Wednesday, October 26, 2022
Biden Calls New UK Prime Minister "Rashi" ... Baalei Tosfos Very Upset
Joe Biden on Monday hailed the expected appointment of Britain's first non-white prime minister as a 'groundbreaking milestone,' but failed to pronounce his name correctly.
Biden, speaking at a White House event to mark the Indian holiday of Diwali, said Rishi Sunak, who is also of Indian descent, is expected to be named prime minister today after seeing King Charles.
But the President stumbled over Sunak's name, making several failed attempts before calling him 'Rashee Sanook' - the latest in a long line of gaffes that will only fuel widespread speculation of his declining mental state.
Lee Zeldin brings the fight to Gov. Hochul, decisively wins only NY governor debate
If Gov. Hochul was going to give him only one debate, Rep. Lee Zeldin wasn’t going to waste a second making nice. The Republican challenger brought the fight and focus that he has displayed on the campaign trail and scored a decisive victory Tuesday night.
This wasn’t a knockout, but a victory on points because he made specific and realistic promises to improve life in New York. Hochul, meanwhile, mostly played defense.
Even when she played it well, she never really laid out a vision of what four more years would like and how they would be different from now.
In an election where voters all across the spectrum demand big changes, any hint that you are satisfied with the status quo is a loser, and that’s why she failed.
The debate was lively from the start, with Zeldin looking over-caffeinated and Hochul nervous. The moderators did a good job of peppering them with substantive questions and controlling the clock.
John Fetterwoman debate was painful and shameful — he is physically incapable of being a Senator
Eleven years ago, Texas Gov. Rick Perry destroyed his bid for the presidency when he said in a debate that he had three examples of something and then could only remember two.
That’s all it took — and rightly so. Debates afford voters a rare chance to see politicians under pressure having to think on their feet and respond to unexpected events.
I’ve never seen anything like the Pennsylvania Senate debate between John Fetterman and Mehmet Oz on Tuesday night, and I hope never to have to see anything like it ever again. It was horrible. I didn’t think I would ever experience a moment as painful in the midst of a political campaign as the Perry moment, but that was like watching Pavarotti sing “Nessun Dorma” compared to this.
The stroke that Fetterman himself said “knocked” him down at the debate’s outset has impaired him. Full stop. Don’t believe anyone who even tries to tell you different, and you should probably not trust any such person to tell you whether you need an umbrella because you don’t know whether it’s raining.
Seeing Fetterman struggle to answer simple questions and form simple sentences was nothing less than an agony. There’s no sense even in trying to characterize how he did in expressing himself on issues, or how Mehmet Oz did talking about matters ranging from abortion to fracking to Social Security.
Only one thing mattered, and that was watching Fetterman try to make a showing of himself despite his painful impairment. I don’t want to quote what he said or make specific note of his speech patterns or answers because it would be unnecessarily cruel.
Could Fetterman improve? Yes. Will he improve? We do not know. During the debate he refused to say he would release actual medical records rather than a clearly ginned-up letter from a doctor who is one of his donors.
What this debate made entirely clear is this: It is an act of personal, political, and ideological malpractice that Fetterman is still contesting for the Senate.
A month ago Fetterman could have dropped out and the Pennsylvania Democratic party could have put up a different candidate for his office — like Rep. Conor Lamb, who lost to Fetterman in the primary. It’s an act of political and ideological malpractice because he and his team have left Democratic voters with no option other than to close their eyes to what they saw and vote for someone who should not be in the Senate — or to vote for his rival. Or not to vote at all.
It’s an act of personal malpractice on the part of those who encouraged him to continue because this singularly upsetting performance is not the way any person on this earth — and particularly not someone who suffered a calamitous brain shock — should become famous or notorious or be remembered.
by John Podhoretz
The Great Charedi Political Shift
In the United States, Orthodox Jews have always played an outsized role in civic participation and voting.
While today most Orthodox Jews vote overwhelmingly conservative, in the past, many Orthodox Jews. saw no contradiction in voting for candidates who were supportive of policies that are inconsistent with Jewish values. It would not be uncommon for a Chassidic Jew in New York to vote for a political candidate who supported LGBT rights and abortion rights, so long as the candidate was responsive to the parochial concerns of the Orthodox community as well.
