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The IDF announced that it carried out a strike last Wednesday that killed Ibrahim Abu Tzakar, identifying him as a Hamas operative who posed as a paramedic while orchestrating multiple attacks against Israeli civilians and IDF soldiers.

According to findings based on intelligence assessments, the military said Abu Tzakar had crossed into Israeli territory during the October 7 massacre and took part in the kidnapping of Mia Schem from the Mefalsim area.

Schem had been seized on October 7 after attending the Nova music festival near Kibbutz Re’im and was later freed in November 2023 as part of a hostage release deal.

The IDF added that forces under the Southern Command remain positioned in line with the ceasefire arrangements and will persist in acting against any immediate dangers to both Israeli civilians and military personnel.

{Matzav.com}

Despite heavy restrictions on access to Mount Meron due to the security situation in northern Israel, Rav Tzvi Meir Zilberberg traveled to the site for Lag BaOmer together with a group of followers, enduring an eight-hour journey marked by roadblocks and significant delays.

Rav Zilberberg, head of the Nachalas Yaakov chaburah, maintained his longstanding custom of attending the hilula of Rav Shimon bar Yochai. After lighting a bonfire in Yerushalayim, he set out with his chassidim by bus, hoping to arrive in time for the conclusion of Lag BaOmer so that he could immerse in a mobile mikveh prepared for him, as he does each year.

However, what was expected to be a routine trip turned into a prolonged and exhausting journey. The group encountered heavy traffic and numerous checkpoints along the way, significantly delaying their arrival.

Instead of reaching Meron in the early evening as planned, they arrived only around midnight after approximately eight hours on the road. The bonfire lighting began much later than scheduled—around midnight rather than the originally planned 8:00 p.m.

Despite the difficulties, fatigue, and setbacks, participants described an atmosphere of joy and spiritual elevation throughout the trip. Rav Zilberberg, as is his custom, offered words of encouragement and led singing along the way, while his followers viewed the challenging journey as a meaningful act of dedication and a privilege to reach the gravesite of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, even under such circumstances.

{Matzav.com}

Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir is calling on chareidi lawmakers to push forward immediately with the draft law, arguing that concerns over a likely High Court rejection should not stop the legislative effort.

Addressing the issue, Ben Gvir said that, as with previous legislation such as the death penalty law for terrorists, the government should proceed regardless of expected judicial intervention. “They asked me why I passed the death penalty law for terrorists if the High Court will strike it down. I said I do my part and we need to leave something to Hakadosh Boruch Hu.“

Speaking on Kol Chai radio’s “Central Edition,” Ben Gvir argued that the root solution to the sector’s challenges—from daycare funding to military conscription—lies in reforming the judicial system. He directed a message to Knesset members from Shas and United Torah Judaism, saying, “We must insist on judicial reform. It cannot be that they always go after the good and harm chareidi children and women. It is possible, and it is right.”

Ben Gvir also sharply criticized Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara and opposed the idea that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu might pursue mediation in his legal cases. “This is a big mistake, she is not someone you can work with in cooperation,” he said.

He further revealed that he had previously urged Netanyahu to dismiss the attorney general early on. “Two and a half years ago I told him, let’s send her home. He told me I’m a young minister and don’t understand how things work, and today he openly admits that I was right. She is a dismissed and fired adviser who cannot continue in her role.”

{Matzav.com}

Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir revealed his personal phone number during a live broadcast, urging the public to send him documentation of police conduct—both positive and negative—during the Lag BaOmer events in Meron.

Speaking Wednesday evening on Kol Chai radio, Ben Gvir also addressed reports of a developing agreement between the United States and Iran, voicing firm opposition. He said Israel cannot accept a nuclear Iran and warned that the regime in Tehran cannot be trusted to uphold any agreement. While expressing confidence in President Donald Trump and his intentions toward Israel, Ben Gvir cautioned against what he described as naivety in dealing with a country seeking nuclear capabilities to destroy Israel.

Discussing broader security challenges, Ben Gvir said Israel must address threats from multiple fronts simultaneously, including Lebanon, Gaza, and Iran. “We cannot leave Hezbollah with weapons, we cannot leave Hamas in Gaza, and we cannot leave a nuclear Iran,” he declared. He praised Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu for leading operations targeting senior terror figures, including Sinwar, Nasrallah, and Khamenei, but stressed that the mission is not yet complete and that Israel has the capability to achieve a decisive outcome.

Turning to criticism of police conduct at Mount Meron during Lag BaOmer, Ben Gvir rejected claims of excessive force against chareidi participants. He said he has received hundreds of messages from citizens praising officers for their restraint and respectful behavior, contrasting this year’s events with past incidents that involved violence and injuries. He emphasized that there is a clear policy to treat the chareidi public as “brothers” and noted that officers underwent mental preparation to avoid offending sensitivities or the sanctity of the site.

