Quote of the Day

The damage that might happen from Bennett not knowing is less than the damage that might happen by the enemy knowing..

  -- PM Benjamin Netanyahu, responding to Bennett's attack about Netanyahu "going it alone" responding to Gaza rather than involving the "Cabinet" of government ministers to decide together..

There are a few interesting aspects to this:
1. Netanyahu prefers to "go it alone". Maybe because of politics and elections and does not want anyone else taking any credit. Maybe he does not trust anyone else. Maybe there are other reasons.

2. from what he said, the chance of the enemy knowing what the cabinet discusses and decides is a significant risk means he has a leak from his Cabinet and he knows it. What else has been compromised in the past 4 years of this cabinet? What else has Netanyahu gone all alone on rather than involve the people he selected to help him run his government?

3. It is amazing how Netanyahu treats Bennett and in response Bennett continues to repeatedly support Netanyahu (at least publicly). Bennett seems to suffer from the Stockholm Syndrome with Netanyahu. Time and again Bennett expresses his unwavering support for Netanyahu as PM, and time and again Netanyahu treats Bennett like he is undeserving, not capable, not trustworthy and not a true partner. And despite all that Bennett continues to support Netanyahu. It says as much about how strong Netanyahu is as it says how weak Bennett is.
I would like to see Bennett stand up to him once. Maybe pull his support. Even if he plans on supporting Netanyahu for PM after elections, make him work for it. He should announce that he no longer trusts Netanyahu's decision making and will reconsider his support for PM. He should say as of now he is not supporting any candidate for PM and will decide after the elections. His electorate will know he only has one option anyway, but he need not be so deep in Netanyahu's pocket. He should be showing a little independence.

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Facebook Status of the Day

Jerusalem City Hall Facebook account is claiming Starbucks is coming back to Israel and Jerusalem soon.

The claim sounds silly, and the idea that they would start with an opening like this rather than a nice shop in a mall or some high-end place. Personally, Kentucky Fried Chicken has announced they will be attempting a comeback in Israel, though I haven't seen anything in the news about an upcoming Starbucks return. I doubt they would be secretive about this, if it were true.

The thought is that this is an April Fool's joke. The funniest part of this is that today is only March 31, and April Fool's is tomorrow. They got so excited about their prank that they messed it up and posted too early! According to Kipa, they have confirmed it is an April Fool's joke.

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3/30/19 Obesity in the Frum World. The Rambams diet vs. the Atkins diet. Health, exercise & nutrition in Halacha. (audio)

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Israel’s Minister of Justice Talks Tech #314 (video)

interesting interview with Minister Ayelet Shaked

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street survey: what do you think about the Haredi MKs? (video)

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Europe, please come! (video)

this is weird

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Aharon Sitbon & Shneior Elbaz Modeh Ani Lecha Clip (video)

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Shalom Aleichem Israel (video)

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PSA: ShishiTarbut tomorrow in Bet Shemesh

here is the notice for tomorrow's ShishiTarbut event in Bet Shemesh. The lineup is all female candidates for Knesset from various parties...

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Moshe Feiglin, the Kingmaker

The most ironic thing about the elections at this point is that it looks like Moshe Feiglin is likely to be the kingmaker come April 10.

Feiglin has been largely irrelevant since entering politics something like 15 years ago. After wallowing in the Likud for a bunch of years wielding little to no influence, Feiglin has formed his own party that he is finally running. Even since he has largely been inconsequential, but recently his campaign has picked up momentum and the polls show him doing pretty well, definitely passing the threshold and likely a few mandates beyond that.

With the recent polls showing Gantz and Netanyahu neck and neck, and the right and left blocks also pretty close, at this point it looks likely it is going to come down to whom Feiglin decides to support.

Feiglin cannot be counted for either side. He himself today said, "I am not in anybody's pocket". He has said in the past, when asked, that he will support whichever candidate allows him to push more of his platform and agenda. In Feiglin's view, Gantz and Netanyahu are more or less the same. Feiglin does not consider Netanyahu to be right wing, and therefore does not automatically prefer him. Netanyahu might be "right", but he advances leftist agenda, so there is no objective benefit to supporting Netanyahu.

Moshe Feiglin has become the kingmaker. Who would have thought?

 

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Tweet of the Day

nice

Sitting in the kosher @dunkindonuts  near @YUNews where a homeless man is asking for donations--it's a real Kiddush Hashem that pretty much everyone who walks in either gives him tzedakah or offers to buy him something to eat.

