So it is official. The Attorney General has served Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with indictments for various charges in the 3 cases, 1000, 2000, and 4000.

To remind you, here is what Benjamin Netanyahu himself said back in the day when Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was being indicted.

That is, Netanyahu said a Prime Minister knee deep in investigations has no moral or public mandate to continue to rule and make important decisions for the State, for he might make decisions for his personal good rather than for the good of the State.

Sure, there is no law requiring the Prime Minister to resign at the serving of an indictment, but Netanyahu himself says a PM with such cases open against him has no moral right to continue serving. I wish him well and I hope he beats the charges and can prove himself innocent. Nobody wants to see the Prime Minister of their own country be found guilty of such serious charges. He should take the time off to defend himself - as he himself demanded of others.

Then again, I am not surprised that he has no intention to resign because of the indictment despite his demand that another PM in a similar situation do so. As Prime Minister Netanyahu has not followed the guidelines he himself laid out in his various books that he wrote regarding how to put an end to terror and how to make peace... In Netanyahu's book (and it is probably the same with most, if not all, politicians) what is good for the gander is not necessarily good for the goose...

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After working to lessen the use of plastic bags, with the goal of eventually discouraging it even more, the government is now encouraging an increase in the use of plastic, though not in the form of bags.

According to Ynet, the Ministry of Agriculture is offering financial incentives to supermarket chains that will agree to sell [some] vegetables packaged in plastic containers rather than loose.

The Ministry of Agriculture is trying to solve, or lessen, a different problem - that of waste in the process of distribution and transport of some vegetables. They claim that selling the relevant vegetables in plastic containers rather than loose will decrease waste by 15%-17%, translating to as much as 20%-52% throughout the supply chain! It would also presumably decrease the amount of waste after the vegetables get to the consumer's home. The relevant vegetables (and fruit) are banana, cucumber, tomato, peppers, squash, cabbage and others, apples, nectarines, peaches, avocado and others. A chain that would sell 6 like this would get the financial reward, but a chain choosing to sell 10 or more would get even more.

The main benefit of packaging these vegetables is that they would retain their freshness and quality longer. On the other hand, customers would likely end up buying more as they would have to buy a package, or two or three, of cucumbers to get the amount they want even if it requires them to buy more, rather than just buy the 10 (or however many) cucumbers they want. Also, a package might look good on the outside, but some of the veggies further in that you cant see or feel might be lower quality. They claim your shopping will also go faster as a result, as you wont be feeling every cucumber and tomato you buy for freshness but would just take a package and move on. I dont think that is accurate - people will try to feel through the packaging, maybe they will even open the packaging and still feel the cucumbers, thus still ruining them! I think there might also be a health issue - people feel the vegetables and choose which to take and which to put back - someone with a cold or flu might leave his germs on the vegetables and spread his virus, while if in packaging it will keep consumers healthier.

Rami Levi supermarket chain suggests it is a good idea overall but will likely cause an increase in prices as the material and packing has to be paid for...

According to Behadrei, a group of 10 Border Patrol police/soldiers sat down for a late lunch at the Nechama Bakery in the Givat Zeev neighborhood of Jerusalem.

Upon the conclusion of their meal, they went to pay the bill 447nis. only to discover someone had anonymously paid for their lunch.

The cashier handed the soldiers a note from the sponsor saying "for the valuable soldiers who dedicate and risk their lives on behalf of the Jewish nation... With Appreciation, a regular Haredi fellow"

Beautiful and generous, a kiddush hashem of sorts, and leaving a good impression without feeling the need for personal credit..

Behadrei is reporting (with video) about a fellow who went to shul this morning and got an aliya. After his aliya he made a "mee shebeirach" blessing and included a blessing for the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to beat the charges against him.

The fellow then went and pledged to the shul 7000nis total, the equivalent sum per case against him - 1000nis for case #1000, 2000nis for case #2000 and 4000nis for case #4000.

That is very generous of the fellow, to give so much on behalf of someone else's issues. Presumably he will actually pay up his donation.

The shul membership or gabbai is probably a bit disappointed that Netanyahu does not have more cases open against him!

I already sat a term in the opposition in the past, and the world did not come to an end. The world could turn upside down and we still will not sit with Lapid..

  -- Deputy Minister Yaakov Litzman, when asked about possibly sitting in a coalition should Benny Gantz win the elections and become Prime Minister

It is getting tiring hearing the same questions and answers every day - different reporters asking the Haredi MKs if they would sit with Gantz and Lapid... it is as if they have nothing else to ask about...

More specific to Litzman's response, he did sit in the Opposition in the past, and the world won't come to an end if he has to again, but he sure did act like the world nearly came to an end last time. They speak about how horrible the situation was for the Haredi community last time they were not in the coalition, because of Lapid...

this is very cool

I am not sure what to add about this, so I am just going to post it as a public service announcement..

