It is common in Israel for yeshivas to arrange "camps" for their students for a portion of the vacation. They will organize a trip to a campus somewhere, stay a week or 10 days, have a learning schedule interspersed with hikes, interesting speakers, barbecues, singers, performers, and other events..

According to Hamechadesh, a yeshiva arranged a trip to a campus in Miztpe Ramon, down south. They got a good deal and it is a place with excellent views and surroundings, so they were happy with the arrangements. 

One of the staff members raised the issue that Mitzpe Ramon is considered questionable if it is included in halachic Eretz Yisrael or if it is considered out of the borders and part of chutz laaretz. It is a matter of dispute, and its halachic status is considered questionable. This staff member asked how could the yeshiva arrange to take the boys out of halachic eretz yisrael for no good reason, no halachic justification, just for camp and a good time, and additionally among the boys would be kohanim, for whom leaving Eretz Yisrael is halachically even more problematic?!

Interesting question, even though as a kid I might think the guy trying to ruin our camp is just a douche..

The question was presented to Rav Yitzchak Zilbershtein, rav of Ramat Elchonon neighborhood of Bnei Braq. The question is what to do about this issue:

On the one hand, this is considered leaving Israel (if it is) for a mitzva, as the boys need to re-energize for the coming zman. Additionally they might not be able to find another location to relocate to at all, let alone at a reasonable price and if they cant go to the original location they might have to cancel the whole thing.

On the other hand, how can they go to Mitzpe Ramon and teach the boys that a "safek issur" can be ignored or dismissed?

Rav Zilbershtein discussed the various aspects of the issue, bringing the various opinions as to the halachic status of Mitzpe Ramon and concluded that it is indeed a real safek if it is Eretz Yisrael or not. He then also discussed the issue of leaving Eretz Yisrael, when it is allowed and when not. Being that it is allowed to leave for the purpose of a mitzva and this vacation for refreshing and re-energizing to learn is a mitzva, so even though initially they perhaps should not go to Mitzpe Ramon, after it was already reserved in error and they signed a contract, and it is a safek, and it is close to Eretz Yisrael rather than very distant, they can be lenient and keep the reservation.

Rav Zilbershtein added though that it is worthwhile to make it a lechatchila allowed trip and not just a bdieved. How can they do that? If they were to arrange shiurim and invite the local community, then it would be considered leaving to teach Torah which is allowed lechatchila. And they should have shiurim on these very issues - the status of Mitzpe Ramon, the issue of leaving eretz yisrael, etc among other topics..

Rav Zilbershtein concluded saying that nowadays it is common for people to travel abroad to vacation without even asking a rav if it is allowed. It is prohibited to leave Israel unless it is for one of a few specific reasons, and someone who is not careful about this can be considered a "mumar ldavar echad" - someone who intentionally violates a specific torah commandment and is not trustworthy in some matters because of it. That is in addition to all sorts of other problems that occur, such as improper environments and seeing immodest dress and behavior in the airports and abroad, and they can defile the eyes of the person and his limbs...

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the City of Jerusalem built a walking hanging bridge over the Valley Gei Ben Hinom and completed and inaugurated it today..

According to the announcement by the mayor, Moshe Lion, the bridge is 202 meters long connecting Mt Zion to modern Jerusalem, over the Gei Ben Hinom valley. This is the longest bridge in Israel (longest bridge or hanging bridge, I am not sure), and is the home to amazing views of the surrounding areas.

What frightens me is the thought of how many people will stand there and pile up on the bridge to watch concerts for free or to protest, and I would just hope the bridge can hold the weight that is sure to accumulate there

I would note the rope bridge in Nesher is pretty cool with amazing views. I am not sure anything can beat Jerusalem though and I am looking forward to checking it out

It has become common for families, even many in the Haredi community, to want to do things together, and to find ways to make it work, rather than splitting activities among boys and girls. That includes activities like going to the beach by going to what has become known as "family beaches", even though there is no such official category of beach. A "family beach" is a beach that has become known to be more family oriented so the women are not generally found in bikinis but slightly more covered, but the swimming is mixed, though families tend to stay together. And a lot of the women on these beaches are frum women from other families to they are either fully dressed or wear tzanua bathing suits. And the men are often also wearing tshirts and the like. Other activities that have become popular are "kayaking" and rafting, with the many frum vacationers during bein hazmanim a large percentage of the revelers at these sites, and maybe some specific ones are known to attract a higher percentage of a frummer crowd, are frum in these weeks and more appropriately dressed.