— Rabbi Jill Jacobs (@rabbijilljacobs) March 27, 2019

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Headline of the Day

In Photos: Tel Aviv Teaches Locals How to Be Polite Ahead of Eurovision 2019

  -- Haaretz

lol

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Quote of the Day

In Shas we are not busy dealing with other people's backyards, so we have not been in contact with the Peleg Yerushalmi people, unlike UTJ - they are dealing in other people's backyards rather than dealing with the thousands of votes abandoning them...

  -- MK Michael Malkieli (Shas), about the deal between Eli Yishai and UTJ

Haha. Malkieli said this this morning when just last night Shas announced they have met with a group of leading Chabad rabbonim and claim to have achieved Chabad support. Chabad was never in UTJ's pocket, and have in the past supported, unofficially because they officially don't get involved openly, other parties, but Chabad is not Shas's backyard and is much closer to UTJ than Shas.

Also, perhaps Shas should talk to the Peleg people to save those votes, if they can possibly come to an agreement. UTJ is not in a position to do so. Just like Shas couldnt save ELi Yishai's votes, but UTJ could, UTJ cant save the Peleg's votes but maybe Shas can.

Shas believes they own certain communities and anybody taking votes from those communities is stealing them from Shas. Even though Shas could not win over Eli Yishai and probably not Yishai's voters, he still think only he has a right to campaign to them. This despite Shas's entire foundation having been base don originally "stealing" sefardi votes from UTJ (ie sefardi haredim), Likud (ie sefardi masoratim) and Mafdal (ie sefardi dati leumi). Deri today also confirmed and said that he told Netanyahu not to get involved with taking votes from Shas and not to give Yishai any promises of ministerial positions against the position of Shas.

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Hamitnachel, with Avi Gabay (video)

pretty funny

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Vice President Pence speaks at the AIPAC 2019 policy conference (video)

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cleaning for Pesach Fauda style (video)

cute ad

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Synagogues of Hungary (video)

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Avi Delevanti Feat. Nissim Black - Peace In The World (video)

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Yachad-Eli Yishai supporting UTJ

Eli Yishai - Yachad dropping out of the race and throwing his support to UTJ can be massive.

UTJ was already pushing the seventh mandate. It was almost definite they would achieve it, possibly dependent on final turnout numbers. Now with Yachad and [many of] their supporters voting UTJ, they will definitely get the 7, and almost definitely even the 8th. Nobody really knows how much support Yachad and Eli Yishai actually have, and the numbers form last time are definitely not accurate for this election, as many of his supporters from back then will have moved on to other parties by now, but surely he has a nice amount. The question is basically if this will get them 8 or 9 mandates.

That is massive for UTJ.

And it is a big hit for Shas. Many past Shas voters have already been planning to vote UTJ anyway. Many past Shas voters are searching for other parties, such as Zehut, Otzma Yehudit, Likud, and probably others as well. That's why Shas is hovering around 4 mandates in all the polls. If this move by Yachad towards UTJ pulls another several thousand voters away from Shas and to UTJ, that could be a big hit to Shas and might push them under the threshold for good.

Of course the polls always get Shas wrong anyway, even more than they get the rest of the parties wrong. So the polls saying Shas get 4 might actually be 6 or 7 and then Yachad brings them down to 4 or 5. We cant really know, but it is definitely a big hit to Shas.

This might save thousands of votes that would have been lost by Yachad not passing the threshold, but it might cause a hundred thousand or so votes for Shas to be thrown out if Shas doesnt get through because of this.

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Tweet of the Day

kooky

New Zealand mosque chairman: “I am not afraid to say I feel Mossad is behind [the mass murder of Muslims in Christchurch]” pic.twitter.com/IZis0Tf4u7

— John-Paul Pagano (@johnpaulpagano) March 26, 2019

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Interesting Psak: no public shaming of yeshiva bachur that doesn't lay tefillin

Kikar paints the image:

some guys in yeshiva,  who all share a room together in the dormitory, became curious about their roommate. They had no idea when he ever davened and put on tefillin. He would learn every day until late at night, and go to sleep late. H ewould also wake up late in the morning and miss the davening in the yeshiva. When he would wake up, he would go immediately to the beis medrash to resume learning, but his roommates never saw him daven or put on tefillin. They were disturbed and curious and decided it required more investigation.

They began by asking him directly - when do you daven? He responded that he davens in the dorm room when nobody is there as they are already learning in the beis medrash.

Unable to ever catch him in the act of davening and/or wearing tefillin, they decided to lay a trap. A bit of subterfuge is always fun. They took out his tefillin from their place in the cabiet and tied the straps of the hand tefillin with the straps of the head tefillin. There was now no way for him to put on the tefillin without untying the knots, and thus they would easily be able to check if he had used them or not.

