There are moments when life feels settled, when the world seems to be moving along familiar tracks and even its difficulties feel manageable because they fit into patterns we recognize. And then there are moments when that sense of order begins to loosen, when events seem to arrive faster than they can be processed, and the future feels less predictable than what came before it.

For the Jewish people, that feeling is not new.

It is the story of our history.

As we proceed through the Three Weeks, reflecting on the destruction of the Bais Hamikdosh and the long journey of golus that followed, we learn Parshiyos Mattos-Masei, which, at first glance, appears to be little more than a detailed record of travel stations in the wilderness. The Torah lists, one after another, the places where Klal Yisroel encamped during their forty-year journey from Mitzrayim toward Eretz Yisroel, seemingly offering a geographical itinerary that records where the nation stopped along the way.

Sifrei Kabbolah and drush explain that the forty-two encampments listed in the parsha correspond to the Sheim Mem-Bais, the Divine Name of forty-two letters, indicating that each stop was part of a deeply structured spiritual process, carefully guided and precisely arranged by Hakadosh Boruch Hu to prepare the Jewish people for their ultimate entry into Eretz Yisroel.

What appears to be a travel log is, in truth, a map of destiny. This explains the teaching of Chazal (Brachos 8b) that we are obligated to read and study the parsha each week shnayim mikra v’echod targum. Chazal add that this obligation extends to “afilu Ataros v’Divon,” the names of the places where the Jews camped in the midbar. Though the names of these places have no apparent significance and no targum, we are nevertheless obligated to recite them, because every stop and every name carries profound meaning.

Our ancestors were not wandering aimlessly in the desert for forty years. They were engaging in a Divinely orchestrated sequence of stages through which Klal Yisroel had to pass in order to become the nation capable of entering the Land promised to Avrohom Avinu. Some of those stages were elevated and uplifting, while others were marked by complaint, failure, or punishment. Yet, all of them together formed the continuous process of national formation.

One of the most profound messages of this week’s parshiyos is that life is not defined by isolated moments, but by movement through stages, each of which contributes – even when not immediately understood – to the unfolding of a larger story that becomes visible only when viewed in its entirety.

A person often imagines his life as a series of disconnected events – some meaningful and some confusing, some successful and others disappointing – as though each stands alone without necessarily being part of a unified structure. The Torah, however, teaches otherwise. Every stage is part of a journey, every experience is part of a direction, and every passage through life is part of an overarching design that is guided by the Ribbono Shel Olam with purpose and intention.

We are not static beings. We are travelers, and travelers, by definition, are always in motion, even when that motion is not immediately visible.

This is why Chazal emphasize that adam l’umal yulad, man was created for work, for effort, for striving, for movement toward something beyond his present state. The goal is not to stagnate, not to become too comfortable in one place for too long, but rather to pursue continual growth, continual refinement, and continual advancement through the various stages of life.

There are times when progress is visible and satisfying, and there are moments when it feels as though nothing is moving at all. There are times when a person feels elevated and inspired, and times when he feels weighed down by uncertainty or failure. Parshas Masei reminds us that the journey does not cease during those moments, even if it is no longer perceptible in the same way, because we are always in transit. Always moving.

This idea takes on deeper meaning when we consider one of the most frequently misunderstood descriptions of Klal Yisroel in the Torah: the phrase am k’shei oref, a stiff-necked people, used by Hakadosh Boruch Hu after the chet ha’Eigel. At first glance, it appears to be a rebuke, a criticism of stubbornness that led the nation to sin. Yet, Moshe Rabbeinu, in his plea for forgiveness, transforms this description into a defense, arguing that the same trait that can lead to rebellion can also be the source of extraordinary resilience and unwavering loyalty when directed toward the service of Hashem.

What appears to be a negative – obstinacy – becomes, in the context of Jewish survival, an essential strength.

It is this stubborn continuity that has carried Klal Yisroel through every stage of golus. History is filled with civilizations that rose and fell, empires that dominated the world only to vanish, and cultures that once seemed unshakable but ultimately disappeared into obscurity. Yet, Klal Yisroel, despite having been exiled repeatedly, persecuted relentlessly, and dispersed across continents, has continued forward without interruption.

The Romans thought that they had ended Jewish history with the destruction of the Bais Hamikdosh.

The Crusaders thought that they had broken the spirit of Klal Yisroel.

The Cossacks thought that they had extinguished Jewish life in Eastern Europe.

The Nazis declared with chilling confidence that they were implementing the “Final Solution.”

Each generation of our enemies believed that it had brought about the end of our story, and each time, boruch Hashem, they were mistaken.

What they perceived as endings were really transitions. They were simply another station in a journey that continued regardless of how final things appeared at the time.

This becomes particularly evident when we study the accounts of the Holocaust through the lens of those who lived through it with a world of emunah. While secular historians often emphasize helplessness and victimhood, the testimonies of frum survivors reveal something far more complex and far more profound. They describe Jews who clung to mitzvos under the most impossible circumstances, who risked their lives for tefillin, and who never gave up their emunah and bitachon, even under the most trying conditions.

They were not passive. They were defiant in their faith.

And when the war ended, their response was not to remain defined by destruction, but to begin again. Survivors rebuilt families, reestablished yeshivos, revived communities, and laid the foundations for the Torah world that exists today. They did so not because they had recovered from trauma in any conventional sense, but because they understood that Klal Yisroel does not remain in any one place indefinitely.

We move forward.

This pattern can be traced throughout Jewish history.

Take Telz, for example. To describe Telz merely as a town is to miss its significance. It was one of the great centers of Torah in Lithuania, home to a yeshiva that shaped generations of Torah leadership. Sunday was the 20th of Tammuz. On that date, in 5701 (1941), the Jews of Telz were murdered in the Rainiai Forest, and it appeared, at that moment, that an entire world of Torah had been extinguished.

The Nazis were driven not only to destroy lives, but to eradicate an entire spiritual civilization.

But they did not understand the nature of Klal Yisroel. Telz was not extinguished. It was relocated.

Its Torah was carried forward and rebuilt in new places by its leaders, who understood that destruction is never the final word.

Today, the sound of Torah in Yeshivas Telz is loud and strong. On Sunday, Selichos were recited and special shiurim were delivered l’illui nishmos the kedoshei Telz. Their memory lives on. Their sanctified lives are not forgotten.

Similarly, on Tisha B’Av, we mourn the loss of the residents of the ancient city of Beitar. The Rambam describes a city filled with tens of thousands of Jews, led by Bar Kochva, who was believed to be the potential Moshiach, a moment in history when Klal Yisroel stood at the threshold of geulah. And yet, that moment collapsed into catastrophe.

As the Rambam (Hilchos Taanis 5) writes: “A great city by the name of Beitar was captured. Inside it were many tens of thousands of Jewish people. They had a great king whom all of Yisroel and the rabbis believed was the king Moshiach. He fell into the hands of the gentiles and they were all killed. It was a great tragedy, as great as the destruction of the Bais Hamikdosh.”

Rav Moshe Shapiro explains that the depth of Tisha B’Av lies not only in what was lost, but in what could have been – in the recognition that Klal Yisroel has stood at the edge of redemption more than once, only to find that the moment slipped away.

And that realization becomes part of the mourning, for we mourn not only the destruction, but also the missed opportunities.

And so, the question naturally arises: How many times in history have we been closer than we realized? How many moments could have unfolded differently? And how often do we fail to recognize the significance of the place we are currently in while we are still standing within it?

These days, we are experiencing many moments that feel historically charged. It is easy to become overwhelmed by the pace of change, to gasp in awe as we perceive Hashem arranging the world for the period of the ultimate geulah.

The Satmar Rebbe would say that after the devastation of the Holocaust, Klal Yisroel stood at the precipice of the geulah. Hashem granted us a glimpse of what redemption would look like – a partial restoration of Jewish life in Eretz Yisroel that was not yet complete, not yet governed by Torah, and not yet accompanied by the rebuilding of the Bais Hamikdosh. It was, in that sense, a station along the way, but not the destination itself.

The Bais Hamikdosh was not returned. Halacha did not rule. It was merely a taste of what was to come.

However, the rebbe would say that because the Jewish people were satisfied with that small taste, Hashem determined that we were not yet deserving of the redemption, and therefore we were left with only a semblance of what could be.

And once again, we were left with yet another stop along the road, another station on the way to geulah.

And that is where we still are today. Moving. Waiting. Building. Continuing along the journey with clarity and faith.

This is the message of Ataros v’Divon, the reason we study every one of the stops in the midbar on the way to Eretz Yisroel. That is the message of Parshas Masei. Until the geulah, no place is the final stop. It is merely a station, and we are not meant to mistake the station for the destination.

We are not meant to settle where we are. We are meant to move. To climb. To grow. To improve. Not to become stationary, apathetic, or content.

People can cycle for miles on a stationary bike, sweating, raising their heart rate, feeling the strain in their legs as though they are accomplishing something significant, and yet they remain in exactly the same place where they began. There is motion, there is effort, there is even exhaustion, but there is no forward movement.

It is possible for a person to be very busy, very active, even very tired from all he is doing, and still remain essentially unchanged. He may feel that he is progressing because he is exerting effort, but if all that effort doesn’t translate into forward movement, then he is still standing in the same place where he started.

This is one of the subtle dangers of spiritual life as well. A person can become accustomed to his routines, his habits, and the way he goes about life, and, without realizing it, begin to mistake activity for advancement. If he becomes too comfortable with where he is, then his entire life can resemble a stationary bike: a great deal of motion without actually going anywhere.

The Torah carefully records each masa, each journey, each departure, and each arrival, emphasizing that the defining feature of those forty years was movement. Not permanence. Not settling. Not remaining in one place for too long, but constant transition from one stage to the next, in a precisely structured process of growth under the direct guidance of Hakadosh Boruch Hu, moving forward until Klal Yisroel reached Eretz Yisroel.

That is the fundamental difference between a journey and a routine.

A routine repeats itself. A journey goes somewhere.

And that is why the Torah does not refer to them merely as encampments, but as masa’os – journeys, departures, movement.

The Torah is telling us that life must always be measured not only by intensity, but by direction. Are we moving forward or are we circling in the same place? A person is not meant to define success by being busy or engaged, but by moving toward a higher destination. It is what yeshivos refer to as shteiging. We must always strive to shteig – not just to learn, not just to go through the motions, but to become better and to grow.

When a person understands that every stage of life is meant to move him forward, then even effort, struggle, and challenge become part of a forward-moving journey rather than an illusion of progress.

Even when we slow down in the summer and take a break for bein hazmanim, we don’t stop. We don’t lose sight of our goals and don’t take a vacation from Torah.

The parshiyos of Mattos-Masei teach us that we are not meant to become spiritually stationary, even if we are spiritually active. We are meant to be in motion, progressing from one masa to the next, never confusing where we are with where we are meant to go.

Because the difference between pedaling and a journey, between merely learning and shteiging, is not how much energy is expended, but whether you are actually going somewhere.

Klal Yisroel, from the midbar until today, has never been a people standing still. We have always been a people moving forward toward the fulfillment of the Divine promise that one day all of these journeys will be seen not as wandering, but as a single path leading home.

May we merit coming home with the geulah sheleimah bekarov.

The Three Weeks, the period during which we reflect on the churban Bais Hamikdosh, is also a time to think about the churban of the Yiddishe shtub, the Jewish home, which is akin to a miniature Bais Hamikdosh.

Before we get to that, I have a couple of thoughts about the Three Weeks to share.

I don’t know if I’m allowed to say this, but I really don’t like the Three Weeks. The Three Weeks are the time of year when we are supposed to face reality and realize that we are still in golus. “Kala kayitz v’anachnu lo noshanu — The summer has ended, but we have not been saved” (Yirmiyahu 8:20).

This time of year is when we contemplate the idea that all the tzaros we experience, both collectively and individually, are ultimately rooted in the churban haBayis. When we see such difficulties unfolding in Eretz Yisroel, it isn’t because of the attorney general or the Supreme Court. It isn’t because of this party or that party. It is really about the churban.

Rav Matisyohu Salomon would often say that the difficulties we experience are all the result of the hester ponim that came about because of the churban.

All the difficult news we hear, all the agmas nefesh that Klal Yisroel experiences, both collectively and individually, is rooted in the churban.

Feeling the Pain of Your “Eigener Churban”

There is a famous vertel, said in the name of the Chiddushei Harim, that cites the Shulchan Aruch, which states that a person must feel pain and worry over the churban Bais Hamikdosh.

Someone once asked the Chiddushei Harim, “What happens if a person doesn’t feel pain over the churban?”

The Chiddushei Harim answered that he should instead feel pain and worry over his “eigener churban,” over his own personal churban, because if he doesn’t feel the pain of the churban, he has much greater problems.

In other words, if he doesn’t feel the pain of the churban, that means that there is something in his Jewish heart and neshomah that has been extinguished—and that is something he had better deal with right away.

The Guilt of Yiddishe Parents

This brings me to a very painful topic. Chazal teach us that if a chasunah is like rebuilding one of the ruins of Yerushalayim—”kol hamesameiach chosson v’kallah,” etc.—then we can derive that the opposite is also true: When a Yiddishe shtub is destroyed, it is as if part of Yerushalayim has been destroyed.

Over the past several months, or perhaps over the past year or two, I have sadly heard about several young couples who have gotten divorced.

This is not a column in which we will discuss why there may be a higher proportion of divorces in our communities today than there once was. Perhaps it is true, perhaps it isn’t. I don’t have empirical data on that. (If someone really wants to explore that topic, they are welcome to read the few columns that have appeared in these pages over the past month or two on middos and mentchlichkeit.)

Today, I want to speak from the perspective of the parents of a young man or woman who has gone through a divorce.

In my conversations with parents, what I have been hearing—aside from the sheer pain, sadness, and shame that come with the territory—is that many of them carry an overwhelming sense of guilt.

“Maybe I should have known better. Why didn’t I see the red flags? Why did I encourage her despite some of the misgivings she had? Why did I tell him to continue, assuming he would stop noticing what was bothering him? Why was I enticed by the glamour of the shidduch instead of looking beneath the surface?”

Yes, it is perfectly normal for parents to feel guilty, and far be it from me to tell people what they should or should not feel.

“Even What We Do to Ourselves Is Also From Hashem”

What I can say is that, all of a sudden, a story I heard about four years ago came back to me, and I feel it is well worth sharing with Yated readers.

I heard this story from a distinguished Yid from Beit Shemesh named Rav Osher Zelig Margulies, a prominent mashpia who is close to Rav Yaakov Meir Schechter. He heard the story directly from Rav Yaakov Meir himself.

By way of introduction, unless someone knew Rav Yaakov Meir’s circumstances, there was no way to realize that he was carrying enormous challenges, because he was always smiling, always calm, and always radiated warmth and bitachon.

In truth, however, Rav Yaakov Meir Schechter endured an extremely difficult life. His wife was ill and could not care for their large family. Several of the children faced significant challenges, and many would be classified today as having special needs. Few people knew that the entire burden of running the household—from changing diapers to preparing meals—rested on his shoulders.

He also had other children who were healthy, stable, and thriving in every way.

When the oldest of those children reached shidduchim, Rav Yaakov Meir faced a painful dilemma. On the one hand, who would want to marry into his family? Given the mother’s illness and the challenges of some of the siblings, people would naturally assume there were hereditary issues that could affect future generations.

Reluctantly, he concluded that he would have to forgo pursuing the finest shidduch for his son and instead seek a girl who came with her own “peckel.”

That is exactly what he did.

Sadly, the girl’s peckel brought with it very real difficulties. It did not take long before both Rav Yaakov Meir and his son realized that her issues were not conducive to shalom bayis. As time passed, his son concluded that the marriage simply could not continue. The only option was divorce.

A day was arranged for them to appear before bais din. Rav Yaakov Meir was walking there with his son, weighed down by tremendous anguish. He felt deeply responsible. After all, he had been the one who urged his son to settle for what he believed was a less-than-ideal shidduch, and now his son was suffering terribly and had to give a get.

As they walked, they passed the home of Rebbetzin Feige Mintche Alter a”h, the rebbetzin of the Imrei Emes and mother of the Pnei Menachem. She happened to be outside and noticed a yungerman who looked utterly broken.

“Yungerman,” she asked, “why do you look so sad, so tzubrochen?”

“I am on the way to bais din,” Rav Yaakov Meir replied, “to write a get for my son, and I feel terribly guilty that this shidduch didn’t work out. After all, it was my fault that he agreed to such a shidduch. I have buried my son with my own hands!” he concluded emotionally.

“Yungerman,” the rebbetzin exclaimed, “I have a kabbolah from my husband, the rebbe: Afilu vos men tut tzu zich alein iz oich fun der Ribbono Shel Olam—Even that which we do ourselves is also from Hashem.”

Decades later, Rav Yaakov Meir said that the rebbetzin’s words gave him tremendous chizuk and nechomah, filling him with renewed emunah. At that moment, he realized that this, too, was the Yad Hashem. Yes, he had been the shliach through whom it all came about, but, in reality, it was Hashem Who was guiding every step.

Eventually, that son remarried and built a beautiful family.

When it comes to the churban of a Yiddishe shtub, it is only natural for people to feel guilty. But the lesson that Rav Yaakov Meir Schechter learned from Rebbetzin Feige Mintche Alter is one that we should all internalize:

“Afilu vos men tut tzu zich alein iz oich fun der Ribbono Shel Olam—Even that which we do ourselves is also from Hashem.”

Last week, our editor and many of the esteemed columnists wrote about what has been called the Semiquincentennial. My good friend and neighbor, Rav Mordechai Kamenetzky, facilely called it in these pages the “Birth-Dud” of America, meaning that the celebrations have been disappointing at best. I would like to share a particular perspective that I have on this subject.

In 1975, with the Bicentennial looming ahead, Torah Umesorah, upon the urging of the great mechanech Rav Yosef Elias, decided to devote an evening to share the Torah perspective upon this event. I was then a young menahel (of RJJ in Staten Island) and deeply involved in Torah Umesorah. Our group of menahalim decided that, like all Torah-based events, we must have a respected daas Torah hashkafah from a gadol who could speak articulately and authentically in English about Klal Yisroel and the two hundredth birthday of the United States.

After quite a bit of discussion, it was unanimously agreed that we should invite Rav Shimon Schwab, rov of Khal Adas Yeshurun, to give the keynote address. Several other historians were also lined up to present various aspects of our joint history, and one of them prepared a beautiful slideshow about certain presidents and Jewish leaders of the past two centuries.

For some reason, I was chosen to be the chairman and emcee, and I had the privilege of introducing Rav Schwab. I wasn’t sure if this was because I am an immigrant to the United States or because I was born in Germany, but I was both honored and nervous about the opportunity.

Rav Schwab was, as always, eloquent, diplomatic and extremely kind to the young fellow struggling to introduce him properly. The presentation is now recorded in Rav Schwab’s collected writings (Selected Writings, pp. 154-58), but the emotions and teachings he shared are both timeless and a lesson in daas Torah. Some of his words from half a century ago are quite prophetic, yet the nagging feeling remains that he might not have been able to give the same speech today.

Rav Schwab did not disappoint. He gave us all a panoramic overview of how a Torah Jew should view “secular governments which rule over us in the diaspora as divinely appointed and not as mere historical accidents.” He reminded us of Shlomo Hamelech’s teaching that “a king’s heart is in the hand of Hashem” and added something amazing. He stated that “this is irrespective of the attitude of those ruling powers towards our people. If we are oppressed by some rulers, we must actively seek out every legitimate path to redress the wrongs perpetrated against us. But we must realize that discrimination and persecution as well as benevolence and tolerance are willed by the ‘Guardian of Israel,’ Who does not sleep or slumber.”

Nevius? Perhaps, but certainly the long-distance clear-eyed vision of a true manhig Yisroel.

But there is yet more. Rav Schwab took us back to the first journey to these States, when Columbus left Spain on the day after Tishah B’Av in 1492, the day after the Expulsion. In Rav Schwab’s own words, “a new world was destined to be opened for the oppressed of many nations, where millions of Jews, among others, were to find a home under the protection of laws which were unthinkable to most minds almost 500 years ago.”

The rov added a lesser known fact that Columbus’ first sighting of the New World, while flying the Spanish flag, was on October 12, Hoshanah Rabbah. Today, Spain has once again joined the ranks of the most anti-Semitic countries in the world. If I may paraphrase, we must look back and be grateful for what we have received from presidents and this medinah shel chesed, but take nothing for granted and ask Hashem to once again point His surrogates in the right direction.

A few more salient facts from Rav Schwab’s history lesson. A committee of famous Founding Fathers comprising Benjamin Franklyn, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson was appointed to prepare a Great Seal of the new United States of America. Franklyn proposed an image of Krias Yam Suf with Moshe Rabbeinu holding his mateh. Jefferson liked this so much that he used it on his private seal. However, the future president preferred for the official seal an image portraying the Ananei Hakavod leading Klal Yisroel in the midbar. He went on to quote the Gemara (Shabbos 11a), which teaches that “if all the oceans were made of ink and all the reeds were writing pens and all the heavens were parchment and all men sofrim, it would not suffice to describe the wisdom of statecraft,” echoed, as we all know, in the beautiful tefillah of Nishmas. Rashi explains that running a country requires an incredible level of sagacity. We must question whether any of those currently vying to attain this stature of leadership would even come close to this level of competence.

Rav Schwab summarizes a lengthy excursion into the ideal relationship between Klal Yisroel and the secular rulers with whom we are often forced to coexist. “The political power of the government is nothing but the hidden works of the King of kings.” More importantly, he quotes from Mishlei (26:10): “The Master employs fools and transgressors to bring all His plans to fruition.” Again, these are not only eloquent words, but a motto and modus operandi for us to conduct our dealings with governments of all kinds.

For all who live in New York under a new administration, the following words resonate as if they were written today rather than 50 years ago. “In contradistinction to the communistic regimes which oppress Jews and Judaism, this country has the immense zechus to be the host of thousands of Torah Jews who enjoy the freedom to serve Hashem without restrictions. All this imposes upon us an ever mounting debt of gratitude, which we repay by loyalty and concern for this nation and by the strict adherence to the laws of the land.”

It seems that although Rav Schwab said many prophetic things, we are clearly now at a different point than when he spoke those eloquent words fifty years ago. We would do well to heed his exhortations to be patriotic Americans, but also to be vigilant about two things. We must remember that all of this ultimately comes from Hashem. Secondly, we must do what we can, b’derech hateva, to oust and replace those who would do us harm, even based upon their very own words. This can be done in many ways, but most effectively by beseeching the true Master of the World to give us benevolent and moral leaders. Yes, things have changed since 1976, but in the larger historical picture, they have not changed that much at all.

I would like to close on a personal note about Rav Schwab. I checked with reliable members of the Schwab family, one of whom, Reb Gavriel Schwab, I am now privileged to have as a member of my shul, who validate what happened with me personally. The rov had to leave after he finished his brilliant drosha and I walked him out, in accordance with halacha and my profound hakoras hatov. Although it was warm outside, it was drizzling and Rav Schwab reached for his raincoat. Having learned in Yeshivas Rabbeinu Chaim Berlin, where we were injected with kavod haTorah from the earliest years, I tried to help him on with his coat. Although he was somewhat frail, he practically knocked me down, explaining apologetically that he doesn’t allow anyone to help in this way. I did apologize for any offense, but he explained with a story.

“When I was a bochur in the Mir,” he began, “there was an elderly gentleman who used to help us in many ways, including rushing to help us put on our coats, boots or whatever we needed. To us, including me, it felt good to be treated in this way, and he explained that since he could not learn Torah like us, this was his way of honoring the Torah. After he was niftar, I found out that he was a tzaddik and talmid chochom nistar, who had left numerous writings in many areas of Torah. I decided that for my personal teshuvah, I needed to make a decision that, other than my immediate family, I would never again allow anyone to help me with my coat, hat or anything else.”

Wow! I left that night thinking that this was a man who was na’eh doresh vena’eh mekayeim — he acted as beautifully as he spoke. And that is ultimately the message. As Rav Schwab said, even if we are mistreated by governmental officials, we should never forget that the Ribono Shel Olam is calling the shots. Of course, as he alluded, our hishtadlus requires us to vote properly and do our legal best to elect decent, honorable people who are not anti-Semites. But we must always remember that we are, after all, in golus. Even if others have lost their minds and any shred of integrity, we must maintain our composure and be rigorous in our middos. Rav Shimon Schwab was the perfect messenger to convey these eternal sentiments and goals.

May we soon be zoche that our only King will be the Melech Malchei Hamelachim Hakodosh Boruch Hu.

My father took me for a ride once. I’m not sure why. Maybe he wanted to share his own memories with me, or wanted me to see a world that once was his world. But it was a good 40-minute ride until we arrived. It was a real ride, in an old Buick, not new, not fancy. It was not the sort of car that would stick out in the neighborhood he was about to show me. But he did not leave it parked. It might have gotten stolen. He drove me to the ’hood. His old neighborhood. It was called East New York.

It was, once, the home of a yeshiva he taught in, which later merged with the yeshiva he himself founded. The original building stood on a street called Belmont Avenue. He parked across from it. It was no longer majestic. Broken windows. Litter piled against a door that mispallelim once pushed open before Shacharis. “That,” he said, “was Yeshiva Toras Chaim.” The neighborhood was home to dozens of shuls, large and small, and some shtieblach as well.

Then he drove me around the block, narrating a neighborhood like a seasoned historian who gave the tour dozens of times. It was as if they had never vanished. That was the New Lots Talmud Torah. That was Magen Avos. That was Ahavas Achim, Ahavath Israel, a half dozen shtieblach whose names I don’t remember, tucked into streets called Vermont, Pitkin, Belmont, Levonia. Crosses had replaced Mogen Dovids on some buildings. On others, the Mogen Dovid was still there, half chiseled, as if someone had started the job and lost interest, or lost his nerve. Stained glass with unmistakably Jewish motifs sat above aluminum signs bearing Spanish words for a different kind of house of worship. Synagogues became service stations. Botei medrash became storefronts. It happened, apparently, without any official declaration.

It was not like tonight we change our clock, and we turn a shul into a church. No one wakes up in the morning and says, “Today the community ends.” The grocery closes. The butcher moves. The cheder merges the classes into one. The shul cannot get a weekday minyan. The old men still come, but the young couples do not. The elders go to a nursing home. The younger ones go to suburbia. The few that remained held a meeting. They will hold on as long as they can. Then there is another meeting, then a sale, then a padlock.

Years later, I returned with my own children, on the way to my grandfather’s kever in Mount Judah. The symbols are fainter still, chiseled by weather now instead of by hand. There’s nobody left for the inhabitants to harass; there are no more shul windows at which to throw stones. Not because the streets got safer. Because the Yidden left, for other corners of Brooklyn, for Lakewood, for the Five Towns, for wherever felt, at the time, like it would last.

I’ve stood, too, in the demolished Jewish cities of Lita and Poland. But that was different. There was a clear and definitive timeline of events; it was not an evolution. I understand why the Telz building sits empty. I understand why Slobodka Yeshiva is a warehouse. That story has a clarity and a definitive enemy to it. Armies. Soldiers. Lithuanian Nazis. Polish antisemites. Collaborators. It was a war of aggression with a beginning and, eventually, an end.

But East New York was not emptied by the Wehrmacht. Brownsville was not abandoned because Cossacks rode through Pitkin Avenue. Newark, Detroit, and other once-flourishing Jewish neighborhoods did not lose their shuls because a foreign army bombed them. Something else happened. It was not one day. It was not one decree. It was not one announcement nailed to a pole.

It was a feeling.

A little fear. A little crime. A little more discomfort. A little sense that maybe this street was not what it had been. A little concern that maybe Jewish children should not walk alone. A little worry that the next neighborhood was calmer. A little sense that the old place was slipping. And then, one day, the Jewish world had moved.

I remember the camp plays at Torah Vodaas. Nearly every summer, the same plot rotated with minor variations: thugs storm a yeshiva, boys scatter, someone hides a sefer Torah under a floorboard. Twenty years after the liberation of the camps, and we were still being scared half to death by teenagers in mock World War II Stormtrooper costumes. It worked, because it wasn’t so far-fetched. As we felt more at home, as yeshivos multiplied and Jewish visibility became a settled fact of American life rather than a daily risk, those plays quietly disappeared from the night activity and color war marquee. They would have felt like science fiction. Nobody wanted to be scared by something that couldn’t happen here.

Hemingway has a line, when asked how a man goes bankrupt: “Slowly, slowly, then suddenly.” I keep circling back to it, because I think it describes more than money.

Look at what happened this past election cycle in parts of Manhattan and beyond. Popular, entrenched candidates, not exactly conservative, not exactly out of step with their party’s own platform, lost races they were supposed to win easily. Not because they stopped being progressive enough for their district. Because they were Jewish, or because they hadn’t sufficiently distanced themselves from a Jewish state. Even in neighborhoods with real Jewish populations, candidates who were friendly to us had to work overtime to get elected. That’s the leftist antagonism. I wonder, will the people we’ve comfortably assumed are on our side, on the right, decide we’re no longer worth the friendship either? I don’t ask that to be dramatic. I ask it the way you’d ask about a foundation crack you’ve been telling yourself is just cosmetic.

We’re in the Three Weeks now, which has a way of making these questions feel less abstract. We say we’re waiting for Moshiach the way you wait in an airport lounge in a distant city. You are comfortable. There are complimentary snacks, and a screen is telling you your gate hasn’t changed. And your flight will leave soon. Golus, at its most tolerable, feels like that lounge. But then, something happens. The flight gets delayed. It gets delayed long enough that they close the lounge and send you out to the terminal floor. Maybe they tell you, “I’m sorry, your pass is no longer valid here.” You leave the lounge and spend the night on a hard chair, still waiting for the same plane, except now there are no snacks, and there is no couch, and the riff-raff who are also frustrated choose you upon whom to vent their frustrations. You are stuck with the hard chair, maybe the floor, and hour upon hour, when you realize the plane keeps getting delayed for one reason or another.

I’m not writing this to frighten anyone, and I’d be lying if I said I’ve fully worked out what to do with the unease myself. I’m not a Novi, and I distrust anyone who claims to be. But I think there’s a difference between worrying and paying attention, and I think we’ve gotten very good at telling ourselves that noticing a slow shift is the same as panicking about it. It isn’t. My father just wanted me to see it while it was still visible enough to learn from.

Toras Chaim didn’t die in East New York. It moved on to Long Island. But it packed up and moved, the way so much of what we are has packed up and moved before, generation after generation, always finding another Belmont Avenue to plant itself on. Stone Avenue becoming Coney Island Avenue.

But I keep thinking about those half-chiseled Mogen Dovids. Nobody smashed them in a single night. Someone came with a chisel, made a few strokes, and then, for reasons of his own, put the tool down and walked away, satisfied that the job was started. I wonder, some nights, whether the comfort we’ve built here, this Belmont Avenue we currently call home, has already had its first few strokes taken out of it, quietly, while we were busy being comfortable. I wonder if somewhere, someone is waiting, patiently, the way those aluminum signs waited above the doors, for the day the building is finally, formally, no longer ours to daven in.

The alternative is something we often forget about. And its no where here in these United States. It’s across the ocean. And it comes with Moshiach. And let us not forget it. Even if we do not have politicians subtly reminding us.

Just Saying.

Decades of Cover-up Torn Aside

A House Oversight Committee held an explosive hearing last Tuesday focused on new revelations concerning the CIA’s notorious MK-Ultra program. This was a Cold War-era project that explored ways to master mind control with drugs and hypnosis and to program behavior—all as a means of combating Communist Russia, North Korea and other hostile regimes.

Partial information about the clandestine project seeped out in 1977, following a NY Times front-page story accusing top scientists working for the government of having conducted medical experiments on unwitting subjects with the mind-altering LSD drug, electroshock and hypnosis.

A Congressional probe at the time uncovered key facts about the CIA’S mind-control program—which by then had been shut down. The hearings were very disturbing. A public uproar erupted over the disclosure of the 1953 suicide of Dr. Frank Olson, an Army scientist who jumped out of a hotel window after consuming a drink spiked with LSD.

The investigators were hampered, however, by the fact that the official records of the MK-Ultra program had been ordered destroyed in 1973 by CIA Director Richard Helms, days before he left office.

When the government investigations produced no indictments or arrests, the furor eventually died down. From the disclosures at last week’s hearing, it now appears that the earlier allegations about MK-Ultra were but the tip of the iceberg.

The hearing, led by Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., focused on newly surfaced records, as well as testimonies from experts that shone a light on the unprecedented scope of MK-Ultra’s criminal and morally debased activities in the United States and overseas.

MK-Ultra, led by biochemical genius Sidney Gottlieb from the 1950s to 1960s, involved 149 subprojects across 80 institutions, including many universities, hospitals, prisons and research facilities, using human guinea pigs in a wide range of criminal medical experiments.

‘Some of the Worst Crimes Against Humanity’

In her opening remarks, Luna stated that the newly unearthed files are now in the process of being declassified.

“The intelligence community has covered up the nature of the MK-Ultra experiments for decades,” Rep. Luna said. She revealed that the secret project was a “deliberate governmental operation that subjected American citizens and others to dangerous drugs and torture without consent, including electric shock, sensory deprivation, as well as inducing psychosis and mental collapse leading in some cases to death.”

“That, in my mind, constitutes some of the worst crimes against humanity in the twentieth century,” the Florida congresswoman said.  “The CIA committed these notorious acts, and then the Director of the CIA ordered the destruction of evidence.”

The objective of last week’s panel, Rep. Luna said, was to investigate the full reach of the mind-control program as well as why the CIA’s files remained classified so many years later.

“Americans have been misled repeatedly and deserve transparency and accountability from the CIA,” said Rep. Luna, pledging to secure further declassification in a bid to restore public trust.

She introduced two witnesses whom she said “have spent years unraveling the cover-up our government ordered:”

“Stephen Kinzer documented the life and crimes of top CIA agent Sidney Gottlieb in his book, “Poisoner in Chief. How the CIA Searched for Mind-Control.” And journalist Tom O’Neill, author of The CIA and the Secret History of the Sixties, spent over 20 years investigating the secret project the CIA buried,” the Florida congresswoman said in her introduction.

CIA Rode Wave of Paranoia

From its inception, Project MK Ultra was a program shrouded in mystery. At its peak in the mid-1950s, only a handful of CIA personnel even knew of its existence, O’Neill told the panel.

Fear of brainwashing, dubbed a new kind of “brain warfare,” terrified and fascinated the American public throughout the 1950s, spurred by stories of “brainwashed” G.I.’s returning from China, Korea, and the Soviet Union, the author told the panel.

The New York Times had published a startling story asserting that American POWs returning home may have been “converted” by “Communist brain-washers.” Some GI’s were confessing to war crimes, like carrying out germ warfare against the Communists—a charge the U.S. categorically denied. Other American soldiers were reportedly so brainwashed that they had refused to return to the United States at all.

To many Americans, Communist brainwashing seemed to explain the astonishing rise of communism in that era. They believed the Soviet Union had mastered the art of manipulating minds—not only those of captured enemies but of its own people. Otherwise, they reasoned, how could so many nations willingly embrace an ideology so backward and evil?

CIA Director Allen Dulles rode the wave of paranoia by launching MK-Ultra and handpicking biochemist Sidney Gottlieb to run it. If hostile nations were using brain-warfare, the United States could not afford to be left behind.

“Gottlieb operated almost completely without supervision,” asserted biographer Stephen Kinzer. “He had sort of a blank check from his bosses, first CIA director Allen Dulles and then Richard Helms. But none of them really wanted to know what he was doing.”

Kinzer alleged that Gottlieb in effect “had a license to kill.” “He was allowed to requisition human subjects across the United States and around the world and subject them to any kind of abuse that he wanted, even up to the level of it being fatal.”

“In the early 1950s, Gottlieb arranged for the CIA to pay $240,000 to buy the world’s entire supply of LSD. He brought this to the United States and spread it around to hospitals, clinics, prisons, and other institutions. He would ask them, through bogus foundations concealing the CIA’s role, to carry out research projects testing how the drug might be used for mind-control purposes.’

“He never had to file serious reports to anybody,” Kinzer said. “I think the mentality must have been that this project is so important, it needs free reign. That mind control, if it can be mastered, is the key to global world power.”

Nazi Experiments Supplied Foundation for MK-Ultra

MK-Ultra was in some ways a continuation of work that began in Japanese and Nazi concentration camps, O’Neill and Kinzer revealed to the House Oversight panel. Not only was it roughly based on those experiments, but the CIA actually hired the torturers who had worked in Japan and in Nazi concentration camps to come to this country and explain their findings, so that U.S. officials could build on their research.

For the Agency’s top brass, the program held huge promise: the potential to yield the tools for victory in the Cold War by mastering the keys to manipulating a person’s memory, identity and loyalties. The overall goal was to succeed, with the combined use of drugs and hypnosis, in persuading a subject to switch allegiances and to act against his or her own will and inclinations.

It is now known, O’Neill said, that Gottlieb and the CIA established secret detention centers throughout Europe and East Asia, particularly in Japan, Germany and the Philippines. “These countries were largely under American control in the period of the early ‘50s, and Gottlieb didn’t have to worry about any legal entanglements in these places.”

CIA officers in Europe and Asia were capturing enemy agents and others who were what they called “expendable.” They would imprison these people and use them to test all kinds of drug potions and techniques like electroshock, extremes of temperature, and sensory isolation. All while bombarding them with questions, trying to see if they could break down resistance and find a way to destroy the human ego.

“So these were projects designed not only to understand the human mind but to figure out how to destroy it,” Kinzer said. “And that made Gottlieb, although paradoxically in some ways a compassionate person, certainly the most prolific torturer of his generation.”

‘Congress Was Fed Pure Fabrication’

Tom O’Neill, investigative journalist and author of ‘The CIA and The Secret History of the Sixties,” used his opening statement at the House Oversight hearing about the MK-Ultra program to underscore his belief that “Congress was never told the truth about what this program actually achieved.”

“I believe the agency misled Congress in 1977 when it characterized MK-Ultra as a failure,” O’Neill continued. He explained the grounds for his conviction by filling in some little known history about Dr. Louis West, one of the most influential psychiatrists in America in Gottlieb’s day.

In 1977, West was one of seven academic researchers named in a front-page New York Times story alleging that the CIA had used American universities, hospitals, and prisons as secret laboratories for experiments involving LSD and other drugs on unwitting human subjects.

West vigorously denied the allegations. He acknowledged that the agency had approached him, but insisted he had refused because LSD was “too dangerous and unpredictable” to be used on humans. He added that he limited all of his research with LSD to animals.

West’s denials were believed. He was never investigated, and his name never came up at the congressional hearings held that year.

The truth would emerge only decades later, when O’Neill learned that UCLA had inherited West’s papers following his death in 1999. Combing through more than 200 boxes of papers, O’Neill found the evidence he was searching for: correspondence between West and Dr. Sidney Gottlieb, the mastermind of MK-Ultra.

According to O’Neill, the letters begin in 1953, just two months after CIA Director Allen Dulles authorized MK-Ultra. In his first letter to Gottlieb, West proposed conducting experiments on unwitting human subjects, including military personnel, prisoners, and psychiatric patients at the base hospital.

“He then outlined the experiments themselves in six more pages that could have been written by Joseph Mengele, the ‘Angel of Death of Auschwitz,’” O’Neill said.

Using LSD in combination with hypnosis, West proposed inducing confusion, amnesia, and specific mental disorders in people who would remember nothing of their interaction with him afterward.

He discussed techniques he was developing to extract true information and implant false information and beliefs in unwilling subjects, thereby completely switching their allegiance from one group or leader to another.

“These experiments,” he wrote, “must eventually be put to the test in practical trials in the field.” In other words, we need to use human beings as guinea pigs.

Gottlieb’s response gushed with enthusiasm. “My good friend,” he wrote, “I had been wondering whether your apparent rapid and comprehensive grasp of our problems could possibly be real. You have indeed developed an admirably accurate picture of exactly what we are after.”

West replied that there was “no more vital undertaking conceivable in these times.”

Smoking Gun Evidence

After detailing this correspondence to the panel, O’Neill cited a 14-page report that West wrote in 1956, just three years after he began working with Gottlieb. This letter, 70 years later, has turned out to be a retroactive “smoking gun” exposing West’s brazen lies and the CIA’s cover-up.

In the report, West described administering LSD and other drugs in conjunction with hypnosis on unwitting human subjects, declaring that with these experiments, he had found the key to replacing true memories with false memories in people without their knowledge.

If West’s report was truthful, this was far from the “failure” the CIA described to Congress in 1977. Quite the opposite. It was, in fact, the core aim of the MK-Ultra operation—to seize control of a person’s perceptions, memories, and ultimately his behavior.

But this report was never seen by Congress.

According to O’Neill, who plumbed through the CIA’s MK-Ultra records which were released to Congress after the 1977 hearings, West’s 1956 14-page report had been replaced by a 4-page summary that appears to have been written by someone else.

This paper makes no mention of West’s claims regarding replacing memories by using LSD to “speed the induction of the hypnotic state and deepen the trance” in people, as he had detailed in the first report.

The revised version makes the sweeping statement that the effects of LSD and similar drugs on people had “never been studied.”

“The cover-up could not be more stark,” O’Neill told the congressmen.

“The 1977 congressional committee believed it had been given the truth about MK-Ultra. In place of the truth, it was fed pure fabrication.”

Mind-control Technology in our Own Day?

In the wake of last week’s hearing, lawmakers began calling for transparency, recognition and justice for victims of past experiments, alongside speculation about possible modern applications of mind-control technology in our own day.

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna stated that the committee is actively pressing the intelligence community to declassify the remaining heavily redacted files and to determine whether additional hidden records about MK-Ultra still exist at the CIA.

The debate now hinges on whether public pressure and political will can uncover the full truth about both historical abuses committed by the agency and any current clandestine programs.

“In addition to searching for unknown documents, this Committee could do a tremendous service by simply asking for the end of redactions on the documents that we now have,” Dr. Stephen Kinzer pointed out to the panel.

“There are reams of documents about MK-Ultra that still have huge sections redacted from the 1970s. This was justified by the argument that it had been only 20 years since these terrible events, and that revealing details might affect national security. Now 70 years have passed. That argument can no longer be valid.”

“That being the case,” Kinzer said, “I would urge this committee to try to fill out all the blank spaces in the documents that we have, because we know that important information is there.”

***

The Man Who Sold His Soul

Historians have tried to unravel the deeper motivations that drove Sidney Gottlieb in his grotesque mind-control experiments on unaware victims.

In his 2019 biography Poisoner in Chief: Sidney Gottlieb and the CIA Search for Mind Control, Stephen Kinzer wrote that Gottlieb suffered from two visible challenges from childhood through adulthood. One was a clubfoot; the other was his lifelong stuttering. By one account, his schoolmates “viciously harassed” him for his disabilities. During his high school years, he was virtually ostracized.

Psychologists have theorized that relentless bullying can foster suppressed rage and a desire to exact vengeance on the society that inflicted the wounds. In Gottlieb’s case, that impulse may have found its outlet in his bizarre quest to achieve mind control—the ultimate revenge.

He became obsessed with finding a way to bend human minds to his will—to erase a person’s identity, replace it with one he deemed politically desirable, and ultimately wield power over others.

By his own admission in 1977 hearings before Congress, Gottlieb had taken LSD, the mind-altering drug, hundreds of times himself. As his biographer Stephen Kinzer speculated, it is possible that its mind-expanding hallucinatory effects convinced him he was some kind of world savior.

Gottlieb’s saga carries another chilling message: it shows the profound depths of moral corruption to which a person can sink when he trades his spiritual foundations for the political ideology of the day.

According to biographical accounts, he was raised in an Orthodox Jewish home, the son of Hungarian Jewish immigrants. He abandoned his faith as an adult, choosing to experiment with various cults and religions, even running a leper colony in India for 18 months in a quest to find meaning in life.

Yet, as he advanced in his career as an expert in biological warfare, it became ever easier for him to rationalize evil as a necessary means to a supposedly noble end. For him, that end was securing American supremacy over the Soviet Union by whatever means necessary

To achieve it, he was willing to sacrifice not only the lives and sanity of countless unsuspecting victims but his own humanity.  Collaborating with Nazi and Japanese war criminals, conducting horrific human experiments, and trampling every moral boundary—none of it was too high a price to pay.

In surrendering his conscience to the political crusade of his age, he became the very kind of monster he believed he was fighting.

Two Bills for Lomdei Torah in the Works

The chareidi public is focused on two bills on the Knesset table, which they would like to see passed before the Knesset goes on recess next week.

The first is the Basic Law: Torah Study. The anti-religious elements have made a huge fuss over this law, which serves to demonstrate how important it is. After all, if they are so fiercely opposed to it, then there is some actual benefit to the law. Last Wednesday, the law was approved by the Knesset in its first reading by a vote of 63 to 53. The Arabs abstained, unwilling to become involved in the Jews’ internal conflicts. Even the prime minister entered the Knesset chamber to vote in favor of the bill. Several members of the coalition, however, voted against it: Yuli Edelstein, Sharren Haskel, and Dan Illouz. It is perhaps not surprising that they broke ranks; Edelstein will no longer be in the Likud party in the next Knesset (more on that below), and the other two will not be in the next Knesset at all. After it passed its reading, the law was returned to the House Committee to be prepared for its second and third readings (which are conducted at the same time). On Sunday, the committee approved the law by a majority of nine to six, and it will be brought for its second and third readings next week.

Another bill supported by the chareidim is meant to halt the arrests of yeshiva bochurim and kollel yungeleit. The original idea came from the cabinet secretary, Yossi Fuchs, who wrote to MK Boaz Bismut, the chairman of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, and asked him to advance the bill. His letter explained that the criminal enforcement would be halted by the bill for “anyone who is proven to be a yeshiva student (not a chareidi who does not learn in yeshiva) along with effective oversight.” At first, many doubted that the bill would pass, but it is still progressing. Aryeh Deri was the first to embrace the idea, on the grounds that the current situation, in which every yeshiva bochur faces the threat of arrest, is intolerable. When Rav Dov Landau endorsed the idea, everyone else joined him in supporting it.

Bismut has already begun moving the law through the process. First, he published the text of the law, which was somewhat long. I will quote the first line: “Out of recognition of the importance of Torah study, a temporary special arrangement shall be put in place for yeshiva students for whom Torah study is their occupation.” In essence, the law calls for the brutal, inhumane arrests to be halted. The Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee has already begun its deliberations, and if nothing unusual happens, the law should pass all of its readings by next Wednesday. The main opposition, as usual, comes from the legal advisors. The legal advisor to the Knesset argues that the law will never be accepted by the court because it does not include sanctions. To that, the chareidim respond: Let the law pass, and let petitions be filed with the Supreme Court, and there will be a simple response—that nothing is changed during an election period. This will buy us at least half a year of quiet, if not a full year. It is even possible that the frozen government funding for yeshivos and kollelim will be renewed. Let us daven for the bill to succeed!

If the Reform Movement Is Against It, It Must Be a Good Thing

In case anyone had any doubt about the urgency and importance of the Basic Law: Torah Study, one need only take a look at the pile of objections that landed on the House Committee’s desk to understand just how significant it is. Just take a look at who is behind those objections: the Center for Judaism and State Policy at the Hartman Institute (whose members argued that Torah learning is important only when it is used for practical benefit, but the study alone is worthless), the Movement for Quality Government (which denounced the bill as an assault on the principle of equality and an effort to bypass the Supreme Court rulings on that subject), Brothers and Sisters in Arms (which called the bill “a moral and political capitulation”), and the deputy attorney general, who decried the accelerated legislative process. The only one who sounded somewhat fair and not driven by preconceived bias was the Knesset legal advisor, who wrote, “You will have to be especially careful to maintain a high standard of propriety in the legislative process.”

There is a certain disingenuity in the attacks on the bill from some of these sources, who are busy decrying the original text of the bill when it has already been changed. This might point to the fact that their arguments against the bill in its current form are weak. The first clause states that Torah study is a “foundational value in the heritage of the Jewish people”; to this, the words “and the State of Israel” were added. The second clause, which originally equated lomdei Torah with IDF soldiers as citizens performing a significant service for the state, sparked angry reactions from many quarters and has been erased. In its place, the bill now states, “The purpose of this law is to recognize Torah study as a foundational value in the State of Israel to create a counterweight to other Basic Laws.” But in spite of the changes to the text, the bill’s opponents continued railing against its original form.

In case there was any doubt—and there really was no doubt—a position paper from the Reform movement has made it absolutely clear. The Reform movement will always oppose anything that is good for religious Jews, and anything that they endorse should be seen as a massive red flag. They are destroyers of the Jewish nation, invaders in Hashem’s vineyard, and enemies of the Torah and those who study it. They are so absurd and so obsessed with their battle against Judaism that their warped logic can be almost amusing. In a document expressing their opposition to the law, the Reform petitioners add that it should include their own “Torah” as well: “In light of the principles of equality and freedom of religion, the Torah study mentioned in the proposed law should be interpreted as applying not only to the Torah study of the chareidi community but also to that of all streams of Judaism, including the liberal sects.” It is hard to be certain whether this is more comical or tragic.

The Treasury Opposes the Law

As soon as the Knesset committee finished approving the new Basic Law for its second and third readings, an unnamed official in the Treasury released a vehement statement against it: “The Treasury warned today [Sunday] about the potential repercussions of the Basic Law: Torah Study that was approved last week in its first reading in the Knesset and clarified that the approval of this law will lead to a 16-percent increase in taxes. According to a position formulated by professionals in the government, the law being advanced by the coalition will increase the burden on the serving and taxpaying public, perpetuate a situation in which chareidi men do not enlist, and cause additional funds to be diverted for the benefit of the chareidi public.”

Now, I have a few questions. First of all, who is this unnamed official in the Treasury, and who are the government professionals warning about this dire outcome? Was this leaked statement backed by the finance minister? Betzalel Smotrich, the minister of finance, released his own statement claiming that the warnings and concerns are unfounded. In principle, though, the chareidim are leery of the minister of finance, who hasn’t been doing anything to put the brakes on malicious acts by the Treasury, such as the Tax Authority’s move against yeshivos this week.

On Sunday, the secular media reported the following: “Dozens of yeshivos attended by draft dodgers [as the media cynically refers to yeshiva bochurim] received notice from the Tax Authority last week, on the instructions of the attorney general, that they would no longer be able to receive tax credits on donations. This refers to millions of shekels in donations that make it possible for these yeshivos to operate. In the notices to the first yeshivos, which will be followed this week by dozens more Torah institutions that will receive similar letters from the Tax Authority, their administrations were asked to clarify whether any of their students haven’t regulated their legal status with IDF authorities. Some of the institutions that have already received tax benefits will have to commit to refrain from accepting any more students who are evading IDF service.”

I mentioned this malicious idea to you before it was put into practice, and I commented that it is unlikely to have too much of an impact on yeshivos, since they are supported primarily by foreign donors, mainly in America, who receive their tax credits from their own governments. As I noted in the past, the warped logic in this directive is unfathomably evil. Why should a small number of students classified as draft evaders cause an entire yeshiva to lose its status? In any event, these are the facts, and this move by the Finance Ministry is part of the reason that the chareidi community is very uncomfortable with Betzalel Smotrich, despite the yarmulke that sits on his head.

“A Little Faith Won’t Hurt”

The United States of America is celebrating its 250th birthday, and far be it from us to belittle the importance of the festivities, the date, or the country itself. Even Toras Avigdor, the weekly publication of Rav Avigdor Miller’s teachings, mentions America and Columbus this week. I would also not belittle President Trump.

The Knesset joined in the festivities, lighting its building with the colors of the American flag. Those colors appeared on the Chords Bridge at the entrance to Yerushalayim as well.

Prime Minister Netanyahu called President Trump to wish him well on the occasion, and the two decided to schedule a meeting in the near future. In America, it was reported that Trump hung up the phone and said with satisfaction, “Bibi knows who the boss is.”

Personally, I was moved by an event that you might not have heard about. The event was held on the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz and attended by high-ranking officials in the American army and government. Now, the reason for my emotional reaction was that the event featured a piano performance by Alon Ohel, a former captive in Gaza. I spoke with Alon’s mother in March 2025, when she was visiting Washington, and I wrote about our conversation in this newspaper. I was thrilled at the thought that Alon Ohel, who has since been released from captivity in large part due to President Trump’s efforts, made it to one of the farthest places imaginable from the tunnels of Gaza—an American aircraft carrier in Washington. The guests at the event included the commander of the US navy and the American ambassador to the United Nations. During the reception on the ship, Alon put on a joint performance with an American singer before an audience of thousands.

Many Israelis identified strongly with Alon Ohel when he was in captivity, perhaps because he was very young or because he lost his vision in one eye during his abduction, or possibly because he is a gifted pianist. Many people davened fervently for his return. Personally, I remained in contact with his parents. Since his return, Alon has played the piano at several events, including one in the president’s residence. At one event, Alon related that he often hummed a song by Israeli singer Alon Eder in captivity. The song is titled “Ketzat Ahavah Lo Tazik—A Little Love Won’t Hurt,” but Alon modified the words slightly for himself and murmured, “A little emunah won’t hurt.”

Shifting Alliances in the Political System

The world of Israeli politics never lacks excitement. I gave up long ago on getting any useful information from the polls, which are a mess of contradictions and rapidly changing results. There is only one thing on which all the polls agree right now: Bennett and Lapid are plummeting. What seemed to be a winning merger has turned out to be a bizarre arrangement that is dragging both of them down. Some have postulated that the merger is failing because they announced it too early in the game, but I feel that the explanation goes beyond that. It is, in fact, a completely illogical alliance between a man who has always defined himself as part of the far right and another who aligns with the far left. There seems to be nothing to unite them other than their shared bid to deceive the voters.

There are all sorts of new alliances under discussion right now, most notably one between Yuli Edelstein and Ayelet Shaked (and possibly Gilad Erdan as well). The basic idea is to establish a right-wing party that will not automatically rule out sitting with Netanyahu but will provide an alternative to the Likud for voters who aren’t particularly fond of the current prime minister, or even those who despise him. Edelstein, who was one of the senior members of the Likud party and often ended up at the top of its slate in the primaries, is one of the most reviled people in the Likud today. He announced officially on Friday that he would resign from the Likud and embark on a new path. It is no secret that he is referring to a joint venture with Ayelet Shaked, the former partner of Naftoli Bennett who has since become his political opponent and has a certain appeal to the right. As the minister of justice, Shaked succeeded in appointing several conservative judges. She and Edelstein hope to recruit some other well-known politicians from the past, such as former Israeli ambassador to the United Nations Gilad Erdan, another former member of the Likud who recently admitted that he is examining the possibility of returning to politics.

Another union potentially in the works is between Benny Gantz and Dedi Simchi. A few words are in order here about Simchi, who is currently being sought after by multiple parties, including the Likud; in fact, Netanyahu has considered placing him on a reserved spot on the party list. For one thing, he is Yemenite, which is always a draw. Second, he retired from the army after years of outstanding service at the rank of brigadier general and then served as commander of the Firefighting and Rescue Service, where he was also highly successful—although the chareidim remember him most for his stubborn insistence that all firefighters, including chareidim, must shave their beards. Today, with a political playing field crying out for new blood, Simchi has become a phenomenon. One thing that is unique about the alliance between Gantz and Simchi is that they will not hesitate to appeal to right-wing voters. They are also not prepared to boycott Netanyahu or the chareidim. In fact, former communications minister Yoaz Hendel, who has positioned himself as an enemy of the chareidim, is debating whether to join the two, but they are not prepared to accept his insistence on announcing in advance that they would never sit in a government with the chareidim.

Eizenkot Welcomes Edelstein’s Departure from Likud

Another political figure who might be staging a comeback is former finance minister Moshe Kachlon. Kachlon has been examining a number of possibilities but hasn’t yet decided for certain whether he will return to political life in the current election. If he does so, it will most likely not be as a teammate of Shaked and Edelstein. The polls suggest that he is worth five to six mandates in the Knesset, which has led him to be viewed as a coveted political asset. However, no one should hold their breath at this point. Kachlon has a close friend named Yoav Raphael, who formerly served as head of the Beer Yaakov Council and, of course, is a personal acquaintance of mine. Raphael has told me with complete certainty that Kachlon will not run in the upcoming election.

Meanwhile, the chairman of the Yashar party, Gadi Eizenkot, is the one who is in the best position to laugh, as the polls show him running neck and neck with the Likud party. He can take credit for attracting voters away from the party of Bennett and Lapid. And while they previously hoped to entice him to join them, the tables have turned and Eizenkot now has the upper hand, which means that they are now waiting to see whether he will call upon them to enter his party. But that seems unlikely; Eizenkot has no need for them.

For the time being, Eizenkot is playing to the right and the left at once; he is both in favor of chareidim and against them, and in favor of Netanyahu and against him. Upon hearing about Yuli Edelstein’s departure from the Likud, Eizenkot said, “I hope Yuli Edelstein will be a role model for others in the Likud who are not willing to endanger the security of the state to promote draft dodging for the sake of petty politics, and who are sick of the culture of lies and intimidation. I sat next to Edelstein when he was chairman of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee in dozens of committee sessions, as we worked to advance a true draft law that will strengthen the IDF. Together we passed one of the most important laws in the current Knesset: the National Security Strategy Law. We didn’t see eye to eye on everything, but his decision to prioritize what is best for Israel deserves all possible admiration and respect. The time has come for our leadership to look at nothing other than what is good for Israel.” Will these two politicians form an alliance? Only time will tell.

Meanwhile, all the polls still show the Likud in the lead with 28 mandates, followed closely by Yashar with 19 or 20. What is infuriating about these polls is that they are somewhat disingenuous; they constantly tell us that the bloc of Netanyahu’s opponents is poised to overtake the bloc of his supporters. This, however, is a manipulation of the numbers, since it takes the Arabs (who are worth 10 to 15 mandates) into account in the anti-Netanyahu bloc. While the Arabs might support that side of the political map, it would be a very complicated proposition for Netanyahu’s opponents to put together a government that rests on Arab support. In light of that basic fact, Netanyahu’s proponents always beat the opposite bloc in any poll.

Supreme Court Calls for Repeat Election for State Comptroller

As I always say, it’s never boring here in Israel. Every week has its own surprises, and this week was no exception. The greatest bombshell last week was probably the Supreme Court’s decision to order a new election held for the position of state comptroller. I’ve written about this story in the past: The election was a contest between Netanyahu’s favored candidate, an attorney named Michael Rabello, and former Supreme Court Justice Yosef Elron, who is considered a conservative judge but was favored by the opposition. In the first round of voting, Elron received the votes of 60 members of the Knesset. Since there was a minimum threshold of 61 votes for the first election, and Elron fell short of that minimum by a single vote, a second vote was held, with surprising results: This time, Rabello received 61 votes and Elron received only 57. This resulted in accusations that the Likud party ordered its Knesset members to document their votes behind the curtain; since the vote was required to be conducted by secret ballot, this evoked calls to overturn the results. At first, no one thought this would actually happen. It seemed unlikely that the judges would intervene in a parliamentary matter that was outside their purview; in fact, even the attorney general asked the Supreme Court not to overrule the results and explained why, after all was said and done, the proceedings were conducted properly.

Nevertheless, on Thursday, the judges dropped a bombshell by ordering the Knesset to repeat the election for the state comptroller. The decision was made unanimously by a panel of five judges, who explained that the fact that several MKs had taken pictures of their ballots impaired the secrecy of the vote, making it necessary for the election to be overturned and repeated. The reason they released their verdict on Thursday was that Rabello was scheduled to enter his position on Sunday, and they wanted to disqualify the election before he took office.

The coalition called for the Supreme Court’s decision to be ignored. Ben-Gvir declared, “Those who elected themselves, in violation of the law, are disqualifying the legal election held by the Knesset of Israel. The Supreme Court tramples on the Knesset in anti-democratic behavior that has already become routine. My most important task in my next term will be to promote sweeping judicial reform.” Knesset speaker Ochana met with Netanyahu’s staff to determine how to respond to the court verdict, while Netanyahu himself remained silent. This is the first time in the history of the country that there has been no state comptroller, with Rabello disqualified by the court while his predecessor has already completed his term. There is much talk of a constitutional crisis, and much speculation as to what will happen if the government chooses to ignore the court and to relate to Rabello as the state comptroller, just as the government does not recognize Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, who was fired but reinstated by the Supreme Court.

Another Court Ruling Disregarded

Putting aside the furor over the court’s ruling in the state comptroller case, if you thought that a head-on clash between the government and the judges hasn’t actually taken place yet, think again. This week, the government made an active decision to refrain from implementing a Supreme Court decision. It happens to concern a relatively trivial issue, but the principle of the matter is earth-shattering: The government has decided to reject a decision made by the judges.

Perhaps a little explanation is in order: There is an official entity in Israel known as the Second Authority Council. The government decide to change the composition of this council after several of its members resigned, leaving less than the two-thirds of its 15 members required by law. The court was petitioned against the government’s decision, and a panel of three judges ruled two weeks ago that the council appointed by the previous government will remain in place, and the government’s new appointments were invalidated.

At the cabinet meeting this Sunday, the government decided unanimously to ignore the court’s ruling. “You have no authority to violate the law; a ruling in opposition to the law will not be recognized, and any decisions made on that basis are void,” the official statement from the cabinet informed the Supreme Court. The government also approved a proposal by Communications Minister Shlomo Karai and Justice Minister Yariv Levin to refuse to recognize any decision, approval, appointment, or official act carried out by the Second Authority Council. The statement added, “This decision follows the Supreme Court’s ruling on June 17, which reinstated the Second Authority Council appointed by the previous government even though the number of serving members had fallen below the minimum required by law. The government has determined that the rule of law binds all branches of government, including the judiciary. A judicial ruling that directly contradicts the clear provisions of the law cannot confer authority that does not exist under the law, and therefore the government will not recognize actions taken pursuant to that ruling.”

Communications Minister Karai added, “The justices of the Supreme Court are not the Knesset, and being drunk on power does not grant them the authority to erase an explicit statutory requirement, even if it is inconvenient for them. The rule of law does not mean the rule of judges. Today, the government is making it clear that when the Supreme Court steps on the law, the state will not go along. The requirement of two thirds is a legal requirement, not a recommendation; a council that does not meet the threshold established by the legislature does not exist legally, and its decisions are worth as much as a garlic peel. This will be true in the future as well, for every attempt by the Supreme Court to violate the Knesset’s laws.”

Justice Minister Levin added, “The rule of law means that the law binds everyone, including the court. In a democratic state, the Knesset legislates the law and the court is obligated to implement it. When a court ruling stands in direct contradiction to the language of the law, it isn’t judicial review; it is an assault on the principle of separation of powers. The government has a duty to insist that the law, and only the law, will be the source of governmental authority. We will continue to use all legal means to restore the rule of law.”

Of course, brutal attacks on the government were heard from the other side as well. But my point is simply that the constitutional crisis and the power struggle between the branches of government is far from theoretical. The battle is here, and it is taking place before our eyes. Now we have only to wait and see what happens in the case of the state comptroller.

Judges Repeat Call to Drop Bribery Charge Against Netanyahu

As far as the residents of Israel were concerned, however, an even more explosive development took place last Monday, when Prime Minister Netanyahu entered the courtroom along with the prosecutors, with both sides preparing for a conflict over the question of how many weekly hearings to expect in the trial. To their surprise, however, Judge Rivka Friedman-Feldman announced, “We didn’t plan to say this, but now that we have heard the prime minister’s testimony, our position expressed in June 2023 remains the same.” In June 2023, the judges advised the prosecution to drop the charge of bribery against Netanyahu, and the court repeated that recommendation. This, of course, quickly became a hot topic of conversation. The attorney general hasn’t responded yet, but there is no doubt that she will have to come up with some sort of response. Meanwhile, the prosecution is in a very weak position.

Netanyahu’s attorney, Amit Chadad, said, “We announced in the past that we are not capable of holding five days of hearings in a week. This would force us to work on every Shabbos and holiday, in violation of the Law of Hours of Work and Rest.” Of course, this was an appeal to the sensitivities of the judge, who is observant. Chadad added, “The Eichman trial was held five days a week, but we are discussing private people. What do you want the prime minister to do? I said to him, ‘You have no real defense; you are facing a miscarriage of justice.’”

Netanyahu took advantage of the discussion to attack the prosecution again. “Out of thousands of hostile articles, they chose 315 articles [to make a case that he received favorable news coverage], and even those claims are being shattered now,” the prime minister said. “And now the Pegasus story has come to light as well…. They committed crimes out of their desire to unseat me. This is demonization that is a danger to the State of Israel and a danger to democracy. They have done things that should never be done; there were severe miscarriages of justice here.”

This week, someone published a list of criminal actions committed by the prosecution and police in the Netanyahu case: An investigation was opened without written authorization from the attorney general, the investigators examined things that they were not authorized to investigate, property was unlawfully seized, unlawful wiretapping was performed while the investigators lied to the court about it, the police eavesdropped on confidential consultations between an attorney and his client, written materials were changed retroactively, fake power outages were staged to prevent interrogations from being recorded, women in their eighties were summoned to testify needlessly and at least one of them had her banking activities blocked, Nir Chefetz was interrogated in a brutal fashion, searches were conducted in violation of the law, and the prosecution and police deliberately lied to the Knesset and the public in the spyware case.

And that isn’t even the end of the list.

A Visit to Rav Ovadiah Yosef

There is much more to report, but I am running out of space. For instance, there is an American youth who was arrested on suspicion of spying for Iran. He is widely described as an innocent, naïve young man, and I believe that this story will not end quietly; the Americans surely will not allow the Shin Bet to abuse him.

Israel has marked the passage of 1000 days since the October 7 massacre, and there is much to be said about that topic. Tens of thousands of people still suffer from PTSD from those events.

But this column has grown long enough, and I would like to end on a more upbeat note. Last week, there was a festive event celebrating the 40th anniversary of the founding of Yechaveh Daas, the institute for Torah and halacha established by Rav Dovid Yosef, the Sephardic chief rabbi of Israel. It was an outstanding event that paid tribute to lomdei Torah, and there were thousands of them in attendance, both past and present members of the kollel. Rav Amir Krispel, who was in the kollel’s first group, said to me, “Rav Dovid has achieved the unbelievable. He took the best bochurim, paid them twice as much as any kollel, and placed extraordinary demands on them. Anyone who scored below 90 on a test was required to transfer to a different kollel. The institute was first established in Yeshivas Lev Bonim, run by Rav Aryeh Weinberg. We moved from there to Rechov Shaulson in Har Nof and then opened our current location at Rechov Agassi 1.”

Rav Krispel spoke highly of the director-general of the kollel, a son of Rav Dovid Yosef who shares his grandfather’s name. “Rav Ovadiah Yosef is exceptional,” he said. “Ever since he took over the management of the institution, Yechaveh Daas has been catapulted to new heights. Today, the institution runs 36 kollelim around the country, with almost 600 yungeleit and a rigorous program of study. The Rabbinate recently administered a test on the laws of aveilus, and 500 yungeleit from Yechaveh Daas took the exam. They needed to set aside a separate hall just for those talmidim. The yungeleit write compositions and publish seforim, and all of this is thanks to Reb Ovadiah’s efforts. After ten years, Rav Dovid took a pioneering step and founded the bais horaah. Until that time, there was no Sephardic bais horaah anywhere.”

Rav Amir Krispel used to oversee Rav Ovadiah’s hours for receiving the public on Fridays in his office in Yechaveh Daas. When I asked him if he could share an interesting story from those days, he replied, “Before Rav Ovadiah moved from Rechov Jabotinsky to Har Nof, he would receive questioners in the yeshiva on Rechov Chizkiyohu Hamelech. It moved from there to Yechaveh Daas. One day, Rav Mordechai Eliyahu and Rav Avrohom Shapiro showed up for a surprise visit, accompanied by the Bostoner Rebbe and Menachem Porush. They asked Rav Ovadiah to do something to combat the government’s plan to cede Chevron to the Arabs. Rav Ovadiah listened and said, ‘Call Avraham’ [his driver, Shlomi Avraham]. I said, ‘He is shopping in Machaneh Yehuda.’ Undeterred, Rav Ovadiah said, ‘Bring your own car.’ I had a rundown Subaru fit for a yungerman, but we got into the car and Rav Ovadiah said, ‘Drive us to Aryeh.’ We drove to Aryeh Deri’s house, and he came downstairs and entered the car. The rov asked me to step out, and they sat and talked for a while before we returned to the office. When we got there, Rav Ovadiah wrote a letter to the prime minister warning him that if the plan was carried out, the Shas party would leave the government.”

Some things change gradually. One phase in life merges seamlessly into the next. Like the sun rising in the morning, there’s a gentle strengthening of the light that banishes the darkness. You can’t put your finger on the exact moment when night turns into day, because there are so many imperceptible stages in between.

In fact, I heard an explanation of the words we say in our daily tefillah regarding sunrise. The words praise the One Who illuminates the earth and those who dwell upon it with compassion. With our eyes accustomed to the night’s darkness, it would pain them to be assailed with the sun’s full brightness all at once. Giving them a chance instead to adjust gradually to the growing light of day is a sign of Hashem’s compassion.

Then there are moments in life when reality changes from one pole to its opposite in an instant. One minute you’re in dire straits, floundering in deep waters of distress… and the next, you’re on solid ground again. Hashem’s salvation can come in the blink of an eye. And it often does!

After years of fruitless dating, a single girl wakes up one morning and remembers with a jolt of joy: “I’m a kallah!” For what felt like an eternity, she plodded through her days doing her hishtadlus, davening her heart out, and struggling with the twin demons of loneliness and longing. Perhaps she was part of a group of young women in the same position, all of them encouraging each other to hold tight to their optimism. Maybe there were times when she came perilously near to losing hope. She felt cemented into her persona: an unmarried girl who had yet to meet her bashert.

And then, in a heartbeat, all that changes. Overnight, she switches to a different status. The sun of a new day shines on her, and it’s as if the night never happened at all.

Fresh Ink

Many salvations come about this way. When they do, they have the immediate effect of erasing what was and writing firmly over it with fresh ink.

When a baby is born to a childless couple, that old identity drops off in an instant and a whole new one takes its place. Likewise, when a longtime prisoner is released at last, he turns instantaneously from unfree to free. The shackles of prison life simply cease to exist. And with them go the memories.

Once the longed-for change occurs, it becomes hard to relate to the difficult era that came before. We know we went through a hard time, but the memories grow fuzzy. For example, Hashem gave women the ability to “forget” the pain of childbirth as soon as the experience is behind them. Other ordeals, once so pressing, when relegated to the past feel as if they happened to someone else. Forgetfulness comes easy.

That’s why one of the first mitzvos we were given after leaving Mitzrayim was the command to be kind to a ger. You’d think that after suffering so much as strangers in a strange land, we’d naturally be extra compassionate toward others who share our former plight. But human nature dictates the opposite.

When our status changes, so does our mindset. We are all too apt to forget what we suffered when we were in their position…. so much so, that we may not only refrain from treating them with kindness but may actually act in a manner that verges on uncaring or even cruelty. That’s why the Torah makes such a point of reminding us that we were once them.

In a similar vein, that group of older singles who met to offer each other chizuk still exists even after one of their number leaves to get married. And the leagues of couples waiting for a child are still waiting after one happy couple passes through the golden gates of parenthood. It’s incumbent upon the fortunate ones to remember, even as their hearts urge them to move on and forget.

As we bask in our joy at an altered status, we need to embrace those who are still waiting to hit the jackpot.

Lagging Behind

There are times, however, when the rule about sudden altered states doesn’t work. When that happens, it’s called denial.

A classic example is when a tragedy occurs, r”l, but the victim can’t quickly or easily come to terms with his loss. This is more likely to happen when the darkness descends with unexpected swiftness. There was no time to prepare for pain.

Unlike the radiant kallah or happy new parents whose former suffering mindset vanishes at once, the mourner may need more time to come to terms with the new reality. Emotionally, we are far more prepared to embrace a positive change than a painful one.

When our emotions lag behind reality, we can find ourselves seriously out of sync with the world around us. We need plenty of space, time, and understanding from our loved ones to help us reach the altered state of mind that should automatically follow an altered status.

Traps and Tripwires

Interestingly, the same pattern applies in spiritual matters as well. I’m referring to the ongoing battle we wage against our baser instincts.

Much as we want to be good, the yetzer hara often makes it hard for us to do the right thing. It offers cogent arguments in favor of laziness when it’s action that’s needed. When we try to walk a straight path, it sets up tripwires to make us stumble. It lays traps that look too sweet to pass up. The evil inclination is indefatigable.

Each battle feels monumental at the time that it’s taking place. But the moment we rise above, the moment we reject the yetzer hara’s blandishments and make the correct choice, it’s as if the battle never was. All the uncertainty we experienced evaporates like a puff of smoke. Once we’ve chosen to do the right thing, the ambivalence disappears.

The instant we take that decisive step we move into a new status, the old one drops away like an old coat when the seasons change. Once we’ve made our decision, the whole argument suddenly seems ridiculous. The rightness of our choice feels so correct, so inevitable, that we can scarcely relate to the person who had to struggle to get there.

It’s helpful to remember this the next time we engage in battle with our personal yetzer hara. In the moment, with the cannons roaring and plumes of smoke obscuring familiar landmarks, we can begin to lose ourselves. There really seems to be a choice involved, and we fight the good fight to make the right one.

And then, with the decision falling on the side of the angels, the smoke is suddenly gone. The cannons fall blessedly silent. Where once there was a battleground there is now only an open field with a clear, clean path winding through it. The path of the just.

Your status instantly changes, from embattled to victorious. And it’s as if the decision you fought so valiantly to reach was never even a question at all.

Nearly six years ago, during one of my frequent visits to the home of Rav Chaim Kanievsky, a matter of considerable halachic depth was being discussed. The subject was not merely a technical point in issur v’heter, but a yesod in the very structure of Torah authority: how does a hachra’ah shel Torah come into being, and from where does its binding force emerge? Is Torah decided by intuition, by spiritual certainty, by the seeming clarity of emunah peshutah, or even by an os min haShomayim; or must the conclusion always be drawn from the mekoros themselves, from Chazal, from drosha, from raayah, and from the disciplined seder of Torah as it was given to Klal Yisroel?

