Rav Dovid Yosef, Chief Rabbi of Har Nof in Jerusalem, said in his shiur that once a year we are told to not eat meat as part of our mourning for the destruction of the mikdash. It is inappropriate to make a siyyum specifically during this period just to be able to eat meat. We should make an effort, Rav Yosef said, to mourn for Jerusalem, as one who mourns for Jerusalem will merit to see its rebuilding.
Further, Rav Yosef said, there is an aberrant trend of people to hire yeshiva bochurim to make a siyyum in order to circumvent the prohibition of eating meat. Needless to say, Rav Yosef doesn't like this trend and tells people to stay away from doing this, and we need to show that we care about the mourning and just not eat the meat.
Honestly, this is what I do and what I believe. I dont make siyyumim during this period, nor do I look for them. I do not think it is such a big deal to not eat meat for about a week.
That being said, it is somewhat funny to hear a rabbi tell people to not learn Torah (though to be fair he is sayign to not make a siyyum, not to not learn). I do think that it is somewhat pathetic to see people go crazy that they cant have meat for a week and try to find all sorts of ways around it. And I say this as someone who eats a fair amount of meat.
On the other hand, it is hard to mourn for something that happened so long ago that we don't even know about firsthand, and not even tenth hand or a hundredth hand and it is only something we read about. I might not like to do it, but I understand why so many people don't feel the mourning at a level that avoiding meat is important. Many of the rules of this week feel like this whole thing is overdone. It is somewhat sad that this is all that so many of us are left with -a bunch of rules we don't really care about that are supposed to mean something we find impossible to actually feel, and think that anyone who does is really just playacting with behavior and emotions he thinks he is supposed to exhibit.
Our mourning is really at most a learned experience, an academic one, rather than an emotional one, for many people.
Maybe if people don't actually feel, it, and avoiding meat does not bring them to such feelings any longer, so finding loopholes is maybe not such a bad thing - hey, at least people learn more Torah because of it (in order to make siyyumim)...
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Politics is full of rivalries and anger and conflict. Naftali Bennett unexpectedly became Prime Minister via an unusual political move, leaving some voters feeling betrayed, and more to the point - shocking some of his political rivals and leaving them behind. They spent a year doggedly opposing Bennett's government and every move they tried to make, and they did it with unprecedented verbal and emotional violence and abuse. Politicians need a thick skin, but the abuse thrown on Bennett was well over the top of anything reasonable.
The news is reporting that since the government collapsed and PM Yair Lapid took over the caretaker government, Bennett has basically been holed up at home, has skipped meetings, is depressed and angry (including at Lapid).
Obviously you cannot make a diagnosis of depression or whatnot form a newspaper article, let alone untrained people and non-professionals trying to make such a diagnosis, so without talking about a real mental health issue or serious depression or anything like that, I will still say the viscous attacks he went through the past year were horrible. And maybe even worse is that people, real people, even people I know, are commenting online how he deserves to be holed up like a criminal, he deserves to be sick and depressed, and the like. Most of them probably did not even vote for him and were not betrayed by him but they joined the Netanyahu mobs against Bennett for daring to send Netanyahu to the Opposition. You won, he lost. he is no longer Prime Minister. The country is going to elections. It is bad enough how viscous and un-decent you all were to him over the past year, you don't have to drive him to suicide now, God forbid it should get that bad.
Politics is not worth losing your humanity. Especially when you aren't the one who will benefit or lose from it.
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When Lieberman sad "Live and Let Live", it has to be two-way. For example, Hendel should not have mixed in to our lives regarding the issue of the kosher phones (koma ksheira)...
-- Yitzchak Goldknopf, Knesset candidate and head of Agudat Yisrael faction of UTJ
I always think it is a problem for Haredim to talk about "live and let live" to demand independence and freedom to be different in whatever way. The Haredi community believes in anything but live and let live. Live and let live should be a two way street, but when the Haredim mix in to so much of everyone else's lives, they can't legitimately claim live and let live.
