President Donald Trump:
"I have ordered a decisive military operation against the Houthis, and I say to them:
'Your time is up. Your attacks must stop today, or you will witness hell like never before."
Saturday, March 15, 2025
Which "Aveirah" was worse? The "Worshipping the Eigal" or the Aveirah of the "Meraglim"
Well that's an easy one! Worshipping a calf is one of the three cardinal sins that is
יהרג ועל יעבור ! One must give up one's life if forced to worship a calf! That is an "Ovoda Zara!"
Worse! Much worse than that!
The incident of the "chet ha'eigal" the worshipping of the golden calf, was just months after the Jewish people witnessed the miracles of "yetzias mitzrayim" and just 40 days after receiving the Torah at Har Sinai!
They all heard the commandment of the "Ten Commandments" which states: "
You shall not make yourself a carved image etc."
Hashem was so upset that he threatened to annihilate the Jewish people and start fresh with the children of Moshe
"ועתה הניחה לי ויחר אפי בהם ואכלם ואעשה אותך לגוי גדול"
"And now desist from Me. Let my anger flare up against them and I shall annihilate them; and I shall make you into a great nation"
Wow! Days after hearing the voice of Hashem, so to speak, telling them not to fashion an idol, they disregard it and make an idol to worship, violating one of the only three sins that one must give up their lives!
Moshe pleads nevertheless that Hashem spare their lives, and tells Hashem that should He go through with His plan then: מחני נא מספרך " erase me now from The book that You have written"
In pleading on their behalf, Moshe invokes the memory of our forefathers:
זכר לאברהם ליצחק ולישראל עבדיך אשר נשבעת להם בך ותדבר אליהם ארבה את זרעכם ככוכבי השמים וכל הארץ הזאת אשר אמרתי אתן לזרעכם ונחלו לעולם
"Remember for the sake of Avraham, Yitzchok and Yisrael, Your servants to whom You swore by Yourself and You told them ... I shall increase your offspring like the stars of the heaven and this entire land of which I spoke I shall give to your offspring and it shall be their heritage forever"
Hashem relents:
וינחם ה' על הרעה אשר דבר לעשות לעמו
"Hashem reconsidered regarding the evil that He declared He would do to his people."
Not only that, but after Hashem "reconsiders" and forgives them, Moshe after witnessing with his own eyes the worshipping the Eigal, again pleads with Hashem to forgive them and says:
"אם נא מצאתי חן בעיניך ה' ילך נא ה' בקרבינו כי עם קשה ערף הוא וסלחת לעוננו ולחטאתנו ונחלתנו"
And what is amazing is that you won't find anywhere in the Torah that the Jews did teshuvah!
Whew! We missed a bullet! Only those who actually worshipped the "eigal" died the rest of the Jewish people survived!
Now let's look at the incident of the "meraglim" the spies!
This happened 60 days after receiving the Torah! They the meraglim came back with an evil report about the Land of Israel!
Now this sin of "Bad Talk" against Eretz Yisrael is not part of the Ten Commandments! This is not one of the three cardinal sins that one has to give their lives up!
Yet Hashem's punishment was far more severe than the sin of worshipping the "eigal"
Hashem swore that all the Jews over 20 years old would not enter the Land of Israel, they all died in the desert save for Caleb and Yehoshuah! Millions died! And instead of entering the land right away, they wandered for 40 years in a desert!
And on the anniversary of that date that they returned with their evil report which was on the 9th of Av, two Beis Hamikdash were destroyed, and we Jews fast and mourn on that day ever since!
Why?
Notice that at the sin of the meraglim, Moshe pleads for the Jewish people but this time, Moshe DOES NOT invoke the Patriarchs?
Why is the punishment of the meraglim far far worse than the worshipping of the Eigal and why did Moshe not invoke the Patriarchs when pleading for the Jewish people?
A simple reading of the "Eigal" incident has all the answers!
Yes, they worshipped a golden calf, but their ultimate goal was to reach the Promised Land!
Read what the "Eigal Worshippers" said.... they asked Aaron:
עשה לנו אלהים אשר ילכו לפנינו כי זה משה האיש אשר העלנו מארץ מצרים לא ידענו מה היה לו
"Make for us gods that will go before us, for this man Moshe who brought us up from the land of Egypt...we do not know what became of him."
They didn't just say that Moshe took them out of Egypt but said אשר העלנו, :who brought us up" ... they used the word עליה in reference to leaving Egypt to GO UP to Eretz Yisrael!
Their goal, though worshipping an idol, was for that idol to bring them to the Promised Land!
The idol worshippers also said:
אלה אלהיך ישראל אשר העלוך מארץ מצרים
"This is your god, O Israel, which brought you up from the land of Egypt"
Again, they used the word עליה in reference of leaving Egypt to go to the Land of Israel!