The sugya under discussion was intricate, and Rav Chaim, in his characteristic clarity and precision, related to me the following remarkable episode. He said that he was once sitting in the home of his uncle, the Chazon Ish, on the night of bedikas chometz. A Yid entered with a question. At the end of Perek Eilu Treifos, Chullin 67b, the Gemara states: “Tanya, Rabi Yosi ben Dormaskis omer, ‘Livyoson dog tahor hu, shene’emar, “Ga’avah afikei moginim, tachtov chadudei choresh.” Afikei moginim, eilu kaskasim shebo; tachtov chadudei choresh, eilu snapirin sheporei’ach bohen.’” The visitor asked: why was such a proof necessary? Do we not know the maamar Chazal in Bava Basra 75a: “Osid Hakadosh Boruch Hu la’asos seuda latzaddikim mibesoro shel livyoson”? Is it conceivable that Hakadosh Boruch Hu would feed the tzaddikim something which is not kosher?

Rav Chaim added that, in truth, the Maharsha already discussed this kashya, and explained that there was room to be unsure regarding the very classification of the livyoson. Perhaps the livyoson is not a fish at all, but some other creature, such as “of hador bamayim kemo bar avza.” Therefore the Gemara proves from the posuk that it has fins and scales, “sheharei yesh lo kaskasim vesnapirim keshar dogim tehorim.” But Rav Chaim said that the words of the Maharsha themselves require iyun. For if so, how does the Gemara resolve from the posuk of “Ga’avah afikei moginim” that it has fins and scales, and that therefore it is a fish? After all, all kosher sea creatures are permitted only through the simanim of fins and scales, as is clear from the poskim, and this matter itself has already been discussed at length.

In any event, the questioner who came to the Chazon Ish did not know the words of the Maharsha. He asked the kashya on his own. Rav Chaim related that the Chazon Ish answered him with these unforgettable words: “Dem’eatah shenitnah Torah, afilu fun Borei Olam tor men nit essen ohn a raayah fun Torah alein.” Meaning: now that the Torah has been given, even from the Creator of the world Himself, one may not eat without a proof from the Torah itself. These words are awesome. They contain within them an entire hashkofah of psak, an entire definition of Torah, and an entire understanding of the greatness of “Torah lo baShomayim hi.”

Rav Chaim then added that he said to his uncle, the Chazon Ish, in the spirit of those days of erev Pesach, that he now understood the words of the Baal Haggadah. The Haggadah says: “Omar Rabi Elozor ben Azaryah, “Harei ani k’ven shivim shonah, velo zochisi shetei’omer yetzias Mitzrayim baleilos, ad shedarsha Ben Zoma, shene’emar, ‘Lema’an tizkor es yom tzeis’cha mei’Eretz Mitzrayim kol yemei chayecha. “Yemei chayecha,” hayomim; “kol yemei chayecha,” haleilos.’” Rav Chaim said that all his life he had been troubled by this. For in the sugya in Brachos it is clear that Rabi Elozor ben Azaryah had, as it were, a kesav rabbonus min Shomayim. In one night his hair turned white, so that he appeared like a man of seventy, and so that his words would be accepted. Could there be a greater heavenly approbation than that? From Shomayim it was revealed that he possessed the qualities necessary to be Nasi.

And yet Rabi Elozor ben Azaryah says: “Velo zochisi shetei’omer yetzias Mitzrayim baleilos.” The Chachomim did not accept his position that there is an obligation to mention yetzias Mitzrayim at night, until Ben Zoma expounded the posuk. The explanation is now luminous. Even if there is an os and a mofes that Rabi Elozor ben Azaryah is fit to be Nasi, nevertheless, “Torah lo baShomayim hi.” In Torah, one must bring a raayah from Torah itself. Without such a raayah, even the words of the greatest person, even one bearing a heavenly sign of greatness, are not yet accepted as the binding maskonah of Torah. Only when Ben Zoma darshened the posuk did the matter become established.

See the koach of Torah. See the mighty koach of Klal Yisroel. Torah is not decided by wonder, by impression, or by celestial indication. It is decided through the mesorah of Torah, through drasha, through raayah, through the words of Chazal, and through the disciplined avodah of those who stand within the bais midrash. This is also the language of the Rambam in the ninth perek of Hilchos Yesodei HaTorah: “Moshe Rabbeinu lo he’eminu bo Yisroel mipnei ha’osos she’asah, shehama’amin al pi ha’osos yesh b’libo dofi, she’efshar sheya’aseh ha’os b’lat uve’chishuf.” Rather, why did they believe in him? The Rambam continues that it was because of Maamad Har Sinai: “She’eineinu ra’u velo zor, ve’ozneinu shom’u velo acher, ho’eish v’hakolos v’halapidim.”

When Rav Chaim said this vort to the Chazon Ish, the Chazon Ish smiled and nodded in agreement. The story is not merely a sharp observation. It is a window into the essence of Torah authority. The Torah, once given, is not suspended in the heavens. It lives in the bais midrash. It is entrusted to Klal Yisroel. The Ribbono shel Olam Himself gave us a Torah which demands raayah from within Torah. That is not a limitation of Torah; it is the very grandeur of Torah.

Even a seuda prepared by Hakadosh Boruch Hu for the tzaddikim, even a heavenly transformation upon Rabi Elozor ben Azaryah, even the clearest sign from above, does not replace the need for a raayah min haTorah. And perhaps this is the deepest lesson of that bedikas chometz night in the home of the Chazon Ish. Before Pesach, when a Yid searches his home by candlelight, the lomdei Torah are taught to search also the sugya by the light of Torah itself. No assumption may enter without bedikah. No conclusion may be consumed without a siman. No truth, even one that appears to descend from heaven, becomes Torah Shebaal Peh until it is rooted in Torah Shebichsav and clarified by Chazal.

“Dem’eatah shenitnah Torah, afilu fun Borei Olam tor men nit essen ohn a raayah fun Torah alein.”

These words remain a yesod gadol. The heavens may inspire, but the Torah decides.

This week, we enter the Three Weeks, a period unlike any other on the Jewish calendar, a time of mourning for events that took place centuries ago. It is a time to remember what we have endured as a people, to miss what we no longer have, and to recognize that the absence we have grown accustomed to was never meant to be normal.

The Bais Hamikdosh was the place where Heaven and earth met. It was where the Shechinah rested openly among Klal Yisroel, where every korban expressed our yearning to draw closer to Hashem. The Bais Hamikdosh was where tefillos ascended with a clarity we can scarcely imagine. It was the beating heart of the Jewish people, the place from which holiness radiated to the entire world.

Its destruction marked the beginning of a long exile in which Hashem’s presence became hidden and our nation was scattered across the globe. We have built communities, yeshivos, and homes of Torah that are sources of great pride. Yet, every simcha remains incomplete, every home bears a zeicher l’churban, and the center of Jewish life remains in ruins.

Perhaps the greatest tragedy of golus is not merely that we have lived so long without the Bais Hamikdosh, but that we have become accustomed to living without it. We have learned how to navigate golus. We have learned how to flourish in foreign lands. We have become comfortable in a world that our ancestors never mistook for home.

The Three Weeks insist on awakening us from that complacency. They remind us that no matter how secure we feel, no matter how prosperous our communities become, no matter how much Torah is learned and how many beautiful shuls are built, something essential is still missing. We are a people waiting to come home.

Lately, we have received several reminders of this reality. We became comfortable in our golus in Western Europe, in the United States, and, dare we say, even in Eretz Yisroel. Each of these places has recently reminded us of the true nature of golus, leaving us shaken and concerned.

There was a time, not very long ago, when support for Israel was one of the few issues that united Democrats and Republicans. From President Harry Truman’s recognition of the Jewish state in 1948 through decades of bipartisan congressional support, standing with Israel was viewed as both a moral obligation and an American strategic interest. Republicans and Democrats disagreed on taxes, spending, foreign policy, and countless domestic issues, but support for Israel remained a bipartisan constant.

For decades, New York stood at the center of that consensus. It was home to some of America’s strongest pro-Israel Democrats. Men such as Senators Daniel Patrick Moynihan and Jacob Javits defended Israel unapologetically on the world stage. The city’s large Jewish population helped create a political culture in which support for Israel was considered both morally right and politically prudent.

Those days are changing. Last week’s Democratic primary elections in New York may ultimately be remembered as a turning point. A slate of socialist candidates defeated established Democrats while campaigning on democratic socialism, class warfare, and promises of dramatically expanding government.

More importantly, woven through nearly every successful campaign was a common thread of hostility toward Israel.

These candidates were not merely critical of Israel. They attacked their opponents for supporting Israel. Progressives have created a political environment in which, to survive Democratic primaries, candidates increasingly feel compelled to distance themselves from support for Israel.

That is an extraordinary political reversal.

Ultra-liberal Congressman Dan Goldman was condemned for being too close to Israel and for his relationship with AIPAC. His victorious challenger, Brad Lander, repeatedly attacked those ties, making opposition to AIPAC a defining issue of his campaign.

Lander accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza, pledged to oppose American arms sales to Israel, and declared after his victory that he intends to become “one of the Jewish members of Congress most willing to stand up for Palestinian human rights,” while insisting that American taxpayers should no longer finance “Netanyahu’s wars.”

Elsewhere, Darializa Avila Chevalier defeated veteran Congressman Adriano Espaillat after campaigning on ending military aid to Israel. Her political résumé includes organizing Columbia University’s pro-Palestinian encampments and participating in anti-Israel activism dating back to her years as part of Students for Justice in Palestine.

Her victory celebration was punctuated by chants of “Free Palestine” as she proudly repeated her promise to block military assistance to Israel.

These were not isolated races.

They were victories by candidates backed and promoted by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, whose political rise has become emblematic of a movement that increasingly views opposition to Israel not as a liability but as a badge of ideological purity.

Only a few years ago, rhetoric of the type these people employ would have ended a mainstream political career. Today, it helps build one.

But something deeper is taking place.

When these people talk about Israel, they do not merely mean Israel. They mean us. They mean the Jews – the rich Jews, the greedy Jews, the Jews who throughout history have been made the scapegoats for society’s ills. Yet, they cloak their antisemitism in language that denies the Jewish people’s right, after centuries of persecution, exile, expulsions, pogroms, and the Holocaust, to live safely in their ancestral homeland.

We do not need to agree with every decision of the Israeli government – and we don’t – to recognize that relentlessly portraying the world’s only Jewish state as uniquely evil both feeds, and is fed by, antisemitism.

The line between anti-Zionism and antisemitism becomes increasingly blurred when Jewish students are harassed, Jewish businesses are targeted, and elected officials are ostracized simply because they support Israel’s existence.

Moreover, politicians, as well as podcasters and media talking heads, have discovered that attacking Israel energizes activists, excites donors, dominates headlines, and increasingly wins elections in urban districts.

As hostility toward Israel becomes a reliable path to clicks, ratings, and higher office, more politicians and media figures will adopt similar rhetoric. It is noteworthy that virtually none of the Democratic Party’s leaders or elected officials has condemned the statements and beliefs of these progressive candidates. You can count on the fingers of one hand those who have declared that such individuals do not belong in the Democratic Party, in Congress, in the Senate, or in any position of public responsibility.

As America celebrates its 250th anniversary as the bastion of liberty, this trend should concern not only Jews, but all freedom-loving people, both in the United States and around the world.

History has repeatedly shown that societies that normalize hostility toward Jews rarely stop there. Antisemitism has often served as an early warning sign of broader civic and moral decline.

The issue facing America is larger than foreign policy.

It is whether we remain capable of distinguishing between a democratic ally defending itself against terrorists and organizations that openly celebrate the murder of civilians.

It is whether ideological purity will replace moral clarity.

These elections, together with the recent primaries that have produced similar candidates in Maine, Michigan, New Jersey, and elsewhere around the country, should serve as a warning.

Ideas once confined to the political fringe have steadily entered the mainstream.

Language once universally condemned is now increasingly accepted and applauded.

Hostility toward Israel is no longer merely tolerated in parts of American politics. It is rewarded.

Chazal tell us, “Halacha hee b’yodua she’Eisov sonei l’Yaakov.” Throughout history, that hatred has worn many disguises. Sometimes it came draped in the robes of religion. Sometimes it marched beneath the banners of nationalism. Today, it often presents itself clothed in the language of human rights, anti-colonialism, and social justice.

The vocabulary changes. The animosity remains the same.

History teaches another lesson. Every empire, every ideology, and every movement that sought to marginalize or erase the Jewish people eventually passed into history.

Klal Yisroel endured.

We do not place our trust in political parties or election returns. We appreciate our friends, recognize dangers when they arise, and speak honestly about the challenges confronting our community. But ultimately, our confidence rests where it always has – in the Ribbono Shel Olam, Who has sustained His people through every generation.

During this period of the Three Weeks, we think of the churban of the Botei Mikdosh and of the many Jewish communities that existed for centuries, only to vanish almost overnight.

If you travel today to Vilna, you will find weathered gravestones whose inscriptions are slowly disappearing beneath layers of moss. You will see a vast, historic cemetery with a sports complex at its center, and you will read about plans to further develop the resting place of thousands of our ancestors. It is not enough that they did their best to destroy Jewish lives, torturing and tormenting them beyond imagination. They now feel compelled to disturb them even in death, denying them the most basic human dignity of resting in peace.

And in Vilna, and all across Europe, on streets where every Friday afternoon women once hurried home carrying fish, where fathers returned from the market and children ran to greet them, today there is only silence. Where there were once shtieblach, shuls, and botei medrash pulsating with life, filled with the sounds of Torah and tefillah that sustained the world, today there is emptiness and desolation, as many locals have done their best to ensure that those places are – and remain – Judenrein.

The Nazis, their collaborators, and all those who sought to erase Jewish existence succeeded in destroying bodies and buildings. They succeeded in emptying streets and silencing communities. But they did not succeed in silencing the Torah.

Auschwitz, Birkenau, and the forests of Ponary and Kelm, as well as Bialystok and Babi Yar, where the voices of Jews were cut short, still stand as haunting reminders of that destruction. But in cities and towns throughout the world, those voices are once again heard, loudly, proudly, and unmistakably.

Today, young people sit in botei medrash, struggling over the very same difficult line of Gemara that a child in Tashkent, Brody, or Warsaw struggled with a hundred years ago. Mothers light Shabbos candles, covering their eyes and swaying with emotion as they recite the same tefillah their grandmothers whispered in small wooden homes across Eastern Europe. Jews everywhere are opening seforim and continuing conversations that tyrants tried to bring to an end.

There is a profound thought from Chazal (Taanis 5b) that offers a powerful response to the tragedies of our history: “Rabi Yitzchok said in the name of Rabi Yochonon, Yaakov Avinu lo meis – Yaakov Avinu did not die.” The Gemara explains that just as Yaakov’s children are alive, he, too, is alive. The continuity of his descendants, their loyalty to Yiddishkeit, and their commitment to Torah and mitzvos are themselves a form of eternity.

Nowhere is that more evident than when we reflect on the Jewish communities of the Diaspora that have been lost since the churban.

Think of the men who sat in little shtieblach in Kishinev and Galicia, worrying whether their grandsons would know a Tosafos. Think of the mothers in Germany, Spain, and Portugal who recited Tehillim, praying that their children remain faithful Jews. Think of the millions of simple Yidden who owned little, endured much, and measured success not by wealth or honor, but by whether their children would continue the chain that stretched back to Har Sinai.

Their worlds were consumed by fire. Their homes were burned. Their botei medrash were emptied. Entire towns, cities, and even countries were emptied of Jews. And yet the chain was never broken.

The bochur wrestling with a difficult Rambam. The father walking to shul on a Shabbos morning with his little son. The family gathered around the table singing zemiros. The child in cheder reciting, “Torah tzivah lanu Moshe morasha kehillas Yaakov.” These are not merely echoes of the past. They are the answer to those who believed they could erase us.

Our president is fighting with his opponents over the construction of a giant arch at Arlington National Cemetery. Civilizations build their monuments out of stone and marble. Ours are built of children, Torah, and memory.

The great cities of Europe once contained magnificent shuls whose walls seemed to touch the heavens. Many are now museums, ruins, or empty shells.

The enormous botei medrash in Lakewood, the crowded shtieblach in Boro Park, and the yeshivos in Eretz Yisroel, filled with thousands of people learning Torah, are our memorials to the generations that came before us.

The signs of the churban are everywhere. You can walk through Yerushalayim and still see walls scorched by the Romans as they destroyed the Bais Hamikdosh. You can see the massive stones they hurled from the walls surrounding the Bais Hamikdosh. You can walk along the very paths trod by millions of olei regel. And, of course, you can daven at the only remnant we have of the Bais Hamikdosh, the Kosel, from which the Shechinah has never departed. It still stands, beckoning us to come home, to return to what we once were and what we can once again become.

We have lost so much. We are a wandering people, and now we enter three weeks of mourning, three weeks of aveilus, to reflect upon what we have lost and what we continue to lack.

The headlines change. Political parties rise and fall. Empires come and go, just as they always have. But the Jewish story has never truly been about them. It has always been about a people carrying the memory of their true home, refusing to mistake golus for geulah.

As the Three Weeks begin once again, we remember what was destroyed and what still must be rebuilt. We remember that we are a people waiting to come home, and that we can never be comfortable until we do.

I remember as a young child, we would be playing outside by a neighbor and my mother would call for us and say, “It’s time to come home. It’s time to have supper and do homework.”

The Three Weeks is like that call, reminding us that we have work to do and we have to come home.

Every day, we await the arrival of Moshiach. Every day, we daven for him and hope that this will be our final day in golus. May these be the last Three Weeks we observe in mourning, and may we soon merit to witness the fulfillment of the tefillah we recite three times each day: “Vesechezenah eineinu beshuvcha l’Tzion berachamim.”
Amein.

I’m going to take my cue from Rav Chaim Shmulevitz, who used to give his famous sichos mussar in the Mir on the parsha that had just been lained the day before. One of his talmidim once shared with me that the rationale was that the parsha had just been absorbed, was still fresh in everyone’s mind, and could be applied as needed. In my case, I presented the following concept in my Shabbos drosha, but I certainly believe the message is still quite relevant and current.

The world often calls this by various phrases such as carpe diem, literally meaning “seize the day,” and clichés such as “strike while the fire is hot.” However, as usual, the Torah anticipated all of these with the word and middah of zerizus. Contrary to popular mistranslation, this concept is not necessarily related to doing something fast (see Pachad Yitzchok, Pesach, Maamar 1) as much as doing it correctly at the appropriate moment. In Parshas Chukas, this relates to the sin of what is called the mei merivah, “the waters of contention.” Instead of speaking to the stone, Moshe Rabbeinu hit it. Although the miracle was great, bringing forth enough water for the millions of people and animals, Moshe Rabbeinu and Aharon Hakohein were henceforth forbidden to enter Eretz Yisroel. As the Ohr Hachaim Hakadosh points out, that error changed the world immediately. Had this not happened, we would have entered Eretz Yisroel and built the Bais Hamikdosh, which would have avoided all the future tragedies of churban and golus.

Although the explanation for the lapse of these great tzaddikim is beyond the scope of this essay, meforshim are unanimous that the sin was infinitesimal. In the words of Rav Eliyohu Eliezer Dessler (Michtav M’Eliyohu 1:100), it was indeed microscopic. Rav Leib Bakst goes even further, saying that the dire consequences were not the result of sin, but of a missed opportunity. In other words, despite the constant availability of teshuvah, some things can simply not be instantly restored. They may require a lengthy process of healing and rectification. He cites the Gemara (Brachos 7a) that when Hashem first appeared to Moshe Rabbeinu, he “hid His Face” (Shemos 3:6). Later, when Moshe requested, “Show me your glory” (ibid. 33:18), Hashem responded, “You will not be able to see My face” (33:20). The Gemara explains pithily that Hashem was telling Moshe Rabbeinu, “When I wanted, you did not; now that you want, I do not.” As Rav Bakst concludes, this is not tit for tat or even middah keneged middah. It is a missed opportunity.

I would like to suggest that this has been the saga of mankind from the beginning. Adam and Chava sinned and were banished from Gan Eden. They did an incredible teshuvah for over 130 years (Eruvin 18b and see Dorash Moshe, Drosha for Shabbos Shuvah, page 197), but were not readmitted to Paradise. The great return is still waiting after almost 6,000 years. The Tosafos HaRosh asks why Moshe was punished for a moment’s hesitation by never being able to see the Shechinah. But according to Rav Bakst, it is not a punishment at all, but sometimes, once the moment has been lost, it is irretrievable.

The Piaseczna Rebbe, in his guide for yeshiva students, Chovas Hatalmidim, written under horrific circumstances during the Holocaust, cites a striking Medrash (Bamidbar Rabbah 18:22): “A man was traveling from Eretz Yisroel to Babylonia, stopped to eat a bit, and saw an incredible sight. Two birds were fighting, one actually killing the other. Apparently regretting its action, it flew away, returning with a certain herb. He placed it upon the mouth of the dead bird, which came back to life. The herb fell from the bird’s mouth as he flew away. The traveler picked up the precious grassy prize, planning to awaken the human dead, but first came upon a dead lion. He gingerly placed the magic herb on the lion’s mouth, which promptly jumped up and swallowed his benefactor. The Medrash concludes its homily with the warning: “Don’t do kindness to something evil (i.e., dangerous) so that no evil come upon you. Shaul took pity upon Agag [the king of Amaleik] and what was the result? We inherited Haman and his evil decree.”

The Piaseczna Rebbe urges us to consider: “Imagine that someone has the power to revive the dead. He can bring back Moshe Rabbeinu, the Arizal, Rabi Akiva, Rav Shimon Bar Yochai, and bring the geulah sheleimah. But someone convinces him to sell the precious herb for a billion dollars. He does the deed, but later tears his hair out in remorse. The man in the Medrash could have saved humanity but instead revived a lion. His action can only be self-destructive and futile. If he had at least resurrected his parents or one human being, perhaps the act would have been justifiable. But to waste it all on a lion is both criminal and tragic.

The Gemara (Avodah Zarah 17a) tells us the inspiring tale of Elazar ben Durdaya, who committed many horrible sins. Finally, however, he repented powerfully, dying in the process. A voice rang out from heaven declaring, “Rebbi Elazar ben Durdaya is destined for Olam Haba.” When Rabbeinu Hakadosh heard this, he began to cry. “There are those who require many years to gain entrance into the World to Come and there are those who acquire access in a moment.” The question is asked: Why did Rebbi cry? Shouldn’t he have been happy for this amazing baal teshuvah’s successful journey?” The answer given by many is that Rebbi was crying for all of us who have missed opportunities to gain our own entry and accomplish so much.

To return to the lion-slayer, the Radal comments that this man was not interested in doing something unprecedented for mankind. No, all he wanted was to be seen as a Redeemer and Moshiach. If that is what you want, I will send you a lion. When given the chance to help a person, let alone all of mankind, you must jump and do the deed. If not, it is you who will be swallowed alive.

I couldn’t help but think that after all the wonderful things President Trump has done for Klal Yisroel, he was granted an incredible opportunity. We had Iran — Malchus Poras — by the neck. Their nuclear arsenal had been destroyed. Their army and navy were decimated. Don’t stop now. Seize the moment. Like Avrohom Avinu, act with zerizus. But sadly, bad advice prevailed, pettiness replaced foresight, and the focus turned to votes and midterms instead of eternity and gaining infinity. The lion won. The president and we lost.

Let us not fall into the same old game. It is not politics. We get what we put in. One of my members said it best. If chareidim are being beaten up in our own country of Eretz Yisroel, if yeshiva bochurim are being imprisoned for learning Torah, do we not expect the lion to bite us as well?

We are now in the period of the Three Weeks, when Chazal remind us that “whoever is alive when the Bais Hamikdosh is not rebuilt, it is as if it was destroyed in his time as well” (Yerushalmi, Yoma 1:1). It seems that we are all granted that one chance to win the geulah lottery. But if we don’t even buy in, it is our own fault. This is the time of year when we are all given the opportunity to mourn over the churban, but also to explore what we can — what we must — do to rebuild it. We use technology at our peril, but we can all take a virtual trip though the Bais Hamikdosh and awaken our gaaguim gene, which may have taken a nap. In Daf Yomi, we have been toiling in Seder Kodshim for hundreds of dafim. Surely something has aroused our yearning for its momentary return to reality. The Chofetz Chaim instituted the learning of Kodshim because he felt that the time was ripe. We, too, have the magic herb in our hand. Let’s not awaken the lion. Let’s awaken the dormant veshochanti b’socham inside every one of us, which the Alshich Hakadosh and others say is our internal Bais Hamikdosh.

At this time of year, many of us learn the Gemara (Gittin 56b) about Rav Yochanan ben Zakai, who was given the once-in-a-lifetime ability to ask for whatever he wanted. He opted to request the rescue of “Yavneh and its scholars.” Vespasian assented and the result was the revival of Torah, purity and sanctity in Eretz Yisroel. This is not an appeal for money or funds, which are obviously needed by Keren Olam HaTorah. But perhaps even more importantly, when we contemplate the plethora of antisemitism, the loneliness once again of Klal Yisroel amongst the seventy — actually much more — wolves who would devour us, this is a moment of challenge and ability for us all. Let’s resurrect our own innate love of geulah and not awaken the lion.

It is well known that Albert Einstein eventually regretted having provided the magic equation which would result in the nuclear bomb. We, too, should learn from the failure of even our best secular leaders and do what we can to be mechayeh the meisim within ourselves and our people to love Torah and each other, and to bring the geulah sheleimah rapidly be’ezras Hashem.

Sometimes we can explore an issue without having clear-cut answers or solutions. That is what we are about to do now.

Summer is here, and with it has come a fair amount of anxiety—an anxiety that seems to be especially acute during the days or weeks that are considered “no man’s land”: the weeks when school is over but camp hasn’t yet started.

The most common refrains are comments like, “Oy! What am I going to do with my kids?” “How am I going to keep them entertained?” or, “All I am going to hear all day is, ‘Mommy! I am bored!’”

Another common refrain is, “When the kids are home, all they want to do is shop, shop, shop, because they need _________ (fill in the blank yourself) for camp.”

This time of year has become an overwhelming ordeal for many parents as they try to juggle keeping their children happy and entertained, filling their children’s needs and/or wants, regular housework, and, for those who actually work during the summer, work!

Yes, there are solutions, such as the “in-between” camps established by some entrepreneurial young men and women. The in-between camps are just that—camps to occupy children between school and camp.

For very young families, the in-between camps might be a lifesaver, but they also come with a price tag, just one more extra expense that harried parents must somehow come up with.

Now, I get it. I really do, especially for families where the father is learning or working and the mother is also working straight through the summer.

A Sign of the Times?

And yet, I wonder: Is it also a sign of the times? Is it possible that we have reached a point where it is almost assur to just let kids be and have an unstructured week or two? (Obviously, I am talking about kids who are old enough to take care of themselves.)

The question is why. Why are parents so anxious about their kids being home for a few days, or even a week or two, without structure? And why are kids so “bored”?

I don’t know the answer, but I do know that it wasn’t always like this. I recently had a discussion with some people of my generation, and we were reminiscing about what we did during the summer when we had eight to ten weeks off from school.

Pastimes from the Past

Yes, some went to camp, although most went for only one month. Many (particularly those who lived in Brooklyn) also went to bungalow colonies, but many others just did “nothing.”

Yes, I mean it. They played in the streets with other kids from the neighborhood who were home “doing nothing.” Parents would occasionally take the kids on an outing or to a park, but there were weeks when children more or less took it easy and entertained themselves.

For some children whose parents were teachers and also had the summer off, perhaps they worked on joint family projects. All those repairs, paint jobs, furniture-building projects, and organizing pictures into albums that no one had time to tackle during the school year got done as a family effort during the summer.

That has changed drastically.

In today’s world, very few children are left to entertain themselves, very few children are roped into projects, and very few children are happy to have unstructured time.

The Shift…

Now, there could be a number of reasons for this phenomenon.

First, the world is a scarier and more dangerous place, and unstructured time can often lead kids to places and things that are not good for them, both spiritually and materially.

Second, today’s kids need more structure. They are accustomed to highly structured environments, much more so than children of past generations.

The school day is long, and nearly every pocket of unstructured time has been tranasformed by one program or another. There are Avos Ubonim programs for the long Motzoei Shabbosos, Chol Hamoed learning programs for Chol Hamoed, and all types of side programs and incentives to keep kids occupied.

There was even a junior Adirei HaTorah program during the Adirei HaTorah event to keep the boys occupied with learning and watching the event so that their mothers wouldn’t be stuck trying to entertain them for the entire afternoon and evening.

I can bear witness to this simply by observing the way my own older children dealt with free time compared to my much younger children.

Two decades ago, when I was raising my older children, they were much better able to cope with “being bored” and with a lack of structure than those growing up today. Whether they threw themselves into baking honey cookies for Rosh Hashanah during the summer and hamantashen for Purim during midwinter vacation, whether they simply relished a good book, or whether they got together with friends to go biking or play games, they managed.

…And Its Possible Reasons

That is simply the reality. Again, the reason remains somewhat unclear.

In truth, today’s kids need more structure and more stimulation. They become “bored” much more easily from simply hanging out with friends on the block. They crave much more action. Perhaps it is because the nature of life today is constant action. Everything is a “breakout” and a “matzav.” As a result, simply sitting around playing, shmoozing, or doing nothing makes kids nervous and antsy.

There is another reason why parents become so anxious when their kids do not have structure.

Sadly, we live in a society where most mothers, in addition to undertaking the klalah of Chava—the pain, trials, and tribulations of bearing children, along with the tzaar gidul bonim—are also taking upon themselves the klalah of Adam, “bezeias apecha tochal lechem.”

When fathers are away either in yeshiva or at work and mothers also have to work, they are simply not able to let their children roam around without some kind of general supervision. Thus, these weeks, when there is no official structure or person to take responsibility for their children, leave parents—and especially mothers—feeling overwhelmed.

That being said, there is something wholesome and healthy about giving a boy or girl some time just to be—not to have to run, not to have to accomplish something, not to have to reach a goal, but simply to be.

Yes, I know that this may sound almost like kefirah, but many children could benefit from a slower pace for a few days each year. Many children might actually discover new skills and new ways to occupy themselves that could stand them in good stead later in life.

It might not be such a bad idea for kids to learn how to figure things out even when they are soooo bored.

They might even enter the new school year with renewed vigor and return to the structured environment of school with genuine simcha.

Are We Healthier?

Putting everything else aside, I am worried that there is another component to this that is somewhat troubling.

It does seem that some parents are actually scared of spending time with their kids. They simply don’t know what to do when left with their children for long periods of unstructured time.

On the other hand, there are mothers who, for economic reasons or otherwise, create something called “Camp Mommy,” where they become their child’s counselor, head counselor, cook, and camp director all in one. They put together a basic schedule of davening, learning, outings, and playing, and the mother runs the camp.

To do this, a mother must first of all be home and not working. Second, she needs to have the personality to become a counselor, head counselor, and everything else on the list. That said, the mothers who have actually managed to implement such a camp usually come out of the summer exhilarated by having truly connected with their children in ways they simply are never otherwise able to.

The bottom line is that, for better or for worse, both children and parents are less equipped today to deal with even a small empty gap in their schedules to the extent that both become anxious and a bit discombobulated by the lack of structure, even for relatively short periods of time.

It wasn’t always this way, and something tells me that we aren’t necessarily healthier as a result.

It was the summer of 1976. Early in Tammuz. I was in bais medrash and the zeman was almost over. For the Philadelphia Yeshiva, it was the last “off Shabbos” before bein hazemanim. It was also one of the most celebrated weekends in America in the twentieth century. It was the July 4th weekend, 200 years after the Declaration of Independence was read, only a couple of miles from where I would now sweat over an Avnei Miluim. And we were not oblivious to the fact that the country was celebrating its 200th anniversary.

There were flags everywhere, from big cities like Philly to little shtetlach like my native Woodmere and Cedarhurst, where my home was nestled on the border of both of those Five Towns. There was talk of parades and marches, fireworks and celebrations. Patriotism was palpable. Everybody was cheering for the red, white and blue. America had defeated the evil Axis only 30 years earlier and was glad to finally have gotten out of Vietnam about a year earlier, but still loathed communism. The riots of the late 1960s were behind them, and Gerald Ford, the current president, was a voice of moderation after a turbulent Nixon resignation. It was 1976, and the entire country had essentially been drunk on its own birthday for the better part of two years.

The government was deeply invested in the celebration as well. Flags flew everywhere. Bunting draped storefronts and homes. The Post Office issued commemorative stamps honoring the Declaration of Independence, Revolutionary heroes, the Spirit of ‘76, state flags, and scenes from the founding of the Republic. The Mint redesigned the nation’s circulating coins with images of Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell, and the colonial drummer. There was a train that went across America where people could board and view the Declaration of Independence, Washington’s copy of the Constitution, a moon rock, and other historic treasures through forty-eight states. Tall ships from around the world filled New York Harbor. People painted their mailboxes red, white, and blue. There were Bicentennial beer cans with Revolutionary War imagery on them. Schools devoted months to the Bicentennial. Communities organized parades, historical reenactments, colonial fairs, concerts, and exhibitions. The Smithsonian mounted special displays, and the new National Air and Space Museum opened during the Bicentennial year.

I remember driving up to a bungalow colony in Monroe to visit my Uncle Avrohom and Tanta Ruthie, aleihem hashalom. We took a short detour into the newly established community of Kiryas Yoel, which was then still tiny. Homes were being built, infrastructure was minimal, and it remained largely a rural enclave adjacent to Monroe. But the Satmar Rebbe had a home there, and in front of it, an American flag waved proudly.

Fifty years later, the 250th anniversary of American independence is upon us. Maybe it’s because they gave it a long fancy name, the Semiquincentennial, or maybe it’s because idealism is dead. Maybe the country is too fractured and parochial to even believe in one common theme. Whatever the reason, to me it seems dead. You hardly hear about it or see anything celebratory. It’s a muffled hurrah said almost apologetically. It just seems like a big dud.

It’s no longer about freedom or the recognition of the liberties that soldiers died for. I went into the post office today and asked for the celebratory stamps produced in honor of the revolution. All I got for $10.14 was a sheet designed by the famous designer Ralph Lauren depicting what now represents America: a pickup truck, a baseball mitt, a teddy bear, and a cheeseburger.

My rebbi, Rav Mendel Kaplan, was unique. On his weekly drive from Philadelphia to Brooklyn and back, he would pick up hitchhikers and make conversation. Often, he would relay those conversations to us bochurim. He once told us that he picked up a backpacker and asked him if he was Jewish. The fellow replied, “Half and half.”

The rebbi sighed, lamenting that the situation of Yiddishkeit had boiled down to a soda. (“Half and Half” was a popular half-grapefruit, half lemon-lime soda by Cornell Beverages — some of you may remember it from seudah shlishis at your local shtiebel.)

I thought about what he said. Fifty years later, the national symbol of American Independence Day has become a pickup truck and a cheeseburger.

There is something worth pausing over here, though. The ephemeral things — the pride, the principles, the memory of what soldiers bled for — erode. Ideology fades. Sacrifice gets summarized. And eventually, you are left with a teddy bear on a postage stamp.

But we are different. We celebrate events that happened not 250 years ago but thousands of years ago, be it Pesach, Shavuos, or Sukkos, with no less fervor than the generations before us. Every Yom Tov is graced with new seforim, more mesibos, more learning, more avodah. Because they represent not history, but eternity. And eternity never fades into a cheeseburger.

The Three Weeks are upon us now. And yes, the raw pain of the churban is harder to feel with two thousand years of distance. But we don’t simply let it slip by. We don’t allow it to become symbolic. There are hundreds of shiurim, divrei chizuk, asifos, and calls to action, all ensuring that the wound stays open enough to heal. We feel the churban not because we remember it, but because we are still living it. The exile is not a historical footnote. It is the present tense.

America’s icons, fifty years from now, will probably be something even more forgettable than a cheeseburger. Because when the ikkar is gone and the founding principles are erased, all that remains is the tofel. The side dishes. Not even the burger. Just the French fries.There is an apocryphal story about Napoleon, who, while busy conquering Europe, stopped in a shul on a summer’s eve in August. His visit coincided with the night of Tisha B’Av and he walked into the shul while the kehillah was reciting Kinnos. As he entered the shul, he saw men without shoes on the floor lamenting while holding candles while crying over from books. The shul was dim, with only a few candles burning. The raw wood of the holy Aron was exposed, the paroches removed and set aside. The amud and bimah were bare, exposing the pockmarks, knotholes and splintered grain of wood that seemed to have absorbed the tears of many a supplicant. The only light came from a few candles stuck to the floor. The lamps on the wall were extinguished.

In his quest to grant equality to all his new subjects, he wondered what tragedy had befallen this

community and asked how he could rectify the situation. The rov explained that the mourning was not for a recent tragedy, but rather for one that occurred almost two thousand years prior. He explained that on this day centuries ago, in a land thousands of miles away, a Jewish Temple was destroyed and we were expelled from our land. He explained that every year on the anniversary of the destruction, we sit on the floor and we mourn. To which Napolean responded, “A nation that still cries and fasts for nearly 2,000 years after their Temple has been destroyed will surely be rewarded with their Temple.”

We do not have icons for the Bais Hamikdosh. We do not commemorate it with a pickup truck or a teddy bear or a collector’s stamp. The Bais Hamikdosh is not an icon. It is the makom of the Shechinah. It is the place and embodiment that we have not stopped trying to return to for nearly two thousand years.

America, sadly, has lost its direction. Klal Yisroel, however, will never forget where we came from and where we are headed. We will never diminish the significance of our past and we will never forget the focus of our yearning, and thus we will never diminish the ultimate celebration.

Yehi ratzon that we see the geulah sheleimah and that the only thing we’ll say about this long golus is that we never, not for a single Tisha B’Av, forgot where our home was.

Israeli President Herzog’s visit to Romania this week, to attend a state ceremony marking 85 years since the Iași (pronounced Yash) pogrom of June 1941, reopened a largely forgotten chapter of the Holocaust which saw one of the most barbaric massacres of World War II.

In an orgy of savagery orchestrated by Romanian dictator and Hitler ally Ion Antonescu, 13,000 to 15,000 Iasi Jews—nearly a third of the city’s population—were murdered by Romanian and German forces, police, and local mobs.

The pogrom predated the Nazi mass extermination camps and demonstrated to Hitler the devastating efficiency of state-sponsored mass murder.

This week’s commemoration, which included a religious burial ceremony, was held at the city’s Jewish cemetery, where the remains of many of the pogrom’s victims lie in a mass grave discovered only recently.

“We are at the square where it all started, the massacre in Iasi 85 years ago, where thousands and thousands of Jews were butchered, slaughtered, and tortured both on-site, in pits, in common graves, and in the death trains,” Herzog stated.

“This memorial ceremony for the tens of thousands of Jewish women, men, children and elderly people murdered on this soil, in Iasi and its surroundings, between June 28 and July 6, 1941, does not erase the suffering of the victims,” he said.

“Nor does it lessen the moral stain of the perpetrators of the crimes. It does not undo the murders, humiliations, beatings or death train horrors that were planned at the highest levels, but carried out by all layers of society in those terrible summer days, 85 years ago.”

Herzog said the ceremony also does not answer the most painful question left by the massacre.

“How? How can one even begin to understand cruelty on such a scale, stretching across an entire society? How could it be that in a great European city, which for centuries served as a thriving center of Jewish life, the image of G-d was erased?

“The only answer to this shattering question is deafening silence,” Herzog said.

Others have offered a different answer. In Romanian society, where anti-Semitic outbreaks repeatedly erupted long before the Nazis arrived, particularly from the 19th century onward, Jews had never truly been safe.

“It cannot be denied that there is a strong anti-Semitic feeling in our country. That is an old question in our history,” Romanian King Carol II infamously admitted in January 1938.

The Iasi pogrom and the massacres, expulsions, deportations and murder of Jews across Romania and all of Eastern Europe during the Holocaust were the ultimate expression of a relentless hatred that had stalked Europe’s Jews for generations.

An Atrocity Preserved on Film, Official Documents

What makes the Iasi massacre seem unique is that it is extraordinarily well documented. Unlike other Holocaust events about which no written or precise orders have been found, or whose documents were burned at the end of the war, countless eyewitness testimonies, official communiqués, photos and films—many taken by the perpetrators themselves–document the monstrous inhumanity, almost hour by hour.

Many of these records, along with documentation of Romanian collaboration with the Nazis in countless other cities and towns, were hidden away for years in dusty archives during the Communist period. The regime’s leaders downplayed Romania’s role in the annihilation of almost half its Jewish population of 757,000.

In 2004, an international panel led by Holocaust historian Elie Wiesel found, based on copious documentation, that approximately 380,000 Romanian and Ukrainian Jews were murdered in territories under Romanian rule.

A great deal of this shocking and heartbreaking documentation can be viewed today in Bucharest, in the National Museum of Jewish History and the Holocaust in Romania.

Historian Radu Jude has lifted the veil on the horrors of the Iasi pogrom in his documentary “The Exit of the Trains,” which documents the eradication of almost the entire Jewish community. In the video, the author recounts his own reaction to discovering the truth about Romanian culpability in the annihilation of Romanian Jews.

“After the 1989 revolution [against the Communist regime], my generation experienced a great shock in finding out, from history books, about Romania’s participation in the Holocaust,” the historian relates. Throughout our youth, we had been repeatedly taught that we Romanians were a special people, that we had always been the victims of others, never perpetrators. And then you suddenly read books about the pogroms, the Holocaust … I, for one, had a meltdown discovering the lies and cover-up.”

Scapegoating the Jews

Before the outbreak of WWII, the Jews had been a presence in Iasi for over 400 years, becoming over the centuries an important center of Jewish religious life. Between 1930 and 1940, despite outbreaks of virulent anti-Semitism in the city where the Jews were physically attacked, expelled from the university, and maligned for being “Bolsheviks,” the Jewish population grew from approximately 30,000 to over 50,000.

For all the pain and hardship that the community had endured, nothing prepared it for what was to come on June 28, 1941.

Under dictator Antonescu, a rabid anti-Semite and trusted ally of Hitler, the government scapegoated the Jewish community, accusing it of collaborating with the Soviets who were fighting with the Allies against Nazi Germany.

False rumors were circulated by Romanian agents that Jews had “signaled” Soviet planes, aiding the pilots in conducting air raids over Iasi. This provided the pretext for a government-ordered “cleansing” of the Jewish population.

The terror began on June 28, 1941. At 9:00 p.m., a flare was shot from a German aircraft above Iasi, signaling the beginning of the pogrom. Immediately shots were fired from the streets, from houses, and from rooftops in almost every quarter of the town.

German soldiers began rampaging through the city, pounding on doors, arresting Jewish men and killing many indiscriminately. Once-friendly neighbors turned on the Jewish people, joining in the wave of vicious brutality.

“Our Christian neighbors, whom I considered my friends, came out of their homes with iron bars, hoes, spades and guns” and began to attack, recalled Lazar Leibovici (Times of Israel).

Thousands of Jews, mostly men and boys but women and children as well, were dragged to the central police headquarters. The round ups continued throughout the night, until midday on June 29, when a total of 5,000-6,000 Jews had been assembled.

Then, between 2:30 and 3:00 p.m., a false air-raid alarm was sounded, at which point the assembled Jews were fired on from all directions by the Romanian soldiers guarding them. The massacre continued for several hours, until less than half of the Jewish prisoners remained alive.

Death Trains Drove in a Circle for Days

The survivors were then marched to the local train station and crammed into cattle cars whose air vents were sealed. These “death trains” were sadistically driven in a circle for several days, while the trapped Jews died agonizing deaths from thirst, suffocation, and complete mental and physical collapse in the scorching summer heat.

The first train carried roughly 2,500 people before it stopped. More than 650 dead were removed to a mass grave. Soldiers denied water to survivors, and the journey continued. At each of several stops, hundreds more Jewish people were discovered dead. Local troops hired Gypsies to remove the bodies; their payment was anything of value they could plunder from the dead.

Fewer than 1,100 survived the Iasi death train that arrived in Calarasi on July 6. The second train carried 1,902 Jewish people compressed into 18 cars, and only 708 arrived alive.

The Iasi pogrom foreshadowed the reign of terror that continued through the summer of 1941. Over three weeks, in July and August of 1941, approximately 50,000 Jews were murdered in areas under Romanian control, as documented by historian Avigdor Shachan in “Burning Ice: The Ghettos of Transnistria.”

In return for Antonescu’s support of the Nazis’ invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941, Hitler gave the Romanian dictator the strip of land between the Dniester and Bug Rivers, and it is here that in September of that year, the Romanians began deporting Jews from the Bukovina and Bessarabia districts.

The region had been dubbed Transnistria, the name the Romanians gave to their new territory – ‘trans’ meaning ‘beyond,’ and ‘nistria’ for the Dniester River.

From 1941 to 1944, 300,000 Jews were killed at the hands of Nazi death squads and Antonescu’s troops before, during and after deportation to Transnistria, writes British historian Dennis Deletant in Hitler’s Forgotten Ally.

Unlike the industrialized killing machinery of Auschwitz, Romanian death camps used the more primitive methods—genocide by shooting, clubbing and starvation, and by exposing tens of thousands of people to a slow death by freezing and disease.

Of the 360,000 Jews deported to Transnistria, historians estimate that less than one-fifth survived. For decades, the survivors’ stories were rarely told and the annihilation of Romanian has faded from awareness.

Although Antonescu was tried as a war criminal in 1946 and executed by firing squad along with three of his top henchmen, parts of the Romanian people continued to extoll him as a great patriot who won back chunks of Romanian land from the Soviets.

Romania Today

Antisemitism in Romania remains a prominent issue driven by far-right political groups like the Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR). AUR has sought to downplay the wartime atrocities of Ion Antonescu, engages in baiting and intimidating Jewish leaders, and habitually minimizes the Holocaust.

Despite this, Israel and Romania today maintain strong diplomatic relations, based on a long tradition of cooperation going back to 1948, when Romania recognized the State of Israel immediately after its founding. Between 1967 and 1989, Romania was the only Warsaw Pact country that did not sever ties with Israel after the Six-Day War.

Romania generally maintains a friendlier posture toward Israel than many European Union members, but it also follows broader EU positions on many diplomatic issues. These include the endorsement of a “two-state” solution and adopting a critical position toward Israeli military actions in Gaza.

***

Dangerous Gambles for A Mitzvah

Rabbi Ahron Twersky was 16 when he was deported to Transnistria in 1942, then under Romanian control. In a lengthy oral testimony, quoted by Holocaust historian Esther Farbstein in her landmark Hidden in Thunder (pages 226–227), he describes the terrible suffering he endured but also moments of spiritual triumph.

One such moment took place shortly before Pesach 1942. He and some friends scraped together a bribe to persuade a non-Jew to procure some wheat for them.

“He brought us the wheat, we gave him his payment and hid the wheat in the cellar. Before Pesach, we went down to the cellar, secretly ground up the wheat and baked a bunch of small matzos…enough to give to several Jewish families, in addition to ourselves. I felt real happiness.  Who would ever dream such a thing would be possible in this dreadful place!”

Rabbi Twersky reflected on another incident when he took a dangerous risk to observe a yom tov, but a gamble that ended badly.

“That Shavuos, I decided to hide and not go to work to honor the yom tov, but I was caught,” he related. “The Romanians dragged me out and beat me severely until blood gushed from my ears and nose. I was sure my life was over. But they threw buckets of water on me and ordered me to go to work. Somehow, despite my injuries and the terrible pain, I managed to do the road work.”

The Gravediggers

Rabbi Twersky went on to relate a terrifying experience in 1944 when a gang of Nazis entered the Mogilev ghetto and rounded up 1200 Jews, including himself. The Nazis ordered them onto a bunch of trucks, with the pretext of bringing them to a nearby town to work. Instead, the Jews were driven to a clearing in the forest about an hour from Mogilev, where machine guns ringed the area.

They were ordered off the truck at gunpoint. The stronger-looking men were given shovels and instructed to dig a mass grave.

“We were frightened to death,” Rabbi Twersky recalled. “We started to dig with the guns pointed at us, knowing these were our last moments on earth, that our bodies would soon fill this gigantic pit. The Germans were partying around, celebrating. Nothing made them as happy as knowing they were about to murder Jews.

“After we finished, one of them called out, ‘Juden schwein, your execution will take place in ten minutes!’

“The leader glanced at the watch on his wrist and called out ‘Ten minutes….’ As the seconds flew by, he’d call out ‘Nine minutes…Eight minutes… Seven minutes…Six minutes…Five…’ , smirking at us as the final minutes ran out.

Suddenly two German limousines pulled up and some officers got out. There was a lot of arguing in German—I couldn’t make out what it was about. It went on for ten minutes as we stood around the giant pit, praying silently for a miracle.”

“The Nazis suddenly turned to us, screaming, ‘Raus! Raus! Out! Everyone back on the trucks!’”

No explanation was given for the last-minute reprieve from death. But the prisoners needed none. Their prayers had been answered, igniting fresh hope in their anguished hearts. The war would surely end soon and with Hashem’s mercy, they would survive.

***

Eyewitness to the Pogrom

Chaim Solomon and his family lived through the Iasi massacres of June 28-July 6. Below are gripping excerpts from his oral testimony in an interview with the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, October 1993:

On June 21, 1941 Germany invaded the Soviet Union and German tanks with soldiers singing were marching all over the city. We stayed indoors, shaking in fear, glued to the windows. On June 26th, the Soviet Union Air Force bombed the train station in Iasi, killing a number of people

The Romanians insisted that Jewish Communists in the city were signaling to the Soviets to drop bombs on the train station. They launched a vicious pogrom in Iasi, using a ruse to get the Jews to turn themselves in. On June 29, they instructed the Jews to come to the city hall to exchange their old identification cards for new ones. Many Jews complied. Others were brought there by force.

The police station and city hall were connected. The police station had a big courtyard surrounded by a stone wall. German soldiers and Romanian policemen kept bringing in waves of Jews. They were led into the courtyard, supposedly to continue on to the city hall. But lined up on both side of the courtyard were Romanians and Germans.

As the Jews passed this line of police and soldiers, these barbarians smashed their heads with their weapons. Or shot them in the temple. The courtyard of that police station filled up with dead or dying Jews. My two older brothers, Reuven and Henry, who had decided to go to the city hall together to get their new identification cards, should have been among these victims.

In the end, Henry went alone. It was nighttime as he entered the courtyard and realized something terrible was happening. He was near the back of the stone wall and he and a friend managed to jump over it without being spotted. They found a house with a big cross painted on it, saying “Christians live here, no Yidoni (Jews).” Which is a sign that the whole thing was planned ahead of time with the Christians in on it.

The boys hurried to the back of the house and found a shed filled with firewood, stacked all the way to the ceiling. They removed the top layer and crawled into the pile and replaced the layers so that when Germans or Romanians came to search for Jews, they saw the wood up to the ceiling and left.

They lay there quietly for several days, listening as the police and the Germans continued shooting people in cold blood. In one day, on June 29, between one o’clock and six, seven o’clock in the evening, they killed about 4 thousand people coming into that yard.

Meanwhile, we were hiding in the basement of our house which had several exits, as it was situated at the intersection of three streets. Which is how we managed to avoid the soldiers and guards. When they came in from one entrance, we slipped out another. Romanians were doing the roundups, the Germans did the shooting. We could see out of tiny windows and froze in horror as Jews were being marched away, or kicked and shot if they didn’t move fast enough.  

A block or two down the street there was a famous shul…I saw a sight I can never erase from my mind: the rabbi of our town being dragged, beaten and killed. He was left in the street for a couple of days until some brave neighbors dared to run outside and bring him in.

Netanyahu: Arrests of Yeshiva Bochurim Do Not Contribute to Progress

This past Shabbos was a sad day in Eretz Yisroel, as almost 50 yeshiva bochurim and kollel yungeleit spent Shabbos behind bars in military prison. And just to be clear, the fact that they are serving brief prison sentences now does not mean that they will be able to move on with their lives after they are released. Even after they are let out of prison, they will still have the legal status of draft evaders and will continue to face the threat of arrest. Moreover, every ben Torah who is released from prison is forced to sign a document in which he promises to enlist in the IDF. They sign the documents because it will make no difference regarding their problematic legal status; nothing would be gained by refusing to sign.

In general, after an arrest, the detainee is brought before a military judge after a few days, and the judge decides on a prison sentence as a penalty for ignoring his draft order. In some cases, the sentence matches the number of days that the prisoner has already been held, and then he is released immediately. In other situations, the prisoner is returned to prison to complete his sentence.

Meir Horowitz, a bochur who I know, is a case in point. Meir lives in my apartment building and is a great-grandson of the renowned maggid Rav Sholom Schwadron. He was arrested one month ago, and his parents told me after visiting him in prison that his mental state was very poor. He was unable to acclimate to detention—and, in fact, why should he? On Sunday, he was finally brought before a military judge. His parents were present at the hearing and tried to lift their son’s spirits. Now, what do you think the judge decided? He ruled that Meir should meet with a mental health officer in the army within a week for an assessment of the family’s claim that he is not mentally fit to remain in detention. If the officer decides that the claim is correct, Meir will be released immediately, but if the officer feels that he is indeed fit to remain behind bars, then he will be kept there for another 30 days and will then be released (albeit retaining his status as a draft evader). When I asked the parents why the judge wants him in jail for two months, they explained that he has been considered a draft evader for ten years.

Please recite a perek of Tehillim for Meir ben Hadassah.

Even Prime Minister Netanyahu recently weighed in on the ongoing arrests. At a press conference dealing with the agreement with Lebanon (see below), Netanyahu was asked about the arrests and responded, “You do not gain anything when you cause the chareidi hesder yeshivos to send me the message, ‘Mr. Prime Minister, when you send people into the yeshivos to arrest Torah learners and take them to prison, no one is going to enlist.’” Netanyahu made a small mistake in this response; although yeshiva bochurim are being arrested, the police aren’t entering yeshivos (yet). Netanyahu claimed that there is significant interest in IDF enlistment among the chareidi public, but the arrests of bnei Torah are causing a decrease in enlistment. And he added, “If I were to tell you that the police were entering yeshivos in a European country, arresting young men learning Torah, and putting them in prison, you would be horrified. The policy of arrests needs to stop,” he continued, referencing a law that is currently in the works. “It isn’t achieving the desired effect. I would impose an immediate halt to bring about the broad agreements. That is what I hope to achieve.”

At the same time, Netanyahu said that anyone who is not learning in a yeshiva should face the full weight of sanctions for his failure to enlist in the army—including arrest.

Man Points Gun at Chareidim and Is Released

The arrests of yeshiva bochurim are dominating the headlines. For one thing, the phenomenon has caused many protests in the streets. I presume that you heard about the protest convoy of slow-moving cars organized by the Gerrer chassidus to create traffic congestion throughout the country. I won’t get into the questions of whether this is the right way to oppose the arrests, whether a protest of this nature achieves the goal of freeing arrested bochurim, and whether it might simply stoke more hatred for the chareidi community. I will tell you only that there were two incidents of violence against chareidim during that protest. In one case, an Arab truck driver tried to attack chareidi motorists with a metal club; the police showed up, but they refused to intervene. In the other incident, a Jewish motorist from Maale Adumim pointed a gun at the chareidim. He was arrested, but the judge released him to house arrest, a leniency that the religious public found infuriating.

A police representative revealed in court that the suspect admitted to his actions, but his version of the events had changed over the course of his interrogation. He first claimed that the gun had been pointing at the ground, but after he was shown a video in which it was clearly aimed at the protestors, he changed his story. The police representative added, “The danger of this behavior speaks for itself. Driving a car while holding a gun and aiming it at protestors is dangerous behavior, to put it mildly.” At the same time, the police officer confirmed that the suspect had no criminal record and said that there was no concern that he would tamper with the investigation. The suspect’s lawyer claimed that his client understood that his behavior was unusual and that he hadn’t been in danger. He claimed that the gun wasn’t removed from its case and the suspect didn’t even put his finger on the trigger. “It is apparent that this was a momentary act of a person who might have been taking out his anger or perhaps acted out of despair,” he said. The weapon was confiscated, which makes the danger level low. Therefore, the lawyer argued that there was no justification for keeping him in custody.

All these things may be debatable, but the judge’s statement was outrageous. “There is a reasonable suspicion that a crime was committed,” he said, “and there is no doubt that threatening others with a weapon is a dangerous act. At the same time, the suspect may be kept under house arrest.” The judge explained that the suspect has no criminal record and his gun has already been confiscated, so there is no concern that he might threaten anyone with it again. Furthermore, he added that the incident took place “in a situation of tension and confusion, without a response from law enforcement. Blocking a road creates severe harm and itself poses significant danger to the public.”

Now, why is this outrageous? Because when the secular protestors staged their demonstrations on Rechov Kaplan, no one uttered a word against them or found fault with them at all. No one complained about the “severe harm and significant danger” involved in their disruptive activities. Yet in this case, when the protestors were chareidim, their actions suddenly represented severe and dangerous harm.

Meir Porush responded, “The release of the man who brandished a gun against the participants in the demonstration yesterday sends a message that the blood of the chareidi community is cheap. There is no doubt that the judge derived his inspiration from the mentality of Justice Sohlberg, the attorney general, and Police Commissioner Levi, which is spreading through the system. Last week, we saw through the cameras how police officers beat chareidim until their blood flowed. It seems that officials in the Justice Ministry who consider themselves guardians of the law are displaying the same evil, simply cloaked in robes and neckties and in back rooms without cameras. All of these people consider themselves gatekeepers, yet there are those among them whose malice and hatred toward lomdei Torah leads them to harm the chareidi community, whether with physical blows, through their legal decisions, or by cheapening their blood.”

It is a sharp statement, but it seems to be accurate as well.

A Violent Police Officer Is a Criminal in Uniform

The images of police violence against chareidi protestors have united everyone against the police force. As much as we all deplore violence and reject protests that are fraught with spiritual dangers and chillul Hashem, we are all opposed to police brutality. A police officer who strikes a civilian is a criminal, regardless of what sort of officer he is and who the civilian is. He is a criminal despite his uniform; he is simply a thug with a badge. For instance, there is a video that shows a yungerman attempting to free a yeshiva bochur from the grasp of an undercover policewoman. A police officer chased him down and rained blows on him, and after he was handcuffed, the policewoman came over and struck him in the face several times. That was no longer policing; it was revenge. At that point, she was no longer acting as a police officer but as a criminal taking the law into her own hands. There were also the three brutes who used truncheons to beat a yeshiva bochur who was lying on the road. How could this happen? Is this a lawless country? Had this incident occurred somewhere else or under different circumstances, the three of them would have been publicly condemned. There was also a case of the police officer who punched a bochur who had already been dragged onto the sidewalk and was lying on the ground. The policeman struck him at a point when he wasn’t offering resistance or posing a threat to anyone. That policeman was simply a bully behaving like the lowest criminal.

Everyone who has been exposed to these videos felt terrible for the victims’ experiences. The problem is that this isn’t merely a localized problem or an isolated failure. There are brutal thugs on the police force who unleash their inner animals whenever possible. This happens regularly at protests, mainly when the protestors are chareidim, hilltop youths, or Ethiopians, and it also happens in places where they cannot be seen by the public. Not long ago, a distinguished yungerman in Bnei Brak named Rav Chananel Tiran happened to pass by a protest taking place outside a cell phone store. The police seized him and pulled him into a store, where they presumed they would not be seen, and proceeded to beat him viciously. The beating continued even after he was lying wounded on the floor. What does that make them, if not criminals in uniform?

Lest you think that innocent civilians can be protected by the official oversight body, the Department of Internal Police Investigations, I can tell you from many years of experience that the DIPI does nothing but cover up the misconduct of the police. Even after the horrific incident in the store in Bnei Brak, the case against the violent police officers was closed. The Shas party has a long track record of filing complaints over incidents of police brutality, with almost no results. The party’s files contain hundreds of parliamentary queries concerning violent police officers, and the party has also introduced laws on the subject, but nothing came of these initiatives. How many police officers actually faced criminal charges, and how many were dismissed? Even in the three cases of horrific violence in Meron three years ago, all of which were caught on camera and shocked the members of the Public Security Committee, the cases were closed. The police and the DIPI take advantage of the fact that the people of Mea Shearim do not recognize the state and therefore will not file appeals when a case is closed, even if it was outrageous and utterly unjustified.

The Case of Yosef Chaim Lugasi

Does the police force protect violent police officers? Absolutely! Are the police capable of lying and denying their acts of violence? Again, the answer is yes. I will never forget the case of Yosef Chaim Lugasi, in which I was personally involved. The incident took place thirty years ago, in July 1996, when I served as an aide to then-Interior Minister Aryeh Deri.

Lugasi was arrested during what became known as the “Bar Ilan Shabbos demonstrations,” and I was asked to help him. The state subjected him to relentless mistreatment. Judge Yonasan Adiel of the District Court ordered him held in custody until the conclusion of the proceedings against him, and Dalia Dorner of the Supreme Court rejected the Shas party’s appeal against the ruling. Yosef Chaim Lugasi, who was 16 years old at the time, was a refined yeshiva bochur who was praised by everyone for his character and temperament. When he was brought to court, he entered the courtroom trembling and in shackles. The police accused him of throwing stones at cars and policemen, but everyone who knew the boy asserted vigorously that he couldn’t possibly have done anything of the sort. For the appeal to the Supreme Court, I solicited the aid of attorney Sefi Alon, who later became a judge on the District Court. At the hearing, two members of the Knesset whom I brought along, Dovid Azulai and Itzik Cohen, informed the court that they were prepared to host the boy in their homes (Azulai lived in Akko and Cohen lived in Ashkelon) during the proceedings, but Dorner insisted on keeping him behind bars. A short time later, Dorner ordered an Arab teenager released from imprisonment when he was arrested for throwing Molotov cocktails; she explained at the time that it was unconscionable to keep a youth in prison throughout the criminal proceedings against him. The blatant double standard was not addressed.

The lesson I learned from this story is that there is no place for faith in either the police or the court system, and the DIPI is no different. Here is another shocking element of the story: One day, at the entrance to the District Court, I overheard a high-ranking officer in the police force telling a policeman to testify that he saw Lugasi throwing stones. “But I didn’t see that,” the junior police officer protested.

“That doesn’t matter,” his superior said. “You are going to testify to it.”

I repeated my story during a polygraph test, which proved that I was telling the truth, and I filed a complaint with the DIPI. This should have been an open and shut case, but the file was closed instead. “The witness probably did not understand what he heard,” the investigators wrote to explain their galling decision, which was the most blatant cover-up imaginable. And that is why I do not trust the DIPI.

To make a long story short, the police have never changed. The blood of chareidim is still cheap today, just as it was thirty years ago, and the community is still vulnerable and oppressed. What can be done about it? Apparently, just as the chareidi community needs a public advocacy organization, it also needs some sort of entity that will fight its battles.

The Bill to End Arrests

Everyone has been claiming that the chareidim and Netanyahu have made a deal. I can add that there was a recent meeting between Deri, Gafni, Netanyahu, and the cabinet secretary. The group quickly reviewed four new bills, two of which are important to the chareidim while the other two are important to the Likud. For the chareidim, the important bills are the Basic Law: Torah study and another bill that will halt the arrests of yeshiva bochurim and possibly restore government funding for yeshivos as well. The Likud, meanwhile, is interested in a bill to split the attorney general’s position in two, which has already passed its preliminary reading in the Knesset, and another bill that calls for the formation of an investigative commission suited to Netanyahu’s interests.

The Basic Law: Torah Study has already been discussed by the relevant Knesset committee, and the debates in the committee on Sunday and Monday were fraught with tension. I will write about this in greater detail at a later date. At this point, the law is being prepared for its first reading. As for the law that will make it possible to halt arrests of yeshiva bochurim, the cabinet secretary asked MK Boaz Bismut, chairman of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, to prepare a text for the bill to be read in the Knesset. This measure, too, seems to be advancing. The idea was first proposed by MK Aryeh Deri, and the other members of the Knesset scoffed at him at first. However, it does seem to be taking shape at this time. We will have to wait and see if it succeeds.

On Sunday, Bismut publicized the draft of the new law, which many believe to be intended as more than just a stopgap measure. It is framed as a temporary measure for 90 days in which all enforcement proceedings would be frozen and anyone engaged in Torah learning would have his military service deferred for that period. Even though it is written as a ninety-day measure, it will likely remain in effect for half a year. The reason for this is that section 38 of the Basic Law: The Knesset stipulates that any law that expires within four months of a time when the Knesset dissolves will be automatically extended until three months into the following Knesset’s term. The temporary bill does not mention sanctions or draft quotas, for a very simple reason: It is temporary. As soon as the law is approved, criminal proceedings against lomdei Torah will be frozen for half a year.

From a chareidi perspective, there is a very clear advantage: For six months, Torah learners will not be considered draft dodgers or criminals. This will be a major relief to the 90,000 bochurim and yungeleit who live with the constant fear of being arrested at any moment. If the law is passed, the arrests will stop and anyone already in detention will be released. The law will apply to anyone who declares that he has been meeting the criteria of full-time Torah learning since July 1, 2023; the individual requests will be evaluated by specially designated military committees headed by senior IDF officers. Any youth who is approved by the committee will not be placed on trial, and any criminal proceedings already underway against him will be halted immediately.

The problem, as usual, is the opposition from a legal advisor. This time, it is the Knesset’s legal advisor who is trying to stand in the way of the bill’s passage. She has raised a series of legal and substantive objections to Bismut’s bill. Among other things, she questioned how it is possible to advance a law that provides relief to Torah learners, freezes arrests, and restores the legal standing of yeshiva students without including draft targets, criminal or economic sanctions, or enforcement mechanisms to guarantee equality. She also raised the question of why chareidi draft evaders should receive immunity from arrest while others from the general public remain subject to criminal enforcement. Bismut responded, “As the cabinet secretary mentioned, the continuation of the arrest policy will only harm the efforts to promote enlistment and will actually lead to a decrease in recruitments. This policy has created an unprecedented rift and tensions between the chareidi sector and the general public, as we have seen in events such as the blocking of main highways. Those who are championing this hardline approach are, in effect, giving encouragement to those who foment division and are enabling the deepening of the fractures within Israeli society.”

Will Hezbollah Be Dismantled?

An agreement with Lebanon was signed under American oversight on Friday afternoon. The State Department published the full text of the agreement, which reveals the principles on which the new security arrangements on the northern border are based. Washington described the agreement as a declaration of intent aimed at achieving long-term stability and laying the groundwork for peaceful neighborly relations between the two countries. At the center of the understanding is a mutual agreement between Israel and Lebanon to act to put an end to the conflict between the two countries. According to the agreement, the Lebanese government will act to restore its full sovereignty over all of its territory by disarming the terror groups that do not operate on behalf of the state (in plainer terms: by dismantling Hezbollah, which poses a threat to Israel). The IDF, for its part, is expected to retreat gradually from areas in southern Lebanon, in accordance with the progress of the plan and its implementation.

One of the main components of the document is the establishment of pilot areas in south Lebanon. In these areas, which were previously under Hezbollah’s control, responsibility for security would be transferred to the Lebanese army after they have been cleared of terrorist infrastructure and weapons. After these conditions have been met, the Lebanese army will take full responsibility, the areas will be rebuilt with international assistance, and residents will be permitted to return to their homes. Under the agreement, Lebanon commits to reestablishing the state’s exclusive authority over the use of force within its territory and to ensuring that no armed organization outside state control continues to maintain military or security capabilities. To achieve this, Beirut has requested international aid, mainly from the United States and Arab countries, with the goal of completing the dismantlement of armed organizations within the country and returning full control to the state. On the other side, Israel has clarified that it will undertake military activity in Lebanon solely in response to threats, attacks, or hostile intentions by Hezbollah. The document states that as the threat posed by the organization is eliminated and the disarmament process is completed, the need for Israeli military operations inside Lebanon will diminish accordingly. Israel also emphasizes that it does not intend to hold on to Lebanese territory.

The agreement stipulates that both countries retain the right to self-defense in accordance with the United Nations charter and international law. In addition, a joint military coordination group will be established under the sponsorship and with the participation of the United States. Its role will be to oversee implementation of the understandings, prevent friction between the parties, and ensure that both sides fulfill their commitments. The United States has also committed to coordinating a broad international effort to rebuild Lebanon. The plan includes mobilizing humanitarian aid, investing in infrastructure, promoting economic development projects, and supplying construction materials. At the same time, the United States and Lebanon pledge to prevent funds from reaching any organization or entity identified with armed groups that do not operate on behalf of the state, and to ensure that reconstruction funds do not end up in the hands of such groups.

Netanyahu Hails Agreement as a Historic Achievement

Everyone in Israel is trying to determine at this point whether the agreement with Lebanon is a good thing, and whether it is a surrender to American pressure or a stunning diplomatic achievement. When the agreement takes effect, a team will be formed to draft a comprehensive peace and security agreement between Israel and Lebanon. In addition, a permanent channel of dialogue, mediated by the United States, will be created, and both countries have committed to continuing negotiations in good faith until a permanent arrangement is reached. At the same time, implementation of the pilot program in southern Lebanon hasn’t yet been scheduled, since the American army will first have to train the Lebanese army for the tasks that will be assigned to it. The success of the plan, according to individuals involved in the talks, largely depends on American involvement and the progress on disarming Hezbollah.

Netanyahu is touting the agreement as a major accomplishment. “Citizens of Israel,” he announced, “I would like to inform you about a great accomplishment of the State of Israel. You know that we are conducting negotiations in Washington between representatives of Israel, Lebanon, and the United States. It is an ongoing negotiation, and today it has borne fruit. The most important thing is that Israel will remain in the security strip in southern Lebanon. That is a great achievement, and we will maintain our presence as long as Hezbollah hasn’t been disarmed and there is still a threat to the State of Israel. It is also a major blow to Iran. Iran is trying to force us into retreating from south Lebanon, and Israel, Lebanon, and the United States are basically telling them that it is none of their business. They have no place in Lebanon, nor does Hezbollah or any other terror group.

“The other thing,” the prime minister continued, “is that we are enabling the Lebanese army to begin organizing itself to take control of its territory. We are creating two pilot zones, both on the IDF’s recommendations. One of those areas is outside the security zone, south of the Litani River, while the other is north of the Litani. A small part of it lies within the expanded security zone that we secured over the past two weeks, and that the IDF has clearly stated that it no longer needs. We are constantly maintaining the original security zone, outside the range of anti-tank missiles. We will not allow Hezbollah or the population to enter it. The most important thing is that Israel is declaring that our security is above all.”

Netanyahu sounds triumphant, but if you ask Lieberman, Bennett, or Eizenkot, they will tell you that the much-touted agreement is really a capitulation.

Bennett and Lapid Sink While Eizenkot Rises in Polls

There isn’t much new on the political front, other than the fact that Netanyahu announced in a speech to the nation about the agreement with Lebanon that he intends to create a “national government” after the election. Does that mean that the chareidim will be excluded? Or the right-wing extremists? This little comment drew fierce reactions from his rivals on the center-left and from Ben-Gvir. Other than that, the only political development is one that I have discussed already: Bennett and Lapid’s new party, B’Yachad, is continuing its decline, to the point that some believe that Bennett will soon back out. And in this situation, there is no reason to believe that Eizenkot, who is rising in the polls, would have any reason to join them.

Speaking of Eizenkot, here is a textbook example of media manipulation. The media is determined to unseat Netanyahu, and as far as they are concerned, it makes no difference who will replace him. As long as the prime minister disappears from our lives, they will be satisfied. As long as they thought that Naftoli Bennett had the greatest chance of defeating him, every journalist in the country supported him, even though they also agree that he is a serial fraudster. That is why they celebrated the merger between Bennett and Lapid. But now that Eizenkot is rising in the polls while Bennett and Lapid are sinking, that makes Eizenkot the media’s “savior,” and he has become their latest darling.

None of that, however, is especially underhanded. But on Friday, the day of its weekend edition, Yediot Acharonot ran the following headline: “While Israel is held captive in Netanyahu’s trap of fear, Gadi Eizenkot, the opposing bloc’s candidate for prime minister, returned to the Gaza envelope this week with a promise to crush Hamas politically and militarily.” While Yediot tried to depict Eizenkot as the candidate for prime minister of the entire left-wing bloc, his colleagues Lapid, Lieberman, and Bennett have yet to designate him as such. But Yediot isn’t concerned with the facts. They are part of the campaign to bring down Netanyahu, and since Eizenkot is their greatest hope, they have no qualms about prematurely crowning Eizenkot as the new leading candidate and almost the next prime minister. The next step will simply be calling on everyone to vote for him.

The other media outlets aren’t much different. For instance, take this news blurb: “Former chief of staff and head of the Yashar party Gadi Eizenkot toured the Gaza envelope today and met with captivity survivor Doron Steinbrecher in the neighborhood from which she was abducted.” The entire article is essentially promotional material for Eizenkot, but that isn’t the worst part. The real question is why Eizenkot is billed as a former chief of staff, a description that isn’t used when Benny Gantz is mentioned, even though he held the same position. For that matter, Netanyahu could also be described as “former member of Sayeret Matkal” to invoke his service in an elite IDF unit. But if the newspapers can subtly shift their readers’ sentiments to favor Eizenkot, why not?

Terror Tunnel Discovered Near Yerushalayim

In case you thought that our enemies were taking a break from scheming against us, I will sadly have to disabuse you of that notion. This week, two suspects were arrested on suspicion of digging a tunnel near the A’zaim checkpoint and carrying out terror activities. The arrests took place after the discovery of a tunnel dug from the West Bank toward Yerushalayim at a depth of about 25 meters. The tunnel was first detected by the Civil Administration, which reported it to security forces. Police officers and Border Guard officers who arrived at the scene confiscated digging equipment, water bottles, gloves, face masks, and other equipment. The suspects are a Palestinian and an Arab resident of East Yerushalayim, both in their thirties. They were arrested early in the morning in a joint operation of the Border Guard and Yerushalayim police and then were placed in custody for questioning. The police are examining the suspicion that the tunnel was dug recently and was intended to be used for carrying out security crimes, including terror operations and smuggling illegal residents into Israel.