Regarding restrictions on access to Meron, Ben Gvir explained that the decision was made by the Home Front Command out of concern for public safety. He said officials were presented with severe scenarios involving rocket or drone strikes hitting dense crowds, which could have resulted in mass casualties due to insufficient protected areas. “The decision was made to protect the public. Heaven forbid a missile had fallen—would we be going from family to family in mourning?” he said. Addressing questions about why other large events were allowed to proceed, he said security officials had provided explanations, noting that “there is a difference between Sammy Ofer Stadium and Mount Meron.”

On the issue of the draft law, Ben Gvir called for advancing legislation even if it faces likely challenges in the High Court. He urged chareidi parties to push for judicial reform, arguing that the court unfairly targets the chareidi community and harms women and children in matters such as daycare funding.

In closing, Ben Gvir addressed the possibility of criminal mediation in the cases involving the prime minister, calling it a mistake. He sharply criticized Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, referring to her as “a dismissed and fired adviser” and asserting that it is not possible to work with her in cooperation or engage in good-faith mediation.

In an unusual move, Ben Gvir publicly shared his personal phone number and invited citizens to send him footage documenting police behavior, both favorable and unfavorable, during the Meron events.

{Matzav.com}

The IDF avoided carrying out strikes in Lebanon on Lag BaOmer due to concerns that Hezbollah could retaliate toward Mount Meron, where large crowds had gathered, according to a report citing security sources.

Despite Home Front Command restrictions, thousands made their way to Meron for the hilula there, reaching the mountain by unconventional routes, including fields and wooded areas, in what observers described as determined efforts to attend the annual gathering.

The limitations placed on access to the site were tied to heightened tensions along the northern border and fears that Hezbollah might launch rockets or explosive drones toward the area. In the end, no such attack materialized, similar to the previous year during the height of fighting in the north.

According to the report, the IDF took steps to avoid further escalation and deliberately refrained from conducting operations in Lebanon throughout Lag BaOmer, out of concern that any military action could provoke a response aimed at Meron—potentially putting large numbers of civilians at risk.

Following the conclusion of Lag BaOmer, however, the IDF shifted its approach. In response to recent escalation by Hezbollah, Israeli forces carried out a targeted strike in the Dahiyeh district of Beirut, approximately one day after the end of the Meron gathering.

{Matzav.com}

Dear Matzav Inbox,

Every year, mamish every single year, I go to Meron by Rebbi Shimon for Lag BaOmer. From when I was a yingerman, this was my whole thing. I made sure to go. I leave everything, I take off from work, whatever it takes, I go.

And when I go, I don’t just stand there like a stone. I stand by the kever, I cry, I daven, I talk to Rebbi Shimon like a child talks to a father. I ask for yeshios—for parnussah, for gezunt, for shulem bayis, for nachas from the kinder, for everything I need the whole year.

And I always see, it works. Mamish works. The whole year I walk around with a certain brucha. Things go smoother. Even when there are problems, somehow it works out. I always say to myself, this is from Meron, from that one night by Rebbi Shimon.

But this year, I didn’t go.

Because of the war, because of the matzav, all the restrictions, they didn’t let us go like normal. It didn’t happen. I stayed home like a nebach.

And I cannot explain what I felt on Lag BaOmer. Everyone is talking about Meron, everyone is sending videos, everyone is singing, and I was sitting in my house. I felt empty. Mamish empty. And now I am very scared for the whole year.

Because by me, this is how it works. I go to Rebbi Shimon, I ask for yeshios, and then the year goes with a brucha. So now I am thinking, if I didn’t go, then what? Where will my yeshios come from this year? What will be with my parnussah? What will be with my family? Who is going to help me?

Maybe people will laugh at me. They will say I am a simple Yid, I don’t understand big things. Maybe it’s true. But this is my metzius. This is how I live. I am not a big tzaddik, I am not a big thinker. I am a simple Yid who goes to Rebbi Shimon and asks for help from Hashem in the zechis of the tzaddik.

Now I didn’t go, so I feel like I lost my whole “pipeline.”

I am trying to be mechazek myself. I say Hashem is everywhere. You can daven anywhere. You don’t need Meron. I say it again and again. But my heart is not listening. My heart is used to Meron, to the fire, to the singing, to the crying, to that feeling that Rebbi Shimon is hearing me.

This year I didn’t have it.

So I walk around with a pachad in my heart. Mamish a fear. What will be? How will this year go?

Maybe there are other Yidden like me. Maybe someone can say a word, a simple word, how even if a Yid didn’t go to Meron, he can still have yeshios and a good year with a big brucha. Because I need to hear it.

I am begging that next year everything should be back to normal, no war, no restrictions, and we should all go to Meron with a big simcha, and stand by Rebbi Shimon, and cry and ask Hashem, and everything should be good again.

A Yid Who is Very Worried

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Israel’s chareidi parties are expected to make a critical decision in the coming days on whether to advance legislation regulating the draft and the status of yeshiva bochurim, as the Knesset prepares to open its summer session.

The decision must be made quickly, with only a few months remaining before the political system enters an election period, during which such legislation cannot be passed.

Within Shas, officials have indicated support for continuing the legislative effort but are waiting for a final position from Degel HaTorah, as both parties previously agreed that any move would be carried out in full coordination.