Yesterday it became known that a number of apartments in the "Mechir LaMishtaken" lottery for RBS E (Hei), aka Neve Shamir, were won by Haredi residents. In light of that, Mayor Aliza Bloch released a statement saying that anybody buying apartments in RBS Hei should know in advance that the buildings and the neighborhood will be built according to the plans designing it for the general public - tall buildings, no sukka porches, less space for shuls and more for other community structures. Anybody buying there should know this in advance and not complain later.

And, Bloch continued, RBS D (Daled) is designed for the religious and Haredi communities and anybody buying there should take that fact into account.

Anybody, each person, can choose where they want to live, but everyone should take into account the plans for the designs of the various neighborhoods and decide where they want to live.

sources: Shemeshnet and Behadrei

Izhar Cohen won the Eurovision song contest for Israel in 1978 with his iconic song, A-ba-ni-bi. Cohen again represented Israel in 1985 with Ole Ole, coming in 5th place, and tried to represent Israel in a couple of others years but failed to qualify.

Basically, Izhar Cohen has a lot of experience with the Eurovision.

And Izhar Cohen is disturbed that people planning to come, or trying to come, from Europe for the Eurovision contest to be held in Israel this coming May will have to deal with price gouging at the level that will make it prohibitively expensive for many people. The tickets for the contest itself are going to be expensive, but beyond that hotel prices have skyrocketed for that period.

Cohen says besides for people staying away, many will still come and then talk badly about being ripped off in Israel. To that end, Cohen has come up with an initiative in which participating people will offer space in their homes for free to visitors coming for the Eurovision. Cohen says this will give Israel a lot of good press and people will come and then go home happy and talk about their great experiences.


Cohen says he knows he can rake in a lot of money renting out his home or even just some beds in his home, but the good press Israel would get from this initiative is worth so much more.

And according to the Channel 13 news clip (in the Srugim article), people are signing on and opening their homes!

I wonder if they would let fellow Israelis stay in their homes like that as well...

But really, it is a nice initiative. I see nothing wrong with taking advantage of a service like AirBnB or Booking.com in order to rent out an apartment or a room in an apartment and make a little money off it. Nobody expects to travel to another country and to not have to pay for food and lodging. A fair price would be fine, while the price gouging happening is unfair. I know, a fair price is whatever someone is willing to pay and if a homeowner or hotel manager could charge an exorbitant fee it is driven by market forces and capitalism and is automatically a fair price, but still, price gouging and taking advantage of an unfair situation makes it difficult for a lot of people.

So, while it would be fair to charge something and nobody would complain, it is very magnanimous of him and other participants to do it for free in exchange for nothing but possible goodwill.

It is clear that Izhar Cohen really loves his country.

Rav Yitzchak Zilbershtein, rav of the Ramat Elchonon area of Bnei Braq, related an incident that happened with a yeshiva in the USA.

6 yeshiva bochurim decided to try to raise some money for the yeshiva. They went to one of the local gvirim, the wealthiest person living in the area of the yeshiva, according to the story, and solicited him for a donation to the yeshiva.

 Mr Money responded to the boys with an offer. He suggested the boys all jump into his swimming pool - fully clothed, right then in the heart of a cold winter - and for each boys that agrees and jumps in, he'll donate $1000 to the yeshiva.

All 6 boys agreed and jumped into the cold pool fully clothed, and the gvir wrote the yeshiva a check for $6000.

They went back to the yeshiva and submitted the donation. They later discovered that the yeshiva administration had decided to tear up the check. The reason being that this is not a donation to the yeshiva but is money for denigration and shaming and disrespect of the torah and it is inappropriate for the yeshiva to make use of such money.

The question remaining is, does the gvir need to give the yeshiva another donation of $6000, the amount he had committed to giving as tzedaka to replace the check that was torn up or has he fulfilled his commitment and the yeshiva's decision to not accept it exempts him from writing a new check?

Rav Zilbershtein paskened that the gvir does not need to write a new check. His commitment was not to give $6000 of charity but to pay for being disrespectful, so he does not need to write a new check.
source: Kikar

Good for the yeshiva tearing up the check. I am sure it was not an easy decision to turn away that kind of money. There is no yeshiva in the world that does not need a donation like that. They showed that there are things more important than money. Hopefully the boys learned an important lesson as well, about not degrading themselves and always demanding the respect each and every person deserves. This gvir was a bully. Perhaps the story is not accurate and maybe they actually offered some sort of tit for tat, maybe it was all in good nature and they were joking around, but at the end of the day, this is bullying and requiring this as a precondition for a donation is wrong.

A week or two ago there was a news article that became a bit of a sensation... it was about a wedding in Bnei Braq during which the bride went up on the stage and started playing the drums for a bit. Obviously this was a bit unusual and exciting. Personally I did not think much of it - I have seen similar at many weddings (sometimes it is the drums, sometimes the keyboard or the guitar, and I have seen it with the violin), even though it is a bit unusual and exciting when it happens. While fun and exciting, it does not seem overly newsworthy to me.