In another incident, the IDF spokesman reported on Sunday that forces from the 91st Division and the 551st Brigade Combat Team are operating approximately ten kilometers inside Lebanon, in the area of the village of Majdal Zoun. According to the report, the operation uncovered a major terrorist installation, including a large, heavily fortified underground tunnel system. The findings indicate that the village was saturated with terrorist infrastructure. Among the discoveries was an underground passage more than 200 meters long and over 25 meters deep. Inside the tunnel were four missile launch shafts aimed at Israel, along with twelve rooms used as living quarters and stores of explosive devices, anti-tank missiles, and unmanned aerial vehicles. During the operation, over 20 Hezbollah terrorists were eliminated, including more than ten terrorists from the Radwan unit. Over 50 terrorist installations were destroyed, including observation posts and weapons depots.

And then there was a third development: Officers from the Gidonim Unit of Lahav 433, working together with the Shin Bet and under the direction of the Shomron Brigade, arrested a Tanzim operative in the Balata Refugee Camp who was identified by Israeli security officials as an arms dealer. The terrorist was planning a terror attack against security forces and civilians in the immediate future and has evaded several capture attempts in the past. After intelligence information was received indicating that he had returned to his home, the security forces raided the building, arrested him, and transferred him to Shin Bet custody.

Thousands Visit the Kever of the Ohr Hachaim

On Monday night, thousands of people traveled to Har Hazeisim to visit the kever of the Ohr Hachaim on his yahrtzeit. Credit for the preparations for the event must be given to the Ministry of Religious Affairs, led by Yehuda Avidan; the Cemetery Council, headed by Tzuriel Krispel; and the city of Yerushalayim and Mayor Moshe Lion. The event proceeded without a hitch, with no violence from police officers or injuries to mispallelim.

The Torah of the Ohr Hachaim, Rav Chaim Ben-Atar, continues flourishing many years after his passing. Rav Chaim was born in Morocco and moved to Eretz Yisroel at the age of 43, residing in Teveria, Pekiin, and Tzefas. Three years later, he made his way to Yerushalayim, where he passed away at the age of 47. Learning his peirush on the Torah, while it isn’t always easy to understand, is a delightful experience. I have the privilege of attending a weekly shiur on the Ohr Hachaim, which I find utterly fascinating.

An Exchange Between Gedolei Yisroel

One can only be awed by the gedolei Yisroel who have traveled abroad to raise money to support the Torah world. One delegation returned before Shabbos last week_,_ and another has just returned. Seeing Rav Dov Landau travel from place to place in America, I was reminded of the story about the Chofetz Chaim traveling to a faraway city to express his objections to a dispute that had erupted there. “I am an old man and I am weak,” he said, “but I have come here so that you won’t say that there was a Yid in Radin who didn’t protest.”

The delegation of gedolei Yisroel stands as evidence of the Torah’s power to rejuvenate and invigorate a human being. This was true of their previous journeys as well, but none of them have become younger, and my awe and amazement has therefore only increased. People who attended the various fundraising events in Lakewood and Deal, told me that philanthropists opened their hearts and their pockets, recognizing the importance of the cause. They heard Rav Dov Landau’s cries over the suffering of bnei Torah in Eretz Yisroel, they observed Rav Don Segal weeping over the oppression of bnei Torah, and they saw Rav Bunim Schreiber in his weakened state pleading for their assistance—and they could not help but be moved to support the cause.

Before Rav Dov Landau set out on his trip abroad, Rav Moshe Hillel Hirsch, his fellow rosh yeshiva at the Slabodka yeshiva went to wish him much success. “May your trip be with great hatzlocha and brocha. Everything should go well, you should be healthy, and you should succeed,” Rav Moshe Hillel said.

Rav Dov replied, “Amein. Yasher koach.” Then he added, “Have I told you the Tchebiner Rov’s vort about the words yasher koach? Someone once did a favor for him, and the Tchebiner Rov said, ‘Yasher koach.’ The man replied, ‘It was nothing.’ The Tchebiner Rov said, ‘Had I thanked you, it would have been possible for you to tell me that it was nothing, but the phrase yasher koach is a brocha, and one doesn’t respond that way to a brocha.’” Rav Dov then took leave of his colleague and added, “Yasher koach on the brocha.”

The sweeping victories by socialist candidates in last week’s Democrat Party primary elections in New York City have intensified a growing internal debate over the leftward shift of the national Democrat Party, and whether more mainstream Democrat candidates and elected officials across the country will be replaced by candidates whose first allegiance is to a Marxist organization that calls itself Democratic Socialists of America (DSA).

In a political analysis by Allysia Finley, a member of the Wall Street Journal editorial board, she wrote, of a similar purge of traditional Democrat from the ranks of elected officials across the country in the November midterm elections, “Who knows how the civil war [in the Democrat Party] ends, but many Democrats are likely to lose their heads if the socialist purge in New Yorks Democratic primaries last week is a portent.”

“Nine of 10 candidates endorsed by the DSA won primaries for the state Legislature and Congress,” Finley reminds us. “All three insurgent socialist candidates for Congress who were endorsed by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani won, and two of them defeated left-wing incumbent congressmen whose re-election bids were backed by the local and state Democrat Party establishment.”

The New York primary results have prompted opposite reactions from the leaders of the mainstream and progressive wings of the Democrat party. The party’s progressive activists argue that last week’s New York victories demonstrate growing voter support for radical socialist-inspired initiatives addressing the issues of housing affordability, economic inequality, labor rights, and expanded government social and welfare programs. This was the DSA-inspired platform upon which the formerly unknown Mamdani won the election for mayor last year, shocking the political world.

Last week’s primary victories also enhanced the prestige and influence of the leaders of the progressive movement, including its inspirational elder statesman, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders; Squad leader Congresswoman Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez (AOC), and Mayor Mamdani, whose successful endorsements have turned him overnight into the national Democrat Party’s newest political kingmaker, and a “poster child” against which GOP candidates will run in the campaign leading up to the November election.

Endangering the Democrats’ Golden Opportunity in November

But conventional liberal Democrats worry that their Republican opponents will seize upon these progressive victories as evidence that the national Democrat Party as a whole is moving too far to the left, and is too obsessed with elitist issues to win the support of enough independent and working-class voters to win the November midterm general election. The liberal shift could endanger a golden opportunity for the Democrats to pick enough seats to take over both the House and Senate for the last two years of President Trump’s second and last term in the White House, totally stifling his legislative agenda and turning him into a true lame-duck president.

The concerns about the political liability created by too many socialist Democrat candidates running for office in November have already led several moderate Democratic elected officials, led by Long Island Congressman Tom Suozzi, to publicly separate their much more conventional policy positions from those associated with the party’s socialist wing led by Sanders, AOC and Mamdani.

A Moderate Democrat Declaration of Political Independence

In a public letter titled “The Promise to America,” signed by Suozzi and 14 other prominent moderate Democrats, they emphasized their support for free market capitalism under suitable government controls, the institutions of public safety including local police forces and the criminal justice system, and mainstream principles of Democrat governance, while rejecting what they characterized as the ideological extremes and impractical utopian policies promoted by the DSA and the leadership of the party’s progressive wing.

The moderate Democrat signatories declared in the letter that “politics forces false choices between extremes on right and left. We reject them.

“We are capitalist, not socialist,” the letter continues. “We want safety, not lawlessness [and] we are proud, not ashamed of America. These basic concepts of American democracy and political governance had long been supported universally by members of both major national political parties. But the fact that a small group of Democrat moderates now feel their position to be so endangered by Democrat socialists who reject these principles that they need to recommit themselves publicly to them is convincing evidence of how far the progressive wing of their party has strayed from this country’s mainstream political norms and assumptions.”

The initial signers of “The Promise to America” said that their immediate goal is to recruit 20 Democrat candidates, 200 state and local Democrat elected officials, and 2,000 moderate Democrat activists as a foundation upon which to build a movement to take back control of their party.

Moderate Democrats Fighting for Political Survival

For the sake of their own political survival, these more moderate Democrats felt the need to challenge the growing influence of the DSA and progressive activists over the policies of the Democrat party as a whole. They fear that the extremely liberal candidates that the progressives choose will not be able to compete effectively against their Republican opponents at the ballot box in the cities, states, and congressional districts that are different from the deep blue New York City, California, and Washington, D.C., where the Democrats hold an overwhelming numerical advantage in voter registration. Their goal in publishing their policy statement endorsing a more traditional liberal approach to national issues is to help similarly minded moderate Democrat candidates, running in competitive districts across the country, avoid being linked to the much more extreme positions taken by progressive candidates running in urban districts and big cities where liberal Democrats make up the vast majority of registered voters.

Speaking personally, Congressman Suozzi said, “that [the progressive] message from [the New York primary last week] is not the message that I embrace.” He argued that the more traditional wing of the Democrat party needs to do a better job of making it clear to the voters “what we do believe in.”

However, Suozzi also conceded that, “you have to give the DSA and you have to give MAGA credit, because they’re organized. The people [in their political parties] that don’t agree with their philosophies wring their hands at cocktail parties, but they’re not organized. So we [moderate Democrats do] have to get organized.”

Tapping Into Voter Frustration With Economic Conditions

Suozzi also acknowledged that the progressive candidates have successfully tapped into widespread voter frustration over economic conditions and the affordability crisis.

He argues that while progressive candidates have correctly recognized growing voter frustrations over their current economic challenges, Democrats should pursue solutions through intelligent government regulation of free market capitalism rather than the inefficiencies and waste inherent in top-down government-controlled socialist economic approaches.

The moderate Democrat alternative approach to dealing with these economic challenges is outlined in the “Promise to America” initiative, which emphasizes: support for capitalism rather than socialism; public safety and law enforcement; patriotism and support for classic American institutions; and a pragmatic approach to governance rather than strict adherence to ideologically driven policies which don’t always work as intended or expected.

On the need for new national economic policies, Suozzi is in agreement with former New York Democrat Congressman Steve Israel, who represented competitive congressional districts on Long Island from 2001 to 2017. In an interview with the Washington Post, Israel said that Democrats “need to develop economic policies that resonate with a younger generation that believes the American Dream has been stolen away from them.” Israel believes that these young voters are looking for a chance to become homeowners, for less expensive child care and health care, and for more economic security. But they are frustrated because, Israel said, “they believe that the system is rigged [against them], and it is.”

New York Democrat Preferences May Not Reflect the National Party

Israel also said that, “Democratic primaries in a handful of the most progressive districts in the country do not define Democrats in Congress, or Democrats across the country. I’m more interested in what’s going on in Brooklyn, Iowa, [which is in] a state that is going to be competitive, and is much more representative than Brooklyn, New York, of the political mood in the rest of the country.”

Matt Bennett is the leader of the centrist political organization called the Third Way, which seeks to find ways to bridge the wide political gap between the left-wing and right-wing of American politics. He also said that the outcomes of the primary election in New York last week were “dangerous for Democrat candidates nationwide.”

“What we’ve seen Republicans do very successfully before is weaponize the craziest ideas of the activist left,” Bennett said. “And now the ammunition they’ve got [from the New York Democrat primary outcomes] is much, much more powerful.”

He predicted that Republican candidates will remind independent and swing voters of the most unpopular socialist policies and slogans associated with the DSA candidates, such as “defund the police” and “abolish ICE.” The slogans might convince the crucial swing voters that even mainstream Democrat candidates will wind up forced to support the extreme agenda that the progressive activists have been able to impose on the Democrat Party as a whole. “This is like [a] super-crazy [political] land we are in now,” Bennett said to the Washington Post, referring to the current state of the party.

Democrats Can’t Win Nationally on Promises They Can’t Deliver

Other prominent Democrat voices have also made it clear they are concerned that the party’s candidates in the midterm elections running in more competitive districts and states around the country will be negatively stereotyped by the more extreme ultra-liberal candidates who won their primaries in New York by making attractive but ultimately impossible to fulfill promises of benefits to the voters.

Governor Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, who is widely considered to be a potential 2028 Democrat presidential candidate, told CNN that “We as a party need to find our way toward candidates who actually can deliver for people.”

According to an analysis of the deepening split within the Democrat party by Jeet Heer, writing for The Nation, the moderates are “freaking out, sometimes even openly threatening to tear the party apart rather than work within a party dominated [by] a robust wing of democratic socialists. Some of the moderates have said, “If the left isn’t stopped, they [would] prefer to sit out the [November midterm] election or expel the left” entirely from the party.

The analysis suggests “that if enough centrist Democrats [decide to] split the party [rather than cede the party’s leadership to the progressives], the GOP might still win the midterms and elect a MAGA successor in 2028 despite President Trump’s historically low current job approval ratings.”

A CNN report quoted “one Democratic lawmaker sitting in a battleground district [said] that [he and his moderate colleagues] are so concerned about the rise of the Democratic Socialists of America that they have recently begun having serious conversations with donors about leaving the party altogether.”

Is There a Role Waiting for Moderate Democrats in the House?

That seems unlikely. Even if the Democrats do win back majority control of the House in the November midterm election, the size of that majority will be crucial to its legislative effectiveness. If that majority is no more than 10 or 15 seats, the remaining Democrat moderates in the House could band together to block some of the most extreme progressive legislative agenda items. They could then force the progressives to drop their most extreme demands to secure the number of moderate Democrat votes they need to pass any legislation that the House Republicans are united in opposing.

There is already a small group of pragmatic, fiscally conservative, and centrist Democrats in the House, generally representing moderate to conservative congressional districts, who proudly call themselves members of the Blue Dog Coalition. The group was founded in 1995 and has traditionally supported fiscal constraint by the federal government and a strong national defense. They have also been dedicated to reducing the national debt, championing pay-as-you-go (PAYGO) budget rules, and working across the aisle to find bipartisan compromises with like-minded, relatively moderate Republican House members.

Democrat Leaders in the House and Senate Running Scared

Another reason for concern that moderate Democrats like Suozzi and Shapiro have expressed is the behavior of House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. They have both fallen into line with the socialist wing of the Democrat party, in an apparent effort to maintain their leadership positions in the face of growing criticism of their tactics from outspoken critics who have openly called for their replacement by more progressive House Democrat leaders.

Over the weekend, Jeffries, who hopes to become the next Speaker of the House, celebrated the victories of the four Democrat congressional primary winners in New York City, including the three DSA insurgents.

“Congratulations to our newest members of the NYC congressional delegation. From public servants to union organizers to community activists, the path is different, but the work is the same,” Jeffries wrote, assuming that their victory in the November general election over their Republican opponents is an inevitable fait accompli.

Jeffries is painfully aware that if the Democrats are successful in capturing majority control of the House in November, thanks to the victories of progressive candidates, their future support for him in his current positions, both as the leader of House Democrats and as the Democrat congressman from his Brooklyn district, cannot be taken for granted.

Jeffries Is Warned by Progressives That He Could Be “Next”

There was a reminder of Jeffries’ political vulnerability during one of the DSA post-primary victory parties last week. When a picture of Jeffries appeared on a giant cable-TV screen, the crowd of DSA supporters in the room began to chant “you’re next.”

The phrase was interpreted as a political threat to Jeffries on two different levels. On one level, it could be understood as an effort by the increasingly powerful progressive caucus in the House to seize formal control of the chamber by replacing Jeffries with a progressive House Speaker who would be even less cooperative with House Republicans than Jeffries would be.

On the other hand, the progressive crowd at that victory rally may have been warning Jeffries that he may also be subjected to a primary challenge from the left by a DSA-affiliated socialist candidate in 2022 when he must stand again for re-election to his seat in the House by the liberal voters in his “deep blue” Brooklyn congressional district.

Pelosi Was Able to Leave the Speakership With Her Reputation Intact

In recent years, Jeffries’ predecessor as the leader of House Democrats, Nancy Pelosi, had more than her share of run-ins with progressive activists who harshly criticized her for making bipartisan deals with House Republicans to achieve bipartisan goals. But somehow, Pelosi always managed to find a way to keep the revolting progressives in line when the time came for them to cast their votes. As a result, Pelosi was able to step down voluntarily with her dignity and her reputation as one of the most effective and successful House Democrat leaders in history still intact. But Jeffries may not be so fortunate.

Writing an opinion piece for The Hill, conservative constitutional and legal expert Jonathan Turley noted that, “For years, Jeffries has joined other Democrats in fueling the rage on the left in the hopes of becoming the next House Speaker. Whether calling for supporters to ‘fight in the streets’, denouncing the Supreme Court as ‘illegitimate’ or posting an image of himself brandishing a baseball bat, Jeffries sought to portray himself as a class warrior worthy of the mob’s support.”

Turley then compares Jeffries to establishment figures during the French Revolution in the 18th century, who followed the same “self-destructive pattern. . . [thinking] that they could use mobs against their opponents while hoping that they would be overlooked.”

Turley notes that “the French Revolution was not some spontaneous uprising of the proletariat or underclass. It was led by relatively affluent figures on the [French political] left, from aristocrats to journalists to lawyers [such as] Maximilien Robespierre. . . who helped organize the revolutionary Jacobins. . .”

A French Revolution Lesson About the Dangers of Leading a Mob

“These educated and affluent figures turned to working-class [French] radicals as their muscle to terrorize their opponents. And not long after executing [all of the French] aristocrats and clergy [they could find], the radicals turned on the Jacobins themselves. [Their fellow French] moderates were sent to the guillotine by Robespierre and his henchmen as they clung to power. But eventually, the mob came for them, too,” Turley observed.

The same historical analogy applies to Senator Schumer, who has also tried to downplay the dangers implicit in the growing split between the moderates and the socialist progressives in his party by praising the diversity within Democrat ranks as an end in itself.

“Were seeing tremendous energy from all different areas of our party,” Schumer told reporters the day after the New York primary last week, ignoring the predictions that the success of the socialists in defeating the Democrat congressional incumbents in New York City will only further encourage progressives to put up AOC as their preferred replacement for Schumer two years from now, both as a Senator from New York and the leader of other Democrats in the Senate.

Schumer’s Shameful Threat Against Supreme Court Justices

Schumer was also guilty of trying to organize and lead the liberal mob a few years ago in its attempts to intimidate and threaten the members of the majority block of six Supreme Court conservative justices that was put in place at the end of Trump’s first term as president. Those justices then began issuing landmark legal rulings that eventually overturned many previous liberal court rulings, including the controversial Roe v. Wade decision. In March, 2020, Schumer personally went to a pro-Roe v. Wade rally on the steps of the Supreme Court building where he warned those conservative justices, “You have released the whirlwind, and you will pay the price. You won’t know what hit you if you go forward with these awful [conservative] decisions.”

The uproar generated by Schumer’s clearly implied threat to the physical safety of the justices earned him a rare public rebuke from Chief Justice John Roberts. He condemned Schumer’s threatening statements as “not only inappropriate, they are [also] dangerous.”

Schumer later apologized for his statements on the Senate floor, lamely claiming that “the words I used. . . didn’t come out the way I intended.” But they still served Schumer’s larger purpose, establishing him, at least for that moment, as the leader of the liberal Democrat mob, which is still intent on undermining the legal authority of the Supreme Court by packing its bench with new liberal justices to overrule the court’s current conservative majority.

Progressive Democrats Want to Repeat FDR’s Big Mistake

It is the same tactic that Franklin Delano Roosevelt tried to use in 1937, after the Supreme Court of that era had struck down some of his liberal New Deal economic programs. But Roosevelt’s effort was foiled by a bipartisan nationwide outcry against his proposal, because it would have disturbed the delicate balance of powers in the U.S. Constitution, which requires the political independence of the Supreme Court as a check on the power of the executive and legislative branches of government. The same objections are still relevant today in response to current progressive Democrat proposals that would turn the Supreme Court and its control over this country’s legal system into their partisan political tools.

But Schumer’s popularity with the radical left wing of the Democrat Party was short-lived. He came under bitter criticism from progressive Democrats for enabling the passage of a continuing resolution crafted by Trump and the Republicans to fund the federal government through the end of fiscal year 2025 and avert a government shutdown in March of that year.

Schumer’s Struggles to Retain His Leadership Role

Many political observers believe that in order to restore his leadership credibility with the progressives, Schumer deliberately instigated the longest federal government shutdown in history. It lasted for 43 days in October and November of 2025, followed by an extended shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from February through April of this year in reaction to Trump’s crackdown on criminal illegal aliens in this country through raids conducted by DHS agencies including the Border Patrol and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Nevertheless, one of the standard talking points of progressive Democrat senatorial candidates in this election cycle is a call for Schumer’s replacement as the leader of Senate Democrats.

Legal commentator Turley notes the irony in the fact that, much like the Jacobin leaders of the French Revolution who were eventually consumed by the fire of revolution that they started, including Robespierre and his right hand man, Louis Antoine de Saint-Just, and Georges Danton, Democrat leaders Jeffries and Schumer are likely to suffer political execution by the progressive mob in their party that they have been trying so hard to appease.

Turley writes that, with Democratic voters now expressing support for socialism in record numbers and politicians pledging radical changes to our political system, they have proven again to be what Soviet communists called [during the 1930s and 1940s] the “useful idiots” of the American left.

More opportunities for DSA-endorsed candidates and other socialist-leaning “fellow travelers” to demonstrate their growing political strength in Democrat primaries are coming soon. They are running in a Senate race in Michigan, a House and gubernatorial race in Colorado, and a mayoral race in Los Angeles.

In addition to the progressive socialist sweep in last week’s New York primary, Janeese Lewis George, a Democrat socialist, won the nomination to become the mayor of Washington, D.C., defeating a centrist candidate in a primary held on June 16.

The Victory of the Columbia Campus Activist Who Hates Israel

Of the three winning socialist congressional candidates backed by Mamdani in the New York primary last week, perhaps the most disturbing for Jewish New Yorkers was Darializa Avila Chevalier, whose only prior political experience was as a protest organizer on the Columbia University campus for Students for Justice in Palestine and the Gaza Solidarity Encampment. She helped to stage a 13-day sit-in demonstration against Israel and the organized harassment of Jewish students on the Columbia University campus in April, 2024. She has also boasted about her participation in a rally held in Times Square that had been organized by the Party for Socialism and Liberation on October 8, 2023, to celebrate the heinous attack Hamas launched from Gaza into southern Israel the previous day. Chevalier joined the DSA in 2025, and said that her political views were “informed by the writings of Angela Davis,” the notoriously violent Black activist. She also cited as a source for her hatred of Israel her experiences as a student intern teaching English to Palestinian children living in the West Bank town of Nablus (Shechem) in 2014. During her primary campaign, Chevalier repeatedly questioned Israel’s legitimacy while describing it as an apartheid state.

In the primary, Chevalier defeated incumbent Democrat Congressman Adriano Espaillat, the chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, who represents a district covering the large Hispanic voter communities in Upper Manhattan and western portions of the Bronx, in one of the most significant defeats for a senior House Democrat during this election cycle.

James Carville Calls Chevalier Unacceptable as a Fellow Democrat

In a podcast, James Carville, the famously outspoken former campaign advisor to Bill Clinton, ranted about the radical leftist and intolerant policy positions that Chevalier had taken previously that were so extreme that she had to disavow them when she decided to run in the Democrat primary. Carville gave her no credit for announcing that she had changed her position on these issues in the hope that Democrat primary voters would forget or ignore them.

Instead, Carville said of Chevalier, “Lady, I ain’t [sic] in the same party as you. I’m sorry. I’m just not.”

Carville also said that it was time for more moderate Democrats to “talk the ‘s’ word: schism. I really do. Everybody’s always said, ‘No, no. We’re a coalition. Were a big tent.’ But Carville then declared that when considering whether someone like Chevalier could be an acceptable Democrat candidate for a seat in Congress, “There’s just some [people] I can’t be in the same tent with.”

He was, no doubt, concerned that, among other things, Chevalier’s incendiary posts on social media, calling President Joe Biden a “war criminal” and the U.S. a “disgrace” for supporting Israel in its war against Hamas in Gaza could hurt other Democrat candidates running in swing districts across the country in November’s midterm election where hatred of Israel is not yet the accepted Democrat norm.

Carville went so far as to suggest that if Avila Chevalier does win the House seat for New York’s 13th Congressional District in the November general election, other Democrat members of the House “should not seat her in the caucus [because] her views are totally against the Democrat Party’s traditional platforms and the basic principles of American democracy that Democrats” have always believed in.

Liberal Candidates Competing Over Who Is Furthest Left

In the race to fill the vacant seat left by retiring Democrat Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez, who represented New York’s 7th Congressional District, covering neighborhoods in northern Brooklyn and western Queens, State Assemblywoman Claire Valdez defeated Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso despite his support from several prominent Democratic establishment figures, including New York State Attorney General Letitia James and his own progressive policy platform.

The main difference between Reynoso and Valdez was the greater degree of her leftist militancy. DSA member Valdez campaigned on the organization’s socialist policy agenda, including the expansion of social programs and labor union organizing. She was also known for her outspoken criticism of Israel’s conduct of the war in Gaza against Hamas.

Reynoso also sought to win the support of progressive Palestinian supporters in the primary by accusing Israel of committing “genocide” in Gaza while at the same time trying to moderate his image by stressing the need to “tone down this antisemitism that we’re seeing in our city.” But Reynoso’s DSA opponent, Claire Valdez, saw no need to protect the one million members of New York City’s Jewish community from the sharp spike in antisemitic attacks which they have suffered since the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel.

Valdez Criticizes NYPD Cops for Protecting Endangered Jews

Instead, Valdez criticized NYPD cops for restraining the organized progressive mob chanting “Globalize the Intifada” and waving Hezbollah flags outside of the Young Israel of Midwood on May 11, in one of Brooklyn’s most concentrated Orthodox Jewish neighborhoods. The demonstrators were protesting against a program called “The Great Israeli Real Estate Event” going on inside the shul, which was sponsored by several Israel-based real estate firms as well as the Israeli-American Council and the Brooklyn-based Jewish Press newspaper. Valdez praised the participants in the antisemitic protest by saying that, “New Yorkers don’t just have the right to protest the sale of stolen Palestinian land. They have a responsibility to [do so].”

Former New York City Comptroller Brad Lander defeated incumbent Congressman Dan Goldman, who represents New York’s 10th Congressional District encompassing most of Lower Manhattan and western Brooklyn neighborhoods.

Although Lander is not a member of the DSA, he identifies himself as a democratic socialist, emulating Bernie Sanders. During the primary campaign, he received significant support from the same loose coalition of leftist activist groups that helped Mamdani to win the mayoralty election last year.

Two Jewish Candidates Compete Over Criticism of Israel

The was a bitter irony in the contest between two liberal Jewish candidates running to represent a district which includes the Jewish communities on the Lower East Side and the western half of Boro Park, and who were competing with one another over which of them could be more critical of U.S. support for Israel and its prime minister as the country fought for its survival in its simultaneous post-October 7, 2023, wars against Hamas, Iran, and Hezbollah.

As a congressman, Dan Goldman’s record in support of Israel’s security was mixed. He cast votes in the House to fund Israel’s defense and consistently supported the U.S.-Israel alliance against Iran-backed proxies. He was an advocate for securing the return of 251 hostages that Hamas had kidnapped from Israel on October 7 and held in Gaza, and he also supported fighting global terrorism.

Like most liberal Democrats, Goldman was a supporter of the now obsolete and thoroughly impractical two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He strongly opposed Prime Minister Netanyahu’s government and condemned its pro-settlement West Bank policy. He also frequently pushed the U.S. government to insist on an Israeli government crackdown based upon liberal media accusations of incidents of unprovoked settler violence against Palestinians.

Goldman avoided inflammatory terms like “genocide” or “apartheid” that other progressives used routinely to condemn Israel for the IDF’s conduct of the military campaign against Hamas in Gaza. Goldman’s complex record on Israel was a highly debated issue during the primary campaign, drawing support from moderate Democrats and pushback from pro-Palestinian progressive activists.

Following his victory in the primary, Lander called for Democrats to “spend more time building a unified Democratic message” than on “factional infighting” between progressives and moderates. He also said that New York’s Democrat primary voters had made it clear that they want to see people who fight harder for working families.

Meanwhile, political observers note that last week’s outcomes in New York’s primaries are part of a broader national pattern in Democratic primaries. Progressive candidates have performed well during recent months, particularly in heavily Democrat districts where the party primary almost always determines the eventual winner of the general election in November.

Perhaps the time has come for more people to show up and vote in primaries. Doing so would prevent Socialists from continuing to win low turnout primaries and subsequently the elections in November.

Progressive Candidates Now Running Across the Country

Several upcoming primary races feature progressive or democratic socialist candidates challenging more established Democrats, and incumbents including: Michigan’s Democratic Senate primary, where Abdul El-Sayed is seeking the nomination; Colorado’s First Congressional District, where Melat Kiros is running; Los Angeles’ mayoral election, where City Councilmember Nithya Raman has emerged as the progressive alternative to the notoriously incompetent but equally liberal incumbent mayor, Karen Bass; as well as several additional House races in several safely Democrat districts where progressive challengers are attempting to unseat traditional Democrat incumbents.

The growing prominence of democratic socialist candidates presents both opportunities and risks for Democrats heading into the November midterms.

Progressive activists argue that their candidates and leaders, including Mamdani, Bernie Sanders, and AOC, have energized younger voters and successfully addressed concerns over housing costs, health care, wages, and economic inequality. Their primary victories may also increase voter turnout in progressive Democratic strongholds in November, enabling progressive leaders to drive the party’s policy agenda even further left.

Moderate Democrats Highlighting Their Policy Differences

On the other hand, the moderate Democrats who signed “The Promise to America” letter have begun a political publicity campaign emphasizing their policy differences with the party’s left wing while reaffirming support for free market economics, promoting public safety, and supporting more center-left governing and economic policies and goals. Their objective is to preserve the electoral competitiveness of more moderate and traditional Democrat candidates running for election in suburban and swing districts where the values and concerns of most general-election voters are far more conventional and mainstream than the ideologically more motivated electorate in Democrat Party primaries.

The same moderate Democrats who are critical of the party’s progressive wing contend that Republicans will use the primary victories of avowedly socialist candidates to portray the Democrat party as a whole as increasingly aligned with extreme liberal and elitist positions that most independent and swing voters view as too far outside the political mainstream to consider supporting.

Republicans Will Remind Voters About Extreme Progressive Issues

Republican candidates are expected to highlight these issues during their midterm election campaigns against both progressive and more moderate Democrat candidates. The issues include Democrat progressive support for socialism and opposition to free market capitalism; systematically reducing the level of law enforcement through policing, and avoiding the arrest and imprisonment of convicted criminals; opposition to any form of immigration law enforcement, including the deportation of convicted immigrant criminals; and progressive support for rabid antisemitism thinly disguised as anti-Zionism or support for the so-called Palestinian national cause.

President Trump explained the Democrat socialist strategy in a speech last week to his supporters in which he said, “They want to completely destroy the traditional American way of life.”

When a reporter asked Trump about Mamdani’s recent statement that he has no objection to being used as “the poster child” for Democrats, and then asked the president if he was worried about more Democratic Socialist candidates running for office across the nation, the president agreed that it is a serious problem.

Trump Explains the Difference Between Socialism and Communism

“I think it’s a big threat to our nation, actually, because it’s not socialism, it’s really communism. They use the [phrase] Social Democrat because it sounds so nice, but it’s really [Soviet-style] communism you’re talking about.

“I think it’s the biggest threat to our nation. . . maybe since our founding. That includes World War I, World War II, September 11, and the Pearl Harbor attack.”

Trump continued, “People will smile when I say that, but the smart people are going to say, ‘You know, it’s probably right.” It’s basically introducing communism into the United States of America. There’s never been anything so dangerous,” Trump warned.

In an earlier comment on the same issue, Trump noted that communism has failed everywhere that it has been tried. “Communism is very easy to sell,” Trump observed because of the promises that its supporters make, but historically, wherever communism has been applied to govern a country, “It destroys everything.”

Steve Scalise, the Republican House Majority Leader from Louisiana, similarly explained the seismic shift to the left revealed by the results of last week’s Democrat primary in New York by saying, “You could call it the Bolshevik Revolution of 2026, but the Mamdani takeover of the Democrat Party is official now.”

Whether those efforts successfully insulate moderate Democrats or whether the New York primary results become a defining national narrative may become one of the central political questions that will be resolved by the outcome of the 2026 midterm election.

You know the feeling. You’re flying high, enjoying life, feeling pretty good about yourself. And then someone says some­thing to shoot you down.

The flying high feeling may be because you’re happy about something specific. It could be be­cause you feel justified in something you did or believe. It could even be a simple matter of being generally content with how you’re running your life. And then someone comes along, aims a gun of criticism, and pulls the trigger to burst your balloon.

You will probably feel bad even if the comment in question was merely an envious or malicious blow with no power behind it. Any negative re­mark can produce an unhappy reaction. But such a reaction doesn’t have to last long. If the negative comment arose from the speaker’s personal bias or neurosis, you can tell yourself that she doesn’t know what she’s talking about. Or that she clearly has an axe to grind on this subject. Even if you feel temporarily discombobulated, it’s not hard to re­gain your balance and reacquire that high-flying feeling again.

What makes it much worse is if the comment is true.

When a remark with some truth behind it shoots a hole in the balloon of your contentment, it’s a bullet that hurts.

To protect yourself from the hurt, you may still tell yourself that the speaker doesn’t know what she’s talking about. Or that she’s just jeal­ous. Or any of the justifications we use to assure ourselves that we’re still okay. But the little truth meter inside each of us may have a different take on the subject. It will recognize the emes that un­derlies the comment and be unable to argue or wish it away.

An example:

A harried young mother tells herself that her child’s anti-social behavior is normal for a kid his age. So what if he’s a little aggressive now and then? He just needs to grow up a bit. To become more civilized. At this point in time, there’s abso­lutely nothing to worry about, right?

Now, suppose her mother-in-law hears about the little tyke’s latest escapade and is horrified. She doesn’t buy into her daughter-in-law’s rosy spin on the matter. With brutal frankness, she tells our harried young mother that little Yan­kel’s got a serious problem which needs some serious looking into. That most boys his age don’t go around regularly hitting people or breaking their belong­ings. That the hopeful thinking which is helping Yankel’s mother feel good about him and about herself is nothing more than a wishful fantasy.

Boom! The mother-in-law’s aim was right on the mark. The rosy balloon is punctured, and the hapless daughter-in-law is shot down. Devastated.

Another example:

An ambitious young man decides to invest in a project that seems to him highly promising. He does his due dili­gence and feels optimistic about the out­come of his investment… until someone comes along and points out, not without a certain amount of gleeful relish, one or two points that the would-be inves­tor’s “due diligence” overlooked. Points which have the effect of letting the air out of the investor’s balloon and making him feel both foolish and embarrassed.

Sometimes it’s not so much what is said as how it’s said. If a well-meaning mother-in-law wants to help a grand­child onto a better path, there are more productive, not to mention kinder, ways of doing it than figuratively bashing the child’s mother over the head with harsh truths.

Similarly, an unwise financial invest­ment doesn’t reflect badly on the inves­tor if he acted responsibly and in good faith. There’s no need to embellish the facts with your opinion of his ineffec­tuality as an investor. The facts alone, if presented to him in a neutral way, are enough to show him the error of his ways. No need to rub his face in his ig­norance.

It’s the assumption of superiority on the speaker’s part that’s so galling to the recipient. The unspoken message which says, “I know better than you, not because I’m older or have more ex­perience, but because your opinions just aren’t worth much.” That kind of thing can cut like a knife.

If the criticizer is speaking off the top of his head, we can dismiss his remarks. It’s knowing that the facts and opin­ions the speaker presents are true which leads the recipient to so easily swallow the rest of the message. The part that says he or she is basically worthless at whatever is under discussion. The part that leaves them feeling dumb and un­successful and ashamed.

Good Intentions

There are certainly times when a well-meaning push in the right direc­tion is called for. Times when someone has information or a point of view that would be useful or even vital for some­one else to hear. Once we’ve honestly ascertained that our motives are pure and that it’s our job to say something, that’s when we need to get to work fig­uring out exactly how much to say, and how. Not everything that’s on our minds needs to be aired. And nothing needs to be aired harshly!

There’s more. If what we say and how we say it can be bullet-like in their power to smash a person’s self-esteem, when we speak is also important. Timing is everything if we want our well-meant commentary to be received in the spirit in which it’s offered.

The time to express concerns over a grandchild’s aggressive behavior is not when the child’s mother is reeling with exhaustion after the birth of a new baby. It’s not when she’s feeling over­whelmed with worry over her husband’s lost job or a parent’s illness. The speaker needs to bide her time, waiting until the moment is right for the recipient to have open ears and an open heart. After all, the goal is not to drive home a sense of her inferiority as a mother, or her son’s unacceptability as a child. The goal is to identify a problem and then try to solve it in the most efficient and compassion­ate possible way.

That will happen when the harried young mother is feeling at least some­what relaxed, cherished and appreci­ated. In such a context, if raised tactfully and presented lovingly, the topic of her son’s negative behavior will feel like a solvable problem rather than an ego-threatening weapon of destruction.

Ditto for our eager investor. It’s im­portant for a young man starting out to build a marriage, a family, and a career to have a reasonably strong self-image. Shooting him down for making a mis­take will not help him trust his instincts in the future and may hobble his ambi­tions in general. A good friend or wise mentor can use the investment’s failure as a teachable moment.

As we all know, no one ever learned much from being shot down. The goal is to explain things that need to be ex­plained, while leaving the balloon of optimism intact. If that takes more tact and care than you’re used to employing, so be it. The results are worth the effort.

If we believe that we need to say something which we’ve determined someone else really needs to know, let’s spend some time figuring out the best way of dishing out that home truth. A way that will leave the recipient grate­ful and thoughtful rather than bristling and hurt.

It’s human nature to feel a bit supe­rior when we see someone else messing up. In such a case, it’s useful to remem­ber Hillel’s dictum: “What is hateful to you, do not do unto others.” We hate to be shot down with unpleasant home truths. Let’s be kind enough to keep the people in our lives—even those who need a gentle nudge now and then—fly­ing high!

For many people, this Shabbos marks the beginning of the “Country Season.” Tens of thousands of Yidden head for the hills, to their summer homes, to what we used to call bungalows, although, by now, most are anything but.

That got me thinking. Do you ever think about where you would go if you wanted to run away from everything?

Not a vacation. Not a weekend getaway. But a place where the noise of the world cannot reach you. A place where the pace of life is measured not by deadlines and headlines, but by the rising and setting of the sun.

I have heard people say that if they ever had to run away for some reason, chas veshalom, they would head to one of those small, picturesque towns tucked away in the hills of Vermont.

I can imagine being holed up in a modest farmhouse at the end of a winding dirt road, surrounded by acres of trees, with a stream running nearby and a porch where I could sit with a sefer and a cup of coffee as the world passes by unnoticed.

I have only been to Vermont a couple of times, but each time I was there, I thought that there was something almost mythical about the place. The rolling green mountains, the village greens, the family farms that have existed for generations, the maple trees that explode into brilliant shades of red and gold every autumn. It represents a kind of America that seems to have been frozen in time – a simpler, quieter place where neighbors know each other, children play outdoors until nightfall, and people still wave as they pass on country roads.

Of course, I am not planning on moving there anytime soon. Aside from the issue of finding kosher food and a minyan, I suspect that I would miss the noise and energy of our communities more than I realize. A Jew was never meant to live alone on a mountain, disconnected from a kehillah and the warmth of other Yidden.

In any case, the pipe dream went up in a puff of smoke when I read an article from The Free Press about an Israeli woman who moved to Bristol, Vermont, a tiny town of 3,782 residents, the kind of place where, as she described it, “you let your kids run outside barefoot and leave your doors unlocked.”

As a child of the Second Intifada, she had lived with the fear of terrorism and violence. She believed that by moving to a quiet corner of rural America, she had left those anxieties behind. Vermont was supposed to be her refuge; a place far removed from the conflicts and hatred of the Middle East.

But then she found herself sitting on a folding chair at a local gathering, hearing accusations of “land theft” and chants about the “occupied land of Palestine.” In that moment, she said, she no longer believed that she was safe.

Think about that for a moment.

If antisemitism can make its way to a tiny Vermont town hidden among forests and mountains, a place where the biggest concerns should be the coming winter or the next maple harvest, then there is no corner of the world untouched by this ancient hatred.

The Jews of Europe once thought that they had found enlightened societies where they were accepted. Jews fled from one country to another searching for peace and security. In every generation, we have searched for a place where we could finally exhale and say, “Here, we will be left alone.”

History has repeatedly shown us that our ultimate security cannot come from geography. A beautiful landscape can soothe the soul. A quiet town can offer peace of mind. A mountain retreat can provide silence. But no place on earth can guarantee safety.

The only true refuge of the Jewish people has always been our connection to Hashem, our Torah, and our communities. We can appreciate the beauty of Vermont’s mountains, but our real shelter has never been found in the shadow of any mountain. It has always been beneath the wings of the Shechinah.

When we imagine escaping, we usually imagine subtraction. Fewer people. Fewer obligations. Less noise. Less tension. A small house at the edge of a forest where the only sound in the morning is the wind rustling through the trees and birds announcing the arrival of a new day.

There is something very alluring about that image. The world has become so loud. In an era of constant connection, we yearn for some time to disconnect.

While the quiet country road may be beautiful, it cannot replace the sound of a child reciting a posuk. The solitude of a mountain sunrise is inspiring, but it cannot replace the warmth of a “Gut Shabbos” exchanged between neighbors walking home from shul. A field of maple trees changing colors in autumn is breathtaking, but it cannot replace the sight of a bais medrash filled with Yidden bent over their Gemaros.

That is why there is something almost poetic about the Vermont dream collapsing under the very reality it was trying to escape. It was not only that antisemitism followed the Jewish people there. It was that the dream itself had overlooked an essential truth: A Jew does not find safety by becoming invisible.

We have tried that throughout our long golus. We have moved from country to country, from one enlightened society to another, hoping that perhaps here we could simply be another citizen, another neighbor, another person left in peace. Yet, the story has repeated itself too many times.

And yet, we endure, not because we have found the perfect corner of the earth where trouble cannot reach us, but because wherever we have gone, we have carried our home with us. A sefer on a table. A mezuzah on a doorpost. A minyan in a shul. A mother lighting Shabbos candles. A father learning with his child.

Perhaps that is the greatest irony of all: The little Vermont farmhouse hidden among the mountains seems like a refuge because it is far away from everyone. But a Yid’s greatest refuge has never been found in isolation. It has always been found in connection – to Hashem, to Torah, and to other Yidden.

The forests of Vermont may offer silence. But the sound of Torah is what has allowed us to survive every storm.

Think about the irony of what the Israeli woman was seeking. She went to Vermont because she wanted a place where her children could run barefoot on the grass and where doors remained unlocked. She was searching for innocence, a world that felt untouched by hatred and conflict. A world that would not bother her for being Jewish.

That longing is profoundly human. After centuries of wandering, persecution, and uncertainty, who could blame a Jew for dreaming of a quiet little corner of the world where history finally leaves him alone.

But perhaps that is the great lesson of our journey through golus. We do not survive because we find a place where there are no storms. We survive because we have learned how to build homes that can withstand storms wherever they arise.

Whether it is a Jewish home in a crowded apartment building in Boro Park, a small house in Monsey, a village in Europe centuries ago, or even a remote farmhouse surrounded by Vermont mountains, the walls do not protect us. What protects us is what is behind those walls: Torah, tefillah, emunah, and the generations of mesorah that we carry with us.

Last week, I found myself in Boro Park, having gone there to be menachem avel the Rubashkin family upon the passing of their dear mother. Having grown up and lived in Monsey for most of my life, and now residing in Lakewood, walking down the streets of Boro Park felt a bit jarring.

The streets were alive with noise, traffic, and construction, with people of all ages moving in every direction, all close together, all in motion.

As I walked, I noticed a sign indicating a bais medrash and stepped inside, simply to sit for a moment and look into a sefer. The sign read “Fultichan.” I pulled the door, expecting it to be locked, but it opened immediately – no combination, no multiple locks.

Inside was a small room with two people learning.

I had never been there before, and I do not know if I will ever be there again. But I walked in and felt at home.

A Yid walks into a bais medrash and feels at home, wherever it is, whatever its size, whether it holds multitudes or just two chavrusos learning a sugya. There is a familiarity there that transcends place and circumstance.

And that reminded me that I do not need to go to Vermont or the country or anywhere else to find stillness. All I need to do is step into a bais medrash, open a sefer, and I am transported to the eternal Yiddishe place of solitude, comfort, and safety.

A person can build a house at the edge of the forest and believe that he has finally escaped the world. But a Jew has never been tasked with finding a place where he can hide from history. Our task has always been to carry eternity with us as we walk through history.

There is something about a Vermont or country summer that speaks of innocence and simplicity, where life is uncomplicated and peaceful, formed from a combination of deep green mountains, wildflowers growing along the fence lines, the old country store where everyone knows each other, the gravel road disappearing into the hills, and the old pickup truck moving slowly because there is nowhere to rush.

But even a place where time seems to move more slowly, a place that looks like it belongs in a Norman Rockwell painting, cannot promise an escape from the darker currents that run through the world.

The winds blow through the valleys of the Catskills or Vermont just as they blow through every other place on earth. The difference is not whether there is a storm outside. The difference is whether there is a flame burning inside.

And perhaps that is why, after all the centuries of exile, a small shtiebel in a noisy city can be a greater refuge than a cabin on a dusty country road.

Perhaps every person has his own Vermont.

For some, it is a bungalow in the mountains. For others, it is an apartment at the edge of Geulah, a house on a lake, or simply the dream of a different life where the burdens and anxieties of the present somehow cannot find us.

And perhaps every generation has its Vermont as well.

A time when it believes that the storms have finally passed. A moment when all the pieces appear to have fallen perfectly into place. The right people are in power. The dangerous enemies have been weakened. The future seems secure. We tell ourselves that the battles are behind us and that we can finally sit down on the porch, open a sefer, pour the coffee, and rest.

But history has a way of knocking on the door of even the quietest farmhouse.

Because no matter how far we run, we cannot run away from the world that Hashem placed us in. The purpose of a Jew is not to escape history, but to live through it with emunah. We are commanded to build homes, raise families, learn Torah, and serve Hashem not in a world free of uncertainty, but in a world where uncertainty is the stage upon which our bitachon is tested.

And that is a lesson we have been reminded of once again in recent months.

Everything was falling into place. Donald Trump won a landslide victory, doing away with Kamala Harris with historic flourish. He was Israel’s friend, the best anyone could hope for. He stood at Israel’s side during his first administration and promised to do so in his second. He was surrounded by Jewish people, conservative ones, and friends of the Jewish nation. As far as friends of Israel were concerned, he could do no wrong. He said and did all the right things. He was a welcome change and relief from the Biden and Obama years and their anti-Israel administrations.

Binyomin Netanyahu’s life mission has been to derail Iran’s push for nuclear weapons, but despite his many efforts and hard work, he found no allies in his campaign. And then Trump bought in. Following his reelection in November 2024, Netanyahu flew to the president-elect’s mansion in West Palm Beach and discussed with him how they would jointly attack Iran and its nuclear project.

Working together, last year at this time, the United States and Israel attacked Iran’s nuclear facilities. Trump and Netanyahu were jubilant. The Iranian threat had finally been removed. After lying about their nuclear ambitions for decades, Iran would finally not be able to continue production of a bomb. Trump was proclaimed an Israeli hero, and Jews the world over were thrilled.

But by February, Iran appeared to be on the cusp of enriching its uranium to levels necessary for bomb-making, and the Trump-Netanyahu coalition went to war against Iran once again. Commencing with the assassination of the Iranian Supreme Leader and dozens of members of the country’s leadership, their goal was to cause regime change and spark a transition to a post-theocratic government. Trump had promised the Iranian people as much, and he was coming now to make good on that pledge.

The other goals were to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, destroy its ballistic missile capabilities, and end Iran’s ability to maintain and support its terror proxies.

Netanyahu was thrilled. He was finally achieving his life’s ambition. The American president was his best friend. They spoke every day or two and things were looking up. He was planning his reelection campaign, preparing clips of himself and Trump working together, and gathering Trump’s many complimentary quotes about his greatness, military leadership, and importance to Israel. Trump was even going to travel to Israel before the elections to campaign for his friend, Bibi.

And then, after months of bombing and achieving military victories, decimating Iran’s nuclear capability along with its navy and air force, Trump decided that he had had enough. What he thought would be a quick war was dragging on. Iran was blocking ships from transporting oil through the Strait of Hormuz, causing the price of gasoline to rise along with inflation. His threats and bravado were not cowing the Iranians, and the war was quite unpopular in the United States and elsewhere. He and his administration had done a poor job of selling it and explaining to the American people the need for the war.

The whole thing fell apart. All the words of Chazal cautioning us not to trust in governments or people came back to haunt us. All the lessons we have learned over the years once again became so real. Everything we have learned about lev melochim vesorim b’Yad Hashem is smacking us in the face. Eretz asher Hashem Elokecha doresh osah, tomid einei Hashem Elokecha bah, meireishis hashanah v’ad acharis shanah. If you follow Hashem’s directions, His chukim umishpotim, He will be there for you, protecting you, suppressing your enemies, and keeping your friends your friends.

But when you disrespect Him, when you do not follow His laws, when you mock His Torah and those who dedicate their lives to it, then things begin to crumble. And that is exactly what happened. When you take credit for military miracles, when you say, “Kochi v’otzem yodi asah li es hachayil hazeh,” then He says, “I will leave you to your own devices and see how far you will get.”

And as the world found out on October 7, that is not too far. And now that lesson has been repeated again. Your best friend, colleague, ally, and protector now mocks you, criticizes you, and curses you, and his vice president speaks with open contempt, if not outright hatred, toward you and your country.

President Trump tells you that if not for him, the State of Israel would not exist. If you do not acknowledge Hashem’s role in your state, then you leave a vacuum, and the American president is as eligible to fill that role as anyone else. He has been a good friend and dependable ally, and he deserves appreciation.

Israel is the land of the Jews, our haven in a sea of hatred, but when its leadership turns its back on Hashem, His Torah, and those faithful to Him, things begin to collapse.

Overnight, the man who fashions himself as master of the art of the deal was out-negotiated by a couple of lunatics with their backs against the wall, quickly running out of money and power. Overnight, the best friend of Israel, the commander-in-chief whose army worked shoulder to shoulder in unprecedented unity with Israel’s forces, jointly confronting the world’s pariah state, which views them as the Big Satan and the Little Satan, was convinced that Iran’s leaders wanted to turn over a new leaf and function as a rational country.

After dropping tens of thousands of bombs across Iran, and annihilating its navy and air force, most of its drones and missiles, and the capacity to manufacture more of them, and causing hundreds of billions of dollars’ worth of damage, the United States gave the regime a lifeline.

What happened? What changed? Observers wondered. Israel and its supporters scratched their collective heads. Commentators commented and pontificators pontificated. Republicans bit their tongues, and Democrats gleefully wagged theirs in a fit of “I told you sos” over the president’s seeming capitulation.

It is only a memorandum, not a deal. There is much negotiating ahead and nothing is definite. But a few things are clear: We are not in charge, nothing happens by itself, and nothing can be taken for granted.

When the war began, people the world over were fearful, and everyone immediately began davening and saying Tehillim. As time went on, they got used to the situation. Besides, Trump and Netanyahu were in charge. Their armies, the two most powerful in the world, were doing what they do best and crushing Iran. What could go wrong?

We slackened off. We lost sight of the One Who really runs everything and thought that the ruination of the Iranian regime was a done deal. Israel would be granted years of peace. Iran’s days as a terror paymaster would be ended, and its proxies would collapse. The Arab Gulf states would have nothing more to fear and would line up to make peace with Israel.

Well, it is not yet over, but the war seems to be heading toward a surprise ending. Our tefillos have the ability to change the outcome. Our devotion to Torah can bring about the change. Our mesirus nefesh for Torah has the power of the parah adumah to result in taharah and kedusha.

This week, we lain, “Zos haTorah, odom ki yomus b’ohel.” The secret of our existence, the secret of our success, is to go beyond our abilities, to stretch ourselves physically and financially for Torah. By doing so, we succeed, and our people succeed along with us.

• • • • •

Perhaps, one day, I will still make my way to that little farmhouse in Vermont.

Perhaps I will still sit on that porch as the morning mist rises from the stream, a cup of coffee warming my hands, a sefer open before me, listening to the whisper of the trees as they sway in the gentle breeze.

But the peace I imagined finding there was never hidden among the hills or waiting for me at the end of some forgotten dirt road.

A Yid can sit in the middle of a city, surrounded by noise and commotion, with enemies gathering at his borders and the nations of the world changing their loyalties overnight, and he can still possess a tranquility that no mountain retreat can provide. Much the same, a person can sit in the most beautiful corner of the world and be filled with fear if he believes that his fate rests in the hands of presidents, generals, and governments.

The lesson of these days is one our people have learned and relearned throughout thousands of years of history. We appreciate those whom Hashem sends to help us. We express gratitude to friends who stand by us. We use the tools that Hashem places in our hands – diplomacy, military strength, wisdom, and strategy.

But we must never confuse the messenger with the One Who sent him.

The same Hand that directs the flow of a quiet Vermont stream directs the currents of history. The same Creator Who paints the leaves in the forests of New England decides the fate of empires, moves the hearts of kings, and determines whether a friend remains a friend and whether an enemy loses his power.

“Zos haTorah, odom ki yomus b’ohel.” The secret of Yiddishe existence is not our ability to find a place where the world cannot touch us. It is our ability to enter the ohel of Torah, to live by it, and to sacrifice for it.

After thousands of years of wandering through every kind of landscape – deserts and ghettos, palaces and prisons, prosperity and persecution – the Jewish people are still here. We never found our Vermont.

We found something far greater.

The ohel of Torah.

The nations search for their security in treaties and alliances. Empires trust in their armies and economies. We have our own refuge.

Not a farmhouse at the end of a winding road.

Not a president in Washington.

Not a military coalition or a diplomatic victory.

Our refuge has always been, and will always be, the Ribbono Shel Olam.

He is always available to us, wherever we are. We do not have to run away anywhere. We do not need to find quaint towns and cottages. “Ki karov eilecha hadovor me’od beficha uvilvovcha.” Personal tranquility is a choice that can be achieved by stepping into the ohel haTorah, the Ohel Hashem, figuratively and literally. It is always open, always available.

The light is always on.

May we all be zoche to the ultimate tranquility and peace with the coming of Moshiach Tzidkeinu bekarov mamash.

I would like to tell you a story about a Yid who meant well. Let’s call him Reb Yankel.

Reb Yankel was a dreamer. He dreamed of making it big. He had all kinds of plans to buy real estate and assemble a group of investors to invest in a massive building project in downtown Manhattan. In his mind’s eye, he could already see the glass buildings standing tall, shimmering in the sunlight. His dreams were filled with majestic skyscrapers already built and fully rented, with money pouring in to cover the mortgage and still leaving enough to reap a handsome profit for both his investors and, more importantly, for himself.

In his dreams, Yankel also saw himself being honored at a massive dinner on behalf of his chassidus as “Harabbon Hanoggid Hachossid Rav Yankel.” He imagined all the rabbonim and roshei yeshiva seeking appointments with him and asking his advice on all kinds of matters. And in his mind’s eye, he was impressed with himself!

Look, he put up a few buildings in Manhattan and, presto, people now consulted with him not only on real estate, but on chinuch, on running schools and yeshivos, and so on. Everyone was seeking his advice, and he loved it.

Yankel, however, was not only a dreamer. He was a planner. He meticulously planned how he would attract investors, borrow money from the bank at low interest rates, and hire the best architects and designers to create a mixed-use building with both office space and residential apartments in the heart of Manhattan.

It was a foolproof plan…or so he thought.

Yankel would never undertake a project of such magnitude without consulting his rebbe. After Reb Yankel had put together a game plan to realize his dream, he decided that the time had come to approach his rebbe and tell him about his plans so that he could receive the rebbe’s brocha to proceed.

One fine day, Reb Yankel was waiting on line at kabbolas kahal. It was a long line.

Reb Yankel couldn’t help but think, “I can’t wait until I am matzliach on this project. Once I am matzliach, I will never again have to wait on this terribly long line with all the commoners. The head of the fundraising committee of our kehillah will notice me when I walk in and immediately come over with a smile and a vigorous handshake, exclaiming, ‘Reb Yankel, stand here,’ and he’ll take me right to the front of the line and wink to the gabbai, ‘Reb Yankel’s time is very precious. He cannot afford to wait…’”

Just thinking about that sweet scene made Yankel feel so good.

Reb Yankel walked in to the rebbe and began telling him about his plans for the new project. He explained how he would secure investors and bank financing, and how, according to his calculations, he could be making tens of millions of dollars within a matter of years.

The rebbe listened and replied, “Don’t jump into something as big as this. Check well before you do anything.”

Reb Yankel walked out somewhat confused. The rebbe did not seem nearly as excited about the plan as he was.

He wondered, “What is the rebbe telling me? I already checked into everything and didn’t jump in. I did a lot of homework already.”

One part of him was saying, “I have done exactly what the rebbe said, so I think I can move forward.”

Another voice, however, argued, “Lemaaseh, the rebbe didn’t give me a clear answer telling me that I should go ahead. He didn’t even give me a brocha for hatzlocha. What should I do?”

He couldn’t bear to throw away his plans and dreams. He decided that he would go in again and ask more specifically what the rebbe meant.

Let us not go into the details of what ended up happening after Reb Yankel decided that he could embark on the project.

Let us just say that he is still standing on line with all the “commoners” when he goes in to the rebbe.

Reb Yankel’s “Rebbi”

If you would ask me, I think Reb Yankel had a very good rebbi regarding how one asks a question and distills an answer. I think his rebbi was Bilam.

What happened at the beginning of Parshas Balak?

Balak sends distinguished emissaries to Bilam, asking him to use his special ability and power to curse the Bnei Yisroel. Balak is afraid that the Bnei Yisroel will swallow up Moav “like an ox chews up the greenery of a field.”

The messengers go to Bilam and make their request. Bilam does not answer them right away. He tells them to stay overnight and that, in the morning, he will tell them what Hashem said to him.

What does Hashem tell Bilam in his dream that night?

“Don’t go with them and don’t curse them because he [the nation] is blessed.”

This is what we would call a very clear answer saying, “NO!”

Not only was it a very clear answer, but it came directly from the Aibishter Himself.

What does Bilam do?

He doesn’t take no for an answer. He asks Hashem again.

What does Hashem tell him this time?

“Okay, you can go with them, but you can only say what I tell you that you can say.”

We learn a lesson from Bilam. He asked Hashem the first time and Hashem said no. Bilam wasn’t satisfied with that answer, so he asked again, and this time Hashem sort of said yes.

“B’derech she’odom rotzeh leileich molichin oso — Hashem guides a person in the way that he wants to go.”

How to Accept an Answer

This applies to the way we ask questions of rabbonim, roshei yeshiva, rebbes, and others.

When a person receives an answer, whether he likes it or not, he should not ask again. If he does, the answer may ultimately become what he wants to hear rather than what is good for him.

A person should allow himself to be guided in the way he is being guided min haShomayim. Let Hashgocha Protis guide you.

There are times when a person does not understand how he is being guided from Heaven. He should not try to push against the direction in which he is being led.

Look at Bilam. Even when he refused to listen and went anyway, Hashem placed obstacles in his path. His donkey kept moving to the side and kvetching him. When that didn’t work, the donkey stopped altogether.

What did Bilam do?

He hit the donkey. He beat the donkey.

He should have allowed the donkey to go where it wanted. He should have gotten the hint. He should not have tried to go against the way in which he was being led.

The Real Question: How to Ask

We live in a generation in which it is very popular to ask shailos of rabbonim, and it is wonderful. It demonstrates that we understand that those who are steeped in Torah and halacha have a better understanding of what Hashem wants.

Yes, even in our generation, when we do not have the same level of talmidei chachomim and tzaddikim as previous generations, we must still seek the guidance of the rabbonim of our time, as the Gemara in Maseches Rosh Hashanah teaches, “Ein lecha ela shofet shebeyomecha,” that the rabbonim in each generation possess the koach to pasken and guide their generation just as those of earlier generations guided theirs.

The question, however, is how we ask the question.

Do we ask with negios and try to frame the question in a way that will elicit the outcome we want?

If we do that, we are emulating Bilam.

And what happens when we receive the answer?

Do we try to twist the words of the answer so that they fit our preconceived notion of what we wanted the answer to be?

We sometimes crave a sense of control, and even when Hashem clearly shows us and guides us down one path, we sometimes think that we know better.

When that happens, we risk becoming like poor Yankel, who is still walking around with his grandiose plans that are going nowhere.

Or, even worse, we risk becoming like Bilam.

This coming Thursday, we will be fasting in commemoration of the churban Bais Hamikdosh and several other national tragedies. I believe that at the moment, we find ourselves at a similar time when, on this day, Moshe Rabbeinu broke the Luchos. On this day, when we made the Golden Calf, the Torah was forgotten and the nations of the world became ascendant against us (see Eruvin 54a), the Zohar Hakadosh (Parshas Ki Sisa) reveals that it was not really the authentic members of Klal Yisroel who caused these calamities. It was the Eirev Rav. What we did was remain silent. We didn’t protest; we were strangely taciturn. And we have paid for this muteness dearly. For millennia, and we are not finished yet, we have been paying for that sin (see Rashi, Shemos 32:34, from Sanhedrin 102a). We know that it was our reticence that sealed our fate from, amongst others, the Bais Halevi (Parshas Bo, page 34; Derosh Umili D’aggadata, Bo, page 120). In other words, it was passivity, not action, that ruined our grandeur and sent into us exile. It was “shetikah kehoda’ah — silence is acquiescence” that soiled our pristine souls.

In the past week or so, we have been faced with a similar test — though not identical, to be sure — of our reaction toward others who utter kefirah and denial of Hashem’s total dominion over the world and every single one of us in it. In ancient times, this would have required our hearing heresy with our own ears, but today, when even with the most minimal technology we read and hear such apikorsus in the prevailing media and do not react, we reenact our ancient sin of silence. Although I often speak and write with tremendous hakoras hatov about the president’s chassodim, we dare not ignore his present lapses. I refer to the universally promulgated statement of the president of the United States that if not for him, there would be no State of Israel. Let us not be foolish or puerile enough to differentiate here between Eretz Yisroel, Am Yisroel and the State of Israel. That is fine when we are being careful about separating kodesh from chol in our national lexicon. But when it is apparently our best — perhaps only — friend on the world scene, we must speak out in horror and pain at the insult to our Creator and Father in heaven.

The words of the novi (Yirmiyahu 51:51) are clear, especially when explicated by the Medrash: “We were shamed, for we heard words of disgrace.” The Medrash there teaches that this refers to the words of blasphemy we heard from the Eirev Rav and didn’t even react. We all realized that the president had also humiliated his ostensible friend and colleague, Prime Minister Netanyahu. Last Shabbos in shul, I shared with my listeners in the Shabbos morning drosha that it is impossible to sever this insult to the titular head of the Jewish state from the fact that our beloved Land has been arresting young talmidei chachomim for the sin of learning Torah. Something that was hitherto associated solely with anti-Semitic regimes, such as the former Soviet Union and Nazi Germany was suddenly misappropriated as the law of the Land we love. While I will certainly confess that “lo novi anochi — I am no prophet,” not to perceive a connection between the humiliation of lomdei Torah and that of the prime minister is a form of spiritual blindness or willful denial.

I write these words with no malice and many tears. But they must be written and spoken, at the very least not to be guilty of our ancient sin of speechlessness upon the actions of the Eirev Rav. It also cannot be coincidental that all of this is playing out on the world stage as we enter the Three Weeks. As the Bais Halevi taught us, these weeks, which usher in the worst days on the Jewish calendar, also remind us to speak up when the ultimate heresy is spoken, that Hashem does not run the world. We, who are all “believers the children of believers” (Shabbos 97a), know that Hashem did not just create the world to abandon it. He constantly runs even the tiniest aspects of His universe, all the more so the major events of His children and nation.

So what should we do at this point?

Let’s borrow from the soothing words of the Sefas Emes (Balak, 5648, page 245). He points out that Chazal (Bava Basra 14b) tell us that the pieces of the broken Luchos were in the holy Aron together with the second Luchos that were never severed. “Our task,” the Gerrer Rebbe teaches, “is to fix all of these shards, which is akin to the dispersal of Klal Yisroel in golus all over the world, so that they could be collected, restored and received again whole and perfect.” He goes on to quote the Arizal that when Aharon Hakohein declared to Klal Yisroel that “tomorrow will be a Yom Tov for Hashem” (Shemos 32:5), this meant that in the future world, Shivah Assar B’Tammuz will become a great Yom Tov. As he explains, when the Luchos were first presented, it was a wonderful moment for Klal Yisroel, which it will be once again when they are restored.

To return to the president, as we have mentioned, he has already sustained much debasement from his faux pas. Even some of his hitherto loyal admirers — our own pundits in the frum world — have categorized him in the most derogatory of ways, some deserved, some perhaps not. The prime minister, too, who has surely not done enough to protect lomdei Torah from being humiliated in prison, has himself now been cast into the dust-heap of history as a loser and a quitter. The lessons are so obvious that they require no elaboration. However, as a bit of cheshbon hanefesh and self reproach, we should revisit Shlomo Hamelech’s famous teaching that “the hearts of kings are in the Hands of Hashem” (Mishlei 21:1). Rav Elchonon Wasserman (Kovetz Maamorim 1:168) long ago taught us that “the fate of Eretz Yisroel will be decided in heaven not by the Arabs or the British government.” We just saw how the prime minister of England, another ruler who spoke disparagingly about Eretz Yisroel, was forced to resign in utter disgrace. Although that may not have been the official reason, we know better, and all world leaders should take note that there is a Creator Who decides all, despite, not because of, them. Many of us engage too much in the game of politics and too little remembering Who is actually in charge.

Perhaps the Chasam Sofer (Teshuvos, Orach Chaim 234) said it best. Speaking of Eretz Yisroel and its place in the universe of Divine decision-making, he explained that although there is a disagreement if the kedusha — sanctity — of Eretz Yisroel remained intact after the churban, all agree that “when it comes to its importance to those alive and to those who have passed away, that has never changed.” In other words, spoken to Jews and gentiles alike, to leaders and the rest of us, don’t mess around with the Holy Land. Don’t use it as a pawn, don’t ever disparage it, and, perhaps most important of all at the moment, don’t hinder its ultimate purpose of being a home for the Torah and those who learn it constantly.

May Hashem guide our leaders, both Jews and gentiles, always to be kind to Klal Yisroel and to its Land. It is to their benefit to do so, as Hashem has so clearly demonstrated.

Over the last few years, whether because of the proliferation, R”l, of illness, or simply the swelling membership of shuls, something has quietly changed about the mi shebeirach for cholim.

I am not criticizing it. I am just commenting.

In the traditional version, the gabbai begins the mi shebeirach and a small line forms. People shuffle toward him, leaning in close as he lowers his head to catch the name being whispered. Something important is being transferred from one person’s worry to another person’s tefillah. The person would say the name and the gabbai would repeat it, inserting it into the proper place. In many shuls today, that line no longer forms. Instead, the gabbai reads the words aloud, and when he reaches “es hacholeh,” he simply stops. At that moment, everyone with a name on their list mumbles it quietly, privately, into the pause. It’s like a “fill in the blank” on a puzzle. A few seconds later, the gabbai continues, “Ba’avur she…,” and in unison, the room answers amein.

Where I daven, at the Yeshiva Gedolah of the Five Towns, they still do it the old-fashioned way. It takes longer. People approach the gabbaim with lists, sometimes five or more names deep, and there are four or more mi shebeirach zuggers working in parallel to move through what can be scores of names without finishing the davening at the same time as the local shteibel that started an hour later.

It also lends itself to lessons. One of the most striking comes when a fellow approaches the gabbai with no paper in hand. No list. No folded note. He simply begins, from memory, rattling off six or seven names in rapid succession. And these are not the Dinah bas Leah variety of names, the placeholders people use when they can’t remember. These are full names. Chaya Devorah Malka bas Aliza Shaindel Sarah. Chaim Alter Yehoshua ben Miriam Fraidel Devorah. He goes on for a good forty-five seconds, name after name, none of them seemingly related to him or to each other, delivered without hesitation, without notes, as if these people’s tzaros are embedded in his memory as permanently as the names of his own children.

The last time I encountered that kind of memory born entirely from caring was at my uncle Rav Shmuel Kamenetsky’s table, where the l’chaim before a meal was never just a l’chaim. He and his rebbetzin, zichronah livrocha, would precede it with a litany, “L’chaim, refuah sheleimah to…,” and then the names would come, one after another, refuos, shidduchim, the whole spectrum of what Yidden carry and bring to the gedolim who carry it with them. Always. Without being asked. Without a list.

Recently, I was standing near the bimah, waiting to submit my own names, when I overheard someone submitting theirs. The name was familiar, though it was a different person entirely, someone who shared the name of a relative of mine. I began to think about it. About the hundreds of names out there that are not really names, but people. People like my own relative, who are seeking a refuah, a yeshuah, or whatever form of salvation fits their particular need.

It got me thinking about a few things. Three, to be precise.

The first was a story with the Bluzhever Rebbe. A fellow in the Bluzhever Shteibel had yahrtzeit, walked up to the amud, set the large siddur aside, and reached for his own smaller one. The Bluzhever Rebbe stopped him.

“You see that siddur on the shtender. Open it. Inside there is a name. Someone dedicated that siddur in the zechus of the person whose name is inside it. Everyone who davens from that siddur is giving that person’s neshomah an aliyah. Use that siddur.”

That story has resonated with me for a very long time. So much so that I make a point of looking at the dedication page of every sefer I use. I always wonder, for instance, who Yitzchok Yair, whose name appears on the standard Nusach Ashkenaz ArtScroll siddur used in botei knesses the world over, was. What zechus did he have to be associated with tefillah so ubiquitously in this modern era? What zechus does he continue to accumulate from the countless tefillos emanating from a siddur that bears his name?

We forget, far too easily, that behind every name, there is a neshomah. A real person.

In many day schools, and even in some public schools, there is a program called Names, Not Numbers. For the broader world, it aims to combat antisemitism by connecting students with Holocaust survivors and veterans. For Jewish children, it tries to make the point that behind the number tattooed on an arm, there was a person, a story, a life. But truth be told, it goes deeper than names. There was a neshomah behind the name. A person who endured nisyonos, mesirus nefesh, loss, and pain. It is not even about names. It is about neshamos.

I once spoke for mechanchim after Shacharis in a hotel that had its own shul. The aron kodesh had a paroches with an inscription in English. It was quite explicit: The aron had been dedicated in memory of a young man—I will call him Jack Bergerman—who had been killed in a car accident.

Everyone in that room had walked past that aron kodesh. Everyone had seen the inscription. When I began my remarks, I asked: “Has anyone here ever heard of Jack Bergerman? Does anyone know how he died?”

They looked at me as if I had lost my mind.

Of course, I went on to explain. But the silence in that room said everything. We had all been davening in front of an aron kodesh given in this young man’s memory, and not one of us had paused long enough to wonder who he was.

There are millions of names out there. On plaques and dedications, on the inside covers of siddurim, on parochos in hotel shuls, mumbled into the pause of a mi shebeirach on Shabbos morning. Each one has a neshomah and a story behind it. We cannot adopt them all. But maybe the next time you hear or see a name, a random name, the name of a stranger, you can pause for a moment. Hold it. Wonder about it. Carry it a little further than the parking lot.

You may not get a public acknowledgment for caring about a neshomah you never knew. But somewhere, a siddur is sitting on a shtender, quietly waiting for someone to open the cover.  Open it and think about the one whose name is the reason that the siddur is in the shul.

Just Saying.

Rav Zalman Sorotzkin, the Lutzker Rov, stood between the ruins of European Torah and the future of Klal Yisroel. With the fire of a gaon, the vision of a builder, and the heart of a father, he helped raise an entire Torah world from destruction.

A Gadol Whose Measure Was Klal Yisroel

There are gedolim whose greatness is revealed in the beis medrash, where a sugya opens beneath their gaze, and the words of the Rishonim fall into a luminous new order. There are gedolim whose power is heard from the pulpit, where a nation’s sleeping heart is stirred by a single sentence. There are gedolim whose shoulders are fashioned for the burden of the tzibbur, men capable of entering government chambers, crossing oceans, confronting ministers, sustaining institutions, and carrying the anguish of thousands without allowing their own private pain to impede the work.

Rav Zalman Sorotzkin, the Lutzker Rov, stood between the ruins of European Torah and the future of Klal Yisroel. With the fire of a gaon, the vision of a builder, and the heart of a father, he helped raise an entire Torah world from destruction.

To describe him merely as a distinguished rov would be to diminish the sweep of his life. To call him a renowned darshan would capture only the majesty of his dibbur, not the depth of the daas that animated it. To remember him only as the founder and leader of great institutions would overlook the fiery talmid chochom whose every public endeavor issued from a Torah vision. And to portray him only as an askon would miss the rarest quality of all: his askonus was itself a form of avodas Hashem, disciplined by halacha, refined by yiras Shomayim, and nourished by a heart that could absorb the suffering of both the individual and the klal.

He belonged to that now vanished generation of Torah leaders who stood with one foot in the great botei medrash of Lithuania and the other upon the shattered stones of postwar Jewish history. He had seen the old world in its strength. He had learned in Volozhin and Slabodka, entered the family of Telz, served kehillos in Eastern Europe, stood before ministers and military officials, and labored beside the Chofetz Chaim, Rav Chaim Ozer Grodzinski, the Chazon Ish, and the Brisker Rov. Then he came to Eretz Yisroel and helped build the infrastructure upon which the reborn Torah world would stand.

Sixty years after his petirah, his institutions remain, his seforim remain, and his imprint remains upon the very architecture of Torah life. Yet perhaps the most urgent task of this yahrtzeit is not merely to enumerate what he built, but to recover the inner figure who built it: the mind that saw farther, the voice that awakened multitudes, the courage that refused intimidation, and the rachmonus that never allowed the needs of Klal Yisroel to become an abstraction.