After a week they checked the tefillin again and found them tied exactly the way they had left them. It was clear they had not been touched all week.

They decided this was unacceptable and planned a public shaming of their roommate. They were going to confront him in public and demand answers and the truth.

One of the young men felt this was wrong and changed his mind about participating in this plan. He decided they need to ask if this is halachically ok to do. To that end they sent the question to the dayan Rav Dovid Axelrod. Can they confront and shame him publicly about not davenign and laying his tefillin?

Rav Axelrod responded that it is prohibited to do so and prohibited to continue with the plan as it was devised. They must immediately untie the tefillin straps and rewrap them in the bag the way they normally are. They should then tell the mashgiach of the yeshiva about all this.

Rav Axelrod said they cannot publicly shame him, and doing so is a situation that would cause a risk to his life - it is like dealing with a capital crime. Rav Axelrod said if we would have a sanhedrin today, we would have to convene the full sanhedrin of 71 to decide what to do about this. He cannot be shamed and they cannot even hint to anyone else in the yeshiva about this. Doing so would be pikuach nefesh and would be akin to murder.

Rav Binyamin Chuta also reacted similarly to the question when sent to him. Rav Chuta responded that the tefillin must be rewrapped the way they always are - the concern being that the shame he would experience by the public outing might cause him to leave religion entirely. He should be allowed to continue to learn and hopefully the light experienced in learning torah will bring him back fully.

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Degel Hatorah worried about the date of the elections

Interestingly, Kikar is reporting that leadership in the Degel Hatorah faction of UTJ is concerned about the date of elections landing during the Pesach vacation from yeshiva.

Before continuing, I must point out that the date of elections was set by PM Benjamin Netanyahu upon consultation with all his coalition partners and was agreed upon by them all, so the date and how it happens during "bein hazmanim" was not something anti-haredi or collusion to hurt the haredi parties or anything like that. The Haredi parties were equally central in deciding the date of the elections.

So, why are they concerned? What is wrong with the date?

From what the leadership is hearing from their local municipal representatives and leadership they are concerned that because of the vacation period the yeshiva guys might be less involved in the election headquarters than they normally are, and Degel Hatorah, the entire UTJ really, rely heavily on the energy and the work of the yeshiva guys in the local headquarters all around the country.

They don't really say why the young men might not volunteer for the election work, but it seems the reason is that they will likely prefer to travel around the country vacationing on their regular tiyulim rather than work for the elections.

To that end, the party leadership is putting together a "secret"plan to motivate and mobilize these young men and get them to work for the party rather than give it up and prefer their vacations. You can see the Kikar article (linked above) for information about those plan).

Caveat: We do not know the reality yet as it is in the future. We only know what the leadership expects to happen and is worried about, so I base my coming comments on that alone.

I find it interesting that the yeshiva guys will work for the election campaigns in every single election as long as it means taking time off of learning and yeshiva schedule but won't give up their vacation schedule for that. We always hear how it is so important the Haredi parties do well in the elections in order to save the torah learning for the future ability to continue learning. Because of that they justify taking away so many yeshiva guys from the beis medrash to work for the campaigns for days or even weeks. Yet that level of importance is obviously not ingrained in the young men - only in the leadership. The young men, on the other hand, seem to take it as a break from the rigorous torah study, as an exciting time, fun, excitement, and perhaps in other forms of enjoyment. When it means giving up their own fun and relaxed schedule it seems they are not quite so willing and happy to participate.

Either the leadership just uses them cynically - [mostly] free labor, a motivated and fired up electorate and all that - or perhaps the leadership really believes it but that level of importance was never imparted to the young men in the yeshivas. If the leadership really believes it, maybe it is time to work on a program to imbue all that knowledge and belief in why it is so important and impart it to the younger generation.

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Gafni tells Gantz to butt out of the Reform Kotel issue (video)

I find it interesting that MK Gafni considers the Kotel to be under his jurisdiction alone and nobody else can have an opinion or discussion about it and Gantz is wrong for butting into his business and talking about the Kotel, just as he, Gafni, didnt butt into defense issues Gantz dealt with as Chief of Staff of the IDF..

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PM Netanyahu Addresses the AIPAC 2019 Policy Conference (video)

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President Rivlin on how the President chooses which candidate to appoint as Prime Minister (video)

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Nancy Pelosi: My father was a Shabbos Goy (video)

it seems this is almost a qualification for joining the US government!