The news item went viral and some in the Haredi community got very upset about this saying ti is immodest and inappropriate and it made some waves..

Today it was announced that in light of that incident new rules are being put into place to avoid such situations in the future.

The Eida Hachareidis is requiring the band that allowed the bride to play the drums to sign a letter of apology with a commitment to not allow such a thing to happen again. They have agreed, and made a "kinyan" to that effect, that if it should happen again they agree in advance that it can be publicized to prohibit hiring them as a band for events.

This seems a bit draconian. I am not quite sure how this is so different than the "mitzva tanz" so common at Haredi, especially hassidic, weddings. The Eida should ban the mitzva tanz as well, insist all hassidic rebbes and groups not allow such incidents and not participate in them as it is immodest for the bride to appear and dance in front of the men. The kalla should not be allowed in front of the men at all. They should have a stand-in at the chupa, cancel the mitzva tanz and all weddings should be men only - let the women stay home and have a little get together in the house while the men go to the wedding hall to celebrate.

I am also not sure what the Eida's involvement here is. Perhaps they give a hechsher to the wedding hall the specific wedding took place in? I am not sure why they are involved at all and what power they have here over the band?

Regardless of that, the band is now enjoying, for the moment at least, the ability to tell people they are currently the first, and so far only, band to be playing with the hechsher of the Eida Hachareidis...perhaps this means the Eida is about to branch out and now require all bands be approved by them (or other organizations) and create a new hechsher for bands...

this is an interesting report on why Shas is about to disappear from the political map, and it isn't because of the death of Rav Ovadia Yosef... I happen to not think that Shas is about to disappear, as they always do a little better than what the polls predict for them, but still, the report shows a trend of continued shrinkage and even if it doesnt happen this time they will likely get closer to their end...

pretty good!

The correct phrase is actually, "if you build it, he will come" - he, not they.

this was what the voice told Ray Kinsella, played by Kevin Costner, about building a baseball diamond in the movie Field of Dreams. After he built the field, Shoeless Joe Jackson, the "he" that was referred to by the voice to Kinsella, and other dead baseball players came to play ball.

It seems Egyptian President Abdel El-Sisi wants things to work the other way around.

El-Sisi said that if the Jews decide to return to Egypt and rebuild the Jewish community there, the government would build them the synagogues and other community buildings.

El-Sisi actually spoke positively of the rich Jewish past in Egypt and expressed his hope that the Jews would return.
source: JPost

I don't know how far back El-Sisi referred to when he referred to the rich past of the Jewish people in Egypt. Was he only referring to the Jewish community that was there prior to the formation of the Stat of Israel? Was he referring also to the Jews in Egypt a few thousand years ago that were a hard working people who were instrumental in building the infrastructure of Egypt and did not demand exorbitant wages?

I am pretty sure that the Jewish community will not be returning, at least not in large numbers, to Egypt... I can't know for sure - I mean, now there is even a nice sized Jewish community in Berlin and also communities in other cities in Germany...

Well, if the Jews move back to Egypt, the government will build them their synagogues... I guess that is somewhat tempting..

On the same day that Forbes listed Benjamin Netanyahu as the third wealthiest politician in Israel with assets to the tune of 50 million shekels, only behind Nir Barkat and Alona Bareket... Netanyahu is complaining about not being allowed to raise funds for his defense and there is no way he can handle the large expense of defending himself...

לאדם פרטי אין יכולת להתמודד מול הוצאות כבירות כאלה, ולראש הממשלה לא מאפשרים לגייס סיוע כפי שנתנו לחברי כנסת כמו צחי הנגבי וראשי ממשלה כמו אריאל שרון pic.twitter.com/TPM9zUCjSy

— Benjamin Netanyahu (@netanyahu) February 24, 2019

We have sitting here a representative from Tiberias, who's mayor is defiant against every item of holiness. There are missiles being shot against us, in the form of anti-religion laws. UTJ is the Iron Dome that is standing watch on all religious issues and so that we should not have such mayors..

  -- MK Yisrael Eichler (UTJ)

UTJ has found their line that they will keep hammering. They just opened their campaign with an event in Bnei Braq. The main feature, unsurprisingly, is Lapid being anti-haredi, he was a failed Minister of Finance and UTJ will not sit in any government that includes Lapid.

That is fine. They need their demon to bring out the voters who might not vote or might consider voting for other parties but will react to fear by circling the wagons..that is part of election campaigns..

