A planeload of 215 immigrants from the U.S. and Canada landed at Ben-Gurion Airport on Wednesday, sparking emotional family reunions and even dancing in one of the terminals.
“I don’t think I’ve ever been happier in my whole life than I am today. It’s been a big dream that I’ve had for many years,” said Carol Ginzburg, 77. “I have a bunch of children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren who are living in Israel. So I want to be here.
Senior haredi officials were quoted Thursday as saying that there is internalization among haredi political leaders that, amid the public protests against the judicial reform, it will not be possible to approve a conscription law as stipulated in the coalition agreement.
According to a report on the haredi website Kikar Hashabbat, the haredi internalization took shape last week after Defense Minister Yoav Gallant met with senior members of the haredi parties and explained to them that the rift in Israeli society prevents the promotion of a law in the spirit that the haredim demand.
During the meeting, Minister Gallant cited the warnings of senior officials of the General Staff and the IDF Personnel Division who warn against the secular reluctance of parents who will refuse to send their sons and daughters to the army as long as the government enacts a conscription law in the spirit proposed currently.
"We listened to Galant, we didn't agree, but we understood that there was a problem. Gallant is not [Yisrael Beytenu chair MK Avigdor] Liberman, he does not act with hostility to the haredim," a haredi official was quoted as saying.
According to the indications, the haredi parties will advance a law based on the outline agreed upon in the coalition agreements in the Netanyahu-Gantz unity government.
Among the sections of the law, it will include recruitment targets and economic sanctions alongside targets for haredim entering the job market.
DIN: Someone please tell me that this was all a bad dream, please!
How sick and perverted is this? Who paid for this craziness?
I hear Yeshivishe guys tell me all the time "you know Hashem wants us in galus, He spit us out of Israel"
Well didn't the very same Hashem spit you out of Telz?
Most of the talmiddim from Telz were murdered by their neighbors, The grounds of Telz is soaked in Jewish blood. Telz is NOT holy, Telz is a city steeped in Tumah. I'm waiting for Putin to raze the entire city and make it into a parking lot!
This Sorotzkin character compares this site to Har Sinai, and "people should take their shoes off when entering the building" well I have news to Sorotzkin, Har Sinai has absolutely no kedusha attached to it. None whatsoever! What a whack job this guy is!
In a moving ceremony which took place at the old historic building of the Telz yeshiva in Telz, Lithuania, Rabbi Sholom Ber Sorotzkin, the head of the Ateres Shlomo yeshiva and grandson of the Telz rosh yeshivas, redeemed the building 82 years after its students had left, most of whom were later murdered in the Holocaust.
The yeshiva, which was founded some 160 years ago by Rabbi Eliezer Gordon, was the most famous yeshiva in Lithuania after the closure of Volozhin. Rabbi Yosef Leib Bloch, the son-in-law of Rabbi Gordon, continued to serve as rosh yeshiva after him and his son, Rabbi Avrohom Yitzchak Bloch HyD was murdered in the Holocaust together with his students on 20th Tammuz 5701 (July 15, 1941)
DIN: People constantly ask me :
"Is there even one rebbe that you respect?
My answer was always: "There are many on my list, but the Rachmastrivka z"l tops my list."
The rebbe was a gentle soul who truly loved every single Jew, never played into the rebbeshe politics though others tried to draw him in. The previous Skverer Rebbe chose him as a son-in-law, and the rebbe was the Rosh Yeshiva of Skver for many years until Skverer Chassidim saw his greatness and needed to move him out so that he doesn't become a threat to his brother-in-law, the present Skverer Rebbe; he will be missed by all who loved and cherished him.
Rachmastrivka rebbe of Borough Park, Rabbi Chai Yitzchok Twersky passed away this afternoon at the age of 92.
The Rebbe was an internationally known tzaddik, who lead his Bais Medrash and kehillah in Borough Park on 45th Streer.
He is the uncle of the other Rachmastrivka Rebbe in Jerusalem.
Levaya will be held at 4 p.m. at the main Rachmastrivka beis medrash in Boro Park, followed by kevurah in the Rachmastrivka section of Har Shalom Cemetery in Airmont.
