Bats Mysteriously Drop Dead Across Israel: An End-of Days Omen?

"For that, the earth is withered: Everything that dwells on it languishes— Beasts of the field and birds of the sky— Even the fish of the sea perish." (Hosea 4:3)

Is God taking revenge on the bats for starting coronavirus?

Adi Moskowitz took to Facebook to post what he called “lots of dead bats” he discovered near the Gan Leumi Park in Ramat Gan on Saturday.

The ‘dead bat plague’ was also corroborated several miles away by a resident in the Pardes Katz neighborhood of Bnei Brak who caught the lifeless creature on video.

Many of the bats are young and show no signs of trauma. 

“The phenomenon is extremely rare” explains Nora Lifshitz, founder of the Israeli Bat Society in an exclusive interview with Breaking Israel News. The only explanation Lifshitz can offer is that it was the result of the cold weather of the weekend storm. However she did admit that it was just a theory and that it’s a phenomenon she’s never heard of before.

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R' Leibel Groner Longtime Secretary Of Lubavitcher Rebbe Latest Corona Victim

Rabbi Leibel Groner, one of the most prominent figures in Lubavitch of the last generation who served as a secretary and one was of the closest people to the Rebbe, passed away.

He was 88 and was infected by coronavirus.

Rabbi Groner was born on 8 Iyar 5691 (1931) to a family that is descended of Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi, the Alter Rebbe and founder of Chabad-Lubavitch. His parents were R’ Mordechai Avrohom Yeshaya and Menucha Rochel Groner.

His connection with the Rebbe began at a very young age, when the Rebbe, then known as the Ramash, attended his Bar Mitzvah and spoke for an hour and 20 minutes. At the conclusion, the Rebbe asked, “Leibel, did you understand what was said?” When he didn’t reply, the Rebbe added, “don’t be embarrassed, many of the people around didn’t either understand.”

Despite his humility at the time, Rabbi Groner learned in the Central Yeshiva Tomchei Tmimim Lubavitch at 770 Eastern Parkway and become an immense Talmid Chacham.

His knowledge was partly reflected in Sefer HaMinhagim, the authoritative book of Chabad-Lubavitch Customs that was authored by himself and Rabbi Volf Greenglass, the Mekubal and Mashpia of Montreal. For many years, he was a teacher at Beis Rivkah of Crown Heights and was an editor of Otzar Hachasidim, the editorial team that publishes Chabad Chassidus.

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The Novominsker Rebbe Succumbs to Corona

The Novominsker Rebbe, Harav Yaakov Perlow, z’tl, was niftar early Tuesday morning at the age of 89, plunging all of Klal Yisrael into deep mourning.

The Rebbe has served as a leader of the American Jewish community, the head of Agudas Yisrael of America and the Nasi of the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah. The Rebbe was known for his rhetorical skills and was the keynote speaker for many years at Agudas Yisrael and Torah Umesorah gatherings.

The Rebbe, who was ill with the coronavirus, collapsed in his home in Boro Park at 3 a.m. on Tuesday morning. Hatzalah volunteers who arrived at his home spent many long moments trying to resuscitate him but to their sorrow, they were unsuccessful and were forced to declare his death.

Harav Perlow was born in New York to Harav Nochum Mordechai Perlow, z’tl, the previous Novominsker Rebbe and learned as a bochur in Yeshivas Chaim Berlin and was the close talmid of Harav Yitzchak Hutner, zt’l.

Following his father’s death in 1976, Harav Perlow was appointed as the next Novominsker Rebbe and he established a shul as a center for Novominsker chassidim and yeshivas Kol Yehudah in Boro Park.

The Rebbe also authored the sefer Eidas Yaakov on Shas.

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What to do without the "goyteh"? Also a Pesach Lesson from the Rebbitzen

** Kol Isha alert!

** Kol Isha alert!

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Vehi She'omda Yaakov Shwekey & Shlomi Shabat

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Happy Pesach! A musical greeting from the Israel Philharmonic

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Virus, shmirus, let's focus on the Palestinians

The whole world is changing – but not for J Street, which, virus or no virus, is still devoting itself to persuading members of US Congress to embrace the Palestinian cause.

Over the past several weeks, J Street was mobilizing its supporters around the country to urge them to "demand the administration release vital assistance to help the Palestinians combat the coronavirus pandemic."

Think about that. In the midst of an epidemic that has left US hospitals desperately short of emergency equipment and has resulted in millions of Americans losing their jobs, J Street is trying to convince the government to give millions of taxpayers' dollars to two anti-American terrorist regimes: the Palestinian Authority and Hamas.

Talk about tone-deaf! 

