UNRWA — a decision that reignited anger among Israeli officials and their allies.

{Matzav.com}

New York City Mayor Eric Adams is heading to Israel this Friday for a five-day visit that will extend through next Tuesday, his office confirmed.

According to the statement, the mayor’s agenda includes meetings with Israeli government officials, business and tech leaders, and other key figures in the country’s innovation and economic sectors.

“He will also visit religious sites and discuss efforts to combat antisemitism here in New York City and across the world,” the statement said.

Adams, long known for his outspoken support of both Israel and New York’s Jewish community, has made the issue of antisemitism a centerpiece of his administration. His upcoming trip marks his second to the Jewish state in just over a year. During his previous visit in August 2023, he met with Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu and other senior officials.

In May, Adams introduced the Mayor’s Office to Combat Antisemitism — the first such municipal department established anywhere in the United States. A month later, he took another step by signing an executive order officially adopting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) definition of antisemitism for New York City agencies.

Although Adams had planned to seek reelection as an independent candidate, he later dropped out of the race and threw his support behind Andrew Cuomo. Cuomo ultimately lost to Zohran Mamdani, a left-wing politician known for his anti-Israel positions.

At the time of his endorsement, Adams sounded the alarm about the growing hostility facing minority communities in the city. He also strongly condemned Mamdani’s public defense of the inflammatory slogan “Globalize the intifada.”

“When you tell Jewish residents that you need ‘globalize intifada,’ you’re saying you don’t care,” Adams said.

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The controversial death penalty for terrorists bill, sponsored by National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, passed its first reading in the Knesset on Monday night with 39 votes in favor and 16 opposed. The legislation will now return to the Knesset’s National Security Committee for further deliberation.

Notably absent from the vote were members of the Shas party, led by Aryeh Deri, who did not participate in the roll call following approval from the party’s Council of Torah Sages. United Torah Judaism chairman MK Moshe Gafni was also absent, despite clear instructions from Slabodka Rosh Yeshiva Rav Dov Landau to vote against the bill. Gafni’s office later clarified that he had been paired with a coalition MK, a procedural arrangement that maintains vote balance when members are absent.

Ben-Gvir celebrated the bill’s passage with visible enthusiasm, handing out trays of baklava to fellow lawmakers in the Knesset plenum. Ushers, however, intervened and removed the pastries, asking him to stop distributing them inside the chamber.

The proposed law stipulates that anyone who intentionally—or with reckless disregard—causes the death of an Israeli citizen out of hatred, hostility, or in an attempt to harm the State of Israel or the Jewish people, would face the death penalty. The bill also allows military courts in Judea and Samaria to impose capital punishment by a simple majority of the panel, without the option of later commuting the sentence.

The session was tense, featuring heated exchanges between lawmakers. At one point, security guards had to separate Ben-Gvir and Arab MK Ayman Odeh during a sharp verbal confrontation over the bill.

{Matzav.com}

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Rabbi Mendy Kenig leads the largest healing mission of its kind—and it all started with a phone call that changed his life

An Unprecedented Moment in Jewish History

Next Friday, approximately 170 families will arrive in Orlando, Florida, marking what may be the most significant gathering of its kind. A week and a half later, they’ll travel to Deal, New Jersey, for a transformative Shabbos featuring renowned speaker Rabbi YY Jacobson, special guest Sivan Meir, a deeply moving Hachnosas Sefer Torah, and a beautiful Bar Mitzvah celebration.

It’s an undertaking of staggering scope and emotional weight—170 almanos and yesomim who have lost their husbands and fathers in defense of Israel, coming together across an ocean to find comfort, connection, and the reassurance they desperately need: that they will never be forgotten.

Leading this historic mission is a soft-spoken Biale Chossid from Modiin Illit named Rabbi Mendy Kenig, whose organization Menucha V’Yeshuah has become a lifeline for thousands of Israel’s most vulnerable families. But the story of how this mission came to be begins not with triumph, but with tragedy—and a promise made through tears at a holy site thousands of miles from home.