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Rav Bentzion Mutzafi was asked by a woman that her husband believes everybody who stretches out their hand asking for charity and gives them money, buys things for people who dont pay back, and the like, and she is trying to be careful about their money that he works hard for. How should they relate to tzedaka requests form people who might be using the money for drugs or alcohol?
Rav Mutzafi responded that 99% of people who ask for tzedaka (rg: I guess in the streets rather than people who collect door to door for organizations) are not poor, unless you consider their need to collect money a disease the way an ant collects food. Further, more than 2/3 of the people collecting spend it on alcohol drugs and other bad things, unfortunately. It is prohibited to give these people money.
This is another in a series of articles about Israel-based
companies that appear to be a potential investment opportunity. People ask me
my opinion when I speak to community and business groups how they can best help
Israel and participate in the growth of the startup nation? Always consult your
broker, lawyer, and accountant before making investments. Read the full article
https://www.gurufocus.com/news/1836221/check-point-software-the-future-of-cybersecurity
Disclaimer: Please be advised that
neither the author or Life in Israel, its affiliates, its employees or agents
accept liability for any errors, omissions or damages caused by this
communication or its attachments, or which may otherwise arise as a result of
this communication transmission. Dr. Harold Goldmeier, Business Teacher
and Consultant
Summary
Check Point
produces excellent margins and is a profitable stalwart in the
fast-growing cybersecurity industry.
Its market
cap is up to over $16 billion through organic sales growth rather than
M&As.
The company
finished the last quarter holding $3.8 billion in cash and equivalents.
I predict a
double-digit increase in the share price given the company's long-term
potential.
Among
the more established leaders in the fast-growing cybersecurity industry is the
Israeli-American Check Point Software Technologies Ltd (CHKP, Financial).
Check Point has impressive margins, and I believe its conservatively managed
balance sheet, in combination with its leading cybersecurity technologies and
established market present, could help propel the company and its shares even
faster than the overall industry in the coming years.
Market
growth
Cybersecurity
is the future of defense. Governments, businesses, medicine, transportation and
every other computerized service will not survive the migration to the cloud
without sufficient data protection. Fortune Business Insights claims the global
cybersecurity market is on track for a CAGR of 13.4% to surpass $376 billion by
2029.
Company
profile
Check
Point’s business plan is neat and to the point; it develops, markets and
supports network, endpoint and data cybersecurity software. Services include
management and organization assessments, solutions and training. Its primary
target sectors are 50% software and 38% internet software services.
Management
tends to be conservative in its approach to business. For instance, Check Point
has acquired just one company in the last five years, Avanan, in August 2021).
It has made a total of 17 acquisitions since its 1993 founding.
Check
Point would be able to aggressively pursue M&As if it so wished. In my
opinion, management is too conservative in this torpid period of inflation and
lower valuations.
Valuation
As
of this writing, Check Point's market cap is $16.36 billion. Short interest is
less than 2%. Shares sell for $124.06 apiece; this is about the midpoint
between that stock’s 52-week high of $149.62 and low of $107.85. The share
price has recently moved in concert with the stock market and tech stock
trends. It might climb to $140 per share range if interest peaks and the tech
market trembles abate?
Check
Point reported strong first-quarter results in April 2022. Revenue grew 7% year
over year, substantially beating the consensus estimate. Products and licenses
grew 6%, and security subscriptions were up 13.6% year over year. Quantum,
CloudGuard and Harmony products were best sellers in the first quarter.
The company finished
last quarter holding $3.8 billion in cash and equivalent. Its gross profit
margin is 87.67%. The net income margin is 36.43%. Check Point’s margins are
among the highest in the cybersecurity industry, and it is profitable. I am moderately bullish on Check Point, primarily
because the tech industry is volatile and Check Point has both an powerful
product lineup and a solid balance sheet.
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With the rise of gas prices, the Zemiros Choir lift spirits up with their new release GASangen - Acappella.