Reb Zalman Leib, Satmar Rebbe of Williamsburg got a nasty reception in Kiryas Yoel when he went to visit the kever of R' Joel, founder of Satmar Chassidis! The Ahroinim surrounded and booed him.
R' Zalman Leib has a big mouth when it to disparaging the Me'etzet Gedoilei Ha' Torah, but becomes meek like a mouse standing up to his own brother R' Aaron.
If you stop and think about this, it's sheer lunacy, two brothers fighting, for what?
They are politically on the same page, no hashkafic differences, so what is this all about?
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
"Holy' rabbis with obvious openly displayed "Sinas Chinum"
The chassidim supporters are the crazy ones, because they have nothing out of this feud, but follow their rabbis like dumb sheep!
Keinan, a resident of the Pisgat Zeev neighborhood in Jerusalem, was a student at the Tiferet Levi yeshiva in Elad. He went with friends to the lagoon, located near Maale Gamla at the entrance to the Golan heights. At a certain point, Yishai lost contact with his friends and went underwater. Fire and rescue teams from Golan and divers from the Lehava unit located Yishai’s body hours later in the lagoon.
United Hatzalah volunteers Ohad Ringer and Avi Elhiani said that “The youth drowned and was lost, according to his friends description. Divers succeeded in locating and removing his body from the water and he was declared dead at the scene.”
Yishai was born on 26 Av 5765, exactly 18 years ago. He studied in the Tiferes Levi yeshiva ketana and last year entered the yeshiva gedolah, where he was considered one of the best students, studying Torah at all hours from 7:30 AM until the small hours of the night. Friends said that this was a “Great loss for family, yeshiva, and the entire generation. Without doubt he would have been one of the more prominent Talmidei Chachamim of the generation due to his diligence and perseverance in Torah and Avodas Hashem.”
Yishai z’l was brought to his final rest on Har Hamenuchos at 1:30 AM Wednesday. May his memory be blessed.
The current tragedy is unfortunately the fifth tragedy in the last few weeks of Bein Hazmanim. Two weeks ago, Rabbi Binyamin Praga (44) died of dehydration and exposure in a Jordan Valley stream. 10-year-old Baruch Abadi of Kiryat Sefer died in a swimming pool near his home. 4-year-old David Turgeman drowned in a pool in an Eilat hotel, and R’ Yitzchak Ben-Shimol of Jerusalem (79) drowned in the Kinneret near Tiberias.
תהא נשמתו צרורה בצרור החיים.
The Auschwitz Museum has slammed comments made by former Trump adviser who blamed Jews for their own deportations at the hands of the Nazis.
In a recent speech, Michael Flynn, a Christian nationalist, suggested mothers were complicit in handing over their young children to go on trains to Auschwitz.
He said “Any mother who would be told, ‘Give me your child, give me your baby, we’re going to separate you, we’re not just going to put you into a club coach car. We’re going to stuff you like a sardine into a train.’”
He went on to claim “there weren’t any guards,” implying that Jews could have simply left or said no to Hitler’s soldiers.
A clip of his speech was posted on Twitter and has been viewed over 8 million times.
Many foreign countries may not even know about Israel’s ultra-Orthodox sector unless they have tuned in to some Hollywood movies or happened to have a rare interaction with a haredi minister on some kind of global issue.
Yet Nasrallah told his followers that the Jewish state will come apart over the issue of a proposed Knesset bill that would exempt haredim from serving in the IDF.
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The Agudath Israel of the US is under the guidance of the Me'oetzet Gedoilei Ha'Torah, and they decided to issue a statement directed to the Biden administration telling them in effect to bud out of Israeli politics.
The truth is every single frum Shul should gather signatures and send them to members of congress with this exact message,
Comes this brazen Chassidish leader from Williamsburg who ridicules and bashes the Litvishe Gedoilei Hatorah that decided to send this letter to Washington .
One of those members of the Me'oetzet is none other than Rav Malkiel Kotler, Rosh Yeshiva of Lakewood who is in the habit of licking the derrière of R' Zalman Leib, the Satmar Rebbe. I'm wondering if R' Malkiel will come out with a statement defending the Litvishe Gedoilim of the Me'oetzet, I will not hold my breath!