The Tears of Ahavah Rabbah

Rav Zalman was born in 5641 (1881) in Lithuania, the son of a village rov. His earliest chinuch was not merely rigorous; it was saturated with feeling. His father would say, “How can you expect to learn Torah on a day in which you did not shed tears during birkas Ahavah Rabbah?”

In that sentence lies an entire world.

Torah was not approached as a field of intellectual conquest. It was received as a gift that must be begged for. Before the mind could analyze, the heart had to plead. Before a young boy could become a lamdan, he had to understand that “v’sein b’libeinu” is not poetic language but the condition upon which Torah enters a person.

That fusion of intellect and tears became the signature of Rav Zalman’s life. His Torah was brilliant, but never cold. His speeches were majestic, but never theatrical. His communal leadership was practical, but never bureaucratic. He could calculate, negotiate, organize, and outmaneuver opponents; yet behind the sharpness stood a heart that had learned, in childhood, to cry for Torah.

He studied in the great yeshivos of Volozhin and Slabodka, absorbing not only the depth of Torah but the responsibility that Torah places upon its bearers. He once remarked that when he prepared himself to become a moreh horaah, he did not see only the “Reuven and Shimon” who would one day stand before him in a din Torah. He also saw those Reuvens and Shimons who first had to be elevated, educated, and drawn closer before they would ever care enough about Torah to seek a din Torah.

That observation reveals the unusual breadth of his vision. A rov is not merely one who answers the questions that arrive at his door. A rov must help create the Jew who will know that there is a door to knock upon.

Torah as the Hidden Alef of Creation

He explains the well-known Midrash that every letter sought the privilege of beginning the Torah. The beis was chosen for Bereishis, while the alef was told that it would open the Aseres Hadibros with “Anochi.” Rav Zalman discerned in this not merely a charming Midrashic dialogue but a hierarchy of existence. Creation begins with beis because the created world, magnificent though it is, is only the second thing. The alef, the first and ultimate reality, is Torah, revealed at Sinai. Bereishis describes the means; Anochi reveals the purpose.

Yet he was equally attentive to the enlarged beis of Bereishis, which proclaims the grandeur of the visible creation. The world is not dismissed; it is placed. The task is not to deny the world but to understand that its splendor is meaningful only when it serves the hidden alef of Torah.

This was no abstract motif. Rav Zalman himself moved through the visible world of governments, budgets, armies, schools, refugees, and political decrees. But he never mistook the beis for the alef. The machinery of public life was always a means. The purpose was Torah.

His comment regarding the ketores offers another glimpse of his method. The Written Torah explicitly names only several ingredients, while Torah Shebaal Peh identifies eleven. The Braisa recited daily also mentions Melach Sedomis, although it is not counted among the eleven spices. Tosafos explains that it is not an ingredient of the ketores itself but serves a preparatory function. Rav Zalman returned to the word “memulach” in the posuk and showed how the halachic tradition compels a renewed understanding of the Written Torah. He was not content to quote the Gemara and Tosafos. He asked how their teaching reshapes the very reading of the posuk.

Telz: Rebuilding Before the World Knew It Would Need Builders

Rav Zalman married the daughter of Rav Eliezer Gordon, the famed rosh yeshiva of Telz. Even after his marriage, he returned to Volozhin to continue learning, remaining there until the birth of his first child. His attachment to Torah was total, yet it did not produce withdrawal from responsibility. On the contrary, his earliest years already displayed the combination that would define him.

When Rav Eliezer Gordon became ill and left Telz to recuperate, a fire destroyed the yeshiva. Despair spread through the town. The institution appeared ruined, and with it the economic and spiritual center of the community. Rav Zalman stepped into the breach. He assumed administrative responsibility and used the remaining funds not to preserve what little was left, but to begin building. The yeshiva rose again, and the town revived with it.

At the age of approximately thirty, he became rov in Voronova, near Vilna, where he developed a close relationship with Rav Chaim Ozer Grodzinski. His first response to the needs of the town was to establish a yeshiva ketana. Once again, his instinct was immediate and unmistakable: the most urgent communal need is chinuch.

From Voronova, he moved to Zhetel, the birthplace of the Chofetz Chaim, where he served for eighteen years. The Chofetz Chaim affectionately referred to him as “my rov.” The saintly elder of Radin thereby expressed a rare measure of affection and trust.

In Zhetel, Rav Zalman transformed the Talmud Torah. Although hundreds of children were enrolled, disorganization had led many families to hire private melamdim. He improved the building, strengthened educational standards, and restored confidence until the community once again entrusted its children to the communal institution.

For Rav Zalman, chinuch was never a peripheral department of rabbonus. It was the front line upon which the Jewish future was decided.

Minsk: A Rov in Exile Becomes a Defender of Rabbonim

The First World War displaced Rav Zalman and his family to Minsk. Exile did not suspend his leadership; it enlarged its field. There, he became close to the Chazon Ish and threw himself into the needs of the vast refugee population.

The Russian war effort was consuming lives on a terrifying scale. Earlier military exemptions were canceled, and refugee rabbonim and talmidei chachomim suddenly faced conscription. Rav Zalman traveled to St. Petersburg and confronted the machinery of the empire.

A minister challenged him: how could he seek exemption for so many able-bodied men while the country fought for its survival?

Rav Zalman did not shrink. He turned the accusation back upon the government. Why were thousands of priests exempt while rabbonim were sent to the front? When officials answered that the priesthood was a sanctified status while the rabbinate was merely a profession, Rav Zalman produced a sharper argument. The government continued to recognize and even pay mayors of cities that had been evacuated or occupied, because their continued office affirmed that those cities would one day be restored. The same principle, he argued, must apply to the rabbonim of displaced Jewish communities. They were the enduring representatives of kehillos that expected to return.

The argument was accepted, and hundreds were saved.

This was Rav Zalman’s shtadlonus at its finest. He did not plead vaguely for mercy. He entered the opponent’s own conceptual world, identified the governing principle, and compelled the authorities to apply it consistently. His courage was not recklessness; it was disciplined chochmah.

Among those protected was the Chazon Ish.

At the same time, he founded a refugee committee supplying food, medicine, and educational facilities. He organized fifty avreichim, trained them in public speaking, and dispatched them to the shuls of Minsk to strengthen the broken spirits of the refugees. In one day, a hundred botei knesses could hear words of chizuk.

The Rov Who Read the Human Heart

His Torah often revealed the same insight into human nature. Regarding Pharaoh’s daughter, Rashi teaches that she descended to the Nile to cleanse herself from the idolatry of her father’s house. Rav Zalman noted that the posuk does not say she washed “in” the Nile, but “upon” or “by” the Nile. She was cleansing herself from the Nile itself, from the Egyptian cult that identified Pharaoh with the river and made political power into divinity.

A grammatical nuance becomes an anatomy of moral rebellion.

Elsewhere, he asked why the Torah leaves the parents of Moshe Rabbeinu unnamed at the beginning of the second perek of Shemos. His answer was characteristically elevating: to teach that any Jewish father and mother, if they refine themselves, may merit to raise the redeemer of Klal Yisroel. Greatness is not announced by pedigree alone. Redemption may emerge from a home whose names are, for the moment, hidden.

Zhetel Under Fire: Courage Tempered by Calculation

After the war, Zhetel became a dangerous frontier through which armies and irregular forces passed. Political authority shifted repeatedly. Soldiers entered Jewish towns with little discipline and
less mercy.

Rav Zalman organized a Jewish militia and procured weapons to deter pillage. Yet force alone was not his strategy. He forbade the sale of liquor to soldiers while ensuring that they could obtain food and cigarettes. Before Pesach, word arrived that Polish soldiers would pass through on Seder night. The townspeople considered locking their doors and abandoning their Sedarim. Rav Zalman chose another course. A large supply of cigarettes was placed in his home, and soldiers were told that free rations would be distributed there.

Throughout the first Seder night, Rav Zalman personally supervised the line until after midnight. While Jewish families recited the Haggadah, he stood at his post, diverting armed men from the homes of the town.

Lutsk: The Rov of a Region

In 1930, Rav Zalman assumed the rabbonus of Lutsk, the position by which he would become known to generations as the Lutzker Rov. His influence quickly extended far beyond the city. The Chofetz Chaim and Rav Chaim Ozer relied upon him to translate great ideas into effective action.

His first priority was once again the Talmud Torah. Secular teachers with maskilic leanings threatened to capture its leadership. Rav Zalman became principal himself. When an embittered teacher informed the authorities that a principal was required to teach, Rav Zalman simply accepted the burden and delivered a daily shiur. He would not allow technical inconvenience to surrender the school’s soul.

When Polish legislation threatened shechitah, Rav Chaim Ozer appointed him to head the international committee defending it. Rav Zalman recognized that parliamentary argument alone would not suffice. He declared a ban on meat consumption. Millions of Polish Jews stopped buying meat, the cattle trade collapsed, and non-Jewish commercial interests demanded that the decree be removed. Within weeks, it was repealed.

He served on committees responsible for orphanages established after the war. When secular elements sought to deny the orphans a Torah education, Rav Zalman cried out: “Is it not enough that these children have been deprived of their earthly fathers? Do you wish to rob them of their Father in Shomayim as well?”

When funding for mikvaos appeared destined to fail in a hostile committee, Rav Zalman proposed a secret ballot. He understood that some who publicly opposed “outmoded customs” did not truly possess the courage of their declared hostility. In private, enough voted in favor, and the mikvaos received support.

On one Yom Kippur, Jewish prisoners were denied a chazzan. Rav Zalman persuaded the authorities that a prison dedicated to reform should encourage inmates to engage in repentance on their holiest day. Permission was granted, but there were only eight prisoners; even with the chazzan, they lacked a minyan. Rav Zalman went to the prison and became the tenth man.

The head of a great kehillah, burdened by regional and international affairs, entered a jail on Yom Kippur because eight forgotten Jews needed a minyan.

This was not an anecdote beside his greatness. This was his greatness.

Before the NKVD

When the Soviets entered Lutsk, Rav Zalman was summoned by the NKVD. He knew that rabbonim were natural targets and that the invitation could end in Siberia. He recited Tehillim and went.

The officials demanded that he surrender the beis medrash of the Novardok Yeshiva for use as a school building.

“The yeshiva is not my private property,” he answered.

“Aren’t you the rov?” they demanded.

“There are fifty-five shuls in Lutsk,” he replied. “Do you imagine that they all belong to me?”

A Jewish communist present at the meeting conceded that the argument was correct.

From Vilna to Eretz Yisroel

With the outbreak of the Second World War, the danger deepened. Rav Zalman fled to Vilna, where Rav Chaim Ozer immediately charged him with caring for the yeshivos that had gathered there. The Vaad Hayeshivos of Vilna emerged from this emergency.

Soon, Soviet control reached Vilna, and Rav Zalman merited to escape with members of his family to Eretz Yisroel. He arrived not as a retiree from a vanished world, but as a builder summoned to a new front.

During the terrifying advance of Rommel’s forces toward Eretz Yisroel, Rav Zalman delivered a major drosha in Yerushalayim. For hours, he called the assembled community to teshuvah, moving the crowd to tears. The danger was real; North Africa had fallen, Egypt had been penetrated, and fear gripped the Yishuv. Shortly afterward, the Allied victory at El Alamein broke the advance.

Rebuilding the Yeshiva World From Ashes

After the churban of Europe, the magnitude of the loss could scarcely be comprehended. Entire Torah centers had vanished. Yeshivos that had shaped generations were destroyed, their roshei yeshiva and talmidim murdered, their botei medrash silenced.

Rav Zalman looked upon the handful of struggling yeshivos in Eretz Yisroel and understood that commemoration alone would not answer destruction. The response to a burned beis medrash is another beis medrash. The response to murdered talmidim is a new generation of talmidim. The response to the silencing of Torah is to amplify Torah until its voice again fills the land.

He established Vaad Hayeshivos in Eretz Yisroel on the model he had known in Vilna. The first challenge was financial stability. He traveled from town to town, creating local committees and awakening ordinary Jews to the collective obligation of sustaining Torah. But the Yishuv was poor, and local resources could not meet the needs.

Rav Zalman traveled to England, where Rav Yechezkel Abramsky assisted him. For a year, he traversed communities, speaking, pleading, organizing, and collecting. Places that had been dismissed as unpromising sometimes responded with astonishing generosity. In Bournemouth, where he had been warned that only a small sum could be expected, he raised more than a thousand pounds. At a luxury hotel on Rosh Hashanah, he described the destruction of European Torah and the desperate needs of Eretz Yisroel until the guests wept. The manager complained that people had come to relax.

Rav Zalman had never crossed an ocean to help people relax.

He returned having raised forty thousand pounds sterling, a vast sum at the time, and with it helped secure the foundations of the emerging yeshiva world.

The Captain of the Moetzes

When the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah was established in Eretz Yisroel, Rav Isser Zalman Meltzer served as chairman and Rav Zalman as vice chairman. After Rav Isser Zalman’s petirah, Rav Zalman assumed the chairmanship and remained at the helm until his own passing.

He possessed the temperament of a captain: calm before danger, alert to currents unseen by others, and capable of deciding under pressure. Yet he never became detached from those below deck. He remained accessible to individuals and responsive to private distress.

All the gedolim who worked with him recognized not only his brilliance, but his extraordinary capacity. The Brisker Rov, Rav Chaim Ozer, the Chazon Ish, Rav Aharon Kotler, Rav Moshe Feinstein, Rav Yechezkel Abramsky, and others saw in him a rare instrument for Klal Yisroel: a man whose Torah judgment, eloquence, organizational genius, and fearlessness could be entrusted with matters of the highest consequence.

Chinuch Atzmai: The Battle for the Jewish Child

Of all his undertakings, Chinuch Atzmai became the crowning labor of his later years.

The emerging state sought to consolidate educational systems in a manner that would have placed chareidi children under ideological supervision fundamentally alien to Torah. The issue was not a detail of the curriculum. It was the right of Torah parents to transmit Torah without interference from those who rejected its authority.

Under the leadership of the gedolim and with the decisive involvement of Rav Aharon Kotler, Chinuch Atzmai was established in 1953. Rav Zalman was chosen to lead it.

The Minister of Education once asked why the chareidim insisted upon separation. Why should government supervision be objectionable?

Rav Zalman replied with devastating clarity: “Would you expect a person like me to supervise your secular schools? Can a man supervise something to which he is fundamentally opposed?”

Supervision is never neutral. The one who defines standards defines purpose. Rav Zalman understood that control of education is control of destiny.

He embarked upon extended fundraising missions in America, carrying the burden of salaries, buildings, transportation, and expansion. The trip lasted so long that he missed the wedding of his own son in Eretz Yisroel. This was not indifference to family; it was a sacrifice whose pain only deepened its meaning. Thousands of Jewish children had become, in a real sense, his children.

Rav Aharon Kotler regarded the budget of Chinuch Atzmai as a personal responsibility. After Rav Aharon’s passing, Rav Moshe Feinstein continued to stand behind the cause. Their partnership testified to the trust they placed in his judgment, integrity, and total devotion.

Letters remain upon which the stains of his tears are visible. He did not write fundraising appeals from the cool distance of an administrator. He poured a Jewish heart onto the page.

When his rebbetzin passed away, the crowd waited outside Shaarei Zedek for the levayah to begin. Rav Zalman was delayed because he was in urgent discussion with the directors of Chinuch Atzmai regarding a matter that could not wait. Even at the threshold of his own bereavement, the needs of Jewish children pressed upon him.

It was the revelation of a soul in which private and public grief had become inseparable: his wife’s levayah awaited him, yet somewhere a school, a teacher, or a child faced danger.

A Palace of Pashtus

Visitors who came to the chairman of the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah, the head of Vaad Hayeshivos, and the leader of Chinuch Atzmai were astonished by the simplicity of his small apartment. There was no furniture befitting power, no atmosphere of institutional grandeur, no private comfort purchased by public prominence.

His tefillah possessed the same authenticity. The Brisker Rov is reported to have said, “Who knows whether my tefillos reach the level of Rav Sorotzkin’s Tehillim?” From the Brisker Rov, such words are almost beyond comprehension. They return us to the child whose father demanded tears during Ahavah Rabbah. Decades of leadership had not dried those tears. Power had not made him self-sufficient. The man who could outargue ministers still stood before the Ribbono Shel Olam as a supplicant.

“This Is My Last Telegram”

As his strength failed, Rav Zalman continued to labor for the monthly salaries of Chinuch Atzmai’s teachers. His body was weakening, but the burden did not loosen its hold.

His final telegram to America carried words that seem to contain his entire life:

“This is the last telegram I will send. Save Chinuch Atzmai!”

Rav Zalman Sorotzkin was niftar on 9 Tammuz 5726 (1966). He left behind Oznayim LaTorah, Moznayim Lamishpot, HaDeah V’Hadibbur, Hashir V’Hashevach on the Haggadah, and Chut Shel Chesed on Megillas Esther. He left behind Vaad Hayeshivos, Chinuch Atzmai, and decades of Torah leadership. He left behind institutions that have educated generations and a public path that helped shape Torah Jewry in Eretz Yisroel.

But beyond every sefer and institution, he left behind a definition of gadlus.

The Architecture of His Greatness

What made Rav Zalman so singular?

It was not merely that he possessed many talents. History has known gifted men. His uniqueness lay in the fact that all his kochos were governed by one center.

His lomdus served emes. His eloquence served to awaken. His political acumen served Torah independence. His organizational genius served yeshivos and children. His courage served the defenseless. His compassion served both the klal and the forgotten individual. His tears served his tefillah, and his tefillah nourished everything else.

There was no contradiction between the Rav Zalman who reinterpreted “memulach” through Tosafos and the Rav Zalman who engineered a meat boycott across Poland. The same mind operated in both realms: identify the underlying principle, distinguish essence from accessory, and apply truth with precision.

There was no contradiction between the man who confronted the NKVD and the man who became the tenth Jew in a prison minyan. The same heart produced both acts: Torah cannot be surrendered, and no Jew can be abandoned.

There was no contradiction between the chairman of the Moetzes and the father who wept over Chinuch Atzmai letters. His authority came precisely from his vulnerability to Jewish pain.

He was a kabrinit, a captain, but not one who commanded from a protected cabin. He stood in the wind, felt the storm, and knew the names of those aboard.

The Sixtieth Yahrtzeit: Not Memory, but Mandate

His life issues a claim upon us.

He teaches that Torah scholarship must sharpen responsibility, not narrow it. That askonus without daas Torah becomes mere activism, while Torah that remains indifferent to the suffering of the klal has not yet revealed its full grandeur. That chinuch is not one communal concern among many, but the battlefield upon which the next generation is won or lost. That institutions do not sustain themselves through sentiment, but through sacrifice. That courage means neither shouting nor surrendering, but seeing clearly and standing firmly. That one can oppose an ideology without despairing of the Jew trapped within it. That a leader must know how to speak to ministers, merchants, refugees, prisoners, children, and gedolim, and must remain the same eved Hashem before them all.

Above all, he teaches that rebuilding is a sacred Jewish instinct.

When Telz burned, he rebuilt. When Zhetel starved, he fed it. When rabbonim faced the army, he defended them. When orphans faced spiritual theft, he cried out. When shechitah was threatened, he mobilized a nation. When European Torah was destroyed, he established Vaad Hayeshivos. When chareidi education faced absorption, he led Chinuch Atzmai. When his own life neared its end, he sent one more telegram.

Fire was never, for him, the conclusion of the story.

Sixty years have passed since the Lutzker Rov returned his soul to its Maker. The children saved by Chinuch Atzmai became parents and grandparents. The yeshivos he sustained became cities of Torah. The institutions whose survival once depended upon his journeys and tears now appear permanent.

But permanence is an illusion. Every generation receives the world of Torah on condition that it be rebuilt anew. Budgets again strain. Children again stand at ideological crossroads. Yeshivos again require defenders. The tzibbur again needs leaders who can combine daas, courage, dignity, compassion, and unwavering subordination to Torah.

We may not possess Rav Zalman’s stature. But we can refuse to admire him passively.

We can learn that tears during Ahavah Rabbah belong together with responsibility after davening. We can learn that a vort must become a worldview, and a worldview must become action. We can learn to ask not only what Torah says to us, but what Torah now requires of us.

And perhaps, on the sixtieth yahrtzeit, one sentence should reverberate through every beis medrash and every Jewish home:

The world of Torah standing before us was rebuilt by men who did not believe that someone else would build it.

Rav Zalman Sorotzkin, the Lutzker Rov, stood between the ruins of European Torah and the future of Klal Yisroel. With the fire of a gaon, the vision of a builder, and the heart of a father, he helped raise an entire Torah world from destruction.

Yehi zichro boruch.

A National Mood of Despondence

If an entire country can be said to have a national mood, then one would have to say that the State of Israel is approaching a national state of depression. This is true of the general public, and it is certainly true of the chareidi community.

For the general public—which does not exclude the chareidim—the general solemnity has much to do with the ongoing deaths of soldiers. Whenever a radio broadcast begins with the words “it has been cleared for publication,” which typically introduce the news of a soldier who was killed and whose family has been informed of his death, our hearts tend to skip a beat as we realize that another Jew has been killed al kiddush Hashem; another soldier has been murdered by the enemies of Israel. Lately, the deaths have taken place in Lebanon, at the hands of Hezbollah terrorists. Despite the oft-repeated claims that Israel succeeded in eliminating Hezbollah, the terror group has proven itself still capable of killing—and with primitive drones, no less. Unfortunately, the Israeli army hasn’t yet developed a countermeasure to combat the drone threat, other than placing a net above the soldiers to block the drones from reaching them.

On erev Shabbos last week, we received the painful news that four Israeli soldiers had been killed in a tank in southern Lebanon on Thursday night. One of the fatalities was a 32-year-old battalion commander named Dor Gedaliah Ben-Simchon, who held the rank of lieutenant colonel. A few hours later, five other soldiers in the same area were wounded by a drone strike, including an officer in the reserves who was left in serious condition. The soldiers who were killed in the tank were almost certainly hit by an explosive drone as well. Ben-Simchon entered his current role only two months ago, replacing another lieutenant colonel who had been seriously wounded in southern Lebanon.

The bottom line is that southern Lebanon, with its deadly drones, has turned into a veritable death trap.

Every one of these incidents is met with a response from the IDF. After one such incident, the IDF spokesman reported, “The IDF attacked terrorists and terror infrastructures of Hezbollah in several areas in southern Lebanon overnight, and the attacks are continuing. These attacks were carried out after repeated violations of the ceasefire by the Hezbollah terror group.”

To the residents of the settlements on the front lines in the north, the IDF announced, “We have just been through a very complicated night, during which Hezbollah committed severe violations of the ceasefire. As a result, we were required to respond with great force. The IDF will continue its attacks, and explosions will be heard in the area. At this time, there have been no changes to the Home Front Command instructions.”

As the fighting in Lebanon continued, we received another update from the IDF: “On Friday night, around 1:30 a.m., Hezbollah terrorists launched a mortar shell and an explosive drone at a fortified position of the Commando Brigade’s soldiers. As a result of the attack, one soldier was killed, two additional soldiers were seriously wounded, an IDF officer was moderately wounded, and another soldier sustained light injuries. The fallen soldier was Nir Ben Ari, 21, from Kerem Maharal.” The IDF later reported that Israeli forces responded by attacking additional Hezbollah targets.

Media Malice

Another word about the soldiers who were killed: Yediot Acharonot is the most widely read newspaper in Israel and often manages to shape the public agenda. On Sunday, the newspaper’s front page was dedicated to the soldiers who had been killed in Lebanon, and rightly so. There was a large picture of Ben-Simchon, along with pictures of two other murdered soldiers, followed by two headlines about related stories—Trump’s agreement with Iran and the connection between Iran and Hezbollah. But then, at the bottom of the front page, was a teaser that drew a baseless link between the soldiers’ deaths and a very different phenomenon: “While the news arrived of soldiers’ deaths, celebrations erupted over the release of a draft evader.”

To be fair, the writer himself didn’t actually draw a connection between the two events. Instead, he wrote, “Dancing, celebrating, and cheering. This is how chareidi protestors were recorded outside Prison 10, the military prison on a base in the Sharon region, at a festive reception held for their friends who were released from detention after being caught by the police and transferred to the military police for draft evasion.” This story concerns the release of Aviel Cohen, a yungerman from Netivot, and Nachman Toledano, a talmid in the Breslov yeshiva. The correspondent went on to describe the protest of Sephardic rabbonim, who were joined by the Knesset members of the Shas party, and a protest held by Gerrer chassidim on the previous night. The article ends by noting that Breslov chassidim fought with police officers and shouted insults at them. I would have written the article in a much more sympathetic tone, although the writer is entitled to his feelings. What is more important, though, is that the article doesn’t mention a single word about the soldiers who were killed—which, indeed, has nothing to do with the chareidi community’s protests over the draft.

It is with the editor of the newspaper that I have a bone to pick. He chose to title the piece, “‘Die, scoundrels!’ shouted chareidi protestors outside the military prison,” as if that was the main issue in the story. The subheading added, “While news of the deaths of soldiers in Lebanon was received last week, chareidi protestors were recorded outside Prison 10 celebrating when their friends were released from prison after being held for draft evasion.” As I mentioned, the teaser on the newspaper’s front page is even more brazen and infuriating. There is no connection between the deaths of the soldiers in Lebanon and the festivities outside the prison, and the body of the article correctly does not draw any link between them. In fact, I am nearly certain that most of the protestors celebrating outside the prison weren’t even aware at the time of the tragedy in Lebanon. It is the newspaper’s editor who chose to draw a connection between the events that doesn’t truly exist.

Any link between these two events is artificially created with the purpose of sowing hatred for chareidim. Think about it: Did the tragedy in Lebanon prompt the cancelation of performances in Tel Aviv? Did the restaurants empty in response to the soldiers’ deaths? What about the massive screens displaying soccer games before a roaring crowd? Did they go dark when the soldiers were killed? If everyone else was able to go about their lives as usual despite the tragedy, how can the chareidim be maligned for celebrating the release of yungeleit from prison? What is the basis of this hypocrisy? While the entertainment industry continues producing its empty drivel and the lowliest events in Tel Aviv go on, the chareidim are somehow faulted for greeting lomdei Torah who are released from prison with song and dance.

In fact, I might have written a very different teaser if I were the editor: “While dozens of yeshiva bochurim languish in military prison, the secular media continues dancing on chareidim’s blood!”

Yeshiva Bochurim’s Plight—No Solution in Sight

But let us move on to the cause of the despondence in the chareidi community. Last Shabbos, 46 lomdei Torah were incarcerated in military prison. Two massive protests took place outside the prison last week, one held by Gerrer chassidim with the participation of the Gerrer Rebbe and the other held by the Sephardic community and attended by Sephardic roshei yeshivos. This week, a huge demonstration is planned with a convoy of cars; it will be interesting to see if it has any effect.

The story of the arrests of yeshiva bochurim is a sad and painful story, and it is also a severe stain on this country. Many people feel that the government’s treatment of Torah learners is the reason that President Trump’s attitude toward Israel changed so dramatically, in a form of midah k’neged midah. We believe that everything that occurs in the world is decreed in Shomayim. As a result, no one can really believe that Trump’s turnabout is a random fluke. It must have been orchestrated from Above.

On that note, I might add that America’s agreement with Iran is yet another reason for the somber national mood.

The plight of bnei Torah in this country has reached the point of being intolerable. The chareidi community has already been through many tribulations since the day the judges called to step up the sanctions against bnei Torah and the attorney general decided to take that directive as far as possible. First, kollel yungeleit lost their right to subsidized day care, which was a severe economic blow; the full cost of day care is 3500 shekels a month per child, and many mothers, especially those with two or three children in day care programs, found that it was no longer worthwhile for them to work at all if it meant footing the full cost of child care. Next, the yeshivos were stripped of government funding, which prompted gedolei Yisroel to set out on fundraising missions overseas. It is now believed that the property tax discount for kollel yungeleit, which can be as much as 90 percent of the tax, is next on the chopping block. The attorney general has already written to the Interior Ministry, demanding that the tax discount be canceled for draft evaders, but the director-general of the ministry, Yisroel Uzan, a Shas party appointee, rejected her demand, using professional considerations to justify his decision.

The tense situation is compounded by the unfathomable police brutality against chareidi protestors. Last week, the talmidim of Rav Tzvi Friedman (a subgroup within the Peleg Yerushalmi) held a protest, and the police response was so horrifying that even the secular community was outraged. One police officer was seen kicking a boy in the face after he had already been dragged onto the sidewalk (and beaten and kicked in the process). What could possibly have been the reason to kick him in the face when he was already out of the way of traffic? The police were also seen viciously beating a young man with clubs while he lay on the sight of the road and tearing the pants of adult protestors. The scenes of police brutality at this protest were disturbing. I believe that there will be a vigorous effort to ensure that the offending police officers are punished this time. At this point, however, the community is still in shock. And this is yet another reason for the general mood of despair.

To make matters even worse, there isn’t even a sign of a light at the end of the proverbial tunnel. Even if Netanyahu truly wants to pass the draft law, he may not be capable of doing anything at this time. And even if the chareidim manage to receive the full support of the coalition, it will be difficult to overcome the hurdles presented by the judges and the attorney general. For now, the community is voicing its outrage and visiting the bnei Torah held in military prison, but there seems to be little else that they can do.

For Those Who Said “We Told You So”

There are some who have been saying, “We told you so.” In other words, the religious community was ostensibly warned that this would happen, that the day would come when the government would persecute bnei yeshivos and wage a relentless battle to draft them into the army. These voices subtly imply that the chareidim were somehow mistaken for cooperating with the authorities in the past. However, I find these complaints difficult to understand. The Chazon Ish told us seventy years ago that we should grab the apples as long as they were rolling in the streets, to borrow the imagery from a famous moshol. In other words, even if we anticipated the day when we would no longer be able to avail ourselves of draft exemptions sanctioned by the government, we should still take advantage of the opportunity as long as it existed. This ruling was echoed by the Brisker Rov, Rav Shach, and other gedolei Yisroel who followed them. Do the critics of the chareidi community claim to be wiser than the leading Torah giants of the past few generations?

Indeed, it certainly seems that the dire predictions have come true. Perhaps our generation is experiencing the end of an era. But what do they think? That the community shouldn’t have taken advantage of the exemptions while they lasted? Should they have brought the crisis upon us even earlier than it took place? Should lomdei Torah have been hunted in the streets already in 5774 or 5778? Do they have some sort of solution to the impasse in which the entire Torah world finds itself? Besides, why are they gloating over this situation? What satisfaction can they possibly derive from it? Aren’t we all in the same boat—a boat, I might add, that is thoroughly riddled with holes?

The mainstream chareidi position is the following: We are opposed to protests in the streets, and violence is a foreign growth in our camp. At the same time, we support the protestors who have been persecuted and beaten. The videos of police beating innocent protestors have an impact more than anything else leading to closing ranks within the community and prompting all of us to turn our backs on those responsible for the beatings. The attorney general and the police commissioner are healing the rifts within the chareidi community. But internally, we must admit that we haven’t seen the demonstrations prevent further arrests, although the fact that we have not seen it is not evidence of anything.

A distinguished person once approached Rav Shimshon Dovid Pincus, the master of all solutions, to discuss a serious personal issue. In the course of their conversation, he exclaimed at one point, “So what is the solution?”

Rav Pincus replied simply, “Sometimes there is no solution.” Sometimes, the only thing a person can do is hand his burden to Hashem and pray to Him to resolve the problem.

In a similar vein, Rav Moshe Hillel Hirsch recently declared, “We can win this war [against the enemies of the Torah world] only through Hashem. There is no other way…. We have no pathway out of this situation without special siyata d’shmaya from Hashem.” Therefore, we must simply daven with fervor and recite the words “let all wickedness be destroyed in a moment” with exceptional kavanah. In a conversation with mashgichim, Rav Moshe Hillel added that we are living in a period of challenges and mesirus nefesh, and it will be necessary to suffer for Hashem.

A wise person remarked to me this week, “This isn’t the first time that lomdei Torah have been subject to persecution. It has happened in many of our exiles, and even in the places where we weren’t oppressed and no one barred us from learning Torah, those who did learn Torah suffered from starvation and lived under unbearable conditions. They suffered from heat in the summer and cold in the winter, they relied on local baalebatim to support them and sometimes went hungry on various days of the week, and in some cases they had no food at all. Rav Shach always used to describe how he washed his only shirt in the river from time to time. All we can do is daven to Hashem to hear our voices, to have mercy on us, and not to leave us in the hands of our enemies. We have been through so many ordeals, yet we have survived and carried on, and the Torah has never been forgotten. The greatest kitrug is the fact that our oppressors in this generation are members of our own nation, but that, too, has occurred in the past. A thousand like them will disappear, but no student of the Torah will forgo even a single letter of his studies.”

Will Netanyahu Decide to Dissolve the Knesset?

Meanwhile, there is plenty of drama in the Knesset.

Until now, the chareidim were the ones threatening Netanyahu that they would dissolve the Knesset if he failed to stand with them. There are a few issues that must be resolved. First, there is the Basic Law: Torah Study, which has already passed its preliminary reading; the chareidi parties want it to go through all the readings and to be passed into law. As for how it will benefit anyone, for one thing, it will be a clear statement on the part of the Knesset that the State of Israel considers the value of Torah study to be a basic value on a par with the other Basic Laws (such as the Basic Law: Equality and the Basic Law: Human Dignity). In addition, it might indirectly support the passage of some sort of draft exemption law that will prevent further arrests of bnei Torah. The chareidi parties are also pressuring Netanyahu to pass a law eliminating the arrests. There is also the day care law, which is intended to restore subsidies for day care for children whose fathers have chosen to learn in kollel. This law, too, passed its preliminary reading already, and the chareidim would like to see it pass completely (even though they have already been warned that there will be immediate appeals to the Supreme Court, and the judges will certainly strike it down).

For the time being, Netanyahu has had a hard time putting together a majority in the Likud party to support these bills. The party includes some insubordinate members who are bucking his authority and refuse to go along with his directives. (That is one reason that Netanyahu wants to cancel the primaries in the Likud party, which have turned out to introduce all sorts of rogue elements into the party slate over whom he has no control.) Last week, the chareidim decided to flex their muscles and announced that they will not support the coalition’s bills. Consequently, the Knesset agenda for this past week was dramatically shortened, as dozens of bills were pulled from the docket.

For Netanyahu, one would imagine that the most intimidating prospect is the possibility of moving up the election. The Likud has several important laws that the party wants to pass—including a bill splitting the position of attorney general in two and several other laws curbing the judges’ authority—and if the Knesset goes on recess, it will not be possible to enact any laws. This motzoei Shabbos, however, Netanyahu hinted that he has already decided to dissolve the Knesset, and on Wednesday the Likud party itself will introduce the bill for its dissolution. The move took the chareidim by surprise, and the religious parties are currently weighing their response.

The Merger Between Bennett and Lapid

I should really tell you a bit about the political moves taking place as the election approaches. Every week, fascinating new polls are released, but what is even more fascinating is the stark differences between the polls. One must wonder if the results of a poll are determined by who orders it. And that may give rise to the conclusion that one should never believe a poll. At this point, one poll indicates that Netanyahu is still winning and the right-wing bloc is still poised to overpower the left, whereas other polls show Netanyahu and the right-wing bloc in severe decline. Given these contradictions, I have decided that there is no way to believe any polls.

What is most interesting now is that the combined party of Naftoli Bennett and Yair Lapid, which has taken on the ironic name of B’Yachad, has been sinking further and further with each successive poll. While it started out as an ostensible alternative to the Likud and Netanyahu, it now seems to have become much less of a serious contender. This merged party is galloping in the direction of a single-digit showing, while it received 23 mandates in the polls at its peak. Of course, this is not happening in a vacuum; it seems that the mandates that Bennett and Lapid would have received have been transferred to Gadi Eizenkot and his party, Yashar. Netanyahu isn’t particularly worried about that, since Eizenkot, for some reason, is viewed as a potential full partner in a future government led by Netanyahu. But as could be expected, this situation has led to a rift between the two leaders of B’Yachad themselves, Bennett and Lapid. According to leaked reports from Bennett’s inner circle, he has already decided that the alliance with Lapid can only be damaging to him. Lapid drives away right-wing voters, while Bennett is banking on the support of right-wing voters who are tired of Netanyahu. In short, I would not be surprised if Bennett decides to break his alliance with Lapid.

Beyond that, not much is happening. Benny Gantz, as usual, is failing to cross the electoral threshold. The Arabs are gaining strength, and if they decide to run jointly, they appear poised to receive a record number of mandates. There are several members of the Likud who know that they will not make it into the next Knesset (such as Dan Illouz, who voted against the Basic Law: Torah Study) and are searching for a different party to take them in, such as Yoaz Hendel’s party, the Reservists. (For the time being, Hendel does not seem likely to pass the electoral threshold.) Moshe Solomon of Religious Zionism, who voted against his party’s position, likewise knows that he will not be on their slate in the next Knesset and is seeking an alternative placement. All in all, however, the general situation hasn’t changed very much, and everyone is simply waiting to see what will happen in the coming days. It’s also logical to assume that the relations between Trump and Netanyahu are likely to have an impact on the Israeli election as well. I would not be surprised if Trump makes a dramatic move at some critical moment to help his friend Netanyahu (if they are indeed still friends) win the election.

“Is This a Police State?”

Netanyahu’s trial has reached a decisive stage. The cross-examination in Case 2000 (the charges that Netanyahu received positive coverage from Yediot Acharonot in exchange for making an effort to close down Yisrael Hayom) has drawn to a close, and another cross-examination took place in the process that included some final questions regarding Case 4000 (in which Netanyahu was accused of receiving positive coverage from the Walla web site, under the control of Shaul Elovitch, in exchange for benefits for the Bezeq telecommunications company). Netanyahu took advantage of the last hearing during the cross-examination to respond to the prosecution’s questions with accusations against them. “The investigator leaked the recordings of the questioning to the press,” Netanyahu asserted.

“That is the defendant’s belief,” the prosecutor, Tadmor, replied.

Netanyahu responded, “There is no other possibility, unless I took the recordings and worked against my own interests. It is the obvious logical conclusion.”

Netanyahu also asserted, “This has been an effort to convict an innocent person.” He added, “The decision to file the indictment while I was standing on the White House lawn cannot have been a coincidence…. It could have waited…. There were criminal leaks, each of which would be punishable by three years in prison. And they generally added details such as the claims that I was always perspiring or always losing my wits.”

“You claimed that everyone associated with you was summoned for questioning,” the prosecutor said. “Some of the people you named weren’t interrogated as suspects.”

“You questioned almost everyone in my surroundings, whether as a suspect or otherwise,” Netanyahu replied. “You used a spyware program on a huge circle of people surrounding me. The rights of Israeli citizens were violated in the course of this campaign to incriminate the prime minister.”

“Sir, the suspicions were investigated,” the prosecutor said.

“You exploited the entire system and broke all the laws,” Netanyahu said. “I am permitted to say something: You pretended that you weren’t questioning everyone who was close to me, but you trapped them all in a net of terror and intimidation.”

“Mr. Netanyahu,” the prosecutor said, “some of the people you have mentioned were also brought to justice, such as Ari Harow, Mrs. Netanyahu, who was convicted, and Natan Eshel, who was convicted in a disciplinary hearing.”

“You are using your authority in a manner that terrorizes others,” Netanyahu said. “You haven’t seen anyone who stood up to you and didn’t give in. You aren’t collecting evidence; you are colleting targets. Nothing like this has happened in the past. What other public figure received this treatment? It is embarrassing. Legal experts around the world are demanding, ‘Is this a police state?’ You are extorting people close to me. That is what you have done! It is a blatant injustice. This is nothing but political persecution, just like in a police state.”

Indeed, Netanyahu is quite convincing.

Instead of Pursuing Justice, the Attorney General Pursues People

Last week, the Knesset approved a new law placing the Department of Internal Police Investigations (DIPI) under the aegis of the minister of justice rather than the state prosecution. The law was presented by MK Moshe Saada, while the opposition spoke strongly against it. The bill was passed by a vote of 43 to 39 and was incorporated into the book of law.

MK Moshe Saada is a former deputy director of the DIPI. He is a member of the political right and claims that he was persecuted by his colleagues for that reason. He also claimed that he has evidence that the DIPI partnered in a conspiracy to use its power to incriminate Netanyahu and that there were orders from above to refrain from investigating the investigators in the Netanyahu cases who were guilty of misconduct. Saada was picked for the Likud slate by Prime Minister Netanyahu and has been fighting against the DIPI ever since he was elected to the Knesset. This law was part of his efforts and received the support of the chareidim as well.

Saada’s speech to the Knesset presenting the bill makes the case very clear: “The DIPI today is a militia belonging to Gali [Baharav-Miara, the attorney general]. She doesn’t pursue justice; she hounds people. She persecutes Force 100, she persecutes Prison Service commissioner Kobi Yaakobi, she persecutes Avishai Muallem [the police superintendent who refused to comply with illegal orders from the Shin Bet to act against settlers], and she persecutes Kahlon, Zini, Gofman, and Tally Gotliv. Anything that is reminiscent of the right is hounded, trampled, and obstructed by this establishment, and any means to that end are deemed acceptable. This law will make a change. No longer will there be criminals in law enforcement. All those criminals, including Gali, Amit Aisman [the state prosecutor], Altman, and her deputy, Gil Limon, will be investigated under the new DIPI. There will be no more groundless investigations of right-wing people. This law will prevent crimes of the police or prosecution. We understand that if this law had existed in the past, there would have been no spyware cases [he was referring to the unlawful wiretapping used against hundreds of people, a subject that hasn’t yet been investigated at all]. Today brings good news for the people of Israel, who know that the DIPI does not function, that it covers up misconduct and persecutes the people of the right.”

But do not make the mistake of thinking that Moshe Saada stands with the chareidi victims of the DIPI’s corruption. When he held his position in the agency, he often seemed to be covering up the misconduct of police officers who had shown cruelty to chareidim or had actually abused them. Complaints submitted to the DIPI by chareidim never bore fruit, even when Saada was there.

State Comptroller Election Triggers Clash Between the Judges and the Knesset

I mentioned previously that the Knesset has elected the next state comptroller. The election was a race between two candidates: former Supreme Court justice Yosef Elron, who was the opposition candidate, and attorney Michael Rabello, who was supported by Netanyahu and the coalition. It was a great drama. In the first round of voting, Elron received 60 votes while Rabello received 57. However, in order to win the first round, one of the candidates would have had to receive a majority vote of at least 61 members of the Knesset. Elron fell short of that threshold by a single vote, and the Knesset was forced to hold a second round. This time, the results were surprising: Rabello received 61 votes, while Elron got 57. What led to this turnaround? There are many theories, but that is not our topic now. Yesh Atid suspects, for instance, that one of its members voted for Rabello as revenge for the fact that he was going to be removed from the party slate for the following Knesset. Others suggested that the chareidim cut a deal with the Arabs. In short, rumors and speculation abound, but no one can actually prove any of these theories.

As anyone could have predicted, the Supreme Court was petitioned against the outcome of the election. The petitioners claimed that the Likud party had required its members to take pictures of their ballots and had thus contaminated the election process, which is supposed to remain secret. The judges had a problem, since the petitions concerned an election in which one of the candidates was one of their own, a man who, until recently, had sat on the bench alongside them. They became even more entangled in potential bias when Elron announced that he would join the petitioners. In case you thought that the judges would recuse themselves due to their bias, however, I must disabuse you of that notion; they did no such thing.

After a court session in which Justice Sohlberg claimed that there was a cloud of suspicion over the election, the judges decided last Thursday that they would offer a “compromise”: They recommended holding a repeat election in the Knesset. Why this is considered a compromise remains a mystery. In any event, the judges asked for the Knesset’s response before issuing their final decision. They could have ruled outright that the election was disqualified and the Knesset was required to repeat it; however, at this stage, they decided only to make a recommendation rather than forcing the matter.

The Knesset legal advisor announced her position even before the court released its recommendation. She claimed that it was proven that no one had forced the Knesset members to take pictures of their ballots, that anyone who had documented himself with a ballot did so of his own accord, and that there is no legal impediment to showing one’s vote to others even in a secret election. Moreover, following a dispute that erupted in the Knesset at the time, a recess was called and then an agreement was reached that the voting would resume, while the Knesset speaker announced that the members had no obligation to document their ballots. Nevertheless, the judges rejected the legal advisor’s position and recommended repeating the vote. Netanyahu, however, is far from eager to see the vote repeated, since he fears that some members of the Knesset, including the chareidim, will make new demands in exchange for voting for his candidate of choice.

The response to the judges’ recommendation came from Knesset speaker Amir Ochana, who rejected the compromise. “The Knesset has had its say,” Ochana wrote, directing the judges’ attention to the response of the Knesset’s legal advisor. At this point, the judges will have to make a decision. If they choose to invalidate the vote and its result despite Ochana’s stance, it will mean that the power struggle between the two branches of government will reach yet another peak. We will have to wait and see what they decide.

The Torah’s Revitalizing Effect

In my article about my brief visit to America, I mention a paragraph in a sefer by my rebbi, Rav Elya Ber Wachtfogel. Let me take this opportunity to quote another passage from that same sefer: “The resurrection of the dead will take place only due to the power of the Torah, as the Gemara states (Kesuvos 111b) that amei haaretz who do not learn Torah will not be resurrected…. If the Torah brings life to the dead, it certainly gives life to the living. Therefore, people who are spiritually ‘dead’ and are considered dead even while they are alive can surely be resuscitated by the Torah…. A baal teshuvah once described to me how he became religious. He told me that he had initially been one of the lowly people who behave like animals, and he had an urge to leave his place of residence in New York. He roamed the country, going from place to place until he arrived in Denver, where he happened to pass a shul one day and went inside to rest. The rov of the shul was delivering a shiur on daf yomi, on the sugya of slaughtering or selling a stolen cow in Perek Merubah, and after about ten minutes had passed, the visitor felt that a new soul had entered him and he began to feel a sublime feeling. He approached the rov and said, ‘I will not leave this place until you learn with me.’ He sat with him for several weeks and learned Torah until he became a true baal teshuvah. This is certainly something that has no natural explanation; the shiur dealt with a halachic concept rather than matters of emunah. But the Torah has the power to revitalize even people who are spiritually ‘dead.’”

The Gemara asks, “Techiyas hameisim min haTorah minayin—What is the source in the Torah for the resurrection of the dead?” But with this introduction, perhaps we can make a slight change to the text and read it as follows: “Techiyas hameisim minayin? Min haTorah—Where does the resurrection of the dead come from? From the Torah!” The Torah brings life to those who seem to be beyond hope.

New Disclosures on Fauci, CIA And Wuhan

On her final day in office, outgoing Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard made good on a promise, unveiling a trove of explosive documents that were meant to stay hidden. The release included more than 1,600 pages of Covid-related emails exchanged across the intelligence community in the opening months of the pandemic.

Gabbard said that by declassifying the internal correspondence, briefings, and whistleblower complaints, she was exposing a cover-up aimed at shielding higher-ups from accountability.

Powerful people have spent years trying to keep these Covid documents out of public view, she said in a televised video. After years of “lies, censorship and cover-ups, the American people deserve transparency, truth and accountability.”

Gabbard’s ‘document dump’ is the culmination of her year-long effort to declassify records from the full spectrum of the intelligence community, including from the Office of National Intelligence, CIA, FBI, Department of Homeland Security, and multiple branches of the Defense, State, Treasury and Energy Departments.

Only days earlier, her office had released a list of files concerning more than 100 U.S.-funded biolabs operating overseas, including facilities working with dangerous pathogens, as reported in these pages.

Taken together, the disclosures point to a far-reaching problem that cuts across major branches of the federal government: a sprawling biological research apparatus, entangled with deeply troubling ethical and legal concerns.

All this is largely hidden from the public despite being financed by American taxpayers, the former National Intelligence chief said.

The once-secret files tell a shocking story that even now—judging from the near news blackout on the subject—will probably never see the light of day in most mainstream media.

Serial Liar

In her televised video, Gabbard took scathing aim at pandemic “expert” Dr. Fauci, saying the documents prove he provided millions in U.S. taxpayer dollars to fund dangerous gain-of-function research on bat coronaviruses at the Wuhan Institute. That research is widely believed to be responsible for a lab leak that sparked the pandemic.

“He blatantly lied to Congress under oath during his 2024 testimony,” Gabbard said. Then she added, “Dr. Fauci funded dangerous gain-of-function coronavirus research linked to Big Pharma and their pursuit of universal vaccines, worth trillions of dollars. He became the nation’s pandemic pundit, and he publicly pushed lies, disinformation, and censorship using every platform available.”

Gabbard said the files expose how Fauci lied to Congress in 2024 when he was repeatedly asked whether the agency he headed funded viral research. He also allegedly lied when he was asked whether he had spoken to the FBI, CIA, DIA (Defense Intelligence Agency), or any U.S. intelligence agency regarding viral research before, during, or after the pandemic.

“Not to my knowledge,” he replied.

These questions from the Senate Committee were pivotal to understanding how it came to be that, during the pandemic, the above-mentioned intelligence agencies officially adopted the narrative Fauci pushed about Covid’s origins stemming from a natural animal source, rather than a lab accident.

The documents released by Gabbard include records of his interactions with the Intelligence Community (IC). One of them describes a June 2021 briefing with Fauci “concerning the origins of SARS-CoV-2,” proving that his testimony denying these communications was clearly untrue.

Intelligence Community Took Their Cues from Fauci

We now know, thanks to the released documents, that many scientists immediately recognized that the Wuhan lab was the most obvious source of Covid’s origins. Yet, when the CIA and other intelligence agencies launched an investigation into the origins, these were not the experts they turned to.

Instead, they followed Fauci’s referrals. Emails show the NIAID director providing the intelligence community with names of scientists to consult, many of whom had received funding from him through NIAID. They also show intelligence officials accepting those recommendations.

One senior official explained why they followed Fauci’s guidance, describing him as the person who “knows better than most who the real Coronavirus experts are.”

The outcome of all this maneuvering is obvious. Fauci’s trusted allies helped shape the scientific assessment about the pandemic’s origins. That assessment was then presented to the public as the independent judgment of the intelligence community, and cited as evidence against a laboratory origin.

Gabbard’s office describes this as a “self-serving reporting loop” that shut down any dissenting opinion and falsely presented the analysis as a scientific “consensus.” As the documents show, claims of a consensus were wholly untrue.

Whistleblowers Faced Retaliation

According to the declassified files, Gabbard’s office received testimony from whistleblowers within the intelligence community who faced threats and retaliation for challenging the “consensus” narrative.

“Tactics straight from the deep state playbook,” Gabbard described the blowback in the televised video, “once again revealing a clear pattern of suppressing dissent, silencing critics, and burying the truth.”

One agent alleged that he was fired days after coming forward to ODNI (Office of National Intelligence), then headed by Avril Haines, as a whistleblower on the matter. Other intelligence analysts reported that efforts were made to undermine the whistleblower process by removing the customary anonymity granted to those who came forward with complaints, thus exposing them to retaliation.

Gabbard decried the “atmosphere of intimidation” this situation created, and that was exacerbated by Fauci and a compliant media branding these individuals as “conspiracy theorists.”

Critics ascribed the media blackout about Wuhan’s possible culpability to its drive to protect government elites who were worried that their alleged funding of experiments at the Wuhan Institute would be exposed. They had used American tax dollars to fund reckless experiments in China that in the end, likely created Covid-19.

If that fact were to become public, they would be shamed, and ridiculed – possibly even indicted. Their professional lives would be ruined.

It became clear by 2025 that the analysts whose views were marginalized were not advancing a fringe belief or conspiracy theory. They had reached a conclusion that was ultimately adopted by multiple intelligence agencies and Congress, and supported by a growing body of evidence.

By 2023, both the FBI and the Department of Energy had concluded that a laboratory origin was the most likely explanation. By early 2025, the CIA had reached the same judgment, as had a congressional investigation that spent two years reviewing the evidence.

In retrospect, Fauci and his allies were asking people to believe a wildly improbable scenario: that although all the ingredients for a catastrophic lab accident were present at the Wuhan lab—including genetically altered coronaviruses and inadequate biosafety safeguards—the virus responsible for the pandemic somehow did not emerge from the lab?

Instead, people were being asked to believe that an identical never-before-seen virus arose naturally –by sheer coincidence—from an animal in a wet market just a mile away?

As far back as June, 2021, a late-night comedian famously ridiculed the mental contortions required to sign on to the latter theory. “Oh my gosh,” he quipped. “There’s been an outbreak of chocolate spills near Hershey, Pennsylvania! What do you think happened? It couldn’t possibly be the chocolate factory, could it?”

The joke struck a nerve because it exposed a prevailing mindset; the willingness among experts to suspend common sense when a government-approved narrative demands it.

IC Botched Investigation

Despite the growing gap between the conclusions of CIA analysts and Fauci-backed experts, “the intelligence community almost always incorporated Fauci’s recommendations,” Gabbard attested. The agencies charged with rigorous analysis and inquiry appeared willing to forget their professional standards to comply with the establishment narrative.

Critics say the declassified material exposes how the Intelligence Community botched one of the most burning intelligence questions of our lifetimes. What was more important in 2020 than for the country’s intelligence agencies to quickly figure out the origins of the pandemic? And yet, when the interests of a powerful insider like Fauci collided with the need for an honest, leave- no-stone-unturned investigation, the whole IC system folded around him.

How could this happen? Critics say it was because Fauci was their main virus expert. But he was also a suspect because of the suspicion that gain-of-function research, which he was caught funding, had caused the pandemic.

How did one of the pandemic’s main suspects somehow become the lead expert in a sweeping federal investigation spanning the entire Intelligence Community? Shouldn’t it be obvious that if NIAID’s director potentially funded one of the core targets of the investigation—gain-of-function research—that same individual cannot also be the main expert on the case?

“I am the Science,” Fauci had boasted. Whether the Intelligence Community fell for his self-aggrandizement, or for reasons yet unknown, simply pretended to, is impossible to fathom. Even after more than 1,600 pages of disclosures, important pieces of this tragic saga remain hidden from view.

Did Fauci Escape Justice?

Although he survived a five-year legal deadline to face criminal charges for allegedly lying to Congress about funding risky research in Wuhan, China — the former NIAID chief isn’t out of the woods, a NY Post article asserted.

Despite the statute of limitations having run out on potential charges against Fauci,” the DOJ is not necessarily calling it quits, the article said.

Pressure to prosecute Fauci intensified last month when his former senior adviser, David Morens, was indicted for allegedly breaking the law to conceal the origins of Covid-19. Morens faces one count of conspiracy, two counts of destruction or falsification of records, and two counts of concealment of records.

“Fauci also destroyed records. He would send emails to others and say, when you read this, destroy it. He’s at least as guilty as Morens. He needs to be investigated,” said Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky.

Sen. Paul has written a book called “Deception: The Great Covid Cover-Up.” In it, he argued that Fauci knew early in the pandemic that the virus was linked to Wuhan and funded by the National Institutes of Health.

Among the explosive memos released by former ODNI director Tulsi Gabbard are documents that allegedly support these claims. They also reveal that Fauci and the CIA knew that multiple workers at Wuhan had fallen sick with Covid symptoms, and were hospitalized prior to the pandemic being identified as such.

Yet Fauci and his cronies continued to sideline lab leak evidence, and instead pushed the “natural origins” arising from a wet market animal.

The senator has repeatedly demanded that the Justice Department charge Fauci for lying to Congress, testifying that he did not fund “gain of function” research in Wuhan.

Sen. Paul told The NY Post that Fauci’s preemptive pardon from former President Joe Biden before leaving office should be challenged in court.

President Trump in December declared Fauci’s pardon, and others signed by autopen, “null and void,” but the Justice Department has not yet tested that assertion. It hinges on an argument that Biden was so mentally diminished that he could not have authorized the pardon.

In the meantime, Fauci has been subpoenaed to testify publicly in July, before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, according to an online post by Senator Rand. The decision to subpoena the former NIAID director came after Fauci said he would not voluntarily testify despite previously agreeing to do so, Paul said.

Among the key questions Fauci is expected to face is whether he misled Congress about NIAID’s funding of gain-of-function research at the Wuhan lab in China. He will likely be asked when he first learned that Wuhan laboratory workers had become ill with a Covid-like virus.

He will also face questioning about whether he stands by his earlier testimony denying that he discussed the matter with the CIA, FBI, and other intelligence agencies.

After years of denials, evasions, and unanswered questions, Fauci is running out of places to hide. What happens next may determine his legal and historical fate.

***

‘Conspiracy Theorists’

Back in 2020, only a few publications, Yated among them, treated the lab-leak theory seriously, earning the ridicule reserved for “conspiracy theorists.”

It’s worthwhile to recall how the media ganged up on anyone who dared to dissent, maligning them for spreading misinformation. One paper even ludicrously suggested that people with dissenting opinions were harming people by “intensifying the pandemic.”

Below are excerpts from a 2020 Yated article that details the media marching in lock-step with Fauci, only to reverse course with the doctor himself, when evidence pointing to a lab accident became impossible to ignore.

“Following Fauci’s cues, media attempts to squelch evidence pointing to a lab leak were successful for over a year,” the article said.  “A Washington Post reporter mocked the lab-leak speculation as a “fringe theory” that “has been repeatedly disputed by experts.”

“New research explores how conservative media misinformation may have intensified the severity of the pandemic,” the Washington Post wrote.

_“CNN’_s headline from May 5, 2020 was perhaps most brazen, declaring Fauci had “crushed” then-President Trump’s theory on the lab leak. The article went on to note that, as leading European media began reporting on emerging evidence of Wuhan’s likely role in the pandemic, “British intelligence re-assessed the theory and upgraded its probability from ‘remote’ to ‘feasible,’ according to the Sunday Times.

“This was followed by the startling May 2020 announcement by President Biden that he was ordering a review of the pandemic “lab leak” theory, after he shut down a previous probe into its origins,” the Yated article noted.

“As public opinion shifted, Fauci once again flip-flopped, telling reporters that he was ‘not convinced the coronavirus developed naturally, despite insisting on this explanation for over a year.

“On the heels of this reversal came the incriminating email dump, when more than 3,200 of Fauci’s emails from January to June 2020 were released through FOIA,” the article noted. “Those who plowed through the emails say they exposed his arrogance, propensity for talking out of both sides of his mouth, and withholding vital information about the possible origins of Covid-19.”

Media Reverses Course

In the face of mounting evidence pointing to a lab accident, mainstream media in the United States, including prominent liberal voices, began to quietly reverse course.

A June 2022 article in Yated reported on this extraordinary flip-flop in the mainstream media. The article quoted ABC News saying that “reporters who mocked statements by former President Trump and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo that linked the virus’s origins to Wuhan now have egg on their faces.”

“Even if Trump did make the statement, it might turn out to be the truth,” ABC news correspondent Jonathan Kurl said.   

“The Washington Post’s Josh Rogin sounded a rare note of journalistic integrity for the paper when he blasted reporters for their sudden about-face,” the Yated article continued. “Rogin accused journalists of bias, general incompetence and even “TDS,” –short for Trump Derangement Syndrome.

Left-wing outlets, including The New York Times, CNN, and NPR, went from ridiculing the possibility of a laboratory accident to treating it as a credible theory. To explain their abrupt reversal, they pointed to what they called “new information” that Wuhan lab workers had fallen ill with a Covid-like disease in the fall of 2019.

The declassified documents, however, reveal that this “new information” was actually old news being used as a pretext for changing course.

The NY Times Discovers Humility

“If it turns out that the Covid pandemic was caused by a leak from a lab in Wuhan, China, it will rank among the greatest scientific scandals in history,” wrote an extraordinary 2020 New York Times op-ed. “[This] dangerous research… carried out in a poorly safeguarded facility, thuggishly covered up by a regime more interested in propaganda than human life, was catastrophic for the entire world.

“But this possible scandal obscures an even deeper one,” the writer said, emphasizing the “long refusal by too many media gatekeepers to take the lab-leak theory seriously.” The silence of the media when these issues cried out for investigation and exposure is an enduring scandal, the writer argued.

House Minority Whip Steve Scalise, R-La. captured the irony best, noting the dichotomy between Fauci and his media allies trashing the lab leak theory in public, and Fauci emails expressing his private fear that the world would find out the truth.

“Big Tech was censoring posts about the Wuhan lab leak. The media was calling people who talked about the Wuhan lab leak conspiracy theorists,” Scalise posted online. “All while Fauci himself was emailing about Covid-19 possibly leaking from the Wuhan lab. Let that sink in.”

Among the many tragic episodes recorded in the Torah, few are as perplexing as the story of Korach. Korach was no ordinary man. Chazal tell us that he was exceptionally wealthy, exceptionally wise, and among the distinguished leaders of Klal Yisroel. He witnessed the greatest revelations in history. He stood at Har Sinai, accepting the Torah and hearing Hashem’s voice call out. He experienced Yetzias Mitzrayim. He lived among a generation that saw open miracles daily.

We learn the parsha and wonder how a person such as he could fall so low.

The Mishnah in Pirkei Avos teaches that any dispute conducted lesheim Shomayim, for the sake of Heaven, will endure, while one that is not for the sake of Heaven will not endure. The Mishnah then presents the ultimate example of a dispute not for the sake of Heaven: “The dispute of Korach and his congregation.”

What was the root of Korach’s rebellion?

The Torah hints at the answer. Korach could not accept the position that had been given to others. Moshe Rabbeinu was chosen as the leader of Klal Yisroel. Aharon had been selected for the kehunah. Elitzofon ben Uziel was appointed nosi. Korach looked around and saw honor bestowed upon others, and he was sickened.

People possess many different types of taavos and desires. Some are relatively harmless, while others can be profoundly destructive. The Mishnah in Pirkei Avos teaches, in the name of Rav Elazar Hakappar, that “hakinah v’hataavah v’hakavod, jealousy, lust, and the pursuit of honor, remove a person from the world.”

Of the three, the pursuit of honor is often the most destructive. A person recognizes physical temptations and understands the dangers they pose, but the desire for honor is so blinding that it often disguises itself as virtue. People convince themselves that they seek leadership for the sake of a worthy cause, to enable them to influence for the public good, or recognition to advance an important goal. In reality, it is the craving for honor that becomes all-consuming, blinding a person to reason and driving him to sacrifice everything in its pursuit.

Korach is a perfect illustration. He possessed virtually everything a person could desire, yet he could not accept that the honor he coveted was instead bestowed upon others. His obsession with attaining a position that was not his clouded his judgment and led him to challenge Moshe Rabbeinu. The honor he sought became the cause of his destruction, dragging him down along with his followers and leaving Korach as the Torah’s enduring symbol of how the lust for power can consume even the greatest of men.

Korach convinced himself that his rebellion was noble. He spoke in the language of equality and justice. “For the entire congregation is holy,” he declared. Yet, beneath the lofty rhetoric was a personal grievance. He wanted the position that had been given to someone else.

The Torah demonstrates how destructive this impulse can become. Korach did not merely challenge Moshe. He turned people against one another. Ultimately, the earth itself opened and swallowed him and his followers.

Chazal ask, “Korach, who was wise, what did he see to pursue this foolish endeavor?” The question itself is telling. His downfall was not due to ignorance. It was due to desire. Once a person’s ambitions take control, wisdom becomes powerless, and the desire becomes all-consuming.

The Mesillas Yeshorim addresses this taavah in the eleventh chapter, where he discusses the trait of nekiyus, the obligation to cleanse ourselves of subtle character flaws that ensnare people without them realizing it. Among the most dangerous of these flaws, he writes, is the pursuit of honor.

At first glance, honor seems harmless. Unlike wealth or physical pleasures, it appears noble and refined. A person may convince himself that he seeks a position of influence only to help others, leadership only to serve a worthy cause, or prominence only to advance a noble goal. Yet, the Mesillas Yeshorim warns that the desire for honor possesses extraordinary power to distort judgment and destroy people.

He writes that countless people have been destroyed by their quest for authority and recognition. The craving for honor can be so overwhelming that a person will sacrifice wisdom, relationships, principles, and even his spiritual wellbeing in order to satisfy it.

The Mesillas Yeshorim states that the desire for honor can never be satisfied. No matter how much a person possesses, he focuses on what remains beyond his reach. Instead of appreciating his blessings, he becomes consumed by the success of others. Instead of serving Hashem with joy, he becomes preoccupied with status and recognition. He says that a person can overcome his yeitzer hora for money or other enjoyments, but someone who desires honor can never overcome the awful feeling he experiences when he sees someone else possessing more than he does.

To illustrate the point, the Mesillas Yeshorim cites Korach. He had everything a person could want, yet it wasn’t enough. There was someone with a higher position than his, and that drove him past the breaking point.

The Mesillas Yeshorim’s words are as relevant today as they were when they were written centuries ago. Careers, families, communities, and institutions have been fractured because individuals became more concerned with prominence than purpose. The desire to be important becomes more important than doing what is right—or anything else.

Moshe fled from honor. Korach pursued it. Moshe became the greatest leader our nation has ever known. Korach became a symbol of the destruction that results when ambition is allowed to eclipse humility.

The person who seeks honor rarely finds satisfaction, while the person who seeks to serve Hashem discovers a greatness far beyond anything honor can provide.

There is a well-known, oft-repeated story about the Chofetz Chaim that captures the Torah’s perspective on leadership and greatness.

A visitor once came to Radin and entered the humble home of the Chofetz Chaim. Looking around, he was astonished. The furnishings were sparse. There was little evidence that one of the most revered Jews in the world lived there.

“Rebbe,” the visitor asked, “where is your furniture?”

The Chofetz Chaim responded with a question of his own.

“And where is yours?”

The man explained that he was merely traveling and had only temporary accommodations.

The Chofetz Chaim smiled and replied, “I, too, am only traveling.”

The Chofetz Chaim understood something that Korach had forgotten. This world is temporary. Positions are temporary. Titles are temporary. Influence is temporary. A person can spend his life fighting for honor and authority only to discover that both disappear with the passage of time. The only lasting achievements are the Torah, mitzvos, and maasim tovim that accompany a person into eternity.

The Chofetz Chaim fled from honor, viewing it as a poison that must be avoided. So many of our gedolim were exceedingly humble, and many stories are told of their remarkable humility.

Nations have been plunged into war because leaders could not relinquish authority. Families have been torn apart over questions of status and inheritance. Communities have been divided because individuals sought positions of prominence.

The pursuit of honor has toppled countless people who otherwise possessed remarkable talents and virtues.

Chazal teach that honor pursues those who flee from it and flees from those who pursue it. The more desperately a person seeks recognition, the more elusive it becomes. The less he thinks about himself, the more genuinely respected he becomes.

Moshe Rabbeinu embodied this principle. No one ever sought leadership less than Moshe. When Hashem appeared to him at the sneh, he repeatedly resisted accepting the role. He viewed himself as unworthy and begged Hashem to send someone else. Yet, no leader in history attained greater stature than Moshe. Because he did not seek greatness for himself, Hashem entrusted him with the greatest responsibility imaginable.

Korach was the exact opposite. He pursued greatness relentlessly, subjecting all of Klal Yisroel to a bitter machlokes in his bid for honor. In the end, not only did he fail to attain honor, but he lost everything.

Every person has a unique mission in this world that only he can fulfill. Hashem provides each individual with the talents, strengths, and abilities necessary to accomplish that mission.

Rav Yisroel Bunim Schreiber, whom we featured in these pages several weeks ago, is currently visiting the United States on behalf of Keren Olam HaTorah. Wherever he goes, he captivates bnei Torah with his remarkable shiurim, delivered with astonishing mastery and clarity, seemingly without preparation and often without opening a single sefer.

Following one such shiur last week, Rav Schreiber shared a powerful message of chizuk. He said that if every person would focus on becoming the best version of himself, everyone would succeed. The problem, however, is that people spend their lives trying to become someone else. Since they can never truly be that other person, they end up frustrated and disappointed.

To illustrate the point, Rav Schreiber related a story about the Chazon Ish.

Someone once approached the Chazon Ish and remarked that it was well-known that the Vilna Gaon slept only two hours a day, taking a series of brief naps of fifteen minutes each over the course of twenty-four hours. The man then asked, “If that was the case, how much did the great Amoraim Abaye and Rava sleep?”

To most of us, that sounds like a reasonable question.

The Chazon Ish’s response, however, was profound.

“I don’t know,” he replied. “Maybe they slept eight hours a day.”

The point is that every person is given the particular strengths, abilities, and circumstances he needs in order to fulfill his unique purpose in life. One person’s path is not another’s. One person’s strengths are not another’s. Success comes not from imitating someone else, not from trying to be someone else, but from developing the gifts Hashem has given us and using them to accomplish our own mission.

Korach’s mistake was that he stopped focusing on his own mission and became consumed with Aharon’s mission. Instead of appreciating the extraordinary role that Hashem had given him, he obsessed over the role that had been given to someone else.

A person receives Hashem’s brachos but cannot enjoy them because he is focused on what someone else has. He is blessed with wealth, but it’s not enough, because the person down the block has more than he does. The person down the block isn’t happy with his wealth because further down the block is someone with even more money, a bigger house, and a nicer car. And it never ends, because that person also isn’t happy. He can’t get over the fact that Elon Musk is worth a trillion dollars and he only has fifty million.

Hashem blessed each of them with more success than they ever dreamed they could achieve, but they aren’t happy because they covet someone else’s prominence. A person has unique gifts, but fixates on talents that belong to someone else.

Comparison is too often the thief of contentment.

Perhaps this is why the Torah places such emphasis on humility. Humility does not mean that a person denies his talents. It means recognizing that every gift, every position, and every opportunity comes from Hashem. A humble person is able to celebrate another person’s success because he understands that every individual has a unique mission. He does not view life as a competition, but rather as a lifelong mission to maximize the strengths Hashem gave him in pursuit of the proper purpose.

Korach could not accept that lesson. He saw another person’s appointment as his own demotion. He measured his worth by comparing himself to others. Once he adopted that perspective, resentment became inevitable.

This challenge is not limited to leaders or public figures. It exists within everyone who doesn’t study mussar and whose life doesn’t revolve around Torah. People seek recognition, honor, and respect. People compare themselves to neighbors, colleagues, relatives, and friends.

The story of Korach reminds us that such thinking is spiritually dangerous. Happiness begins when a person embraces the role Hashem has assigned him rather than coveting the role assigned to someone else.

The greatest people in Jewish history were not those who sought power. They were those who sought purpose. They were willing to lead when necessary, but they never confused leadership with personal honor and glory.

The gedolei hador throughout the generations have demonstrated this. Rav Elazar Menachem Man Shach became the gadol hador after spending decades cocooned in the bais medrash, struggling over sugyos of Shas. Similarly, Rav Yosef Shalom Elyashiv spent his days and nights learning in a small locked bais medrash in Meah Shearim. The furthest thing from their minds was assuming power and control or seeking kavod and recognition for their Torah greatness.

As we learn Parshas Korach, we are reminded that the desire for power can blind even the wisest of men. It can transform talent into destruction and potential into tragedy. The antidote is humility, gratitude, and the recognition that every person has a place uniquely designed for him.

Korach wanted someone else’s position and lost his own. Moshe accepted his mission with humility and became Moshe Rabbeinu.

The earth swallowed Korach, but his message remains buried beneath the surface of every human heart. Whenever we feel jealousy at another’s success, resentment at another’s prominence, or frustration that we have not received the recognition we think we deserve, the challenge of Korach reappears.

And whenever we respond with humility, gratitude, and faith that Hashem has given us what we need for the role we are meant to play, we achieve what Korach never could.

May we all be zoche to fulfill our missions in life, to help others pursue theirs, and thereby find success and happiness in our lives while helping prepare the world for the coming of Moshiach, speedily in our day.

Since I attended the deeply inspiring Keren Olam HaTorah event in Lakewood on Thursday, I have been thinking a lot, and my thoughts are telling me that I really need to improve. I am not happy with myself.

Let me explain.

I came back from the event amazed. Amazed by Klal Yisroel, amazed by all my neighbors in the wonderful community of Lakewood, where I have been privileged to live for more than thirty-five years.

It was hot. Boiling hot. Closer to 100 degrees than 95. Yet, many tens of thousands of men, women, and children stood outside for close to two hours in that scorching heat, sweating away, just to be able to see and hear from senior gedolei Yisroel. Just to be part of a rabbim, a large gathering declaring that they want nothing more than to see gedolei Yisroel, hear divrei Torah from the einei ha’eidah, and be inspired by matters of the spirit.

Looking around, I saw fathers standing with their sweaty toddlers, placing children on their shoulders and pointing to Rav Dov Landau, Rav Don Segal, Rav Avrohom Salim, and the other gedolim. It was clear that they wanted nothing more than for their sons’ eyes to catch a glimpse of that light, the light of Torah and yirah from previous generations.

It was so deeply inspiring to look at my fellow Lakewood Yidden, residents of this burgeoning city, and see what really defines them.

There were older people with white beards, younger yungeleit, throngs of bochurim, and thousands of children. And then I noticed something fascinating. While we were waiting for the gedolim to arrive, I saw so many yungeleit with small seforim in hand, learning in the blistering heat.

When I walked away from the event with my son, who doesn’t like excessive heat very much, I asked him if he was happy that we had come. His expression said it all. He didn’t even understand the question. And truthfully, what is the question?

And that is why I am not happy with myself.

The Cause of Annoyance

Despite knowing how amazing and inspiring the gathering was, despite realizing that I have the privilege of living in a town together with so many other Yidden for whom Torah living and Torah learning are paramount, part of me was really upset and bothered at the same time.

I couldn’t help but notice so many young peoplekids and teens between the ages of eleven and eighteenrunning around, pushing, shoving, making noise, and seeming almost unaware that we were in the middle of a historic occasion.

The einei ha’eidah were right there in front of us, and they were tearing through the crowd, pushing, shoving, shmoozing, making a matzav, not caring who they were bumping into, not caring whose view they were blocking, and having a good time doing it. And it really bothered me.