The brainchild of the choir founder and arranger Yoily Polatseck, GASangen is a humorous cover of an old Yiddish song.
“We wanted to do something original and unique, so I re-wrote the five stanzas in Yiddish, commiserating on the terrible gas hike that has hit the world.”
Even with gas prices high,
Our eyes are directed to the sky,
Trusting in the one above,
For all he does is out of love,
And we hope and pray,
For the long awaited day,
To Yerusholayim we’re guided,
By Moshiach, together united.
The Zemiros Choir
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MK? Minister? Deputy Minister? Matan Kahane is still politically homeless for the upcoming elections. It looks like he wont be in Yamina due to disagreements with Ayelet Shaked, and he has yet to find a party to take him in. Some wont touch him with a ten feet pole because the Haredi parties have basically vetoed him and have insinuated they wont join a coalition with any party that Kahane serves in as MK/Minister.
That is a shame. He did good work and seems straight and decent. He is the one person who was willing to put his beliefs into actions and say the Haredi parties dont have a monopoly on Judaism and make political changes based on his beliefs of how things should work. Agree with him or not on any specific reforms he pushed, that is a value I believe is sorely lacking in the Knesset. I like people with integrity, even if I disagree with them, and think the country's leadership would do well to have people with such integrity, whether they are on the right or left or center side of the political spectrum.
I would not vote for any specific party just because of Matan Kahane, but I think Kachol Lavan or Yesh Atid would do well to have Kahane join their ranks.
I get that Kachol Lavan wont take him because of Gantz's belief that only he can bring the Haredim into an alternate coalition, and he likely loses that with Matan Kahane. He might technically be right but he has no government with the Haredim because he doesnt have enough other parties to form such a coalition as Likud wont sit under him, Lieberman and the Haredi parties wont sit together, as is the same with Yesh Atid from the Haredi perspective. Labor should be fine, but I doubt the Haredim would sit with Meretz or Arab parties, considering their behavior during their recent term in the Opposition.
Yesh Atid would do well to take in Kahane, and I think they would get a nice boost of centrist-right voters by doing so. I dont know if Matan Kahane would join Yesh Atid but Yesh Atid would be smart to offer him a high slot on their list.
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MK Uri Maklev (UTJ) met with the heads of the Population Registry of the Ministry of the Interior out of concern that many people will not be able to vote in the upcoming elections because the branches of the Ministry of the Interior around the country are all swamped with no available appointments, so people who need to register for identity cards, or to replace lost cards, have too long a wait. They cant get appointments any time soon, so they cant get registered to vote (ie they cant get their identity card so wouldnt be able to vote).
The Population Registry people came up with a solution that they would publish identity cards for people immediately in the leadup to the election and no appointment would be necessary. Just show up and request it and they will do it right away..
It is important in a democracy that every person of voting age be technically able to vote. If they decide not to vote, that is their decision, but they should be able to and not be prevented from voting by a technicality of the PopReg not having enough appointments available to handle the crowds.
That is all great and good. I am happy they came up with a solution. However, if this is possible, why dont they do this all the time instead of making people wait forever?
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I watch with interest and curiosity the situation developing in Uman in the Ukraine.
There is a war going on, but that part of the country is supposedly somewhat quieter than some other parts. A little while back Ukranian authorities said Uman would almost definitely be closed this year on Rosh Hashana because of the war and Breslav pilgrims would not be let in - unless the situation changes drastically by the time the holidays roll in.
The Breslavers in general were not happy, and while waiting for better news and maybe a change in the status of the war, they did express belief that Rebbe Nachman would end the war in time for them to travel to an open Uman, but they said they would go anyway and people would find their way in, by hook or by crook.
Now Ukranian authorities, including the mayor of Uman, have said again that Uman will be closed to visitors, there is no way they can allow people in for the holiday. People might think it is ok and be willing to take the risk, but they dont have enough bomb shelters and other resources necessary to keep people safe, and they have to take responsibility because if something should happen with all those visitors, they would be held responsible.