It's one thing to disagree, it's a whole other thing when a leader of thousands of Chassidim mocks and denigrates with the harshest words other Gedoilim.
And on what day did he do this?
Just days from the Yurzeit of his uncle R' Yoel Teitelbaum the founder of the Satmar Chassidus. It was his uncle that had no problem calling other Chassidish & Litvishe Gedoilim, "Meenim & Apikorsim!" The Rebbe z"l was against the Chareidie Parties sitting in the Knesset and wrote in his Vayoel Moshe that anyone that supports a party that sits in Knesset is a "meen and apikoras" Among those "apikorsim" would be the Bais Yisrael of Ger, Belzer Rebbe, Rav Shach and Harav Avadia Yosef z"l, etc etc.
If there’s a single consistently emphasized theme of the New York Times coverage of judicial reform in Israel, it’s been that the effort may devastate the Israeli high-technology economy.
“Netanyahu’s Judicial Coup Could Destroy His Start-Up Nation,” was the headline over a February 14, 2023, Thomas Friedman column. “As a general rule, investors don’t like investing in countries roiled with protests and chaos. And that is why some have started pressing the pause button,” Friedman wrote.
In case any Times readers missed the point, the Times followed up with a February 23, 2023, news article, headlined “Tech Leaders in Israel Wonder if It’s Time to Leave.” The article itself pressed the claim beyond just wondering, declaring, “The luminaries of Start-Up Nation, as Israel has been known for decades, are eyeing the exits. Several have already announced that they are relocating or moving money out of the country…” The Times reported that people “are reappraising what it means to operate here and deciding that if the government retools the judiciary, it is time to leave.”
The religious discrimination lawsuit has stunned even longtime residents, who note a significant number of Atlantic Beach’s 1,800 year-round residents and summer homeowners are Jewish.
The only house of worship in the village is a synagogue — the Jewish Center of Atlantic Beach — serving a growing number of modern orthodox congregants
The Chabad of the Beaches bought vacant land on 2025 Park Street in November 2021 for $950,000, aiming to offer religious services, education, and programming to the broader Jewish community.
The site is one of the first buildings people see coming into the village from the Atlantic Beach Bridge — and used to serve as a Capital One bank before it became vacant two years ago.
That triggered Chabad in June to file a federal suit in Eastern District Court, alleging Atlantic Beach’s takeover smacked of religious discrimination — citing the First, Fifth, and 14th Amendments, as well as the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act.
DIN: It's people like Rav Landau that keeps me going, I was ready to give up DIN as I have started other projects that take most of my time, but these stories are a gift for bloggers that keeps on giving.
This project to have Charedie women in the IDF employed as civilians, in the intelligence units was invented by none other than Rav Landau's very own party "DEGEL!" They were hiding it because they were afraid that if this got out, then the "gedoilim" the extremists would come out and oppose it!
Bingo!
A rabbi who calls himself Meir Kessler, an extreme extremist from Modi'im Illit who is against introducing Math and English in Yeshivois, because as he said it best "these subjects are preparing the children for the workplace" ...chas ve'sholom! This Kessler now came out last week to oppose the "Degel" project. Rabbi Landau had no choice but to follow suit to now come out with a statement to oppose it, lest anyone think he went off the derech!
I have a solution for all this:
Tell the husbands to get off their collective tucheses and get a job for heaven's sake! If only they would carry out their obligations that they promised in their ketubas, their wives wouldn't have to work anywhere. Rabbi Kessler wants the women to be teachers for 6 shekel an hour!
Read the following and weep!
An Iranian man of Jewish descent was apprehended at Ben Gurion Airport on Friday, raising suspicions of engaging in espionage activities on behalf of Iranian intelligence, according to Israel’s Shin Bet security agency.
The man, who has familial connections in Israel, was taken into custody by Shin Bet agents upon his arrival early on Friday morning. The security agency disclosed that during interrogation, the man admitted to being in Israel on a mission to spy for Tehran. Consequently, he was promptly deported back to Iran via a third country. Authorities deemed that he posed no immediate threat.