The Phone Call That Changed Everything

Six years ago, Rabbi Mendy Kenig was aboard a plane bound for Hungary, heading to the Kever of R’ Yeshayele Karastirer. As the aircraft began its taxi toward the runway, his phone rang with the kind of call that shatters worlds.

“Your wife has been in a serious car accident. She’s being rushed to the hospital in serious condition.”

Trapped between heaven and earth as the plane continued its inexorable movement toward takeoff, Rabbi Kenig experienced a helplessness that would become the foundation of his life’s mission. He begged the flight attendants to let him off. They couldn’t. The plane was already in motion.

“I was a young, worried husband, stuck with no way to know my wife’s condition or what I should do,” he recalls. “The helplessness I felt at that moment was overwhelming.”

At the first layover, after learning his wife’s condition was serious but stable, he called his rabbi for guidance. The answer was unexpected: continue to the Kever, pray for her Refuah—and make a promise of something to take upon yourself.

Standing before the sacred site, tears streaming down his face, Rabbi Kenig made a neder that would eventually touch thousands of lives: “When my wife recovers, I will do everything I can to help people dealing with a crisis who need assistance.”

He had no idea how he would fulfill that promise. The landscape of Jewish organizations helping the sick and their families was already overcrowded. But in that moment of desperate tefillah, details didn’t matter. He only knew he had to try.

From Death’s Door to New Life

Within a month, through what Rabbi Kenig describes as “Zechus Avos and Koach Hatefillah,” his wife stood on her feet and was discharged from the hospital—given her life as a gift. But recovery was far from over.

As a father of five, including two children with autism spectrum disorder, Rabbi Kenig intimately understood the weight of caring for a family in crisis. During those grueling weeks of his wife’s recovery, he discovered a critical gap in Israel’s healthcare system that no one was addressing.

“I discovered the reality that thousands of patients in our country face,” he explains. “After medical treatment, they need ongoing support, some peace and rest to truly recover. But funding for ‘rest and recovery days’ isn’t included in any healthcare package, and many families cannot afford it themselves—especially when they’re already dealing with enormous medical expenses and challenges.”

Thus, Menucha V’Yeshuah—”Rest and Salvation”—was born.

Building a Revolution in Healing

What started as renting a single villa in Caesarea for families undergoing medical treatment has exploded into a comprehensive support network that transformed more than 250 families in its first year alone—a number that has grown exponentially since.

The organization operates on a profound understanding: physical healing is only part of recovery. “In every instance of pain or illness, alongside practical help—treatments, medications, bureaucratic assistance, financial support—there is another, no less important layer,” Rabbi Kenig explains. “Mental strength to cope with the entire situation.”

When families experiencing tragedy or critically ill patients receive the opportunity to disconnect, strengthen themselves, and receive professional help, it dramatically impacts every aspect of their healing process. Recovery improves. They process their difficulties more effectively. They find the strength to return to life, even from extraordinarily painful situations.

Today, Menucha V’Yeshuah’s services include subsidized recovery stays in hotels and guesthouses across Israel, professionally-guided therapeutic vacations, support groups for families, and the crown jewel: the “Menucha V’Yeshuah House” in Caesarea—a seaside villa where terminally ill patients and their families experience what Rabbi Kenig describes as “true miracles and transformations—Techiyas Hameisim!”

Every request is carefully examined by a senior medical and chessed team, with exceptional cases receiving approval from a medical committee—ensuring resources reach those who need them most.

When Tragedy Strikes a Nation

The organization’s reach has expanded far beyond its original scope. It now serves new mothers needing recovery, women at risk during pregnancy, families of terminally ill patients, and—in an era of unprecedented pain for the Jewish nation—evacuees, terror victims, and bereaved families who have lost loved ones defending Israel.