“From the outset, Shas and Degel HaTorah have worked together in full coordination to advance the draft law,” a senior Shas official told Matzav.com. “Recently, the gedolim from the Litvishe community instructed that the legislation be delayed in order to allow for further discussions.”

A senior figure in Degel HaTorah said that a ruling from the rosh yeshiva, Rav Dov Landau, could come within the next 24 hours or early next week.

At the center of the discussions are several key options:

-Whether to accept the demands of the Knesset’s legal advisers and introduce changes and stricter provisions into the bill.

-Whether to pass the law without the backing of the Knesset’s legal counsel, risking that it could be immediately struck down and face an interim injunction.

-Whether to abandon the current legislative effort altogether and postpone the issue until the next Knesset, in the hope that the right-wing bloc remains in power.

The office of Degel HaTorah chairman MK Moshe Gafni issued a firm denial of reports claiming that Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu had asked chareidi parties to delay completing the legislation until after the expected elections.

“The report that Prime Minister Netanyahu requested to delay the completion of the draft law until after the elections — is entirely false,” Gafni’s office said in a brief statement.

The denial followed a report by journalist Avraham Freund, who claimed that Netanyahu had recently held discussions with leaders of the chareidi parties and urged them to remove the draft law from the agenda and wait until after elections, arguing that there is currently no realistic path to passing it.

As noted, the chareidi parties are operating under significant time pressure. With the Knesset’s summer session approaching, only a limited window remains before the country enters an election period, when legislation of this kind cannot move forward. This situation is forcing party leaders to make a rapid decision: whether to continue pushing the law now or forgo the opportunity to pass it in the current Knesset.

{Matzav.com}

Khalil al-Hayya denied reports Thursday morning that his son Azzam was killed in an Israeli strike, saying instead that he was seriously wounded during the attack.

In an interview with Al Jazeera, al-Hayya addressed the reports that circulated the previous night, stating that his son had not been killed in the strike in Gaza City.

“What we heard is that in the group that was randomly attacked, so far Hamza al-Sharbati was killed, and my son Azzam and another group of people were seriously wounded,” al-Hayya said in the interview.

According to earlier reports, the strike took place in the al-Daraj neighborhood in eastern Gaza City during operational activity by IDF forces in the area. Palestinian sources had initially confirmed Azzam’s death, but al-Hayya now claims those reports were incorrect and that his son survived with severe injuries.

Al-Hayya, who serves as head of Hamas’s political bureau in the Gaza Strip, is considered one of the central figures in the organization’s leadership. He is currently in the final stage of a leadership contest within Hamas, facing Khaled Mashal ahead of internal elections expected in the near future.

This is not the first time al-Hayya’s family has been affected during the war. Another of his sons was previously killed in an Israeli strike in Qatar earlier in the conflict.

{Matzav.com}

Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf publicly ridiculed Donald Trump on Wednesday, as reports circulated that Washington and Tehran may be nearing an agreement to end the ongoing conflict.

“Operation Trust Me Bro failed. Now back to routine with Operation Fauxios,” Ghalibaf wrote in a post on social media.

His comments appeared to take aim at the recently announced Project Freedom mission in the Strait of Hormuz, which Trump halted Tuesday night just two days after launching it, as well as a report from Axios indicating that the United States and Iran are close to finalizing a brief, one-page deal to bring the war to a conclusion.

Earlier that day, Trump issued a sharp warning to Iran in a post on his Truth Social platform, outlining the conditions under which hostilities could come to an end.

“Assuming Iran agrees to give what has been agreed to, which is, perhaps, a big assumption, the already legendary Epic Fury will be at an end, and the highly effective Blockade will allow the Hormuz Strait to be OPEN TO ALL, including Iran.”

He followed with a direct threat, writing, “If they don’t agree, the bombing starts, and it will be, sadly, at a much higher level and intensity than it was before.”

Later, speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump said recent negotiations with Iran have been productive, adding that Iranian leadership is eager to reach an agreement and has indicated a willingness to abandon nuclear weapons.

“They want to make a deal badly. And we’ll see if we get there. If we get there, they can’t have nuclear weapons. It’s very simple,” Trump stated.

Trump also described what he characterized as a near-total dismantling of Iran’s military capabilities, pointing to losses across its navy, air force, and missile systems.

“They had a Navy with 159 ships, and now every ship is blown to pieces and lying at the bottom of the water. They had an Air Force, lots of planes, and they don’t have any planes. They don’t have any anti-aircraft. They don’t have any radar left. Their missiles are mostly decimated. They have some. They have probably 18, 19 percent, but not a lot by comparison to what they had. And their leaders are all dead. So I think we won.”

He added that while the administration is pursuing a negotiated resolution, further escalation remains an option if talks do not succeed.

“Now we have to get what we have to get. If we don’t do that, we’ll have to go a big step further. But with that being said, they want to make a deal. We’ve had very good talks over the last 44 hours, and it’s very possible that we’ll make a deal,” said Trump.