So long as the country was humming along, Orthodox Jews had the luxury to vote based on narrow interests. When the foundations of the country, its values and integrity began to rapidly decline, many Orthodox Jews began to realize they no longer have the luxury of voting based on narrow interests. They need to vote based on who is best suited to keep the country and its values intact.
Biden calls Skverer rebbe urges him to Endorse first Openly Gay New York congressman
Question now is, will the Skverer Rebbe tell his chassidim to vote for DemonRats who are for releasing violent criminals without bail, who are for LGBT? Or will he finally realize that Jews must now vote for the Republicans?
My bet is that he will ask his chassidim to continue voting for the disastrous DemonRats, because Biden promised him $$$$$$.
President Joe Biden called the Skverer rebbe Tuesday, two weeks ahead of this year’s midterm elections, urging the rabbi to endorse Democratic candidates.
Biden spoke with Rabbi David Twersky, the 81-year-old scion of the Skver Hasidic dynasty, for fifteen minutes Tuesday afternoon, with the president asking the Skverer Rebbe to encourage his followers to back Democrats in the midterm elections.
In particular, Biden asked Rabbi Twersky to endorse Congressman Sean Patrick Maloney, the first openly gay man elected to the House of Representatives from New York.
Maloney, who represents New York’s 18th district, is chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
Polls currently show Maloney trailing his Republican challenger, Assemblyman Mike Lawler.
The 18th district is ranked by the Cook Partisan Voter Index as having a one-point Republican lean. Donald Trump won the district in 2016, 49.0% to 47.1%, but lost it to Biden in 2020 by five points.
While Rabbi Twersky resides in New Square, a heavily Hasidic enclave in Rockland County, some of his followers living in neighboring counties included in the 18th district.
During the call, President Biden offered his assistance in the future.
“You will have an open door to my administration,” Rockland Daily quoted Biden as telling the rabbi.
Tuesday, October 25, 2022
Satmar Fraud and the Daf Ha'Yoimie
Part of Satmar ideology is to scream "Hisgarois Be'umois" (antagonizing the gentiles) against the Secular Zionist Government. They claim that the very existence of the State of Israel is a "Chillul Hashem" because the State of Israel as an entity "antagonizes the gentile nations."
This preposterous argument manifests itself in their unmitigated hate against a country that houses the majority of the Jewish people, and a country that distributes more money to Moisdois Ha'torah in one year ($250 million) then Satmar distributed in its entire history.
The mystery of how the Satmar Rebbe (R' Zalman Leib) was able to put together five million dollars to distribute to Moisdois in Israel, that "don't take funds from the Zionist government" has finally been solved.
He just stole "lunch money" from the the hungry mouths of New York children and brought it to Israel.So he basically took money from his "medina" to distribute to the other "medina".
This is a massive Chillul Hashem and is the quintessential "Hisgarois Be'umois" and the reason this is so grave, is because Chareidim claim that their way is the authentic Jewish tradition.
This story is not about a regular private guy who happens to be a Satmar Chusid that committed fraud, this is Satmar hierarchy perpetrating a thought-out fraud, systematically.
The whole "Satmar Fraud" story coming out today is ironic, because today the frum world following the Daf Yoimi , were learning R' Yoel Teitelbaum's favorite daf in the entire shas. Kesubois 111, where the gemarrah discusses the "Shalosh Shevuois" the three oaths!
Satmar, of course, wouldn't know that because they as a "shitah" don't learn the daf-yoimie because it was inaugurated at the Knessia Gedoileh by Agudah! That Knessia became quite famous because the Chafetz Chayim attended it.
At any rate stealing millions of dollars' worth of meals is not part of the "Shalosh Shevuois!"
Incidentally, Satmar Shita'h states that the prohibition of "Shalosh Shevuois!" is "Yeherag Ve'al Ya'avoir" which means that one must give up his life before he would violate these oaths.
Now every child of 5 knows what the three cardinal sins of "Yeherag Ve'al Ya'avoir" are (Murder, Adultery, Idolatry) but Satmar added a fourth one,"Shalosh Shevuois," Know that the "prohibition' of
"Shalosh Shevuois," is not mentioned in the entire Shulchan Aruch not by the mechaber or any of the "nosei keilim." The Rambam who mentions every single Torah violation in his Mishna Torah says nada about the "Shalosh Shevuois!"
