Israel is in the throes of an orchestrated, well-funded coup d'état, devoid of ideology and close to bloodshed in the street

 

Israel is fighting for its independence from the tyranny of affluent and powerful elites. Independence from the legal establishment's absolutism, independence from the propaganda of the mainstream media propaganda, freedom from the progressive ideology of academia, and from the social engineering carried out by the IDF.

For thirty-plus years, Israel has faced a gradual campaign to change the identity of the Jewish state to a secular state for all its citizens. It's an attempt to separate Israel from its rich diasporic history, Jewish traditions, customs, and above all, the Jewish religion. The bon ton that leads the crusade is in the minority; be that as it may, they wield hegemonic control over national bodies, effectively dominating key decision-making agencies.

They dominate the Supreme Court and the Attorney General's Office, which rank among the most significant of these institutions. Together with the activist left-wing agenda and authority they arrogated to themselves, they have created a supra-legislative hierarchy that can override the legislation of the elected legislative assembly.

The dispute is not over the need for long-overdue judicial reform. It concerns the elite's efforts to reassert its authority. By doing so, they have unleashed anti-democratic forces that completely reject and invalidate a legal government that was democratically elected by the majority of the people.

YESHIVA POLITICS: Should Yeshiva guys use Artscroll Gemaras?

 

The following question was presented on a VIN forum:

Artscroll Gemaras are an extremely valuable tool, which help thousands of people learn. The question is, can they sometimes be used as a crutch? Should Yeshiva and Kollel guys ever use an Artscroll Gemara?

DIN: This is one of the stupidest discussions I have ever heard.

Who cares how one learns? In Yiddish there is an expression "abee men lerent" "as long as one is learning?

We all say in the morning before reciting the Shama:

אבינו אב הרחמן המרחם רחם נא עלינו ותן בלבנו בינה להבין ולהשכיל לשמע ללמד וללמד לשמור ולעשות ולקיים את כל דברי תלמוד תורתך באהבה

The purpose of learning is לשמור ולעשות ולקיים is to put learning into practice! 

It doesn't say that you cannot use Artscroll. 

I'll bet that when Rashi first came out, there were Roshei Yeshivos that were pointing their middle fingers at those looking into a rashi laughing at them saying "oh look at that guy, he must be a big am-haaretz, he needs Rashi to help him!

The talmud was written in aramaic, because that was the language people were talking at that time. It was the "english" of that era!

I remember many years ago, when Artscroll was just beginning to publish the talmud and there were only a few out,  there was a meeting of school administrators, Roshei Yeshiva, and Rabbonim  about a certain issue, I cannot recall at the moment what the issue was all about, but what I found fascinating was something that I noticed about one particular rabbi. The Rabbi was R' Moshe Meir Weiss shlitah, who sat on the dais with other noted Roshei Yeshiva and Rabbonim all with their closed Hebrew seforim in their hands. R' Moshe Meir Weiss's sefer was an Artscroll gemarra and he was glancing inside, in-between speakers ! He was probably getting ready for his Daf Hayoimie class that he gives for decades. He was not embarrassed or intimidated at all.

I know baalei teshuva that never learned in a Yeshiva and who are huge talmeidei chachamim and who are proficient in the entire shas and poiskim, all from Artscroll!

There is another 'pirush" on the talmud  that has recently come out, but in Hebrew, called "Mesivta"! When you get a chance, take a look in the back. You will notice a section that explains every single tosfos, a section that reviews each and every daf, and there is a section that goes thru sugyois of that particular perek! I guarantee if you just learn those pirushim, you will be a bono-fide talmud chacham. 

I learn now in a kollel, some asked me if I can give a "chaburah" on the sugye that the kollel was learning. 

את חטאי אני מזכור היום

I cheated and just repeated one of the suguas from the back of the Mesivta. They were sitting there with their mouths open and couldn't believe that a "baal habyis" was as knowledgeable in this sugya as any guy that was learning in kollel for years and was throwing out references from the entire Yam ha'Talmud. When I admitted that it was all there in the back of the Mesivta gemarra they were floored. 