I began to wonder: Who are their parents? Did their fathers and mothers not teach them anything about basic _mentchlichkeit_about how to live among others? Did their rabbeim in yeshiva never speak about middos, about bein adam lachaveiro? Is the shmuess only about Torah or is it also about basic mentchlichkeit? We are not talking about refined points of bein adam lachaveiro found in some mussar seforim. We are talking about conduct that even a gentile living in Iowa, Montana, or Wyoming would never engage in publicly.

Lessons in Basics

I did not learn in the Philadelphia Yeshiva, but my in-laws lived in Philadelphia for a time, and I had many opportunities to hear Rav Shmuel Kamenetsky address the bochurim, both in public settings and in more private ones. He almost always spoke about middos and mentchlichkeit. Basics. Things that perhaps today’s bochurim would view as “nerdy,” or whatever adjective is used today. He would talk about the importance of saying good morning with a smile, something that he himself embodied. He would encourage the bochurim to fill up the washing cup after they had washed for hamotzi or come out of the bathroom, explaining, “In this way, you are doing a chesed for someone else, not just filling the cup for yourself.” He would talk about how one shouldn’t use a hot cup for a cold drink because hot cups cost more and the yeshiva’s money is mamon hekdesh.

Basic things that might be considered trivial in the “sophisticated” world of today.

Are today’s parents and rabbeim no longer teaching these basics?

The “Negativity Thermometer”

Getting back to my original point, I was simultaneously upset with myself. Why does my focus automatically go to the negative? Why was I more upset by the conduct of those young people who were not doing the right thing than energized by the tens of thousands who were making a kiddush Hashem by their very presence?

Yes, I was deeply inspired and even emotional when the entire assemblage of so many thousands said Tehillim with great feeling, led by Rav Shimon Galei.

Still, what animated me even more were my feelings of annoyance rather than my feelings of good fortune.

Why?

The Need to View the World Through “Hashem’s Eyes”

My reaction bothered me so much that I went to speak to a Yid who is older and wiser than I am, and he told me something profound that I would like to share with you.

He said, “Your problem is that you are looking at things through the lens of your own eyes and not through the lens of, kevayachol, Hashem’s eyes. A Yid must train himself to look at the world through Hashem’s eyes. He must try to see things the way Hashem sees them.”

He explained, “Hashem always looks with rachamim. Even when He feels compelled to mete out punishment, that, too, is only because He has rachmonus and knows that the Yid needs the punishment for his own good. It is never, however, with real anger. Similarly, we must train ourselves to look at things that our fellow Yidden do with rachamim.”

He said that Rabbeinu Bachya, in last week’s parsha, gives an amazing illustration of this concept. One of the greatest sins that the Bnei Yisroel committed was the sin of the meraglim. It is a sin for which we are still paying until today. The Torah tells us that Hashem informed the Yidden that part of the punishment for the sin of the meraglim was that the Bnei Yisroel would have to wander in the midbar for forty years before entering Eretz Yisroel.

Why Hashem Gave the Meraglim Kefitzas Haderech

Chazal teach us that Hashem gave the meraglim kefitzas haderech. He made it possible for them to travel across the entire Eretz Yisroel in only forty days, even though according to the rules of nature it should have taken much longer.

Hashem did this, Chazal say, so that when He would punish them and decree that they must spend one year in the midbar corresponding to each day that they spied on Eretz Yisroel, it would only be forty years and not more.

Rabbeinu Bachya points out that even while the Bnei Yisroel were rebelling against Hashem in the worst way, even while they were sinning against Him, Hashem, like a merciful and benevolent father who loves his child so much, was having rachmanus on them as they, so to speak, “hit” Him.

Hashem was thinking, “I can’t give them too great a punishment. Yes, they need a punishment for their own good, but still, I love them so much that I will do it with rachmanus.”

We see how even in situations of middas hadin, Hashem acts with rachamim. He looks at the Bnei Yisroel not as bad children who are terrible, but as His beloved children. Yes, at times, He has no choice but to punish, and yet, even within the punishment, it is done with pure rachmanus.

Not Judging Their Behavior, But Wondering How to Help

My mentor told me that there was nothing wrong with noticing that those young boys and bochurim really need to improve in their middos, but only with an eye toward rachmanus, only if we are thinking, “How can we help them? How can we help and encourage their parents and rabbeim to realize that they must do more and focus more on teaching these things to them? How can we create more awareness and empower parents not to be afraid of how their children will react? How can we encourage parents to assert their parental authority while still showing love and ha’aras ponim to their children?”

Yes, notice the good. Be energized by the good. Get chizuk from those amazing Yidden, the klal. And when it comes to the prat, try to look at them benevolently while at the same time doing hishtadlus to encourage more care in these matters.

Hashem is full of rachmanus and wants only good for His people, even those engaged in less-than-sterling conduct. After all, He even had rachmanus on the meraglim.

Shouldn’t we? Shouldn’t we emulate Him? Shouldn’t we, while never shying away from appropriately pointing out things that could be improved, simultaneously look at the good, look for the good, and always look at Yidden with rachamim?

Because that is what Hashem does.

What is the summer for? As a matter of fact, this may be the time to reflect upon why so many negative things have been happening to Klal Yisrael. As we slowly approach the difficult Three Weeks and days of churban, we have a moment in time when we can take stock and take advantage of some incredible opportunities. As we have explored in these pages, the plague of Covid changed the world in ways no one had anticipated. Of course, much of it was a bitter pill to swallow. Some people are still suffering with the aftereffects of the pandemic, while, of course, others have been lost forever. Gedolei Yisroel passed away in solitude without proper hespeidim. Perhaps the summer, when many change their venue, is another opportunity to effect the changes Hashem wants from us.

Since this column has turned a bit into an adventure into the wisdom of Pirkei Avos  our seasonal encounter with the wisdom of Chazal in our daily lives  let’s look at this week’s perek for some answers.

Ben Azai taught us, “There is no person without his hour” (4:3). There is a well-known beautiful story with Rav Moshe Feinstein (quoted in Otzros HaTorah, Rosh Hashanah, page 278) that can illuminate our way. An elderly man who had not grown up religious was zoche to a have son who became frum. The father, who enjoyed hearing his son learn Gemara and wanted to try it himself, asked his son to teach him. The young man reluctantly tried to dissuade his father. “Dad, you can’t even read Hebrew, let alone Aramaic. I am so happy that you’ve started praying and putting on tallis and tefillin, but this is beyond you.”

The old man was adamant, so out of kibbud av, the son tried his best, and after a year of intense effort, the pair managed to complete one daf. The father was so ecstatic that he wanted to make a formal siyum, but the son demurred, explaining, “For this ceremony, you must complete an entire tractate.” But the father was insistent, so the son promised, “I will ask one of greatest sages, Rav Moshe Feinstein.” To his immense surprise, Rav Moshe said, “Of course you should, and if you will invite me, I will come as well.” The gadol hador arrived, the event was beautiful, and that night the man peacefully returned his soul to its Maker. At the levayah, Rav Moshe said, “Some people gain their world in a moment. Some gain their world with a daf.”

But Rav Moshe was also a no’eh doresh veno’eh mekayeim  he was consistent in everything he did. His neighbor, Rav Tuvia Goldstein, arrived one day to discuss a shailah and noticed that the man leaving was a difficult person who had once insulted Rav Moshe in print and in a speech. “Did this man finally come to ask forgiveness?” Rav Tuvia asked his friend. Rav Moshe was silent. “Well, if he didn’t come to do teshuvah, what was he here for?” Now Rav Moshe had to respond. “He came to ask for a letter of recommendation for something,” the gadol hador responded. Rav Tuvia was apoplectic. “This man insulted the Torah and the rosh yeshiva is rewarding him with a letter?”

There are two versions of what Rav Moshe said, and perhaps both are correct. One was that Rav Moshe responded, “Well, it’s after Yom Kippur and the man must certainly have done teshuvah, so I must assume that all has been resolved.” The other version is that Rav Moshe quoted the Gemara we mentioned above. “Some people gain their world in a moment. Perhaps this is my moment.” According to this version of the story, as related by Rav Tuvia’s son-in-law, Rav Osher David, Rav Moshe felt that this was a moment for his own sheviras hamiddos, wherein he chose to break out of the mold of responding to disrespect in kind and, in fact, performing a great act of chesed instead.

In any case, we can learn from Rav Moshe Feinstein another major lesson, that no matter what else we may have done well, we never know when or how we are validating our creation and very existence in this world. Every moment must be treated like that magical opportunity.

The Imrei Emes (Bamidbar, page 14, line 9-10) adds that “this can be the moment for which one was born.”

Rav Aryeh Tzvi Frommer, the Kozhiglover Rov (Eretz Tzvi, Moadim, page 21), adds that when we have even a split second of spiritual inspiration, we must seize it and not let it go.

Rav Dovid Povarsky (Mussar Vodaas 2:48) shares a story someone told him about the Chofetz Chaim. The man was sitting in Radin with the great sage, when, suddenly, the Chofetz Chaim jumped up, declaring with profound feeling the words from Lecha Dodi, “Shake off the dustArise.” The Chofetz Chaim continued with the words of the Medrash (Bereishis Rabbah, beginning of Parshas Vayishlach), “Like the hen that flutters its wings to shake off the dust.” He explained that this means that when a chicken or rooster becomes full of the dirt in which it resides, it can shake itself clean, whereas if anyone else was to try, it would be an endless task. The same thing is true for us all. We must “give ourselves a shuckel (a shake) and cleanse ourselves.” Now this was the Chofetz Chaim speaking of himself. What should we all say? The Mishnah Sachir (Parshas Balak) sees this as the meaning of Bilam’s prophesy (23:10): “Who has counted the dust of Yaakov?” meaning, “Who can even estimate the power of Yaakov even when he is on the ground, seemingly filthy? He still has the power to emerge clean and pristine from his grime.”

The Imrei Noam (Parshas Shoftim 4) quotes the Baal Shem Tov (also from Toldos Yaakov Yosef, Parshas Emor) that this concept is also referenced in the words of Chazal that “every single day, a heavenly voice rings out from Har Sinai.” That voice is the thoughts of repentance we all have once in a while. We ignore them at our peril, but when we embrace them, we have that special time when we can change easily and gracefully. Rav Izak of Zidichoiv (see Sefer Tefillah L’Moshe, introduction) writes that this, too, is a reference to the daily moments of inspiration Hashem sends us when we can change for the better in a split second.

Some meforshim (see Butzina D’nehora, Tefillin) reveals that even the angels have better days and worse days. The Gemara (Chullin 91b) tells us that some malachim sing to Hashem once a week, some once every seven years, some once every fifty, and some only once in their lives. Of course, our goal is to make every second and certainly every day count, but we never know which is the moment for which our soul was pining and waiting since our birth. Rav Elimelech of Lizhensk (Noam Elimelech, Parshas Bo) explained that when Chazal said that the “early Chassidim used to wait one hour before davening and one hour after,” it meant this moment of contemplation. This is our opportunity to elevate whatever we have done  whether our davening, learning or mitzvah  to a higher level.

All of this is when we have a personal moment. But we, as a nation, and even the entire world, have been living through events that have been both challenging and life-changing. This is a different world than we inherited from our parents and grandparents. We can ignore these messages or we can make them work for our eternal benefit. Some people have taken advantage of working at home to have new chavrusos in shul, on the phone and on Zoom, things our ancestors never dreamt of. Some have begun davening with minyonim, which was difficult for them, but Hashem has sent them a divine gift. Others have been able to move to Eretz Yisroel and learn at hours that were previously closed to them. Hashem is certainly sending us his bas kol and telling us to give a shuckel, but what are we doing with the heavenly sounds?

We have heard throughout our history that anti-Semitism, whatever its sociological, historical or even psychopathological reason, is actually to become stronger as an inspiration to worship Hashem better and more closely. As the outside world becomes more hostile to us, it is a time to look inward and savor the moments of closeness to Hashem, even as other things that were once alluring are now clearly dangerous and abominable. These include the lure of the Ivy League universities, which are clearly now cesspools of anti-Semitism and cultural residue. Politicians to whom we may have once looked for leadership have turned on us and reminded us that our only salvation is in Hashem. What seem to be the lazy pleasant days of summer, just before we commemorate the sadness of churban, should be for us to reflect upon who we really are and what Hashem wants from each of us. We are each being given more than a precious moment. We have been granted entire days and weeks to contemplate our lives and make decisions that will hopefully bring us all the geulos and yeshuos we seek so profoundly.

I hope that this does not get me banned from the Yated, but now that the geshichta is over, I guess, I can tell the story.

It was last Thursday night, and I was coming out of a chasunah in Brooklyn. An acquaintance of mine, back from the “olden days,” came over to me saying, “You have to daven! The team is down by thirty points with only 15 minutes to play.”

I will admit that the spark of interest that I once had as a kid in the 1960s never completely extinguished itself. To be sure, it has long since been replaced by more worthwhile pursuits, and I am not exactly rearranging my schedule around sporting events. Nevertheless, when one grows up in New York during a certain era, some memories remain tucked away in the recesses of the mind.

I can’t say that I was totally uninterested, but I don’t make miracles, and if my tefillos were worthy of them, I would not waste them on five guys running around while trying to get a big orange ball into a hoop.

But as I am involved in an elementary school on Long Island, and a rebbi cannot afford to be entirely disconnected from the world inhabited by his talmidim, I figured that I would have to be menachem a couple of kids the next morning in school.

Knowing that it was basically over, I did not even have a yeitzer hora to sneak in an audible of the sports news on the way, and thus it was a pure Reb Sruly Reid Bite-filled drive back from Brooklyn.

When we arrived home, I finished several things that needed attention and eventually prepared for bed. At approximately 11:30, I got a text message.

The message was cryptic. It may have been from the fellow who asked me to daven. The message said: “Uber tzu a blatt Gemara…kumt es nit.”

Despite our long acquaintance, I had absolutely no idea what he was talking about. I therefore responded with the most appropriate answer available under the circumstances: a question mark.

A few moments later, another message appeared.

“Just preparing you for what the rabbeim should tell the kids tomorrow.”

At that point, my confusion only increased, so I called him.

He answered immediately and explained that the New York Knicks had just completed what some were calling the greatest comeback in the history of professional basketball. The details were apparently remarkable. A game that had seemed hopelessly lost was somehow transformed into a stunning victory.

Then, as much as he originally seemed interested, he reiterated the truth that he knew from his rabbeim at a time when we were both kids.

“Uber tzu a blatt Gemara…kumt es nit.”

I am not interested in drawing mussar lessons from a comeback, especially from a basketball one. I leave that for the other storytellers who make podcasts. Klal Yisroel possesses a treasury of wisdom and authentic Jewish history that provides us with far greater examples of perseverance, resilience, and redemption than any sporting event could ever offer. Yet, his observation touched upon something important.

All the euphoria of that game, all the joy expressed in the subsequent clinch, gets headlines and bylines. Thousands dancing in the streets  for nothing. Indeed, “Uber tzu a blatt Gemara…kumt es nit.”

We relate to all types of superlatives. The richest. The most delicious. The most joyous. We have to know that the truest superlatives are only reserved for Torah. Its joy. Its value. Its sweetness.

Dovid Hamelech tells us that the words of Torah are more desirable than gold, even abundant quantities of refined gold. Shlomo Hamelech tells us that wisdom is more precious than pearls and that all desirable things cannot compare to it. Throughout Tanach, whenever the greatest value known to mankind is invoked as a point of comparison, the conclusion is always the same. Torah is greater.

Most of us read those pesukim so often that we cease to appreciate the magnitude of what they are saying. Gold is not merely valuable. Precious stones are not merely attractive. Throughout history, entire kingdoms have been built, defended, expanded, and destroyed in pursuit of wealth. Human beings have crossed oceans, climbed mountains, fought wars, and sacrificed their lives in order to obtain treasures that glitter for a few decades before being inherited by someone else.

Yet, Torah surpasses all of it. “Uber tzu a blatt Gemara…kumt es nit.”

This idea is expressed with remarkable clarity in a Mishnah in Avos. Rav Yosi ben Kisma relates that he was approached by a wealthy individual who wished to persuade him to relocate. The man offered him extraordinary compensation. The Mishnah does not describe a modest proposal. It describes a truly unimaginable offer. Rav Yosi ben Kisma’s response was equally extraordinary. “Even if you were to give me all the silver, all the gold, all the precious stones, and all the pearls in the world,” he said, “I would dwell only in a place of Torah.”

It is not powerful because Rav Yosi ben Kisma was indifferent to reality. He understood wealth. He understood comfort. He understood opportunity. Yet, he also understood that there are certain things that money can never purchase. Torah belongs to that category.

Several years ago, I had an experience that gave me a new appreciation for those words.

During a visit to Russia, I was afforded the opportunity to tour the Hermitage inside the Kremlin walls. It houses the jewels and treasures accumulated by the czars and confiscated by the Bolsheviks. The experience was unforgettable. We passed through layers of security and entered a dimly lit chamber that contained some of the most spectacular displays of wealth that I have ever seen. There were diamonds of unimaginable size, magnificent sapphires, coronation crowns, vast quantities of gold and silver, and treasures that had belonged to rulers whose power once extended across enormous portions of the world.

The brilliance was overwhelming. The gems reflected light with such intensity that I almost had to shield my eyes.

As I stood there, I suddenly understood something that had never fully registered before. When Dovid Hamelech spoke of gold and when Shlomo Hamelech spoke of jewels, they were not referring to a diamond ring in a jewelry store window. They were speaking about the treasures of kings. They were referring to wealth so immense that ordinary people can scarcely comprehend it. And even that, they taught us, pales in comparison to Torah. They knew real wealth. And they each said what that fellow texted me. “Uber tzu a blatt Gemara…kumt es nit.”

The irony was impossible to ignore. Those jewels survived the czars. They survived revolutions. They survived Lenin, Stalin, communism, and the collapse of the Soviet Union. Governments rose and fell around them. Entire political systems disappeared. Yet, those treasures remained locked behind glass. At the same time, countless bletter of Gemara learned by anonymous Jews in obscure corners of the world achieved a permanence and significance that those jewels could never attain.

That realization returned to me as I thought about the excitement surrounding that basketball game and the subsequent ones. I’ll ignore the violence and focus on the thousands of people in jubilation all across the tri-state. Fans dancing in Manhattan, jumping in Jersey, and frolicking through the Five Towns. Uber to simchas haTorah? Es kumt nit!

The story resonated Erev Shabbos, when the news came out of Wall Street. Mazel tov! The first trillionaire (whatever that means)! We have become accustomed to hearing about fortunes that previous generations could not have imagined. Not millionaires. Not even billionaires. Individuals worth hundreds of billions of dollars. Experts now revel in the newest mogul-keit  the world’s first trillionaire. The achievement dominated headlines. People marveled at the number. Economists analyzed it and historians will record it.

And Rav Yosi ben Kisma still shrugged. “Tzu a makom Torah…kumt es nit.”

Take all the silver. Take all the gold. Take all the jewels. Take all the wealth that human beings can accumulate. Gather it together into one gigantic pile. Then place it on one side of the scale and place a single blatt Gemara on the other. The Torah perspective is clear.

It’s not an expression. It’s real. Uber tzu a blatt Gemara…kumt es nit.

Just Saying.

When Trump Talks Tough, Israel Feels the Heat

Some people in the United States may be amused by the style of the statements emerging from the White House, and others may let the president’s remarks slide past them. Donald Trump is 80 years old, bli ayin hara, and the United States is 250 years old, and every day brings yet another comment or “tweet” from the president that may evoke chuckles or snorts from some quarters—but not for anyone here in Israel. From our standpoint, it isn’t amusing at all. When Trump announces that the gates of Gehinnom are about to open for Iran, Israelis began cleaning out their bomb shelters to prepare them for imminent use. And when he announces that a peace deal with Iran will be signed the following day, half the people in Israel buy tickets for vacations in Greece or Italy. His statements are a matter of life or death for Israel.

My own experience is a telling example. Last week, I spent a few days in America. I had a return ticket for an El Al Flight last Tuesday, and on Monday night, when we heard about the escalation with Iran and Trump’s threats, I had to find out if my flight would be departing on time—if at all. A few words from Trump have the potential to close Israel’s skies and to open the country’s bomb shelters. And now that there is much talk of an agreement between America and Iran, Israelis have begun to fear that it will come at their expense.

Meanwhile, the situation  in northern Israel was heating up. Hezbollah was continuing to fire missiles, without much concern or consideration for the ceasefire, while Israeli soldiers in Lebanon and civilians in the north feel threatened. Mayors of cities in the north decried the apathy of the government and the army, and Netanyahu decided in response to hold a special cabinet meeting in the city of Nof Hagalil. The meeting was held last Thursday, and Netanyahu decided that he had good news for the north, informing them that the government had approved an aid package for the region: “The Prime Minister’s Office, in collaboration with the Ministry of Finance, other government ministries, and heads of local governments in the cities of the Galilee—Tzefas, Acco, Nof Hagalil, Nazareth, Afula, Teveria, and Carmiel—formulated a development plan for the north in every area—transportation, the economy, employment, education, health care, personal security, and culture. The goal is to strengthen the cities of the north. The government unanimously approved the proposal from Prime Minister Netanyahu and Finance Minister Smotrich for a development plan for the years 2026 through 2030, with a cost of about 4 billion shekels. The measure complements the government decision approved the previous week for aid for the frontline communities along the northern border, which allocated approximately 18 billion shekels for that purpose.”

Netanyahu added, “In a joint effort, we are bringing a massive aid package to the cities of Nof Hagalil, Acco, Carmiel, Tzefas, Afula, Nazareth, and Teveria. We are giving them a huge boost and strong supplemental aid that will spur their development and growth. That is our vision. Everyone understands that this is a sacred national endeavor of the highest priority. I love the Galil; it is an integral part of our homeland, and we must preserve and develop it. We will repeat in the north what we did in the south. We will restore security to the north, which will flourish more than ever before.”

Most Detainees in Sohlberg Case Cleared of Suspicion

It should be self-evident that violence is deplorable. Decades ago, the chareidi author and expert on hashkofah Rabbi Moshe Shonfeld wrote an article titled “Violence Is a Foreign Growth in Our Camp.” At the time, everyone knew that he wrote upon instructions from the Steipler Gaon and Rav Shach. Someone once asked him how he always managed to intuit the views of the gedolei Yisroel, and he replied, “It’s very simple. I go out into the street and hear what people are saying, and then I write the opposite.” As the old saying has it, daas Torah is the opposite of the daas of baalebatim.

Let it be made clear, then, that the chareidi world deplores violence and riots. At the same time, they also abhor the hypocrisy of the judiciary, the media, and the politicians. When Leftist Kaplan protestors, who demonstrate against the government, block roads and bring traffic to a standstill, they are tolerated, forgiven, and even applauded. The attorney general defended them by explaining, “There can be no protest without disruption to the public order.” Yet when chareidim block roads, they are beaten mercilessly by the police. The judicial system shows understanding and tolerance for leftists, while chareidim are arrested and prosecuted for the same actions.

By way of example, take a look at the most recent protests in which chareidi demonstrators blocked highways. The police responded with brutality. And then there was the protest outside the home of Justice Noam Sohlberg in Alon Shvut on June 3, which was followed by the arrests of 63 demonstrators. Why were they arrested? Because that is what the police wanted to do! And the judges approved extending their arrests—again, simply because they so desired. Were there grounds to believe that all these people were guilty of crimes such as trespassing or damaging private property? Not at all! But when the demonstrators are chareidim, no one is concerned about the facts. Indeed, a week later, almost all the suspects were released, since there was no evidence of any criminal activity on their parts. This week, only four of the suspects were indicted, and they face charges of trespassing and disturbance of the public order.

Reading the list of charges, one cannot be certain whether to laugh or cry: “At approximately 8:20 p.m., the vehicles reached the community of Alon Shvut, and the passengers emerged and began marching toward the house, directed by a person whose identity is not known to prosecutors. Dozens of people, at least, then gathered around the house and began shouting ‘Gevald!’ among other things. As a result, the Sohlbergs were forced to lock the doors of the house. After the crowd arrived at the house, a violent riot began, whose purpose was to deter Justice Sohlberg from his decisions as a judge on the petitions regarding the conscription of yeshiva students. The rioters broke the front windshield of the car belonging to Meira, the judge’s wife, and tried to break into the house as well. Many notices were scattered in their yard with Justice Sohlberg’s photograph and the caption, ‘Mr. Sohlberg, remove your hands from the persecution of chareidi Jewry.’ Blue and white flags with swastikas were also thrown into the street. In addition, a neighbor was assaulted during the incident, and his yarmulke was removed from his head for a period of time. Some of the neighbors thought that a security incident was taking place and entered their protected spaces. During the violent riot, defendants 1 and 2 entered the parking area with the goal of intimidating, insulting, instigating a fight, or committing a crime.”

Some aspects of this story sound preposterous. Did the neighbors really mistake a crowd of men in Yerushalmi garb for terrorists? The charges certainly seem weak and forced, yet 63 people were held in jail for over a week on this basis.

I will therefore reiterate my opening comment: We all deplore violence, and the way of the extremists from Mea Shearim is not our way, but we must also be equally opposed to hypocrisy. And in this case, the hypocrisy of the police and the courts is glaring.

The Witch Hunt Continues

The biased, politicized judicial system of the State of Israel is continuing its sordid work. Everyone knows that Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara is viciously persecuting everyone associated with Netanyahu, but last week she set a new record. A long time ago, Eli Feldstein and Ari Rosenfeld were indicted on charges of leaking a military document to the German newspaper Bild. The two men allegedly committed the act in collaboration with Yonasan Urich, the prime minister’s media advisor. It was also allegedly done with the prime minister’s knowledge, with the goal of proving that it was Egypt, rather than Qatar, that was responsible for obstructing the negotiations for the release of the hostages in Gaza. Urich was the target of a monthslong investigation into the allegations that he was a spy for Qatar, but that investigation recently died with a whimper. Throughout those months, he was kept in detention, and even when he was released, he was prohibited to meet with the prime minister or to visit his office. As I said, this is pure political persecution.

Last week, the prosecution announced that they were amending the charges against Feldstein and Rosenfeld and adding Urich as a third defendant. According to the revised charges, Urich is accused of transferring classified information with the intent of damaging state security, transferring classified information (a separate criminal charge), holding classified information, and destroying evidence. The witnesses for the prosecution include former Shin Bet director Ronen Bar and former Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi. Since the investigative materials are required to be disclosed when an indictment is filed, it was revealed this week that the two witnesses claimed that the leak exposed a source of intelligence and thereby caused harm to national security.

The announcement from the state prosecution drew sharp reactions from politicians on the right and from legal experts. The state seems to have crossed every imaginable red line in its witch hunt against Urich (and, in fact, anyone else who has worked in the Prime Minister’s Office). As soon as Urich was added to the indictment, the prosecution asked for restrictions to be placed on him once again regarding interactions with Netanyahu, after those same restrictions were recently lifted. The judge rejected the prosecution’s request and refused to place any restrictions on Urich at this time.

Blatant Hypocrisy in the Knesset

On the subject of hypocrisy, here is a flagrant example of politicized double standards: Last Wednesday, Erez Malul was sworn in to the Knesset. Malul is a former member of the Knesset who received his seat under the Norwegian Law and was forced to leave the Knesset when the Shas ministers stepped down from their positions. He has now returned to the Knesset in the wake of Moshe Arbel’s resignation. Malul was greeted warmly upon his return, but he also received some derisive responses from certain vocal lawmakers, mainly from Labor and Yesh Atid, who scoffed at the phenomenon of legislators joining the Knesset shortly before it dissolves. They pointed out acerbically that he was essentially stepping into the role for only two months and hinted that his real reason might be the salary and car that come along with the job. The thinly veiled implication was that Malul is essentially receiving a salary without working for it and thus squandering public funds.

But let’s take apart their claims. For one thing, what makes his salary any different from theirs? Are they more entitled to a salary when the Knesset is in recess simply because they have been there for longer? Moreover, Malul did not receive a newly created job; he simply took over for Arbel after the latter’s resignation. The Knesset is therefore not expending more money on his monthly salary; it has simply transferred Moshe Arbel’s salary to him. What, then, is the problem?

But this display of hypocrisy didn’t end there. Two day later, Yesh Atid itself jubilantly announced that a new member of the Knesset would be taking over the seat held by Boaz Toporovsky, who had just decided to resign. Boaz was a hardworking, serious lawmaker who took it upon himself to address the scourge of traffic accidents in Israel. As a student, he regularly attended activities offered by Nefesh Yehudi, an organization run by the Wolfson family and headed by Rav Eli Ilani. This week, Oz Chaim of Beer Sheva was sworn in to replace him, and Yesh Atid issued an announcement welcoming him to the Knesset. Now, what made it suddenly all right for a new MK to join the lawmakers’ ranks? What about the “free” salary that he will be receiving at the taxpayers’ expense while the Knesset is in recess? The party’s hypocrisy is utterly glaring.

Something else that hovers somewhere between the hypocritical and the bizarre is a letter written by Merav Michaeli, another member of the Knesset who will no longer be here in the 26th Knesset, against the food vouchers distributed to needy families on Aryeh Deri’s initiative. Michaeli wrote to the attorney general with a demand to halt the upcoming distribution of vouchers. Although her letter doesn’t mention the Shas party by name, she refers to the initiative as the flagship project of one of the parties in the Knesset, and she claims that the program violates the legal ban on distributing gifts during an election period. She also claims that the program was tailored for the chareidi sector, with criteria chosen to benefit chareidim.

Regarding her second claim, I do not believe that it is possible today to design criteria for a welfare program that will benefit one specific sector of the population more than others. In any event, the Ministry of Finance responded, “The financial aid will be distributed, as on previous occasions, through the Welfare Ministry and under guidelines that will serve the population of welfare recipients and needy families suffering from food insecurity alone.” But even if Michaeli was right about the program benefiting chareidi families exclusively—which, again, she is not—why does it bother her if needy chareidim receive food vouchers? Doesn’t every poor person deserve government aid? Besides, this distribution of vouchers has been in the works for many months. Is it Aryeh Deri’s fault—or the fault of the needy recipients—that Israeli bureaucracy manages to hamstring everyone and everything and put the project on hold for a long period of time? Above all, does Michaeli really think that all state funding should be put on hold during an election season? In fact, the Finance Committee is currently in the process of approving benefits for the residents of Yehuda and Shomron; would anyone think that those benefits should be halted since they can be interpreted as “gifts” from the Religious Zionism party for its voters? Is there any limit to the absurdity?

In my opinion, the problem is very simple: The pampered members of the upper class in Tel Aviv and the surrounding areas can never understand what it means for a family to struggle to put food on the table. And their myopia leads them to dismiss critical financial aid as an election campaign stunt.

The Election and Rav Ovadiah’s Yahrtzeit

Like it or not, the election is drawing closer. To be honest, though, we have now discovered that all the fuss about an early election was unfounded. If the election is moved up, it will be only by a margin of a couple of days, and in any event, it seems unlikely that the date will be changed at all. It is most probable that the election will be held on its original date—the 16th of Cheshvan 5787/October 27, 2026. The Shas party, however, wouldn’t mind if the election is moved two weeks earlier, to October 13, which falls on the 2nd of Cheshvan. They have a unique consideration: The third day of Cheshvan is Rav Ovadiah Yosef’s yahrtzeit, and that timing would surely improve the party’s performance in the election.

Meanwhile, the polls are receiving much more attention now, and what is amazing—or perhaps not all that amazing, when you think about it—is that the merger between Bennett and Lapid has failed to advance their standing and even seems to have worked against them. Everyone knew that Lapid’s party was sinking, but the polls have shown that the two parties together are continuing to lose ground. Meanwhile, Gadi Eizenkot’s party, Yashar, has been steadily improving. Bennett and Lapid repeatedly begged Eizenkot to join them, but now he is able to laugh at them and suggest that the tables have turned, and that they need him much more than he needs them. The Likud party has recently begun attacking Eizenkot, in a deliberate bid to frame him as the centrist candidate and thus to diminish the perceived importance of Lapid, Bennett, and Lieberman as well. They have good reason to try to boost Eizenkot’s party: He is the only candidate who hasn’t announced that he would never sit in a government with Netanyahu. That isn’t to say that we can trust either Lapid or Bennett to be true to their word and refuse to sit with Netanyahu, but there is no question that the political right would prefer a candidate who won’t even make such a statement. It is quite possible that there will be a correction period after the election and that Eizenkot will veer to the right. Even now, Eizenkot is declaring that he is part of the right (and certainly not the left), since he is looking for right-wing votes.

It is still a bit early for a full overview of the political map and the various parties gearing up for the election. That will have to wait another week or two, at which point we will probably have more knowledge. In broad terms, I can tell you that the polls seem to indicate a deadlock between the two blocs. On one side is the right-wing, pro-Netanyahu bloc consisting of the Likud, the chareidi parties, Betzalel Smotrich’s party, and Itamar Ben-Gvir’s party; the latter two, incidentally, will probably run on a combined slate, mainly because Smotrich fears that he will not pass the electoral threshold. On the other side, in the left-wing or pro-change bloc, there are many other parties, including Gadi Eizenkot’s party, the combined slate of Bennett and Lapid, Avigdor Lieberman’s party, the Democrats, the Arabs, and the party headed by Benny Gantz, which will probably not cross the electoral threshold. But when the polls predict an impasse, they count Lieberman, who is actually right-wing, as part of the anti-Netanyahu bloc, as well as the Arabs, who really should have been left out of the game. The reality, as everyone knows, is that the right wing has a strong majority in Israel.

Netanyahu Displeased with Party Slate

Prime Minister Netanyahu has expressed interest in abolishing the primaries in the Likud party. His reason: The current system makes it possible for “hitchhikers” to get a free ride into the Knesset by securing positions on the Likud slate that they don’t necessarily deserve. Anyone can form connections with a few of the most powerful Likud members, each of whom can net them a few thousand votes in the primaries, and then can coast to a seat in the Knesset. The facts are undeniable: There are a number of MKs in the Likud party today whose presence is nothing to boast about, including some who completely disregard every decision made by the party. This was apparent in the recent vote over the Basic Law: Torah Study, when two members of the Likud party broke ranks and voted against it. One of those MKs was Dan Illouz, who sits on the rear benches of the Knesset and received his seat under the Norwegian Law; the other was Sharren Haskel, who previously left the Likud to join Gideon Saar and then returned to her original party. The same phenomenon took place when Yuli Edelstein decided to take his own stance on the draft law, ignoring Netanyahu and the decisions of his party.

To be sure, Netanyahu also has reserved slots on the party slate, which gives him the right to place several candidates in realistic positions on the list. It is reported that he has already chosen a few of those candidates, including Gal Hirsch, the former Coordinator for Captives and Missing Persons, who is viewed as having been successful and is highly popular in Israel; Dedi Simchi, another widely respected figure and former head of Israel’s Fire and Rescue Service; Tali Gvili, the mother of police officer Ran Gvili, whose body was the last to be returned from captivity in Gaza; and Itzik Bonzel of the Gvura Forum organization, the father of fallen soldier Amit Bonzel.

But there is another side to the argument: Primaries are the most democratic system for compiling a party slate, and mistakes do happen in a democracy. Naturally, many in the Likud party are opposed to abolishing the primaries, certainly the tens of thousands of party members who pay membership dues that give them the right to vote in the party primaries. Of course, there is even stiffer opposition from the leaders of the large groups, including some chareidi figures, who wield control over everything that occurs in the party. Netanyahu, however, disagrees with them and wishes to give the Knesset list a “face lift,” which he views as crucial to a victory in the next election. In a closed-door conversation, Netanyahu reportedly said, “I’m not interested in a list of Knesset members who know how to win primaries. I’m interested primarily in people who can sway the public to follow them.” He has proposed having the candidates chosen by a selection committee instead of a primary election.

This week, however, the internal debate in the Likud came to an end when the Likud’s internal court unanimously rejected the requests to reopen debate over the issue, leaving its previous decision in place. In practice, that means that the Likud’s constitution would have to be altered for the primaries to be abolished. At the same time, the court prohibited the Likud Central Committee from discussing changes to the constitution or any other subject that is not directly related to the election. With the rejection of all requests for an additional discussion in the court, the committee was left with no practical way to abolish the primaries. In other words, the court has made it impossible on a practical level to eliminate the Likud primaries at this time.

Torah Study Law Approved in Knesset

Last Wednesday, the chareidi parties were able to feel a small degree of satisfaction when the Knesset approved the Basic Law: Torah Study by a large majority of 56 to 43. This made a very clear statement about the value of Torah learning as the force that sustains the world. The law, which contains only two clauses, is succinct yet significant. “Torah study is a foundational value in the heritage of the Jewish people,” it states. “The State of Israel, as a Jewish state, considers it supremely important to promote the study of the Torah and to encourage those who learn it. Regarding their rights and obligations, those who undertake to dedicate themselves to long-term Torah study shall be viewed as providing a significant service to the State of Israel and the Jewish people.” The memorandum accompanying the law includes a very similar sentence that infuriated many on the left: “It is likewise proposed that this Basic Law shall establish that those who undertake to dedicate themselves to Torah study for a significant period of time shall be viewed as providing a significant service to the State of Israel and the Jewish people, which will have an impact on their rights and duties.” When the law passed, cries of despair emanated from the benches of the left.

The law was written by three members of the Knesset from Degel HaTorah (Moshe Gafni, Yaakov Asher, and Yitzchok Pindrus), but all the chareidi members of the Knesset collaborated on the efforts to pass it. In fact, a version of this law was first placed on the table of the 20th Knesset by a large number of Knesset members from all the chareidi parties. The explanatory notes accompanying the bill that was passed this week make note of the fact that an identical bill was submitted in the 24th Knesset by Moshe Gafni and a group of Knesset members, and when I looked up that bill, I found that it, too, was a copy of a bill from the 20th Knesset attributed to Yoav Ben-Tzur, Moshe Gafni, and others, which was apparently the first version of the bill to be written. The bill submitted in the 20th Knesset was signed by ten Knesset members—four from Shas, three from Degel HaTorah, two from Agudas Yisroel, and, incredibly, Betzalel Smotrich!

The vote was conducted by roll call, and as the names of the Knesset members were read, screams pierced the air in the chamber. Cries of unfathomable despair echoed from the benches of the opposition, while the chareidim loudly decried the members of the Likud who voted against the bill. When the law passed, the chareidim rejoiced. Admittedly, it will probably make no difference on a practical level, but even a declarative measure can be significant.

Media Warns of “Chareidi Legislative Blitz”

On a similar note, I came across a newspaper article that warned ominously of an impending “chareidi legislative blitz.” The writer claimed that Netanyahu is willing to give in to any chareidi demand to pass a new law in order to ensure that the elections will be held at the designated time and no sooner. “In recent days, a chareidi legislative blitz has taken place,” the article explained. “The chareidim are constantly making new demands and receiving anything they want, solely to continue the Knesset’s current term. The Basic Law: Torah Study passed its preliminary reading yesterday; the chareidim have advanced this law to offset the principle of equality, so that if a draft exemption law is passed in the future, they can argue in the Supreme Court that even if it violates equality, it dovetails with a different basic principle of the state—the value of Torah study.”

The article goes on to bring two more examples of the supposed legislative blitz. The first is the day care law, which was recently approved in its first reading, and the second is the cancelation of Matan Kahana’s kashrus reform. That is all. Now, I am not certain that three laws can possibly qualify as a “blitz,” but in any event, none of those three laws is intended to introduce something new or to break the status quo. On the contrary, their purpose is to prevent erosion of the status quo on account of the battle against Torah and mitzvos. The Torah study law is a reaction to the past year’s vicious persecution of lomdei Torah, and the day care law is intended to remedy the draconian punishment and persecution of mothers and children. The third law, which abolishes Kahana’s kashrus reform, is merely meant to remove the ridiculous changes implemented by a pilot who was erroneously placed in the cockpit of the Ministry of Religious Affairs. But the writer of that article has framed the passage of these three laws as a legislative blitz, insinuating that the chareidim have suddenly developed an enormous appetite for new legislation.

This happens to remind me of the old joke about the man who arrived at a restaurant and tried to order a meal. Opening a menu, he chose a dish and informed a waiter of his decision, only to be told that that particular dish was out of stock. The customer chose another option, but the waiter informed him that it, too, was not available. He proceeded to go through the entire menu, only to be told after each selection that his chosen dish was out of stock that day. Finally, he reached the last item on the menu and said, “In that case, give me this.” The waiter shrugged and said, “We don’t have that item either.”

Suddenly, the restaurant owner’s voice echoed from the back of the room, “That man ordered everything on the menu? What a glutton!”

DIPI to Change Hands

Last week was a fairly stormy week in the Knesset. It is no secret that there is an ongoing power struggle between the Israeli judiciary and the government and Knesset, which led Justice Minister Yariv Levin to spearhead a judicial reform that was meant to include several laws that would curb the power of the Supreme Court. Levin’s reform sparked unrest in the streets, led to massive demonstrations, and prompted the judges to dig in their heels. Levin was taken aback and halted the reform; at the same time, he has refused to recognize Yitzchok Amit as chief justice of the Supreme Court, he has stalled the appointments of new judges, and he has made every other possible effort to advance his plans. Last week, a new law was advanced in the Knesset that would split the position of attorney general into two posts, with one individual heading the state prosecution while another serves as legal advisor to the government.

Another bill that is part of the ongoing struggle between these two branches of government concerns removing the Department of Internal Police Investigations from the authority of the state prosecution and subordinating it directly to the minister of justice. The law received its final approval late on Wednesday night last week. This bill, which was prepared by a joint committee of the Knesset’s Constitution and National Security Committees, was introduced by MK Moshe Saada (Likud), who previously served as deputy director of the DIPI. Under the law, the justice minister will reestablish the department within his ministry as an independent body separate from the state attorney’s office, and the DIPI will be subject to the minister’s authority on both an administrative and a budgetary level. In addition, all the department’s workers will be civilians (until now, most were officers borrowed from the police force) who will receive full access to all police intelligence and case management systems, subject to rules to be determined by the police commissioner in conjunction with the director of the DIPI.

As part of the separation of the DIPI from the prosecution and the attorney general’s office, all the powers currently held by the attorney general or state prosecutor regarding criminal charges against police officers, including the power to suspend judicial proceedings against a police officer, will be transferred to the head of the DIPI. At the same time, the DIPI will remain subject to the general rules issued by the attorney general and the state prosecutor. The director of the DIPI will be a retired judge appointed by a committee and will work alongside another former judge, either from the Supreme Court or from the District Court, responsible for overseeing coordination. This judge, too, will be appointed by a committee headed by the director-general of the Ministry of Justice, who will be subject to the minister’s authority. His job will be to determine the order of priorities for investigations.

This is a serious blow to the staff of the Justice Ministry and essentially represents a vote of no confidence in its current functioning. In an address to the Israel Bar Association, Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara asserted that this law and the efforts to split the position of attorney general have the same purpose: to exert political control over law enforcement and criminal justice institutions. She also opined that the passage of the laws will completely change the character of the law enforcement system in Israel: Instead of independent law enforcement, the country will be subject to law enforcement that is deeply influenced by political interests and the needs of the government and its ministers. Of course, she expressed vehement opposition to the law and insisted that it is unconstitutional, but the Knesset has already had its say. We will have to wait to see how the Supreme Court reacts to the law. As you may have guessed, the court has already received petitions against it.

Records Implicate Obama, Biden Administrations in Cover-up

In a press release unveiling newly declassified documents that confirm the existence of U.S.-funded biolabs operating across 30 countries, outgoing Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard chose her words with caution.

She never used the word “bioweapon_.”_ She did not allege criminal wrongdoing or announce referrals to the Department of Justice. Yet that one word—bioweapon—seemed to hover over the entire statement.

Though she stopped short of making explicit accusations, the implications of the documents she released were unmistakable.

Tulsi Gabbard, who will be leaving the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) to care for her ailing husband, is devoting her last days on the job to tearing aside the veil on secret U.S.-funded biolabs, and to warn that dangerous pathogens were being manipulated in these facilities around the world.

Gabbard released a trove of declassified records last Friday detailing U.S. funding of more than 120 biological laboratories across more than 30 countries—some dating back to the Soviet era. She said the documents validate concerns that were previously mocked as misinformation, and reveal a cover up at the highest levels of government.

“Until now, evidence regarding the full existence and funding of these laboratories had been knowingly withheld from the American people,” Gabbard said in a televised press release.

“The information surrounding the existence, history, locations and funding of these U.S.-funded biolabs has been intentionally covered up by powerful people, claiming that they do not exist. Anyone who says otherwise was accused of being foreign assets and traitors to America.”

The ODNI director said she was releasing what she called “new evidence” of these bio labs that “likely housed dangerous pathogens,” including 40 in Ukraine, with maps showing their locations.

She noted that some of the Ukrainian labs were particularly vulnerable because of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, but their existence had been intentionally concealed by previous administrations.

The documents, which were declassified in April but released just last week, make clear that the U.S. involvement has gone far beyond infrastructure. It has encompassed the training of Ukrainian scientists in researching infectious diseases, such as studies on highly pathogenic avian influenza, and funding this research.

In just one example, the slides highlight the Institute of Experimental and Clinical Veterinary Medicine in Kharkiv that is specifically described as “housing dangerous pathogens” and being exposed to security risks.

Except for Fox News and the New York Post which reported extensively on the explosive documents, most mainstream media have ignored the bombshell revelations.

Department of Defense Involvement

The newly declassified documents show that the labs are part of a sweeping U.S scientific and Department of Defense involvement that dates back to the Obama administration. (See Sidebar.)

The slides identify specific facilities and funding amounts. The Central Reference Laboratory at the Ukrainian Research Anti-Plague Institute in Odesa, for example, received more than $3.4 million in U.S. funding.

The Institute of Veterinary Medicine of the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences received more than $2.1 million. Additional funding went to laboratories in Kherson and Zakarpattia.

The charts’ sweeping scope illustrates that the programs discussed in the document trove extended far beyond a few laboratories. They involved departments from public health, agriculture, academia, international development, and national security.

The network diagram included in the declassified material depicts multi-level government involvement that encompasses the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the CDC, the U.S. Army Research Institute of Infectious Diseases, the Naval Medical Research Center, the World Health Organization, and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization.

The slides include several American higher education institutions, including the University of Florida, the University of Alaska Anchorage, Kansas State University, the University of Tennessee and the University of New Mexico, alongside Ukrainian institutions and other foreign organizations.

U.S. national security officials from the Biden administration had long dismissed claims about the biological research laboratories in Ukraine as “Russian propaganda.” Those claims fell apart after senior State Department official Victoria Nuland unexpectedly confirmed their existence at a 2022 Senate hearing under questioning by Senator Marco Rubio.

However, the Pentagon continues to insist that the research was lawful and unrelated to military objectives. After last week’s document release, that claim appears increasingly at odds with the evidence now in the public record.

Pentagon Funding Revealed

One declassified assessment from the ODNI trove focuses on a veterinary research laboratory in Kharkiv that received Pentagon funding through the Defense Department’s Biological Threat Reduction Program.

According to the assessment, the facility housed hundreds of samples of dangerous pathogens, including Brucella bacteria, which can cause a disease known as brucellosis. The document warned the lab could become a target of Russian propaganda efforts or be damaged, captured or otherwise compromised during the war.

Additional records, quoted by Fox News, detail U.S.-funded construction and upgrades at laboratories across Ukraine, including facilities in Odesa and western Ukraine. The documents identify engineering firm Black & Veatch as a major contractor, and show U.S. taxpayers spent between roughly $1.7 million and $3.5 million on individual laboratory projects.

Working Around the Biological Weapons Convention

Under the 1975 Biological Weapons Convention, 188 nations, including the United States, agreed to prohibit the development, production, acquisition, stockpiling, and use of biological agents and toxins for hostile purposes.

This prohibition would encompass biological weapons programs as well as gain-of-function research intended to increase the transmissibility and virulence of pathogens.

According to DNI allegations, the Department of Defense (DoD) under the Obama and Biden administrations has skirted U.S. laws on these operations, re-labeling them in innocuous terms such as threat reduction, vaccine development, and pandemic avoidance. (See Sidebar)

Defenders of the biolabs maintain the facilities were part of public health and threat-reduction efforts designed to secure dangerous pathogens and prevent biological proliferation, rather than operate as biological weapons programs.

Even if this were true, Gabbard argues, the risk that such research could trigger a catastrophic leak as happened with Covid-19, or be exploited for military purposes should outweigh any of the touted benefits. She has blasted Biden administration officials for having lied about the existence of the biolabs.

“Despite the obvious potential for catastrophic outcomes such research can have, politicians, so-called health professionals like Dr. Fauci, and Biden administration officials lied to the American people about the existence of these biolabs, and threatened those who attempted to expose the truth,” Gabbard said in the televised press release.

“ODNI will continue to work closely with partners across the government to identify where these labs are and what pathogens they contain, to end dangerous gain-of-function research that threatens the health and wellbeing of the American people and people around the world,” she added.

Gabbard has issued instructions to the Intelligence Community calling for increased information gathering on these overseas laboratories and facilities. This directive has already provided new details on clinical trials that are underway at these facilities, she noted, “raising further ethical and security concerns.”

Demand for Transparency

In her video clip, Tulsi explained that after she was installed at ODNI, she turned agency resources toward collecting information about the biolabs.

“After months of searching through intelligence community holdings and files,” she said, “today I’m releasing new evidence of long-standing US government funding of more than 120 biolabs in over 30 countries.”

Critics speculate that all or most of the 30 countries have lax regulations similar to Ukraine, as well as legacies of official corruption and long histories of dependency on USAID.

As opposed to simply routine bio-research, “many of these U.S. government-funded biolabs are currently engaged in research using hazardous and highly contagious pathogens, in some cases to include dangerous gain-of-function research, with very little visibility or oversight,” Gabbard emphasized.

The DNI’S statement follows her announcement last month that she had opened an investigation into 120 biological laboratories abroad that the U.S. government had allegedly funded for decades. She said she sought transparency as part of an effort to eliminate dangerous experiments with pathogens that have the potential to explode into pandemics.

Last month was not the first time she had sounded the alarm.

Back in 2022 as a private citizen, drawing on information she had acquired while serving in Congress, Gabbard had publicly accused the Biden administration of concealing the existence of biolabs in Ukraine and other foreign countries, and researching dangerous pathogens.

“There are 25 plus U.S.-funded biolabs in Ukraine, which, if breached, would release and spread deadly pathogens to the United States and the world, causing untold suffering and death,” Gabbard said in a 2022 podcast.

As quoted in Yated at the time, she called for the labs to be secured and the pathogens destroyed, emphasizing the biosecurity risks, and warning of possible outbreaks.

“Instead of covering this up,” she urged, “the Biden-Harris administration needs to work with Russia, Ukraine, the EU, the UN, NATO and all relevant parties to immediately implement a cease-fire in the vicinity of these labs until they’re secured and all these pathogens destroyed.”

Gabbard noted that in addition to the biolabs in Ukraine, “the United States funds over 100 such facilities around the world that are engaging in dangerous research, including gain of function similar to the lab in Wuhan.”

“After realizing how dangerous and vulnerable these labs are, they should have all been shut down two years ago,” Gabbard insisted. “But they have not been.”

In those days of intense media and government censorship, she drew ridicule for being “a conspiracy theorist.” Democrats and Biden administration spokesmen heaped scorn on her for “parroting Russian propaganda.”

Critics, such as then-Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, accused her of telling a “treasonous lie” and amplifying “Russian disinformation.” Still, she held her ground, insisting her information was authentic.

Pandora’s Box of Deadly Pathogens

Finally vindicated, Gabbard has transformed a subject once shunned as “misinformation” into a vital national security concern that has galvanized the U.S. intelligence community.

The documents the ODNI published last Friday confirm that more than 40 laboratories in Ukraine were built or supported through U.S. government funding.

The document lists the types of pathogens found in these facilities. Among them are “anthrax, tularemia, tuberculosis, Swine Fever, Newcastle Disease, hantavirus, MERS, SARS, Marburg, Ebola, Lassa, the Plague, Rickettsia,” to mention some of the deadliest ones.

Moscow has accused some of the Ukrainian research done in partnership with the U.S. of having been at the level of bio weapons work, the declassified files stated. The documents appear to support this allegation.

The modus operandi for those engineering the research appears to loosely follow a script: Make the virus more dangerous, then insist you were only trying to protect everyone from the dangerous virus you just created.

For example, a devastating but rare disease like Marburg (a close cousin to Ebola)—which spreads through contact with the fluid or feces of infected bats—can potentially be enhanced (through gain -of-function) so it can infect humans more easily. Scientists would then make a vaccine for this genetically engineered virus and call it “pandemic research.” The whole project is then redefined as vital for “public health.”

Restricted Funding for Gain-of-Function

Observers note that the timing of Gabbard’s document release reflects a broader shift in federal policy toward biological research, beginning with President Trump signing a May 2025 Executive Order (no.14292) restricting federal funding for gain-of-function research. The Order directed agencies to identify biological research activities that could pose risks to public health or national security.

The administration argued that research capable of increasing the transmissibility or lethality of pathogens required much greater scrutiny.

“Dangerous gain-of-function research on biological agents and pathogens has the potential to significantly endanger the lives of American citizens,” the Order reads. “If left unrestricted, its effects can include widespread mortality, an impaired public health system, disrupted American livelihoods, and diminished economic and national security.

“The Biden Administration allowed dangerous gain-of-function research within the United States with insufficient levels of oversight,” the Order noted.

In a statement to the press, Trump reasoned that Covid-19 had proved that dangerous pathogens “can leak out innocently, stupidly and incompetently, and half destroy the world.”

An explosive clause in Trump’s order detailing U.S. government funding for gain-of-function research “in China, Iran and other foreign countries” should have dominated headlines. Instead, the media largely ignored it.

In light of the explosive disclosures contained in the Gabbard files—revelations that expose the Pentagon and Department of Defense’s involvement in conducting the very same scandal-fraught research in Ukraine while working to conceal it—the media’s near-total silence comes as no great shock.

Despite years of silence and denials, the U.S.-funded biolab story is not going away. If the newly released documents are any indication, this is only the beginning. Additional disclosures are reportedly in the pipeline, and Americans would be wise to stay tuned.

***

Obama Allegedly Led Effort to Build Ukraine Biolab

On March 9, 2022, a shocking article appeared in The National Pulse, a right-leaning online publication, titled, Deleted Web Pages Show Obama Led an Effort To Build a Ukraine-Based BioLab Handling ‘Especially Dangerous Pathogens’.

The web article recovered by The National Pulse revealed that former President Barack Obama spearheaded an agreement leading to the construction of biolabs handling “especially dangerous pathogens” in Ukraine.

The news came on the same day that Biden official Victoria Nuland admitted to the U.S. Senate, under questioning by then Senator Marco Rubio, that the American government was concerned about biological research facilities falling into Russian hands as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Originally posted on June 18th, 2010, the article “Biolab Opens in Ukraine” details how Obama, while serving as an Illinois Senator, helped negotiate a deal to build a level-3 bio-safety lab in the Ukrainian city of Odessa.

The article, which also highlighted the work of former Senator Dick Lugar, was additionally included in Issue No. 818 of the United States Air Force (USAF) Counter-proliferation Center’s Outreach Journal.

“Lugar said plans for the facility began in 2005 when he and then-Senator Barack Obama entered a partnership with Ukrainian officials. Lugar and Obama also helped coordinate efforts between the U.S and Ukrainian researchers that year in an effort to study and help prevent avian flu,” explained author Tina Redlup.

A 2011 report from the U.S. National Academy of Sciences’ Committee on Anticipating Biosecurity Challenges explained how the Odessa-based laboratory in whose creation then Senator Barak Obama played a pivotal role, “is responsible for the identification of especially dangerous biological pathogens.”

“This laboratory was reconstructed and technically updated through a cooperative agreement between the United States Department of Defense and the Ministry of Health of Ukraine that started in 2005. The collaboration focuses on preventing the spread of technologies and pathogens that can be used in the development of biological weapons,” the report continues.

“The updated laboratory serves as Interim Central Reference Laboratory with a depozitarium (pathogen collection). According to Ukrainian regulations, it has a permit to work with both bacteria and viruses of the first and second pathogenic groups,” explains the report.

Among the viruses the lab studied were Ebola and “viruses of pathogencity group II.”

Weeks later, the National Pulse broke another shocking story: Hunter Biden’s investment firm, Rosemont Seneca Technology Partners, was allegedly a lead financial backer of Metabiota, a pandemic-tracking company that collaborated directly with Ukrainian laboratories on isolating deadly pathogens, funded in part by Obama’s Department of Defense.

Metabiota received an $18.4 million government grant, with a portion specifically itemized for Ukraine research.

Lighting a Match to a Powder Keg

It doesn’t take much to add all of this up. Ukraine is at the forefront of the US Department of Defense’s Biological Threat Reduction Program, which essentially is another form of a Wuhan lab, which means the US DoD is researching bioweapons right across the border from Russia.

These bioweapon research facilities in Ukraine appear to be an existential danger to Russia. Why would Moscow want to take a chance with NATO on its doorstep and the threat of bioweapons?

None of these factors excuse the brutality of Putin’s invasion or the devastating toll inflicted by the Russian military on Ukraine. Yet critics contend that the Department of Defense’s so-called “threat reduction” programs in Eastern Europe may have contributed to the tensions that ultimately helped set the stage for the conflict.

If the objective was to gain an advantage in the race to control or counter biological threats, then America’s willingness to engage in such high-risk research may itself have served as a factor underlying the Russia-Ukraine war.

In that sense, a policy supposedly intended to enhance security may have accomplished the very opposite–instead lighting a match to the powder keg.

After weeks of on-again, off-again negotiations between the U.S. and Iran, an agreement was announced Sunday on a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that provides the framework of an agreement to end the conflict that began with a joint-U.S.-Israeli air strike on Iran on February 28, AND which decapitated the Islamic regime’s leadership.

The announcement was made by Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who mediated the negotiations. He said on social media that both sides “have declared the immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon.”

The purpose of the MOU was to set the agenda for the negotiations to take place during the next 60 days by outlining the general goals of the final agreement between the U.S. and Iran, both concerning the arrangements for re-opening of the Strait of Hormuz to crude oil tanker traffic, as well as the restrictions that will be placed upon Iran’s nuclear weapons programs and their verification, including the disposal of Iran’s current stockpile of enriched uranium.

After the initial announcement of the agreement, President Donald Trump posted a statement on his Truth Social media account declaring that, “The deal with the Islamic Republic of Iran is now complete. Congratulations to all! I hereby fully authorize the toll-free opening of the Strait of Hormuz, and, simultaneously herewith, authorize the immediate removal of the United States naval blockade. Ships of the world, start your engines. Let the oil flow!” the president declared.

Trump Eager to Take Credit for His Flawed Deal With Iran

In another post on Monday, Trump predicted that “this great deal will bring peace and security to the whole region. Many presidents have tried to make peace with Iran, and all have failed before me. The leaders of the region have, for the first time, found [an American] president who can help them achieve real peace. With the opening of the Strait [of Hormuz] upon the signing of the deal on Friday [in Geneva], for purposes of mine removal, oil will flow on both ends again for the region, and the world!”

Later, Trump said that “Ships, many loaded with oil, are starting to move [freely] out of the Strait of Hormuz. They are heading down the southern ‘highway’ [a naval passage close to the coast of Oman], which is completely safe, secure, and clear. There are also other routes of travel!”

On Monday, President Trump issued a statement on social media accusing Democrats of spreading a “fake news” report claiming that the U.S. was going to pay Iran $300 million in return for agreeing to say that they will never have a nuclear weapon.

In a televised interview Monday morning, Vice President JD Vance announced that both sides to the agreement had digitally signed the MOU the previous day, although its provisions, including the re-opening of the Strait of Hormuz, will not go into effect until the formal signing ceremony takes place on Friday. However, it was too soon for Vance to say whether he would be representing the United States at the signing ceremony in Geneva, or if President Trump, who flew to France Monday to attend the G-7 economic summit, would extend his stay in Europe long enough to sign the Memorandum of Understanding himself.

Vance said that a permanent arrangement for toll-free passage through the Strait of Hormuz will be part of the agenda for the “technical negotiations” between the U.S. and Iran due to start next week.

In a Sunday phone interview with Fox News, Vance said he was optimistic that, provided Iran complies with the terms of the deal, it could “fundamentally transform the Middle East for the next 50 years,” and usher in a new era of stability and economic growth across the region.

“This region of the world has been a basket case for my entire life and longer than that, and what the president has really set us up to do is to certainly eliminate the nuclear threat of Iran… but now possibly to build to a new era of Middle East prosperity and success,” Vance added. He also thanked the American people for their patience in putting up with elevated prices for gas at the pump due to the war against Iran, and offered them the hope that the new agreement would quickly lead to relief from high energy prices.

In a separate interview on the CNBC cable business news channel, the vice president conceded that “a lot” of details of the hoped-for peace agreement between the U.S. and Iran remain to be ironed out, but he expressed confidence that America has “all the cards” needed to achieve its goals in the negotiations to come.

Israel’s Friends Deeply Concerned Over Secret Deal Provisions

However, that confidence in the MOU, whose actual text was not released for public review when the approval of the agreement was announced Sunday, has deeply disturbed Israel’s American supporters, such as conservative Fox News commentator Mark Levin, who has also been one of President Trump’s staunchest second-term supporters.

“I have asked for days, why can’t we, the people, see the [Memorandum of Understanding]? Not through people briefed by an anonymous person,” Levin wrote on X. “Honestly, I’ve never seen anything like this. If it is a great outcome for peace, [as Trump claims, why not] release it?” he asked, suggesting that the answer is that some of its provisions will not be pleasing to the supporters of Israel who do not believe that Iran is negotiating with the U.S. in good faith.

Fox News reporter Peter Doosey, reporting from Geneva, Switzerland, where the signing ceremony for the MOU is supposed to take place on Friday, compared the deal to “a piece of Swiss cheese, because it seems great, but there may be too many holes in it.”

South Carolina’s Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, another loyal supporter of both Israel and President Trump, has also admitted that he is “somewhat concerned” by the fact that Iran’s description of the content of the MOU agreement differs so drastically from the Trump administration’s version of the deal.

However, in a post on X, Senator Graham took comfort in the fact that “Under our law, any nuclear deal with Iran will be sent to Congress for review and a vote. I look forward to reviewing the final product. Time will tell.”

In response to these criticisms, Vance made a series of live TV interviews Monday, while Trump was attending the G7 meeting in France, in which the vice president predicted that, despite these concerns about the MOU, Israel at some point will agree to become a party to the agreement and the new round of negotiations over Iran’s nuclear weapons program because, “this agreement is going to make Israel safer; it’s going to make the entire region safer.”

Vance Blames Concerns Over the Iran Deal on Media Disinformation

Vance blamed the initial spike of opposition to the deal on “a lot of misinformation about this agreement — sometimes in the Iranian media, and sometimes in the Israeli media.”

However, the vice president asserted, “We believe quite firmly that when the Israeli people understand what’s in this agreement, they’re going to see this as a pathway to a new Middle East, to peace and prosperity in that region.

“That’s all we can really ask for. We feel quite confident the Israelis are going to be brought in on this when we get a little further down the road,” Vance declared.

The Memorandum of Understanding deal was almost derailed just a few hours before it was announced Sunday when Israel responded to a drone attack by Hezbollah on Israeli communities along the Lebanese border by bombing the Hezbollah stronghold in the Dahiyeh southern suburb of Beirut. When it was then reported that Iran planned to launch a missile strike at Israel in reaction to its attack on Beirut, Trump decided to intervene personally with Iran’s leaders by urging them to cancel the planned missile strike for fear that the escalating violence would further delay the finalization of the MOU agreement.

Meanwhile, during a joint press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron at the G-7 summit on Monday, Trump denied news reports claiming that Iran would begin to receive sanctions relief immediately. Instead, Trump explained, the timing of sanctions relief for Iran will depend on the regime’s behavior. “If they do what they’re supposed to do [under the terms of the new agreement], then [sanctions relief] starts taking effect.” Trump emphasized that the most important fact about the MOU is that it guarantees that Iran will never obtain a nuclear weapon.

A Consensus in Israel That Trump Has Agreed to a Very Bad Deal

Even before the details were released of the Memorandum of Understanding that President Trump negotiated with Iran and that was announced on Sunday, the verdict in Israel and among Israel’s supporters across the political spectrum was immediate, unanimous, and deeply disturbing: It is a very bad deal, and clearly endangers Israel’s national security.

Rather than bringing a new era of peace to the Middle East as President Trump had promised to do, the reported concessions to their demands in the new deal are likely to further embolden the new hardline leaders of Iran and make them even more recklessly aggressive. After a period of recovery from the damage that it suffered during the 40-days of bombardment by the U.S. and Israel, Iran will pose a renewed threat not only to Israel but also to Iran’s Persian Gulf neighbors and the other states across the Middle East, which are now well within the range of its drones and ballistic missiles, and which Iran has already attacked.

By agreeing to a deal that achieved none of the four original aims for which the U.S. and Israel jointly went to war against Iran, President Trump sold out both Israel and his partner in the original attack on Iran, Prime Minister Netanyahu. By failing to require Iran to give up its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs, and end its support and protection of Hezbollah and its other terrorist proxies, Trump’s ignominious surrender to Iran’s demands endangers Israel’s long-term survival, and has made yet another war with Iran in the years ahead inevitable.

Trump Has Abandoned His Original War Goals

Trump has abandoned those original war goals for now, in return for an agreement with Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz for the next 60 days, while leaving the other issues to a negotiating process with Iran, whose successful outcome is highly unlikely, to say the least. Trump appears to have deliberately sacrificed Israel’s security and long-term hopes for peace in the Middle East in return for bringing down the price of gas at the pump for American consumers in time to benefit the Republican candidates running for seats in the House and Senate in the November midterm elections.

Unless Iran is actively restrained by vigorous U.S. enforcement and verification of the meaningful restrictions that are reportedly called for in the new Memorandum of Understanding, the Islamic regime is certain to use the cash windfall from the elimination of the U.S. sanctions to rebuild its decimated nuclear weapons and ballistic missile capabilities and to revive its badly damaged international terrorist network, which Iran calls its Axis of Resistance, in Lebanon, Gaza, Iraq and Yemen.

President Trump’s submission to Iran’s demands was also a betrayal of Prime Minister Netanyahu, who had entrusted the American president with guaranteeing Israel’s security, and who is now being harshly criticized in Trump’s comments to the mainstream news media for vigorously implementing Israel’s right to self-defense in response to continuing attacks on the civilian population of northern Israel by Hezbollah. Netanyahu will also soon be held responsible by the Israeli people for his decision to place Israel’s security in Trump’s hands when he runs for re-election in the upcoming Israeli Knesset elections.

Trump has now sacrificed the original goals of the joint U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran. They were the permanent elimination of Iran’s nuclear threat as well as its long-range ballistic missile arsenal, and Iran’s support for its terrorist proxies, as well as the establishment of a diplomatic framework for regionwide peace through expansion of the Abraham Accords.

Trump Has Agreed to Return to the Pre-War Status Quo With Iran

Instead, Trump has now settled for the restoration of the pre-war status quo in the region, trading the promise of future sanctions relief for the new hardline leaders of the Islamic regime for the restoration of free passage through the Strait of Hormuz, at least for the first 60 days of the new ceasefire.

That is a far cry from Trump’s rhetoric on the first day of the joint U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran when he called upon the citizens of Iran to take to the streets and reclaim control of their country in the wake of the assassination of their Islamic Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and many of the senior political and military officials of the regime. Instead, the surviving leadership of Iran, with the support of the commanders of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), immediately closed ranks and made the survival of the Islamic regime at all costs their top priority.

While maintaining control over the civilian population with an iron hand, the new leaders of Iran hunkered down and demonstrated an impressive ability to withstand the devastating joint attacks from the IDF and the American military. In addition, despite the huge U.S. naval buildup in the waters of the region, Trump permitted Iran to carry out its long-term threat to close the Strait of Hormuz to the tanker traffic carrying 20 percent of the global crude oil supply. That was very unlike President Ronald Reagan’s response to a similar move by Iran in 1987, when he reflagged Kuwaiti oil tankers as American vessels and then gave them an armed escort through the Strait with U.S. Navy warships.

Trump Has Lost the Initiative to Iran’s New Hard-Line Leaders

By permitting Iran to block the Strait, creating an instant global energy shortage, reigniting the threat of inflation to the U.S. economy, and badly damaging his popularity at home with his working-class voter base, Trump ceded the initiative in the conflict to Iran. They enabled Iran’s leaders to demand the protection of Hezbollah in Lebanon from retaliation by Israel as a new requirement for the deal to re-open the Strait. They also forced Trump to drop his other war demands, including the imposition of limits on Iran’s ballistic missile arsenal and ending its support for its terrorist proxies.

There is no doubt that the 40 days of bombing and the two months of the American blockade did set back Iran’s military and economy substantially, but that respite from the Iranian threat is only temporary. As an analysis in Israel Hayom points out, the initial joint U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran “created a rare opportunity to permanently weaken Iran’s ability to threaten Israel and project power throughout the region. [But that opportunity will be lost] if the [new Memorandum of Understanding] agreement leaves Tehran with the means to recover. . . The Middle East could face the same confrontation again in the future — only after Iran has had time to regroup, replenish resources, and adapt its strategy.”

Friends of Israel officials are worried that Iran will be able to drag out the nuclear negotiations indefinitely, as they did with the Obama administration. It took 20 months of intricate and often frustrating negotiations for Obama’s secretary of state, John Kerry, to come up with the deeply flawed 2015 nuclear deal. By that time, the U.S. side had been worn down to the point that it abandoned its originally announced goals in the nuclear negotiations and allowed Iran to keep enriching uranium and retain the centrifuges and other equipment that would enable it to complete its nuclear weapons program at a time in the future of its choosing.

But in an interview with the Wall Street Journal on Sunday, Trump said that Israel shouldn’t be concerned about that. “Bibi is OK with it,” Trump said. “Why is it good for Bibi?” Trump asked rhetorically, and then supplied the answer himself, because “Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon under any circumstance.”

The Future of Israel’s War Against Hezbollah Is Now in Doubt

One of the most troubling aspects for Israeli in the reports from Iran about the points in the MOU is the claim from Iranian state news outlets and by the prime minister of Pakistan when he announced the agreement on Sunday that it calls for a halt to “military operations on all fronts, including Lebanon, effective immediately,” which would interfere with current Israeli efforts to remove all Hezbollah fighters and the group’s extensive military infrastructure in the extended security zone that the IDF has established inside Lebanon’s border with Israel.

However, that claim was denied by a senior U.S. official who told reporters that an Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon is not part of the MOU agreement. The official also said that the Trump White House views the agreement as limited to Iran and its allies and does not include Lebanon as part of the deal’s ceasefire arrangement.

The unnamed senior U.S. official said that “The (MOU) deal is a ceasefire, but it will not be a one-way ceasefire. If Iran is not able to control Hezbollah, and if they attack Israeli positions or Israeli towns, Israel will have the right to defend itself and respond.”

When Netanyahu asked about the Iranian claim that the MOU applies to Israeli troops in Lebanon, at a news conference held at his office in Yerushalayim Monday night, he declared that Israel would not be restrained, and would “preserve its freedom of action” to act against all threats in Lebanon, including Hezbollah, regardless of the wording in the MOU since Israel is not a party to that agreement. In addition, Netanyahu said, the IDF would continue to occupy the “security zones” it has established in Lebanon, Gaza, and Syria for as long as necessary to protect Israel’s security.

Netanyahu Emphasizes Progress Against Iran’s Nuclear Threat

When asked whether that principle also applies to threats from Iran, the prime minister answered by declaring that, “with an agreement, or without an agreement, Iran will not have a nuclear weapon. Not today and not tomorrow. As long as I am prime minister of Israel, it will not happen.”

Netanyahu also said, “I have devoted most of my life to preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. We will do what is necessary, and I do not limit myself in any way regarding that objective.”

When asked at the same press conference whether he was worried about angering Trump by objecting to the terms of the MOU with Iran and insisting on retaliating for Hezbollah attacks on northern Israel by bombing its strongholds in Beirut, Netanyahu responded that he and Trump had known each other for many years and did not always agree. While he and the American president “often see eye to eye, there were other times when they didn’t [but they remained friends]. I stand up for Israel’s interests, but not with bluster. To do that wisely requires a lot of experience and a deep familiarity with the American arena. I think I do that in the best possible way,” Netanyahu said.

With regard to Trump’s MOU with Iran, Netanyahu said that the American president’s goal was to create a deal that would combine the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and the elimination of Iran’s nuclear program, whereas his own top priority is to end Iran’s nuclear threat against Israel.

Citing the main security lesson that Israel learned from the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, Netanyahu declared that Israel’s new policy is that it “will never again allow terrorist organizations to camp along our borders.”

He also said that to achieve greater “weapons independence” from foreign arms suppliers, including the United States, the Israeli defense budget has been increased by 350 billion shekels (about $115 billion) to “develop technologies that break the boundaries of imagination, and make Israel an even stronger military power.”

Netanyahu Claims Military Strength Is the Key to Israel’s Security

The prime minister stressed his belief that Israel’s military strength is the key to our future, the key to our security, the key to our economy, and the key to our alliances.”

He also said that Israel “will try to build new alliances with countries in the region and outside the region,”

When another reporter asked Netanyahu whether he considered the war against Iran, which was launched by the joint U.S.-Israeli attack on February 28, to be a failure because it failed to trigger the overthrow of Iran’s Islamic regime, the prime minister noted that he had heard that question before, but that regime change was not the war’s top priority.

“I hear people asking, ‘What did we achieve [by attacking Iran]?’ [My answer is] we removed ourselves from the danger of immediate nuclear annihilation, and we did that. [Israel’s other goals included] eliminating Iran’s missile threat, and we did that. We also said we would create the conditions for the Iranian people, if they choose, to remove this terror regime.”

Towards that end, Israel’s air strikes inflicted “enormous damage to its infrastructure, and Iran is now in a very difficult economic situation.” As a result, Netanyahu said, “There are now cracks in Iran’s regime, but I do not know how to predict when they will cause the regime to fall.”