Satmar makes up their own Torah when it suits them.
Read and weep!
Who’s Afraid of Itamar Ben Gvir?
by David Israel
Everything you didn’t know about Itamar Ben Gvir because nobody told you.
First, a necessary disclosure: on November 1 this year, after much deliberation, I intend to vote for Otzma Yehudit Chairman Itamar Ben Gvir and his partner, Religious Zionism Chairman Bezalel Smotrich.
As a liberal Orthodox Jew, I am aware that their platform is not a perfect match to my views, and there are even some positions I disagree with (just as I disagree with some of the positions on all the other lists), and yet I will vote for them because I see them as great reformers of the Zionist enterprise.
Based on media reports, most of you are aware that Itamar Ben Gvir is a vehement advocate of law and order everywhere in Israel, including in Jewish and Arab communities. You also know that he is a strong advocate of an iron fist policy against terrorists, including the deportation of terrorists, and of MKs who deny Israel’s right to survive as a Jewish State.
But did you know that Ben Gvir is a successful civil liberties attorney? That he advocates for freedom of worship in Israel? That he has expressed warmth and empathy for homosexuals?
I’ll explain.
The Jerusalem Post’s Editor-in-Chief Yaakov Katz warned a week ago:
“A government in which the leader is focused on evading trial and top ministers are messianic, anti-Arab, anti-progressive Jews and anti-LGBTQ, anti-women and anti-religious freedom is a government that will not advance Israel.”
First, Katz is absolutely right in his assertion. Second, every single part of his paragraph is false and misleading. But it’s thanks to that paragraph that I can clear up these mistaken notions, one by one. Here goes:
Adidas, which has refused to cut ties with Kanye West over his antisemitic comments, was founded by brothers who later joined the Nazi party
As rap star Kanye West continually refuses to back down from his antisemitic rants, some of the many institutions he has ties with have begun to jump ship. The fashion tastemakers Balenciaga and Vogue have announced they will no longer be working with him. Hollywood talent giant CAA has dropped him, and a planned documentary about him has been scrapped.
But one formidable company remains, for now, in West’s corner: Adidas.
United Torah Judaism at risk of losing Knesset seat due to indifference and quarreling among its leadership.
While politicians are focused on the Arab vote and what percentage of that community will go to the polls, and the Likud party focuses on bringing more of its supporters to the polls, a potentially deadly blow may be coming to the right-wing bloc from one of its own: The haredi United Torah Judaism (UTJ) party may lose a seat due to infighting.
According to Israel Hayom, even though UTJ has enough potential voters to win nine or even ten Knesset seats, this time there is great concern that not only will the party not grow, but that it may even lose a seat. The greatest threat, from the perspective of the right-wing bloc, is not that UTJ will lose seats to Religious Zionism, but the complacency and lack of enthusiasm in the haredi streets, which may lead potential voters to remain at home on election day.
IDF destroys 'Terrorist Den' infrastructure in Shechem
DF, Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) and Yamam counterterrorist forces raided overnight Monday a hideout apartment in the Kasbah of Shechem (Nablus) that was used as a headquarters and explosives manufacturing site. The site was used by the main operatives of the “Lion’s Den” terrorist group. The forces detonated the explosive manufacturing site.
During the activity, multiple armed suspects were hit and Palestinian Arab reports indicate that were multiple injuries.
During the operation, dozens of Palestinian Arabs burned tires and hurled rocks at the troops. The troops responded with live fire toward the armed suspects who were shooting at them.
The “Lion’s Den” terrorist group is responsible for carrying out the shooting attack that killed IDF soldier Staff-Sargent Ido Baruch, as well as attempting to carry out a terrorist attack in Tel Aviv (an attack that was thwarted by the Israel Police) and the planting of an explosive device in the Kedumim gas station.
They also attempted to carry out a shooting attack in Har Bracha and hurled a grenade towards IDF soldiers who were adjacent to Havat Gilad.
The terrorist group is also in charge of multiple shooting attacks throughout the city of Shechem.
Over the last period of time the terrorist group continued to recruit, plan, and carry out attacks aimed against innocent Israeli civilians.