Following the 2021 Meron tragedy, Menucha V’Yeshuah rapidly scaled its operations to meet the surge in need. When October 7th shattered the nation and plunged Israel into ongoing war, the organization pivoted once again, becoming a lifeline for bereaved families.

Rabbi Kenig has hosted multiple Shabbosim bringing together widows, orphans, and parents of fallen soldiers—creating sacred spaces where they can find comfort, build bonds of understanding, and receive desperately needed respite during their darkest moments. Each Shabbaton costs approximately $100,000 and requires substantial support from Jewish communities worldwide.

“Unfortunately, the demand continues to grow,” Rabbi Kenig says quietly. “National tragedies, terror attacks, war—they all share a common theme: deep pain, great difficulty, and a need for immediate help. Every time someone needs us—we’ll be there for them.”

Breaking Down Barriers With a Hug

Despite his traditional black-and-white Chassidic garb and shtreimel, Rabbi Kenig has become beloved across the religious spectrum. His secret? Radical authenticity and breathtaking simplicity

“People see me and assume I’m here to make them religious,” he says with a gentle smile. “But the message behind my relationship with families is simple: All I care about is listening and offering support. Nothing more, nothing less.”

At every event, after sharing his personal story of tragedy and transformation, Rabbi Kenig is met with lines of people waiting to embrace him. When asked about his goals for these gatherings, his answer is beautifully uncomplicated: “My only goal is to give them—the widows, children, mothers, fathers—a hug and to feel loved. That’s it.”

This approach has built bridges where walls once stood, bringing together secular and religious, Ashkenazi and Sephardi, young and old—united in shared healing and hope.

The Fear That Drives the Mission

Which brings us back to this historic journey to America and the 170 widows and orphans who will soon arrive on these shores.

Now that all hostages have returned home, Baruch Hashem, these families face a profound and ongoing challenge that Rabbi Kenig understands intimately: the fear of being forgotten.

“Their sacrifice—having lost their husbands and fathers in defense of the Jewish people—is permanent,” he explains with quiet intensity. “Their pain doesn’t end when the headlines fade or when the immediate crisis passes. We need to show them they will never be forgotten. That their loved ones’ sacrifice will never be in vain. That the Jewish community stands with them, today and always.”

This mission represents the largest expression yet of Menucha V’Yeshuah’s sacred work. The families will spend their first week in Orlando for rest and rejuvenation, then travel to Deal, New Jersey, for an uplifting Shabbos featuring spiritual programming, communal celebration, and—most importantly—the embrace of a community that refuses to let them face their pain alone.

When one of his daughters once protested his constant fundraising trips abroad, Rabbi Kenig’s response captured the urgency driving everything he does: “Please understand that right now, there are hundreds of thousands of fathers, brothers, and sons in the army giving everything they have to defend the people of Israel. What I’m doing is the same as what they’re doing, and what we should all be doing—giving the best of ourselves to help Am Yisrael.”

A Promise Fulfilled, a Vision Realized

From a terrifying phone call on an airport runway to an organization that has helped thousands of families find hope in their darkest hours, Rabbi Mendy Kenig has transformed personal tragedy into a powerful force for healing.

His work has earned Brachos from Israel’s greatest Gedolei Hador. The late Belzer Rebbe Zt”l wrote: “Rabbi Menachem Mendel Kenig is engaged in public service with faith, and has set it as his goal to help and assist healing families, and more so to give them the strength to return to their original health. The necessity of this holy endeavor is indescribable.”

Rabbi Shimon Galai declared: “Menucha V’Yeshuah is a paradise on earth with their deeds. I have seen their programs firsthand.”

But perhaps the most powerful endorsement comes from the families themselves—the Almanos who find comfort, the sick who discover strength, the bereaved who learn they are not alone.

Rabbi Kenig’s vision for Menucha V’Yeshuah remains both ambitious and achingly simple: “To continue being here for families coping with hardship, offering support and strength, health, and life.”