Rav Yitzchak Yosef pasked there is no such thing as a family beach being ok. It is assur to go there or to any of these sites that are mixed crowds. It is against halacha, according to Rav Yosef's psak.

Rav Yosef added that nowadays the shuls all have yeshivos bein hazmanim where the boys can learn during vacation (and in many places they get paid a bit to learn), and they should go there and not to the places with pritzus.

source: Kikar

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Last night, the night of Tisha B'Av, at the Kotel Hamaaravi (The Western Wall), we met the fox of the famous midrash of Rabbi Akiva that was seen walking among the ruins of Jerusalem and it is perhaps trying to pass along a message to us. History is the only science that can perhaps prophesize the future. Dont make the same mistakes that were made in the generation of the destruction of the Second Temple. Don't be so right, be brothers.

Barak Blumenthal captured the moment

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As reported by Behadrei, at an annual educational conference of a chain of kollels Rav Moshe Tzadka discussed a variety of challenging issues facing the yeshivas today, including issues of the way the yeshiva boys dress, Thursday night cholent, haircuts, and others.

While I am curious as to what was said about some of those issues, the decision was basically that there isn't anything they can actually do and must detail these issues in the yeshivas rules of conduct document and enforce it.

It seems the Thursday night cholent issue is considered far more serious than any of the others. Rav Tzadka said in his yeshiva they wanted to bring in cholent for the boys no Thursday nights during the winter months but he refused to let them. Rav Tzadka said it is a horrible sin, the worst possible sin, to have cholent on Thursday nights, the boys go and mingle with all sorts of other bochurim, that is the worst sin. And having cholent Thursday night is foolish and is degrading to the honor of Shabbos and has no equivalent.

If he thinks that eating cholent on Thursday night is the worst sin possible, he does not have much of an imagination, and definitely has no idea what else his students might be up to.. I can definitely think of worse sins.. I do admit though that I am intrigued by his claim that consuming cholent on Thursday nights is degrading to the honor of Shabbos. 

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To note: the audience at this symposium is to a yeshivish crowd (good to be aware of the context and know who they are speaking to so you understand what they say)...

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Wouldnt it be funny if the Supreme Court struck it down as unreasonable?

Given the striking parallels between Israel’s current internal rift and the infighting that caused the destruction of the Second Temple 2000 years ago, why would the Israeli Government proceed with its Judicial Reform bill on the eve of Tisha B’Av? Very bad timing.

— David M Friedman (@DavidM_Friedman) July 23, 2023

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I used to think those gemaras were telling us higher religious lessons, morals. We were no longer deserving because of our sins, because we spoke lashon hara or harbored enmity towards other Jews that was unjustified or whatnot, and we need to correct all that within us to become deserving again.

Not discounting all that, but in today's reality I see it very differently now. I now understand, I think, what the Gemara meant when it said those reasons for our losing the mikdash, and they are far more practical and pragmatic than just telling us higher moral lessons of how to behave and earn merit. They are very practical. When there is baseless hate or lashon hara or whatnot, there is incessant fighting. The extremists on both sides continuously increase their anger and hatred to the other and take things increasingly more extreme until things just blow up and society gets destroyed.

I see that happening today. Maybe we havent gotten to that point just yet, but it seems we may be headed there, unless things somehow get walked back. The extremists on both sides scream at each other, protest, take actions that hurt the other and also hurt the state. At some point, if it continues, things will fall apart and it wont be [just] a Divine punishment, but will be a direct cause of the sinat chinam going on, a direct cause of the lashon hara, that led to more and more increasingly extreme behavior. All this hatred and extremism will lead people to taking actions that they are sure is what God wants them to do, they are sure it is in the best interests of the State, it is the right and moral and ethical way for society to function, but it will just end up tearing everything down.

Recently there was a story in Tiberias where they were looking to hire a lifeguard for the separate beach. The female lifeguard applying for the position said that she would not save someone drowning if it is a religious woman, as she hates them and she would ignore the religious woman.