What I do not get is why Lapid has not [yet] reversed that and reciprocated by pointing to a nearly obsolete disease that has made a strong comeback under Deputy Health Minister Litzman's watch, with a resurgence of measles around Israel (over 3500 cases as of February 14, 2019), thus showing Litzman to be a failed [Deputy] Health Minister, along with other issues such as an increased shortage of beds in hospitals around the country, being under investigation for pressuring psychiatrists to give false reports, and whatever else he can come up with... They dont have to hammer this message, as Lapid's (and Gantz's) opponent/competition is Benjamin Netanyahu not Yaakov Litzman, but putting that message out there would not be so bad.

I am not a fan of Lapid, and no, I have never voted for him, but I do think Litzman should not be in the Health Ministry after such a serious issue with the measles outbreak and have written so in the past.. and if Lapid would say anything it might break the image Litzman thinks he has around the country as being a sweetheart and beloved to all (which for a while at the beginning of the term it seemed like he actually did have this image)

The latest in Tiberias is the recent increase in activity of Haredi women, affiliated with the Eida, who stand near the Lishkat Giyus - the IDF Draft offices - and try to persuade women about to be drafted to refuse the draft and they tell them how they can get out of it. This is done in a number of places, but it seems to be relatively new in Tiberias.

The mayor, Ron Kubi, went today and got into an argument with this pair of women, telling them they should leave and what they are doing is illegal, and whatnot. They took out a letter from a lawyer claiming it to be legal, but Kubi kept bothering them insisting they leave and that he would do whatever he can to prevent them from doing this.
source: Actualic (with video)

I don't know what is legal and what is not on this issue. If what they are doing is legal, Kubi can't do anything but make it uncomfortable for them. If it is illegal, the police should remove them. Even if it is legal, if they are bothering the women trying to go in, the women should, or could if they want to, file a complaint about being harassed outside the draft office. If what they are doing is legal, there is not really anything else he can do about it. The public sidewalk is a public sidewalk and they can stand there and give out flyers and talk to people just like anyone else can - as long as they don't break any relevant laws in the process.

There is a lot of criticism coming from the "right" against Lapid and Gantz (new party Blue and White) saying they don't have the experience necessary, they are Leftists, they are not qualified, and whatnot, to replace Benjamin Netanyahu and lead Israel, especially at such a crucial time.

There is definitely a lot of truth to that. Benny Gantz has no government experience and probably has no idea (more than the average Israeli) how the ministries interact, how laws are passed, how to interact with foreign interests and entities, he expresses no plans or ideologies, etc. Yair Lapid was a failed Minister of Finance and as an MK in the Opposition he did not stand out, to be generous - he hardly even showed up to work. Can Israel really afford a prime minister of two who will be learning everything from scratch while on the job? I don't know.

The thing is, for anybody who feels that we need to get rid of Benjamin Netanyahu, this seems to be the only feasible way at this time. There does not seem to be anybody else right now capable of unseating Netanyahu. If Lapid and Gantz do, it seems that chances are high that we will be back at early elections again at some point in the not too distant future. And that is not so bad. We have survived bad prime ministers in the past, and hopefully we'll survive them again int he future. But, if you feel this is the only way to push Netanyahu out of the picture, this is the way to do it, and then in a couple of years we replace these guys with someone hopefully more qualified and experienced.

The question is, how many people feel the most important thing right now is just to get rid of Netanyahu and even Gantz-Lapid is a reasonable enough risk...

One other point, I am somewhat enjoying seeing all the people who have spent the past 4 or 9 years bellyaching about Netanyahu not being right wing enough, implementing the Left's policies, worried about his own seat, and all the regular complaints about him, suddenly defending him and saying there is nobody else experienced enough to take over, everyone else is too Left and only Netanyahu is Right, etc.... I guess people do not want anyone new to complain about and want to just keep complaining about Netanyahu...

Jews in space! #HistoryOfTheWorldPart1 https://t.co/DF9wUA3uo5

— Mel Brooks (@MelBrooks) February 22, 2019

here is the full launch of the SpaceIL lunar mission... we are rooting for it to make it all the way to the moon and land safely (estimated for April 11)! Yes, I woke up at 3:20am on Friday morning to watch the launch..

when watching the launch I noticed the white haired man with a large black kipa sitting in front of one of the computer terminals... I was wondering who he is..

In the 11th hour Habayit Hayehudi and Eli Yishai's Yachad party nearly came to a deal to run together. Whatever happened at the last moment, it did not work out, and Yishai is running his party alone. I guess he isn't as responsible as Tzippi Livni...

I might add, that for somebody with so little to offer, he was pretty obstinate in his demands for power and influence. So he'll run alone and we'll see where he ends up...

בעוד חודש וחצי נלך כולנו לבחור בין שליט שיש לו אנגלית מבוסטון, איפור כבד וחליפות יוקרה – לבין מנהיגות ישראלית, אמיתית, אכפתית, לא מזויפת ולא מלאכותית.
אנחנו נציג מנהיגות בגובה העיניים.