They wanted to go to Israel!!
Now lets see what the Jews said at the incident of the meraglim!
הלוא טוב לנו שוב מצרימה
"Is it not better for us to return to Egypt?"
ויאמרו איש אל-אחיו נתנה ראש ונשובה מצרימה
So they said to one another.. Let us appoint a leader and let us return to Egypt."
The sin of the meraglim destroyed the idea of a "Geula" They didn't want redemption, they didn't want Eretz Yisrael, they wanted to return to Chutz Le'aaterz, to Mitzrayim. This wanting to return to Egypt, back to slavery was a slap in the face of the Creator, who said just weeks before
אנכי ה' אל-קך אשר הוצאתך מארץ מצרים, מבית עבדים
by wanting to return to Egypt they denied Hashem Himself, who took them out of slavery!
Yes! True, the sin of the golden calf was a violation of a cardinal sin against the Torah , but the sin of the meraglim was a national sin, a sin against us having a nation, against us having flags דגלים , against us having our very own government, wanting to stay in Chutz Le'aaretz, under the rule of the Egyptians... this sin was much much worse!
And who were the ones who made the Eigal????? The Eirav Rav, Egyptians that converted and mixed with the Jews,
The meraglim, however, was the cream of the cream, they were the Torah Leaders ... they were Tzaddikim, as the Torah itself states:
כלם אנשים ראשי בני ישראל המה
To be sure, these "Tzaddikim" did not worship the Golden Calf!
These meraglim, these Torah leaders must have been disgusted and nauseated when they witnessed the worshipping of a calf, yet they saw nothing wrong just weeks later with bad-mouthing Eretz Canaan!
Moshe could not bring himself to invoke the names of Avraham, Yitzchok and Yaakov by the meraglim. The Avos loved Eretz Yisrael!
Hashem forgave the Jewish people as a whole for asking for a god to take them to Israel, but he was not "mevater" when it came to bad mouthing Eretz Yisrael!
Jews be careful how you talk about Israel and its people!
Torah leaders, should read these two parshois! Parshas "KI Sisah" and Parshas Shlach!
Remember:
Most Jews refused to leave Mitzrayim, Most of the Meraglim spoke Loshon Hara against Eretz Yisrael, Most Jews refused to leave Baval to build the Second Bais Hamikdash, and Most Religious Jews, especially the Chareidim were against getting visas to emigrate to the then Palestine. And even now there are Frum Jews that are waiting for Moshiach to make Aliyah! They are waiting for the Third Bais Hamikdash to come down from the heavens!
This "3rd Bais Hamikdash coming down from the heavens business" is the pshat of Rashi, and it is an easy one to follow because you don't have to do a thing but wait, the Rambam, however, says that the Bais HaMikdash has to be built! And in order to build, you must first conquer.
But this Rambam view takes effort, takes making Aliyah and that is something they refuse to do, instead, they build monstrosities in Chutz" le'aartz saying that when Moshiach comes, the shuls are going to be brought to Israel!
Nice thought! But what about all the shuls that the Nazis destroyed? What about all the Shuls in Brooklyn that were abandoned when the neighborhoods turned nasty? They are not coming back! Nope!
I believe that building monstrosities in Boro park is something that Hashem doesn't want! Especially when we are so close to the Geulah! But they the Rebbes don't believe for one second that the Geulah is close! If they did they wouldn't invest tens of millions in Chutz Le'aaretz! They like the meraglim don't want the geulah, because what will they do with their shuls once we have the 3rd Bais Hamikdash even if it does fall from the sky? They are happy and thrilled with the status quo!
What will Skver do with the frum neighbors that they are harassing? Skver doesn't want anyone even other chassidim living near them, How are they going to daven in the Bais Hamikdash with other chassidim?
What will Kiryas Yoel do with the Viznitzers that are now building right next to them (story for another time)? Will they daven with the Viznitzers in the same Bais Hamikdash? What about Bobov 48 and Bobov 45? Will they daven together in the Bais Hamikdash?
That's why they don't want the geulah! They want to continue davening in their fancy shuls, they want their chassidim to daven with them, they don't want them in the Bais Hamikdash, where ALL Jews are together!
There is a lot more to be said, and I will add to this post !
Trump a weighs travel ban on 41 countries
The Trump administration is considering issuing sweeping travel restrictions for the citizens of dozens of countries as part of a new ban, according to sources familiar with the matter and an internal memo seen by Reuters.
The memo lists a total of 41 countries divided into three separate groups.
The first group of 10 countries, including Afghanistan, Iran, Syria, Cuba and North Korea among others, would be set for a full visa suspension.
In the second group, five countries — Eritrea, Haiti, Laos, Myanmar and South Sudan — would face partial suspensions that would impact tourist and student visas as well as other immigrant visas, with some exceptions.