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Ahron Razel: The Ballad for the one returning (video)

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Heavy Rain

A Guest Post by Saraya Ziv

Heavy Rain

Saraya Ziv 3/25/19

It’s taken five weeks to track Betty from ICU to rehab, until last night after Shabbat our visiting the sick and elderly listserv (Betty is both) confirmed that her smashed eye and hip are healing. Rehab it is.

There’s only one bus that services her facility from mainland Jerusalem. In a loop it goes, and goes again. Today is the first day of heavy rain. The bus shelters in Israel are made of tiny square grille, so you can watch for your bus. The rain ricochets mud through the grille onto my face. The kid who spent every summer at Brighton Beach finally acquires freckles. There’s something odder. It takes me time to find my glasses but when I do I see it. A doorless red booth with a bygone phone and a woman, leaning against its wet glass, speaking Russian on her mobile.

The ward clerk tells me Betty’s room number in English, and although it’s only an easy left she gesticulates as if I will be walking to Lebanon. I arrive at Betty’s door just as it’s closing behind a twinkly nurse’s aide, who, pulling on hospital gloves, polls the patient, “You made pee-pee? It’s okay, it’s okay.”

Two men in scrubs wait too. One is necklaced by a stethoscope and carries a chart. The other pushes a cart of tubes and tubing, a phlebotomist. The phlebotomist is Arab, I can tell by his accent and red gold wedding ring. Both are chumming away about, this I cannot miss, kiduri regel – soccer, which annoys me. Is Canada not the second most humongous country in the world? Is hockey, therefore, not more important than playing basketball with your feet?

As I’m fuming Stethoscope is paged and rushes off. Wedding Ring exchanges seats with a newspaper, holds it up, and reads.

On page one center is the female Arab doctor in Cleveland. I’ve read what she threatens to do to Jews. Having an Arab read it three feet away makes me feel, who knows why, embarrassed. I’m stuck, watching Wedding Ring’s response. The lines and colors on his face shift, from engrossed to bewildered, to appalled.

The door to Betty’s room opens. The perky nurse’s aide says coast is clear and tells him something that must be funny. Wedding Ring looks up at her. She asks slowly and clearly, “Do you feel sick?”  He says nothing. I cannot tell whether his face has gone blotchy with despair, or defeat

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Facebook Status of the Day

this is fabulous...

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Criticize Gantz for his policies, not his stutter

Anybody who has watched any of Benny Gantz's recent speeches or interviews has noticed that he has some sort of a stutter, perhaps even a formal speech impediment. Many people are in a tizzy over Gantz's stutter saying that he sounds ridiculous and is not appropriate for the position of Prime Minister because of his stutter and because of how poorly he interviewed - pointing to his stutter-impediment as proof.

Please stop. Criticize and oppose Gantz for his policies and his positions all you want. It is pathetic to criticize him for a stutter. We live in 2019 and a person's stutter should not be an issue to criticize and it should not be something that is scoffed at, attacked or a cause for judgement of worthiness.

Winston Churchill had a stutter, as does Tiger Woods. Joe Biden, Theodore Roosevelt, Richard Branson, B.B. King, Elvis Presley and Jack Welch - among many others. And they all accomplished great things despite the stutter.

I find this very distasteful. Again, criticize and oppose him for his policies, not for his stutter.

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Picture of the Day

United Hatzalah volunteer seeking protection was taken while a rocket was fired and a siren went off. The volunteer was assisting civilians in Sderot and the Gaza border.

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Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley speaks at the AIPAC 2019 Policy Conference. (video)

Nikkki Haley is sorely missed. Hopefully she will be back in some capacity soon

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Benny Gantz at AIPAC (video)

great speech. he obviously doesnt sound as polished as Bibi, but he spoke well, and was fine making jokes about himself...

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Trump signed order recognizing Israeli sovereignty on Golan Heights (video)

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the student brought the rosh yeshiva a chicken for shalachmanos (video)

it is in yiddish, so I can only sort of make out some of it..

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Yonatan Razel: No raisins and no almonds (video)

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United States of America recognizes Israeli sovereignty over Golan Heights

Mazel tov!

Thank you to USA President Donald Trump for today signing an executive order recognizing Israeli sovereignty on the Golan Heights.

Now we just need Israel to recognize Israeli sovereignty on the Golan Heights by annexing the Golan Heights. Yes, it is true there is de facto annexation since the Golan Heights Law passed in 1981 extending Israeli law into the Golan Heights, but there was never any formal annexation.

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Free public transportation for election day

Election Day has always been a vacation day in Israel. Specifically the day of national elections, and municipal elections have recently also become a vacation day on a trial basis. The purpose of this is to help voters have an opportunity to vote, so they won't be stuck at work unable to get to the polling place in time. Election Day also has the atmosphere, somewhat, of a national holiday.