— בני גנץ - Benny Gantz (@gantzbe) February 19, 2019

Out of responsibility to the united [right wing]bloc, it is important that the votes of the students of Rav Mazuz will go to Shas, being very close to the minimum threshold.

  -- Spokesperson for Habayit Hayehudi, informing Eli Yishai that his merging into their party is now off the table

That's a very nice sentiment, but since Eli Yishai is not backing down, as of now, and will be running as an independent party, the votes of Rav Mazuz's students will [mostly] not go o Shas but will go to Yachad and will most likely be wasted. Thus, by not bringing Eli Yishai in, they are not helping Shas and they are allowing Yachad's votes to be wasted. They are not obligated to help Eli Yishai or Shas, but there is clearly no truth to what they are saying...

this is funny.. they are both sharp and witty and make for a fun debate/argument..

waking up this morning to the news of an agreement between Lapid and Gantz to merge the parties (with a rotation between them in the Prime Minister's seat, should they win, makes the election season much more interesting.

The biggest immediate effect and question raised, in my opinion, is about Eli Yishai.

Netanyahu went out on a limb yesterday and, as part of his continued efforts to avoid right wing parties from missing the minimum threshhold and wasting votes, after pushing Habayit Hayehudi and Otzma lYisrael to form a bloc, pushed Habayit Hayehudi to form a bloc or merge with Eli Yishai's Yachad party. They came to a tentative deal after Netanyahu made a generous offer promising extra ministerial positions, a senior government position for Eli Yishai, and a reserved spot in the Likud list for an additional candidate.

It looked like a tentative agreement was reached after Netanyahu's efforts, but then came the killer. Aryeh Deri responded negatively to the agreement and said that if Eli Yishai is given such a promise and merged with Habayit Hayehudi and offered a spot in the government, Shas will not recommend Netanyahu as PM to the President after the elections. All is good, but not with Eli Yishai in the picture.

Now, Habayit Hayehudi and Netanyahu have a problem. To continue with the deal or not? It won't even help, if Deri is not bluffing.

This morning's news of the Lapid-Gantz merger makes it even more complicated.

Now Deri has nobody else to recommend besides for Netanyahu. Gantz without Lapid was an option, but with Lapid it is not. So, if Habayit Hayehudi pulls in Eli Yishai, against the threats of Aryeh Deri, what does Deri choose - Netanyahu with Eli Yishai or Gantz with Lapid but no Eli Yishai? Can Habayit Hayehudi now clal his bluff and continue with the merger knowing Deri has no other option or do they drop Eli Yishai because Deri continues to veto that possibility?

If the #SpaceIL mission is successful this Thursday, Israel will become the fourth country to land an aircraft on the moon. Good luck, Beresheet!🚀 https://t.co/aO5R50eaKY

— Buzz Aldrin (@TheRealBuzz) February 20, 2019

Despite you being people who keep tradition, you have now broken your tradition of submitting your party list at the last moment

 -- Judge Chanan Meltzer, head of the Central Electoral Committee, to the UTJ representatives submitting the party list for the upcoming elections. UTJ submitted one of the first when they usually submit last

The trend now in fundraising is matching funds. it has been big for a while already, but recently there has been an explosion of sorts of organizations running massive fundraising campaigns with matching funds, turning your, for example, 100nis donation into 200nis. Personally I am somewhat skeptical that there really are matching funds being donated in many of these cases and assume much of those matching funds were donated, or going to be donated, anyway and they are only being called matching funds in order to encourage more nations to capitalize on the supposed matching funds. Or maybe there is nothing at all and it is just a marketing bluff.

Be that as it may, whether they are real or not, the question was posed to Rav Chaim Kanievsky asking if when I donate 100nis and the organization really gets 200nis from it, can I consider my donation to have been 200nis, or is my donation only what I actually physically donated - the 100nis in this example?

While it might seem obvious to me or you, this fellow decided to ask the question anyway...and Rav Kanievsky answered that you can only count your actual donation, the 100nis in our example, as your tzedaka donation, not the matching funds. However, Rav Chaim Kanievsky added, you do get some extra merit for the extra money that was donated because of you...

The more interesting question on the concept of matching donations is the second one in the Kikar article and it has nothing to do with money. Rather, matching donations of pages of gemara to be learned..

A yeshiva decided to run a learning campaign in honor of one of the donors of the yeshiva planning a visit. They wanted to finish shas among all the boys and have a siyyum. After dividing everything up, the boys found themselves still short a number of tractates.. They went to a by in the yeshiva who is the biggest masmid and capable of learning the balance all on his own and asked him to take on himself the balance of the learning. This young man refused saying that they always rely on him to learn the extra stuff, so he does not want to do it. He then offered a matching contribution of sorts - for every amount of the balance taken by any of the other boys, he would match it and learn an equal amount, thus enabling the completion of shas.