According to Palestinian Arab reports, four terrorists were killed and 19 wounded in the gun battle between the Israeli forces and the terrorists.
Early Sunday morning, Tamer Kilani, a senior member of the Lion’s Den, was killed in a motorcycle explosion in Shechem.
According to the Palestinian Arabs, the explosion occurred after an explosive device was planted in Kilani’s motorcycle and activated by a Palestinian Arab who cooperated with Israel. The reports also claimed that the operative was recorded on security cameras activating the device.
Other reports said the explosion was caused by a "mishap" after Kilani tried to mount an explosive device on his own motorcycle and failed.
The IDF and Shin Bet did not comment on the incident, but the Lion's Den blamed Israel and threatened, "We promise [IDF Chief of Staff] Kochavi a hard and painful response."
Getting Kids Into School Should NOT Be Hard
Rabbi Poupko
by Rabbi Poupko
When calling out the double standards of Shraying Givalt about New York State’s crackdown on some Chassidishe Yeshivas while ignoring the crisis of girls and bochrim who do not get into any school and are left on the sidelines, there was one common response I got from several people: “How dare you speak that way, do you know how much time other Askanim and I dedicate to getting kids into schools.”
Incidentally, this is exactly the problem I was talking about. Unfortunately, our current system is built to fail a percentage of our children–a situation we cannot remain silent about.
Monday, October 24, 2022
Whatever Happened to Bruria Rav Meir's Wife?
When I was a teenager, I came across a very strange Rashi in Mesactas Avoda Zara (18b). My Yeshivah wasn't learning this Mesachta but to make some side pocket money, I tutored a kid from a different Yeshiva that was learning Avoda Zara as a project for his Bar-Mitzvah.
This was before Artscroll, before google and Wikipedia, so to understand the text of the gemarrah I had to learn every single Rashi coupled with the Jastrow dictionary which was a monumental task in itself.
Today I attended a daf yoimi shiur by a very famous "maggid shiur" and I noticed that not only didn't he read even one single Rashi but never even quoted him. I understand that for the sake of brevity and time constraints, the maggid shiur must summarize instead of really delving into the nuances of every Rashi, though the shiur is given to retirees who have nothing better to do for the entire day.
At any rate the gemarrah relates that R' Meir was being pursued by the Romans so he ran to Babylonia for safety. The gemarrah goes on to give two reasons why R' Meir had to flee, one because of the reason I just gave, that the Romans were after him, but then the gemarrah gives another reason without any explanation, assuming that we in the year 2022 would know what the gemarrah is referring to, and that is that he had to flee because of "the incident with Bruriah."
Woe! Hold on just one minute!
What "incident with Bruriah?"
Rabbi Dovid Abenson Wants an "Asifa" Declaring that Students Cannot be Rejected
I discussed this trend of rejection with a friend who has been an Asken in our community for 50 years. I told him about the feedback I had received from the published article “Accept the with Love” and consequent calls from parents who have reached out to me, looking for mosdos for their children without success, and asking for my help. We lamented that so many boys and girls are being rejected or expelled, and parents having sleepless nights about their child’s future, ultimately scared their child will leave the fold.
Sex Pervert Berland 's Chassidim Attack Jerusalem Deputy Mayor
Jerusalem Deputy Mayor Aryeh King was lightly injured Sunday evening after being attacked by Hasidic supporters of convicted sex offender Rabbi Eliezer Berland in East Jerusalem.
The incident took place during public celebrations at the Tomb of Simeon the Just as King and Chief Rabbi of Safed Shmuel Eliyahu arrived at the site within the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood.
According to a police report, rioters began throwing rocks toward King and Eliyahu, while shouting toward Eliyahu: “He incarcerated the rabbi [Berland].”
Eliyahu was not injured in the incident.
Police said two rioters were arrested and that police forces were at the scene to restore public order.
“Unfortunately, some lawbreakers are trying to sabotage the event and hurt other participants. We won’t allow these extremists to disturb the public order and will show zero tolerance toward any kind of violence,” police said in a statement.
Eliyahu, who is considered one of Berland’s harshest critics, accused Berland of inciting his followers.