The Electoral Board has decided on another perk for voters in the upcoming election on April 9, 2019. In order to make it easier for voters to get to their registered polling places all public transportation on inter-city lines will be free. This includes the train. From 8pm, 20:00, on April 8, until the end of the functioning of public transportation on April, it will all be free - all lines, all rides.

According to Israel Hayom, passengers will be able to get on any inter-city bus without swiping any card. To use the train, passengers will be given a free ticket at the station.
Transportation to and from Eilat will be excluded from this arrangement, except for people who qualify for this specifically. Passengers qualifying for Eilat rides have to register in advance via the number 03-694-8888.

The expected cost to the electoral board for this arrangement will be 3 million shekels, and they are willing to pay this in order to encourage voters who might be far away from their registered polling stations to go vote, so they will not have to bear any expense on their own that might dissuade them from participating.

My guess is that with free transportation to almost anywhere in the country, a good percentage of voters will plan day trips rather than going to vote.

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Netanyahu's no-win situation with Gaza

I think the Likud is in a no-win situation right now with the Gaza issue.

If Netanyahu does not respond in any significant way, he will be seen as capitulating to terror. Netanyahu's image as Mr Security will take a big hit.

If Netanyahu responds harshly, he will easily be attacked and portrayed as playing it up for the elections even though he usually does not. he will also be attacked for treating rocket/missile attacks on the center of the country differently than the way he treats such attacks on the communities surrounding Gaza.

If Netanyahu responds, as he often does, by only striking empty buildings and the like in Gaza, he opens himself up to more criticism as treating the center differently than the communities around Gaza, but also to taking a hit to his Mr Security image as his opponents could play it up as another superficial response.

And of course, if Netanyahu sends Hamas another $15,000,000 cash of Qatari money, as he has done previously even after attacks, that will be disastrous for the Likud.

Hopefully, however Netanyahu and the government decide to respond and in whatever way, it will be for the right reasons with careful consideration and not just based on a calculation of how it will play out in the elections. Even taking into account that the response might hurt them personally in the elections. If they respond for the right reasons, and the people will probably be able to recognize whether it was or was not the right reasons, the people will respond in kind, but that should not be the consideration. Military operations are a serious thing and must be done for security reasons alone and only taking security concerns into account. 

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Quote of the Day

If Netanyahu would have had a way to hurt or kill me, he would have done so. Would the basic Benjamin Netanyahu that I know want me to get hurt? The answer is no. Would the Benjamin Netanyahu on the eve of the elections want me to get hurt? I am sorry to say yes he would... This man knows he is going to prison no matter what - if he finishes his role as Prime Minister, he is going to jail. If he does not go to the courts, does not go to jail,  then he will be with Sarah - and he remains in jail. The only place he is a free man is in his office.

  -- Prime Ministerial candidate Benny Gantz

 I am not sure if this is more paranoid or insane...

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the Haredi teacher of Umm Al Fahm (video)

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Haredim: Shouldn't you study math, English and science in school? (video)

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Chanoch Daum with Ayelet Shaked in Hamitnachel (video)

this is pretty funny. Daum is always funny, eccentric and weird...

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Eitan Katz "Ashrecha" Z Report Interview With Yossi Zweig 3-13-19 (video)

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Hallel with merav Brenner: Hakol Mechuvan (video)

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Romanian to jerusalem

Romania has announced today at the AIPAC conference that they will be moving their embassy to Jerusalem.

Mazel tov!

That should make it far easier to get the Romanian salamis and hotdogs and sausages we so love!

And if it doesn't, Romanian Kosher Sausage Co in Chicago should take note and move their embassy, errr production plant, to Jerusalem as well!

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Interesting Psak: giving a live animal as shalachmanos

I am not sure what this young man was thinking, but on Purim morning (Sushan Purim actually, as it was in Jerusalem) one of the students of Rav Meshulam David Soloveitchik sent a mishloach manot, aka shalachmanos, to his rebbe, Rav MD S, that included a live chicken.

As an aside, I would love to receive such a shalachanos though I have no idea what he thought of it.

Upon receiving the unusual shalachmanos, Rav Soloveitchik got into a discussion whether one can fulfill one's shalachmanos obligation with raw meat. The obligation is really to send prepared foods - many opinions are that raw meat would not qualify, though some poskim say raw meat is fine. Rav Soloveitchik added that even according to the poskim that raw meat is fine, a chicken that has not been shechted would not qualify and he would not fulfill his obligation by giving that.