Trump reiterated his central position, emphasizing once again that “Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. And they won’t. And they’ve agreed to that, among other things.”

{Matzav.com}

President Donald Trump said Wednesday that the ongoing conflict with Iran is likely to conclude in the near future, pointing to continued military pressure and advancing diplomatic efforts as signs that an end may be close.

Trump made the remarks during a tele-rally in support of Georgia Republican gubernatorial candidate Burt Jones.

“When you look at the kind of things that are happening, we are doing that for one very important reason: We cannot allow them to have a nuclear weapon,” Trump said.

He added, “So I think most people understand that. They understand that what we are doing is right, and it’ll be over quickly.”

At the same time, a regional source told CNN that Iran is expected to deliver its formal response to mediators regarding a U.S. proposal aimed at ending the war as early as Thursday.

According to the report, Iranian officials have been reviewing the proposal, and both sides appear to be moving closer to a possible agreement that would bring the conflict to a close.

Earlier in the day, Trump told reporters that recent discussions with Iran have been productive, adding that Iranian leadership is eager to finalize a deal and has indicated a willingness to forgo nuclear weapons.

“They want to make a deal badly. And we’ll see if we get there. If we get there, they can’t have nuclear weapons. It’s very simple,” Trump said.

Trump also described what he characterized as extensive damage to Iran’s military infrastructure, asserting that its naval and air capabilities have been largely eliminated.

“They had a Navy with 159 ships, and now every ship is blown to pieces and lying at the bottom of the water. They had an Air Force, lots of planes, and they don’t have any planes. They don’t have any anti-aircraft. They don’t have any radar left. Their missiles are mostly decimated. They have some. They have probably 18, 19 percent, but not a lot by comparison to what they had. And their leaders are all dead. So I think we won.”

He emphasized that while diplomacy remains the goal, further escalation remains on the table if negotiations fail.

“Now we have to get what we have to get. If we don’t do that, we’ll have to go a big step further. But with that being said, they want to make a deal. We’ve had very good talks over the last 44 hours, and it’s very possible that we’ll make a deal,” said Trump.

Trump again made clear that preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons remains the central objective.

“Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. And they won’t. And they’ve agreed to that, among other things.”

The remarks came shortly after Trump issued a public warning to Iran on his Truth Social platform, outlining conditions for ending the conflict.

“Assuming Iran agrees to give what has been agreed to, which is, perhaps, a big assumption, the already legendary Epic Fury will be at an end, and the highly effective Blockade will allow the Hormuz Strait to be OPEN TO ALL, including Iran.”

He followed that with a direct warning, writing, “If they don’t agree, the bombing starts, and it will be, sadly, at a much higher level and intensity than it was before.”

Trump’s ultimatum followed a report from Axios indicating that the United States and Iran are nearing a brief, one-page framework agreement that could formally end the war.

Meanwhile, Iran’s parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, responded with a mocking message directed at Trump.

“Operation Trust Me Bro failed. Now back to routine with Operation Fauxios,” Ghalibaf wrote in a post on social media.

His remarks appeared to reference both the recently halted Project Freedom operation in the Strait of Hormuz and the Axios report suggesting a pending agreement between the two sides.

{Matzav.com}

A newly published report indicates that the Trump administration’s abrupt decision to suspend its naval escort effort in the Strait of Hormuz came after Saudi Arabia denied critical military access, effectively halting the operation shortly after it began.

President Donald Trump had unveiled the mission, known as Project Freedom, on Sunday, describing it as an effort to safeguard international shipping by escorting foreign vessels through the strategically vital waterway. By Tuesday, however, he announced that the initiative would be paused to make room for diplomatic engagement with Iran.

According to the NBC News report, the suspension was driven in part by Riyadh’s decision to block the United States from using key military facilities and its airspace. Without access to Saudi bases and overflight routes, the operation was unable to proceed, coming to a stop roughly 36 hours after it was launched.

Tensions reportedly escalated after Trump publicized the operation without prior coordination with Saudi leadership. Sources said that in response, the Kingdom withheld access to Prince Sultan Airbase and limited U.S. flights across its territory, removing essential logistical support needed to protect commercial ships traveling through waters affected by Iranian interference.

Although a White House official maintained that “regional allies were notified in advance” of the plan, officials in Oman and Qatar suggested they only learned of it after the announcement had already been made public. Efforts to resolve the disagreement—including a reported conversation between President Trump and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman—did not succeed in closing the gap, leading to the current pause in operations.

Military planners have long emphasized the importance of regional cooperation in Middle Eastern operations, often referring to the concept of ABO—access, basing, and overflight. Without support from neighboring countries such as Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Oman, U.S. forces face significant limitations in their ability to defend maritime traffic from threats posed by Iran.

“Because of geography, you need cooperation from regional partners to utilize their airspace along their borders,” one US official quoted by NBC News said.

At the same time, Trump delivered a pointed message to Iran on Wednesday, posting on Truth Social, “Assuming Iran agrees to give what has been agreed to, which is, perhaps, a big assumption, the already legendary Epic Fury will be at an end, and the highly effective Blockade will allow the Hormuz Strait to be OPEN TO ALL, including Iran.”