Besides for the little detail that any lifeguard willing to ignore anyone, even a single person on the beach or in the pool, should be fired, and in this case never hired in the first place.. this job she was applying for is on a religious gender-segregated beach. Who else is there besides for religious (dati and Haredi) women? Who exactly is she being hired to save and protect if she is going to ignore all the religious women? This entire job application makes no sense. 

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so until now it seemed there were two groups opposing each other, each with its actions and protests - the people protesting against the judicial reform and the people protesting in favor of the judicial reform. It turns out that a third group has formed  - a seemingly more centrist group. A group of people who want the reform passed with broad support. They called for a mass tefilla of morning services at the Kotel today, followed by a march, a human chain, to the Knesset. By its very nature this wont be a massive movement, at least not to start, but maybe it can grow into that... in the 9 Days, and probably even the rest of the year, something like this that tries to bring together people from both sides, is surely better than the hate being spewed by the two main groups of reform supporters/opponents...

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Honestly, it was not that dramatic. I dont think he even said anything new, but the statement he made against refusal to serve was important.

Putting that aside, he threw out a bunch of comments meant to reassure the public. He said things like Israel wont become a halachic state, Israel will remain a democracy, people's rights will be protected, etc.

If he really wants to reassure people on these matters, I would suggest he go into a bit more detail. If he says Israel will not become a halachic state at the same time his coalition continues to pass, or try to pass, religious legislation, let us know how he is going to stop it from becoming a halachic state. I am sure he doesnt want that either, but it might not be up to him. Let the concerned people understand what you are doing to prevent it, and how the massive amount of religious legislation is not going to lead there. Let us know how womens rights will be protected when the coalition is dismantling the committee for womens rights, when there are hardly any female ministers in this government, when there is legislation backtracking previous forward movement on womens issues. etc

I get that a brief ten minute press conference might not be the place for all that, but I am sure the Prime Minister can find another opportunity. Sit down for an interview to discuss these issues. Pen an op-ed in one of the papers. Something. Dont just throw out a statement and expect the masses of protestors to trust you - explain in a bit more detail why.

Members of the protest movement are conducting a march to Jerusalem to arrive in time for the Sunday vote on the Reasonableness Clause in Knesset.

They are marching for four days, avoiding the too hot hours of the day. 

Forgetting the aspect of this being part of the protest, this is a picture of the masses being oleh regel to Jerusalem. You might not like who they are or what their goal is, but this is a beautiful picture and maybe a harbinger or maybe a glimpse of what aliyah laregel might look like in the future

I know there is a techum issue with their march, though I somehow think that wasnt considered when planning this. 

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Compromise or Destruction

A very succinct message saying this friction, this dispute, with only be resolved either by finding a way to compromise or it will lead to destruction. The rift, the divide, has grown too great. 

Both sides would have to compromise and come to an agreed upon resolution, cut down on the extremism, and get back to learning to live with each other. or destruction.

I actually think there is a third option. A third option that has always worked.

War.

Whenever a war breaks out we get back together again and put all our disputes aside.

War might be an attack on Iran (or an attack by Iran), or it might be something more general. That limited operation in Jenin last week wasnt big enough for this. It would have to be something much more significant. But I think a war could do the job as well.

Eichler said commented on them already preparing the draft law to be passed, if the State will still exist  after the holidays, with everyone afraid to talk, the protests shutting down the country, etc. 

The more interesting part of what Eichler said is when he said that for 75 years they have been spilling our blood for not serving in the army, everyone needs to be a part of the Israeli melting pot, people who dont serve shouldnt get budgets, etc. Suddenly now they lose control over the government and are burning everything down and stopping to serve in the army. It seems army service isnt as holy as they made it out to be, and they should apologize for how they treated us the past 70 years.