The specific country from which he had entered Israel has not been disclosed by the Shin Bet.
According to the Shin Bet’s report, the individual had been directed by Iranian security operatives to gather intelligence on Israel prior to his journey. He was furnished with a seemingly innocuous item – an empty tissue box – intended to conceal surveillance equipment, including a cellular phone and a portable power bank.
“The provided items were likely intended for his use in clandestine espionage activities targeting entities within Israel,” remarked the Shin Bet.
The agency further disclosed that the suspect was instructed to utilize his time within Israel to collect information on multiple designated targets. The addresses of these targets were intended to be communicated to him by his Iranian handler subsequent to his arrival.
The incident is perceived as part of a broader Iranian endeavor to establish covert espionage and potentially terror networks within Israel. The Shin Bet also highlighted the influence that Iran seeks to exert on social divisions via online platforms.
This announcement deviates from the customary practice of the Shin Bet, which typically refrains from promptly publicizing developments in international espionage cases involving Iran. Furthermore, the agency does not typically repatriate apprehended spies back to their home countries.
Sources within the defense establishment conveyed that the individual in question had likely succumbed to pressure from Iranian intelligence, as well as the allure of substantial financial gain. This contributed to the decision to deport him rather than press charges.
A defense official emphasized that the low likelihood of the individual facing legal charges within the Israeli system was due to his non-Israeli citizenship and the fact that he had not yet engaged in any substantive activities.
“He was intercepted before any action was taken. This is in addition to other operational considerations,” the official elaborated.
A man who threw eggs at a Nes Tziona Tefillin booth three weeks ago, arrived at the booth Friday to apologize to the two Chabad youths who man the booth.
The two warmly received the man, Elad Levi, and accepted his apology, asking him if he was willing to put on Tefillin. Elad surprised them by saying that he would place Tefillin and would make a daily habit of doing so. He put on Tefillin and said the Shema and other prayers.
Elad is pictured wearing Tefillin and beaming with the two youths next to him.
Can we talk about the way many frum sites cover tragedies?
— Mendel Kalmenson (@mendelkalmenson) August 10, 2023
When a child tragically drowns, they did not "pass away suddenly". They drowned. That should be written.
Why? Because while some accidents will always happen, others may be prevented by taking safety precautions.
1/4 pic.twitter.com/gQ6I1EBV0H
A state senator in Michigan has apologized to her Arab and Muslim constituents for a recent visit to Israel with her fellow lawmakers.
Sylvia Santana, whose district includes part of Detroit. as well as Dearborn and Dearborn Heights, with a high concentration of Arab Muslims, posted the apology on social media.
“I recognize my presence on this trip has sparked anger and disappointment by many in the Arab/Muslim community,” she wrote.
by Matthew M. Hausman, J.D.
The adage “Hanlon's Razor” states that one should “never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity” and aims to eliminate improbable explanations for human behavior. T
he term “useful idiots” describes those who should know better than to support causes that threaten their natural interests but do so anyway (the phrase was famously applied to western progressives who shilled for the Soviet Union despite its totalitarian contempt for western freedoms). Hanlon’s Razor never assumes ill-intent, while useful idiocy suggests a degree of willfulness; but both presuppose the inevitability of bad acts. Thus, negative conduct is the one constant, whether motivated by animus or ignorance.
And either term can be used to describe those who – irrespective of intent – continue to support an administration pushing policies that disregard Jewish historical rights, reward terrorism, interfere with Israeli domestic politics, seek appeasement with Iran, and threaten Israel’s safety and security
As has been widely reported, the Biden administration recently reinstituted an Obama-era prohibition against the use of American tax-dollars to subsidize joint US-Israeli research and development projects at institutions in Judea and Samaria.
Efraim Fishel Grinfeld, a Charedi man residing in London, has met a brick wall in his attempts to avoid being extradited to Israel to face charges over his participation in riots outside an electronics store in Yerushalayim.
A judge has denied his appeal against extradition, citing the numerous times he’s been involved in such rioting incidents.