Because he paskened that the shalachmanos has not been given as the chicken was alive, he appointed the young student as a messenger to take the chicken to an expert shochet in the area to have it shechted and to then bring it back. After that he can give it as shalachmanos.
source: Kikar

The truth is that I do not understand the idea behind his concluding resolution. Being that he already received the chicken, and the young man had given it but did not fulfill the shalachmanos obligation, and Rav Soloveitchik appointed him as a shliach to take it to be shechted, it is clear Rav Soloveitchik considered it his own already, regardless of the fact that it did not fulfill a shalachmanos obligation. That being the case, after shechting it how can the young man give it back too Rav Soloveitchik and then fulfill his obligation? it already belongs to Rav Soloveitchik! I suspect the details on that are incorrect. Either he did not accept it at all and never took ownership, or he gave it back and the young man retook ownership of the chicken or he was only speaking theoretically about after shechita being able to give shalachmanos.

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Quote of the Day

We are not allowed to travel on buses with segregation between men and women. Is there a country in the world that does not allow gender segregation on the bus? Besides for this country, as here they do not allow it. This is a country of idol worship. even the Nazis knew that you have to separate the women's and men's residences...

  -- Rav Aviezer Piltz, rosh yeshiva of Tifrach Yeshiva, at a UTJ election rally

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Picture of the Day

Credit to Ian Corless

this is the picture of Mike Wardian just after finishing setting the Fastest Known Time completing the entire Israel National Trail (shvil yisrael)..

Wardian's record time was 10days, 16 hours and 36 minutes

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3/23/19 Women: should they learn? If yes, what should they learn? How to stay connected. (audio)

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Jewish settlers: Do you have relations with Palestinians? (video)

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The Haredi engineer taking the lunar module to the moon (video)

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CENSORED: UNHRC Cuts Off Hillel Neuer For Naming Regimes in Anti-Israeli Debate (video)

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Yeshiva Guevoha - The Chosen - Purim 2019 - (Music Video)

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Meilech Kohn - Layehudim (Official Music Video)

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Interesting Psak: doubling up benefits of matanot laevyonim donations

According to JDN, an avreich asked Rav Chaim Kanievsky an interesting question about matanot la'evyonim - the tzedaka we give to the poor on Purim.

This fellow wanted to accomplish killing as many birds as possible with one stone - he asked Rav Chaim Kanievsky if it is possible to give one's donation for matanot laevyonim to the Vaad Harabbonim tzedaka organization and at the same time submit his name to be included in prayers at the graves of Mordechai and Esther in Iran? Perhaps he would be required to make a second donation for that purpose and not double up on one donation?

Rav Chaim paskened that one could give matanot laevyonim to the Vaad Harabbonim and also say the donation is for the merit of healing someone and doing other things with the donation does not in any way lessen the hiddur of the matanot laevyonim aspect of it. As a matter of fact, one fo the "bnei bayit" later confirmed that Rav Chaim himself does this very thing.

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Benny Gantz's Satmar cousins

We've all got relatives who live different lifestyles than the one we choose to live. Some more liberal, some more conservative, some more religious, some less religious. Sometimes these relatuves are close relatives and sometimes these relatives are distant relatives.

It turns out that Benny Gantz, candidate for Pirme Minister of Israel, is no different, and many of his relatives are hassidim around the world, including extreme anti-Zionist hassidim such as Satmar hassidim.

According to Kol Hazman, a reporter from Kav Itonut, contacted one of Gantz's cousins, a Rav Hillel Dov Gantz in Williamsburg, to talk about his cousin.

It is meaningless. As I said, we all have cousins who live differently than we do. How any one person chooses to live his life does not imply how I or you choose to live our lives is any better or worse. But it is interesting. Especially when one is extreme anti-zionist and the other is extreme zionist to the point of being chief of staff of the IDF... I dont know which side of the family is more of the "black sheep" than the other.

So, according to the interview, Benny Gantz's grandmother covered he rhair. His great grandmother was an old Yerushalmi woman who went to shul to daven 3 times a day with a minyan. He said the entire family knows Benny and have all kept track of his career and are all embarrassed by him and disclaim him.

He said Benny brings shame to the family. The one comfort to them is that a long time ago they heard Benny puts on tefillin daily - but that was a long time ago and they dont know if he still does or not.

Rav Gantz said they know he is running for PM of Israel but they hope he fails and loses the election. He anyway won't get rid of the "draft decree" so what do they gain form him being head of the "kofrim".

He offered a bracha that his cousin Benny should do teshuva and become a big "chenyok"...