In the third group, a total of 26 countries that includes Belarus, Pakistan and Turkmenistan among others would be considered for a partial suspension of US visa issuance if their governments “do not make efforts to address deficiencies within 60 days,” the memo said.
A US official speaking on the condition of anonymity cautioned there could be changes on the list and that it was yet to be approved by the administration, including US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
The New York Times first reported on the list of countries.
The move harkens back to President Donald Trump’s first term ban on travelers from seven majority-Muslim nations, a policy that went through several iterations before it was upheld by the Supreme Court in 2018.
Trump issued an executive order on January 20 requiring intensified security vetting of any foreigners seeking admission to the US to detect national security threats.
That order directed several cabinet members to submit by March 21 a list of countries from which travel should be partly or fully suspended because their “vetting and screening information is so deficient.”
Trump’s directive is part of an immigration crackdown that he launched at the start of his second term.
He previewed his plan in an October 2023 speech, pledging to restrict people from the Gaza Strip, Libya, Somalia, Syria, Yemen and “anywhere else that threatens our security.”
The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters.
The tide has turned against elite universities ..They are becoming "Irrelevant"
Over the last three decades, elite American universities have engaged in economic, political, social and cultural practices that were often unethical, illegal — and suicidal.
They did so with impunity.
Apparently, confident administrators assumed that the brand of Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Stanford and other elite universities was so precious to the nation’s elite movers and shakers that they could always do almost anything they wished.
By the 1970s, nonprofit universities had dropped pretenses that they were apolitical and nonpartisan.
Instead, they customarily violated iconic civil rights legislation by weighing race, gender and sexual orientation in biased admissions, hiring and promotions.
Graduation ceremonies became overtly racially and ethnically segregated.
The same was true for dorms and “theme houses.”
So-called “safe spaces,” in the spirit of the Jim Crow South, reserved areas of campus solely for particular races.
Affluent foreign students often openly protested on behalf of designated terrorist groups like Hamas.
First-Amendment-protected free speech all but vanished on elite campuses.
Any guest speaker who dared to critique abortion on demand, Middle East orthodoxy, biological males dominating women’s sports or diversity/equity/inclusion (DEI) dogmas was likely to be shouted down, or on occasion roughed up.
University administrators either ignored the violence done to the Bill of Rights or quietly approved when their rowdy students were turned loose on supposed conservatives.
But in their hubris, the universities began a series of blunders that may now end them as they once were.
Khalil always seethed with hatred for Jewish state, classmate says
Detained anti-Israel protester Mahmoud Khalil seethed with hatred for the Jewish state, according to a former classmate who told The Post he was an “insidious” presence at Columbia University.
The female graduate student, who is Jewish, said she even dropped a class they took together last fall at the Ivy’s famed School of International and Public Affairs because he made her feel so “uncomfortable” — and her formal complaints to the college fell on deaf ears.
“It would almost be easier if he were some terrifying looking man who threatened to punch people in the face, but he wasn’t,” she said.
“He was very soft-spoken and careful with his words, which almost made him seem more insidious, because it was so intentional – he was never being hyperbolic, he was very clear. He was never joking.”
“You know, he wears polos,” she continued. “It’s not like you meet him and are scared that he’s going to beat you up. To me, it was scary how he was so clearly extreme and so unshakeable in his worldview, which is a very scary worldview, in my opinion.”
Khalil’s laptop especially freaked her out.
Friday, March 14, 2025
Trump administration demands UN agencies disclose any ‘anti-American’ ties
The Trump administration is demanding U.N. humanitarian agencies that receive or disburse U.S. funding fill out a questionnaire disclosing any ties to communism, socialism or anti-American beliefs, according to U.S. and U.N. officials and a copy of the survey obtained by The Associated Press.
UNICEF and the U.N. Refugee Agency joined the remaining offices and bureaus at the recently dismantled U.S. Agency for International Development in receiving the questionnaire, which probed on several Trump administration concerns, including whether any of the programs were promoting diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.
It was unclear how widely the administration sent the survey, which was verified by a current USAID staffer, a U.S. official and three U.N. officials.
“I’m aware from some of our colleagues that a number of agencies have received these types of questionnaires,” U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters Thursday when asked about the survey.
The other officials spoke about the document on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal.
It is the latest effort by President Trump’s administration to root out what it calls “waste, fraud and abuse” in the federal government, including by reevaluating foreign assistance. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the administration has cut 83% of programs overseas run by USAID, the main U.S. foreign aid agency.
Israel accuses UN of ‘blood libel,’ slams accusations of genocide, sexual violence in Gaza
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu slammed the United Nations’ Human Rights Council (UNHRC) as antisemitic after its report on Thursday accusing the Jewish state of carrying out “genocidal acts” and sexual violence tactics against Palestinians.