In general there is disappointment and anger, and some disbelief with many still think Rebbe Nachman will save the situation at the last minute. I am hearing from some Breslavers, and maybe this is the general attitude, that they will find ways to get in despite the ban. They point to Corona when Uman was closed and they got in anyway, but back then only a few slipped through and got in while most were stuck at the border in Belarus (and in other countries)..
I dont know what will happen, but I watch with curiosity. I know the Breslavers will try, but whether they succeed in getting in or not remains the question. Will Rebbe Nachman come through at the last minute?
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Tomorrow at 11am, Bank Hapoalim branches around the country are going to close for a bit. They will be going on strike to protest the verbal violence their employees undergo from their customers.
It seems someone walked into a branch in the center of the country and started screaming and cursing at the clerks.
1. I am not sure too many people will notice that the bank suddenly closed when they are supposed to be open. They have barely enough operating hours as it is and are closed more than they are open, and find every excuse to close on other days and to stop providing various services.
2. they are closing and going on strike because someone walked in and screamed at them? If that is a justified cause, the entire country should shut down and be on strike all the time, there is so much rudeness and screaming going on all over the place. Then again, sometimes it feels like that is exactly what is happening.
3. I am not sure what they are trying to accomplish with the strike? Who is supposed to sit up and take notice? The screamers are going to keep screaming regardless.
4. Maybe they should consider providing more service and providing it more efficiently. That is one way to stop the frustrated customers from screaming at them.
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It seems the Prime Minister's Office has published a letter ordering that no mechitzas will be allowed to be erected at the Ezrat Yisrael plaza. The Ezrat Yisrael plaza is also known as the Egalitarian plaza of the Kotel, aka the Reform Kotel.
The ushers must prevent mechitzas from being brought down to the plaza, though if force is needed, they have no such authority and police must be called in.
Obviously this is in light of recent incidents at the egalitarian plaza, and also with Tisha B'Av coming and the memories of the incident there on Tisha B'Av last year.
I am not quite sure if this has the status of executive order and what the actual law is, what authority this letter has. Considering Avi Maoz of Noam party has said he is going to bring mechitzas down there tonight I am guessing we will soon find out.
To exaggerate a bit, a rule saying "no mechitzas allowed" is reminiscent of the British Mandate... but the truth is this areas was designated for egalitarian prayer and the rule is only needed because of the provocations caused by other people, similar to the rule at the Kotel of not bringing in Torah scrolls from the outside...
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All kashrut alerts are serious, and nothing I am going to say should detract from the kashrut alert itself..
I admit, my initial thought when I first saw this alert was that this sounds like a BDS announcement. Anyone else other than a kashrut organization saying this would see a Jewish campaign worldwide against BDS and against the antisemites behind it. Maybe it just needs to be worded slightly differently, I dont know. To my ears it just sounds too similar to other announcements we have seen that are anti-Israel.
Regardless of that, when they say the potatoes are, and grapefruit will be, shemitta produce, I dont know if they mean hetter mechira produce or if they mean actual shemitta produce grown and sold in violation of the laws. Heed the alert but maybe if you get more information and rely on hetter mechira, this possibly would not require a full boycott. I am trying to find out, but for now I do not know.
UPDATE: I asked KLBD for clarification on the shemitta issue. The following is their response:
The heter
mechira is designed to assist farmers and residents of the Land of
Israel through an extremely difficult time, whereas for those living
outside of Israel there is far less need to rely
on this halachic loophole, which has been strongly challenged in the
halachic literature. Thus, the traditional practice of the London Beth
Din, the main European Batei Din and the American kashrut authorities is
NOT to rely on the heter mechira.