He also issued a stark warning, writing, “If they don’t agree, the bombing starts, and it will be, sadly, at a much higher level and intensity than it was before.”

Later, speaking with reporters at the White House, Trump said negotiations with Iran had been progressing positively, noting that its leadership appears eager to reach an agreement and has signaled a willingness to forgo nuclear weapons.

“They want to make a deal badly. And we’ll see if we get there. If we get there, they can’t have nuclear weapons. It’s very simple,” Trump stated.

He went on to describe what he characterized as a severe weakening of Iran’s military capabilities, saying that its naval fleet, air force, and defensive systems have been largely destroyed.

“They had a Navy with 159 ships, and now every ship is blown to pieces and lying at the bottom of the water. They had an Air Force, lots of planes, and they don’t have any planes. They don’t have any anti-aircraft. They don’t have any radar left. Their missiles are mostly decimated. They have some. They have probably 18, 19 percent, but not a lot by comparison to what they had. And their leaders are all dead. So I think we won.”

Trump added that while the administration is seeking a diplomatic resolution, further escalation remains an option if talks do not produce results.

“Now we have to get what we have to get. If we don’t do that, we’ll have to go a big step further. But with that being said, they want to make a deal. We’ve had very good talks over the last 44 hours, and it’s very possible that we’ll make a deal,” said Trump.

He reiterated his central demand, stressing once more that “Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. And they won’t. And they’ve agreed to that, among other things.”

{Matzav.com}

By Rabbi Pinchos Lipschutz

As we learn the parsha each week and study the words of different meforshim, there are, invariably, ideas in the Torah that feel less like commentary and more like a quiet unveiling of history itself. The Meshech Chochmah in Parshas Bechukosai offers one of those. In a few penetrating lines, he not only explains the Tochacha, but maps the spiritual psychology of golus and the conditions that make the geulah possible.

The Tochacha is like a cascade of consequences: If Klal Yisroel follows the mitzvos, there will be brocha and hatzlocha. If not, chalilah, there are curses of increasing severity. In the posuk that discusses our period of golus (26:44), “V’af gam zos behiyosam b’eretz oyveihem lo me’astim velo ge’altim lechalosam lehofer brisi itom,” Hakadosh Boruch Hu promises that even when we are dispossessed and forced to live in foreign lands, He will not forsake us or allow us to be obliterated, nor will He annul the bris that He has with us.

The Meshech Chochmah explains that golus is not simply random suffering. It follows a tragic but recognizable progression. The way the Hashgocha works is that after being settled in a country for a few hundred years, a storm erupts and we are blown out of that place where we have grown comfortable. We move to a new exile. There is pain, instability, and dislocation. We feel like strangers. And then we come together, strengthen ourselves, and build up our Torah institutions. The foreign land becomes familiar. Livelihoods stabilize. Houses are built. Children who have never seen anything else are raised there. And then something subtle but seismic occurs: The Jew begins to feel at home.

The feeling of comfort in golus is the turning point.

Because once Jews feel comfortable in a foreign country, golus stops feeling like golus. The longing to return home, the yearning for the Bais Hamikdosh, begins to fade. The tension between what is and what should be disappears. And at that moment, history begins to move again, not gently, but forcefully.

And then, sometimes painfully, the illusion breaks. The Jewish people once again begin hearing those hate-filled voices that shout at them to leave and go somewhere else.

So has it been throughout the ages.

In recent days, Jews in England, particularly in London, have been reminded of this pattern in a most jarring way. A stabbing attack in Golders Green left two Jewish people who were walking on a street wounded. It was declared a terrorist incident.

Leading up to it, there were arson attacks targeting Jewish individuals, shuls, and even Hatzolah ambulances.

Authorities have raised the national threat level to “severe,” meaning further attacks are considered highly likely.

This is not fringe discomfort. It is a shift in atmosphere. Reports indicate thousands of antisemitic incidents a year, with many Jews expressing fear about openly living as Jews. And not only in England, but throughout Europe, Jews do not feel safe.

In this country, as well, there has been a marked increase in antisemitic incidents. Not too long ago, it was political suicide to speak against Jews and Israel, but today, there are Democrats who do so without jeopardizing their standing in the party.

What is perhaps most haunting is not only the violence, but the sense that something once assumed to be stable no longer feels so.

And here, the Meshech Chochmah’s words echo with unsettling clarity. Golus contains within it a built-in instability. When Jews begin to feel fully at home, Hakadosh Boruch Hu has a way of reminding them that they are not.

There is no justification for hatred or violence. Those who commit such acts are responsible, morally and humanly, for what they do. But we must know that it is not random. There is a pattern, a rhythm, and it is meant to keep us connected to where we belong, to remind us who we are, to keep alive the bris, the connection, with Hashem.

Golus begins with distance, moves toward comfort, and then, when that comfort becomes too complete, it is disrupted, because golus, by its very nature, cannot become permanent.