A short while later, some of the boys backed down from their commitments saying it was too much and they would not be able to do it - the siyyum would only be on the majority of shas, not the entire shas. The masmid heard that and said if they are not learning their parts, he won't learn his matching parts, and the siyyum will still be on a lot but not on nearly everything.

They went to Rav Chaim Kanievsky asking if he should have to learn his portion and commitment to make a bigger siyyum even though the others backed out.

Rav Kanievsky did not want to get into the halachic issue but said what one boy commits to learning should have no connection what anyone else learns, and if he committed to learning a certain amount he should really learn it, even if he has a good claim. The argument presented is not appropriate regarded learning torah.

you know how when a bar mitzva boy gets called  "chassan habar mitzva"? for example, when getting his aliya to the torah on his bar mitzva shabbos...

well, now you have a bar mitzva boy who was really also a chassan, and not just given the title for his bar mitzva...

According to Kikar, a young boy in Mea Shearim got married the day after turning bar mitzva. This 13 year old boy in Mea Shearim married a beautiful 12 year old kalla. I don't know if in this community they consider 8th grade to be kollel, or if he now has to leave school and find a kollel that he can learn in, or if maybe he will go out to work...or maybe his wife will support him in kollel for a few years in her work as a teacher or a programmer...

The young couple's families are from the burqa/shawl ladies community, and while they marry their children off very young, members of the community say this was unusual even for their community and most of them opposed it. The father himself was out of town and only learned of it upon his return. He got upset when discovering what happened and was arrested for his behavior, but then released shortly after.

Mazel tov!

Moshe Abutbol, former mayor of Bet Shemesh, is one of the hot names for being added to the national list of Shas for Knesset in the upcoming elections.

I wish him well, if he is chosen among the other candidates for the list.

I do find it strange that they would take a politician who lost an election he should have had in his back pocket and expect him to bring them success. Had he won the election, adding him to the national list would make more sense.

A Haredi woman who goes to a non-Haredi political party and is active for a party that will do damage to Shabbos observance and will advance homosexual marriage, even if she is given freedom to vote her conscience on those issues she is still helping that party, that is damaging.

  -- MK Moshe Gafni (UTJ), about Haredi lawyer Omer Yankelevitch running as a candidate for Chosen l'Yisrael (Benny Gantz's party)...

as I have said before, when you give people no opportunity for advancement in their own political home, they will go elsewhere..

a few more days...

PM Netanyahu is a funny guy.

It was just reported that the Likud, .i.e. Netanyahu and his people, just filed a request/demand that the Attorney General investigate the connections between MK Itzik Shmuley (Labor) and the Yediot Achronot newspaper. The suspicion to be investigated is some type of connection between the two leading Yediot to write favorable articles about Shmuley.

One of Netanyahu's tactics in speaking against the investigation into one of his bribery charges is comparing his situation to other politicians who have received favorable treatment by newspapers and asking why none of them are under investigation. I don't know why he is calling for an investigation into Shmuley but did not make the same request for an investigation into Lapid, whom he pointed out weeks ago as having a similar situation with a newspaper and friendship with its owner, but for now he is demanding an investigation into Shmuley and Yediot.

This is cute, and if the Attorney General accepts the request and opens an investigation, I hope Shmuley is clean, but if not he should pay the price like anyone else.

That being said, there is a clear difference between a Prime Minister allegedly trading favors and attempts to close down competing newspapers in exchange for favorable articles and between a newspaper writing a favorable article or three about a regular Member of Knesset. I think Netanyahu should have to present some sort of evidence pointing to a nefarious relationship between the two in order to demand an investigation and not just the fact that some nice articles were written.

According to Ladaat, the question about the kashrus of electronic cigarettes was recently brought before Rav Moshe Shternbuch.

Compared to regular classic cigarettes, the kashrus issue is different. Regarding cigarettes, the poskim have concluded that no hechsher is needed, as smoking cigarettes is "hana'a", a enjoyable benefit, but is not considered consumption or eating the product. As well, the contents of cigarettes are not considered food or edible items. Vaping with electronic cigarettes, on the other hand, is considered eating, or consuming, because the vaper is ingesting the steam, the vapor, and the majority of the contents of e-cigs are edible items.

So, the question about the kashrut of electronic cigarettes was brought before Rav Shternbuch.

Rav Shternbuch responded saying that electronic cigarettes do need a hechsher. The liquid in the e-cigs contains good flavoring that turns into vapors, and its taste is then felt inside the mouth. According to halacha, this is considered tasting.

This should clear the way for kashrus organizations to get into the e-cig business.

I am not so sure the contents of e-cigs are really so edible. From what I have read a lot of it is made up of chemicals and consuming them individually, not in the form of vaping the mixture, could be unsafe, though I have no personal knowledge of this.