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Defining exactly what is right wing and what is left wing, what is conservative and what is liberal, can be difficult and confusing. Especially in Israel, but not just. I can be liberal regarding economics, but conservative regarding security, while being somewhere else along the spectrum regarding social issues and governmental issues. Any combination of stances on issues can work. Just because I am conservative on one matter, does not mean I cannot be liberal on other matters. I always get confused when hearing claims of this person is right wing, or that one is left wing, when each person has varied positions on different issues, and he or she might be left wing, but could hold right wing stances on other issues. This is especially true of the frum community who is mostly conservative on security in Israel and on Land of Israel issues, but believes in more socialistic ideas regarding the economy with more handouts to be given to the weaker socio-economic sectors and affirmative action and other issues in that realm.
That is why some people are surprised to learn about a Haredi woman putting up her candidacy for a slot in the Meretz primaries, but I am not. Besides for the fact that it has happened before, with Tzvia Greenfield from Har Nof serving as MK on the Meretz list back in 2008 for a short period of time. Now we have a Haredi female lawyer, Ofra Kaplan, running to represent Meretz in the Knesset. It seems Kaplan grew up in South Africa and England and studied law in Cambridge.
INN interviewed Kaplan, trying to understand how a Haredi woman could join, and try to be a representative of, Meretz, and how that can possibly mesh with Torah values.
I believe it is not difficult at all, and I identify with many of her answers, though I never felt the urge to vote Meretz.
* care and concern for the weaker sectors, justice and similar values come from the mussar of the prophets. She says the values of Shulamit Aloni were taken from the Jewish bookshelf and were created by God.
- personally, I think the Shulamit Aloni comment is strange, though the principal she states is correct and interesting.
* most Meretz people are not anti-religious, but against religious coercion.
- I agree
* how does working towards a Palestinian State on land such as Hebron, Shchem, Bet lechem, etc jibe with the Torah dictates of inheriting and settling the land - the idea of conquering the land is more appropriate for the days of Joshua or for the future days of Mashiach, not today, and today Rachel would not want roadblocks on the way to her grave, and the desire to go to her grave does not justify hatred and fighting
- strange response, but I understand not wanting to fight about it.
* she stresses the Torah position against racism and discriminations very strongly. When asked what about the Palestinians wanting to create a State that Jews wont be allowed in, she says we have to fight racism on our side, they are responsible for it on their side.
- this is like burying your head in the sand, when the other side's racism and hatred is against us.
* if a Palestinian state would be established and they would shoot rockets at us, the relationship would be of two countries at war and our response can be in that vein. As of now, they dont have a country, so we cannot really go to war against them even if necessary.
- this is an interesting perspective. Let them have a State so we can treat them as a hostile country if they act towards us with hostility.
All I know is that Michael is on our right and Gabriel is on our left. Other than that, I dont know how to categorize most people using right and left as the barometer.
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I could not find an article in Hebrew about this, which is unusual, so I have to rely on VIN for this story...
According to the report, the beis din in Jerusalem avoided a potential aguna situation all by chance and luck.
The story goes that he was refusing to grant the gett to his wife, and the proceedings were dragging out. One of the dayanim noticed that the husband was recording the proceedings and told him to stop, it is not allowed. When the dayan noticed that he had continued to record the proceedings, they took his phone to check it, and discovered the recordings.
The dayanim told him he could be subject to a fine, but they also told him they need to hold on to the phone for 7 days to check for any other recordings. They decided it is legal and within their rights to do so as the court has the right to demand any document needed for clarification, and the cellphone could be classified as an electronic document..
The husband could not bear to be away form his phone for 7 days, so he immediately agreed to give his wife the gett, right then and there rather than give up the phone.
the dayanim agreed and the gett was immediately processed and given.
This guy could not bear to be with his wife and without his phone... In this case of Phone vs Wife, it looks like they both won. We will call it a tie. She got her gett and the phone got its guy.
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There is some crazy situation going on how in advance of the Likud primaries, and the Likudniks are torn as to how to deal with it.
A lawyer named Yoni Jorno has announced that he is running for a slot on the Likud list. Big deal, a couple hundred other people are as well.