I dont know if he really doesnt get it, or if he is just a populist so says things that arent accurate to raise hairs.

they arent threatening to stop serving in the IDF, and they arent threatening to stop serving because they lost control of the government. They have mostly been out of government (with short interludes) for more than 40 years already, and this is only happening now, not 40 years ago. Throughout Bibi's long tenure they continued to serve and never threatened anything. Only now. And the reason is because of the attempt now for a full exemption of Haredim form army service while also giving them unprecedented funds in the budgets and coalition agreements. Justify it as much as you want, that lack of equality is upsetting them. they think of themselves as funding the Haredim to unprecedented amounts and Haredim are being given practically a blanket exemption from army service and form education and from the workforce. They have had enough. And they arent refusing IDF service, they are refusing, if they decide to carry out their threats, their volunteer reserve duty. I am not justifying it and not saying they should, but the story is very different than what Eichler is saying.

Eichler is good at turning everything into being about him, about his community and playing the victim card. He's not the victim here. It's about me but not as the victim, as the cause. the two sides have both gone way too far in this. I dont know how it will be reigned in and what has to happen but this is too much.

  -- MK Tali Gotlib (Likud), about the air force reserves pilots commenting about possible refusal to serve

ok. Good luck. Let's hope they really can..

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and his meeting with President Biden

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  -- MK Mansour Abbas (Raam)

so will Netanyahu bring him on board? Will Ministers Smotritch and Ben Gvir (or their party members) allow it?

מהיום מבחינתנו אפשר לקרוא לנו אוניברסיטת בן/בת גוריון בנגב

— אוניברסיטת בן-גוריון בנגב (@BenGurionUni) July 18, 2023

From today, as far as we are concerned, you can call us Ben/Bat Gurion University in the Negev

Just to remind you, the use of the word "ben in the name of the university is not a gender statement but part of the name of David Ben Gurion whom the university is named after...

as of now Dr Bloch is the only candidate (truth is Malachi Ki Tov has announced his candidacy again but that's not significant) but that is expected to change at some point...

and to add, Orna Banivai made a comment at a conference that they should not allow Tel Aviv to become another Bet Shemesh, and Aliza Bloch sitting right next to her on the panel did not like that statement...

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מי שרוצה את ישראל ידידה קרובה זה רק עם נתניהו! אין ישראל בלי נתניהו!

— ניסים ואטוריNissim Vaturi🇮🇱 (@nissimv) July 17, 2023

what a nut. There was an Israel before Netanyahu and unless he completely destroys it and tears it apart (as is currently happening) there will be an Israel after Netanyahu. I believe there is nobody that is irreplaceable.

Israeli officials admit that they have filled all obligations but recently the USA has added more details and has been making it more difficult and it might not happen. The final decision is supposed to come sometime in August, and if qualified it will go into effect in October.

I must say, Netanyahu deserves it. While I feel bad for the Israelis who were looking forward to it (and it still might happen!), Netanyahu deserves it. Back when the Lapid-Bennett government was in power and they were close to finishing the deal with the USA, Netanyahu had the Likud vote against the program because he wanted to prevent them from such a major accomplishment and he wanted to keep it for himself. When Netanyahu thwarted the vote then he said that when he returns to power he will get it passed. 

Sorry, but he deserves it.

UTJ in Bet Shemesh has yet to announce who will be their mayoral candidate, or who they will support if they decide not to run their own candidate. This fellow, Yisrael Silverstein, is one of the leading possibilities for being the candidate. he has headed the local UTJ for the past several years and has been involved in local politics for the past 20 or so years. He is supported by one of the main Degel rabbonim in town, though not by another. He is not their definite candidate yet, but he very well could be soon. Here is talking about the upcoming elections in Bet Shemesh and why he is deserving.. Silverstein is originally Canadian and speaks English...

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cool field to go into!

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And if they do threaten this anyway, and actually protest by train lines and block trains, how will anyone know if the trains are not running because of the protests or if they are not running because of the trains?

  -- Former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert

what a shmuck, pardon my French

The USA doesnt need help or advice from Olmert. There are enough anti-Israel democrats in government to encourage that without the help of Israelis

While we have lots of protests nowadays, some of them blocking roads in various places around the country, this one is different. 

An Egged bus driving its route through Bnei Braq was stopped when it pulled up to a stop and the waiting passengers refused to get on the bus because the driver was female. Instead of getting on the bus they saw the driver and decided to protest, standing in front of the bus in the middle of the street to protest the indecency of being sent a bus with a female driver.

This is weird. They could have just waited for the next bus. What did they expect to happen by protesting and blocking traffic? Was an alternate driver going to appear out of thin air?