If the poskim determined that cigarettes do not need a hechsher, why do Israeli cigarettes have a hechsher? Is it just marketing, like by bleach and laundry detergent?

I was shocked to hear that the Haredim in Tiberias declared a mass prayer service against the mayor and are also threatening with a tax rebellion. It is worth remembering that the founding father's of the nation: Herzl, Pinsker, and Jabotinsky, loved Jewish tradition very much and even drew from it many idea and concepts in order to coalesce a diplomatic and social worldview. That being said, they were never strict about keep Shabbat and kashrut. Trumpeldor as well, the pioneers and the Beitarniks     were not exactly counted among those who kept the mitzvos..If we would have waited for Gafni, Litzman and Deri - the Jewish State ould never have been established. Therefore I call upon the Haredi public to disconnect from that group of activists with personal interests, to join the DF and go out to work. I call upon us all to adopt the simple concept - live and let live.

  -- MK Avigdor Lieberman (Yisrael Beyteynu

lol

Mordechai Ben David and Avraham Fried are learning together at the ATime Shas-A-Thon, where a room full of people learned through Shas in one day... I understand the money raised for this event was to be given to help couple in need of fertility treatments...

very cool. I am cheering them on..

the launch is now scheduled for February 22, 2019, later this weekat 3:45am. They say there will be a live feed online to watch the launch and the link will be publicized later in the week.

this is a few years old, though I don't think I have seen it before.. though yesterday it came up in my feed a couple of times...

this is very cool. the leatherback sea turtle comes on a rare visit to Israel...

Deputy Minister of Health Yaakov Litzman is under investigation for pressuring doctors to issue false psych reports to help Malka Leifer  avoid extradition too Australia.

Today MK Uri Maklev and Jerusalem City Councilman Yossi Deutsch and MK Yisroel Eichler and DM Meir Porush made public statements in support of Litzman. I have no problem with that. There is a presumption of innocence and they can express support for him and give him encouraging words, if they wish to. Some of what they said though is interesting.

Maklev said it is a witch-hunt going on against DM Litzman already for many months and is looking to delegitimize the Haredi community. It bothers them that Litzman's door is open before anybody who needs help... this campaign against the Haredi community and Litzman, to turn helping the public into guilt...

Deutsch said that he strengthens and encourages Rav Litzman who is going through a difficult time right now from miserly people who hate the Haredim, how fortunate is Litzman for being attacked for helping the needy, and we are confident that you did nothing wrong..

Eichler said I strengthen and encourage Rav Litzman and promise you that he is clean with no stains. We have arrived at a crazy situation and it makes no sense that a public figure would be sent to help people and cannot do his work..

Porush said in the name of the entire Haredi Judaism I want to express support for our friend Rav Litzman. How fortunate are you for being attacked for helping the needy.

All those words of encouragement and stating their belief in his innocence are fine. I have no problem with that. The interesting part I find is what they each said - he is attacked for helping the needy, he just wants to help those in need but cannot do his work, helping the needy is turned into guilt.

So he did help Malka Leifer?

It is wonderful to help those in need of government assistance and help ease bureaucracy when possible, but to help an alleged molester, charged with very serious crimes, by, allegedly, pressuring doctors to falsify documents - that is not exactly the type of "helping those in need" that is deserving of praise. I am not saying he did it, but they are referring to the accusations, and they are not saying the accusations are false, but that he does not deserve to be punished for helping the needy. This type of helping the needy deserves to be punished, or at least investigated.

They would have done better by just offering the words of encouragement and their belief in his innocence and not implied that he tried to help her.

 

I was debating whether to use this as the HotD or QotD.. HotD won, but I will excerpt the ridiculous quote from the article as well...

Iranian general says Israel stealing Iran's clouds

  -- Ynetnews

The General said, Foreign interference is suspected to have played a role in climate change. Israel and another country in the region have joint teams which work to ensure clouds entering Iranian skies are unable to release rain. On top of that, we are facing the issue of cloud and snow theft

haha!

you know you live an exciting life when pizza is the big news item of your day...

Rav Landau is both the Chief Rabbi of Bnei Braq and also the head of a well-respected, and very stringent, kashrut certification organization.

Until now, Rav Landau has refused to grant kashrut certification to pizza shops in Bnei Braq saying the very nature of the beast is problematic and against the atmosphere of a city like Bnei Braq. Even pizza shops that would be take-out only, without seating, were not allowed, lest they become hangouts. Despite Rabbi Landau's position against pizza shops, a couple of shops opened in the city in recent years, under other hechshers.

Now, Rav Ladau has basically given in and is allowing take-out pizza shops to open in Bnei Braq. He is placing strict conditions on pizza shops wanting to open with his hechsher, and/or approval, but it is happening.