Well, Jorno, it turns out, was arrested some 20 years ago for involvement in a weird kidnapping case involving a Filipino foreign worker. He was convicted, served some jail time, blah blah blah.
Likudniks are now not sure what to do with him. Let him run and let the Likud look bad? Don't let him run? It seems the ranks are torn as to how to handle the situation.
One thing I know is that they cannot really refuse his candidacy. Considering the head of the party has been indicted for several crimes and is sitting in trial for them, pushing away someone else who served his time, paid for his crime, while letting Netanyahu continue to sit atop the Likud would be pretty hypocritical. Especially because the Likud keeps repeating the mantra that the people have to be left to choose who they want as their leaders in a democracy and the leadership cannot decide that for the peoople. They say that to fight against the movement to prevent Netanyahu from running while under indictment, so they cannot now turn around and prevent this Joprno fellow from running - let the people choose.
That being said, they do not have to support him and promote him. Let him fail to earn a realistic spot like tens of other candidates.
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In case you thought you had heard everything strange about what might hold up a divcorce, you probably haven't...
At a beis din in Israel, divorce proceedings were held up when the estranged couple began fighting over custody of their pet African Jacko bird.
According to Maariv, when they started arguing about custody over Yanekele, their pet Jacko, each side claimed ownership along with a special emotional connection with the bird.
And this happened in the final stages of the divorce proceedings, just before the gett was to be finalized.
The beis din decided to move the argument to the hands of an expert who would look into their claims and determine who actually had this special connection with the bird and who simply was out to get revenge and prevent the other from living happily ever after with his or her bird. I am not quite sure what type of expert is called in for such an analysis, but I guess that's why I am not on the beis din.
So far the beis din has not been able to resolve the situation and the gett has been postponed.
These Jackos are worth a lot of money... and Jackos often can talk so maybe they should just ask the Jacko which he wishes to live with, or with which he has a stronger emotional connection
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If it were up to me, Netanyahu's trials would be frozen during election periods...
-- MK Miri Regev (Likud)
considering the political deadlock, his trial would just about never happen if that were the case... though it does make more sense to freeze the trial while he is serving as Prime Minister than during elections, in my opinion.
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Last week when President Biden was in town for his visit, President Herzog hosted an event in his honor. At the event, Ran Danker and Yuval Dayan sang a rendition of Naomi Shemer's song Lu Yehi, which is also some sort of mashup with the Beatles song Let It Be.
It was a beautiful rendition and it looks like it was a lovely celebration overall. What happened at the end of the song has become a talking point across Israel over the past few days, though by now most have already moved on to other things.
Here is the clip (Three Weeks music warning, for those who need it):
As you can see at the end of the clip, a very pleased Joe Biden gets up to than the singers and extends his hand for a shake. Danker steps up and shakes while Dayan bows in thanks but does not shake Biden's hand. Some words are exchanged, words that we cannot hear, and everyone moves on with their lives.
This created quite a stir. People were shocked and even angry at the gall of Yuval Dayan leaving the President high and dry, leaving him hanging.
It is well known across Israel that Yuval Dayan has been in a process of becoming more religious and taking on more religious behaviors and rules ever since 2016. A while back Dayan said she will no longer shake hands with men, or hug, as she is now shomeret negiya.
So, despite the fact that Dayan just sang in front of a bunch of people, both men and women, both Jews and non-Jews, she is shomeret negiya and not necessarily careful about singing in front of men, so she sang but did not shake. Plenty of people who become religious do it slowly, taking on more things over time as they get comfortable. She is comfortable now with singing and not shaking hands. That is where she is at, and she acted consistently with her beliefs and commitments at this point.
People got very upset at her. First, she is allowed to shake, it is not sexual (though with Biden one never knows), and leaving him hanging is very embarrassing. Second, she is a hypocrite claiming religion when she just sang - if she is so religious and so committed she should have passed on the event and let someone else sing, but if she can sing she can shake.