The Journey Begins

As 170 families prepare to board planes to America, they carry with them the weight of unimaginable loss. But they also carry hope—hope that they will be embraced, that their sacrifice will be honored, that they will not walk this painful path alone.

Leading them is a man who knows what it means to receive a devastating phone call, to feel helpless in the face of crisis, to watch a loved one fight for life. A man who turned his darkest moment into a promise, and that promise into a lifeline for thousands.

In a world that often moves on too quickly from tragedy, Rabbi Mendy Kenig and Menucha V’Yeshuah remain steadfast: being there, especially when it’s tough. Offering not just material support, but something even more precious—the reassurance that no one will be forgotten, that every pain matters, that the Jewish people take care of their own.

One phone call. One promise. One historic mission. Thousands of lives transformed.

“Every time someone needs us—we’ll be there for them.”

Over these next 2 weeks, 170 families will discover he means it.

To support the historic mission or participate in the Shabbos in Deal, NJ, contact Mendy Kenig at 347.754.7473

Click HERE to donate towards this imortant cause!

Am Yisrael Chai. We Remember. We Stand Together.

Article from Jewish Links

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In a strongly worded letter, Rav Aharon Feldman, Rosh Yeshiva of Ner Yisrael in Baltimore, expressed his admiration and full support for former Sephardic Chief Rabbi Rav Yitzchok Yosef’s clear and uncompromising stance opposing the enlistment of bnei Torah into the Israeli army.

Dated the 11th of Marcheshvan 5786 and written in Baltimore, Rav Feldman’s letter begins with a warm greeting to “the great gaon, Rav Yitzchok Yosef shlit’a,” followed by words of profound appreciation for Rav Yosef’s courage in publicly stating that a Jew who observes Torah u’mitzvos must not place himself in the spiritually destructive environment of the army. Rav Feldman referenced “experience showing that at least half of those who enter the army cast off the yoke of Torah and mitzvos,” emphasizing the grave spiritual risks involved.

He praised Rav Yosef’s stance as “the only true position,” asserting that “only with truth will we succeed.”

Rav Feldman offered his heartfelt bracha that Rav Yosef’s hands be strengthened in “Hashem’s battle for the future of the Jewish people,” and that he be granted “strength and courage to stand firmly against those who refuse to recognize the truth and against the compromisers willing to sell out Klal Yisroel for money and power.”

Rav Feldman concluded his letter with a prayer that Rav Yosef continue to lead Sephardic Jewry “in the ways of Torah with health, strength, and illumination until the coming of the righteous redeemer, speedily in our days.” He signed the letter “with respect and sincere friendship.”

The letter is co-signed by Rav Elya Ber Wachtfogel, Rav Aryeh Malkiel Kotler, Rav Yerucham Olshin, Rav Dovid Tzvi Schustal, and Rav Yisroel Tzvi Neuman.

{Matzav.com}

Michelle Obama once again took aim at President Donald Trump’s controversial plan to replace the White House East Wing with a grand ballroom, arguing that the decision reflects a disregard for the traditional role and meaning of the first lady’s office.

Speaking during a live podcast recording in Brooklyn, as reported by the New York Times with quotes attributed to Vanity Fair, Obama criticized the demolition project as erasing an important piece of American civic heritage. “When we talk about the East Wing, it is the heart of the work” of a first lady, she said. “And to denigrate it, to tear it down, to pretend like it doesn’t matter — it’s a reflection of how you think of that role.”

Obama explained that during her husband’s administration, she often reminded West Wing aides that her office played a real political function. She told them her initiatives and presence helped President Barack Obama’s standing with voters, summarizing that value as “five extra approval points” thanks to what she called a “balanced image of the first family,” according to the Times.

The former first lady has voiced similar objections before. In a conversation with Stephen Colbert, she reminisced about the East Wing as the part of the White House that “you felt light,” describing it as a place filled with warmth, children, and even puppies. Expressing her disillusionment with the current political climate, she said she feels “confused” and “lost” about what matters to Americans today, adding, “I just feel like, what is important to us as a nation anymore? Because I’m lost.” She drew a parallel between the East Wing’s destruction and what she sees as the moral and cultural decay of Trump’s America.