Rav Landau posted broadsides around town announcing the change of policy. He says that the policy against pizza shops has been in place to preserve the atmosphere of holiness in Bnei Braq. However, in recent years many have broken policy and pizza shops have opened against the opinion of the local rabbonim. Therefore, after much thought and consideration, it has been decided to allow take-out pizza shops that will be supervised with the strictest kashrut and modesty guidelines they will accept upon themselves to not allow any seating  or gathering. Whoever needs a meal of pizza can now buy it in a way that is kosher and appropriate for our city. Lest anyone should think that the ban on pizza shops has been lifted, that is not so - it remains and stands in its place. The only thing allowed is the take-out pizza shop with a commitment to kashrut, modesty and a commitment to what was stated above.
source: Kikar and Behadrei

Change is slow. Right now pizza is being allowed in Bnei Braq, even though they say it isn't being allowed while allowing it, and tomorrow it will be mixed dancing! Well, hopefully pizza won't bring about the downfall of Bnei Braq.

UA removed someone from a flight, though it didn't come to actual blows this time.

I dont know what is going on, but the situation with behavior on airplanes, whether by passengers or the airline staff, has gotten very strange.

Another incident after which Jews were removed from a flight, accompanied by strange claims regarding their behavior. This time it was a United Airlines flight and an elderly couple, made up of a rosh yeshiva and his wife. Mrs  was told to put her carry-on bag in the overhead compartment. She asked for a couple of minutes to remove a few items she would need. Shortly after that the couple found themselves being removed form the flight. The attendant claimed she had been nasty when she responded to him. He threatened to have her removed form the flight and then left, with another attendant incredulously apologizing. The first attendant came back shortly after with the police in tow and that was the end of their flight.
sources: Hamodia and Baltimore Jewish Life

I guess they are lucky the United Airlines attendant did not just beat them up and physically drag them off the plane. We are seeing what seems to be an increase in such incidents. If we take the story as reported in Hamodia and BJE as fact, it very well could point to an increase in overt anti-semitism. That would not portend very well for what the Jewish community can look forward to in coming years.

this is one of those questions you don't know why it was ever asked and never thought such a question would be necessary to ask..but it was asked, so here goes..

Kikar is reporting about a question posed to a number of poskim by a group f yeshiva bochurim. The question asked was that an Arab employee of the yeshiva, working in the maintenance and cleaning of the yeshiva, sometimes asks the boys to borrow a phone charger from them for a few hours at a time so that he could charge his phone. The question is, would lending the Arab worker a charger fall under the prohibition of "lo techanem" - not giving anything in the form of a gift to a non-Jew - and therefore should they be refusing such requests?

Rav Chaim Kanievsky responded that if there is any concern that the Arab worker might hold it against them in some form of "eiva", hatred, they would be allowed to lend the charger with no prohibition. In the case of an employee of the yeshiva, this will definitely be a concern and is therefore allowed.

Rav Yaakov Meir Stern responded that a yeshiva employee is not invcluded in the prohibition of lo techanem, as the worker would at any time be able to return the favor in all sorts of form, and this would not be a free gift. The students would always be expecting some sort of return from their goodwill gesture when they would need it.

Rav Mordechai Gross responded that not lending the charger would cause a chilul hashem when he sees they have a charger available.

Rav Moshe Fried responded that nowadays the media turns everything into a big story especially if it can make yeshiva students look bad, and one should be concerned that the disgruntled employee will tell people outside the yeshiva and it will turn into a chilul hashem, so they should lend him the charger. Rav Fried adds that he proposed this to Rav Yitzchak Zilbershtein and Rav Zilbershtein agreed.

The consensus is to lend the hcarger, though they differ slightly as to the reason why.

Remember the time Rav Chaim Kanievsky recently told someone that mashiach will be coming to redeem us before the upcoming Israeli elections? It seems his daughter, Rebbetzin Kolodetzky, also repeated this in his name to her followers. Rebbetzin Kolodetzky strengthened the idea by adding instructions to people that they should prepare their Shabbos finest and musical instrument in preparation to greet mashiach in the coming weeks.

In case you were getting excited in anticipation, Rabbi Yitzchak Kolodetzky, Rav Kanievsky's son in law and husband of Rebbetzin Kolodetzky, has thrown a damper on that prediction.

Rabbi Kolodetzky has explained that Rav Chaim Kanievsky is not a prophet and is not in the mashiach prediction business and he does not actually know the date mashiach will be actually coming to redeem us.

According to Kikar, Rav Kolodetzky explains that Rav Kanievsky, like all gedolei yisrael, has a deep belief in the 13 Principles of Faith and all his life has waited expectantly for mashiach to come on a daily basis. When asked about questions further into the future, the answer comes naturally to him and bursts out expressing that one need not worry too far in advance as mashiach will come prior. Rav Chaim Kanievsky is not making a prediction and does not know the future date of mashiach's arrival and regularly says only a prophet can know such a thing, and he is not a prophet.