As mentioned, that is not how it works. Besides the technical details that the problem is not hers but the men listening to her, and she might have a hetter for parnassa, if she wanted one - besides for all that - she has not taken that on yet. at this point in her life she is not yet comfortable giving up singing publicly, even though she has given up shaking and hugging men. That is not hypocritical, it is just where she is at right now.
Even without the singing, people were still critical for leaving Biden hanging. Malbin panav, and all that. Yuval Dayan posted an explanation online that she had told the Americans several times in advance that she would not shake hands or hug or touch in any way with any men, and she confirmed multiple times that this would be ok. Ran Danker posted confirming this from his side of the events. Biden forgot, or got swept up in the moment. While I personally would have shaked hands, Dayan did everything possible to avoid the situation and cannot be blamed for refusing and leaving Biden hanging, even if she could have shaken hands halachically had she wanted to. Also, if you watch the video, the entire moment was graceful, with Danker stepping forward and Dayan bowing slightly, and I dont think anyone was embarrassed by the gaffe. I did see some funny comments such as even if Biden was embarrassed, he forgot about it moments later, and another that Biden is so used to shaking hands with nobody but the air that he probably didnt even notice.
Interestingly, the initial instructions of the entire trip, from the Americans, was that Biden would not shake hands with anyone. That is why in the initial ceremony we saw him fist bumping everyone. Biden is old enough that they were concerned about COVID-19 issues and wanted to minimize contact. Biden went off script several times, at Yad Vashem with the survivors, and then some more at other events, but the Americans didnt want him shaking hands either.
the Dayan incident made me think back to Rivka Ravitz - Chief of Staff for President Reuven Rivlin, a Haredi mother of 12 (IIRC) who also refused to shake hands when meeting dignitaries including Prince William and even Joe Biden himself. She did not sing in front of them either, but still, this is not new, though maybe people are more forgiving of Ravitz being that she lives a Haredi lifestyle whereas Dayan was just singing in front of men but then would not shake.
And lastly, of my thoughts at least, nowadays if there is anything that came out of the #metoo movement it is that every person, especially women, decide for themselves when to touch and when to allow to be touched by, any other person. Nobody can decide for anybody else that they must touch someone or be touched by someone.
Yuval Dayan did nothing wrong and everything right. Good for her.
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Menachem Eliezer Mozes was a Member of Knesset for UTJ, and also served as Deputy minister of Education. Mozes has an interesting daughter, Heidi. While she is not frum and has opposed her father's politics, and is an outspoken and public lesbian, she has a very good relationship with her father and speaks of him with admiration.
Heidi Mozes has announced that she will be running for a spot in the upcoming Likud primaries. Several years back she was a supporter of the Kadima party. of Ariel Sharon and Ehud Olmert, and even worked to become an MK on their party list, but was not successful. She has since switched parties and is now running in the Likud primaries.
It turns out Heidi Mozes is a supreme "brown-noser", so to speak.
At a Likud event yesterday in Givat Zeev, Mozes distributed gold chains with a golden pendant bearing the figure of Benjamin Netanyahu, head of the Likud. She declared wearing one a sign of loyalty to Netanyahu and draped them on some of the attendees, including high ranking Likud representatives. the medallion is also being sold to the public on the "only Bibi" website.
Here is the tweet that initially reported the medallion incident:
אמיתי - בכנס הליכוד הערב בגבעת זאב עונדים לח״כ ישראל כ״ץ תליון זהב בדמות נתניהו שמהווה ״שרשרת הצהרת נאמנות״. העונדת היא היידי מוזס שמתמודדת בפריימריס pic.twitter.com/BQUlgFnj13
Some are comparing this to the golden calf, a form of idol worship. I am not sure it is quite that, but it is despicable and probably nothing more than low level brown-nosing, looking for some support from Netanyahu to give herself a boost in the primaries. I dont know why the long-term Likudniks dont oppose behavior like this, why they feel they have to play along with every bad idea to show loyalty to Netanyahu. To his credit, Yisrael Katz took it off and passed it t someone else, later explaining he doesnt wear necklaces and didnt even know what ti was.
