You can send me messages if you want to know shiva times and location.

wishing you all a long life with good health

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This direct and open intervention in the internal affairs of a country by a foreign politician is somewhat unusual (maybe not unusual enough) and is surprising and upsetting.

Right wingers, especially politicians and media personalities, are all screaming about the hypocrites on the Left who were happy enough to involve Biden in the fight against judicial reform are now upset about Trump's intervention. And they are right.

I did see two politicians (maybe there were more but I saw two), Simcha Rothman and Moshe Saad, who called out Trump's intervention as inappropriate, even if they feel the trial should be stopped. So good on them and they are worth noting and commending.

I would note that the right wingers are busy screaming about the left wing hypocrites, but the right wingers are just as much hypocrites as the left wingers. the right wingers were upset about intervention when it was against them whether by sanctions of foreign governments against individuals on the Right, or when Biden or Obama interfered or other times, and now they are happy Trump is intervening on behalf of Netanyahu, while screaming about the other side's hypocrisy.

Basically, most politicians on both the right and the left are hypocrites all too happy to scream about the hypocrisy of the other side while ignoring their own and only care about their own interests and the means to get there dont matter.

  

As the State of Israel ordered everything to be shut down, pretty similar to the days of Corona, schools and gans also were shut down for about two weeks or so. Schools and gans run by the State followed specific rules and they have procedures in place. The parents of children who sent their kids to private gans, nurseries and kindergartens, ran into a question - should they pay for the two weeks despite not being allowed to send their kids to school or should they not have to pay. 

A rav in RBS D, Rav Yehuda Halevi Rubinstein, came out issuing a psak for these situations.

Rabbi Rubinstein says that payment for the period of forced closure due to the war to private gans and daycare sites should follow the following guidelines..

1. Any days the child was sent to gan must be paid for in full

2. Any days the children were not sent, either because of the ganenet or because of the parents, payment to the tune of 50% should be paid (based on the compromise of the Chasam Sofer)

3. Parents that paid in advance should get a refund according to the above calculation

4. Any ganenet that was paid by the State as restitution for losses caused by the war should refund parents money accordingly (depending on percentages of restitution, etc)

you can get the full rant on Matzav, but here are the things I want to mention:

1. The Rebbe said, "If we were truly in such danger in recent years, under threat from enemy nations, why did no one urge the public to flee Eretz Yisroel? The answer is clear—they caused the danger themselves."

This reminds me of the Holocaust era. Did community leaders urge the public to flee Hungary, Poland, Germany and other countries overtaken by the Nazis? Did the Satmar Rebbe at the time urge his adherents to flee? So did they cause the damage themselves?

2. The Rebbe said, "Without a state, there would be no decrees, no wars, and no draft of bnei yeshiva"...

 And if my grandmother had wheels she'd be a bicycle

Obviously with no state there wouldnt be wars between Israel and her neighbors, and there wouldnt be an army or a draft, secular or haredi.. it doesnt take a genius to figure that out. But we have a state, it exists and isnt going away (as far as we can tell at this time). deal with reality. 

Rav Yitzchak Zilbershtein, rav of Ramat Elchonon neighborhood of Bnei Braq, is upending that categorization with an interesting psak he issued while talking with the head of Petachya about what gives a person the status of shoteh in halacha.

Rav Zilbershtein paskened that not always is a child who was determined to be "special needs" by the kupat cholim or by the people on the street (whatever that means) also in the category of shoteh. There are special needs children who function at a higher level and have some level of understanding and wisdom. Such children, despite their limitations in some areas would not be considered a shoteh and would be obligated in commandments like anybody else.

Rav Zilbershtein said that the modern world, affected by influences from England, Romania and Hungary, are at times mistaken in their evaluation of such children. The halachic criteria for this is not a medical condition but their level of understanding and it requires a deep inspection of the child's capabilities.

Rav Zilbershtein referred to a case brought before him. A father wanted to know if his special needs 13 year old son is obligated in mitzvos. Rav Zilbershtein performed a simple examination of the child to determine that. he asked the child if he knows when the shofar is blown. The child knew it is on Rosh Hashana and talked about what else is done on Rosh Hashana. Rav Zilbershtein also asked about going to the store to buy something and getting change, and the child understood the concepts.