The ballroom controversy has sparked commentary from other political figures as well. President Joe Biden, while campaigning in Omaha, quipped that he had predicted Trump would “take a wrecking ball to the country,” calling the ballroom “a perfect symbol of his presidency.” Chelsea Clinton also joined the criticism, penning an op-ed in USA Today that described the construction as “a wrecking ball to our heritage.” She wrote that the White House “belongs to the American people” and should stand as a “mirror of our democracy.” Hillary Clinton, meanwhile, has turned the debate into a fundraising opportunity, selling themed merchandise through her Instagram page.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt dismissed the uproar on Fox News as “fake outrage,” noting that almost every modern president has overseen their own renovations. She reminded viewers that Barack Obama had to hold a state dinner in a rented tent on the South Lawn, saying the new ballroom simply offers “the space needed for events that celebrate America.”

{Matzav.com}

During Monday’s episode of ABC’s The View, Whoopi Goldberg unleashed a furious tirade against the Trump administration, accusing it of acting “insane” and like “clowns” who have no idea “what the …. they’re doing.”

Goldberg’s outburst came during a discussion on poverty and global crises, as she condemned government policies that, in her view, fail to address basic humanitarian needs. “This is a …. we’ve had forever about people starving in America. This is the richest country in the world, and we are somebody had the nerve to write, we’re out of money. We’re not out of money. We’re not that we run out of money. There’s money there,” she said.

Her frustration intensified as she compared America’s priorities with global suffering. “I told y’all this was crazy. I told you it was insane. You know? And while I’m watching, I’m watching the fact that people are starving in Africa, starving, that Darfur people, there was a genocide occurred, people are being massacred. And these clowns have not mentioned it once and they have said, we’re not we’re not sending out any money. We’re America first, and yet we bailed out Argentina. We’re messing with Viktor Orban. What the …. is going on in this country? What the …. is going on?”

Ana Navarro, another panelist, piled on, declaring, “Donald Trump is Nero playing the fiddle while America burns.”

Goldberg, however, insisted that the country itself remains resilient. “America’s not going to burn. America is hot, but she’s not going to burn. You know why she’s not going to burn? Because everybody in this audience, everybody at this table is doing something to help somebody else. This is what we are doing as Americans. People are going out. They are bringing food from their own kitchens and bringing it to neighbors. That’s what we do, and that’s what we’re going to keep doing until these idiots figure out what the …. they’re doing.”

{Matzav.com}

After weeks of political stalemate, the Senate on Monday advanced a revised stopgap funding bill, paving the way toward ending the government shutdown and sending the measure back to the House for a final vote.

The temporary spending plan, which keeps the government funded until January 30, 2026, cleared the Senate with support from every Republican except Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), along with eight Democrats and independents aligned with the party. That bipartisan coalition helped the measure surpass the 60-vote threshold required to overcome a filibuster.

The bill also secures funding through September 30, 2026, for essential programs including veterans’ health care, military construction, legislative operations, and the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP), relied upon by 42 million Americans.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) urged lawmakers to reconvene as soon as possible, with a vote in the House expected within roughly 36 hours of the Senate’s approval. “We’re ready to get this done,” Johnson said, emphasizing the need to restore government operations swiftly.

The Senate’s action comes after a long and bitter standoff that began when Democrats triggered the shutdown on October 1. Forty Democrats—among them Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY)—initially voted to block government funding before five of them ultimately switched sides and joined Republicans to bring the shutdown to an end.

Those five—Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), and Minority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.)—helped tip the scales in favor of reopening the government after 40 days of paralysis.

Among the few gains Democrats claimed from the deal was a commitment to hold a future vote on extending Affordable Care Act tax credits, an offer Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) had floated weeks earlier.

President Trump voiced support for the agreement, announcing Monday that he would “abide by” a clause requiring the reinstatement of federal workers who lost their jobs during the shutdown.