Grinfeld fled Israel in December 2012 shortly before a verdict was scheduled to be delivered in his trial for his alleged participation in riots that took place between June and August 2008. These riots transpired outside a DVD and MP3 player store in Yerushalayim’s Geula neighborhood.
The extradition request, initiated by Israeli authorities in 2021, outlines the accusations against Grinfeld and his fellow protesters. According to the request, they obstructed the store’s entrance, engaged in confrontations with customers, store employees, and owners, vandalized property, and even threw dirty diapers at the store’s entrance. Grinfeld’s alleged actions included cutting off the store’s electricity to carry out acts of vandalism under the cover of darkness and physically assaulting employees who tried to intervene.
Grinfeld faced indictment in Israel on two charges involving seven offenses, including rioting, common assault, blackmail by threats, and aggravated wounding. Throughout his trial, Grinfeld maintained his innocence, denying any involvement in the violence and asserting that he was a victim of it instead. He claimed to have been saying Tehillim at the scene.
After leaving Israel with his wife and three children for Canada, Grinfeld arrived in London in 2016. He has since worked as an office assistant in a property business. His youngest child (he now has 8) is currently six months old.
In January, a judge at Westminster Magistrates Court ruled that the decision regarding Grinfeld’s extradition should be made by the Home Secretary. Despite acknowledging that Grinfeld had led a law-abiding life in the UK, the judge also considered him a “fugitive from justice.”
Grinfeld’s wife presented her concerns, explaining that relocating to Israel was not a viable option for the family. She said that sending her husband back to Israel would have a profound negative impact on their family dynamics, as their children were well-settled and content in school in the UK.
In his appeal, Grinfeld argued that the conditions of incarceration in Israel would violate his rights under the European Convention on Human Rights and that his extradition would disproportionately affect his family. While two High Court judges acknowledged that one count of common assault should not be considered for extradition, they ultimately dismissed his appeal on other grounds, citing his alleged participation in the riots as a significant factor in their decision.
I often write about child abusers, and how sadly the community chooses to side with the abuser rather than the victim.
This is done for numerous reasons, none of them justifiable.
But abuse takes many different forms. It can be physical, spiritual, emotional or even psychological.
Sometimes the pain in the victims is visible to all, sometimes the pain is hidden to the naked eye.
As I sit here trying to put my thoughts properly into words, I’m troubled by the recent death of Morah Chaya Gansburg, who recently passed away at the age of 76.
I didn’t know Ms. Gansburg. But one thing about her story is extremely disturbing to me.
She was an aguna for the last 38 years of her life.
The only thing that severed her bond between her and her estranged husband was Hashem taking her Neshama back.
DIN: I am bringing you a debate between Rabbi Yair Hoffman who is in favor and emailimbatorah who writes that there is no obligation to light a candle at the yurzeit or by the grave site , and he questions where this minhag came from.
Personally, I have a good feeling lighting a candle in memory of my parents, and I feel I'm doing something good for their neshama.
But having read Rabbi Hoffman's side, I am completely taken aback as he brought absolutely zero proof for his argument? All he writes is that a child has an obligation to honor his father even in death, but what does lighting a candle have anything to do with?
Rabbi Yair Hoffman for the Five Towns Jewish Home
It is the custom within the community, Klal Yisroel, to light a Yahrzeit candle on the day that a relative had passed away. This article will discuss the reasons for it, but first – a tefillah:
The lighting has no accompanying blessing, and I am sure that many people find themselves looking for something appropriate, some way to express themselves in a prayer when lighting the candle. This is not only true on a Yahrzeit but whenever Yom Tov comes as well and Yizkor is said.
The author of the Peleh Yoetz, Rabbi Eliezer Papo (1785–1828), did in fact compose such a prayer. Rav Papo was the Rabbi of the city of Selestria in Bulgaria. Bulgaria was a part of the Ottoman Empire at the time. The Tefillah of the Pelehe Yoetz is reproduced in Hebrew and translated below, as a public service.