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Kinderlach campaign song for Labor (video)

this is pretty funny

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Mizrahi religious Jews: Why do you dress like Ashkenazis? (video)

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Purim No-Questions-Asked-Pickup For Your Teens (video)

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Synagogues of Hungary (video)

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Yaptzik Klezmer - Purim Klezmer (video)

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Gantz and the Haredi parties

The media is making a big deal about the exposure of a recording in which Benny Gantz is heard talking about being open to sitting with Netanyahu in a government after the elections. Gantz has had to respond and the media is keeping this story alive.

Gantz has really been on the defensive a lot recently and has been very reactive rather than proactive, and that is starting to show in the polls trending downward..Gantz has not been able to set the tone or lead the discourse, probably since the merger with Yesh Atid.

What I find more interesting than the discussion around sitting with Netanyahu is something else the recording caught him saying. That is, that he would go very far to include the haredim in his coalition. He said he would give them a blank paper signed by him and offer them to write whatever they want on 2/3 of the page and save 1/3 for him to write what he wants. Basically he'll give them whatever they want.

As an aside, I am wondering what would happen if what he writes in his 1/3 of the page contradicts what they write on their 2/3 of the page... who will give in to whom?

Anyways, I think this has the potential to really hurt him. Besides for supporting him to take down Bibi, another major reason many support him is to change the government and what people see as it being controlled by the Haredi parties. That is why they go far using slogans about promoting public transportation on Shabbos, supporting gay marriage, opening businesses on Shabbos, dealing with the draft issue, etc.

Potentially, if peole realize Gantz will basically give them everything, or almost everything, they want, they will stop supporitng Gantz as they will see him as being no different than Netanyahu and will realize they will not get their dreams fulfilled via Benny Gantz.

I would expect Labor to call out Gantz on this and promote this portion of the recordings and drive it home. They have the most to gain from it as perhaps they could potentially get back some of their voters who went to Gantz. In addition, Netanyahu could use it as well, showing that Gantz is really not much different and would do the same so might as well vote for the original rather than the copy, though Netanyahu risks upsetting his coalition partners if he does...

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Mike Wardian attempting record on Israel National Trail, Shvil Yisrael

Just so you should know, Michael Wardian, an accomplished world class runner, is right now taking on an attempt at the record for fastest known time to cross the entire Israel National Trail.

Wardian recently broke the world record running 10 marathons in ten days, of which 7 of them were also on  different continents, as part of another challenge.

The Israel National Trail is 631 miles long, or 1015 kilometers. Wardian is trying to run the entire trail in less than ten days. The average amount of time it takes to cross the trail is 45-60 days, though people are not usually running the trail.

You can track Mike's progress and keep apprised of his schedule and observations on the Fastest Known Time site along with via Mike's twitter account along with the FKT Facebook Group..

Best of luck Mike! We are rooting for you!

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Quote of the Day

I have a sense of humor and can laugh at myself and I do not love all the exaggerated politically correct talk.. the clip was filmed a month ago. 50% of our party is made up of independent and strong women. There is no need to exaggerate, we are in an election campaign,  we are in Purim. People need to take themselves a little bit less seriously..

  -- Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked responding to the criticism of the very strange campaign clip she is featured in (below)

(btw, this quote beat out some other really good ones I had as possibilities for today)

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report on Temple Mount organizations (part 1) (video)

very well done

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Israelis: What do you think of 'arsim? (video)

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Moshe Shitreet at Shishi Tarbut in Bet Shemesh (video)

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The Full Story Behind Operation Finale (video)

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8th Day - "Bring It Home" (video)

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Facebook Status of the Day

The Sderot Municipal FB account is asking of the Tel Aviv Municipal FB account: a little bit of noise and you got tense? you are invited to our bomb shelters - VIP guest service plus experienced hosts...


and of course the comments are great as well..

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avrahamDavid - Yehudi Ze Hachi - (Music Video)

here's a great new music video, hot off the presses... great sounding song but even better message..

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Quote of the Day

They proposed a very respectable job for me in the Israeli government.. I said to them, and I tell this to my students abroad, I do not need to be in the government, as truthfully, women rule the world anyway. I believe in all this feminine power.

  -- Rabbanit Yemima Mizrachi

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a modern-day Kiddush Levana miracle!

We sometimes think that only the Hassidic rebbes of old, of previous generations, could perform outright miracles, but today's rebbes are savvy and can work things behind the scenes, and maybe they are righteous and their tefillos might help in some situations, but not actually perform an outright miracle, today.

Well, Kikar brings us a modern-day Kiddush Levana miracle performed by a modern-day rebbe!