The MOU Threatens the Trump-Netanyahu Working Partnership

Nevertheless, both he and Trump were disappointed that the citizen uprising that they had hoped would lead to a much more Israel-friendly Iranian government never materialized. Instead, Trump’s pursuit of a peace agreement with Iran based upon an MOU that addresses only Iran’s nuclear weapons threat, while ignoring its ballistic missile arsenal and its support for Israel’s terrorist enemies, threatens to create a division that endangers the close working partnership between Netanyahu and Trump that had been so advantageous to Israel.

At his Monday night press conference, Netanyahu then cited some of the other accomplishments of that U.S.-Israeli partnership in the war against Iran over the past four months. “We carried out the largest attack sortie [in Israeli history]. We eliminated Iran’s nuclear scientists, we decapitated the leadership of their terrorist regime, we crushed their nuclear facilities, we destroyed their missiles, and the vast majority of their factories.”

Netanyahu also said that “Any agreement [with Iran] must be accompanied by a credible military threat.” He explained that an important difference between the deal that Trump is trying to make with Iran now compared to President Barack Obama’s flawed 2015 nuclear deal with Iran is that, “during Obama’s time, there was no military threat. Today, because we [Israel and the U.S.] carried out 14,000 [warplane] sorties, there is a credible military threat against Iran.”

“Our greatest achievement,” Netanyahu said, was that we “saved Israel from the threat of nuclear annihilation. Iran was racing toward a nuclear weapon right before [the IDF launched] Operation Rising Lion. If we had not acted, all of us in Israel would have been in danger of mass annihilation.

He also warned the Israeli people that “the struggle [against Iran] is not over,” and that Israel must “remain vigilant, strong and determined to defend ourselves as much as necessary.” Netanyahu then recalled, “We did it in Gaza, we did it in Lebanon, in Syria, in Yemen, we did it in the Palestinian refugee camps in Judea and Samaria, and we do it everywhere.”

In answer to a question from a reporter about whether he planned to run for re-election as prime minister, he replied that not only was he planning to run but that he was also going to win.

Nevertheless, Netanyahu complained to the members of the Israeli news media at his press conference that “there is an organized, systematic effort to minimize these enormous achievements, to avoid showing that Israel is emerging renewed, strong and steadfast, and that it has leadership capable of standing for what is necessary.”

Netanyahu Now Struggling to Deal With His Trump Problem

On the other hand, the current challenge facing the prime minister, in the form of an American president who is pursuing a false peace process, is much more difficult than his problems dealing with other hostile U.S. presidents over the past thirty years, including Obama, Clinton, and Biden, because he could count on support for Israel from their Republican party opponents. But in the current case, most of Israel’s supporters in Washington, D.C., consider themselves to be staunch members of Trump’s MAGA movement and would find themselves seriously conflicted if forced to choose between their loyalty to Israel and their loyalty to Trump.

The root of the problem now facing Netanyahu and Israel’s remaining supporters in Washington is that Israel’s best interests are no longer compatible with Trump’s efforts to strike a deal with Iran’s current hardline regime.

According to Middle East historian former Israeli ambassador to Washington Michael Oren, the limited scope of the Memorandum of Understanding which will serve as the basis for peace negotiations between the U.S. and Iran has frustrated Israel’s hopes that the war would bring a fundamental change to the balance of power in the region by overthrowing or crippling the Islamic regime and pave the way for the expansion of Israel’s network of Abraham Accords partners under the larger American security umbrella.

Instead, it now appears that the opposite outcome is more likely. “If Iran receives sanctions relief of billions of dollars in assets [due to its agreement to abide by the MOU], it will rebuild its military capabilities and proxies, and the blow to U.S. prestige in the region will be immense if not irreversible,” Oren said.

In addition, because of the renewed threat to the Israeli communities in the north, Oren says that Israel now has its back against the wall and can’t make concessions in its war against Hezbollah in Lebanon, even if that puts its already strained relationship with Trump at further risk.

“It’s not a question of what Israel can do, but what it must do,” Oren said to protect its citizens. “There’s almost no wiggle room there.”

Netanyahu Not the First to Have an American President Problem

However, in an opinion piece published by Israel Hayom, Oren writes that Netanyahu’s current wartime troubles with an American president are hardly unique for Israeli prime ministers going all the way back to the confrontation between Israeli Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion and U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower over the IDF’s campaign against Egypt during the 1956 Sinai campaign. The same thing happened during the 1967 Six-Day War, when President Lyndon B. Johnson prevented Israel from extending the war for an eighth day. Also, at the start of the Yom Kippur War in 1973, President Richard Nixon and his secretary of state, Henry Kissinger, persuaded Prime Minister Golda Meir not to order the IDF to launch a preventive first strike, and Israel came dangerously close to losing that war to Egypt and Syria because of it.

There were similar clashes between U.S. presidents and Israeli prime ministers during both of Israel’s wars with Lebanon and all of its clashes with Hamas in Gaza. Oren also recalled his own experience, in May 2021, 8 years after he stepped down as Israel’s ambassador to the U.S., when he received a phone call from a senior adviser to President Joe Biden, asking him to convey an urgent message to Prime Minister Netanyahu, that “Israel must end the operation [against Hamas in Gaza] tonight, or risk losing American support.”

When Oren conveyed the message, Netanyahu was furious. He had wanted the IDF to continue the operation in Gaza for another three days, but he complied with Biden’s request and shut it down immediately because Israel at that point could not afford to defy the American president.

In light of these precedents, Oren concludes that the only difference between the way President Trump is treating Netanyahu today and the way previous American presidents treated Israeli prime ministers is that Trump has more of a tendency to treat Israeli leaders at whom he is mad disrespectfully in public, as if they are “vassals who must obey his every order.”

Sometimes Israeli Leaders Must Say No to an American President

But as to the more general question of whether Israeli leaders must “obey the White House’s demands under all circumstances and at any price?” Oren says that “historically, the answer has been ‘no.’ U.S. presidents not only ordered Israel to stop fighting; they also opposed its decision to go to war in the first place. . .

“Yet,” Oren notes, “Israel’s leaders, despite the risk of a rift with Washington, determined that our basic security was at stake and decided to act.

“Ironically,” Oren notes, “every time Israel defied the White House and went to war — in 1948, for example, in 1967, and in the 1981 strike on Iraq’s nuclear reactor — we earned America’s respect. Every time we surrendered to pressure and showed restraint — in 1973 and in the 1991 Gulf War — we earned America’s contempt.”

Oren concludes that another such confrontation is likely because “Hezbollah will undoubtedly violate any ceasefire and continue attacking [Israel].” When that happens, the IDF will again need to attack Hezbollah to protect the north, and by doing so, Israel will risk “not only war with Iran but also an open confrontation with President Trump.” Nevertheless, Oren states, “as in the past, Israel will have no choice but to act.”

Oren believes that despite the “potential cost. . . Israel must show that it is. . . a sovereign country with an unshakable duty to defend its territory and its citizens.” But the former Israeli ambassador to Israel is not worried about the consequences because, “if history is our guide, Trump will respect us for it.”

Divisions Over the MOU Reported Inside Trump’s White House

Meanwhile, according to a report by the Axios news site, CIA Director John Ratcliffe has warned President Trump and other senior administration officials that his agency has collected intelligence raising serious doubts about Iran’s willingness to go through with the concessions in its nuclear program that are called for in the MOU agreement.

The intelligence reveals the content of high-level internal discussions among Iranian officials that were inconsistent with the messages that the same Iranian officials were conveying to the U.S. negotiators and the Pakistani mediators.

As a result, Axios reports, Ratcliffe, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have concluded that Iran is highly unlikely to agree to the concessions in its nuclear program that are being demanded by the Trump administration, and to which Iran is committed by the reported terms of the MOU agreement.

According to an article in Israel Hayom, Rubio and Hegseth also submitted a new assessment to Trump based upon information from senior staff at the Pentagon and State Department claiming that the current Iranian regime is dying slowly due to the growing pressure on Iran’s economy, and that further intensifying that pressure by denying Iran the sanctions relief promised under the MOU would be the most effective way to either force Iran to agree to Trump’s demands or allow enough time without that relief for the Iranian regime to collapse on its own due to its internal weaknesses.

But on the other hand, Vice President Vance said in an interview with the MS Now news network (formerly known as MSNBC) that he is convinced that at least one of the core parts of the MOU agreement will become a reality. That is the agreement calling for the United States and the U.N.’s nuclear monitoring agency, the IAEA, to help Iran destroy its stockpile of highly enriched uranium. In addition, Vance’s claim that Iran will not receive any sanctions relief from the Trump administration until it proves itself willing to actually give up its nuclear weapons program is a source of at least some comfort for Israel and its supporters.

Meanwhile, Trump’s designated negotiators, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, reportedly joined Vance in urging the president last week to agree to the MOU, because they disagree with the assessment submitted by Rubio and Hegseth. They do not believe that Iran’s current hardline regime will collapse any time soon due to the economic pressure from Trump’s blockade of Iranian ports. In addition, Trump was getting diplomatic pressure from some of the Persian Gulf states, led by Qatar, which fear that if the MOU negotiations collapse, leading to a renewal of fighting, Iran will attack its Persian Gulf neighbors and their oil facilities once again.

Vance and Trump Negotiators Opposed Rubio and Hegseth

According to the Israel Hayom report, the conflict between the two factions within the Trump White House was resolved last week with a final decision by Trump to go forward with the MOU, despite the serious doubts about the willingness of Iran’s leaders to negotiate in good faith. According to the same report, Trump also overruled objections from his Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, who opposed agreeing to any commitment in the MOU to lift any of the sanctions on Iran now, because if Iran does ultimately fail to comply with the MOU agreement, it would be very hard to reinstate them.

In that regard, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that Trump will drop all of the sanctions inhibiting Iran’s oil exports, including the related banking, shipping, and insurance restrictions, as soon as the MOU signing ceremony is completed on Friday, in an effort to give Iran’s leaders an additional incentive to enter the negotiations on the future of Iran’s nuclear program in good faith.

The report also said that one of Iran’s supertankers carrying a full load of Iranian crude oil for export was allowed to travel openly through the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday without being stopped by the U.S. naval ships, which had been enforcing Trump’s blockade.

However, the same Wall Street Journal report said that the U.S. will not allow Iran to access the estimated $24 billion worth of frozen assets in foreign banks until it sees more signs of compliance from Iran with respect to restoring freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz and addressing the concerns about Iran’s nuclear program.

What is also disturbing to supporters of Israel is that President Trump’s approach to the Iranian regime has already undergone a serious change. Instead of publicly urging Iran’s citizens to overthrow the Islamic regime that has become increasingly repressive, Trump is now negotiating a deal that will not only help that regime to survive, but it will also enable that regime to emerge significantly strengthened economically.

Trump Now Denies Calling for Regime Change in Iran

During his interview with the Wall Street Journal on Sunday, Trump said, “As far as regime change, I never cared [for it].” Instead, he said about Iran’s current leadership, “This is the third group we’ve dealt with, and this is the most rational group yet.”

Trump repeated that comment during his remarks at the G7 summit in France on Monday. “I never cared about regime change,” Trump said once again. “But I guess you have regime change because… the first group [of Iranian leaders], they’re all dead. The second group is dead. A part of the third group is gone, and [now] we’re dealing with people that I think are very rational people. They were nice to deal with. They were strong people, smart people. I think actually they’re smarter than the first and second group, but they’re not radicalized, and they’re looking to help their country.”

However, that statement contradicts what Trump said on the first day of the war when the joint U.S.-Israeli air strike killed Iran’s Supreme Leader and most of Iran’s senior political and military leaders. Trump then called upon the Iranian people to seize the opportunity to take over their government, telling them that “the hour of your freedom is at hand.

“When we are finished, take over your government. It will be yours to take. This will probably be your only chance for generations,” Trump warned Iran’s citizens at that time.

Trump also warned at the G7 summit about what would happen if the Iranians do break their word in signing the MOU by trying to acquire a nuclear weapon.

According to Trump, he only agreed to sign the MOU after its wording was adjusted to explicitly prevent Iran not only from developing a nuclear weapon but also from purchasing one or acquiring it through some other means. He claimed that the wording “says it loud and clear. They’re not going to develop it. They’re not going to buy it. They’re not going to do anything with it. And if they do, they suffer unbelievable consequences.”

Trump Complains About Israeli Attacks in Beirut at the G7 Summit

Trump also took the opportunity at the G7 summit to complain, “I’m not happy with the way Israel has handled themselves with Lebanon and with Hezbollah. They should have been able to do the job faster. It just goes on forever. And when that happens, it throws a negative light on the big deal, and that’s the deal with Iran.”

“Too many people are being killed,” Trump said, claiming that Israel does not “have to knock down an apartment house [in Beirut] every time you’re looking for somebody. Because there are a lot of people in those apartment houses, and they’re not all Hezbollah [members], that I can tell you.”

Trump overlooked the relevant fact that, unlike any other army in the world, standard procedure for the IDF is to give civilians living in any building that it is targeting for attack advance warning, urging them to leave and find safety elsewhere. If those civilians then choose to ignore that warning and fail to leave, it would be unfair to blame Israel should they eventually become casualties.

Trump also said, “I didn’t like where, two hours before we’re signing the [MOU] agreement, that there was an [Israeli] attack in Beirut.”

However, Trump denied a suggestion by one of the reporters at the G7 press conference that his criticism of Israel’s military actions in Lebanon meant that he was frustrated with Netanyahu. “No,” Trump insisted, “we had a great relationship.” Trump then sought to minimize their disagreement over “some [minor] details,” and explained that he thought that Netanyahu had overreacted to a Hezbollah drone attack on northern Israel. “That was vicious. That was too much.”

Trump then made the unlikely suggestion that Israel should give the job of leading the fight against Hezbollah in Lebanon to Ahmed al-Sharaa, the president of Syria. “I suggested to Israel to let Syria take care of Hezbollah,” Trump then explained, “Because to be honest with you, I think they’d do a better job of it.”

Trump described al-Sharaa, who replaced Bashar Assad as president of Syria in late 2024, and was previously the leader of the al-Qaeda-supported Al-Nusra terrorist front in Syria, as “Very capable. And he’s been very good for me. He’s protected everything that I’ve asked for… And if Israel can’t do the job without killing everyone else, he [and] Syria will do the job.”

Trump’s Vanity Clouding His Ability to See the Situation Clearly

According to veteran Yated Ne’eman commentator Avi Yishai, “It seems like Trump’s pursuit of recognition in history as a great peacemaking president is interfering with his ability to think through the current situation with Iran and Israel clearly.”

These are some of the reasons why Israel’s supporters are now deeply worried by the fact that despite Trump’s unquestioned support for Israel in the past, more than two and a half years after suffering Hamas’ devastating October 7 attack, Israel remains at war with its enemies on at least four fronts, on the ground in Gaza and in Lebanon, and in the skies over both Israel and Iran.

While Israel has succeeded in substantially weakening its enemies and strengthening its defenses, it remains very much at risk and highly dependent on the United States for the resupply of crucial weapons ranging from interceptor missiles for the Iron Dome to precision laser-guided bombs to armored Caterpillar D-9 bulldozers.

Iran’s stockpile of ballistic missiles has been reduced in numbers, both as a result of U.S. and Israeli air strikes, and Iran’s usage of them against its neighboring Persian Gulf states and Israel since the current war started at the end of February. However, Iran still has enough missiles left to pose a serious threat to Israel and the Gulf states. In addition, despite U.S. and Israeli efforts to shut down Iran’s capacity to produce more missiles, it has managed to at least partially replenish its supply by digging up its still usable missiles that were buried under previous U.S. and Israeli air strikes and then using them to further deplete the remaining supplies of U.S. and Israeli interceptor missiles.

Israel Still Facing Threats on Many Fronts

Iran’s terrorist proxies have also been left standing and capable of rebuilding their threat to Israel. Hamas has been able to regain virtually full control over the population of the roughly 40% of Gaza that is not currently being occupied by the IDF, under Trump’s still unrealized Gaza peace plan, whose implementation has been stalled for seven months by Hamas’ stubborn refusal to allow itself to be disarmed.

Hezbollah is currently fighting a rear-guard action against the advancing IDF forces, which are turning southern Lebanon into an Israeli security zone. Hezbollah’s first-person drones are also causing serious casualties among Israeli troops, while its rocket attacks continue to make the Israeli communities along the northern border with Lebanon unsafe for their civilian population.

As far as the Houthis in Yemen are concerned, they still fire their long-range rockets at targets in Israel whenever they choose, which is more of a nuisance than a serious security threat to Israel, but they do still have the capacity to harass maritime traffic, at Iran’s request, by closing the Bab al-Manab Strait, denying access by international shipping to the Red Sea, to or from Israel’s port of Eilat and the Egyptian Suez Canal leading to the Mediterranean Sea.

In addition, until the actual text of the MOU between Iran and the U.S. is made public after its formal signing in Geneva Friday, so that its restrictions on Iran’s nuclear program can be accurately evaluated, it is not clear whether it will dispose of Iran’s nuclear threat, once and for all, and whether it will result in an enforceable peace agreement between the U.S. and Iran, as Trump has promised that it will. In addition, Iran’s deputy foreign minister has claimed that under the terms of MOU agreement, it will not even begin to negotiate the fate of its nuclear program until the U.S. has released $24 billion worth of Iranian assets frozen by U.S. sanctions in foreign banks, and agreed to support a reconstruction plan for Iran’s economy worth at least $300 billion, but U.S. officials have denied that the MOU agreement includes that requirement.

It has also been reported that, at Iran’s insistence, Trump has agreed to remove from the MOU’s agenda negotiations for any restrictions on Iran’s ballistic missile program with which it is still menacing Israel and Iran’s Persian Gulf neighboring states, or talks on ending Iran’s support for its terrorist proxy organizations including Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen, Hamas in Gaza, and the Shiite militias in Iraq.

Trump Has Made Important Concessions in Return for Very Little

In return for those significant concessions, it is not even clear that Trump has received a commitment from Iran that passage through the Strait of Hormuz will remain free to all without the imposition of toll fees after the current 60-day extension of the ceasefire with Iran has expired. In fact, according to one Iranian news report, after the ceasefire, all maritime traffic in the Persian Gulf “will be regulated by Iran in coordination with Oman,” directly contradicting Trump’s claims.

In addition, even though Trump has repeatedly promised that Iran’s nuclear program will be completely dismantled and that it will never be allowed to enrich uranium on its own soil again, during his interview with the New York Times over the weekend, he watered down that promise to a pledge that Iran would be “forever limited” to low-level uranium enrichment that “can never be used by the military. . . They will never be able to go beyond a certain amount,” by which he presumably meant the 3.67% maximum level of enrichment that is used in the fuel for non-military nuclear power reactors.

Trump has also claimed that Iran has agreed to cooperate with the United States in a joint effort to excavate, dilute, and remove all 12 tons of enriched uranium currently in Iran’s possession. That includes all 970 pounds of 60% enriched uranium that was buried deep underground last June by the 15-ton bunker-busting bombs dropped by U.S. Air Force B-2 stealth bombers on three Iranian nuclear sites. Trump also said that the MOU promises to give the U.S., and presumably U.N. nuclear weapons monitors, as well, “strong policing powers” to ensure that Iran does not violate its commitments to abandon its nuclear activities, by providing for “almost immediate” access by inspectors to all of Iran’s known nuclear facilities.

The MOU Deal Won’t Be Really Finished Until the Friday Signing

Because the exact terms of the MOU agreement will probably remain unknown until the signing ceremony in Geneva on Friday, it appears possible that either side could still try to change those terms. The hardline rulers of Iran, in particular, may decide to roll the dice again by refusing to participate in the public signing ceremony and demanding more concessions from Trump with regard to the new restrictions on its nuclear program.

That would mean that the Strait of Hormuz would remain closed, with the resulting high prices for crude oil and gas at the pump exerting more political pressure on Trump to agree to Iran’s demands. In the meantime, Israel’s war against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon would continue, with Iran still threatening to launch ballistic missiles at Israel should the IDF strike again at Hezbollah targets in Beirut in retaliation for any further Hezbollah attacks on northern Israel.

Another likely possibility is that the MOU signing ceremony will take place in Geneva as announced, but that the subsequent negotiations over the fate of Iran’s nuclear program go nowhere because the Iranians were never serious about agreeing to give it up, as CIA director Radcliffe has warned. In addition, Iran’s leaders no longer seem to fear a military retaliation from Trump, because of Iran’s proven ability to survive the worst punishment that the U.S. military can inflict upon them.

In such a scenario, Trump would be unlikely to order another round of American air strikes on Iran because it could trigger another decision by Iran to close the Strait of Hormuz. That would leave Iran’s leader free to continue their efforts to rebuild their military capabilities while finding new ways to evade the U.S. sanctions on its oil exports, and intimidating its Persian Gulf neighbors to warn them off getting any closer to either the U.S. or Israel.

On the other hand, Israel would likely prefer to see the collapse of the post-signing negotiations, because that would enable the IDF to continue its operations in southern Lebanon without any more interference from Trump. Meanwhile, Israel would also like to see Iran prevented from receiving any meaningful sanctions relief, so that its economic and military recovery from the losses it suffered from the attacks by Israel and the U.S. will be delayed for as long as possible.

The Biggest Unresolved Issue Is Over the Battle in Lebanon

Perhaps the most contentious issue surrounding the unreleased text of the MOU was over any restrictions that it does or does not contain limiting the IDF’s freedom of action in Lebanon, concerning its ability to respond with full force against Hezbollah strongholds in Beirut in response to any further Hezbollah attacks on Israeli communities along the Lebanese border.

According to Pakistani and Iranian sources, the MOU agreement extends the ceasefire agreement to Lebanon. In addition, according to an Iranian claim, the MOU now includes a new provision requiring a complete IDF withdrawal from its security zone in southern Lebanon. It was allegedly added to the MOU agreement at the last minute to get Iran to call off its plan to launch missiles at Israel in retaliation for the IDF’s latest strike at Hezbollah’s stronghold in Beirut on Sunday, which likely would have derailed the entire peace process.

Prime Minister Netanyahu made it clear in his Monday night press conference that he does not consider Israel to be bound by any clause limiting the IDF’s freedom of action in Lebanon because “Israel is not a party to the Memorandum of Understanding.” It did not sign onto the document, nor was it allowed to have any input in drafting its provisions. As a result, the prime minister said, the IDF will continue to expand its current operations in southern Lebanon, and it will not withdraw from the territory in Lebanon that Israeli troops are currently occupying.

In addition, the Jerusalem Post reported Tuesday, the Trump administration turned down a formal request to view the full final text of the Memorandum of Understanding before the signing ceremony in Geneva on Friday, presumably to prevent Netanyahu from being able to launch any attempt to undermine the deal, as he tried to do to President Obama’s administration.

Too Late for Netanyahu to Distance Himself From Trump Now

It is now clearly far too late for Netanyahu to try to disassociate himself from his decision to gamble on Trump’s support for Israel, after he had convinced many Israelis and supporters of Israel that he is the most pro-Israel American president in history.

Trump major historic moves in support of Israel include the relocation the U.S. Embassy to Yerushalayim, and the recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights during his first term as president, and Trump’s pivotal role during his second term as president in ending the post-October 7 war against Hamas in Gaza, and securing the return to Israel of all 250 of the hostages who were taken by Hamas that day.

However, like any other small country that seeks such a close relationship with a global superpower like the United States, Israel is taking a risk that the day may come when its own national security interests no longer coincide or even begin to clash with America’s priorities.

That is apparently what is happening now. Trump believes that it is currently in America’s best interests to re-open the Strait of Hormuz as quickly as possible and secure a credible nuclear agreement with the current Iranian regime at almost any price, including an agreement that ignores Israel’s concerns about Iran rebuilding its arsenal of ballistic missiles and Iran’s continuing support for Hezbollah’s attacks on northern Israel.

Netanyahu’s defenders argue that, despite their shared disappointment over the watered-down MOU defining the terms of the proposed American peace deal with Iran, the U.S.-Israeli partnership over the past year has yielded significant military achievements against Iran. If it adheres to the terms of the MOU, Iran will no longer be a nuclear threshold state. Its nuclear capabilities have been pushed back by years, and it is no longer capable of producing tens of thousands of ballistic missiles with which to overwhelm Israel’s formidable missile defenses.

Nevertheless, Netanyahu’s once extremely close partnership with Trump against Iran has been severely weakened due to Israel’s objections to the reported terms of the MOU, and the still serious Iranian threats to Israel’s security that the current agreement fails to address.

Netanyahu has been forced to anger Trump repeatedly over the past few weeks by insisting on Israel’s right and duty to retaliate against Hezbollah missile and drone strikes on northern Israel by attacking terrorist strongholds in the Dahiyeh suburb of Beirut, despite Iran’s efforts to shield its proxy terror group from the consequences of its repeated violation of the ceasefire in Lebanon. At the same time, Trump has publicly humiliated Netanyahu several times, calling him crazy, challenging his good judgment, and saying in effect: Without me, you would already be sitting in prison, and Israel would already have been destroyed by an Iranian nuclear weapon.

Trump Intervened to Cancel an Israeli Air Strike on Iran

It has also been revealed by the commander of the Israeli air force that Trump intervened last week and forced Netanyahu to cancel Israel’s largest ever air strike against Iran. The attack against hundreds of strategic targets across Iran was called off just one hour before every warplane in Israel’s inventory was scheduled to take off on the historic mission.

Netanyahu may be technically correct in arguing that militarily, Israel today is stronger than ever. But that strength has come at a high price by compromising Israel’s freedom of action on the battlefield, which is now as severe under Trump as it was in Gaza during the year following the Hamas October 7 attack due to the interference and public second-guessing by Trump’s predecessor, President Joe Biden.

For better or for worse, Netanyahu and Israel remain too dependent on continued support and military cooperation from Trump and the U.S. government to risk trying to cut back on those ties now. That would leave Israel to continue the ongoing fight against its enemies alone.

Israel’s Right to Self-Defense Is Being Seriously Challenged

Meanwhile, because Israel’s exercise of its right to self-defense when attacked, first in Gaza and now in Lebanon, has come under criticism from almost every other country in the world, Trump is treating Israel as if it were a U.S. protectorate that is totally dependent upon his goodwill for its continued survival. As part of this arrangement, Trump now appears to be willing to sacrifice Israel’s vital national security interests in the pursuit of his goal to claim credit for ending the war against Iran on his own terms.

In response to this turn of events, the only thing that Israel and its friends can do now is to try to gain a better understanding of the current status of each of the four major security threats to Israel from Iran and its proxies, which Netanyahu publicly identified last week.

With regard to the status of Iran’s stockpile of 970 pounds of 60% enriched uranium, which is enough to build 11 nuclear weapons, and which Trump currently refers to as “nuclear dust,” he appears to be in no hurry to remove it, because most of it is believed to be buried deep underground as a result of the American B-2 bomber attack on Iran last June, and is therefore currently inaccessible to Iran’s nuclear engineers, and poses no immediate security threat.

With regard to Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, which was also badly damaged over the past year by the combination of U.S. and Israeli air strikes, Trump will apparently be satisfied to leave what remains of it under Iranian control, but only as long as it will be under close supervision by both American and U.N. nuclear monitors with enhanced “inspection powers” to investigate any suspicious Iranian nuclear activity for many years to come.

With regard to the threat to Israel and the entire region from Iran’s huge long-range ballistic missiles, before the war began at the end of February, Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke openly about the need to impose strict limits on Iran’s missile capabilities and to end its support for its terrorist proxies. But when Iran refused to discuss those issues, even after the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding, Trump promptly removed both subjects from the negotiating agenda. He thereby ensured that these two major Iranian threats to Israel’s national security will survive the current war, severely reduced but still intact, and ready to be rebuilt by Iran in the years ahead, using the funds that will be generated by the lifting of all of Trump’s current sanctions on Iran as soon as MOU negotiations over the future of Iran’s nuclear program get started.

Early Hopes for Iran’s “Complete Surrender” Now a Distant Memory

When the war against Iran started last February, the Israeli and American goal was, as Trump put it, to force Iran into “complete surrender.” But in reality, the Islamic regime, under new, hardline direction, remains standing, and has been further empowered by its now proven ability to hold the global energy market hostage by seizing control over the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump’s dream of a quick and easy victory over Iran has long since disappeared. His alliance of convenience with Israel in the initial attack has now become a serious political liability for Trump, who now urgently needs to re-open the Strait of Hormuz and end the war for domestic American political reasons, regardless of the concessions that he has to make to get Iran to agree to it.

Netanyahu and all other responsible leaders, across the Israeli political spectrum, have always agreed that no agreement with Iran over its nuclear and other threats to Israel’s security would be much preferable to a bad agreement with Iran, which now seems to be emerging.

Furthermore, to keep Netanyahu from trying to generate American political opposition to the MOU, Trump has not hesitated to throw the Israeli prime minister “under the bus” by belittling him and trying to destroy his credibility as Israel’s elected national leader.

As a result, from Israel’s perspective, the war against Iran, which started so successfully, is now in real danger of ending up as both a political and strategic disaster for Israel, with the only real hope of avoiding catastrophe being the likelihood that the Iranians will overplay their hand, leading to the collapse of the MOU negotiations before they can do any further damage.

There’s no getting around it: people like to feel important. This basic human need can play itself out in different ways.

If you happen to be a megalomanic dictator, you’ll probably order twelve-foot-tall pictures of your face to be plastered on walls and bill­boards everywhere. You’ll have armies regularly drilling in perfect formation for your pleasure and exotic delicacies flown to your table at your whim. Everyone who comes near must kowtow in obedience to your will. All of this to prove to the world, and to yourself, that you matter.

Not everyone, of course, has billions, or even mere millions, of people to order about. For the rest of us, feeling important comes about through less obvious methods. And we have recourse to those methods all the time, often unwittingly.

Some years back there was a major power outage in New York that caught the city by sur­prise. People found themselves wandering sud­denly down pitch-black streets, stuck in eleva­tors and marooned on subway trains. For a long time after power was restored, the question on everyone’s tongue was, “Where were you when the lights went out?”

The same phenomenon appeared after the 9/11 tragedy. Whether anyone was listening or not, people talked obsessively about where they were when they heard the news. In the larger scheme of things, a single individual’s precise location during a blackout or any other catastrophe is of little moment. What does it matter where you or I happened to be when an earthshaking event took place? The answer is: it doesn’t.

But to the individual in question, it looms large. Connecting himself to such a monumental event, however tangentially, lends him a sense of being in the thick of things. In the picture.

In a word: important.

In the Know

I’m sure you’ve come across people who fit neatly under the label, “know-it-alls.” Whatever topic is up for discussion, they deem themselves an expert or at least quite knowledgeable. It de­lights them to be in a position to state facts and opinions assertively. And to kindly educate those around them who are less savvy than they are.

Whenever such individuals find themselves in the fortunate position of being able to lec­ture others on a subject, they experience some­thing akin to the feelings of the dictator we de­scribed above. It’s the joy of wielding power; in this case, the power of knowledge. A power that lends them a delicious sense of their own importance.

Similarly, there’s a certain thrill in possessing a piece of news that others don’t have. This is one of the factors that lies at the bottom of gossip’s pow­erful pull. Prestige comes with being able to demonstrate that you’re in the know. It makes you feel on top of things.

It makes you feel important.

In the Loop

This need also underlies our over­whelming desire to be always “in the loop.” It explains the pain we feel when we’re left out of things. Socially, it’s the equivalent of being stranded on a stalled subway. Events are taking place all around you, people are connecting and things are happening. But you’re standing still in the dark.

In our highly industrialized society, it’s hard not to feel like a mere cog in some vast, impersonal machinery. In an age of social media, it can be dif­ficult to maintain our sense of self-worth in the face of so much blatant success. More than anything, a person wants to feel that he or she has worth. That they matter.

In the olden days, you didn’t know much about people outside the circum­scribed limits of your town or neigh­borhood. All that’s changed now. Being exposed to the myriads of lives taking place all around the globe can reduce us to a sense of our own irrelevancy. A feeling that we’re not of much import in the great big world, as transmitted to us continuously by the world wide web.

The need to feel important also un­derlies the notion of exclusivity in clubs and the like. If my neighbor can’t get into a certain country club and I can, that makes me more important than they are. Ditto for classroom cliques and the like.

Leaving others out implies that we matter more than they do. Having the power to exclude others serves to en­hance our own importance… And feel­ing important is the name of the game.

Stand Up and Be Counted

There’s another way of looking at this, one which can leave us much happier and certainly more at ease. Instead of measuring our importance against that of the people around us, we can achieve true importance by attaching ourselves to the most important One of all.

In Hashem’s eyes, we possess a cer­tain stature simply by virtue of being in His world and striving to serve Him. This applies to everyone, but a thou­sand time more to Klal Yisroel.

When Hashem chose our nation to spread His light in the world, He el­evated us to an eternal level of impor­tance. Each time we sanctify His Name, either directly through our avodah or indirectly through our interactions with others, we are expressing our very important place in the scheme of things. No one is reduced to being a cog in the machinery or a throwaway on­line post. No one is minimized or over­looked. That’s because each of us has a supremely important job to do.

Our connection to Him lends us an intrinsic importance which, if only we could remember it, should make us delirious with joy all the time. Instead of straining to achieve recognition by our peers by knowing more than they do or striving to be forever in the loop, we can more profitably turn our focus elsewhere. Specifically, toward our Di­vine identity and our inborn elevated status as bni bechori Yisroel. If we do that, we’ll find that there’s no need to strain anymore, except in our eager­ness to serve.

The Torah tells us that Hashem counted us repeatedly in our early his­tory because of His deep and abiding love for us. Every single person was in­cluded in the count because every sin­gle person mattered. Though we don’t have a king or other divinely appointed to take a census of Klal Yisroel today, the same principle holds true for us.

Every aspect of our personality can and should be recruited to carry out our exalted mission. Every action we take becomes meaningful because we are His children and His servants, fulfilling His will. Because we all received the Torah, we’re all in the know. Because all of our neshamos were present at our elevation to the Chosen People, no one is left out. We’re all in the loop, all of the time.

With a little shift in perspective, we can feel more at peace and at the same time charged with fresh enthusiasm. At peace with those around us because there’s no need to compete. And filled with enthusiasm because of the goal we share, toward which each of us works using the unique tools we were given.

If we gaze in the right direction, ev­erything looks different. Everything makes more sense when we realize that we don’t have to twist ourselves into pretzels just to feel important. We’re al­ready there.

So, let’s stand up and be counted.

Because Hashem is counting on us.

And because we count!

The Chazon Ish’s Depth Behind the Lost Avodah of the Bechorim

Parshas Korach (Bamidbar 17:6) states: “Vayilonu kol Adas Bnei Yisroel mimochoras al Moshe ve’al Aharon leimor, ‘Atem hamisem es am Hashem.’”

The Ramban explains that after the death of Korach and his eidah, Klal Yisroel did not deny the Kehunah of Aharon. That had already been proven clearly, for a fire had gone forth from before Hashem and had accepted his korbanos. Their taanah was different. They wanted the bechorim to remain as the meshorsim of the Mishkon in place of the Levi’im. They did not accept the chalipin, the exchange, through which the Levi’im replaced the bechorim, because if the avodah remained with the bechorim, then every shevet would have a chelek in the avodas Bais Hashem. Therefore, they claimed, “atem hamisem osam,” you caused them to die, because you advised them to bring ketores like Kohanim, while in truth they were fit only for avodas Levi’im and not for the avodah of Kohanim.

The depth of the matter appears through the words of Rashi on the posuk, “Va’ani hinei lokachti es haLevi’im mitoch Bnei Yisroel tachas kol bechor.” Rashi writes that the avodah had originally belonged to the bechorim, and when they sinned with the eigel, they became disqualified, while the Levi’im, who did not serve avodah zarah, were chosen in their place.

The Mizrachi already asks that this seems difficult from the sugya in Zevachim 115b. There, the Tanna’im argue about when the bechorim stopped serving. According to Rebbi, they stopped already at Sinai. According to Rebbi Yehoshua ben Korcha, they continued until the Mishkon was established. But no one seems to say that they became disqualified at the time of the eigel. How then can Rashi say that when they sinned with the eigel, they were disqualified?

One could say that the cheit ha’eigel was the cause of their loss, but the actual loss took effect only later. Yet this is not enough, because if the eigel created a pesul in their avodah, why did the pesul not take effect immediately? Even before the Mishkon was established, they offered korbanos in the midbar. If they were already disqualified, how could they continue serving?

The yesod is found in the words of the Chazon Ish (Orach Chaim Seder Mattan Torah). He explains that the kedushas bechorim contained two separate dinim. One din was avodas hakorbanos, the avodah of Kehunah. The second din was avodas Levi’im, namely shirah, shemirah, and masa, the service of song, guarding, and carrying.

These two dinim are entirely different. The bechirah of the bechorim for avodas hakorbanos was never meant to last forever. From the beginning, it was only until the Mishkon would be established. That is the meaning of the Mishnah, “Ad shelo hukam haMishkon, ha’avodah ba’bechoros.” Before the Mishkon was set up, the avodah was performed by the bechorim. But once the Mishkon would be established, the avodas hakorbanos would belong to Aharon and his sons.

However, the bechirah of the bechorim for avodas haLevi’im was different. That was meant to remain for doros. Even after the Mishkon, the bechorim should have served with shirah, shemirah, and masa. From this second bechirah, they were removed through the cheit ha’eigel. Since they sinned with the eigel, they lost their right to serve in the place of Levi’im. The Levi’im, who did not sin, were chosen instead.

According to this, Rashi is clear. When Rashi says that the bechorim were disqualified through the eigel, he is not speaking about avodas hakorbanos. That avodah was temporary in any case, and it continued until the Mishkon. Rashi is speaking about the avodas Leviyah that should have remained theirs forever. From that, they were disqualified because of the cheit ha’eigel. It did not take practical effect until the Mishkon, because before the Mishkon, there was no complete avodas Levi’im, no shirah in the Mishkon, no guarding of the Mishkon, and no carrying of its keilim.

This also explains the machlokes in Zevachim. Rebbi, who says that the bechorim stopped the avodah at Sinai, is speaking about avodas hakorbanos. The sources that say that they lost the avodah through the eigel are speaking about avodas haLevi’im. There is no contradiction, because they are two separate parshiyos.

It follows that when the Mishkon was established, the bechorim lost two things. First, their temporary avodas Kehunah ended, because from then on, the korbanos belonged to Aharon and his sons. Second, their permanent right to avodas Leviyah was also removed, because that right had already been lost through the cheit ha’eigel and was then given to the Levi’im.

With this, the Ramban becomes luminous. Klal Yisroel accepted the Kehunah of Aharon. They did not claim that the bechorim should continue bringing korbanos. They understood that avodas hakorbanos had passed to Aharon. Their complaint was only about the second din. Why should the bechorim lose avodas Leviyah? Why should the Levi’im replace them entirely? If the bechorim would serve as Levi’im, then every shevet would still have a chelek in the avodah, because every shevet has bechorim.

That was the hidden taanah after Korach. They said to Moshe and Aharon, “Atem hamisem es am Hashem.” You caused them to die because you tested them with ketores. Ketores is avodas Kohenim. But according to their claim, Korach and his people were not fit to be Kohanim. Their only possible claim was to avodas Levi’im. They should have been tested in a matter of Leviyah, not in a matter of Kehunah. By telling them to offer ketores, you placed them into an avodah that was not theirs, and through that, they died.

This is why the answer came through the mateh of Aharon, and specifically as the mateh of Bais Levi. The fire had already proven that Aharon was the Kohen. But the people still questioned the bechirah of the Levi’im. Therefore, Hashem made the staff blossom, to show that not only Kehunas Aharon, but also the bechirah of Bais Levi, was min haShomayim.

The omek of the sugya is therefore that there were two losses of the bechorim. Their avodas hakorbanos ended because it was only meant to last until the Mishkon. Their avodas Leviyah was lost because of the cheit ha’eigel. Korach’s episode forced the distinction to become clear. The ketores proved that Kehunah belongs only to Aharon. The blossoming staff proved that Leviyah belongs only to Bais Levi. This is the depth behind the taanah of atem hamisem and the final birur of the lost avodah of the bechorim.

It isn’t every day that someone gives up a guaranteed profit of hundreds of thousands of shekels. But that’s just what Michael Strod did, wholeheartedly.

Michael Strod’s business involves identifying properties that have no known claimant or owner. Michael finds the legal heirs of these properties, often purchased many decades ago, notifies them of the existence of these assets, and helps get them transferred to their hands. In return, he receives a hefty commission.

“This is not a simple job,” Michael explains. “It requires a great investment in time, effort and resources – and of course, much Siyatta D’Shmaya. You can work on a case for a long time, advancing step by step, and then hit a brick wall. Sometimes you can’t prove the identity of the owner, and sometimes there are problems with the heirs. In such cases, all your hard work goes down the drain.”

But one recent case was straightforward. Michael had indisputable proof of ownership of the original purchaser, and had only to identify what he calls the inheritance chain. “I traced the inheritance chain and reached people in Europe who were heirs. I was making good progress in wrapping things up and was set to earn a commission of NIS 300,000.

“There weren’t a lot of heirs to deal with, and since the property had not been listed in the will, they needed me and my knowledge in order to move the process forward.”

But closing the deal proved to be anything but smooth. The first warning light began flashing at a relatively early stage. “I discovered early on that a missionary figure, who was not a relative of the deceased owner, had interfered with the initial bequest process. At first, I wanted to turn the case down for fear that the inheritance would end up in missionary hands. But then I thought that I should at least try to check out where the property would indeed end up.”

Meticulous detective work revealed that the heirs are all private individuals and that the original owner stipulated in his will that the land should go to Mr. D. In turn, Mr. D., in his will, left the land to Mr. S. “I obtained a copy of Mr. S.’s will and realized that all my dreams of earning a windfall would be unrealized. The final destination of most of the money was missionary cults engaged in persuading Jews to convert.”

According to Mr. S.’s will, symbolic amounts were to be distributed among friends, with the lion’s share going to organizations associated with Messianic sects – with the exception of a number of Jewish-Israeli nonprofits. In order to verify whether these groups were indeed engaged in persuading Jews to convert, Michael contacted Yad L’Achim, which has been leading the battle against missionaries for some 70 years.

Yad L’Achim quickly checked the names on the list Michael provided them and delivered a report that left no room for doubt. “It turned out that the situation was more dangerous than I suspected,” Michael recalls. “If I thought that one of the groups was engaged in helping people addicted to dangerous substances, Yad L’Achim clarified that the group used missionary preaching, combined with idolatry, as part of its method of detoxification.

“Also, an organization that claimed to offer assistance to the needy was found to be preaching their false faith and converting Jews to their religion.”

Another designated beneficiary was a social club of a certain nursing home. Yad L’Achim discovered that though the nursing home was intended for a non-Jewish population, its club attracts elderly Jews and exposes them to Christian symbols and active missionary preaching.

Yad L’Achim’s report left no room for doubt in Michael’s mind. “As far as I am concerned,” he said, “the case is closed. I am a member of the Jewish people and will not lend a hand to increasing the power of missionary sects that unfortunately still exist in the country.

“I likely have ancestors who sacrificed their comfort and perhaps even their lives on the altar of Jewish faith, and so this wasn’t a difficult decision for me.”

Yad L’Achim hailed Michael’s principled stand. “It is said of him and others like him that those who come to be purified are helped from Above. It is to his great merit that he did not assist organizations that threaten to destroy our people spiritually. The A-mighty will surely see to it that the commission he gave up will come back to him in blessed ways.”

For more information visit www.yadlachim.org or email [email protected]. Yad L’Achim: 4018 18th Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11218. Tel: 1-866-923-5224 (1-866-YAD-LACH).

This week, in Parshas Shelach, we learn about the saga of the meraglim, which is one of the most tragic episodes in the Torah. Standing at the border of Eretz Yisroel, the Jewish people, who had experienced Yetzias Mitzrayim, Krias Yam Suf, and the many nissim in the midbar, were poised to enter the land promised to their forefathers. The journey from Mitzrayim was nearly complete. Yet, instead of moving forward with confidence, the nation was overcome by fear, and an entire generation lost the opportunity to enter the Land.

They sent meraglim to scout out the land, and the meraglim returned with a frightening report. They reported facts as they saw them. Much of what they said was true. The cities were fortified. The inhabitants were powerful. The challenges were real. But their mission was a historic failure, for which we still pay the price until this very day. At the root of their failure was that they viewed everything during their mission through a lens of negativity.

Where they should have seen opportunity, they saw danger. Where they should have seen Hashem’s promise, they saw obstacles. Where they should have seen a land flowing with milk and honey, they saw imposing giants and fortified cities they believed they would not be able to capture.

Yehoshua and Koleiv saw the same landscape, the same cities, and the same giants as the other ten shluchim. Yet, they came to an entirely different conclusion. While the other meraglim focused on obstacles, Yehoshua and Koleiv focused on possibilities.

Where the meraglim saw reasons for despair, Yehoshua and Koleiv saw reasons for confidence. Most importantly, while the other meraglim measured the situation according to human limitations, Yehoshua and Koleiv viewed it through the prism of emunah, through the knowledge that Hashem had promised this land to them and told them that it was good. For centuries, the bnei Avrohom, Yitzchok and Yaakov had looked forward to meriting entry into the land.

The difference between them was not what they saw. The difference was how they saw it.

This lesson that we learn from this sorry experience extends far beyond the events of the desert. Life presents each of us with challenges, disappointments, and uncertainties. Every day, each of us is presented with a choice. We can choose to focus on what is wrong, on what we lack, and on the difficulties we face, or we can focus on what is right. We can look for the good, and recognize and appreciate blessings. We can see problems or we can see the opportunities that are hidden in every situation.

The negative approach is often easier. Complaints come naturally. Criticism requires little effort. Finding fault in people and circumstances can become a habit. But the Torah teaches us through the story of the meraglim that such a mindset can distort reality itself. When a person constantly searches for what is wrong, that is all he sees.

This applies not only to how we view events, but also to how we view other people. Every person has shortcomings. Every person makes mistakes. If we search for faults, we will certainly find them. And if we search for virtues, strengths, and the goodness that exists within every Jew, we will find that as well.

Everything that occurs is guided by Hashem. Even when we do not understand His plan, we know that He is directing the world with wisdom and kindness. The meraglim saw challenges and assumed disaster. Yehoshua and Koleiv saw those same challenges and trusted that Hashem’s purpose was ultimately for their benefit.

Positivity does not mean pretending that difficulties do not exist. The Torah does not ask us to ignore reality. Rather, positivity means refusing to allow difficulties to define reality. It means recognizing challenges while also recognizing Hashem’s ability to help us overcome them. It means viewing challenges as nisyonos, placed there to test us and provide impetus for self-improvement and aliyah.

A positive person lives a fundamentally different life than a negative one.

Negative people tend to become trapped by their circumstances. Every setback becomes a disaster. Every disappointment becomes a reason for discouragement. Every challenge appears larger than it really is. Their focus on problems drains their energy and clouds their judgment.

Positive people are not immune to difficulties, but they approach them differently. Because of their emunah and bitachon, they know that solutions are always possible and they search for them. Because they ask for and anticipate Hashem’s help, they maintain hope despite the situation. Their outlook gives them the strength to persevere where others give up.

This is true in our relationships as well.

When we focus on the faults of others, resentment grows. Every interaction becomes an opportunity for criticism. Small imperfections become magnified until they overshadow all the good that exists.

But when we make an effort to notice the strengths of others, our relationships flourish. A spouse feels appreciated. A child gains confidence. Friends feel valued. Communities become stronger. Looking for the good in people often brings out the good in them.

Many of the greatest leaders possessed this ability. They saw potential where others saw weakness. They recognized greatness hidden beneath flaws. They understood that encouragement accomplishes far more than constant criticism.

Positivity also transforms the way we experience life itself.

Every person receives countless gifts from Hashem each day—health, family, friendships, opportunities, and innumerable acts of Divine kindness. We can either focus on the good we have or on what is missing, what we would like to have but do not. By focusing on what is not good, we become downcast and sad, and we lose sight of the good that we have.

A positive perspective creates gratitude. Gratitude creates happiness. And happiness creates the emotional strength needed to navigate life’s inevitable challenges.

The Chovos Halevavos teaches that recognizing Hashem’s kindness is one of the foundations of avodas Hashem. A person who constantly notices blessings naturally develops a deeper appreciation for Hakadosh Boruch Hu, Who provides for them. Positivity is not merely a personality trait. It is a powerful form and indication of spiritual growth. The more Torah and mussar a person learns, the more spiritual he becomes, the closer he feels to Hashem, and the more he appreciates His goodness and kindness.

The consequences of the meraglim were so severe because their negativity did not remain confined to their own hearts. It spread throughout the camp. Fear became contagious. Discouragement became contagious. Despair became contagious. The people listened to them and became saddened, bemoaning their fate as they fretted about the future. Chazal (Taanis 29a) recount that Hashem chastened them for crying senseless tears and declared that He would give them something to cry about for generations to come. Indeed, we are still crying over the churban until this day. We are still suffering because of the sin of the meraglim.

My old friend, Rav Mordechai Simcha zt”l, was always a fountain of bright and witty comments. As a play on his name, he would often say, “Simcha is contagious.” Indeed, it is. Optimism is also contagious, as are confidence and bitachon. One person’s positive outlook can inspire an entire family, a community, or even a generation.

Take Reb Shalom Mordechai Rubashkin, for example. His faith inspired Klal Yisroel and still does. He had every reason to give up and accept his fate, and very few rational reasons to think that he would ever achieve vindication and freedom. Yet, because of his deep-seated emunah, he was able to view his situation differently. He viewed what he was going through as a nisayon, not as a fait accompli, and Hashem rewarded him. Klal Yisroel rejoiced with him when his faith was rewarded. His experience still serves as a chizuk to people experiencing periods of nisayon not to become traumatized and to maintain their faith that Hakadosh Boruch Hu is directing everything min haShomayim.

In every situation, we have a choice. We can be like the meraglim, searching for reasons why things cannot succeed. Or we can be like Yehoshua, Koleiv, and ehrliche Yidden throughout the ages, searching for reasons to trust, to hope, and to move forward.

The Torah’s message is not that life is easy. It is that life looks very different when viewed through the eyes of a maamin.

When we train ourselves to see the good in people, we become kinder. When we train ourselves to see the good in circumstances, we become stronger. When we train ourselves to see the good in our lives, we become happier. And when we train ourselves to see Hashem’s hand behind everything that happens, we discover a deeper sense of peace and purpose.

The meraglim saw giants and lost heart. Yehoshua and Koleiv saw Hashem and found courage.

Their lesson continues to guide us today: Look for the good. Focus on the blessings. Believe in the possibilities. Trust in Hashem. Very often, what we find depends on what we are looking for.

Gedolim often possessed an extraordinary ability to see the good in situations and in people where others saw only problems. Famous are the stories about Rav Levi Yitzchok of Berditchev. He was renowned for always finding merit in people.

Typical is the story told about the baal ha’agolah who was greasing the wheels of his wagon while wearing his tallis and tefillin. Most people would have been shocked by the apparent lack of respect. Rav Levi Yitzchok, however, looked heavenward and said, “Ribbono Shel Olam, see how precious Your children are. Even while occupied with their work, they refuse to separate themselves from mitzvos.”

Others saw a fault. He saw a virtue.

That was not naïveté. He was choosing to focus on what was admirable rather than what was lacking.

There are plenty of practical examples.

Two people lose a business opportunity. One spends months dwelling on what might have been. He becomes bitter and discouraged. The other is disappointed as well, but he believes that if Hashem closed one door, another will open. He moves forward and eventually discovers opportunities that he would never have found otherwise.

The external event is identical. The internal response changes everything.

The same is true in family life. A parent can focus on a child’s weaknesses and spend years being frustrated. Or he can focus on the child’s strengths and help the child blossom. Every experienced educator knows that children often become what others believe they can become. Positivity does not merely change how we see people. It changes how they see themselves.

We are currently in the season of Siddur and Chumash parties. I merited attending Chumash parties for two of my grandchildren recently, one last Sunday and one this Sunday. The pride the rabbeim took in their young charges was evident as they exuded positivity and joy, and the children, in turn, shone as they sang their songs, reviewed pesukim, and rose in their crowns to accept their Chumashim.

The confidence of the rebbi is reflected in the children, just as the light of the sun is reflected by the moon, brightening and casting light upon a dark night. Positivity and optimism are what enable us to succeed and thrive in a world that contains much darkness and sorrow.

Positivity is not simply about feeling happier. It is about seeing the world more accurately. The negative person sees only the obstacle and misses the opportunity. He sees the flaw and misses the virtue. He sees only today’s difficulty and misses tomorrow’s blessing. The positive person sees the challenge as well, but he also sees Hashem’s hand guiding events toward a purpose he may not yet understand.

We live in a time of hester, when Hashem is hidden, and we do not always see the brocha, but we must know that it is there and that we are not alone.

The meraglim were not ordinary people. Chazal teach that they were distinguished leaders, “roshei Bnei Yisroel.” Their failure reminds us that intelligence and greatness alone do not guarantee proper perspective. A person can be knowledgeable, accomplished, and sincere, yet still allow fear, bias, and negativity to distort his view of reality.

Yehoshua and Koleiv possessed something invaluable: the ability to see beyond the immediate nisayon and focus on the larger picture. They understood that the question was not whether there were giants in the land, but whether Hashem had promised them the land. With that attitude and perspective, everything else fell into place.

That remains one of the great challenges of life. We often become consumed by the “giants” in front of us—the problems, setbacks, worries, and uncertainties. We can spend so much time analyzing the obstacles that we lose sight of the blessings, opportunities, and Hashgocha Protis surrounding us.

A positive outlook rooted in emunah does not deny the existence of giants. It simply remembers that Hashem is bigger than the giants.

I have written previously about the time I was visiting my rebbi, Rav Avrohom Yehoshua Soloveitchik, and he inquired about the welfare of one of his talmidim. I told him, “Es geit em shver. He has it hard.” He quickly responded, “Bei di Ribono Shel Olam, iz gornit shver. Nothing is hard for Hashem.”

That has to be the way we view and deal with times of nisayon, when things are rough.

The meraglim foresaw tough battles ahead that could not be won. Thus, they saw a land that could not be conquered. Yehoshua and Koleiv did not let what they saw impress or frighten them, because they knew that bei di Ribono Shel Olam, iz gornit shver.

Yehoshua and Koleiv saw a future that could be achieved. Their vision built the future of Klal Yisroel. The people who leave the deepest impact on their families, communities, and friends are often those who have learned this lesson well. They are the ones who encourage rather than criticize, who look for strengths rather than weaknesses, who search for solutions rather than dwell on problems, and who remind others that no situation is beyond Hashem’s help.

In a world where negativity often comes easily, choosing to see the good may be one of the greatest forms of avodas Hashem. It allows us to appreciate Hashem’s blessings and face life’s challenges with confidence and serenity.

We do not merely live according to the world we see. To a large extent, we live according to the way we choose to see it. May we merit to view the world with the eyes of Yehoshua and Koleiv—eyes of faith, gratitude, optimism, and trust in Hashem.

Most of us are not going to be sent to scout a land before conquering it. But every day, we “spy out” the circumstances of our own lives. We look at our families, our communities, our finances, our health, our challenges, and our future. Then we decide what those facts mean.

The meraglim looked at facts and concluded, “We cannot do it.”

Yehoshua and Koleiv looked at the same facts and concluded, “With Hashem’s help, we can.”

That distinction exists in every generation.

The meraglim were not punished for seeing giants. There really were giants. They were punished for allowing the giants to become the whole story. They were punished for seeing themselves and their abilities as grasshoppers, “k’chagovim hoyinu b’eineihem.” They saw the obstacles and lost sight of Hashem. Yehoshua and Koleiv also saw the obstacles, but they saw them in the context of the larger reality of Hashem’s promise, Hashem’s protection, and Hashem’s plan.

Negativity often works the same way. It takes a difficulty and turns it into the entire picture. Positivity does not ignore the difficulty. It places it in its proper perspective.

Another angle is that negativity tends to be self-fulfilling. The generation that said, “We cannot enter the land,” ultimately did not enter the land. Yehoshua and Koleiv, who believed they could, did.

A person who constantly says, “I can’t,” “It won’t work,” or, “Nothing ever changes,” often stops trying. A person who says, “This is difficult, but with siyata diShmaya it can be done,” will persevere until he succeeds.

Positive people often feel better, accomplish more, build stronger relationships, inspire others, and navigate hardships more effectively because they are not paralyzed by pessimism. For someone who knows that Hashem runs the world, that He loves His children, and that everything He does has purpose, optimism is not wishful thinking. It is a natural consequence of faith.

The meraglim looked at Eretz Yisroel and asked, “How can we possibly succeed?”

Yehoshua and Koleiv looked at Eretz Yisroel and asked, “If Hashem wants us there, how can we not succeed?”

Those two questions continue to shape the way people approach life today.

The situation in Eretz Yisroel is not simple. There are many problems, both internal and external. The Torah community is being targeted as never before and finds itself in a matzav nora, a terribly serious situation.

Gedolei Yisroel traveled from there this week to inspire and appeal to us to join them in their battle for Torah, to believe, to contribute, and to have the positivity and fortitude of faith, of emunah and bitachon, to do what we can to overcome the darkness of golus, and know that if we withstand the nisayon, we will merit the geulah sheleimah bekarov.

Last week, in these pages, we discussed the very concerning proliferation of divorce in our community and, more generally, shalom bayis difficulties.

After all is said and done, it boils down to middos, basic middos, mentchlichkeit, transcending oneself and not thinking that the entire world is here to serve “me and my needs.”

The life of a single person, whether it is a bochur in a dormitory, a bochur in a dirah in Eretz Yisroel, or a girl who is busy with her own life, her own needs, and her own projects, is, in many ways, a very selfish life. Even the chesed one does is done when one chooses to do it and in the amount one chooses to do it.

Now, there are some maalos to being “selfish.” For example, when a bochur is young and decides that he wants to learn, really shteig, and become great in learning, there is selfishness in that too. “I want to become great. I want to know the entire Torah. I want to get the best Olam Haba possible. I want people to realize that I know Shas.”

Yes, the bochur might have come to the realization that Torah and ruchniyus are paramount, but only from the viewpoint that it is all about my Torah and my ruchniyus.

Stepping Out of the “Me” World

I once heard someone say that it is not possible to be an adolescent and not be selfish. What is adolescence? It is all about progressing from being a child to an adult. It is about forging your own identity. To do that, you must try to figure out who “I” am. Who is the “me” that I want to be? There is selfishness inherent in that journey.

And then comes a point where you have to go beyond the “me” that you are trying to become and think in broader terms. Those broader terms include thinking about what Hashem really wants from you—not just what you want from your avodas Hashem, but what Hashem wants from you…the entire you.

Often, during one’s teenage and young adulthood years, the real bein adam lachaveiro muscles, the real mentchlichkeit muscles, are not actually put to the test. They can get very flabby, very out of shape, without the person even realizing it.

After all, a bochur can think, “I am doing great. I learn during seder, and sometimes I even learn more than just the regular sedorim. I usually daven with a minyan. I try (most of the time) not to scream too loudly when my roommate is sleeping. I am doing okay.”

A girl may similarly pat herself on the back, thinking, “I am a good friend. I engage with friends all the time. I am gracious. I participate in chesed initiatives. I am pretty good.”

And, in truth, these thoughts are pretty good, but they are on your terms. They are the things you do when you are still baal habayis over your own time.

Marriage: A Middos Workshop

Marriage can be compared to a workshop on middos where you are not your own baal habayis for even a minute. Not only that, but you suddenly have to share your entire world—erev vavoker vetzohoroyim—with another person.

You might think that you are a good bochur or a good girl, but, in reality, you have never been tested. Not only that, but as accustomed as you are to being a good bochur or good girl, you do not really have much life experience in how to interact with a spouse. Yes, our spouses are different genders, are created differently, grew up in different homes, and speak a “different language.”

For example, it is not uncommon for one spouse to find something hilarious while the other does not find it even slightly amusing.

Recently, my friend’s daughter and son-in-law were discussing a story CD. My friend told me that his daughter remarked, “These recordings are not funny at all. They are really bochurishe humor.”

At the same time, her husband chimed in, “They are really funny!”

Everyone burst out laughing, but the point was made.

The Meraglim Were Great People, Right?

Now, before we return to the point, I would like to detour to this week’s parsha and the meraglim. There is a very important idea from the Chiddushei Harim regarding the meraglim. It is a vort about which a talmid of Rav Shlomo Wolbe quoted Rav Wolbe as saying that the way the Chiddushei Harim explained the sin of the meraglim is the way we are supposed to learn pshat in the sugya.

The Chiddushei Harim asked about the meraglim as follows: They were such great people, right? Rashi teaches us that the meraglim truly were great men. How, then, could they have fallen so precipitously?

The Chiddushei Harim answers his own question, saying that the meraglim were indeed great people who had very good intentions when they discouraged the Bnei Yisroel from entering Eretz Yisroel.

What were their good intentions? The meraglim saw how the Yidden in the midbar were living in an incomparable spiritual oasis. They were learning Torah from Moshe Rabbeinu. They were drinking water from the be’er of Miriam. They were eating monn, the most spiritual of foods, which not only did not bring them down as gashmiyus usually does, but actually elevated them to unprecedented heights. They had no worries, no tirdos of parnossah. In short, they were living the most idyllic, beautiful, spiritual life possible.

They were in the best yeshiva or kollel in the world. They had the best rebbi—Moshe Rabbeinu. The meraglim were worried. “What will happen when we go to Eretz Yisroel? We will have to engage in parnossah, the hard work of going out and making a living. We will be forced to eat regular, gashmiyusdige food. We will not have time to learn from Moshe Rabbeinu as we are doing now. Will Klal Yisroel really be able to have Hashem in mind while engaging in the mundane? Will they really be able to understand that, yes, even when someone is working, engaging in parnossah, and involved in the daily grind of working the fields, growing, harvesting, grinding, and interacting with vendors, middlemen, and customers, he can think about Hashem as well?”

The meraglim therefore put themselves in great danger, going so far as to risk losing their own Olam Haba and losing everything for what they thought was the benefit of Klal Yisroel.

Yes, they meant well, says the Chiddushei Harim, but they made one fundamental mistake. What was their mistake?

Our job, the Chiddushei Harim explained, is not to tell Hashem what is best for Him to do. Our job is to listen, whether we understand or not. Our job is not to give eitzos to Hashem. It is to listen and follow His instructions with temimus, even when it seems that we know better.

It isn’t every day that someone gives up a guaranteed profit of hundreds of thousands of shekels. But that’s just what Michael Strod did, wholeheartedly.

Michael Strod’s business involves identifying properties that have no known claimant or owner. Michael finds the legal heirs of these properties, often purchased many decades ago, notifies them of the existence of these assets, and helps get them transferred to their hands. In return, he receives a hefty commission.

“This is not a simple job,” Michael explains. “It requires a great investment in time, effort and resources – and of course, much Siyatta D’Shmaya. You can work on a case for a long time, advancing step by step, and then hit a brick wall. Sometimes you can’t prove the identity of the owner, and sometimes there are problems with the heirs. In such cases, all your hard work goes down the drain.”

But one recent case was straightforward. Michael had indisputable proof of ownership of the original purchaser, and had only to identify what he calls the inheritance chain. “I traced the inheritance chain and reached people in Europe who were heirs. I was making good progress in wrapping things up and was set to earn a commission of NIS 300,000.

“There weren’t a lot of heirs to deal with, and since the property had not been listed in the will, they needed me and my knowledge in order to move the process forward.”

But closing the deal proved to be anything but smooth. The first warning light began flashing at a relatively early stage. “I discovered early on that a missionary figure, who was not a relative of the deceased owner, had interfered with the initial bequest process. At first, I wanted to turn the case down for fear that the inheritance would end up in missionary hands. But then I thought that I should at least try to check out where the property would indeed end up.”

Meticulous detective work revealed that the heirs are all private individuals and that the original owner stipulated in his will that the land should go to Mr. D. In turn, Mr. D., in his will, left the land to Mr. S. “I obtained a copy of Mr. S.’s will and realized that all my dreams of earning a windfall would be unrealized. The final destination of most of the money was missionary cults engaged in persuading Jews to convert.”

According to Mr. S.’s will, symbolic amounts were to be distributed among friends, with the lion’s share going to organizations associated with Messianic sects – with the exception of a number of Jewish-Israeli nonprofits. In order to verify whether these groups were indeed engaged in persuading Jews to convert, Michael contacted Yad L’Achim, which has been leading the battle against missionaries for some 70 years.

Yad L’Achim quickly checked the names on the list Michael provided them and delivered a report that left no room for doubt. “It turned out that the situation was more dangerous than I suspected,” Michael recalls. “If I thought that one of the groups was engaged in helping people addicted to dangerous substances, Yad L’Achim clarified that the group used missionary preaching, combined with idolatry, as part of its method of detoxification.

“Also, an organization that claimed to offer assistance to the needy was found to be preaching their false faith and converting Jews to their religion.”

Another designated beneficiary was a social club of a certain nursing home. Yad L’Achim discovered that though the nursing home was intended for a non-Jewish population, its club attracts elderly Jews and exposes them to Christian symbols and active missionary preaching.

Yad L’Achim’s report left no room for doubt in Michael’s mind. “As far as I am concerned,” he said, “the case is closed. I am a member of the Jewish people and will not lend a hand to increasing the power of missionary sects that unfortunately still exist in the country.

“I likely have ancestors who sacrificed their comfort and perhaps even their lives on the altar of Jewish faith, and so this wasn’t a difficult decision for me.”

Yad L’Achim hailed Michael’s principled stand. “It is said of him and others like him that those who come to be purified are helped from Above. It is to his great merit that he did not assist organizations that threaten to destroy our people spiritually. The A-mighty will surely see to it that the commission he gave up will come back to him in blessed ways.”

Court order of Will Execution

For more information visit www.yadlachim.org or email [email protected]__. Yad L’Achim: 4018 18th Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11218. Tel: 1-866-923-5224 (1-866-YAD-LACH).

The school year is ending. The summer has finally arrived. For some, this means camp is looming ahead, for others the country and bungalow colonies. In any case, many have the magic word “vacation” on their lips. In my first ArtScroll sefer, Blueprints, I had the zechus to devote two chapters to Torah vacations and routines. However, since a few years have passed, Covid and some new realities about anti-Semitism and other things have changed the world, so perhaps this topic should be revisited with a new eye.

Although the present has changed drastically, the past remains the same. Our role models for how to vacation — Rav Chaim Ozer Grodzensky, Rav Shimon Shkop, Rav Boruch Ber Leibowitz and Rav Aharon Kotler — in the forest of Drozegnik for their dacha were deeply engrossed in learning, only surrounded this time by trees and in more comfortable chairs. As is well known, Rav Yisroel Neuman, one of the roshei yeshiva of Bais Medrash Govoah in Lakewood, simply takes his beloved shtender outside and continues his ceaseless hasmodah. My own rabbeim, Rav Yitzchok Hutner, Rav Aharon Schechter and Rav Yonasan David, continued to give shiurim and maamorim in Camp Morris, with occasional mention of the gadlus haBorei around them. But these days, there are other considerations that must come first.

Rav Aharon Teitelbaum of Satmar (quoted in Eizer Shmuel, page 294) felicitously expounds a Mishnah from this week’s Pirkei Avos (3:1) to guide his Chassidim in leisure planning. Akavia Ben Mahalalel said, “Consider three things and you will not come into the grip of sin. Know where you came from, where you are going, and before Whom you will give justification and reckoning.” The rebbe gave a vacation mussar shmuess, “Know where you came from,” meaning, “Think about your parents, grandparents, rabbeim and the yeshivos you attended before you make travel plans. What would they say?” Finally, would you be comfortable explaining and presenting this to our Creator and Father in Heaven? Great advice for us all.

The Vilna Gaon (Kol Eliyahu, Parshas Bereishis) quotes an amazing Medrash about one of the causes for Adam Harishon’s sin. The Medrash says something quite cryptic: “Why did Adam sin? Because he saw two but not three.”  The first of the three of Akavia’s “considerations” was “where we came from,” meaning “a putrid drop.” Now, since Adam was created directly by Hashem, he couldn’t identify with this warning, causing him and all of mankind everything from death to destruction and all manner of tragic results. Now let us add the Vilna Gaon’s brilliant comment. We know that Adam was an unimaginably righteous person. Even after he sinned and was buried, his ankles, the lowest parts of his body, shone like two burning suns. Yet, the inability to look back upon humble beginnings caused him to be unable to imagine the abyss into which he was about to descend. We, therefore, must surely evaluate carefully if we are exposing ourselves and our families to mortal spiritual dangers when we travel.

During Covid, when travel was almost impossible, many people discovered the joys of taking a staycation. Those who were able to do so built pools or refurbished basements. Unfortunately, like other messages that Hashem kindly sent us,  the lure of travel returned and suddenly we were on the road again. More recently, the spate of diseases and illnesses spread on expensive cruise ships may have been another divine reminder that physical ailments are often symptoms of spiritual maladies. This may be a good time to revisit Shlomo Hamelech’s exhortation, “If the anger of a ruler flares up against you, do not leave your place” (Koheles 10:4). Although this warning refers to many things, some meforshim identify the “ruler” as the yeitzer hora, which often rules over us and attempts to entice us to follow him into seductive places. Shlomo Hamelech, however, warns us that we are safest spiritually at home in our familiar surroundings.

One of the proofs offered that the moshel refers to our evil inclination is that the questions about where we have been and where we are going sound suspiciously like the questions Yaakov Avinu warned his servants that Eisav would ask: “When my brother Eisav meets you and asks you, saying, ‘Whose are you, where are you going…” (Bereishis 32:17). The Chiddushei Harim warns that our inner Eisav, i.e., the yeitzer hora, may ask these questions, seeking to frighten and depress us. We must be strong and resist his evil machinations. The Sefas Emes concludes that we must answer, as did Yaakov’s messengers, that “We belong to Yaakov Avinu.” This means that once we subjugate ourselves to Klal Yisroel, we have nothing to fear (see Sefas Emes, Parshas Vayishlach 5635). The Klausenburger Rebbe (Divrei Torah Shefa Chaim, Mikeitz 5723) quotes his father, the rebbe of Rodnik, with similar thoughts, only adding that these kinds of questions can come from the good source of the yeitzer tov or the evil source of the yeitzer hora and we must be careful to distinguish between the two (see also Sifsei Tzaddik, Vayishlach 25).

Rav Reuven Feinstein (Sefer Pirkei Shalom) teaches us another lesson related to this subject. In last week’s perek, Rebbi (Rabbeinu Hakadosh) presented us with three different things to consider: “What is above you — a watchful Eye, an attentive Ear, and all your deeds are recorded in a Book” (2:1). Is this a disagreement or do these warnings coalesce?

Rav Reuven suggests that Akavia Ben Mahalalel lived at the time when the Bais Hamikdosh stood proudly and Klal Yisroel was comfortable in their Land. The yeitzer hora at such a time often leads us into arrogance and complacency. The antidote is therefore to focus on sights and sounds that will lead us to modesty and humility. On the other hand, Rebbi lived after the churban under the Roman government, when there was a danger of depression and giving up our faith. Therefore, he reminded us that Hashem is watching us even in exile and in all conditions.

We should extrapolate from these teachings that it actually does not matter where we are, since Hashem is everywhere, watching over us. That attitude is a very wise one to take with us on our vacations, even when we don’t stay at home. Just knowing and truly believing that Hashem is with us can change the way we act and even think on vacation. This is certainly not a time to forget about Hashem, but to remember that He is always with us. Sometimes he saves us from depression, sometimes from arrogance, but he doesn’t just come “for the ride.” He is the Pilot, Driver and Ultimate Travel Agent. As Shlomo Hamelech continues (Koheles 3:14), Hashem is constantly doing things to cause us to fear Him and bring us to yiras Shomayim (see Droshas HaRamban to Koheles, Toras Chaim ed., page 13).

We will end with a story inside a story that we should take with us wherever we go. Rav Aryeh Levin, the great tzaddik of Yerushalayim and father-in-law of many gedolim, including Rav Yosef Shalom Elyashiv, was once visiting his rebbi, Rav Chaim Berlin, on an Erev Shabbos, when the latter was reciting Shir Hashirim. When Rav Chaim came to the posuk, “Behold you are beautiful, My beloved; behold you are beautiful, your eyes are doves” (1:15), he began to cry. Rav Aryeh asked his rebbi why he is crying, since this posuk is clearly describing the love between Hashem and Knesses Yisroel.

To respond, Rav Chaim, son of the Netziv, related the story inside this story.

“Once, when I was the rov of the city of Moscow, an important person asked to speak with me privately. He said that his wife had just given birth to a boy and he wanted me to circumcise him. I asked, ‘Why the need for such secrecy?’ and he answered that he occupied an important position in commerce and politically, but no one knew that he was Jewish. ‘I am asking the rov,’ he explained, ‘how to arrange for this procedure to be done secretly, because it could cost me my life.’ I told him to send away his household staff for the day and I will take care of it. The father served as sandek, there was no minyan, and I asked him to report to me on the baby’s recovery after the third day.

“When I visited the man’s home again after the third day, I asked him,

‘I see no signs of Yiddishkeit at all your home. You yourself have been hiding your Judaism, so why did you want so fiercely to make sure he has a bris milah?’ He answered, ‘I know that I have drifted far from my people, and I wonder if it will ever be possible for me to return. But for my son, there is hope. I want him to at least be a physical Jew so that someday he at least can reenter the fold.”

“When I get to that posuk in Shir Hashirim,’ Rav Chaim continued, ‘I think of that man and I understand why the words ‘my beloved is beautiful’ are repeated twice. This is, as Chazal teach, that the first is before the sin and the second is after. But why is he beautiful even after the sin? The answer is that Shlomo Hamelech is referencing the dove. Chazal teach that the dove never wanders so far from the nest that she will not be able to return. That is Klal Yisroel’s beauty as well—that even though we sometimes wander, we will always return. Rav Aryeh concluded that ‘perhaps this is the meaning of the question in the Mishnah, ‘From where have you come?’ Even if we only remember that we are a Yid, we can always return and build upon that.”