Completely oblivious to the suffering of American citizens, J Street's top priority is to give American money to two of the most vicious America-hating regimes in the world.

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Amshinover Rebbe of Boro Park Killed by Covid-19

 Rav Yosef Kalish zt”l, the Amshinover Rebbe of Boro Park passed away  He was 63.

The rebbe had contracted the coronavirus.

The rebbe was a son of Rav Yitzchok of Amshinov. He took over his father’s position following his father’s petirah about 17 years ago.

The rebbe led the Amshinover Bais Medrash at 15th Avenue and 44th Street in Boro Park.

The rebbe, who was a noted talmid chochom and masmid, was a son-in-law of Rav Eliyahu Shternbuch zt”l, rosh av bais din of Khal Machzikei Hadas in Antwerp, Belgium.

The rebbe is survived by his sons, Rav Menachem Kalish and Rav Asher Chaim Kalish, and his daughters, the wives of Rav Yehodhus Yehuda Klein, Rav Aharon Mendelson, Rav Avrohom Shimon Maryles, and Rav Yisroel Moshe Hopstein.

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Rav Moshe Green Rosh Yeshiva D' Monsey Passes on

 Rav Moshe Green zt”l, rosh yeshiva of Yeshivah D’Monsey in Monsey, NY. was niftar this morning, he was 86 years old.

A son of Rav Yisroel Green, Rav Moshe was a talmid of four of the major yeshivos on the Torah landscape in his youth: Yeshivas Rabbeinu Chaim Berlin, Yeshiva Torah Vodaas, Mirrer Yeshiva, and Bais Medrash Elyon, the first three in Brooklyn and the latter in Monsey. He was greatly influenced by Rav Shraga Feivel Mendlowitz zt”l and the other rabbeim at Torah Vodaas.

Rav Moshe, who was recognized for his great diligence, his hasmadah and his tangible yiras SHomayim, would go on to lead the Skverer Yeshiva that opened in New Square and eventually established his own yeshiva, Yeshivah D’Monsey, which catered to chassidishe bochurim.

Rav Green dealt with various ailments over recent years. He rarely left Monsey, or New York at all, particularly since he suffered two strokes. He passed away this morning.

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How to Bake Matza At Home

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Israeli Citizens Will Not be Allowed to Leave Their Homes on Seder night.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu announced a general closure on all Israeli cities from 4 PM tomorrow until Friday banning travel between cities. The lockdown is in response to concerns that the coronavirus may spread further over the Passover holiday.

"The next days will determine the direction - progress or retreat and for many people - life or death," Netanyahu said at the start of his remarks.

"Anyone who thinks that the coronavirus crisis can end with a bang and then we'll be done is badly mistaken. When it comes to the health and life of Israeli citizens, there must be no shortcuts. We saw what happened a month ago on the Purim holiday, when the virus spread in large proportions. Passover will not be Purim. Every holiday will have the Seder by itself," Netanyahu added.

Under the new directive, citizens will not be allowed to leave their homes on the night of the Passover Seder. In Jerusalem, travel between neighborhoods is expected to be banned.

The ministerial committee is expected to approve these new guidelines tonight following statements by Prime Minister Netanyahu and the director-general of the Health Ministry,

In addition, public transportation in the Jewish sector will be stopped from tomorrow evening until Sunday. On Sunday, public transportation will resume operating at 5 AM.

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Why This Arab Bakery Closes for Pesach Every Single Year

Israel marches toward 9,000 corona cases, but boasts a high recovery rate

The Health Ministry reported 8,611 confirmed cases of coronavirus in Israel on Monday, with 55 deaths to date. A total of 141 patients are listed in serious condition, 107 of whom are on ventilators. Another 191 are listed in moderate condition, with the vast majority – 7,643 – of cases being light or minor.

A total of 585 Israeli corona patients have recovered from the virus. Last week, the Taub Center for Social Policy Studies in Israel reported that the country was seeing a recovery-to-death ratio of 10:1, meaning that 10 corona patients were recovering for every one corona death in Israel. According to the Taub Center, this is much higher than the ratio in most OECD countries.

In the past 24 hours, three corona patients being treated at the Assaf Harofeh Medical Center succumbed to the virus: a 96-year-old woman who suffered from multiple pre-existing conditions; an 80-year-old man who was already terminally ill; and a 66-year-old man, whom COVID-19 caused to go into multi-system failure.

While most corona deaths thus far have been elderly patients, a 22-year-old man from Ashdod without any pre-existing health problems is still hospitalized and on a ventilator at Sourasky Medical Center in Tel Aviv.