And so, what we are witnessing, painful as it is, carries a message that Jews have heard before across centuries and continents. We are not home. These reminders come to spark us to work toward geulah, to do what we must to bring about the redemption. Recognizing that golus is inherently incomplete is the first step in preparing to leave it.

In earlier generations, when the Jewish people were blessed with leaders who could discern and convey the Yad Hashem in all that transpired, people were not as confounded by events at home and abroad. In the times of the nevi’im, people were often forewarned before a calamity would strike, so that they could accept teshuvah upon themselves and prevent the tragedy. And even when they did not, afterward they were taught that it was the Yad Hashem that had struck, and they would engage in whatever was necessary to correct their ways.

Even after our people lost nevuah and Hashem began conducting the world through hester, people still had enough faith to recognize that nothing happens on its own and that everything takes place through Hashem.

As time went on and people became increasingly less learned, they lost the ability to see Hashem’s Hand in the various manifestations of His din. They began attributing events to natural causes, without recognizing that what they were witnessing were Divine messages directed at them.

We read the news and wonder what we can do to affect the situation. What can we do to temper the hatred for Jews? What can we do to bring about peace in Eretz Yisroel and peace in the world? What can we do about the internal war on the chareidi community in Israel? What can we do to bring stability and prosperity to our suffering brethren?

We won’t get the answers to these questions by following statuses, scrolling through pundits, or reading popular columns of analysis, interpretation, and speculation.

The answers are found in this week’s parsha, Bechukosai.

The posuk states quite simply, “Im bechukosai teileichu v’es mitzvosai tishmeru va’asisem osam.” If you will follow the chukim and mitzvos of the Torah, you will be blessed.

The Torah promises that if you follow the chukim and mitzvos, “vishavtem lovetach b’artzechem…venosati shalom ba’aretz ushechavtem v’ein macharid…v’cherev lo saavor b’artzechem, you will live safely in your land, there will be peace in the land, and you will sleep with no fear.”

Everything that is happening today is clearly prescribed in this week’s parsha. The history of the Jewish people is all in Parshas Bechukosai. When we were good, life was good. And when the people sinned and strayed, then what the pesukim say will happen (26:14–44) happens.

The posuk states, “Im bechukosai teileichu v’es mitzvosai tishmeru va’asisem osam.” The Toras Kohanim expounds on the words “Im bechukosai teileichu” that “Melameid sheHakadosh Boruch Hu misaveh sheyihiyu Yisroel ameilim baTorah…” From here we see that Hashem desires that the Jewish people be ameil in Torah.

Chazal teach us that “Im bechukosai teileichu” is not only a promise of brocha for those who observe the chukim, but the words contain a deeper charge, namely, “shetihiyu ameilim baTorah,” that we must toil in Torah. The brachos are a reward for observing the mitzvos, but they also flow from immersing in Torah, from laboring over it and living with it.

When we study the Torah, we are connecting with Hashem in the most direct way possible. We are engaging with His word, and it shapes us, our neshamos, our thinking, and the way we live. Through Torah, we become refined, purposeful, and more aligned with what we are meant to be.

“Shetihiyu ameilim baTorah” is the heartbeat of yeshivos and kollelim, those unique places where Torah is not just studied, but lived with intensity and dedication. It is there that ordinary people rise beyond themselves, where human beings, through effort and persistence, elevate themselves and become connected to something far greater. It is through that striving that we merit the brachos of Heaven.

That connection to the Torah strengthens us in the face of a world filled with distractions and pressures. Ameilus gives a person clarity and resilience, enabling us to withstand the constant pull of a society that often leads in the opposite direction.

This avodah is especially relevant during these days of Sefirah. As we count toward Shavuos, we are preparing ourselves to receive the Torah anew. Each day of the count presents an opportunity for growth, for refining our middos, for becoming more fitting recipients of the Torah.

We, maaminim bnei maaminim, are meant to see the Yad Hashem in everything that unfolds around us—in every bomb, in every missile, in every mission, in every antisemitic act, and in everything we have been blessed with.

But that vision does not come automatically. It is sharpened and deepened through Torah. The more a person is immersed in Torah, the more clearly he perceives Hashem’s presence, in moments of challenge and in moments of brocha.

What we must do is clear. We need to increase our Torah learning, approaching it with greater focus and depth. We need to strengthen our observance of mitzvos, performing them with more care and awareness. We need to daven with more kavonah, paying attention to the words and thinking about what we are saying. We need to be more mindful of what we allow into our lives, what we read, what we watch, what we bring into our homes, where we go, and what we put into our mouths.

We take pride in our mesorah, in the harchakos and takanos that preserve our distinctiveness and elevate us. We do not seek to mirror the world around us or mimic it. We are striving toward a different goal, aware that we are away and remaining focused on getting home.

Foreigners who cannot find meaningful employment in their home country travel to countries such as ours, working hard and sending money back to their families and saving for the day they can return home. The same way, through Torah, mitzvos, and teshuvah and correcting the failings that caused us to be sent into golus in the first place, such as lashon hora and sinas chinom, we get closer to the day we can return. Each word of Torah, each mitzvah, brings us nearer to the geulah.