Rav Zilbershtein said that according to the Torah a child that understands such basic concepts is considered a mentally capable adult. Anyone making a determination based on any other criteria is the one who is misguided one, not the children..

Rav Zilbershtein says Rav Elyashiv approved this method of evaluating the child. Only Torah-based evaluations can determine the status of a child, not secular or medical criteria alone.

If someone has a question about whether his child is a shoteh or not should speak with his rav for an evaluation or with a gadol byisrael..

source: Kikar

We Israelis were told about the ceasefire by President Trump and by the Iranians but our own government stayed silent about it for a long time, so we in Israel had no idea what was true, what was bluster, what was happening, and what was real or fake. Eventually the Israeli government confirmed it as well. Despite the ceasefire the Iranians shot missiles at Israel. Israel was going to retaliate and Trump seems to have harshly told Israel to back off. Strange day.

The ceasefire seems imposed. It also seems like subterfuge with Trump going crazy about Israel possibly retaliating despite being so close over the past two weeks. Maybe it is more deception and a distraction with something sneaky to come out of nowhere in a few days. 

During the campaign against Iran Netanyahu strutted around proud of what Israel had accomplished, and rightfully so. He even gave interviews (to news outlets other than Channel 14) and press conferences with questions, that he rarely does, and speeches proudly tooting his horn. he also sounded like a leader again, and less like the divisive politician worried about his own interests as he has acted and sounded over the past 4-5 years. Now with Netanyahu receding into the shadows to avoid Trump's anger he again seems back to being the Netanyahu of recent rather than the Netanyahu of old where he suddenly doesnt talk to the Israelis anymore and his personal politics is going front and center. 

The Israeli government at some point released another statement about accepting the ceasefire and that Israel had accomplished all of its goals in Iran so can end it now. The statement is strange because just yesterday members of the war cabinet spoke about how we still have what to do and it will end in a few days when it is all accomplished, and just this morning the Iranians shot ballistic missiles at Israel killing several people and wounding many more. The official war goals had been to dismantle the nuclear program and to dismantle the threat of ballistic missiles. The first one seems to have been accomplished with flying colors, while the second makes it seem like the ceasefire was imposed because that is clearly not something that has been accomplished.

All that being said, the mission in Iran seemed, using the few tools we can judge it with, to have been a great success and we Israelis had some very proud moments over the past 11 days. The issue of the ceasefire is strange and unclear and from what has been said publicly it has seem to left a bad taste in the mouths of many. Despite all that, I think this is mostly a minor thing relative to what Israel has done over the past 11 days, and the lashing from Trump is also minor relative to what has been accomplished with and by the USA, over the past 11 days.

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One of Tehran’s top landmarks was a “Doomsday Clock”, counting down the days till 2040, when Iran’s Supreme Leader predicts Israel will be annihilated.

Was, because Israel just bombed it. 👋 pic.twitter.com/ZqWI7g9k9U

— Eylon Levy (@EylonALevy) June 23, 2025

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this is a good press conference... here he is more like the Netanyahu of old, the leader, not the Netanyahu of the last 4-5 years being dragged around by his partners, talking to the people, not being divisive and mean-spirited while attacking journalists and groups of opponents, showing leadership

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Rav Eliyahu explained that having received the good news we have waited for so long, to remove the horrible Iranian threat, requires us to say a full throated thank you. When we thank God, the bounty flows even more. God gives the counsel and the strength to the leaders of Israel to succeed, to the government and the army and to the President of the USA.

source: Arutz7

I havent yet seen anyone say anything about Hallel, with or without a bracha

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  -- Mayor of Ramat Gan Carmel Shama HaCohen after an Iranian missile landed a direct hit this morning on a local building

The question came up whether El Al can operate these flights on Shabbos to bring Israelis home. El Al asked the Chief Rabbi Rav Dovid Yosef about this. 

The Chief Rabbi paskened that unless there is an immediate danger to life, El Al cannot operate flights on Shabbos to bring the stranded people home. Because it is just a general situation of danger without any immediate threat, and there are no outstanding exceptional humanitarian or health cases, they cannot fly on Shabbos. They need to be brought home as quickly as possible but without violating Jewish tradition and halacha.

source: Kikar Shabbat and Makor Rishon

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Iran says they hit the Mossad building in a missile strike.

Luckily, nobody was there...