Let us build upon Rav Aryeh Levin, Rav Chaim Berlin, Akavia Ben Mahalalel and Rav Reuven Feinstein. If possible, let us not wander far at all. But if we must, like the dove, let’s not forget where our nest really is. Then we won’t get lost and we’ll be able to fly back into Hashem’s waiting arms.

A Week of Insanity

We have been through a week of madness here in Eretz Yisroel. On the front lines, the IDF suffered more fatalities, while the domestic battle between the Torah world and the government took another painful turn: Last week, a protest outside the home of Justice Noam Sohlberg turned violent and led to a massive wave of arrests. Of course, no one denies that violence is deplorable. For some reason, though, when leftists protested outside the homes of government ministers and burned garbage dumpsters outside the prime minister’s residence, no one seemed to have a problem with it, but the same type of behavior triggered sharp condemnations when it targeted a justice of the Supreme Court.

Meanwhile, the election for the next state comptroller generated its fair share of drama as well. In the first round of voting, retired Supreme Court justice Yosef Elron received 60 votes while attorney Michael Rabello received 57. Since Elron fell short of the threshold of 61 votes, it was necessary for another round of voting to take place. This time, Rabello won the election with 61 votes. This, of course, was a win for Netanyahu precisely at a time when his opponents are trying to depict him as a lame duck.

Shooting Spree Ends in Tragedy

No overview of this past week’s news would be complete without mentioning a couple of events at the beginning of the week. First, the terror attack on Sunday has shown us once again that our survival in Eretz Yisroel is predicated on miracles. Unfortunately, it is far too easy for bloodthirsty terrorists to murder a Jew in Eretz Yisroel. In this case, an Arab resident of Taibeh (i.e., an Israeli citizen) left his home in a car with a yellow license plate (again, marking him as an Israeli citizen) and headed to the gas station near the communities of Tzur Yigal and Kochav Yair, where he opened fire on innocent passersby, wounding two people. The terrorist moved on to the community of Tzur Natan and opened fire on civilians again. His next step was to fire on a car, killing the driver, which was followed by a gun battle at the entrance to the community of Salit. The murder victim was 55-year-old Chaim Kalomiti, a resident of Tzur Natan and an officer in the IDF. And this leads to a chilling thought: Who knows how many more murderers are living among the Arab citizens of Israel?

My second observation concerns the men who were arrested for participating in the violent riots at the home of Justice Noam Sohlberg; the court recently extended the detention of 52 of those suspects. Without commenting on the violence itself, let me say simply that the mass arrest was clearly collective punishment. Perhaps there were a few people among those 52 whom the police and the judge have the right to imprison, but why are so many men being kept behind bars? Is it simply that the police do not know exactly which of them are culpable?

Finally, there is another noteworthy development in the draft crisis: The Basic Law: Torah Study might be approved this week, in response to a demand from Aryeh Deri (who visited the bochurim being held in military prison on Sunday) and Degel HaTorah. This law might be the solution to the aggression of the Supreme Court; the judges have based their own decisions on the Basic Law: Equality, which they contend makes draft exemptions for lomdei Torah unconstitutional. Another Basic Law would carry the same legal weight, and the hope is that its stipulation about the importance of Torah study as a service to the nation will restore the legal validity of the draft exemptions. Bli neder, I will report to you on any further developments.

The Attorney General’s Obsession

The rest of the country has its attention focused on the borders and the White House, but Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara has her own agenda. Her behavior, in my view, can no longer be classified as a function of legal concerns or even political maneuvering; instead, it demands full psychiatric assessment. Her obsession has exceeded all reasonable bounds and has crossed every red line. Let us put aside her habitual stance against the government (keeping in mind that she is supposed to be the legal advisor to the government, not against the government) and her passion to oppose everything done by the government and especially the prime minister, including the appointments of new officials. Instead, let us focus solely on her war against lomdei Torah, in which she has actually demonstrated originality and single-minded obsession that borders on madness. While it’s true that the judges are steering her in this direction, she is clearly taking the matter much further than they are. Last week, I mentioned that yeshiva bochurim have become afraid even to walk in the street. At this point, not only are the arrests continuing but the army is talking about actively broadening them.

The attorney general recently announced yet another economic blow to yeshivos and kollelim: As part of her legal battle to prevent funding from reaching lomdei Torah who are subject to the draft, she decided to cancel the Section 46 status of any institution attended by draft evaders. Section 46 is a clause in the tax ordinance that makes it possible to receive tax refunds in exchange for donations to approved institutions. To receive this status, an institution must file a request with the Finance Ministry, where the specifics of its operations are examined. If the institution meets all the legal criteria, the application is transferred to the Knesset Finance Committee for approval. The attorney general’s decision therefore means that donations to yeshivos will no longer be eligible for tax credits. Of course, she conveniently ignores the fact that the same yeshivos also serve students who are not classified as draft evaders. Why should the government prevent yeshivos from receiving donations when at least some of their talmidim are not required to enlist? This is a fundamental flaw in her decision, but the attorney general is blithely unconcerned about it. In any event, the majority of donations for yeshivos come from Jews in other countries, where the donors receive tax credits from their own governments instead, so the impact of this blow might not be as severe as she hoped.

The attorney general’s move came in response to an appeal to the court from the Reform movement, in which the petitioners argued, “Yeshivos that have become places of refuge for tens of thousands of draft dodgers, who have chosen at a time of crisis to ignore the nation’s needs and to refuse to participate in the defense of the state, should not be able to allow their donors to benefit from tax credits worth tens of millions of shekels.” Baharav-Miara made absolutely no effort to defend the government in her response to the court; instead, she sided with the petitioners and even published her decision on the subject before the judges could even debate it. As I said, she is even more extreme than the Supreme court.

But that wasn’t the end of the matter. The attorney general discovered that it would be very complicated to determine which institutions should be subject to her decree eliminating their Section 46 status on account of the draft. As a result, she decided that for the time being, until the matter is clarified, no organization or institution will receive Section 46 approval. She therefore ordered the Treasury to freeze the approval process for every institution and to refrain from sending the list of organizations to the Finance Committee. Of course, this evoked an uproar that extended beyond the chareidi community. This time, the attorney general had caused damage to secular organizations as well, and a torrent of outrage emerged from the secular community. At the same time, petitions were filed with the Supreme Court against the sweeping ban, and the Igud Bnei Yeshivos filed a petition on behalf of the yeshivos as well. I am not sure what argument they used to claim that the decision was illegal regarding Torah institutions; perhaps it was the fact, as I mentioned, that yeshivos also cater to students who are not subject to the draft.

Once again, the wave of fury against the attorney general was ferocious, but she seemed unfazed by it. She is simply obsessed with persecuting bnei Torah. Just as an angry person is incapable of listening to others who try to reason with him, the same is evidently true of a person who is blinded by hatred. The chairman of the Knesset Finance Committee, MK Chanoch Dov Milwidsky (Likud), minced no words when he announced, “The attorney general is preventing all nonprofit organizations in Israel from receiving Section 46 status because of her persecution and hatred for the chareidi community.”

Yungeleit Excluded from Subsidized Housing Lottery

While the judges on the Supreme Court push for increasing sanctions against bnei Torah and the attorney general continues issuing draconian decrees, some people seem to be observing these events with equanimity. The real-life impact of these decisions isn’t immediately evident to everyone, and for some people, the attorney general’s moves seem to be theoretical and removed from reality. But the problems and damage are very real. These decisions, when translated into action, have a tangible impact on every kollel yungerman and every yeshiva bochur. The most serious measure that has been taken, of course, is the attorney general’s decision to halt government funding for yeshivos and kollelim. This led directly to the establishment of the Keren HaTorah fund, an absolutely correct response to an unjust situation. Another major cause of harm is the decision to revoke government subsidies for children in day care whose fathers learn in kollel, especially the children of draft evaders. This has caused genuine financial damage to tens of thousands of yungeleit. The decision to revoke property tax discounts for draft evaders has likewise been deeply harmful; until that decision was made, the average kollel yungerman paid only 10 or 20 percent of the municipal property tax on his apartment, and yungeleit will now be hit with much higher bills.

But all this was apparently not satisfactory for the judges, as they also decided to cancel the public transportation discounts and other benefits previously received by bnei Torah. One of those benefits is the ability to participate in programs run by the Ministry of Housing to assist young couples purchasing their first homes. Two weeks ago, the Israel Lands Authority announced that it had approved a dramatic change in the lottery program for discounted housing in conjunction with Chaim Katz, who is filling in for Yitzchok Goldknopf as minister of housing in the wake of the latter’s resignation. According to the latest decision, 50 percent of the housing units offered at a discount in the upcoming lottery will be offered only to soldiers in the IDF reserves, with priority given to combat soldiers, and the remaining 50 percent of the apartments will be offered to the general public provided that they have regulated their draft status. “This is a very significant step that was taken in accordance with a directive of the attorney general,” the statement added, “according to which it is necessary to immediately implement an outline that will strengthen the preference for active reserve soldiers.”

The decision states that anyone subject to the draft who hasn’t regulated his status with the IDF will not be eligible to participate in discounted housing programs. In practice, this means that most chareidim will be filtered out of the process before they can even reach the point of signing up for a lottery. The revised program requires all applicants to sign affidavits confirming that they have settled their draft status. If a participant wins the lottery and then his affidavit is found to be false—which would be the case for any chareidi man who learns in kollel—he will lose his right to receive a discount. What will happen to the apartments in chareidi communities, where no secular Israelis will be interested in participating in the lotteries? The answer to this question is unclear, but the Israel Lands Authority has taken the unequivocal stance that chareidim are to be left out. And while this evoked widespread fury, there is very little that can be done about it.

Knesset to Discuss Discrimination Against Yungeleit

A few days after the Israel Lands Authority announced the new rules, the following notice was circulated: “Registration for the 11th lottery of the ‘Apartment at a Discount’ program of the Ministry of Housing and Construction and the Israel Lands Authority will open today [last Monday] and will include dozens of lotteries in 19 cities and settlements throughout the country for a total of 7,922 residential units. According to the new regulations, the members of the chareidi community, kollel students, and yeshiva graduates are not entitled to participate in the lottery. The settlements participating in the lottery include Rishon Letzion, Rechovot, Mazkeret Batya, Ashdod, Beit Dagan, Kfar Manda, Kfar Saba, Maale Adumim, and Nahariya, among others. Registration for the lottery will close on Monday, June 22, 2026. As in previous lotteries, all eligible participants may register in only three cities, for all the lotteries taking place in each. The exact date of registration during the registration period has no significance.”

The infuriating statement continues, “Following the Supreme Court ruling, eligibility to participate in the lottery is contingent on the fact that, according to IDF data, the individual or either spouse is not defined as someone subject to conscription who has not regulated his or her status. We will note that this eligibility will be determined after registration closes, by synchronizing the data transferred from the Ministry of Defense to the Ministry of Housing and Construction.”

In other words, to put it bluntly, chareidim should consider themselves out of the running, even in cities that are supposedly chareidi. Minister Chaim Katz declared with satisfaction, “The Apartment at a Discount lottery is getting underway, with thousands of apartments designated for the lottery and with preference given to reserve servicemen and combat soldiers. Those who left their homes, their families, and their jobs to serve the state will now get something back for their efforts. We will continue removing barriers and advancing real estate marketing and additional lotteries to increase the supply of housing and to make residential solutions accessible to the younger generation.”

There was nothing for the chareidim to do in response other than shout and protest. Many members of the Knesset objected vehemently to this malicious exclusion. Meir Porush filed a motion for the Knesset agenda pointing out that the measure was discriminatory, since kollel yungeleit were deemed ineligible for the program but draft evaders from other sectors weren’t excluded. Porush enlisted the support of six other members of the Knesset: Simcha Rothman (Religious Zionism), Tally Gottliv (Likud), Avi Maoz (Noam), Mishel Buskila (United Right), Moshe Abutbul (Shas), and Tzvika Fogel (Otzma Yehudit). The group wrote to the Knesset speaker, “An examination of the reality on the ground paints a serious picture of a double standard, which constitutes blatant, intentional discrimination against the chareidi community. While yungeleit who spend their days on Torah study are excluded from the plan and denied the basic right to a roof over their heads, other sectors of the Israeli populace who do not serve were not deprived of this eligibility, and they continue to enjoy full access to lotteries and the right to apartments at a discount. This policy creates an illegitimate distinction between citizens based on cultural and sectoral affiliations. The denial of housing solutions to the chareidi public, which is already facing a severe, unprecedented housing crisis, under the false pretext of rewarding those who serve—at a time when other sectors are excluded from these rules—is an intolerable social and economic injustice.”

The proposal was approved, and a discussion will be held in the Knesset. But will that solve the problem? Will a debate in the Knesset actually put an end to this? Allow me to speculate that it will not have such an effect. The outraged Knesset members will blow off steam and create headlines, but that is all. It is very difficult, if not impossible, to defeat the justices of the Supreme Court and the attorney general.

New Laws Keep Coming as Knesset’s Term Winds Down

The 25th Knesset is approaching the end of its days, yet the legislators continue piling new bills on the Knesset table with the energy of youth, as if we were at the beginning of a new term. Before Pesach, Meir Porush introduced a law calling for Israeli sovereignty to be extended over certain parts of Yehuda and Shomron; at the same time, the chareidim opposed a similar bill concerning Beitar Illit that was submitted by Yisroel Beiteinu. Porush’s bill calls for Israeli sovereignty to be applied to Ariel, Beitar Illit, Modiin Illit, and Maale Adumim. He does not mention that his bill was copied from a different MK; the bill bears his name alone. Porush is also the sole author of another newly submitted bill, which calls for inmates in prison to be provided with all their religious needs. The original version of this bill, which came from Degel HaTorah and relates to the religious needs of all prison inmates, was the initiative of then-MK Eliyohu Bruchi, who was outraged when the Shin Bet denied a chareidi detainee access to a Gemara. Meanwhile, MK Yitzchok Goldknopf submitted a bill calling for the Value Added Tax to be reduced to 17 percent, a proposal that received the signatures of 16 MKs from all parties except Shas. But none of these bills stands a chance of being passed into law.

I won’t bother with an exhaustive list of all the bills that were placed on the Knesset table, even though some of them are fairly interesting, but I must still mention a few. Tzvi Sukkot is interested in reducing the noise of the muezzin and has replicated a bill authored by Tzvika Fogel for that purpose. Ram Ben-Barak introduced a law regulating the training of dogs; it would be interesting to find out if this is somehow due to his prior experience as deputy director of the Mossad, which regularly uses canines in its work. Meir Cohen has proposed denying government benefits to anyone who hasn’t fulfilled the obligation to serve in the army, and Eli Dalal copied a law authored by Nachman Shai in the 19th Knesset, which calls for a non-Jewish soldier killed in the line of duty to be buried in the same cemetery as Jewish soldiers. This touches a raw nerve, and Dalal writes that about 20 percent of the soldiers in the IDF are estimated to have immigrated to Israel under the Law of Return—in other words, they are not Jewish. On that note, here is a telling anecdote: Many years ago, President Ezer Weizmann visited the immigrant family of a soldier in the IDF who was killed in action. He praised the parents for their Zionist ideals, and they replied, “What are you talking about? We came to Israel because we were starving in Ukraine.”

“But what about the dangers of serving in the army?” he asked.

They replied, “The probability of dying in Ukraine in a fight between drunken soldiers is much higher than the odds of dying in the Israeli army.”

Let’s round out this list of newly proposed laws with two original bills submitted by Moshe Abutbul. First, there is a proposal to require devices testing a person’s alcohol level to be installed in stores where liquor is sold, so that patrons can easily check to determine whether they are permitted to drive. This is an interesting idea, and it is Abutbul’s brainchild; he did not copy the law from anyone else. He also came up with another bill, which would require facilities where blood tests are performed to be equipped with devices to help the staff locate veins. “I have personally seen babies, and even adults, suffering when nurses cannot find veins to draw blood from them,” he explained.

With that, let us wish the members of the Knesset a pleasant vacation as the country’s legislature adjourns for the election campaign. We will surely be reunited with some of them in the 26th Knesset, but definitely not with all of them.

Judicial Ombudsman Slams Court’s Chillul Shabbos

After Pesach, I reported on an incident in which three members of the Supreme Court—Justices Amit, Yechiel Kasher, and Khaled Khabub, the Arab judge—held a hearing on Shabbos to discuss a petition against the Home Front Command’s restrictions on leftist protestors. Although the hearing was conducted by telephone rather than in person, many were outraged that the court met to conduct its business on Shabbos. The judges claimed that they were dealing with a situation of pikuach nefesh, since the protest was scheduled for motzoei Shabbos. Of course, the judges ruled in favor of the protestors and against the police and the state.

After a firestorm of outrage and condemnation erupted in the wake of that Shabbos, the judges realized that they were in trouble and blamed the Home Front Command and the police for “forcing” them to meet on Shabbos, claiming that their responses to the petition hadn’t been sent until after Shabbos began and they were left with no choice. That would have been a shaky excuse even if it were true, but the police quickly released their own statement disputing the judges’ version of events and asserting that their response had been delivered in advance of Shabbos.

This is an old story, but it is merely the background to the latest development. There is a government entity in Israel known as the Office of the Ombudsman of the Judiciary, which is headed by a retired judge named Asher Kula. This office, which provides oversight for the courts, received complaints about the judges’ decision to meet on Shabbos, and Kula released a decision this week condemning them for the violation of Shabbos. Under the circumstances, he wrote, there was no reason for intensive judicial activity to take place on Shabbos, including demands for material to be submitted to the court and the issuing of operative injunctions. Kula declared that the actions of the panel of justices harmed the judicial process and the public trust in the court system. Had the court refrained from meeting on Shabbos, the complainants emphasized, the result would have been simply the postponement of the protest at most; there was also a chance that it would have been held under more limited conditions. Contrary to the judges’ claims, they asserted, there would have been no immediate danger to human life. One of the complainants was MK Yinon Azulai, who argued that the judges had violated the Hours of Work and Rest Law and had betrayed the public’s trust.

The three judges, who were ordered to respond to Justice Kula about the complaints, tried to dismiss the matter outright, claiming that it was a matter of judicial discretion that wasn’t subject to the ombudsman’s oversight. They also responded to the substance of the complaints, arguing that there was an urgent need to give direction to the police, the protestors, and the organizers of the protests, since it was clear that the demonstrations were going to take place on motzoei Shabbos in any event. Given the threat of missile fire, the judges said, an immediate response was necessary.

Kula rejected the judges’ claims that he lacked the authority to discuss the complaints. In his decision, he wrote that the judges of the Supreme Court are expected “to cloak themselves both in their Jewish robes and in their democratic robes” and that Shabbos should be their “guiding light and the cornerstone of their conduct.” Kula also pointed out that the petition had been submitted with very little time remaining before the planned protest. “The submission of a petition immediately before the holiday of Pesach and the desire to hold a demonstration on the following motzoei Shabbos do not constitute sufficient grounds for the judicial system to violate Shabbos,” he asserted. Kula concluded that the complaints were justified and quoted the timeless words of Rav Avrohom Ibn Ezra, “When I observe Shabbos, Hashem will protect me.” Legal experts observed that Kula’s response was one of the most sharply worded decisions issued in recent years regarding the behavior of the Supreme Court justices.

On an unrelated note, let me add another comment about the Supreme Court: A report was published on the court system’s expenditures, and some people found its contents most amusing. On February 18, for instance, the Supreme Court signed a contract worth almost 40,000 shekels for a fitness coach for the judges of the court. The coffee industry also cashed in; on March 1, a contract for over 127,000 shekels was signed for the Supreme Court’s coffee station for the year 2026. In addition, the judges spent over 2,000 shekels on the purchase of coffee capsules for the office of the court’s director, and close to 2500 shekels on coffee, tea, and sugar for the court in general.

Violent Arabs to Pay Over a Million Dollars

The courts recently ordered Arab defendants accused of assaulting Jews in three separate instances to pay monetary damages to their victims. The Arabs appear to be less deterred by the threat of imprisonment and more pained at the thought of shelling out money. In all three cases, the Jewish victims had given up on receiving anything from the courts, where it seems that the wheels of justice do not turn at all, but the legal aid organization Chonenu insisted on continuing the judicial proceedings. In one case, a judge required an Arab who assaulted Jews in the Old City of Yerushalayim five years ago to pay 15,000 shekels in damages to the victims. This was a settlement agreement; the victims had originally sued for much larger sums. Advocate Bleicher, representing the plaintiffs, summed up the case as follows: “The plaintiffs were walking through the Old City toward the Kosel, when the defendant, who was coming from the opposite direction, spotted them and decided to attack them solely because they were Jewish. When the plaintiffs drew near the defendant, he veered toward them and deliberately collided forcefully with the shoulder of one of the plaintiffs. The victim asked, ‘What just happened?’ and in response, the defendant shoved him forcefully while shouting and displaying aggression. An altercation developed between them, and the defendant punched the victim with his fists and kicked him…. We consider it very important to exact a price from violent agitators who attempt to harm the Jewish presence in the heart of the capital city of Israel. Alongside the criminal proceedings, there is great importance to civil proceedings, in which we often manage to exact monetary penalties from the rioters and thus to increase deterrence and add to the security of the citizens of Israel.”

In the second case, the judge ruled that three rioters who had attacked a Jew in Yerushalayim were required to compensate him with the sum of 3,340,000 shekels—over a million dollars. (Incidentally, you are probably aware that the dollar has fallen to an extreme low. When you donate a dollar to Israel today, it yields less than three shekels!) The assault took place about ten years ago in the Old City of Yerushalayim, where Professor Avrohom Ehrlich was participating in a tour of the Old City in a course for tour guides arranged by the Ministry of Tourism and Haifa University. Ehrlich was riding an electric bicycle, and since the group was passing through areas with stairs, he separated from them and rode through the streets alone. At one point, Ehrlich arrived at a restaurant owned by Arabs and parked his bicycle outside the restaurant. The Arab employees of the restaurant arrived on the scene and began shoving him and ordering him to stop filming them; one of the assailants then seized his cell phone and broke the screen. Ehrlich managed to escape from his attackers but then returned to the area to retrieve his bicycle, and when he entered the restaurant, one of the assailants pounced on him again and began beating him with a stick, while other men joined them, some of them armed with baseball bats, and began striking his head and his entire body. The Arabs then dragged him into an alleyway while continuing to beat him. After a long time, Ehrlich finally managed to escape, but while he was rushing through the street and calling for help, other Arab passersby took the opportunity to attack him as well.

Ehrlich called the police, and the responding officers helped him collect his bicycle and identify the attackers. The incident left Ehrlich with injuries to his forehead, leg, and arm, and he suffered from severe post-trauma and was unable to return to work. The three assailants were convicted in a criminal trial, given suspended prison sentences, and ordered to pay damages to Ehrlich. Chaim Bleicher of Chonenu, who represented Ehrlich, welcomed the court’s decision. “In the past, there were those who believed that they could assault Jews with impunity. We want to completely eradicate those thoughts from our enemies’ minds. We will continue fighting with the weapons we possess to stamp out this violence and to ensure that anyone who commits an assault will pay the full price.”

Eighty Years Since the Passing of Rav Moshe Blau

We are currently marking the passage of 80 years since the passing of Rav Moshe Blau, who was the leader of the Eidah Chareidis in Yerushalayim and the head of Agudas Yisroel in Yerushalayim. Those two movements are separate today and do not always see eye to eye, but there was a time in the past when they were united. Rav Blau was a leader in the political and communal sense. He was also the brother of Rav Amram Blau, who later established Neturei Karta, which waged an ideological battle against Agudas Yisroel, especially with regard to the approach to Zionism. Rav Moshe Blau passed away in Sivan 5706/June 1946.

The spiritual leader of Agudas Yisroel was Rav Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld, who passed away 14 years earlier, in Adar 5692/March 1932. Rav Yosef Chaim arrived in Eretz Yisroel in the year 5633/1873 and settled in the Old City of Yerushalayim. He never set foot outside the boundaries of Eretz Yisroel again, except on one occasion when he met with the king of Jordan. He, too, took a strong stance against Zionism and the concept of a Jewish state, but he was considered the leader of Agudas Yisroel in Yerushalayim. In 1919, Rav Kook was chosen to serve as the chief rabbi of Yerushalayim, but his appointment was not recognized by Rav Sonnenfeld or Rav Diskin, who waged a campaign against the Chief Rabbinate.

When Rav Sonnenfeld passed away, there was great fear in Yerushalayim that Rav Kook’s followers would seize control of the rabbinate of Yerushalayim and take over Rav Sonnenfeld’s position in the vacuum left by his passing. One of the community’s strongholds was the Diskin orphanage, and some of Rav Kook’s followers wrote to the institution’s supporters in America, suggesting that the time had come to appoint Rav Kook as the president of the institution. This was clearly part of a broader scheme to seize power, and this was when Rav Moshe Blau leapt into action. On behalf of the gedolei Yisroel, Rav Blau was asked to embark on a mission abroad to find a new rabbinic leader for Yerushalayim, someone in the mold of Rav Sonnenfeld, who would lead the chareidi community of Yerushalayim (as opposed to the religious Zionist community) without fear.

The newspaper Hamevaser, which was founded in January 2009 by Rabbi Menachem Porush, included a special supplement titled Manhig Labirah marking Rav Moshe Blau’s eightieth yahrtzeit and featuring a fascinating overview of his quest to find a new rov for Yerushalayim. We know that after several months of searching and meeting with various rabbonim, the position was filled by Rav Yosef Tzvi Dushinsky, a talmid of the Shevet Sofer of Pressburg. The community of zealots had debated between Rav Dushinsky and Rav Yoel of Satmar as possible candidates to replace Rav Sonnenfeld, while the Yerushalmi leadership had considered a number of distinguished rabbonim for the role. Hamevaser owes its wealth of historical information to the archives of Agudas Yisroel in Yerushalayim, which were established by Rabbi Menachem Porush, who was known for his penchant to hold on to every scrap of documentation that came his way.

Rav Moshe Blau’s quest for a rov for Yerushalayim took him to many cities in Europe, including Frankfurt, Riga, Dvinsk, Vilna, Warsaw, Gur, Pressburg, and Vienna. He left Eretz Yisroel with a list of rabbonim who seemed likely to meet the criteria for the position, and he planned to meet with all of them. At every step of his mission, he consulted with two of the generation’s leading gedolim: Rav Chaim Ozer Grodzensky in Vilna and the Imrei Emes in Warsaw. He shared his impressions of the rabbonim he had met with each of these gedolim. The supplement to Hamevaser contains fascinating excerpts from Rav Moshe Blau’s diary describing these encounters. You may be astonished to learn the identities of the rabbonim he considered approaching for the position, most of whom he met in person: Rav Elchonon Wasserman, the Rogatchover Gaon, Rav Isser Zalman Meltzer, Rav Meir Shapiro, Rav Menachem Ziemba, Rav Boruch Ber Leibowitz, Rav Moshe Mordechai Epstein, Rav Shimon Shkop, and Rav Pesach of Kobrin, among others. It is fascinating to read Rav Blau’s accounts of their reactions; every one of the rabbonim explained why he was not interested in the position or considered himself unsuited to it. Some of them said that they would accept a role as a rov but not as a president of institutions. One candidate told Rav Blau that he was not capable of paskening on dinei Torah. Rav Blau’s diary also describes Rav Chaim Ozer Grodzinsky’s opinion regarding each of the candidates. But as above, the position was ultimately given to Rav Dushinsky.

The Chazon Ish Turns Down the Post

There are many fascinating stories regarding Rav Moshe Blau’s quest that I would like to share with you, but let us settle for discussing his account of his meeting in Vilna with a humble man named Rav Avrohom Yeshayahu Karelitz, who would later become known as the Chazon Ish, the leader of chareidi Jewry in Eretz Yisroel. Rav Blau relates, “Rav Chaim Ozer instructed me to visit the gaon Rav Avrohom Yeshayahu Karelitz in Vilna, whom he described as ‘a genius and tzaddik who despises profit and shares the traits of our late rov.’ I recognized that he [Rav Chaim Ozer] felt that if [the Chazon Ish] was told that the position was offered to him as a last resort, there was a chance that he would accept the rabbonus in Yerushalayim. However, he merely hinted to this and didn’t say it outright.”

Rav Blau’s report continues, “This brilliant talmid chochom is the anonymous author of the sefer Chazon Ish. I did as I was asked and met with him, and he certainly made an exceptional impression. He resides in a dark, narrow room and lives in terrible poverty. His sole occupation is learning Torah; he toils over it without interruption and certainly creates an impression of being an alert and sagacious person with outstanding character traits. He, too, told me clearly that the rov of Riga would not come. He felt that I should not be looking for a famous authority, in the sense that ‘the get and the hand come together’ [a Talmudic principle indicating, in this case, that the rov’s prestige would come along with his appointment rather than preceding it]. I left his cramped room with the impression that even though we haven’t yet reached the ideal state in which a person who has had no involvement in worldly affairs can be appointed as a rov, nevertheless, in my opinion he would be an outstanding candidate for the position of head of the bais din, and he would be satisfied with very little in the way of material accommodations. The young people in Vilna speak about him with incredible admiration, referring to him as ‘the second Vilna Gaon.’ I told them to send one of the volumes of Chazon Ish to Yerushalayim; perhaps it has already been received. I would like to know what sort of impression it made on our lomdim.”

As Rav Chaim Ozer had anticipated, the Chazon Ish turned down the offer of a position in Yerushalayim. Rav Moshe Blau reports on the response and adds, “I spoke to him about it explicitly, and he rejected the offer. He also made a stipulation that he would never have to preside over a din Torah and would only broker compromises. His associates, however, told me that if we pressed him strongly, they believed he might eventually agree. I will reveal further that I wrote to Rav Grodzensky about him and asked him to speak with the rov and to let me know the outcome, and I also corresponded with one of Rav Karelitz’s close associates, but I received no response from either of them. I also asked Mr. Rosenheim to ask Rav Chaim Ozer to let him know if there was any chance that Rav Karelitz would accept the position of av bais din.”

Shortly thereafter, Rav Blau received a letter from Rav Yaakov Rosenheim, who wrote, “Yesterday, I received a letter from Rav Chaim Ozer dated on the 13th of Tammuz, in which he informed me that he had spoken with Rav Avrohom Karelitz, who vehemently refused to accept the position of av bais din of Yerushalayim, which he felt does not suit him.”

To Hear and to Learn

The State of Israel is waging a relentless war against those who learn Torah. The greatest problem facing the Torah community is that there is no one to talk to; there is no one to whom they can explain the importance and significance of the Torah. We have always been taught that Zevulun receives ample reward for supporting Yissochor as he learns Torah; if that is the case, then Yissochor himself must surely earn an even greater reward. The average man on the street, however, does not have the ability to comprehend the priceless value of Torah, and that leads to the endless, burning hatred that they feel for bnei Torah. As I’ve mentioned in the past, Rav Chaim Kanievsky points out that in the brocha of ahavah rabbah, we daven to “understand and to be wise” before we ask Hashem to let us “hear, learn, and teach.” How can we understand something before we have even learned it? Rav Chaim explained that the brocha is referring to a different type of understanding—the comprehension of the value of Torah.

Someone once asked Rav Elyashiv where to insert a tefillah in the Shemoneh Esrei asking Hashem to help him have the desire to learn Torah. “What do you think is the right place for it?” Rav Elyashiv asked.

“In the brocha of Hashiveinu, where we ask Hashem to bring us back to His Torah,” the questioner suggested.

“No,” Rav Elyashiv replied. “This request belongs in Atah Chonein, the brocha in which we ask Hashem for intelligence. Because if a person lacks a desire to learn Torah, it shows a basic lack of intelligence or discernment!”

I attended a wedding in Yerushalayim where the priorities of the Torah were clearly on display. Rav Avrohom Betzalel was marrying off his son, a talmid in Yeshivas Bais Mattisyohu. The roshei yeshiva and talmidim of Bais Mattisyohu and its associated yeshivos were present, as were roshei yeshiva and yungeleit of the Mir yeshiva world, to which the chosson’s father belongs. You see, Avraham Betzalel, who served until recently as a Shas Knesset member, left the Knesset and returned to the benches of Mir.

The speaker of the Knesset was not present at this simcha, but leaders of the generation and those who truly uphold the world were. Among the guests were many prominent marbitzei Torah, including two Rishonim Letzion, Rav Shlomo Amar and Rav Dovid Yosef. Also in attendance was Rav Binyomin Finkel (“Rav Binyomin Hatzaddik”), who receives much admiration. I watched him patiently bless dozens, perhaps hundreds, of people who approached him. I also saw him approach Mendy Weiss, who was singing at the wedding. Naturally, I asked Weiss what the distinguished rov had said to him.

Seeming flustered, Weiss replied, “He said to me, ‘You are fortunate that you bring joy to other Jews.’”

Lessons from a Fake Barrier

Let me conclude the column with an amusing anecdote. My son recently came to the Knesset building to borrow my car. (Do not envy me; it is a 15-year-old Toyota, and there isn’t much reason to be impressed by it.) Moments after he drove it out of my parking spot, he called me and exclaimed, “There’s a barrier ahead of me! How do I get out of the lot?” I explained that I had forgotten to tell him that the barrier rises automatically when a car that wishes to exit approaches it, and I added that the same was true of the barrier just before the right turn toward the adjacent cemetery. (That cemetery, incidentally, is the burial site of the Zhviller Rebbe; I often see many people visiting the kever, since there seems to be some sort of segulah to visit it on a Monday, Thursday, and Monday in succession.)

We agreed that there was a mussar haskel to be derived from the barrier: A person should never give up. Even if he seems to be heading toward an impassable obstacle, he should continue doing everything in his power to make progress, and he can be assured that the barriers will be removed from his path.

That night, my son remarked to me that he had come across a similar concept in the Michtov Me’Eliyohu: Rav Dessler explains that spiritual growth takes place in stages, and when a person climbs to the end of a level, he discovers the next one before him. In a similar vein, he added, Rav Boruch Weisbecker used to say that a person receives an infusion of strength for further spiritual accomplishments only when he reaches what appears to be his limit. For instance, if a person is capable of learning for one hour and works hard to spend that hour learning, he will find at the end that he has been infused with enough energy for another hour. And if a person marshals all of his strength in an effort to understand a sugya, he will receive the enlightenment he needs to develop a new understanding of the topic.

In short, a person should always invest the maximum possible effort in every spiritual endeavor; as long as he makes every effort available to him, he can rest assured that the path to further growth will open before him, just as the barriers in the parking lot move out of the way as soon as a car draws near.

Driving through traffic the other day, I no­ticed a bumper sticker on the car ahead of me. This is what it said:

It is what it is

UNLESS YOU DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT.

Plenty of food for thought right there.

“It is what it is” implies a certain resignation or fatalism. Indeed, there are some aspects of life that we cannot control or even alter in the slight­est. But there are many other areas where we can and should step in and “do something about it.”

When Hashem created man, He gave him the ability to impact the world He created, in ways both large and small. Both public and private.

Imagine if Thomas Edison had never bothered to do the work necessary to uncover the physical properties of matter that led to the invention of electricity. If Alexander Graham Bell had not taken the trouble to invent the telephone, or Louis Pas­teur to figure out a method for pasteurizing milk. If Jonas Salk hadn’t discovered the polio vaccine… You get my drift.

Being a partner in Creation, so to speak, comes with enormous responsibility. Hakadosh Boruch Hu incorporated many secrets into His world, and it’s up to us to hunt for the answers. Not to do so would be to turn our backs on humanity.

It’s not only the physical world that we’re tasked to build. Emotionally and spiritually, we have our work cut out for us as well. There are three rela­tionships bred into the fabric of Creation, and we’re responsible to perfect all three. They are the relationship between man and Hashem, between man and his fellow men, and between man and himself.

Interestingly, these relationships are not monolithic. Rather, they are enmeshed and inter­dependent. Instead of picturing them as three pil­lars that stand on their own, imagine them woven together like strands of DNA in the classic double helix.

For example, how I learn to relate to others (specifically, my parents) when I’m young will later find reflection in how I relate to Hashem and to other people. And how I relate to myself mirrors and impacts my relationships with Hashem and my fellows. Let’s take a closer look and see how it works.

In this era of low self-esteem and hester ponim, suppose a parent is harsh and non-affectionate with his son. Would it be any wonder if the child of such a parent grew up fearing rather than lov­ing his heavenly Father? Or even, Heaven forbid, wanting to run away from Him? Children who are raised with warmth and reliability are far more easily able to access their own love for, and trust in, their Creator. They’ll be more open to other people, too.

Similarly, a person who isn’t com­fortable in her own skin won’t be comfortable with anyone else. Feel­ing angry at own deficiencies can lead to our lashing out in anger at others… after which we’re even more angry and disappointed with ourselves… which can lead to distancing ourselves from Hashem out of shame. In other words, every relationship is entangled with every other one. Everything impacts everything else.

It’s unrealistic to expect ourselves to be different with others than we are with ourselves, except in the short term if we’re very good actors. Who we are is who we are, whatever the context. It is our job to perfect ourselves and our re­lationships.

Who we are is who we are. It is what it is… unless we do something about it.

Giant Steps, Baby Steps

Every morning, in our davening, we refer to Hashem as matir assurim—the One who liberates those who are locked up. This can mean that He frees actual prisoners, as well as those whose limbs are locked up. But sometimes we’re locked up in a different way. We’re stuck in habits or patterns of behav­ior which aren’t good for us. Habits and patterns which hold us back from making the progress we need to make, to fulfill our mission of perfecting that tiny corner of the world that’s ours to perfect: ourselves.

The need to change negative patterns can be manifested in large things, such as marriage, parenthood or integrity in business. The big, important areas of life.

But big things are made up of many, many small things. Getting where we want to go calls for many, many baby steps. Each time we overcome a bad habit or stretch beyond our comfort zone, we take one such step. A small step can help us free ourselves from preconceived notions which may have been holding us back in larger ways as well. Let me give you a small example of what I mean. A trivial illustration that carries a big lesson.

Looking over my bank statement re­cently, I came across a payment I’d ap­parently made but had no idea what it was for. The statement’s reference re­garding the purchase was cryptic. What was this all about? The sum involved, while not huge, was also not inconsid­erable. It occurred to me that I could try to find out what I’d paid for.

Instantly, a reaction set in. First, I reminded myself that “I’m no good with money.” Financial matters had never been either a strong interest or a strong point with me. How in the world could I be expected to do a deep dive into my bank statement and emerge with a coherent answer? Impossible.

Apart from that, there was another longstanding message waiting for me to haul it out: “I’m no good with tech­nology.” In this era of online banking, how was I supposed to untangle this digital enigma? Again, impossible.

And even if it wasn’t strictly im­possible, I argued with myself, it also wasn’t all that necessary. After all, b”H we weren’t talking about a sum I couldn’t afford to lose. Anyway, even if I eventually managed to figure out who I’d paid that sum to, there was little likelihood that they’d give it back. No point wasting time and energy, right?

And even if I could successfully han­dle the problem, I was disinclined to put in the work. There were so many more interesting things to do than dig into some obscure item in my bank statement…

And so, the forces were marshalled against me. Preconceived notions (“I’m not good with money” “I’m not good with technology”), justifications for non-action (“It’s not such a big sum” “I’ll never get the money back anyway”), and sheer inertia, disinter­est or plain old laziness all conspired to keep me stuck in my groove.

Somehow, I overcame all of these forces and bestirred myself to do a bit of detective work. When it came to technology, my husband always ad­vised, “Just play around and you’ll fig­ure it out.” I decided to play around on my computer and try to get to the bot­tom of that mysterious payment.

In the end, it was not so hard at all. With a quick google search and a dashed-off email, I not only tracked down the payee but even had the satis­faction of seeing them refund the pay­ment. Success!

Not a very dramatic episode, I know. But every bit of self-improvement has its ramifications. I’d overcome my in­ner arguments, a faulty self-image, and my inertia to unlock and free my­self from a non-useful pattern. I’d tak­en a baby step in my relationship with myself.

Who knew if, the next time I found myself stuck in my other relationships, with people and with Hashem, I might not bestir myself in such a way again? And with larger and much more sig­nificant results?

The same formula fits them all. From the smallest things to the biggest ones, it is the way it is. Unless you do some­thing about it!

The 15-hour flare-up in tit-for-tat attacks between Israel and Iran was ended this past Monday thanks to President Donald Trump’s call to Israeli Prime Minister Binyomin Netanyahu, ordering him not to retaliate to Iran’s last salvo of missile strikes. As a result, Israel and its friends are more worried than ever, both about the terms of the deal Trump claims he is about to finalize with Iran to re-open the Strait of Hormuz and the negotiations that are supposed to finally put an end to Iran’s nuclear threat.

Iran started the latest round of reciprocal attacks by launching a missile barrage on northern Israel Sunday night, in response to Israel’s attack on the Beirut stronghold of Hezbollah, Iran’s Lebanese proxy. That, in turn, was Israel’s response to the resumption of Hezbollah’s missile attacks on the residents of northern Israel, who are tired of acting as defenseless targets for Hezbollah’s endless supply of lethal anti-tank rockets.

The outcome of the brief conflict, in which Israel was forced by Trump to back down twice, has further emboldened Iran’s hardline new leaders. They have been able to use Trump’s reluctance to allow Israel to attack Hezbollah strongholds in southern Beirut to drive a wedge between Trump and Netanyahu. By exploiting that division and using the issue of Hezbollah’s fate in Lebanon as a diversion, the Islamic regime appears to be emerging from the conflict with the U.S. and Israel weakened militarily and economically, but still in power and positioned to reconstitute its ballistic missile arsenal and rebuild its network of terrorist allies as it continues to drag out the nuclear negotiations with Trump.

Nevertheless, despite having been forced by Trump to scale back on their original Iran attack plans and ultimately stand down, permitting Iran’s final missile attack on Israel Monday to go unanswered, Prime Minister Netanyahu and his defense minister, Israel Katz, insist that the IDF’s expanded operations against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon are continuing. They also claim that Israel’s abbreviated air strike against Iran on Sunday has helped to re-establish Israel’s military deterrent against fresh attacks by its enemies.

Nevertheless, the new hardline leaders of Iran’s Islamic regime are still claiming the exclusive right to determine who may pass through the Strait of Hormuz. They are also claiming the right to dictate the extent of Israeli retaliation against its reinvigorated Hezbollah ally in Lebanon for the renewal of missile strikes on the civilian population of northern Israel, and the highly effective use of advanced drone technology to inflict casualties on the IDF forces in southern Lebanon.

Reigniting a Long-Simmering Conflict Inside Lebanon

In passing judgment on who was to blame for starting this latest flare-up in the long-simmering conflict, a Wall Street Journal editorial pointed to Hezbollah’s clear rejection of President Trump’s latest Lebanon ceasefire last week, in which he declared that Israel would refrain from attacking Hezbollah’s Beirut stronghold in exchange for Hezbollah’s agreement to stop firing missiles at towns in northern Israel.

Early on Sunday, Hezbollah launched another such barrage while Iran warned that it would also launch strikes at Israel if it tried to retaliate against Hezbollah in Beirut, which it clearly had a right to do under both the terms of Trump’s latest Lebanon ceasefire deal and Israel’s basic obligation to protect the safety of its citizens in their own homes. In that respect, Israel’s retaliatory single strike against Hezbollah Sunday night was both necessary and inevitable.

The editorial also criticized Trump for saying that Israel should not strike back because “The Iranian [missile] strikes didn’t hurt anybody,” effectively penalizing Israel for the success of Israeli air defenses.

Trump then said, “I am going to call Bibi [Netanyahu] right now and tell him not to retaliate [because] each of them had their fun. Israel had its strike, and Iran had its strike. We don’t need another one.”

The editorial then pointed out that Trump was ignoring the fact that Israel hadn’t attacked Iran at all. It was striking Hezbollah for attacking northern Israel. Furthermore, by insisting that Trump forbid the Israeli strike, Iran was effectively calling on him to deny Israel’s right to defend itself.

Trump Threatened to Abandon Israel to Its Enemies

In addition, the Wall Street Journal editorial noted that Trump reinforced the impression of a growing rift between him and Israel’s prime minister when he later told a reporter, “I said, ‘Bibi, you better be careful, or you will be on your own very soon.’”

The impression that Israel and the U.S. are no longer proceeding against Iran and its terrorist allies in lockstep with one another was further strengthened by Vice President JD Vance’s comments in an interview with Fox News in which he stated that the emerging peace deal between the U.S. and Iran would be a “home run for the American people,” whether Israel liked it or not.

Vance also said that while the U.S. and Israel “have a lot of shared interests, we also have some situations [such as the effort by Israel to neutralize the threat from Hezbollah in Lebanon] where our interests diverge.”

Vance then said explicitly that “I think where the president has been very clear here is that while Israel obviously has some [other] objectives [of its own], the United States’ main objective in Iran is to ensure that Iran does not have a nuclear weapon.” In other words, Vance was implying that anything that might interfere with reaching the objective of closing the deal with Iran, such as permitting Israel’s war against Hezbollah to continue in Beirut, must be put aside.

The vice president then added, “Over the last year and a half, we’ve created the space necessary where the president believes — and I think that he’s right — that we can get the long-term settlement to Iran’s nuclear deal.

Israel Will Be Stuck With Trump’s New Iran Deal, Like It or Not

“Now, Israel may like that, they may not like that. But fundamentally, we think this [emerging deal with Iran] is in the best interest of the United States of America.”

Vance also argued that Trump’s new deal with Iran was better than Obama’s deal with Iran in 2015, which Trump walked away from in 2018, because the earlier deal lacked a “proper inspections regime to ensure the Iranians could never build a nuclear weapon.

“That is one of the big differences between what happened then and what the president of the United States would get to, assuming we are ultimately able to make a deal,” Vance explained. “We’re going to take the attitude of: ‘Accomplish the president’s mission, but verify over the long term that the Iranians are keeping their end of the bargain,’” the vice president added. “It’s a tall order, but it’s one that the president has put us in a good position to achieve.”

Vance concluded by declaring, “We are, of course, going to verify it, but if we get this deal, it’s going to be a home run win for the American people.”

Meanwhile, in an interview with the BBC, Trump denied that Netanyahu had defied him by launching Israel’s initial retaliatory attack on Iran Sunday night. Trump said: “No, no. That’s not what happened.”

He claimed that Iran’s missiles “had already gone,” and Israeli forces “were already on their way,” by the time Trump spoke with Netanyahu first spoke late on Sunday.

Why Netanyahu’s Independence Is Being Questioned

Trump then added, “If I tell him [Netanyahu] to do something, he does it,” Trump said. He then added, “All I said [to Netanyahu] was we have to use common sense, we’re close to signing a very powerful deal, a very good deal.”

The problem with that statement by Trump was that it further reinforced the already widespread impression that Netanyahu was incapable of standing up to the American president. That just added to the political pressure on Netanyahu to push back at Trump’s bullying, to show both his political critics and his worried supporters that he could.

For Prime Minister Netanyahu, a resumption of fighting with Iran offered clear advantages — at least in the short term.

Publicly resisting Trump’s demands, or at least making a show of doing so, will help Netanyahu in what promises to be a difficult bid to win re-election as prime minister in the upcoming Knesset election in the fall.

Iran Has Emerged the Winner in the Latest Round of Fighting

Israeli voters will also judge Netanyahu based upon the outcome of last weekend’s 15-hour shooting war between Israel and Iran, which was the third conflict between the two over the past year.

The first war was last June. It ended in 12 days with a clear victory for the U.S. and Israel when key parts of Iran’s nuclear infrastructure were destroyed by massive 15-ton bunker buster bombs dropped by American stealth B-2 warplanes.

The second war was started by the airstrike that decapitated Iran’s government and military on February 28, and ended with a draw in April, when Trump announced the ceasefires in Lebanon and Iran, with both Hezbollah and Iran continuing to fight.

The third took place over this past weekend. It ended with Iran victorious when Trump told Israel that it could not retaliate against the latest Iranian missile attack against it, and that Israel could not attack Hezbollah again in Beirut without his permission and would risk severe consequences by doing so.

It erupted due to a challenge by Iran’s hardline rulers to the ground rules that have governed the strategic realities that have dominated the situation since Trump took office.

Iran’s Three Biggest Recent Accomplishments

Iran has made three major points clear since the second round of fighting started with the joint U.S.-Israeli attack at the end of February:

1. They are willing to absorb far more punishment and keep fighting than anyone appreciated.
2. They have successfully driven a wedge between Trump and Netanyahu over Lebanon, which Trump really doesn’t care about much, but which is vital to Netanyahu politically because of the continued vulnerability of northern Israel to Hezbollah’s attacks.
3. Iran is successfully using all of these other issues, including the closing of the Strait of Hormuz, the bombing of Hezbollah in Beirut, and the attacks on its Gulf neighbors, to delay signing any deal with Trump in the hope that he will give in to their demands before November in an effort to salvage the midterm elections

The Current Israeli-Iran Conflict Timeline

On February 28, Israel and the United States launched Operation Roaring Lion, whose goals included the destruction of Iran’s missile and nuclear programs, and also the fall of the regime. Iran, as expected, resumed missile fire toward Israel, though at a much lower level. Hezbollah, which had stayed out during Operation Rising Lion, intervened this time following the assassination of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, and the IDF entered Lebanon for the second time in a year and a half.

Iran and Hezbollah Are Weakened but Not Yet Defeated

There is no dispute over the Israeli and American military achievements. Iran’s defense industries were indeed dealt a severe blow. Missile launches were far fewer than during Operation Rising Lion, and Hezbollah is not the same terror army it was before October 7, 2023. Iran’s enriched uranium is buried underground, and reaching it would require complex engineering work while Tehran remains under constant Israeli and American monitoring.

But since Operation Roaring Lion started, 34 Israeli civilians and 30 IDF soldiers have been killed, and there has been an enormous Israeli economic dislocation, property damage, and school closures without the Israeli government being able to turn its military achievements into diplomatic ones.

Two months after the ceasefire that ended an operation in which Iran was militarily defeated, it continues to block the Strait of Hormuz and resists signing any peace agreement that meets Trump’s terms.

The most recent episode of attacks and counterattacks, which began over the weekend and spilled into Monday, marked the first time Iran and Israel have targeted each other since a ceasefire brokered by Trump went into force in early April. The weekend conflict was triggered by an Israeli air strike on Hezbollah targets in Beirut in retaliation for the resumption of Hezbollah missile and drone attacks on northern Israel.

It began a few days after Hezbollah rejected a new ceasefire agreement brokered by the U.S. during talks in Washington between Israeli and Lebanese government leaders designed to lead to a formal Israel-Lebanon peace treaty. That announcement of the new ceasefire in Lebanon followed a tough phone call in which Trump later admitted that he called Netanyahu “crazy,” among other things, for seeking to extend the IDF’s war against Hezbollah to Beirut, and which Iran has sought to use as an excuse to further delay signing off on the peace agreement that Trump wants so badly.

When Hezbollah fired off another volley of rockets at northern Israel on Sunday, Netanyahu did not hesitate to respond to the challenge by ordering an IDF air strike on the Dahiyeh, the Hezbollah stronghold on the southern outskirts of Beirut.

Later Sunday, Iran opened fire directly at Israel for the first time in two months in retaliation for Israel’s strike on Dahiyeh. But an Israeli security official admitted that he and his colleagues were caught by surprise by the swift Iranian reaction. Before they approved Netanyahu’s decision to strike Hezbollah targets in Dahiyeh, they did not see an Iranian missile strike at Israel as a likely retaliatory scenario. In fact, even after the Iranians threatened in the afternoon hours that they would respond with missile fire at Israel, some in Israel believed that Iran would not follow through on its threats because they had failed to fulfill similar threats in the past.

As a result, the Israeli public received notification of the Iranian missile attack threat very late, through an announcement by the IDF Spokesman’s office. Just a few minutes later, Iran launched 11 ballistic missiles at Israel. All were intercepted.

A Tense Night in U.S.-Israeli Relations

That was the beginning of a tense night in the relationship between Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Trump. Just before the first phone call between the two leaders, Trump said to American reporters, “I’ll tell Bibi: ‘Don’t attack.’”

During that call, which took place around 11 p.m. Sunday, Trump made it clear to Netanyahu that he did not support a strike because of its negative impact on his negotiations with Iran.

“We’re close to an agreement,” Trump said.

But when Netanyahu insisted that a military reaction to the Iranian attack was necessary to preserve deterrence, Trump replied, “You’re a sovereign country, but every decision has consequences.”

In the end, Israel did carry out that first attack. At 4:10 a.m. local time, Israeli warplanes unleashed air strikes against nine air defense systems in western and central Iran. But that was meant to be only the beginning. After Iran’s air defenses had been knocked out, the IDF had intended to hit several other types of strategic targets in Iran in order to exact a heavy price for breaking the ceasefire. But because of the strong U.S. objection to it, Netanyahu ordered the attack to be terminated early. The operation wound up being far more limited than originally planned, and primarily targeted Iran’s partially restored air defenses, which had been decimated in previous Israeli attacks on Iran over the past two years.

Why Israel Was Using an Unusual Standoff Weapon

Iran claimed that the initial Israeli air strike Sunday night was carried out by Israeli warplanes using air-launched ballistic missiles. Because they are typically launched up to 100 miles away from their targets, the air-launched missiles do not expose the plane and pilot carrying them to the risk of being shot down over enemy territory. Also, because they travel much faster than cruise missiles with similar range, air-launched ballistic missiles are much harder for air defense systems to shoot down.

Israeli defense industries manufacture three different versions of this type of weapon, which have been used by the IDF before. According to a report by the Wall Street Journal, the controversial and largely unsuccessful Israeli air strike on September 9, 2025, intended to kill a group of senior Hamas leaders meeting at a safe house in Doha, Qatar, was carried out by 12 Israeli Air Force warplanes using air-launched ballistic missiles, which they fired while still in Saudi Arabian airspace.

The initial stage of the Israeli attack late Sunday night also damaged a major Iranian petrochemical facility, the Karoun Petrochemical Co., which was under U.S. sanctions as a source of funds for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

In response, the IRGC issued a statement saying, “We warn you: Israel has opened a dangerous game by taking action against civilian targets and hitting oil industries. Its scope will include all energy targets in the region, and the consequences for the global economy are the responsibility of the United States.”

Other targets in the initial phase of the curtailed Israeli counterattack, according to Yechiel Leiter, Israel’s ambassador to the U.S., included Iranian missile-launch sites and non-energy infrastructure sites.

The Houthis Opened Fire at Israel Once Again

Shortly before 6 a.m., the Houthis in Yemen launched two ballistic missiles at Israel, one of which was intercepted, while the other failed to reach Israel. The Houthis also threatened to resume their previous attacks on Israeli and Israeli-affiliated ships transiting the Red Sea.

On Monday morning, the Iranians launched more than 10 missiles, which were intercepted by Israeli and U.S. air defense systems. Israel, for its part, also struck a petrochemical plant that produces materials for ballistic missiles.

While the Houthis had launched sporadic ballistic missile attacks on Israel in support of Hamas throughout the Gaza war, Monday morning was the first time they had launched such an attack since the Gaza ceasefire went into effect last year.

Meanwhile, reporting for Israel’s Channel 12 and the Axios news site, Israeli reporter Barak Ravid said that Trump had told him in a phone conversation that he had asked Netanyahu during their phone call Sunday night not to order the IDF to respond to Iran’s latest salvo of ballistic missile attacks on northern Israel.

The Trump-Netanyahu Dialogue

Trump also told Ravid that during their Sunday night conversation, he had told Netanyahu that he was risking U.S. support for Israel by proceeding against Trump’s wishes with regard to the planned attack on Hezbollah’s stronghold in Beirut.

Trump then told Netanyahu that if he were to be successful in reaching an agreement with Iran, further Israeli strikes would be unnecessary, but that if the talks on the proposed Memorandum of Understanding did fall apart, the U.S. itself would then lead a fresh attack on Iran, rendering the threat from Hezbollah in Lebanon secondary.

However, according to the Channel 12 report, Netanyahu rejected that argument by saying, “The Iranians violated our sovereignty. We have to draw a red line.” To that, Trump reportedly replied that while he was not giving Israel “a green light” to attack Iran, Netanyahu still had the right to make his “own calculations” about the wisdom of attacking Iran on its own.

While the conversation between Trump and Netanyahu then ended without a clear conclusion, some of Trump’s aides told Channel 12 they believed that Trump had bought at least a few more days to wrap up the deal with Iran on the Memorandum of Understanding before Israel would launch an attack on Iran on its own.

But they were wrong. Following that phone call with Trump, Netanyahu met with his security advisors and then ordered the retaliatory attack on Hezbollah targets in Beirut to begin, using ballistic missiles aimed at Iran’s air defenses and launched from Israeli warplanes flying at a safe distance from Iran’s borders.

Ynet reported that Netanyahu had originally wanted to strike Iran as early as last Thursday, but Trump had insisted that the plan be shelved at that time.

Secretary of State Rubio Received a Late Attack Notification

According to the Channel 12 report, it was not until those missiles had been launched at their targets that Netanyahu informed Secretary of State Marco Rubio that a retaliatory attack on Iran was in progress. In their earlier conversation, Trump had asked Netanyahu to stand down, but because at that point it was too late to stop the attack completely, Netanyahu was asked to cancel the rest of the planned Israeli air strike to limit the damage and to reduce the risk of escalation. The Israeli prime minister then reluctantly complied.

The next morning, Iran launched another wave of ballistic missiles at central and southern Israel. All except one of them were successfully intercepted. In addition, two more missiles were launched at Israel from Yemen by the Houthis, apparently at Iran’s request, one of which was intercepted, and the other fell short.

At this point, Trump was clearly running out of patience with both Israel and Iran. He posted an angry message on his social media account demanding that “Israel and Iran must immediately stop ‘shooting.’”

However, before Israel could retaliate with another attack against Iran, Netanyahu got a second phone call from Trump. The American president told the Israeli prime minister that he had received a message from Iran’s leaders saying that they would be willing to end their attacks and stand down if Trump could prevent Israel from striking back once again.

Trump told Ravid that he had also heard from five other countries involved in the negotiations with Iran, asking him to restrain Israel from launching any further air strikes so that the talks could move forward. At that point, to prevent the fighting from escalating further, and to prevent the peace talks from collapsing, Trump told Netanyahu, in no uncertain terms: “It [the war against Iran] is over. The story is finished.”

The Trump Demand That Netanyahu Couldn’t Refuse

It was a request that Netanyahu could not afford to turn down because Trump had previously warned him that if Israeli attacks continued, it might find itself fighting Iran alone. But Netanyahu also announced that Israel would go forward with attacks on Hezbollah targets in Beirut if the Hezbollah attacks on Israel’s northern communities resumed, even at the risk of triggering another round of missile attacks from Iran and angering Trump for ignoring his warning.

Before Netanyahu decided to heed Trump’s demand that Israel abandon its planned counterattacks against Iran’s missile launches, IDF officials told reporters Monday that the Israeli military had used the time after the ceasefire with Iran went into effect in April to prepare detailed plans for several days of renewed air strikes on targets deep inside Iran if and when the hostilities were to resume.

They also said that the close coordination between the IDF and the U.S. military’s Central Command before the April ceasefire had continued uninterrupted, including three conversations between IDF Chief of Staff General Eyal Zamir with the head of U.S. Central Command, Navy Admiral Brad Cooper.

Two Months Later, Trump Is Still Talking About a Quick Deal With Iran

In a later post on Monday, after the IDF attack was cancelled, Trump wrote that “both sides, Israel and Iran, want an immediate ceasefire. Final negotiations on ‘peace’ are proceeding, subject to ignorance or stupidity getting in its way. The blockade [on Iran] will remain in place, and in full force and effect, until a ‘Final Deal’ is reached. Things should move quickly.”

Meanwhile, although Iran announced that it was ending operations against Israel for the time being, it threatened to resume missile fire if Israel struck in Lebanon, including in southern Lebanon. In the hours since, reports emerged of strikes in southern Lebanon, and Hezbollah fired rockets toward IDF forces in Lebanon, triggering alerts in the Galilee Panhandle and western Galilee.

Warnings From Other Israeli Government Ministers

Israel’s Defense Minister, Israel Katz, warned Hezbollah and Iran Monday that “the fate of Dahiyeh in Beirut will be the same as the fate of Israel’s northern communities.”

“Any attack on northern communities will lead to a strike in Dahiyeh,” Katz said. “The IDF will continue to operate in Lebanon against Hezbollah.”

Katz then added, “We reject Iran’s threats outright. Any Iranian attempt to link Lebanon and Iran and attack Israel will be met with great force, as happened yesterday.”

Israel’s right-wing Finance Minister, Bezalel Smotrich, reportedly proposed to the Security Cabinet on Monday that Israel should, as a deterrent, attack 20-30 buildings in Beirut’s Dahiyeh for every Iranian missile launched towards Israel.

The question now is whether Israel will stand by its promise and strike again in Dahiyeh in response to any fire at northern communities, or whether, in light of the understanding that a strike in Dahiyeh could trigger a new round of fighting with Iran, and Trump’s disapproval, Israel will try to “absorb” the attacks on the north, and limit itself to strikes against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon only. The coming hours and days will tell.

Israeli Government Leaders in Denial

On one level, Israeli government leaders may deny that Iran won this round of the conflict because all of the ballistic missiles it launched at Israel were either shot down by Israeli interceptor missiles or fell short, except for one missile. It landed in the northern West Bank community of Itamar on Monday morning, and damaged four buildings, but fortunately without injuring anyone.

But Iran did look like the winner when Trump stopped the fighting because it was the party that began the attacks Sunday, and it was the one that ended them Monday. Iran also further humiliated Netanyahu by announcing that it had told Trump it would stop attacking after having taught Israel “a lesson” by punishing it for the Sunday attack on Dahiyeh.

Iran’s military also warned that, “should aggression and hostile actions continue — including in southern Lebanon — far more severe and forceful measures [against Israel] than before will follow.”

On the night between April 13 and 14, 2024, six months after the October 7 massacre, Iran dared for the first time to launch a broad attack on Israel, sending swarms of drones, cruise missiles, and ballistic missiles in retaliation for the Israeli bombing of the Iranian embassy in Damascus on 1 April, which killed two Iranian generals. On April 19, 2024, Israel responded to “True Promise 1” with a targeted strike on an air defense system, a move meant to signal its ability to hit Iran in painful places. Israel called the operation “Iron Shield.”

Previous Israeli-Iranian Clashes

On October 1, 2024, after the assassination of Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah, Iran stated the strikes were retaliation for the killings of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut, and IRGC commander Abbas Nilforoushan. Iran launched its first retaliatory missile attack on Israel. In response, on October 26, 2024, Israel launched “Days of Repentance,” in which dozens of IDF fighter jets destroyed air defense systems in Iran and Syria. The Israeli warplanes also attacked and destroyed 12 planetary mixers used to produce solid fuel for Iran’s ballistic missile arsenal. The Iranian attacks, while more successful at saturating Israeli air defenses than the Iranian attack in April, did not appear to cause extensive damage. The area in and around the IDF’s Nevatim Airbase in the Negev was hit by 20 to 32 Iranian missiles, which damaged a hangar and taxiway. Several other missiles hit the Tel Nof Airbase.

About eight months later, with the permission and help from President Trump, Israel launched an attack called Operation Rising Lion on strategic targets and nuclear facilities across Iran. Tehran responded over the next 12 days by firing hundreds of ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and drones at Israeli cities. Some hit and caused destruction in cities and IDF bases, killing 33 people and wounding thousands more.

On the other side, the IDF and Mossad managed to eliminate almost all of Iran’s senior security command, including Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Chief Hossein Salami — along with key nuclear scientists and weapons experts. The IDF pre-positioned drones in Iran to disable Iran’s anti-aircraft systems, and used over 200 Israeli fighter jets to carry out strikes on more than 100 targets 1,000 miles away from Israel in Tehran, Natanz, and Isfahan. Over 50% of Iran’s ballistic missile launchers and more than 30 sites critical to its missile and drone production programs were also reportedly destroyed.

Why Israeli Officials Have a Serious Credibility Problem

The Israeli government claims about the fighting over the weekend also followed a familiar pattern. When Israel launches a war, its leaders always rush to take credit and are quick to declare victory. But when Israel is surprised by an attack, or when it is forced to hold its fire while under attack, the Israeli public will hear about it first from an outside source.

On October 7, Hamas launched its murderous attack on southern Israel after dozens of earlier rounds of fighting in which it had been militarily defeated by the IDF, but never decisively beaten. The Israeli policy of always stopping before the final, ultimate victory over its enemies led to the bloody post-October 7 war in which more than 2,100 Israeli soldiers and civilians were killed, alongside tens of thousands of wounded.

Similarly, Israeli government officials are also claiming that Israel was not forced to back down in Lebanon because IDF military operations “are continuing in Lebanon at full force, according to the principle that if Hezbollah fires at communities in northern Israel, the IDF will strike back at them in Dahieh.

“The [harsh] conversation between Netanyahu and Trump was overall good,” these officials claim, because “the two countries still see eye to eye, even though twice over the weekend the Israeli government spoke to President Trump’s public position, both in the strike against Beirut and in the counterattack on Iran.”

These officials also contend that “Israel proved its ability to stand firm on its right to self-defense even against the [wishes of an American] president, but without tearing bonds between them and while preserving the strategic [U.S.-Israeli] partnership.”

Netanyahu Claims He Is Resisting Iran’s New Ground Rules

That credibility problem is most glaring in the prime minister’s denials in a recorded video message released early Monday evening that Iran and Hezbollah have emerged from the weekend encounters significantly strengthened.

Netanyahu said that the renewed Iranian and Hezbollah alliance was “unbearable, and unacceptable to me. . . Over the past 24 hours, Iran and Hezbollah have tried to impose on us that intolerable new reality. [But] I insist on Israel’s right to act against them as our enemies,” he said.

“Right now, the fighting is on hold because after we struck the terror regime in Tehran, it ceased attacking us. Should the terror regime in Iran make the mistake of attacking us again, we will respond with force. . .

“They thought they could launch attacks from Lebanon and Iran against Israel and that we would not act. That did not happen, and it will not happen. Not on my watch,” he said, even though Netanyahu was not permitted by Trump to fully carry out his military plans against Iran twice this weekend, and a week before, with regard to Hezbollah.

Defending Israel’s Right to Self-Defense

Netanyahu also claimed that Israel’s inherent right to act in self-defense in the face of attack remains intact. “Israel has a full right to self-defense, and we are exercising it whenever necessary —I say this with appreciation and respect in my good conversations with my friend President Trump,” the prime minister said,

“That is how we have acted now as well. After Hezbollah fired into Israeli territory, I ordered the IDF to strike terrorist targets in Beirut. After Iran attacked Israel, I directed the IDF to strike military and economic targets throughout Iran.” But Netanyahu did not talk about why he later agreed to curtail those plans at Trump’s insistence.

Netanyahu also recalled the IDF’s more successful past operations. He noted that “a year ago, we launched a historic preemptive strike against Iran’s intention to destroy us with atomic bombs. We thwarted that immediate threat, and we also eliminated the tyrant Khamenei.” He then reiterated his promise that “Iran will not have nuclear weapons.”

Then he referred to Hezbollah’s plan to invade the Galil while destroying Israeli cities with 150,000 missiles and rockets. “We thwarted that threat as well, and we eliminated Nasrallah,” the prime minister said, but again omitted the fact that the Galil invasion didn’t happen only because Hamas launched its October 7 attack first.

“Our fighters are dismantling Hezbollah,” Netanyahu said, returning to the current situation in south Lebanon. “They continue to destroy all of its terrorist infrastructure in the security zone, including massive underground facilities in the Beaufort Ridge, so large that I have never seen anything like them.”

“Iran and Hezbollah are weaker than ever, and we are stronger than ever,” Netanyahu repeated, and then added as an afterthought, “but our struggle against them is not yet over.”

“At present, the fire on this front [Iran] has been halted, because after the terrorist regime in Tehran was struck, it stopped attacking us,” Netanyahu said. He then warned that, “If that terrorist regime in Iran makes the mistake of attacking us again, we will respond with force.”

“With unity, determination, and wisdom, we will defend Israel, and with Hashem’s help, we will restore security to the north,” Netanyahu concluded Monday night.

According to a New York Times political analysis, Netanyahu’s decisions to attack Hezbollah in Beirut and to respond in kind to Iran’s missile attacks may have reassured his remaining supporters that he was still capable of standing up to President Trump’s criticism at least on some rare occasions. However, that was not enough to satisfy the most right-wing cabinet members.

During a meeting of Netanyahu’s security cabinet on Sunday, according to a reporter from Channel 14, a verbal confrontation broke out between Shas party chairman Aryeh Deri and ministers Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir.

Deri sharply criticized the other two over their calls for further military escalation instead of respecting President Trump’s ceasefire calls.

“Enough with the ideas of attacking Iran and Beirut,” Deri reportedly said, because at this time “we also need to be realistic” by taking into account Israel’s military limitations instead of pursuing Israel’s strategic interests regardless of the costs.

At this point, Deri was saying, Israel and Netanyahu have no other choice but to see the military, strategic, and political alliance with Trump, which had been working so well until very recently, through to its finish.

Why Netanyahu’s Partnership With Trump Is a Mixed Blessing

Raz Zimmt, director of the Iran program at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv, told the New York Times that until recently, the Trump-Netanyahu partnership, “Certainly, had a lot of advantages, because it enabled Israel to enjoy the military might of the United States. But the very, very significant disadvantage was that it was clear from the beginning that any decision on when and how to end this war rests with President Trump. And so as long as President Trump doesn’t want to resume hostilities with Iran, Israel can really do nothing.”

Zimmt also said that because Iran’s hardline government understands this as well, it has concluded that because “President Trump doesn’t want to go back to war, they can now take some risks to make sure this linkage of developments in Iran and Lebanon [can be] maintained [to their advantage].”

They have also learned another lesson from their current war against the U.S. and Israel: that forceful retaliation has allowed them to survive, and their tolerance for economic and military pain can give them leverage against their more powerful enemies.

This is in contrast to the approach of Iran’s previous supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who had been careful to avoid situations in which Iran had to strike at Israel and the United States, and preferred to do so through Iran’s network of terrorist proxies. For example, in 2020, Iran pursued only limited retaliatory strikes against U.S. interests in the region after President Trump ordered the assassination of one of its most powerful military leaders, IRGC commander Qassem Soleimani.

Iran’s New Leaders Are Learning How to Manipulate Trump

As a result, when the new rulers of Iran took charge, they largely tolerated Israeli strikes on Hezbollah in south Lebanon in accordance with the ceasefire Hezbollah had agreed to in November, 2024. But as the new rulers became more confident in their ability to manipulate Trump through the negotiation process, they added the survival of Hezbollah as a viable military force in Lebanon to their list of negotiating demands, despite Trump’s resistance to that concept.

Iran’s new rulers believe their willingness to act more aggressively — from blockading the vital Strait of Hormuz to attacking its Gulf neighbors — has allowed them to not only survive Washington and Israel’s attacks, but to inflict economic pain and emerge with strategic leverage through control of the strait, a crucial global shipping route for oil and gas.

Iran’s new leaders have also learned that President Trump is more responsive to their demands when they adopt more aggressive tactics and strategies, and to convince him that it is easier to get Israel to pull back instead of them on such issues as attacks on Hezbollah in Beirut, and when to call an end to an exchange of fire between Iran and Israel.

Hezbollah understands that there is a gap between Israeli and U.S. objectives, especially with regard to Lebanon, and they want to put pressure on Trump to contain Israel.

They also understand that keeping Hezbollah strong creates a useful diversion, which it can create on demand by attacking northern Israel, forcing Israel to divide its military might when Iran attacks it directly again, which Iran’s new leaders are still determined to do.

Iran’s new leaders were also willing to risk retaliating directly against Israel after it attacked Hezbollah in Beirut because they know that Trump doesn’t want to go to war against them again as the midterm elections approach. Furthermore, even if that assumption proves to be wrong and Trump does decide to attack them again, Iran’s new hardline leaders are now confident that they could somehow survive in power despite another round of American-Israeli attacks, just like they did before the ceasefire in April.

At this point, it is clear that the Trump administration understands that the continued existence of Hezbollah as a rival to the authority of the legitimate Lebanese government is a formula for continued instability, border clashes with Israel, and Iranian mischief-making.

Fighting Hezbollah by Strengthening Lebanon’s Government

The only long-term solution is to recruit Israel’s help in strengthening the Lebanese government sufficiently to replace Hezbollah’s threatening military presence along the border with Israel and make the country of Lebanon viable economically and a regional financial center once again, as it was before the civil war started there more than 50 years ago.

That is why the United States convened the fourth high-level trilateral meeting between Israeli and Lebanese representatives last week. One of that meeting’s accomplishments was the issuance of a joint Israeli-Lebanese-American statement, which referred to a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Lebanon as a viable alternative to Iran’s demands for an immediate and total Israeli withdrawal from the parts of southern Lebanon now under its control.

The joint statement reads: “As a result of the U.S.-led negotiations, Israel and Lebanon agreed to the implementation of a ceasefire. The ceasefire is contingent on a complete cessation of Hezbollah fire and the evacuation of all Hezbollah operatives from the South Litani Sector.

“The two sides agreed with the guidance of the United States to swiftly advance the creation of pilot zones in which the Lebanese Armed Forces [the government’s army] will take exclusive control of the territory to the exclusion of all non-state actors [such as Hezbollah].

“These steps will enable progress towards a comprehensive peace and security agreement.”

The joint statement also included a declaration that the future of the relationship between Israel and Lebanon must be decided by the two sovereign governments alone, preventing both Iran and Hezbollah from holding Lebanon’s future hostage in their continuing efforts to attack and destroy Israel.

It also reaffirmed that “Israel and Lebanon have no hostile intent toward one another and [are] committed to continuing direct negotiations to build confidence, resolve all outstanding issues, and work toward a comprehensive agreement between the two countries. . . aimed at sustainably ensuring the sovereignty, security and territorial integrity of Lebanon and Israel. This includes the dismantlement of non-state armed groups and the prevention of their re-emergence.”

The joint statement also reiterated U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s June 2 declaration that Hezbollah is not just an enemy of Israel and an enemy of America, but also that it is an enemy of Lebanon.