As we are maavir sedrah this week and study the combined parshiyos, we should take the time to work on understanding the pesukim and their eternal messages about us, about the world, and about life.

Because the message of Parshas Bechukosai is not only a warning, it is a direction. Golus is meant to be transient. The instability, the discomfort, and the reminders that are repeated throughout our history are not there to confuse us, but to awaken us. They push us to ask not only what is happening, but what is being asked of us.

The answer is as clear today as it was when it was first given: “Im bechukosai teileichu.” To live with the Torah. To toil in it. To allow it to shape us, elevate us, and reconnect us to where we truly belong.

If golus begins when we forget who we are, then geulah begins when we remember.

The parsha of the tochacha also contains nechomah, for just as we are told that if we sin we will be struck down by our enemies and chased out of Eretz Yisroel, we are promised that Hashem’s bris with the avos will not be forgotten and we will be brought back home.

May it happen speedily in our day.

{Matzav.com}

Canadian authorities have arrested an 18-year-old male following an extensive investigation into two separate shooting incidents that targeted shuls in the Toronto area earlier this year, with officials warning that the suspect may not have acted alone.

The arrest was made public on Wednesday after a joint investigation conducted by the Toronto Police Service and York Regional Police.

Because the suspect was 17 at the time the alleged crimes took place, his identity has not been released under provincial law. He is now facing nine charges, including two counts of discharging a firearm into a building and two counts of causing significant property damage exceeding $5,000.

The troubling sequence of incidents began on the night of March 6. Just before midnight, police were called to the Beth Avraham Yoseph of Toronto (BAYT) shul in Vaughan, near Clark Avenue West and York Hill Boulevard. Officers who arrived at the scene found that the front entrance had been struck by gunfire. Two people who were inside the shul at the time were b’chasdei Hashem unharmed.

Roughly 20 minutes afterward, authorities received another report of shots fired, this time at the Shaarei Shomayim shul in Toronto, located near Bathurst Street and Glencairn Avenue. Police confirmed that the entrance to that building had also been hit in what appeared to be a targeted shooting.

Toronto Police Chief Myron Demkiw spoke about the seriousness of the attacks, saying, “These incidents were a terrible act of violence against the Jewish community in our cities. The investigation remains ongoing.”

Vaughan Mayor Steven Del Duca likewise spoke out strongly, stressing that those who carry out attacks on houses of worship must be dealt with to the fullest extent of the law.

“I know the Jewish community has been deeply shaken by these acts, and it’s important for me to state clearly: in Vaughan, you are not alone. And we will do everything possible to make sure you are safe. The criminals who engage in this deplorable behaviour belong behind bars. They must all be held accountable,” Del Duca stated.

In a joint statement, the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) and United Jewish Appeal (UJA) thanked law enforcement for their efforts while underscoring the gravity of the situation.

“These attacks shook the sense of safety not only for those congregations, but for Jewish communities across the region. We thank the Toronto Police Service and York Regional Police for their diligence and coordination in advancing this investigation. Their work sends a clear signal that those who target our community will be identified and held accountable,” the organizations noted.

The groups added a warning that “multiple shootings targeting synagogues represent a dangerous escalation” and urged authorities to enforce the law consistently in order to restore a sense of security.

Investigators said last week that they suspect additional individuals were involved in the attacks, and efforts are ongoing to locate and identify possible accomplices who may have helped plan or carry out the shootings.

The incidents come amid a sharp rise in antisemitic activity across Toronto and surrounding areas following the Hamas massacre in Israel on October 7, 2023.

In the days leading up to the March 6 shootings, gunfire struck Temple Emanu-El in North York. While no one was injured, the building sustained damage.

Later in April, a male suspect attempted to force his way into a shul in Thornhill, just north of Toronto, assaulting an individual before escaping.

The following day, a rock was thrown through the window of Aleph Bet Judaica, a Judaica store in the city, marking the third time that store has been targeted.

In another recent incident, a suspect driving a vehicle discharged a replica firearm toward visibly Jewish individuals in the North York section of Toronto, near Bathurst Street and Lawrence Avenue West.

The suspect fled quickly in a blue SUV, and the victims sustained only minor injuries.

Authorities have since released surveillance footage from a nearby home showing the suspect vehicle traveling through the area as part of the ongoing investigation.

{Matzav.com}

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President Donald Trump posted a graphic on Truth Social this evening drawing attention to the duration of major U.S. military conflicts, contrasting them with what he described as a brief “Iran Excursion.”

In the post, Trump wrote, “Wow. Study this Chart! President DJT,” alongside an image titled “Length of Wars.”

The chart lists several major conflicts and their durations in weeks, including the Afghanistan War at 543 weeks, the Iraq War at 457 weeks, and the Vietnam War at 439 weeks.

Also included are earlier conflicts such as the U.S. Civil War at 209 weeks, World War II at 196 weeks, the Korean War at 161 weeks, and the War of 1812 at 139 weeks.