Some "taanid" that this isn't really learning and to attain knowledge you have to "hureva" and do the research yourself, and they brought a verse from Parshas Be'chukoisah where the torah states:

אם בחקתי תלכו

and rashi comments: שתהיו עמלים בתורה meaning to "labor in the Torah" 

I answered you left out the words of rashi right after that:

על מנת לשמור ולקיים "in order to observe and to fulfill that which you learn"

I told them that what I just did was far more productive and by doing what I'm doing I can cover far more in one year then they will in five. I added that I am prepared to be tested just like them and will fare far better than any of the guys. I quoted Rav Shach z'l who told a kollel guy that was on the same page in the gemarrah for over two days that he will be a "loimdeshe am'haaretz" 

My humble opinion is that now in this era where we can B'H access so much information in minutes, it is imperative to take advantage of that, and if it's by learning with an Artscroll or a Mesivta gemarrah then so be it. 

In the six months that I'm in kollel, not to brag, I have completed 2 and 1/2 difficult tractates in talmud with Rashi and Tosfos, completed Yehoshua Shoftim and will complete very soon Shmuel alef and bet plus sifrei musser, and a daily shiur in Mishnayois Kehati, Rambam and Mishna Berurah and was tested on all this, and if it wasn't for Artscroll and the Mesivta, I would not have been able to accomplish all that. 

I am advocating that Kollim start learning with.....yes... absolutely, Artscroll and or Mesivta!

Gerer Chusid Sexually Abuses Two Minor Girls .. Gerer Rebbe's Gabbai Warns Father to Remove Police Complaint

 

Listen to R' Yisrael Stuel trying to keep the father of the girls to shut up!

"Israel ranked fourth happiest country in world " Gallop Poll

 

 Israel is the fourth happiest country in the world, according to a report produced by the U.N.-affiliated Sustainable Development Solutions Network.

Based on Gallup World Poll data, the study leverages six key factors to help explain variation in self-reported levels of happiness across the world: social support, income, health, freedom, generosity and absence of corruption.

The report was released on Monday to mark the International Day of Happiness, which was established when the U.N. General Assembly adopted Resolution 66/281 in June 2012.

The report named Finland the happiest country in the world for the sixth consecutive year, followed by Denmark, Iceland, Israel and the Netherlands.

This year’s Happiness Report found that despite several overlapping crises, most populations around the world continue to be remarkably resilient, with global life satisfaction averages in the COVID-19 years 2020-2022 just as high as pre-pandemic.

“The happiness movement shows that well-being is not a ‘soft’ and ‘vague’ idea but rather focuses on areas of life of critical importance: material conditions, mental and physical wealth, personal virtues and good citizenship,” said Prof. Jeffrey D. Sachs, director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University, who worked on the study.

“We need to turn this wisdom into practical results to achieve more peace, prosperity, trust, civility—and yes, happiness—in our societies,” he added.

Afghanistan and Lebanon were the two unhappiest countries in the survey, with average life evaluations more than five points lower (on a scale running from 0 to 10) than in the 10 happiest countries.

Rounding out the top 10 countries on the list were Sweden, Norway, Switzerland, Luxembourg and New Zealand.

The United States ranked 15th, Britain 19th and France 21st.

Israel placed ninth in last year’s report.

Fury at Manhattan’s Bragg over Looming Trump Charges Dominates House GOP Retreat

 

U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy lit into leftist Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg at a press conference as House Republicans gathered to discuss and formulate their 2023 agenda plans, with looming likely charges from Bragg against former President Donald Trump coming this week.

Asked by Breitbart News during the press conference, as the House GOP wrapped the first day of its three-day retreat, what he would say to the 75 million Americans who voted for Trump in the 2020 presidential election, McCarthy said his message is even broader than that.