Finally, in the statement, “Israel reaffirmed that its security and respect for its territorial integrity can only be achieved through the disarmament of Hezbollah and the dismantlement of its infrastructure throughout Lebanon.

Those at the Adirei HaTorah event on Sunday participated in something extraordinary.

They saw tens of thousands of bnei Torah gathered together. They saw roshei yeshiva, rabbonim, yungeleit, baalei batim, fathers and sons. They heard singing, felt excitement, and sensed that they were part of something historic.

But there are some people who would see much more than a gathering.

They would see a miracle.

Imagine a Holocaust survivor entering the stadium.

He looks across the sea of faces and struggles to comprehend what he is seeing. Everywhere he turns are young men devoted to Torah learning. Tens of thousands of people who have come together for no purpose of personal gain, entertainment, or recognition. They assembled for one reason, to honor the Torah and those who dedicate their lives to studying and living by it.

To many, it is inspiring.

To him, it is almost unimaginable.

He remembers a different world.

He remembers the great Torah centers of Europe. Warsaw, Vilna, Lublin, Pressburg, Slabodka, Mir, Kletzk, Telz, Ponovezh and hundreds of towns and villages whose very air seemed filled with Torah. He remembers botei medrash that hummed day and night, yeshivos overflowing with talmidim, and communities whose lives revolved around Torah.

Then came the destruction.

The Nazis did not merely seek to murder Jews. They sought to eradicate Judaism. They burned seforim, destroyed yeshivos, murdered rabbonim, roshei yeshiva and talmidim, and attempted to sever a chain stretching back to Har Sinai.

The survivor remembers standing amid the ruins and wondering whether that chain had been broken forever.

He remembers the ashes.

He remembers the silence.

He remembers a world in which entire communities vanished almost overnight.

Who could have imagined then what would come next?

Who could have imagined that less than a century later, there would be gatherings of tens of thousands of bnei Torah in America?

Who could have imagined stadiums filled not for sports, not for politics, not for entertainment, but solely for kavod haTorah?

A survivor would not simply see a crowd.

He would see the grandchildren of those who never had the opportunity to grow old.

He would see the dreams of murdered parents and grandparents walking among the living.

He would see proof that the Jewish people possess a resilience that defies every law of history.

Most nations celebrate military victories, economic achievements, or political triumphs.

The Jewish people fill stadiums to celebrate Torah.

A survivor would understand the significance of that better than anyone.

He witnessed what happens when Jews lose everything. Homes can be confiscated. Businesses can be destroyed. Entire communities can be wiped out.

Yet one thing endured.

The Torah.

The Nazis believed that they were burying the future of the Jewish people.

Instead, they planted seeds.

From the remnants emerged new yeshivos. From displaced persons camps emerged future roshei yeshiva, rabbonim, and teachers. Survivors crossed oceans carrying little more than faith, memories, and an unwavering commitment to rebuild.

Today, their descendants fill botei medrash across the globe.

Every young man learning a blatt Gemara is a declaration that the Jewish story continues.

Every yeshiva is a monument greater than any structure of stone.

Every child learning Alef-Bais is a victory over those who sought to extinguish us.

There is another person whose eyes would fill with tears upon entering the Adirei HaTorah event.

Not a survivor of Europe, but a Torah Jew who lived in America during the 1930s and 1940s.

He remembers a very different America.

Today we speak about the flourishing Torah world in the United States as though it were inevitable.

It was anything but.

In those years, many observers—within and outside the Orthodox community—were convinced that traditional Judaism had little future in America.

The challenges seemed overwhelming.

Shabbos observance often came at the cost of employment. Day schools were scarce. Yeshivos struggled to survive. Children of immigrants rapidly assimilated. The prevailing assumption was that America could provide economic opportunity, but never become a true home for Torah.

Europe was where Torah flourished.

America was where it would fade away.

Even many sincere Torah Jews feared that Orthodoxy might survive only as a small and shrinking remnant.

Had you told someone in those years that one day tens of thousands of bnei Torah would gather in a packed stadium to celebrate Torah learning, he would have thought that you were describing a fantasy.

A stadium?

Filled with lomdei Torah?

In America?

The very idea would have seemed impossible.

Imagine bringing such a Jew to Adirei HaTorah.

He would look around in astonishment.

Not because he had never seen a large crowd, but because he had spent a lifetime hearing that such a crowd could never exist.

Every face would refute the predictions.

Every yeshiva represented would disprove the experts.

Every voice joining in song would testify that Torah had not merely survived in America, but had flourished beyond anyone’s expectations.

The small yeshivos that struggled to keep their doors open became thriving institutions.

The handful became thousands.

The thousands became tens of thousands.

What many believed could never take root on American soil became one of the greatest centers of Torah learning in the world.

Standing at Adirei HaTorah, he would realize that he is witnessing one of the greatest surprises in modern Jewish history.

The dream became reality.

In truth, these two men, the survivor from Europe and the Torah Jew from early America, are seeing the same thing.

One sees the defeat of Hitler.

The other sees the defeat of assimilation.

One remembers a world where Torah was nearly destroyed.

The other remembers a world where Torah was expected to disappear.

Both arrive at the same conclusion.

The chain was not broken.

The Torah lives.

Yet, perhaps there is an even deeper perspective.

The survivor and the American Torah pioneer would not merely be looking at a crowd. They would be looking at the fulfillment of their hopes and prayers.

For the young men filling the stadium are not merely participants in an event. They are the answer to questions that previous generations carried in their hearts.

The survivor wondered whether there would be grandchildren learning Torah.

There are.

The immigrant who struggled to keep Shabbos wondered whether his descendants would remain faithful to Yiddishkeit.

They did.

The rosh yeshiva who opened a small classroom with a handful of students wondered whether Torah would ever flourish in America.

It has.

The parents who sacrificed comfort and convenience so their children could receive a Torah education wondered whether those sacrifices would bear fruit.

The fruit is before us.

What previous generations could only dream about, this generation experiences as reality.

And perhaps that is the greatest lesson of all.

When we look at a gathering such as Adirei HaTorah, we should not merely count how many people are present.

We should think about how many people stand behind them.

Behind every ben Torah are parents and grandparents who sacrificed. Behind every shteiging yungerman is a dedicated wife.

Behind every yeshiva are visionaries who built when there was little reason to believe they would succeed.

Behind every row of young men holding Gemaros are generations who carried the Torah through poverty, persecution, exile, and uncertainty.

In a sense, every seat in the stadium is occupied by more than one person.

The living fill the seats.

But surrounding them are the hopes, dreams, prayers, and sacrifices of generations past.

As the singing rises and the voices of thousands join together in honor of Torah, one can almost hear the verdict of history itself.

Those who sought to destroy us failed.

Those who predicted our decline were mistaken.

Against every calculation, every forecast, and every expectation, the Torah world has risen from the ashes, crossed oceans, taken root in new lands, and flourished beyond imagination.

The world may see a gathering.

They would see a resurrection.

The world may see a stadium.

They would see the rebuilding of a civilization.

The world may see an event.

They would see the fulfillment of a promise that has accompanied our people through every exile and every persecution: that the Torah entrusted to us at Har Sinai will never disappear from the Jewish people.

Standing amid the tens of thousands assembled for the honor of Torah, they would know that they are witnessing far more than a celebration.

They are witnessing eternity.

They tried to extinguish the flame.

Instead, it became a blazing fire.

And its light continues to illuminate the world.

Many articles about the growth of the Torah world focus on numbers — how many attendees, how many yeshivos, how many students, how many communities. Those numbers are certainly remarkable.

But what makes Adirei HaTorah so moving is that it is not really a story about quantity. It is a story about improbability.

If you had stood in Europe in 1945 amid the ruins of Jewish civilization, you would not have predicted this.

If you had stood in America in 1950, when many believed that Torah Judaism was destined to fade into history, you would not have predicted this.

If you had asked the survivors, the struggling roshei yeshiva, the rabbonim fighting off efforts to lower the mechitzah and open the parking lot, the immigrants fighting to keep Shabbos, or the parents sacrificing everything to send a child to yeshiva, they would have hoped for this, but many would have hardly dared imagine it.

That is why a gathering like Adirei HaTorah feels different. It is not merely large. It is unexpected. It represents the triumph of faith over statistics, conviction over prediction, and mesorah over the powerful currents that seemed destined to sweep it away.

Perhaps the most powerful image is not the stadium itself, but the thought of those earlier generations looking upon it.

A survivor searching the crowd for the grandchildren he feared would never exist.

A European rosh yeshiva seeing thousands of talmidim learning on a continent once thought inhospitable to Torah.

An immigrant laborer who lost job after job for Shabbos watching generations of descendants proudly living as Torah Jews.

A mother who scrimped and sacrificed to pay yeshiva tuition seeing a world where Torah education is cherished and sought after.

What would they say?

Perhaps nothing.

Perhaps they would simply stand silently and cry.

Not tears of sadness, but tears of gratitude.

Because before them would stand the answer to decades of prayers.

A living testimony that Torah is not merely preserved in books. It lives within people. It passes from parent to child, rebbi to talmid, generation to generation. And as long as that chain remains unbroken, the story of Klal Yisroel continues.

That is what makes Adirei HaTorah so powerful.

It is not only a celebration of those learning Torah today.

It is a tribute to those who made sure that there would still be Jews learning Torah today. And it is a declaration to future generations that the chain they preserved is now in our hands.

Yet, Adirei HaTorah is not merely a celebration of the past.

It is a celebration of the present.

To focus only on what was lost or what was rebuilt would be to miss the extraordinary reality standing before us.

The greatest achievement of Torah Jewry is not that Torah survived.

It is that Torah lives.

Across America and around the world, hundreds of thousands of Jews begin and end their days with Torah. Botei medrash hum from early morning until late at night. Young men devote years to serious Torah study. Baalei batim rise before dawn and remain after exhausting workdays to learn. Children fill classrooms learning Chumash, Mishnah, Gemara, and halacha. Families build homes centered around Shabbos, tefillah, chesed, and mitzvos.

This is not a museum preserving a glorious past.

It is a vibrant, living world.

The Torah celebrated at Adirei HaTorah is not merely the Torah learned by previous generations.

It is the Torah being learned today.

At this very moment, somewhere, a father is learning with his child. Somewhere, a rebbi is teaching a class. Somewhere, a chavrusa is struggling over a difficult Tosafos. Somewhere, a young boy is reciting Alef-Beis. Somewhere, a young girl is learning what it means to live a life of kedusha and emunah.

The chain continues to grow.

And perhaps that is what makes the gathering so remarkable.

The attendees are not gathering around a memory.

They are gathering around a reality.

The world often measures success through wealth, power, fame, or influence.

Adirei HaTorah celebrates something entirely different.

It celebrates people who dedicate themselves to understanding Hashem’s wisdom.

It celebrates lives shaped by Torah values.

It celebrates parents who sacrifice for Torah education, teachers who devote themselves to their students, communities built upon chesed, and individuals who strive each day to become better servants of Hashem.

In an age captivated by celebrities, athletes, entertainers, and influencers, tens of thousands gather to honor lomdei Torah.

What does that say about a people?

It says that despite all the changes in the world, despite the distractions and pressures of modern life, Torah remains at the center of Jewish existence.

The significance of Adirei HaTorah is not merely that tens of thousands attend.

It is what those tens of thousands represent.

They represent countless more learning in yeshivos and kollelim here and around the world.

They represent families striving to build Torah homes.

They represent communities where Torah guides daily life.

They represent a generation that appreciates that Torah is not an artifact of the past, but the foundation of the present and the future.

That is worthy of celebration.

Not only because previous generations dreamed it would happen.

But because it is happening.

Perhaps one of the most remarkable aspects of Adirei HaTorah is that many of those who attend do not fully appreciate how remarkable it is.

Not because they are ungrateful.

But because they are young.

They were born into a world where Torah flourishes.

For them, bustling botei medrash are normal. Thriving yeshivos are normal. Torah communities stretching across cities and continents are normal. Fathers learning with their children, kollelim filled with yungeleit, schools overflowing with students, and neighborhoods built around Torah life are simply the reality they have always known.

They never experienced the world that came before.

They never stood in the shadow of the destruction of Europe.

They never heard predictions that Orthodox Judaism could not survive in America.

They never saw yeshivos struggling to keep their doors open or families fighting to preserve Torah observance against overwhelming odds.

And that is precisely what makes the moment so extraordinary.

The greatest victories eventually become so complete that people forget there was ever a battle.

The young man sitting in a packed stadium surrounded by tens of thousands of fellow bnei Torah naturally assumes that this is how things are supposed to be.

But the generations before him know differently.

They know how improbable it all is.

They know how many obstacles stood in the way.

They know how many tears were shed, how many sacrifices were made, how many tefillos were offered, and how much faith was required to bring the Torah world to this point.

The young men filling the seats see themselves as ordinary participants in an extraordinary event.

But from the perspective of history, they are the event.

They are what previous generations dreamed about.

They are the answer to prayers offered in DP camps, in struggling yeshivos, in immigrant apartments, and in homes where parents wondered whether their children and grandchildren would remain faithful to Torah.

The greatest tribute to those earlier generations is not merely remembering their sacrifices.

It is recognizing what those sacrifices produced.

Look around the stadium.

Look at the thousands of young faces.

That is the achievement.

That is the victory.

That is the miracle.

Not simply that Torah survived.

But that an entire generation has grown up taking its flourishing for granted.

And perhaps that is the most profound sight of all.

The builders of the Torah world would look upon those young men and smile.

For they would know that what was once an impossible dream has become reality.

Rav Aharon Kotler, the Ponovezher Rov, the roshei yeshiva of Telz, and the many other builders of Torah who were mocked, criticized and perceived as irrational and impractical relics are today viewed as heroes blessed with incredible foresight and spiritual strength.

It’s a new day, a new era, with new vistas, old battles won and new battles to be fought. We look forward with faith and strength, saluting today’s heroes who make it possible, leading, supporting and implementing shelo yomush haTorah hazos mipinu umipi zareinu vezera zareinu ad olam ad bias Moshiach Tzidkeinu bekarov beyomeinu. Amein.

W_riter’s note: Dear reader, please forgive me for writing an article such as this just after the tremendous simcha, chizuk, and awe-inspiring manifestation of kavod haTorah and chizuk haTorah at the incredible Adirei HaTorah gathering this past Sunday. The truth is that these words were written well before the Adirei HaTorah gathering, after I had pondered this issue for a long time. Had I realized that it would be published the week of the Adirei HaTorah gathering, I probably would not have submitted it for this week._

That said, my second thought was: Aderaba, is there any greater kavod haTorah and chizuk haTorah than promoting the concept of emulating the Nosein HaTorah—mah Hu rachum af atah rachum? Is there any greater kavod haTorah and chizuk haTorah than strengthening the institution of a bayis shel Torah?

It is no secret that we have not only a divorce crisis on our hands, but also a shalom bayis crisis. Divorce rates, especially among young couples, are rising and rising. We all know it, we see it, and we are wringing our hands in despair. Aside from the divorce rate in our communities, which by all accounts has skyrocketed over the past number of years, we must understand that for every divorce, there are many couples who, boruch Hashem, do not get divorced but are nevertheless struggling and under tremendous stress.

Many of the heroic men and women in our community who help these couples highlight that there is a crisis at hand. A real crisis.

So, what do we do?

The Middos Deficiency

Before going further, I want to say something that, as much as I hate to say it, has to be said. After speaking with people involved in this field and people involved in the bais din system where gittin are being processed, it has become clear that the majority of the issues (certainly not all, but a majority) stem from middos deficiencies in young men. Yes, there is plenty of blame to go around, but too often it starts with the young men.

“They are simply not mechunach in middos, in basic mentchlichkeit,” was the way one person put it.

Why is this problem much more pronounced than it once was and why are things getting worse?

Certainly, there is no single answer, but without a doubt, a primary answer is that we live in a generation in which selfishness reigns supreme.

The world today is very megusham. We have everything. Our youth are accustomed to living with everything. The cleaning lady or their mother cleans up after them. They are given money to buy supper or lunch when they do not like what the yeshiva serves. There are numerous other examples of how we coddle our children, and they therefore have very little practice or experience in dealing with difficulty or adversity.

The G-dlessness and Selfishness of the Outer World Is Penetrating

These deficiencies that are evident in our frum world really come from the outside world. We live in a G-dless world. Just look at our politics. Totally selfish. Cutthroat. The way politicians savage each other in public is beyond disgusting.

In the old days, if a politician had done what today’s politicians on both sides of the aisle do, he would have been ostracized and considered a bad sport or “ungentlemanly.” Today, the meaner, angrier, more brazen, and more uncouth you are, the more popular you become.

Last week, I saw an old politician who lost an election being praised for giving a concession speech that, even ten years ago, would have been considered run-of-the-mill. Today, an honorable concession speech is a chiddush. Look at Thomas Massie, who recently lost his seat in the House of Representatives. He gave a concession speech by blaming the Jews and savaging the Jews.

Bottom line: The selfishness and G-dlessness that permeate the entire world have trickled down to us. We see it wherever we turn, but its results are particularly tragic and destructive when it comes to marriage.

It has come to a point where we can no longer assume that our children, our youth, our teens, and our young adults are going to learn good middos by osmosis. They will not.

The only thing they may learn by osmosis is selfishness, cruelty, and the importance of one thing alone: “Me.”

The Difference Between Manners and Middos

That being said, it is up to us to place an emphasis on being mechanech for middos in our homes, our yeshivos, and our schools.

When I say middos, I do not mean manners. The Germans also had wonderful manners. Manners alone are almost worthless. Saying please and thank you like a trained monkey is not worth much.

Middos means being mechanech in a way that is rooted in emulating Hashem. The posuk states, “Ubo sidbak.” We are commanded to cling to Hashem, to attach ourselves to Hashem. Just as Hashem is merciful, so should you be merciful. Just as Hashem is gomel chesed, so should you be gomel chesed.

We are not talking about deep ideas from the Ramchal or the Maharal. We are talking about basics.

“What you do not want someone to do to you, do not do to another.”

Being nosei b’ol and thinking about someone else’s needs. Transcending yourself, transcending your selfishness, and thinking about someone else, not because you can get something from that person if you are nice to him or her, but simply because you want to emulate Hashem by considering the needs of others and putting yourself in his or her place.

I do not know what is currently done in yeshivos, but I can tell you that when I went to yeshiva, our rabbeim really emphasized chinuch in areas of bein adam lachaveiro, basic things like trying to be considerate of a roommate when he is sleeping, filling up the washing cup after you for the next person, bringing a chair for someone else before bringing one for yourself—things that are very basic and teach you that you are not the only one in the world.

The truth is that even a yeshiva that has a structured Shabbos seudah demonstrates a form of chinuch. When there is a seder, when zemiros are sung, when a rebbi or a rosh yeshiva sits with the bochurim and says a devar Torah, when bochurim help serve, that is also part of being mechunach in middos.

When a bochur can come into the dining room on Shabbos, make Kiddush, wash, eat his seudah, and leave without singing a zemer or meaningfully participating in a seudah as part of a rabbim, that itself engenders the selfish nature of ani v’afsi. It becomes all about me and my needs. No one else really matters.

Are We Teaching Middos?

Are we teaching the basic middos of mentchlichkeit to our children and talmidim?

One distinguished rov who deals in shalom bayis told me that if it were up to him, he would establish a system in which it would be mandatory for every bochur who goes to learn at Bais Medrash Govoah to attend a weekly vaad focused on inculcating middos and mentchlichkeit.

The vaad would be given by a handpicked distinguished elder talmid, an alumnus of the yeshiva from which the bochur came. For example, a bochur who learned in Paterson would attend a vaad given by an older yungerman who was also a talmid of Paterson and had been appointed by the rosh yeshiva to deliver the vaad. The same would apply to Philadelphia, Keren HaTorah, Springfield, Long Beach, and so on.

We cannot simply let bochurim dive into marriage without chinuch in basic middos and mentchlichkeit. We cannot take anything for granted anymore, certainly not something this important. We do not have the luxury of assuming that they will somehow “figure it out” the way everyone in previous generations did.

“If It Would Have Been the Opposite…”

The Alter of Kelm writes (Ohr Rashaz, Parshas Bereishis, Maamar 39) about something that is a bit frightening. He writes about a time when terrible pogroms were taking place in Eastern Europe. When news of those pogroms and the cruel deaths and torture being suffered by Yidden in Eastern Europe reached Germany, Rav Shamshon Raphael Hirsch gathered his entire kehillah and delivered a drosha for more than three hours with great hisorerus. The entire community came to the shul and spent hours crying bitter tears and fasting because they were genuinely distraught over what was happening to Yidden—Yidden whom they did not even know— in another part of the world.

The Alter asked a powerful question: If, chas veshalom, it would have been the opposite—if something had happened to the Jews in a faraway country—would we here feel the same level of pain and distress?

Our times are not the same as the world of the Alter of Kelm. The world we live in is not the same. We do not even live in the world of Ronald Reagan, when, lehavdil, even in the non-Jewish world, there were certain basics that one could take for granted.

When Does a Child Become an Adult? “When They Stop Thinking Just of Themselves”

We must teach our children and our talmidim everything. We cannot assume that they know that a person must think—truly think—about how someone else feels.

In Abie Rotenberg’s fourth edition of the Amazing Marvelous Middos Machine, he sings about the difference between a child and an adult. He says:

“…I know the exact time and moment,When a kid turns into an adult.No, it’s not when a boy reaches 13,Or the day that a girl becomes 12.Kids are ready to do all the mitzvosWhen they stop thinking just of themselves…”

It is time to put a lot more effort into that. If we do not, I am afraid that the mesadrei gittin are going to be a lot busier, chalilah.

We have always been taught that everything that was created and even invented or discovered is for Klal Yisroel (see, for instance, Vayikra Rabbah, Bechukosai 36). However, when the Chofetz Chaim (see end of his Sefer Sheim Olam) was told that a machine had been invented that showed a video of our actions, he began to cry. His “benefactors” were aghast. “But rebbe,” they protested, “now what the Mishnah (this week’s perek, Avos 2:1) declared has been proven and can be imagined more clearly: ‘Know what is above you — a watchful Eye, an attentive Ear and all your deeds are recorded in a Book.’” The great tzaddik answered, “I am crying because I am an old man. I can remember when every Yid who learned this Mishnah believed these words with a full heart. Today, we require a human invention to prove it to us. Look how low we have fallen.”

Although the Chofetz Chaim’s words ring painfully true, we must also marvel at how Hashem sends us new technology when we need it. We know that “Hashem has made the one as well as the other” (Koheles 7:14). This means, amongst other things, that whatever Hashem makes or allows to be discovered is a two-edged sword. It all depends upon how we choose to use something. Nuclear energy can be a boon to mankind or can be used to annihilate all that exists. We can download wonderful Torah on the internet, but it can also destroy families in an instant and lead formerly decent people far from where they should be.

Looking more deeply, the words “Know what is above you” are a poignant reminder of the Chofetz Chaim’s teachings about how low we have fallen from our earlier greatness. The Hafla’ah (introduction, Pischa Ze’ira 7) explains this as referring to “the days when the prophets were able to see all. At Sinai, we all heard the incredible sounds, and even in the times of the Gemara, they still heard sounds from heaven (bas kol). After that, everything was written down, even what was once limited to the spoken word (baal peh).” The Maggid of Kozhnitz (Keser Yehudah, page 48) delineated this even more specifically by historical era: “The ‘eye that sees’ refers to the era of the first Bais Hamikdosh, when the Urim Vetumim showed the truth clearly and irrefutably. This defined the moment of Kabbolas HaTorah too, with the bas kol, but eventually all was simply written down and available for study.”

Speaking of the Chofetz Chaim, he used to tell businessmen in the name of Rav Itzele of Volozhin that “the answer to any question in commerce could be found in the Torah, if one only has the right eyes to see” (Rav Y.Y. Yasher, HaChofetz Chaim Upe’olov, page 310). Perhaps this was the source for the Chofetz Chaim’s tears when shown his first video. He understood very well that this was another sign of the downsizing of mankind and even Klal Yisroel. To the eminent Mishnah Berurah, “there is nothing that is not hidden in the Torah” (Taanis 9a) was a statement about the practical and accessible Torah as a tool in daily life.

The Chasam Sofer (Drashos for Sukkos, page 52) adds that Dovid Hamelech reveals in Tehillim (119:24) that “Your testimonies are my preoccupation, they are my counselors.” He explains this to mean that throughout the ages, our “counselors,” meaning the sages of Klal Yisroel, were able to look into the Torah for answers to any question. He shows from Chazal (Chulin 95b) that this is what the Gemara means when the Amora Shmuel deduced an answer from a Sefer Torah. Furthermore, when the Torah (Devorim 17:19) says that the king must “study the Sefer Torah all the days of his life,” it actually means that “in it and from it he can discern and understand whatever happens in his life.”

The Chasam Sofer (Drashos for Sukkos, page 52) takes all this an important step further. Dovid Hamelech uses the term shaashu’ai, which actually refers to one who is learning Torah in depth, with great pleasure and absorption. Even if he is not searching for any answers or solutions to problems, he will discover them through his learning anyway. Such is the profound fount of wisdom that is the Torah that it automatically grants its followers the wisdom and sagacity they require. The Bnei Yissoschor (month of Sivan 5:11) sees this concept in the Medrash on Mishlei which promises, “If you wish, you may find advice on any subject in the teachings of the Torah.” Thus, although the generations have descended steadily downward over the millennia, we can still access the ultimate eternal wisdom of the Torah through our devotion to its study.

In case all of this seems somewhat esoteric and far from our spiritual levels, there is tremendous good news in Chazal and the Rishonim. Tosafos (Brachos 6a) quotes the Mishnah above and adds that, of course, it is not only our sins and mistakes that are divinely recorded, but “the measure of goodness (middah tovah) is always greater than that of punishment,” and therefore, every good thing we do is immediately recorded. Indeed, there is a well-known Medrash (Rus Rabbah 5:6) that enhances this statement many times over: “If Reuven had known that Hashem was going to write up his rescue of Yosef from the hands of his brothers, he would have brought him back on his shoulders to his father. If Aharon had known that Hashem was going to write up that he was going to greet Moshe (Shemos 4:14), he would have gone with a band and musical instruments. If Boaz had known that Hashem was going to write in the Torah that ‘he handed her parched grain and she ate and was satisfied’ (Rus 2:14), he would have fed her fattened calves.” The Medrash concludes that several Tannaim said in the name of Rav Levi, “In times long gone, when a person did a mitzvah, the novi would write it down. But today, who is writing down when a person performs a mitzvah? The answer is that Eliyahu Hanovi writes it down and the Melech HaMoshiach and Hashem Himself sign the document.”

The Chiddushei Harim (quoted in Sefer Ezer Shmuel, page 161) says that it cannot be that such giants as Reuven, Aharon and Boaz would have acted differently and better if they had known that their actions would have been publicized and advertised. It means that had they been aware that the actions that they thought of as being intuitive and simple were actually worthy of becoming part of the Torah, they would have each prepared themselves more assiduously to perform them with even more holiness and purity.

Thus, we see that although some of the venue has changed, everything is recorded. If I may inject a personal note, I have now been to the sites of the concentration camps several times. It is always moving, since between my parents, they suffered through at least nine of these purgatories on earth. However, each time I learn something new. On our last trip, for the first time, I explored large posters and billboards bearing the names of millions, although not all, of the victims of Churban Europa, the Holocaust. I read the names of my parents, grandparents, uncles, aunts and other relatives. It was moving, shattering and strangely consoling. But it was suddenly clear to me that new abilities to travel, see and even touch my past had been miraculously made available to me. In fact, one of the Lelover Rebbes revealed that “just as the Torah records the travels of Klal Yisroel through the desert and beyond, so will be recorded all the travels and indeed travails of Klal Yisroel in her exiles, and this will become a sefer that will be studied in the World to Come” (Shmuos Yitzchok, Parshas Masei). Thank You, Hashem, for recording everything.

We now know that we are all authors. The book we are writing is our actions, for better or, G-d forbid, worse. When Rav Eliyahu Yehoshua Geldzahler told the Pnei Menachem that he was writing a sefer and was asking for a haskamah, the Gerrer Rebbe answered, “I, too, am writing a sefer. It is kol maasecha basefer nichtavim — the one mentioned in Pirkei Avos that we are all recording.”

I daresay that in an era when half of mankind seems to have a podcast or at least their fifteen minutes of fame, it has become all the more obvious that each member of Klal Yisroel has an opportunity and a mandate to write of great, wonderful and positive things in our lives. We don’t need a publisher. We have the best one of all. We don’t need an editor, for the Great Editor and Publisher sees all, hears everything and preserves every moment. Yes, it is frightening, but it is uplifting to know that we, too, can be in the company of Reuven, Aharon and Boaz, whose movements and actions were recorded for posterity.

May our personal videos be laden with mitzvos, good middos, sacrifice for others, and proudly shown for eternity on the most sublime screen of all.

Sunday. The sun was shining and the crowds began streaming in from all places across the metropolitan area. The electricity in the room was palpable.

Packed to capacity, there was not a seat to spare. For weeks beforehand, people had been talking about it. It was the buzz at Shabbos tables, and parents and even grandparents all waited in anticipation for the day to come. Something historic was about to unfold. The participants themselves, the stars of the event, had been coming home every night with a special glow, reminding their loved ones to mark the date. They were to be celebrated as the upholders of Torah, those lomdei Torah upon whom, the meforshim tell us, the very world stands.

I entered the large event hall, adorned with care: banners draped behind the mechubadim, a deliberate beauty that announced before a single word was spoken that this was no ordinary gathering.

When the program began, the room fell silent.

And then, one of the choshuve “honorees,” one of the participants who holds up the world with his Torah, began to speak.

“Vayikra, un er hut gerufin. El Moshe, tzu Moshe.”

No. This was not the Adirei HaTorah event. This was the seudas Chumash for Pre-1A at The Cheder in Brooklyn. And if, for the first few sentences, my dear readers were absolutely certain that I was describing that magnificent maamad in Philadelphia, then I have made my point before I’ve even made it. Because the only difference between those two events, the only one that actually matters, is that one of them had better parking.

Now, before anyone accuses me of minimizing what happened at the Xfinity Mobile Arena, let me say clearly: I am not. Adirei HaTorah was breathtaking. Twenty thousand Yidden in one arena, ten thousand in another. Yungeleit, baalei batim, fathers and sons gathered to declare, in an arena that has hosted rock concerts and hockey playoffs, that the yungerman sitting and learning is the most important person in the room. Any room. The mission of the evening, as the roshei yeshiva articulated with a clarity that cut right through the noise of modern life, was nothing less than restoring the glory of the lomeid Torah.

The roshei yeshiva spoke. Rav Yitzchok Soloveitchik spoke. And the massive audience spoke in ways louder than ever heard before on these shores. There is nothing comparable in the enormity of the event. But maybe, in some ways, in the Heavenly scales, there is a spiritual match.

Chazal teach us a deceptively simple observation: Im ein gedayim, ein teyashim — If there are no kids, there are no goats. If there are no kids, there will be no adults. Without that Chumash seudah, there is no Adirei HaTorah.

A generation of lomdei Torah does not materialize from thin air at a sports arena. It is assembled, one posuk at a time, in classrooms across the country. It may begin in Pre 1-A classrooms that smell like melted crayons, with a whiff of spilled grape juice, with pre-school rabbeim whose names will never appear in lights and will never enter rooms accompanied by musicians playing “Yomim,” but it is the patience and perseverance of those melamdei tinokos that quietly seed the fertile ground that grows the men who are one day celebrated in giant arenas.

Those twenty thousand men in Philadelphia were once five years old. Every single one of them had a moment, a first posuk, a first Rashi, a first Tosafos. Then a Maharsha and all the seforim, Rishonim and Acharonim that were so proudly articulated at Sunday night’s event.

The great celebration of thirty thousand is nothing less than the sum of thousands of tiny siyumim and haschalos of tens of thousands of kinderlach. A child finishing his first parsha. A boy chanting Bereishis bara Elokim with slightly more confidence because his rebbi infused in him the ahavas haTorah that will one day manifest itself in hours of yegiah on a bench in the Mir or Ponovezh, or a seat in BMG.

We know that the world stands on the Torah of tinokes shel bais rabbon. Maybe the Adirei HaTorah stand on them too.

I am reminded of something I heard in 1985 at a kollel dinner in Pittsburgh. If the source surprises you, it surprised me considerably more. The speaker was Dick Caliguiri, then the mayor of Pittsburgh, a man whose familiarity with Gemara was, shall we say, nonexistent, but whose instinct for truth was remarkably poignant. It was not long after Mikhail Gorbachev came to power and established perestroika, and Torah was slowly, cautiously, coming back to life in the Soviet Union. The mayor had recently visited the Soviet Union, and for reasons I never understood, he said that he had visited a kollel there. It quietly and courageously had taken root in the chaos of the times, behind what remained of the crumbling Iron Curtain. He told our entire audience in that Pittsburgh ballroom about those fewer than ten men, sitting in a cramped room, learning Talmud in a city that had spent decades trying to make the very thought of it illegal.

He looked out at us and said something I have never forgotten: “I know that the only reason there is a kollel in Moscow is because there is a kollel here in Pittsburgh.”

The man was an Italian-American mayor with no yichus to speak of and no knowledge of Torah other than two day schools and a kollel in his town. And yet he had articulated, without knowing it, something our greatest mussar giants have always taught us. Torah is never isolated or unconnected. Everything is linked. Every link holds the next one up. And chains are only as strong as their weakest or, in this case, smallest link, the five-year-old reciting Vayikra and Bereishis into a microphone that is slightly too tall for him.

That child in Brooklyn is not a warm-up act for Philadelphia. He is also Philadelphia. He is an Adir HaTorah, and if we train him right, he will grow to be celebrated, not in the basement of a cheder in Brooklyn, but in large stadiums that will host all of Klal Yisroel.

So I say: Bring on the rugelach and coffee. Bring on the folding chairs and the slightly off-key singing and the banner that says mazel tov in gold letters that have been quietly peeling off since the time they made the banner years ago. Bring on the small boys with their beautiful paper crowns, some that are sitting on the noses or held up by the ears of the boys with smaller heads. Then remember to applaud loud enough so that it will echo all the way to Philadelphia.

Adirei HaTorah happens once a year. A Siyum Hashas happens once in seven. They are glorious and they are necessary and they lift the entire klal in ways that are real and lasting.

But a child saying his first posuk of Chumash? That happens every single week even in front of a grandmother who is already crying before he opens his mouth. But that grandmother will be the mother of the daughter who is crying with pride at the accomplishments of her husband who said his first chaburah in BMG.

Those twenty thousand Adirei in Philadelphia are the teyashim or the tzon. Strong, proud, magnificent goats, each one a world. But the kids? The gedayim?

Without the seudas Chumash and the crooked yarmulka and the microphone that is slightly too tall, you have no event to plan, no arena to fill, no maamad to speak of.

Celebrate them. Cherish them. Nurture them. They are and will be the next generation of Adirei HaTorah.

Just Saying.

Forced Organ Harvesting, China’s Booming Industry

Congress held hearings earlier this month from eyewitnesses who testified about one of the most chilling human rights abuses of the modern era– forced organ-harvesting, the removal of internal organs from a living patient without his consent.

For years, Congressman Chris Smith, R-NJ, who chairs the Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC), has sought to shine a spotlight on China’s alleged forced organ harvesting industry.

Driven not only by demand within China but also by transplant seekers from dozens of countries—including the United States and Canada—the practice has grown into a flourishing international enterprise.

International investigators have documented China’s barbaric practice of surgically removing organs from prisoners and dissidents while victims are still alive.

According to human rights experts, thousands of innocent people have been killed through this process, with their organs immediately matched to recipients and sold for transplant. The practice has been described as matching “the cruelty and wickedness of medieval torturers and executioners.”

In the May 16 hearing, eyewitnesses who survived or escaped the Chinese gulag testified that the Chinese Communist Party has built this vast industry through the forced harvesting of organs from death row prisoners, as well as from millions of prisoners of conscience in Chinese prison camps.

They described evidence that imprisoned members of Falun Gong, the Uyghurs, and other persecuted ethnic and religious minorities have been targeted as organ sources, enabling China’s transplant system to perform large numbers of transplants with remarkably short waiting times.

The way this allegedly works is by Chinese authorities timing the executions of prisoners to correspond with the short window of time in which a donor’s organ retains enough freshness to be successfully transplanted.

Instances of a liver or heart being delivered to a patient on demand are unheard of in the rest of the world, where the process involves a referral to an organ-matching agency, blood and antigen tests, being matched with a voluntary organ donor, and eventually receiving the organ transplant. The process typically takes years.

China’s Camps of Terror

“This Commission has received rare and extraordinary eyewitness accounts from inside the Chinese gulag itself,” said Rep. Smith in his opening statement. “Ali Motevalian’s written testimony details his incarceration in a prison hospital near Shanghai, and Kalbinur Sidik’s testimony describes the detention camps of the Uyghur Region.

“Together, their accounts shatter Beijing’s fiction that its transplant system is voluntary and compliant with international standards. The Chinese Communist Party told the world it had ended the use of executed prisoners’ organs. These eyewitnesses say otherwise,” Smith said.

Inside the prison hospital system, in 2020 and 2021—years after Beijing told the world it had stopped taking organs from prisoners—Ali testified he saw “unconscious, shackled men brought by armed personnel directly into surgery rooms. They never returned. He saw bodies taken on carts toward the rear of a building where an incinerator operated.”

“A second eyewitness, Kalbinur Sidik, brings us inside another part of the Chinese gulag: the camps of the Uyghur Region,” Smith told the Commission. “Her account, which she will give herself before this panel, shows a system where human beings are reduced to commodities with their organs sold to the highest bidder. Police in these camps systematically perpetrate brutality and abuse on the imprisoned with impunity.”

The prison hospitals and modern-day gulags described in these testimonies are not places of medical care or rehabilitation, the New Jersey congressman said. “They are crime scenes—part of a system of coercion, medical abuse, and genocide.”

“Organ crimes are not just a China problem,” he emphasized. “It is a global one that flourishes wherever coercion, poverty, corruption, secrecy, and demand intersect. That is why Congress must act.”

Five U.S. states have passed laws prohibiting health insurance coverage for organ transplants linked to China. Critics applaud the move but contend it is only a meager first step against an abuse that demands a far more vigorous response.

Faith of Any Kind Must be Crushed

The Communist regime’s relentless campaign against religion stems from a simple fear: people of spiritual faith answer to a higher power than the Party and thus threaten totalitarianism.

The most widespread organ harvesting allegations in China centered first on people of the Falun Gong faith—peaceful men and women targeted by the Chinese Communist Party for eradication merely because of their religious beliefs.

Later came mounting evidence of organ harvesting from people of other faiths; from the Uyghurs, Tibetans, Christians, death row inmates, and others treated as property of the state.

Witnesses described the monstrous system whereby the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) profits from murdering healthy 28-year-old Uyghurs to sell their organs to the rich. In China, a wealthy CCP member can order a heart, kidney, liver, or other organs needed to survive. The organs come from young adults who are executed.

Ethan Gutmann, a China studies expert at the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation, explained to the Commission that the target age is always 28 because that’s “when your organs have reached maturity and yet you haven’t started to deteriorate.”

Whether by gunshot or lethal injection preceding extraction, killing victims through organ harvesting ensures organ freshness and substantial profits for China’s transplant industry.

Consequently, patients from China and abroad — including North America, Europe, Japan, South Korea and the Gulf States — face minimal wait times. Premium payments can secure organs within two weeks; in urgent liver failure cases, waits have reportedly been as short as four hours.

“Let me be clear,” Rep. Smith told the Commission. “Ethical organ transplantation is one thing. It can be noble and life-saving. But what we are examining today is the opposite. Imprisoned and persecuted people are turned into mere factory inventory. Hearts. Livers. Kidneys. Lungs. Corneas. Taken from the living. Hidden behind hospital walls. Protected by secrecy, corruption, fear, and state power.”

Collaboration with American Institutions

The May congressional hearing also focused on the role of American institutions in allegedly bolstering China’s organ transplant industry.

Testimonies revealed that U.S. universities, medical schools, and research hospitals have trained Chinese transplant surgeons who later returned to China and became leaders of transplant programs linked to human rights scandals.

Another concern raised during the hearing was the transfer of transplant-related technology and knowledge through academic research collaborations. Witnesses argued that such partnerships have allowed Chinese transplant centers to benefit from American advances in transplant medicine, despite burning questions about the source of organs used in China.

Critics contend that such collaboration lends wrongful legitimacy to institutions accused of forced organ harvesting while enhancing their international prestige.

Smith said he chaired his first hearing on forced organ harvesting thirty years ago, on June 18, 1996. Since then, the evidence has become more detailed and horrific as organ harvesting mushroomed into ‘big business.’

“The House has twice passed my legislation with overwhelming bipartisan support,” the congressmen told a press conference. “The Stop Forced Organ Harvesting Act of 2025 passed the House 406 to 1. It would criminalize forced organ trafficking, impose serious sanctions, require reporting, deny visas, and create penalties of up to 20 years in prison. It would impose up to a $1 million fine for knowing complicity.”

“This bill blows the whistle on brokers, traffickers, corrupt officials, complicit doctors, hospitals, researchers, insurers, and middlemen,” Smith told the House panel. “If you profit from coerced transplants, you should be prepared to lose not only your money but your visa, your access to the United States, and your freedom.

The Senate has not acted on the bill; it has languished in the Foreign Relations Committee for almost a year.

“Every day without consequences is another day perpetrators operate in the shadows, witnesses are intimidated, evidence disappears, and families never learn what happened to their loved ones,” argued the New Jersey congressman.

***

America’s Organ Procurement Industry

While nothing approaches the moral depravity of China’s forced organ harvesting system, organ procurement and transplantation have become a multibillion-dollar enterprise in many countries, including the United States.

The New York Times ran a long feature last July about a federal inquiry into these programs, after complaints surfaced about doctors being pressured to do organ surgery on patients without their consent.

In numerous cases, the investigation said, patients thought to be in a vegetative state showed signs of pain or distress while being readied for the organ retrieval procedure.

Organs themselves cannot be legally bought or sold. But U.S. organ procurement organizations collectively receive billions of dollars a year in “for facilitating procurements”— a polite way of saying ‘organ snatching.’ Most of that revenue derives from state and federal grants and Medicare reimbursements.

Families Pressured to Authorize Organ Donation

The NY Times investigation criticized Kentucky Organ Donor Affiliates, which was coordinating donations in the state. It found that the organization’s employees repeatedly pressured families to authorize a donation, emphasizing its humanitarian value and how it would endow the patient’s life with “more meaning.”

In addition, they tried to push hospital staff to remove life support and allow for surgery even if there were indications of growing awareness in terminally ill, unconscious patients.

The federal investigation centered on an increasingly common practice called “donation after circulatory death.” Unlike most organ donors, who are brain-dead, patients in these cases have some brain function but are on life support and not expected to recover. Often, they are in a coma.

Once family members agree to donation, they, in effect, give the go-ahead to withdraw life support. The employees of an organ procurement organization begin testing the patient’s organs and lining up transplant surgeons and recipients. Every state has at least one procurement organization, the Times article said.

Typically, the patient is taken to an operating room where hospital workers withdraw life support and wait for death. The organs are considered viable for donation only if the patient dies within an hour or two. If that happens, the procurement team waits five more minutes and then begins removing organs. Strict rules are supposed to ensure that no retrieval begins before death or causes it.

The report described an incident in which a 50-year-old patient began stirring less than an hour after being taken off life support and started looking around. Shockingly, the organ retrieval procedure was not immediately ended, nor was the patient given any explanation for what was being done to him.

“The patient had no idea what was going on but was becoming more aware and agitated by the minute,” records noted.

After 40 more minutes — when the patient’s organs would no longer qualify for donation — the attempt was called off, and he was moved to an intensive care unit. He later sat up and spoke with his family, case notes report.

Most of the patients in the cases the investigators reviewed eventually died, hours or days after the aborted organ retrieval. But some recovered enough to leave the hospital, according to the Times’ report.

He Cried, Pulled His Legs to His Chest and Shook His Head

A congressional committee heard testimony about a Kentucky man, Anthony Hoover, who had an overdose in 2021. He was unresponsive for two days before his family agreed to donate his organs.

Over the next two days, the procurement organization moved toward surgery even as the patient’s neurological condition improved, the investigation found. During one exam, records show, he was “thrashing on the bed.”

Even though the man cried, pulled his legs to his chest and shook his head, officials still tried to move forward with the surgery, the NY Times reported.

The hospital staff “was extremely uncomfortable with the amount of reflexes patient is exhibiting,” case notes read. “Hospital staff kept stating that to go ahead with the organ retrieval would amount to euthanasia—mercy-killing,” which is essentially is no different, they insisted, from murder.

An organ procurement coordinator assured them it was not the same thing. Nevertheless, a hospital doctor flatly refused to withdraw life support. In a shocking turnaround, Mr. Hoover eventually recovered and left the hospital.

There is no record of hospital staff apologizing to the man they came so close to killing for his organs.

The federal investigation has since examined about 350 controversial cases in Kentucky over the past four years in which plans to remove organs were ultimately halted. In 73 of these cases, unconscious terminally ill patients began to stir and awaken, which would have made stripping them of their organs a clear act of murder.

***

Putin and XI Discuss Outwitting Death With Harvested Organs

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin were recently caught on a hot mic discussing longevity and organ transplants during a military parade in Beijing. The conversation sparked intense controversy over China’s infamous forced organ harvesting practices.

According to the Washington Times, the conversation, broadcast by Chinese state media, featured Xi noting that living past 70 is now “commonplace,” with Putin responding that “biotechnology advances in organ transplantation” could help people “become younger and perhaps even achieve immortality.”

Xi then suggested humans “might live to 150 years old” during this century.

To many observers, the exchange captured the remarkable hubris of two 72-year old totalitarian leaders casually speculating about dramatically extending their own lifespans thanks to organ transplants.

The remarks quickly spread across Chinese social media, where they revived suspicions about China’s booming transplant industry depending on murder and organ snatching from helpless prisoners.

Critics note that China maintains hospitals and wings specifically for organ transplants for Chinese Communist Party leaders, with organs potentially sourced from persecuted groups. House Speaker Mike Johnson acknowledged hearing “horrific stories” about unwilling organ donors in China.

China officially ended the use of organs from executed prisoners in 2015, but recent reports indicate Beijing is building six new organ transplant facilities in Xinjiang, where an estimated 1 million Uyghurs are held in detention camps.

Evidence compiled by Dr. Jacob Lavee, director of heart transplantation at Sheba Medical Center in Israel indicates that Chinese transplant hospitals use a vast supply of organs sourced from living political and religious prisoners.

Chinese academic studies confirm that a number of these people, selected based on blood type, health, age and sometimes even dietary habits, are killed through the organ extraction process.

Dr. Enver Tohti, a Uyghur surgeon now residing in London, provided harrowing testimony quoted by the NY Post. In 1995, near Urumqi, Xinjiang, he was ordered to remove the liver and kidneys from a prisoner who had been shot but was still alive.

The prisoner physically resisted when the scalpel cut into him, and active bleeding indicated the heart was still pumping, leading Dr. Tohti to realize the man was still alive during the organ excision.

Dr. Tohti has stated under oath that the man died during the procedure. “That man had been shot but, technically, I killed him,” he confessed, “and that still haunts me to this day.”

Following this event, Dr. Tohti fled China and eventually sought asylum in London, where he continues to campaign globally against state-sanctioned organ harvesting.

Rep. Chris Smith, co-chair of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, called the hot mic conversation between Putin and XI a “wake-up call” and urged Senate action on his legislation targeting forced organ harvesting.

“No dictator, no party boss, no wealthy patient, and no broker should be able to purchase longevity with the organs of the poor and persecuted,” Smith said. “That is all the more reason to pass the Stop Forced Organ Harvesting Act and make unmistakably clear that the United States will not stand by in the face of such cruelty.

“Not with our expertise. Not with our money. Not with a dollar of American complicity.”

Yeshiva Bochurim Afraid to Return Home for Shabbos

As the old saying has it, the train has left the station. Or, in our case, the Knesset has disbanded. There was no great drama involved; the Knesset was supposed to disband soon in any event, in preparation for the upcoming election, which was originally scheduled for October, Cheshvan 5787. That means that even if the Knesset dissolves early, the election will be no more than a month earlier than originally planned. The opposition, of course, has been trying to frame this as a dramatic occurrence and a victory on their part. But the coalition’s bill to disband the Knesset is the one that has been approved, and all that the Knesset has left to do is to set a date for the election that will satisfy as many parties as possible.

If you are wondering exactly when the election will be held, I can tell you that it will definitely be a Tuesday (every election in Israel is held on a Tuesday, as required by law) and the only question is whether it will be held in late Elul, at the beginning of Tishrei, or in Cheshvan. At first, there was a rumor that Netanyahu didn’t want the election in the month of October since he didn’t want the 7th of October to be repeatedly invoked during the campaign. A subsequent rumor had it that Netanyahu took the opposite position and actually wanted the election in October, so that the country would see that the Knesset had completed its full term. For the chareidi parties, there are other important considerations. The beginning of the winter zman isn’t an ideal time for an election, whereas the period before Rosh Hashanah would ostensibly be a good time for the chareidi parties to drum up support, since it tends to be a time of spiritual inspiration for all Jews, even those who are not religious. Then again, thousands of chareidi voters will be out of the country at the time, visiting Uman. In any event, we will have to wait for the final decision to be made and then deal with the timing once it is determined.

On another note, this past Shabbos was a stressful time for much of the country. The Shabbos after Shavuos is typically a brief break for yeshiva bochurim, after over a month of intensive learning since the beginning of the zman. This week, the bochurim were warned to avoid the police, since any encounter with a police officer is liable to lead to an arrest. Most of the bochurim in Israel are currently classified as draft evaders, and the police have begun detaining every draft evader they encounter and transferring them to the custody of the military police. I watched yeshiva bochurim who were heading home with their suitcases fleeing in panic at the sight of a police car. It is a terrible situation and a disgrace to the State of Israel.

The fact that the civilian police have been arresting yeshiva bochurim on behalf of the military police was the subject of much controversy last week, when Police Commissioner Dani Levi caved to the demands of Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara. Other high-ranking police officials, meanwhile, were furious with him for the move. In response, Moshe Gafni sent a notice to Degel HaTorah representatives in all local governments ordering them to cease all collaboration with the local police. Levi was apparently frightened by the harsh reactions against him and announced that he would reconsider the policy and perhaps order the police to release draft evaders immediately with a summons to appear at the draft office, rather than detaining them for arrest by the military police. At the same time, he instructed the chaplain of the police force to open a dialogue with leaders of the chareidi community, although it is very unclear what, exactly, they could possibly discuss. But let’s set this sad situation aside and move on to other subjects.

Passions Flare Over the Kosel Law

Even as the 25th Knesset disbands, there are still some members of the Knesset who are trying to squeeze some final accomplishments out of its waning days. For instance, a new law concerning subsidized day care passed its first reading on Wednesday, albeit only after the chareidim threatened to support the opposition’s bill calling for a state commission of inquiry into the events of October 7 if the coalition did not support the measure. The new bill, whose purpose is to override the sanctions on subsidized day care, stipulates that the subsidies are to be dependent only on the mother’s occupation and that a father’s legal status with regard to the draft will have no bearing on the family’s eligibility. The bill does not stand a chance of passing into law, but the chareidi representatives were visibly jubilant over its initial success.

I presume that you have heard of MK Avi Maoz. In fact, I have written about him in the past, including one particular article about his longstanding friendship with Prime Minister Netanyahu, which began when Netanyahu was the Israeli ambassador to the UN while Maoz was leading the campaign to free Natan Sharansky from Soviet prison. Netanyahu was the one who advised Maoz to ask President Reagan to include Sharansky’s release in the talks between Washington and Moscow. Maoz is an impressive person and a talmid of Rav Tzvi Tau; he succeeded in being elected to the Knesset by joining the list headed by Betzalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir. The other two politicians believed that even if Maoz wasn’t worth a full mandate, he would certainly bring in enough votes to justify his inclusion on the list. After the election, Maoz became a one-man party of sorts, under the name Noam. I have been following his actions in the Knesset, and I can identify a distinct quality in the man: He always makes sure to daven with a minyan in the Knesset. You may take this for granted, but I can tell you that I do not see all the religious Knesset members at the minyanim, certainly not as consistently as Maoz.

In any event, Maoz speaks in the Knesset very often; he is entitled to speak in almost every debate, since he is considered a separate party, albeit with only one member. And his speeches are always on target, although I can’t say for sure whether he has managed to sway anyone, despite his cogent arguments. Maoz has also introduced some very important bills, which he has worked diligently and tenaciously to promote. He doesn’t usually succeed in passing new laws, but there are times when he manages to solicit the coalition’s support. (Maoz is technically a member of the coalition, although he resigned from his position as a deputy minister in the Prime Minister’s Office.) Maoz introduced the Kosel Law, which passed its preliminary reading in February 2026, and he managed to have the law discussed in the Knesset Interior Committee in advance of its first reading.

The Kosel Law is technically an amendment to the Law of Preservation of Holy Sites passed in 1967. Maoz’s bill states that the Chief Rabbinate has exclusive authority over the manner of worship at the Kosel. Of course, the Reform movement is opposed to this bill; they fear that the Chief Rabbinate will take away the Ezras Yisroel plaza on the side of the Kosel, which was already promised to them. They are not interested in the Ezras Yisroel plaza at all; they claim that it is an insult to them and insist on being allowed to hold their own services in the regular women’s section or the Kosel plaza. At the same time, they aren’t willing to give up the plaza that they have already received. Maoz’s law was previously reviewed by the Ministerial Committee for Legislation before its vote, and Netanyahu asked them not to discuss it. Nevertheless, Maoz was insistent and ultimately won.

The existing law already prohibits “desecrating” the Kosel and holding services that are not in accordance with the established practice at the site. Nevertheless, Maoz’s law adds a definition of desecration of the Kosel as “behavior that violates the instructions and rulings of the Chief Rabbinate.” Maoz explained to me, “As a result of various interpretations given by certain bodies, including the Supreme Court, over the years, I would like to clarify that the Chief Rabbinate has exclusive authority over the rules that apply at the Kosel.” The bill does not state explicitly that the mixed prayer groups of men and women in the Ezras Yisroel section should be abolished. However, it states very clearly that the Chief Rabbinate holds the exclusive authority to determine the rules of conduct at the Kosel (and not just to make recommendations). The law is very likely to overturn the Ezras Yisroel compromise, which is the reason for the Reform movement’s outrage. In addition, the law will make it possible to press criminal charges against the Women of the Wall, the group of provocateurs who have repeatedly smuggled sifrei Torah into the women’s section at the Kosel. It may even make it possible to forcibly prevent the group of women from continuing these stunts.

Blocking the Court’s Interference

This brings us to the debate in the Constitution Committee, which is headed by MK Simcha Rothman of the Religious Zionism party, who is more or less in favor of Maoz’s bill. Some representatives of Women of the Wall showed up for the committee session as well, and they were extremely vocal. MK Tally Gottliv, the Likud party’s fiercely outspoken Knesset member, clashed with one of those women, who made the appalling statement that Orthodoxy harms women. Gottliv shot back, “The Jewish religion from which I come exalts women and makes it possible for every woman to do what she believes is right. Unlike you, I do not dictate anyone else’s behavior. The Kosel Law wouldn’t have been necessary if not for your group’s deliberate provocations. And the Reform movement has adopted the Women of the Wall as their agents and provocateurs.”

Another speaker added, “The Reform movement is spearheading the liquidation sale of Judaism.”

The opposition accused Avi Maoz in particular, and the coalition in general, of trying to rush the law’s passage at the last moment before the election. That accusation, in turn, sparked an uproar. After all, why should that be considered improper? Why should an attempt to pass legislation before the Knesset dissolves be grounds for condemnation? Avichai Boaron of the Likud party joined the chorus of condemnation against the Reform movement. “We do not need to give up on values that are sacred to the majority of the Israeli public,” he said. “Not everything needs to be forced and used to poke a finger in the eye of the traditional and religious communities in Israel. It would have been better if we hadn’t needed the law at all, but since we need it, it is good that it is happening.”

Avi Maoz decried the coalition’s failure to properly strengthen the Jewish identity of the State of Israel, arguing that the government had failed to advance any significant measures in that area. “This coalition was elected by a public that wanted a Jewish state with a strong Jewish identity, but it failed to advance almost anything in that area in practice,” he said. Maoz also remarked, “One of the main reasons that this critical bill is in the headlines is the flagrant interference of the Supreme Court, which has the goal of changing the Jewish character of the Kosel. I will tell you clearly that the bill was designed to eliminate the ambiguity in the wording of the existing law, which has enabled the judges to twist the law and reinterpret it in accordance with their wishes and in violation of the clear intentions of the legislative body and the broader public. This bill clarifies the meaning of the term ‘desecration’ and will thus prevent any interpretation by anyone other than Israel’s Chief Rabbis.”

The Constitution Committee has not yet completed its deliberations. If Avi Maoz succeeds, the bill will proceed to the Knesset plenum for its first reading. That will make it possible for the bill to be brought to the next Knesset and passed into law—or, perhaps, for a miracle to happen and for the law to be passed in the current Knesset.

A Worm’s Eye View

Let’s return for a moment to the day care subsidy law, which was approved last Wednesday. A certain MK from the Likud party, an obscure politician named Dan Illouz, voted against the bill, and the entire Religious Zionism party did not enter the room for the vote. That should be an indication of which Knesset members can be expected to align themselves against the chareidim….

When Dan Illouz announced his vote (it was a roll call, with each member of the Knesset called by name) there was an explosion of outrage from the chareidi Knesset members. Illouz, who wears a yarmulke and received his seat in the Knesset under the Norwegian Law, recently penned an article titled, “Yes, Dismantle It.” He was referring to the Likud party’s political alliance with the chareidim, which he advised the party to terminate. “The alliance,” he wrote, “has become an existential threat to Israel.” I find it hard to believe that a sane person could write such words, but upon giving the matter some more thought, I understand him. Illouz sits on the rear benches of the Likud party; he has no real power, and as far as he is concerned, the Likud might as well be in the opposition. After all, it will make no difference to him; he will be just as powerless and inconsequential, regardless of who is prime minister. He will have the same lack of influence from the benches of the opposition as he does when the Likud is in the coalition.

Two weeks ago, we marked Rav Uri Zohar’s fourth yahrtzeit. Rav Uri often illustrated certain ideas with the analogy of a worm in an apple. The worm, he explained, is completely unaware of the world outside the apple; it knows nothing other than the interior of the fruit. Rav Uri had a different point to make with this analogy, but I would like to borrow it for my own purposes. Dan Illouz, a junior member of the Knesset, is akin to the worm in the apple. He has no idea that there is an entire world, a state, and a government outside his tiny bubble; he does not know that there are policies that must be advanced and issues that must be tackled. He knows nothing other than his own petty political maneuverings; nothing else matters to him.

The Persecution of Yonasan Urich

It is widely understood in Israel that Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara is shamelessly exploiting her position as the head of the Israeli prosecution to do everything in her power to stymie the government in every way. She is the one who is behind all the sanctions and arrests of lomdei Torah, she is responsible for disqualifying every candidate nominated by Netanyahu to head the Mossad, and she is the one who has repeatedly notified the Supreme Court that she supports the petitions against the government. The Knesset is currently discussing a law that would split her position into two: a legal advisor to the government and the head of the prosecution system. The presumption is that the attorney general has too many spheres of authority, and this excess of power has given her the ability to topple the government.

At the beginning of this month, one of the attorney general’s most bizarre and politically charged legal machinations came to an end. She had advised the court that since a certain witness named Einhorn hadn’t come to Israel, the proceedings against two of the prime minister’s advisors, Ofer Golan and Yonasan Urich, should be terminated. The two had been indicted on charges of harassing a witness in Prime Minister Netanyahu’s trial— Shlomo Filber, former director-general of the Communications Ministry, who had agreed to turn state witness against Netanyahu but later backtracked, claiming that he was threatened and coerced into taking that step. Filber has since become an opponent of the state’s position in the cases against Netanyahu.

The allegation that two close associates of the prime minister had harassed Filber sounded implausible from the outset. But there turned out to be a more insidious reason for the accusations: The police took advantage of the investigation to gain access to the suspects’ cell phones, hoping to thereby amass more evidence against Netanyahu, since they had no access to the Prime Minister’s Office itself. Filber repeatedly insisted that he hadn’t been harassed and he did not feel threatened by the two suspects, but the attorney general stubbornly insisted on pursuing the case. Everyone understood that it was nothing but a politically charged campaign of harassment. Senior figures in the prosecution opposed the indictment, but the state prosecutor and the attorney general were obstinate. And the story has now ended in total defeat for the two. The official reason for the closure of the case is a technicality, but everyone understands the real reason the charges were dropped: They realized that they were going to suffer a defeat in court. Incidentally, Urich and Golan filed a request with the court three months ago to drop the case on the grounds that they would not receive a fair trial. This was most likely part of the reason that the attorney general hurried to close the case, fearing the backlash if their claims were accepted.

Attorneys Chadad and Milstein attacked the attorney general and the prosecution: “This case should never have begun, and once it was opened, it should have been closed years ago. In three different judicial forums, we demonstrated the serious flaws in the case and the criminal offenses committed within its framework against Ofer Golan and Yonasan Urich. These were allegations of harassment against a witness who declared that he was not harassed. The failures and misconduct in this case cry out to the heavens. No one can ever return to our client the seven years of legal torment and persecution that he suffered, but it is time for someone in the law enforcement system to be brought to justice for one of the most embarrassing, negligent, and improper cases conducted in Israel in recent years.”

Urich, who is fairly sharp-witted, wrote, “Almost eight years of legal torment and unbridled persecution ended this morning with a single phone call and a piece of paper sent to me digitally. No one can ever make amends to me and my family for what we have gone through. No one will be brought to justice, and no one will learn lessons from it. I want to thank Hashem; my wife, Talia, who has stood beside me through a world war; my family, who always embrace and support me; Prime Minister Netanyahu, whom I have the sacred privilege of assisting; my lawyers, Amit Chadad and Noa Milstein, who fought like lions in this case; and all of you, who gave me the sunlight of faith during the dark days, even at times when I had no faith.”

This case will now be closed, but Baharav-Miara has already announced her intention to prosecute Urich in the Bild case on the extremely serious charge of treason. Many people reacted by declaring that she is insane. And I tend to agree with them.

The Witch Hunt Continues

Now that you have observed the corruption, politicization, and outright bias infesting the Israeli prosecution, you will surely be able to put the following story in perspective: A year and a half after the scandal erupted, the state prosecution informed Tzachi Braverman, the former chief of staff of Prime Minister Netanyahu’s office who has been tapped to become Israel’s next ambassador to the United Kingdom, that he will be facing an indictment on charges of fraud, breach of trust, and obstruction of justice. Braverman will be summoned for a hearing, which is officially a process in which a person has the opportunity to convince the court of his innocence before he is formally indicted. However, no one in Israel truly believes in the integrity of this process.

In case you have forgotten about this story, let me refresh your memories: As part of the judicial witch hunt against Netanyahu, his spokesman and close associate, Eli Feldstein, was arrested and investigated. Feldstein became a central defendant in what was known as the Bild affair, based on the allegations that he had leaked a document to the German newspaper Bild that supported Netanyahu’s interpretation of the involvement of Qatar and Egypt in the issue of the hostages in Gaza. Urich was involved in that affair as well. One night during that time, Braverman asked Feldstein to meet with him in the parking lot outside the Prime Minister’s Office in Tel Aviv. It isn’t clear what they discussed there, but Feldstein claimed that Braverman revealed that he was under investigation and coached him on how to respond to the interrogators. That, of course, would be a violation of the law. Braverman, however, denied these claims and gave a completely different account of their conversation. Last week, in a statement to the public, the prosecution wrote, “It is suspected that due to his position, Braverman discovered in October 2024 that a covert investigation was taking place regarding the transfer of raw intelligence information, which was classified as top secret and was obtained through classified means, to the German newspaper Bild, where a significant portion of the information was published and partial quotations were released.”

The news of the charges alarmed many people, as it created the sense once again that the attorney general is waging a campaign of politically motivated harassment against anyone associated with Netanyahu. Braverman’s lawyers wrote, “This was a wrong decision that continues the terrible injustice that has already been done to Braverman. The written allegations make it clear that the basis of this decision was the testimony of Mr. Feldstein, a false witness driven by ulterior motives. It is very peculiar that the prosecution, which itself submitted an indictment against [Feldstein] while completely rejecting his various implausible versions of events and false claims, is basing its current decision on an unreliable witness who has given an assortment of false and contradictory versions of this story as well.”

Braverman has been barred from the Prime Minister’s Office since his arrest in January, and his departure for London has also been postponed indefinitely. In other words, the judicial system is destroying his life, just as it has destroyed the lives of many others in Netanyahu’s inner circle, such as Yonasan Urich. Urich was viciously slandered for months when he was accused of serving as a public relations agent for Qatar, to explain why he leaked the document casting Egypt in a negative light. He has been cast as a traitor and a spy, and Netanyahu was likewise excoriated for having people on his staff who allegedly worked for enemy states. However, the head of the Mossad recently claimed that the leaked document did not harm Israel’s national security in any way, and that Urich acted for the benefit of the country.

Falling Dollar Drags Down Donation Values

In case you are not aware of the dramatic fall in the value of the dollar vis-à-vis the Israeli shekel, it is important for me to bring it to your attention. In the past, if you donated a thousand dollars to tzedokah in Israel or sent a thousand dollars to help your children in Israel with living expenses, then you were effectively donating 3500 shekels to those causes. Today, however, the value of one thousand dollars is less than 3000 shekels. This is a crushing hardship for people who live in Israel and earn salaries in dollars, or for young couples who receive monthly aid from their parents—to say nothing of yeshivos, kollelim, and other organizations that are sustained by donations from America.

Last week, I met with a gabbai tzedokah who distributes vouchers for food to yungeleit before Pesach. Every year, he raises a total of about six million dollars from philanthropists in America to support this project; he receives the funds from wealthy financiers who contribute approximately the same sums to him every year. Tens of thousands of yungeleit benefit from this financial aid, which helps them manage the daunting expenses of the holiday. Now, try to calculate the difference in the shekel value of six million dollars since the exchange rate began its drastic fall. Unfortunately, this has a dramatic impact on the sums that can reach the yungeleit who rely on his project and others like it.

My acquaintance added ruefully that he is facing an even greater financial hardship than you might imagine. The problem, he explained, is that he received pledges from his usual donors in America during the months of Shevat and Adar, and he based his budget for the distribution of tzedokah funds on those pledges, using the exchange rate that existed at the time. Shortly before Pesach, he handed out the vouchers based on the sums he had calculated, but many of the pledges are being paid only now, and it turns out that he has given away much more than he received. The math is simple: If he integrated two million dollars in future pledges into his total budget, then that means that he distributed about seven million shekels, based on the assumption that one million dollars would be worth about 3.5 million shekels. At this point, however, the same two million dollars is worth far less than the sum he projected, and he is now struggling with a deficit of about a million shekels. These aren’t merely theoretical sums; this is essentially what happened to him. And this is just one illustration of the impact of the falling dollar in Israel.

Rav Yitzchok Edelstein, Rov of Ramat Hasharon

It is no secret that, from a chareidi perspective, Israel’s current government has not been especially successful. The government began its term with considerable momentum; the chareidim received extremely influential government posts and had many grand plans. Chareidi ministers led the Ministry of the Interior, which is responsible for establishing new cities; the Ministry of Housing, which is responsible for building apartments, and everything in between. There were chareidi ministers in the Ministry of Labor, which oversees the National Insurance Institute; the Prime Minister’s Office, where Uri Maklev racked up tremendous accomplishments, and the Ministry of Welfare as well. You are probably aware that I work in the Knesset, and you will not be surprised if I tell you that I receive many requests for help from average citizens (and from Americans as well). As long as the chareidim were in the government, it was always easy for me to help them. If I received a call from Americans in Israel who were unable to receive health insurance, I would simply contact senior officials in the National Insurance Institute, which was under the aegis of the ministry headed by Yoav Ben-Tzur. The chareidi parties also had influence over the health funds, thanks to the fact that Uriel Bosso, another chareidi politician, headed the Ministry of Health. And if an American tourist needed help with the Ministry of the Interior, I was always able to assist him in his dealings with the Population Authority. In July 2025, however, the chareidi ministers stepped down from their positions due to the government’s failure to pass the draft law. While the chareidim who held positions of ministry directors-general have retained those posts, and many of the ministers’ offices are still staffed by chareidim, their influence has waned considerably. At this point, I often have little recourse when I am asked to help struggling citizens.

It turns out, however, out that there was one ministry that never stopped working: the Ministry of Religious Affairs (or, as it is now known, the Ministry of Religious Services). The previous minister who headed this ministry, Michoel Malchieli of the Shas party, was extremely efficient and effective, and the director-general who remained after his departure, Yehuda Avidan, is hardworking and diligent. (Avidan’s family name was originally Bosso; he is a grandson of the Baba Chaki, the brother of the Baba Sali.) One of the projects on which he worked for a long time and that recently came to fruition was the appointment of new municipal chief rabbis. Dozens of cities had gone decades without appointing new chief rabbis, and Avidan worked hard to spearhead a new wave of appointments. The first appointment was in Tel Aviv; I have already told you about the election of Rav Zevadiah Cohen as the city’s chief rabbi, which the media described as another accomplishment for the Shas party. But that wasn’t the end. Several other chief rabbis were recently appointed, including Rav Menachem Mendel Nachshon, who was elected as the new chief rabbi of the city of Nof Hagalil (formerly Nazareth Illit) by a vote of 29 members of the electoral body. In Eilat, Rav Yair Hadaya was appointed to serve as the new Sephardic chief rabbi of the city. Rav Hadaya is the son of Rav Moshe Hadaya, who served as the Sephardic chief rabbi of Eilat for over 60 years. Out of the 36 members of the electoral body, 32 voted for the new chief rabbi.

The participants in the election for a chief rabbi, incidentally, are representatives of the municipality, the Ministry of Religious Affairs, and the shuls in the relevant city.

In Kiryat Ono (a relatively small city near Bnei Brak), Rav Yitzchok Vardi was elected as the new chief rabbi. In Charish, a city near Chadera that is supposed to be a chareidi city, Rav Asher Zigdon was installed in the position. Rav Zigdon serves as the rov of a community in the city known as L’Ovdecha B’Emes and is a former talmid of Yeshivas Ohr Hachaim in Yerushalayim, where he was a talmid of Rav Reuven Elbaz. He studied halacha and prepared for a future in the rabbinate in Kollel Torah Vachaim in Bnei Brak, under the aegis of Rav Shimon Baadani, who was a member of the Moetzes Chachmei HaTorah. All the chief rabbis are members of the chareidi community, and it is a great accomplishment that the community has managed to prevent the appointment of more progressive chief rabbis who would seek to lower their cities’ religious standards.

Finally, Ramat Hasharon has a new chief rabbi as well, after several years of unsuccessful attempts to fill the position. The new chief rabbi of Ramat Hasharon, who was appointed after the position was left vacant for nine years, is Rav Yitzchok Edelstein, the son of the city’s previous chief rabbi, the illustrious Rav Yaakov Edelstein. A native of Ramat HaSharon who has served as rov of the Golan Quarter community for more than twenty years, Rav Yitzchok has now stepped into the position held by his legendary father, Rav Yaakov Edelstein, for 66 years. Even though there were nine nominees for the position, Rav Yitzchok received 25 out of the 30 votes cast by the electoral body. He received the support of the Shas party in light of the fact that both his late father and his illustrious uncle, Rav Gershon, advocated with Aryeh Deri on his behalf years ago. At the very least, then, it can be said that the chareidi political leadership has made some significant accomplishments that will have a lasting impact for years to come.

Remembering Rebbetzin Mira Edelstein

Now that I have mentioned Rav Yaakov Edelstein, I should note that the Edelstein family is currently mourning the passing of Rebbetzin Mira (Meira), who was married to Rav Yaakov since the summer of 5772. One of the grandchildren said to me, “She was a great tzaddeikes; it would have been impossible for anyone to match her dedication to our grandfather.” Indeed, her devotion to her husband was outstanding.

Rebbetzin Mira passed away about a month ago and was buried on Har Hamenuchos. The Israeli Yated Neeman reported, “She was born in 1937 on Kibbutz Ganigar in the Yezreel Valley, far removed from the world of Torah and Judaism. As she matured, like many others, she sought fulfillment in the cultural world in which she lived. However, the teshuvah movement was beginning to develop at that time and was making waves in Eretz Yisroel, led by Rav Uri Zohar, and many followed him on his path of return. She, too, left behind the vanities of this world and chose the path of emunah, returning to her Jewish roots with all her strength.”

During the rebbetzin’s period of transformation, Rav Elazar Menachem Man Shach served as a veritable father figure to her. There is a well-known story about an incident in which Rav Shach spent half an hour with a baalas teshuvah, discussing the pros and cons of various sewing machines until they finally settled on one particular model for her to buy. That baalas teshuvah was the future Rebbetzin Edelstein.

At the levayah, everyone noticed the presence of Rebbetzin Elia Zohar and her son Rav Isamar. Their presence was meaningful, although it was also to be expected in this case. The usually reticent Rebbetzin Zohar said, “We have known each other for many years.” Indeed, they were probably acquainted for fifty years. If I understood correctly, the late Rebbetzin Edelstein’s journey toward faith began while she gazed at the Mediterranean Sea from her home in Tel Aviv; as she watched the waves, she came to the recognition that the world must have a purpose. She quickly became a bas bayis at the home of Rav Uri Zohar and his wife. She knew Rav Uri Zohar from his days as part of the world of secular culture, and it was almost a foregone conclusion that she would make her way to the Zohar home. Isamar remarked, “When we were children, she was like an aunt to us. She babysat for us and fed us.”

Rebbetzin Zohar commented to her family, “She was an incredible baalas teshuvah who achieved everything possible on the path of teshuvah.” The rebbetzin recalled that Meira had once come to her to be taught how to daven. “She was purposeful and determined,” she said.