Laniado Hospital in Netanya reported Monday that it was treating 17 corona patients, eight of whom were listed in serious condition, one in moderate condition, and eight minor cases. The hospital said that it had released another patient to a convalescent facility on Sunday night.

Barzilai Medical Center in Ashkelon reported that since the epidemic began, it has treated 69 corona patients, three of whom died and nine of whom made full recoveries. The rest were well enough to be transferred to convalescent facilities.

Meir Medical Center in Kfar Saba reported 43 corona patients, five of whom were on ventilators as of Monday morning. In the past 24 hours, the hospital has seen three additional patients in serious condition removed from ventilators after their conditions stabilized. 

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Israel to produce special face masks to accommodate beards of the Orthodox

Israelis who have beards for religious reasons will get the option of custom-made face masks to protect them from the coronavirus rather than being told to shave, a government official said on Monday.

As part of measures to combat the epidemic, Israeli authorities last week told people to cover their mouths and noses in public.

Many of the country's Jews and Muslims, and some Christian clergymen, wear beards as a mark of faith, and the order raised questions as to how facial hair would be accommodated.

Health Ministry Deputy Director Itamar Grotto said masks would be adapted accordingly.

"We are creating an industrial certification for masks, which means that in a few days there will really be masks of different sizes," he told Army Radio.

"...[So] those with beards will be able to use the appropriate masks."

A spokesman for the Chief Rabbinate has said it might consider issuing a ruling permitting religious Jews to shave if the ministry were to deem it necessary.

Grotto said seeking a rabbinical dispensation to remove facial hair was "not on the agenda right now."

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Ladies: What do I risk if I go to the mikveh? What do I risk if I don’t go?

The question of mikvah usage during the COVID-19 forces the mikveh-using community to confront a new, unprecedented reality. 

Many of us who are grappling with questions of life and death are doing so (thank God) for the first time in our lives. This is made more difficult by the constant changing of the facts on the ground and the guidelines released by government health organizations. 

Many mikveh users find themselves bewildered and terrified of making a choice that could cost them their health, and even God forbid their lives (not to mention endangering their families and broader community. 

We must not forget that this virus is a public health crisis and one infected person can spread the virus to countless others.) I do not pretend to have any answers to these questions. And yet I find myself writing this piece because the enormity of the anger and pain surrounding these questions merits a response. 

In order to have an open and honest conversation, we must confront a truth that many of us are trying to avoid making metaphoric eye contact with: 

a woman cannot exit the status of niddah without immersing in a mikveh or natural body of water. Once a woman has experienced a flow of blood and is in a status of niddah, there is no alternative. 

And so, once this becomes her reality, she has two options: 

immerse and risk possible exposure to the virus, or refrain from immersing and be unable to resume sexual contact with her partner. 

Both of these options, to put it bluntly, stink. And they put women having to make this choice in a very difficult, if not impossible, position. Below is my attempt to articulate the mechanisms behind these two choices and clarify a lot of the confusion surrounding them.

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Will Corona usher the internet into the Haredi Orthodox home?

by Adam S. Ferziger

The dire circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic are pushing prominent Haredi Orthodox figures to acknowledge the hazards of keeping the internet out of their homes, though so far any changes have been limited and temporary. 

In Israel, after being diagnosed with the coronavirus, Health Minister Yaakov Litzman was forced to defy the strict rules of his Gerrer hasidic sect and install a computer in his home that is linked to the internet so he can communicate with other government officials.

In North America, the influential Lakewood yeshiva leaders issued guidelines that allow internet use during home isolation, though its rabbis stressed that this is a temporary step made necessary by the urgent situation (“sha’as ha-dehak”). They also emphasized that this easing of policy does not extend to children, for whom there should be “no relaxation of technology standards… even [for] Torah purposes.” Video conferencing apps such as Zoom are still off limits for kids, the Lakewood directive says.

It’s no secret that many Haredi Jews use smartphones covertly. Academic studies have pointed to widespread internet use, evidenced by the abundance of Haredi-oriented blogs and websites. Still, the disproportionately high spread of the COVID-19 virus within Haredi communities shows that information is not getting through and that limiting digital access endangers lives. Without the internet, people were less informed about the potency of the virus, less exposed to fast-rising fatality numbers, less familiar with the rules of social distancing and hygiene, and slower to transition to safer conduct.

After Corona, rabbinical leaders may revert to prior policies that either reject the internet completely or limit it to the workplace. But now that web access has proven it can save lives, it will be difficult to put that genie back in the bottle. On the other hand, if the rabbis face the new reality directly rather than trying to avoid it, a strategy can be developed for maintaining and even enhancing the Haredi lifestyle in an internet-saturated world.

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