“I wouldn’t just talk to 75 million Americans — I would talk to 330 million Americans,” McCarthy said. “I would say it doesn’t matter what side of the issue you’re on. It doesn’t matter if this was President Trump or if this was a Democrat. It should be equal justice in America. And stop going after people because you have political differences. I see people all the time who I have political differences with. I respect their opinion. I may disagree with it. But why would you ever try to use the law for it? It goes directly against everything this Manhattan DA has professed. He brags about lowering felonies to misdemeanors as a prosecutor. We’ve watched crime in New York where people are afraid to walk the streets. We’ve watched campaigns. I will tell you one of the reasons we won races in New York is based upon this DA, of not protecting the citizens of New York — and now he’s spending his time on this? The statute of limitations are gone. It doesn’t matter what side you’re on. This is the type of thing America hates and divides us and is wrong.”

Arab Giving a Jewish Leftist Mussar "Not all heroes wear capes. This one wears a kafiya"

 

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Review of a Sefer That Debunks the Satmar Shita on the Three Oaths PART 2

 

A good portion of Rabbi Burton’s book pivots on the intriguing dialogue between Reish Lakish and Rabbi Yohanan in Tractate Yoma of the Babylonian Talmud.

Reish Lakish had great disdain for the Jews of Babylonia, as he held them responsible for the fact that in the Second Temple era there was not the level of full-fledged prophecy that flourished during the First Temple era. All that remained was a reduced level of divine inspiration known as “bat kol,” an “echo.”[1] 

Said Reish Lakish: “If you had made yourselves as a wall (ke-homah)[2] and all of you had ascended [to the Land of Israel] in the days of Ezra,” then prophecy would have resumed.

Rabbi Yohanan’s rejoinder reads:

 “That is not the reason. Even if all of them would have ascended [to the Land of Israel] in the days of Ezra, the divine presence (Shekhinah) would not have rested in the Second Temple, for it is written, ‘God will broaden Japheth, and dwell in the tents of Shem’ [Genesis 9:27]. Although God will broaden Japheth, the divine presence rests only in the tents of Shem.”

Rabbi Yohanan was alluding to the fact that the Second Temple was built under the auspices of Cyrus the Great, a Persian. And the Persians are descendants of Japheth. And so, unlike the First Temple, the Temple of Solomon (a Semite), which was conducive to prophecy, the Second Temple was perforce bereft of the spirit of prophecy.[3]

That Rabbi Yehudah Halevi and Reish Lakish are of one mind when it comes to the subject of ‘aliyah and the resumption of prophecy, goes without saying. In the Book of Kuzari this is clearly enunciated:

It is the sin which prevented from being fulfilled the divine promise with regard to the Second Temple, “Sing and rejoice, daughter of Zion, for behold I am coming and I will dwell in your midst, declares the Lord” [Zechariah 2:14]. The divine presence was ready to rest upon them as at first, if they had all willingly consented to return [to the Land of Israel]. But only a part was ready to do so, while the majority and the aristocracy remained in Babylon, preferring dependence and slavery, and unwilling to leave their houses and their affairs.[4]

Rabbi Burton is not content aligning the Kuzari with Reish Lakish. He would have the Kuzari embrace Rabbi Yohanan as well.[5] The reader will appreciate that this is no mean feat. How Rabbi Burton would go about accomplishing this, we will discuss in a moment.

Eichenstein (langeh Rekel) : Illegal for car wash operators to overcharge Jewish customers but it's ok For Jews to overcharge Matza, Meat and Fish

 

 

This"farikteh" meshiginar barking against goyishe "car wash" owners because they "are raising their prices before Pesach" what chutzpah!

Hey "Lange Reckel".... 

Cleaning your car by a car wash is NOT a mitzvah! Your lazy teenagers should be doing it! 

Eating Matzah is a mitzva eseh de'oirisah!

Why don't you scream at heimishe wholesalers that raise prices on staples, even milk before Pesach?

I have to say that in Israel, before Pesach, the prices actually go down. I found Fish, Meat and other staples reduced by over 10%! 

New York State Assemblyman Simcha Eichenstein, who represents New York's 48th State Assembly district, published a video in which he urged car wash operators not to overcharge their Jewish customers before the holiday of Passover.

 “Last year, it was brought to my attention that some local car wash operators, throughout our neighborhoods, have been increasing their prices in a discriminatory manner for their Jewish customers before Pesach,” he said. 