“Jerusalem’s deputy mayor has been injured by supporters of the criminal named Berland. A real criminal whose advocates nearly killed a person. I think those people require real repentance and that person [Berland] should be jailed immediately because he incites people to do terrible things,” the rabbi said.
Berland, the leader of the Shuvu Bonim religious cult, has served separate prison sentences in the past for sex offenses and fraud, and last year was implicated but not charged in the decades-old murder of a teenager.
Berland fled Israel in 2013 amid allegations he had sexually assaulted several female followers. After evading arrest for three years and slipping through various countries, he returned to Israel and was sentenced to 18 months in prison in November 2016 on two counts of indecent acts and one case of assault, as part of a plea deal that included seven months of time served.
He was freed just five months later, in part due to ill health.
He was arrested again, this time for fraud, in February 2020 after hundreds of people filed police complaints saying that he had sold prayers and pills to desperate members of his community, promised families of individuals with disabilities that their loved ones would be able to walk, and told families of convicted felons that their relatives would be freed from prison.
Berland was convicted last year under a plea bargain and given an 18-month sentence, but was released in December.
In November 2021 police investigating the murder of a teenage boy in the 1980s told a court that Berland had ordered the killing. Police said Berland allegedly sent the suspects who kidnapped and killed 17-year-old Nissim Shitrit, but that he was not present at the time of the murder.
Berland is linked to three suspects arrested for their involvement in the crime, which went unsolved for 35 years.
Genes Link Bipolar, Schizophrenia, Once Thought Unrelated
When Chastity Murry had her first psychotic break, she went into her bathroom and downed a whole bottle of pills, hoping to die. Her teenage daughter had to perform CPR to save her life.
Around that same time more than a decade ago, the man who would become her husband, Dante Murry, also lost touch with reality and considered suicide.
Different illnesses led them down similar paths – bipolar disorder in her case and schizoaffective disorder in his – conditions long considered by many to be distinct and unrelated.
Senior Shechem Terrorist Blown to pieces
Tamer Al-Kilani, a senior member of the “Lion’s Den” terror cell in Shechem was eliminated after his motorcycle exploded at 1:45 AM early Sunday morning. The Palestinians claim that Israel is behind the explosion and even published a clip in which a collaborator allegedly planted the explosive device moments before Al-Kilani’s death. However others claimed that Al-Kilani himself had attempted to place the explosive device and it accidentally exploded earlier. Israel has not confirmed reports of its involvement.
Al-Kilani has orchestrated numerous shooting attacks against the IDF in northern Samaria and had even recently sent a terrorist to Jaffa, where he was caught by security forces.
The Lion’s Den group affirmed his death, stating that “the traitorous occupation placed a TNT package. We call on our men to continue their opposition and state that ‘the West Bank is ours and every citizen can enter Shechem.”
Two weeks ago, the PA had asked the IDF not to enter Shechem and had assured that it would try and stop the Lion’s Den terrorists by itself, according to a Ynet report.
In other security activities, the IDF, GSS and border police arrested nine terror suspects in Judea and Samaria. The suspects were taken for interrogation by security forces.
Sunday, October 23, 2022
Rabbi Shmuel Knopfler's Fourth Yurzeit ...... Was DIN Torah Contributer
Today I paid my respects to a hero, who fought selflessly for his brothers and sisters that lived behind the Iron Country in the Soviet union.
R' Shmuel z"l is buried in Beit Shemesh in the Chelek of MTJ (Mesivta Tiferes Yerushalayim).
I knew R' Shmuel in my late teenage years but only as an acquaintance, I was drawn to him because I admire talent, and R' Shmuel was a talented artist. Years later I met him because R' Shmuel z'l was a close friend of the late R' Meir Kahana and I was an early member of the JDL. In fact Shmuel designed the "Kach"logo and that logo is on R' Shmuel's tombstone.
On or about 2011, R' Shmuel reached out to me (not knowing that I was the author of DIN) via my DIN email account and asked for my phone number because he wanted to discuss an article I posted. Recognizing his name I revealed who I was, and we then called each other practically every other week, discussing current events in the State of Israel, he was a fervent unapologetically Zionist and had a deep love of the Jewish people.
Eventually he wrote a weekly dvar torah for this blog.
There is a larger writeup on this tzaddik when he was niftar in 2018.
I miss him like crazy!
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