Sen. Angus King (I-Maine), one of the first to back the measure, acknowledged that the strategy to hold out had failed. “Standing up to Trump didn’t work,” he admitted in an interview.

By Monday evening, the Senate was already debating amendments to the legislation, including proposals for full-year appropriations and one from Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) seeking to lift a federal ban on “intoxicating” hemp products.

Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) proposed another amendment to extend the Obamacare subsidy expansions introduced under President Joe Biden for an additional year, as those credits are slated to expire at the end of 2025.

Speaker Johnson, however, has not guaranteed that such provisions will receive consideration in the House even if they pass in the Senate.

If the House adopts the stopgap as written, both SNAP and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) would regain their contingency reserves, ensuring uninterrupted aid to beneficiaries. Federal employees—whether furloughed or still working—would also receive full back pay.

That includes thousands of overextended air traffic controllers and other critical personnel whose reduced availability had forced the Federal Aviation Administration to cut flight volumes to curb cascading delays and cancellations across the nation’s airports.

Republican senators also touted several national security wins in the funding package, including measures enabling the Food and Drug Administration to combat illegal Chinese e-cigarette sales and banning the Capitol Police from buying drones produced by Huawei or ZTE Corporation.

Additionally, the agreement earmarks $4.1 billion for rural infrastructure, housing, and business development projects, and allocates an impressive $19.7 billion to sustain 300 military construction initiatives over the next fiscal year.

{Matzav.com}

Governor Kathy Hochul made it clear over the weekend that she’s not ready to fund Zohran Mamdani’s plan to make New York City buses free—a $700 million proposal that’s been one of the socialist mayor-elect’s biggest campaign promises.

Speaking at the SOMOS political conference in Puerto Rico, Hochul explained that her administration has already poured massive funding into the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and can’t afford to strip away fare revenue. “We’re spending a lot of money, so I cannot set forth a plan right now that takes money out of a system that relies on the fares of the buses and the subways,” she said.

At the same time, she added a note of compromise: “But can we find a path to make it more affordable for people who need help? Of course we can.”

Mamdani, appearing unfazed by the governor’s stance, avoided directly acknowledging the rift. “I continue to be excited at the work of making the slowest buses in America fast and free,” he said Monday. “And I appreciate the governor’s continued partnership in delivering on that agenda of affordability.”

The dispute marks another flashpoint between Hochul, a centrist Democrat, and Mamdani, a self-described socialist, despite her having endorsed him during the campaign. Hochul had once embraced his populist message of affordability but has since distanced herself from the more radical pieces of his platform, including higher taxes on the wealthy to fund $10 billion in giveaways like free child care and zero-fare buses.

Hochul’s resistance poses a significant roadblock for Mamdani, whose agenda will depend heavily on cooperation from the governor’s office and legislative leaders in Albany. So far, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins have sounded more receptive to the mayor-elect’s expansive spending ambitions.

The push-and-pull between the governor and the socialist rising star hasn’t gone unnoticed. Mamdani’s supporters have twice interrupted Hochul’s events with chants of “Tax the rich,” prompting an irritated response. “The more you push me, the more I’m not going to do what you want,” Hochul warned from the SOMOS stage.

Still, she stopped short of fully dismissing Mamdani’s agenda. While she balked at the bus plan, Hochul reiterated her commitment to exploring free child care—though she noted that it would be an enormous financial lift. “We’ll be on a path to get there, because I’m committed to this as ‘mom governor’ — I get it,” she said. “But also to do it statewide, right now, it’s about $15 billion — the entire amount of my reserves.”

Following her remarks at SOMOS, Hochul traveled to the Dominican Republic to attend a breakfast celebrating a “cross cultural” partnership—an event that also underscored her effort to connect with a key voting bloc. With hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers tracing roots to the Dominican Republic, the governor’s outreach is part of her broader political calculus as she eyes reelection in 2026.