At the bottom of the chart, a smaller highlighted entry labeled “Iran Excursion” is marked at just six weeks.

Trump did not provide additional commentary.

{Matzav.com}

Kash Patel said the FBI misled a secret court in order to secure surveillance warrants used to monitor Donald Trump during the 2016 presidential race and into his presidency, alleging a wider pattern of misconduct within federal law enforcement.

Speaking Tuesday on “Hang Out with Sean Hannity,” Patel told Sean Hannity that he spent years uncovering what he described as a coordinated effort involving political actors and intelligence channels. “It took me two years of my life to prove the following: that a political party in the United States of America, in the 21st century, would go overseas and hire some bogus intelligence asset to manufacture fraudulent, fake, unverified information,” Patel said.

He continued by describing how the material was allegedly used, stating that it was “funnel[ed] … to, not just the intelligence community, but the Federal Bureau of Investigation,” before being presented in court. According to Patel, authorities then took “those packaged lies that they had paid for with campaign finance funds and go into a secret surveillance court,” and “illegally spy on your opponent to be the next President of the United States.”

Recounting the outcome of his investigation, Patel said, “That took two years of my life,” adding, “And what did we find out? The FISA court themselves came back and said these warrants were illegal, that the FBI did not provide evidence of exculpatory evidence and innocence, and that the FBI essentially lied in those applications.”

Patel indicated that the issue extended beyond those initial findings, calling the episode only the beginning. “I knew it didn’t stop there,” he said.

He went on to claim that the practices continued during the years when Trump was out of office. “I knew in the four years that we were out of office that they continued to regenerate that institution of weaponization,” Patel said, asserting that during that time he discovered, “I was illegally spied on by the likes of [former U.S. deputy attorney general] Rod Rosenstein and [former FBI director] Chris Wray.”

According to Patel, others were also affected. He stated that “ten other staffers on the Hill, and people who were elected to serve this country in the halls of Congress” were similarly targeted.

“They were actually continuing the weaponization that Donald Trump and I exposed during Trump One [President Trump’s first term], and we caught them,” Patel said.

He further argued that officials involved documented their own actions. “I knew walking in the door the following: These individuals, these purported leaders of law enforcement and government are so arrogant that they write the stuff down themselves to memorialize how great they are,” Patel said.

Pointing to the origins of the evidence, he added, “That’s how we caught them in RussiaGate. It wasn’t my documents. It was their emails.”

Patel continued by citing specific materials, saying, “It was their FISA application. It was their bogus Steele dossier. It was their unverified reporting that was documented in FBI holdings that we put out and that you covered.”

He concluded by noting that additional information had been uncovered. “I knew there were other places that that information was hidden,” he said. “So, day one I set out to find it and we found it.”

Patel’s remarks come at a time of renewed attention on federal surveillance authorities, following Congress’s recent 45-day extension of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.

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{Matzav.com}

[Video below.] Barack Obama argued that the justice system and military must remain free of political influence during a wide-ranging interview with Stephen Colbert, in which he suggested that President Donald Trump had contributed to politicizing key institutions.

Speaking in a pre-recorded segment for one of the final episodes of CBS’ “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert,” Obama said, “We can’t overcome the the politization of the criminal justice system,” as he discussed concerns about the role of politics in law enforcement.

He continued by warning against the use of government power for partisan purposes, stating, “You can’t have a situation where whoever is in charge starts using that to go after their political enemies.”

Obama went on to emphasize the importance of independence within the Justice Department, saying, “Restoring some sense of the Justice Department being independent in making judgements about specific cases and prosecutions.”

Turning to the armed forces, Obama said, “The second thing is the military,” adding, “Don’t politicize our military.”

He elaborated on the role of the president as commander in chief, explaining, “As president, you are commander in chief,” and adding, “You are responsible for directing our military, but there had been a whole series of norms that were in place to ensure that you weren’t trying to make that military loyal to you as opposed to the constitution and the people of the United States.”

Obama said structural safeguards are needed, stating, “We’re going to have to find mechanisms to restore that,” and added, “And a good policy that I’d like to see followed is that the President of the United States shouldn’t have a bunch of side hustles.”

Elsewhere in the conversation, Obama engaged in a lighter exchange with Colbert, encouraging him to consider a political run and remarking, “The bar has changed.”

Colbert responded by noting, “I’m looking for a new gig soon, and a lot of people tell me I should run for president,” prompting Obama to reply, “Well, you certainly have the look.”

The host dismissed the idea, saying, “Well, for the record, I think it’s a stupid idea,” and asked, “How dumb do you think it is for people to say that I should run for president?”

Obama answered, “Well, you know, the bar has changed,” adding, “Let me put it this way, I think that you could perform significantly better than some folks that we’ve seen.”

He concluded, “I have great confidence in that,” leading Colbert to ask, “Was that an endorsement?” to which Obama replied, “It was not.”

The interview comes shortly before “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” is scheduled to air its final episode on May 21, bringing an end to the long-running CBS program.