They are all in Iran

— Mossad Commentary (@MOSSADil) June 17, 2025

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While we need to get the mission done and they should do what it takes for that to happen, I am wondering if the success in Iran can have an effect on Gaza. 

With Iran out of the picture, assuming we can successfully neutralize the threat from Iran to the fullest capacity, and especially if the regime collapses, as is thought (and as some seem to expect) can very well happen, will Hamas feel isolated, with one of their 2 main sponsors gone? Will they feel pressured to end it, to give up and surrender?

I hope the Israeli leadership is telling Steve Witkoff to prepare a new plan by which we do not talk about 10 hostages for x months and then another 5, etc. Rather with the success of the Iran mission behind us, we should be telling Hamas to finish it now, we will only take everyone for an end of the war with surrender (and however the banishment of Hamas is supposed to happen. And at the same time President Trump should be pressuring Qatar to officially stop supporting Hamas.

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Finance Minister Betzalel Smotritch today announced that residents who need to be evacuated form their homes due to damage caused by Iranian missiles will get 580nis immediately.. he then went on to explain how the defense budget will need to be increased...

I assume the 580nis, yes - 580, not 5800 or 580000 will be not including whatever comes later with all the bureaucracy - rebuilding the homes, the various victims of terror/war outlays, etc..

Still, 580nis is pocket change. What is the purpose of this specific amount? What is Smotritch paying for with this handout? is it to feed a family dinner for one or two nights? To buy a Chofshi Chodshi, monthly bus pass, for one person to go to the homeless shelter? 

What great ideas do you have that this money should be spent on?

I admit the first thought to pop into my head when I heard of the direct hit in Bnei Braq was about the promise of the Chazon Ish. Supposedly the Chazon Ish had promised that rockets would never land in Bnei Braq and itis considered safe. Rav Chaim Kanievsky had reaffirmed that several times over the years.

Now that promise seems to have expired and the citizens of Bnei Braq might have to be concerned about the same laws of nature as the rest of us.

  -- Minister of Transportation Miri Regev, about working on a plan to bring stranded Israelis home.

lol.. 

Katz threatened, as you can see in the screenshot of his tweet above, that the residents of Iran will soon pay the price for their dictators decision to target civilians in Israel with ballistic missiles aimed at residential neighborhoods.

Understandably Katz has come under a lot of criticism for saying this. Not just from around the world but especially from Israelis. 
I think this might be another case of a bad choice of words but I dont think he meant we are going to target civilians. We dont even do that in Gaza and have no reason to do it in Iran where we know (or at least think) most residents are against the government. He probably means they will pay the price by loss of electricity, the economy collapsing from the oil fields being destroyed and the like.

Politicians really need to choose their words better to make their point. Shoot less from the hip.

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Good job all around!

thank you to all those who work around the clock to keep us safe!

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Naturally, the first thing Israel did after boarding Greta's vessel was hand out sandwiches—because we’re yet to meet an enemy we don’t feel compelled to feed. By God, we really are a Jewish state!

— Uri Kurlianchik (@VerminusM) June 9, 2025

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I am not so sure what Greta Thunberg is smiling so widely about after her flotilla was taken over by the IDF. Maybe it exists but I dont remember ever seeing a picture of her smiling - she always looks so angry - let alone smiling so broadly. Maybe it is the "pastrami" (turkey pastrama) sandwich being handed to her by a soldier (she's a vegan), maybe it is the plastic the sandwich is wrapped in, maybe it is the thinking that they outsmarted the Israelis by throwing the electronics into the sea before being captured by the IDF (which the IDF supposedly recovered immediately), or maybe it is something else, but I am happy she is happy and I am happy this did not become a disaster but was handled quietly and well and is hopefully will remain a non-story 

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While it seems unlikely the flotilla and the aide they are carrying will make it to Gaza, I also am pretty sure that this will somehow become another PR disaster for Israel.

How do you think Israel should handle this?

Looking for both funny and smart answers...

I think the boat sinking for unknown reasons in open waters with Israel not having anything to do with it would be the best possible solution to this agitator and agitation...

I know neither who gets credit for this picture nor why the subject is wearing jeans rather than an army uniform but it is a great picture...

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I had no idea these have become so commonly used

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I know when this was revealed last week it was somewhat controversial, but here is how it came to be...

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