All these demands for displays and declarations of loyalty have really turned me off the Likud. It is a shame because I do think they are potentially the ruling party and the one normally everyone should support, but they have gone to a really bad place. At this point I dont just think Netanyahu needs to go, but all the other Likud leaders who have had no spine to stand up to behaviors like this also need to go. At this point even if Netanyahu leaves and retires to a ranch or whatever, I dont think I can go back to supporting the Likud until they have new leadership. I despise cult-like behaviors and followings, and try to distance myself from whatever it is, whenever I sense one around me, for good and for bad. I dont like not being able to support the Likud - I am not satisfied with any of the other parties, but these types of behaviors that we have seen over the past couple of years have pushed me away..
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Ina picture released by the Prime Minister's Office, Priem Minister Yair Lapid is hanging the Jerusalem Declaration document, signed by him and US President Joe Biden, in the government cabinet meeting room.
The joint declaration reaffirms "the unbreakable bonds between our two countries and the enduring commitment of the United States to Israel’s security". In the declaration the United States commits to never allowing Iran to acquire nuclear weapons.
The day of the fast of 17 Tammuz is an appropriate day to hang such a document..
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צום יז' בתמוז נקבע לדורות מפני שהדברים הקשים אשר אירעו בו לעמנו ציינו את תחילתו של חורבן המקדש.
בעיניי, התיקון הגדול בדורונו הוא להפוך את היום הזה דווקא לתחילתו של בניין - מתוך אהבת חינם.
צום קל ומועיל לכולם.
— Matan Kahana מתן כהנא (@MatanKahana) July 17, 2022
Translation: Matan Kahane, outgoing/acting Minister of Religious Affairs tweeted:
The fast of 17 Tammuz was enacted for generations because of the difficult events that happened to our nation that marked the beginning of the destruction of the Temple.
In my eyes, the main tikkun of our generation is to turn this day specifically into the beginning of rebuilding - from a place of ahavat chinam (rg: baseless love or love without judgement)
An easy and beneficial fast to everyone
I am not sure if he means something political by this or if he is just saying generally we have to increase ahavat chinam - he did respond to some comments saying he is working to ensure that after the upcoming elections a broad unity government will be established..
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In the portion of the week it says the Jews are a nation that will live in solitude. I can tell you that Israel will not be alone as the United States of America will always be together with Israel
-- President of the United States of America, Joe Biden
I believe the Torah's promises over Biden's, but I do appreciate the gesture
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Kikar is reporting on an interesting psak given by Rav Bentzion Mutzafi.
Rav Mutzafi, one of the leading Sefardi poskim, was asked if it is ok for children to eulogize a parent, a father specifically, at the father's funeral, and also to call out "Abba" - Father!, at the funeral, as some do in grief.
Rav Mutzafi responded that the minhag in Sefardi communities everywhere is that a son does not eulogize his father. Only at the conclusion of the shloshim period, the first 30 days of mourning, does the son eulogize. Rav Mutzafi says this has been the minhag from early generations, and he heard so as well from Rav Bentzion Aba Shaul zt"l.
Rav Mutzafi added that the fact that we commonly see son's eulogizing the father today is a mistake and was adopted form the Ashkenazim. Many do so not knowing it should not be done. In the days of Rav Yosef SHalush, in Jerusalem, nobody would dare eulogize his father at the funeral as Rav Shalush would tell him off and not allow it.
In the sefer Sdei Chemed it explains that children should not follow the body in the funeral procession, nor call out "father" in grief, as it arouses the mazikin, the dangerous demons and forces...
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That is Minister Merav Michael posing barefoot at a meeting in her office. I dont know who the people she met with are, but I like her style. I take off my shoes whenever possible as well, though I would probably put them on for such a photo. If she turned this into a national or global campaign, something like #FeetLivesMatter, I might even consider voting for her.
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