 Eichenstein noted that he is “specifically addressing car wash operators because of the bias and discrimination in deliberately charging their Jewish customers more for the same service that they provide to non-Jewish customers, because they know that we are obligated to clean our cars before Pesach.” “It is illegal to raise the price for a particular service solely for one religious community at a specific time of year, while the prices remain reduced for everyone else. This is wrong. It is unethical and, above all, it is illegal,” he stated.

“I want to inform you that I have been in contact with the Attorney General’s office again this year, and they will be re-issuing a consumer alert along with a reporting hotline,” continued Eichenstein.

“My message to community members is this: Be careful. Before you agree to a car wash, check the price and confirm with the attendant. Make sure that the services provided for the Passover special are priced comparably to the same, similar services which are not officially Passover services. If you see a discrepancy, speak out. Let them know that the discriminatory practice is illegal and that you are not going to stand for it.”

To the car wash operators, Eichenstein said, “Charging more for your services before Pesach is not only taking advantage, it is blatant discrimination and is illegal. I can tell you, the Attorney General’s office will be watching. You have been warned.”

Review of a Sefer That Debunks the Satmar Shita on the Three Oaths Part 1

 

by Bezalel Naor 

The Sefer is available for sale here:

Ha'aretz Asher Arecha - R. Shnayor Burton הארץ אשר אראך - חובת הישיבה בארץ ישראל | eBay

and here:

הארץ אשר אראך - מצוות ישוב ארץ ישראל | ספרייתי (gitlerbooks.co.il)

In the aftermath of World War Two, Rabbi Joel Teitelbaum of Satu Mare experienced an epiphany: 

The incomparable tragedy of the Holocaust was divine retribution for the People of Israel having violated the legendary “Three Oaths” (Shalosh Shavu‘ot) administered by the Almighty, one of which was, “that Israel not ascend [to the Land of Israel] ke-homah, en masse.”[1]

The destruction of European Jewry evoked different responses from Hungarian rabbis. Whereas in the case of Rabbi Yissachar Teichtal of Pishtian (Piešťany), author of ’Em ha-Banim Semekha (Budapest, 1943), the persecutions evidently resulted in a volte face, a reversal of his earlier opposition to the Zionist movement, in the case of Rabbi Joel Teitelbaum, they only reinforced his vehement opposition to organized settlement of the Land of Israel.

After the War, the Rabbi of Satu Mare reconstituted his community in Brooklyn, New York. Eventually, he would sum up his ideology in two works: Vayyoel Moshe (Brooklyn, 1959)[2] and ‘Al ha-Ge’ulah ve-‘al ha-Temurah (Brooklyn, 1967). The latter work was written in the wake of the Six Day War in June of 1967, in order to dispel rumors that he had softened his stance. The catchy title (a quote from Ruth 4:7), “On the Redemption and the Exchange,” was designed to convey the Satmarer’s reading of the recent events:

 Israel’s stunning victory was the work of Satan to dupe gullible Jews into believing in the Zionist cause!

Since then, scholars of various stripes have taken upon themselves to refute the Satmarer ideology: 

Rabbis Mordechai ‘Atiyah,[3] Nahum Lamm,[4] Tsevi Yehudah Kook,[5] Shelomo Aviner,[6] and Yoel Kahn,[7] to name just a few. 

The latest attempt to engage with the theories of Rabbi Teitelbaum is that of our author. Enter the fray, Rabbi Shnayor Burton, a Brooklyn-based rosh yeshivah.

Shimmy Segal Killed in Accident Near Antwerp

 

'

A Chareidi driver from the UK was killed and 18 passengers were injured in a traffic accident between a minibus and a car outside Antwerp overnight Motzei Shabbos.

The minibus, filled with 18 chassidim from London who had traveled to visit the Pshevorsk Rebbe in Antwerp for Shabbos, hit a passing car and then overturned.

The 67-year-old driver, Shimmy Segal, a’h, was killed on the spot and one of the passengers, a 15-year-old bochur, was critically injured. Most of the other passengers were lightly injured.