We here in Israel all know that this past weekend, including Shabbos, was pretty rainy, baruch hashem. With kiddush levana meant to be said on Motzei Shabbos, for those who did not already say it, a rainy and cloudy sky could be worrying, especially near the end of the kiddush levana period.

Rabbi Akiva Rabinowitz, the Admor of Porisov, told his hassidim out after the melave malka to go out and say the kiddush levana. Of course they went out, but found no visible moon due to the clouds. The hassidim went back in and told the rebbe they cannot say it because of the wintry weather causing the moon to not be visible. The rebbe repeated his instructions and told them to go out anyway.

With the hassidim chuckling at his attempts, the gabbai took a towel and started to make a wiping motion towards the sky, as if wiping away the clouds. The rebbe encouraged him to continue. The clouds then began to move and moments later the moon was visible! The hassidim said kiddush levana, and all was right again.

I actually witnessed this from afar. In my minyan for Motzei Shabbos maariv, some people had not said kiddush levana the previous week so they wanted to say it then. I stayed to help with the minyan, but unfortunately the moon was covered by clouds. The clouds looked like they were moving quickly, and every few moments we'd get a peek at the moon, but not enough to say kiddush levana. Sure enough, moments later, the clouds continued to move and there was a big gap in the cloud cover exposing the moon for a nice period of time, long enough to say kiddush levana, and the guys were able to happily say it! We were not in Jerusalem at the time, but the Porisov miracle helped my friends as well!

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MK Moshe Gafni at Shishi Tarbut in Bet Shemesh (video)

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Palestinians: Why not only use peaceful resistance? (video)

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Tamar Zandberg vs Moshe Feiglin regarding legalization of Marijuana (video)

this has somehow become the hot topic of this election season...

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Kan | Jewish Country – RaBBi-Q (video)

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Like A Lullaby - YERACHMIEL {OFFICIAL} (video)

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good morning

All the right-wing parties talking about what they are going to do to limit the power of the Supreme Court because of its decision tonight to invalidate Dr Michael Ben Ari from running for Knesset - they have been in power ten consecutive years already regularly complaining about the SC - why haven't they done anything about it until now?

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Quote of the Day

Any of the parties telling you that they will promote public transportation on Shabbat, don't believe them. It is all slogans. When they need the Haredim to form a coalition, they will forget all of that. Peres already said that for the Haredim he would even be prepared to wear a shtreimel. Don't vote for them..

  -- Moshe Abutbol, in an election panel in Beit Chashmonai

he happens to be 100% correct

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ShishiTarbut in Bet Shemesh

Shishi Tarbut is, sort of, a spinoff of ShabbaTarbut which has been running for a long time in cities around the country. It is a cultural event where the host interviews politicians or other people in leadership positions and they discuss various issues of current events. Shishi Tarbut is a spinoff in the sense that some places wanted to be more inclusive and include the religiosu public, and religious politicians and other leaders who would not or could not participate on Shabbos, so they moved it to Friday.

Aliza Bloch brought Shishi Tarbut to Bet Shemesh, in her attempt to improve the level, and amount, of cultural events happening in the city.

I missed the first one a few weeks ago, but decided I wanted to go to the one scheduled for this past Friday, especially considering the powerhouse lineup. The event was scheduled for interviews with Moshe Gafni, Gideon Saar, Moshe Kachlon, and local city councilman Moshe Shitreet.

I was a little disappointed that the hall was relatively empty. I expected with such a lineup of interviews the place would be filled to capacity. It was only about 25%-30% full, and some people were coming and going. I get that it is a new event and many possibly do not yet know about it. Perhaps it needs to be marketed better.

Regarding the interviews, they were as interesting as expected. Moshe Gafni is extremely sharp and witty. Gideon Saar is very measured with his words, very thoughtful and stately. Moshe Kachlon is very down to earth and straightforward. Moshe Shitreet spoke about local affairs and is very open and thinks very broadly in scope. Aliza Bloch opened the event with an introduction, and all the interviewees mentioned during their talks about having met with her and working to improve Bet Shemesh and spoke, briefly, about specific issues they would be helping the city with in the future due to her efforts.

The plan is to have these regularly, though I do not know how frequently. It was mentioned that the next one will be in two weeks, but I originally thought this was mean to be once per month. I guess pay attention to the announcements around town...

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3/16/16 Credit card miles and points: Swiping for rewards, buying and selling miles, is it Assur and a Chillul Hashem or a great way for a side Parnassah? (audio)

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Aliza Bloch interview Bet Shemesh (video)

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