The UNHRC’s report alleged that Israel “intentionally attacked and destroyed” Gaza’s main fertility center with its blocking of aid medication that ensures safe pregnancies and deliveries.
The intergovernmental body charged it was a deliberate act to prevent Palestinian births.
Netanyahu vehemently denied the allegations and blasted the UN council as “an antisemitic, rotten, terrorist-supporting, and irrelevant body.”
“Instead of focusing on the crimes against humanity and war crimes committed by the Hamas terrorist organization in the worst massacre committed against the Jewish people since the Holocaust, the UN is once again choosing to attack Israel with false accusations, including unfounded accusations of sexual violence,” Netanyahu said in a statement, referencing the Oct. 7, 2023 terrorist attack.
The UNHRC concluded that the destruction of women’s health clinics and surge in maternity deaths due to the restricted access of medical supplies violated the Rome Statute and the Genocide Convention, with the acts slammed as the crime against humanity of extermination.
The report also accused Israel’s military of using forced public strippings and sexual assaults as part of their standard tactics to punish Palestinians.
Israel had arrested ten soldiers last year after they were charged with sexually abusing a Palestinian detainee at the Sde Teiman base near the border.
The Israel Defense Forces denied the UHRC’s allegations, saying it has concrete policies that “unequivocally prohibit such misconduct.”
Israel’s Foreign Ministry said the report was nothing more than a conspiracy theory attempting to demonize the Jewish state.
“It is one of the worst cases of blood libel the world has ever seen (and the world has seen many),” the ministry said on X. “It accuses the victims of the crimes committed against them.
“Hamas is the organization that has committed horrendous sexual crimes against Israelis. It is indeed a sick document that only an antisemitic organization such as the UN could produce,” the agency added.
Hamas, who has faced its own war crimes allegations from the UN, said it welcomed Thursday’s report as a real reflection of the situation in Gaza.
“The UN’s investigation report on Israel’s genocidal acts against the Palestinian people confirms what has happened on the ground: genocide and violations of all humanitarian and legal standards,” the terror group said in a statement.
Israel disengaged from the UNHRC in February following previous allegations that the Jewish state’s war campaign in Gaza was tantamount to genocide, given the large number of civilian deaths, the destruction of nearly all hospitals, and the ongoing humanitarian crisis
Israel is also not a party to the Rome Statute, which gives the International Criminal Court jurisdiction to rule on cases involving crimes against humanity.
The ICC still has active warrants for the arrest of Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant over their actions in Gaza.
The ICC also issued warrants against Hamas’ Oct. 7 masterminds last year, accusing them of war crimes and sexual violence during the terror attack that killed more than 1,200 people and saw another 251 kidnapped.
The Oct. 7 organizers, including chief architect Yahya Sinwar, have since been killed by Israel’s forces.
More than 48,500 people have been killed as a result of the war, according to the Hamas-run ministry of health, which does not differentiate between civilians and terrorists.
The IDF last estimated that it had killed more than 17,000 Hamas operatives during the war.
Gazans to be resettled in East Africa?
The US and Israel have spoken to officials in three East African countries, seeking potential destinations for emigrating Gazans, the Associated Press reported Friday morning, quoting American and Israeli officials.
Contact was made with Sudan, Somalia, and Somaliland, a breakaway region of Somalia. Officials from Sudan rejected the US proposal, but those from Somalia and Somaliland told AP that they were not aware of any discussions.
Trump first brought up his plan for the US to take over Gaza and rehabilitate it in February, during a press conference at the White House with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
While Arab countries have criticized the plan, Netanyahu praised Trump’s plan during an interview with Fox News, saying, “This is the first good idea that I've heard. It's a remarkable idea. And I think it should be really examined, pursued and done, because I think it will create a different future for everyone.”
However, Trump said he is in no rush to implement the plan.
Boehler Kicked Out of Hamas Hostage Negotiations
Adam Boehler, President Trump’s special envoy for hostage affairs, has been removed from the Israeli hostage file following mounting criticism from Republican lawmakers over his controversial remarks regarding Hamas. Jewish Insider reports that the decision to sideline Boehler comes after his media blitz last weekend, where his comments downplaying Israeli concerns about Hamas sparked outrage.
During interviews on Fox News, CNN, and several Israeli channels, Boehler made headlines when he suggested that Hamas officials were “pretty nice guys” and stated that the U.S. was “not an agent of Israel.” His comments were met with swift condemnation from GOP leaders, including those with strong pro-Israel stances.
In response to the backlash, the White House assured both Israeli leaders and GOP lawmakers that Boehler would be pulled from the Israeli hostage file. Despite this action, some Republican senators have called for Boehler’s complete removal from his role, citing a loss of trust in his ability to represent U.S. interests in the region.
Boehler’s nomination to become the ambassador for hostage affairs, which requires Senate confirmation, remains in limbo as Republicans weigh their next steps.
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