הריני מדליק נר זה למנוחת ולעילוי נשמת אבי מורי (אמי מורתי) ____ בן ____
תפילה הנמצאת בספר אלף המגן מבעל הפלא יועץ על פרשת ויצא עמוד כ”ד
יהי רצון מלפניך ה’ אלקינו ואלקי אבותינו, שתקבל ברחמים וברצון כל מעשה הטוב שאני עושה, בין במחשבה, בין בדיבור, בין במעשה ויהיה הכל לזכות ולמנוחת ולעילוי לנשמות עמך ישראל, ובפרט לנפש רוח של (אמי/אבי/נפטר) _____. יהי רצון שתהיינה נפשותיהם צרורות בצרור החיים.
Behold I am lighting this lamp for the rest and uplifting of the soul of my father (or deceased), my teacher _______ the son of _______.
May it be Your will before you, Hashem our G-d and the G-d of our forefathers, that all my good deeds whether in thought, speech or action be done for a merit and a resting and an elevation of the souls of your nation Israel. It should be especially for the soul of my mother/father/ deceased _____. May it be Your will that their souls be bound in the bond of life.
Breitbart News obtained hundreds of pages of government emails, exposing the NY Times for working closely with New York State’s Education Dept to craft its disgraceful series of anti-Chassidic articles.
In the groundbreaking story, Breitbart wrote:
The Times’ Eliza Shapiro…is seen in the massive volume of communications, obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, discussing with the State Education Department how “we” can craft comment for the first story…targeting yeshivas, and giving the government almost a full business-week longer than the schools to comment. Emails also show she worked with the government to direct blame for the Times’ allegations, and coordinated timing on publishing with a vote to regulate the religious schools.”
The story added:
As Breitbart previously reported, the “investigation” dropped in what appeared to be unbelievable timing, the day before the Board of Regents held a unanimous vote, without debate, to allow state functionaries heavier say in the education of Orthodox children. Those children happen to be of parents vehemently opposed to the social justice curriculum that has been injected into most other New York schools.
The article observed that the two “journalists” were far more responsive to the government than to yeshivas.
In one correspondence, Shapiro is seen working with the government to produce the state’s comment on the reporting, with almost a week longer to respond than the private religious schools being maligned.
“Hi! Hope all is well with you. We are aiming to publish the yeshiva investigation late next week and I wanted to walk you through it on a high level and we can talk about what might make sense for comment. I’m flexible today if you have some time. Thanks so much,” reporter Eliza Shapiro emailed then-Education Department Assistant Commissioner for Public Affairs, Emily DeSantis, on August 29. The subject line of that email was “Walking you through the yeshiva story.”
The story concluded with a stunning allegation, suggesting that Governor Kathy Hochul is targeting yeshivas as an act of revenge.
The Hochul administration is using yeshiva regulations as a cudgel against the Hasidic community, which turned on Democrats in the last gubernatorial election, following the action taken against their children’s schools, according to a report in the Gothamist.
“As Zeldin made repeated stops in Hasidic neighborhoods, the Hochul administration was keeping close watch: Those who levied especially bad faith attacks on the governor, the source said, may find themselves cut out of future discussions about yeshiva oversight,” the article says in a stunning revelation, attributed to a person in the governor’s office who did not have permission to speak on the issue.
Reb Chaim Ber Meisels, known for his giving heart, his perpetual joie de vivre and his passion for philanthropy, lost his battle with cancer over the weekend, passing away at the age of 45.
A longtime member of Williamsburg’s Satmar community, Meisels had a unique ability to connect with Jews from all across the religious spectrum, offering a kind word and going above and beyond to assist in situations of all kinds.
A mover and a shaker whose capacity for helping a fellow Jew was seemingly boundless, Meisels loved encouraging others to step up to the communal service plate, heralding them for their accomplishments without taking any credit for himself.
“He was always able to smell out who was in need,” Yoel Friedman of WellTab told VIN News. “He would approach people in shul, asking them how he could help and people would spill their hearts. He didn’t wait for people to come after him – he ran after the mitzvah.”
Friedman was the beneficiary of Meisels’ efforts in the early days of COVID when he created WellTab to keep hospitalized patients in touch with their families by providing them with free to tablets to facilitate communication.
Finding himself with a concept that he knew would benefit patients and their loved ones, Friedman had no way of raising the funds he needed to get WellTab up and running.
