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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu related to some strange claims on the Internet that he had been killed in Iranian missile attacks on Israel. I am not sure why he gave them any credence and felt the need to show himself as alive - he is out there enough anyway in the news, and even did a rare press conference a few days ago. But, for whatever reason, he did and went to a coffee shop really a "coffee cart, Sataf, just outside of Jerusalem and made a video of his appearance there, drinking coffee, showing he has five fingers on each hand, and laughing at the claims he is dead.

Instead of putting the claims to rest, Netanyahu's video flared up the claims of Netanyahu being dead, the video being made by AI, the use of a double and it not really being him, etc.. 

Add this to the claims online being made about the destruction of Tel Aviv and of Israel with Iranian missiles raining destruction on Israel and laying Tel Aviv in ruins. 

To be fair, Iran's ballistic missiles have done some damage around Israel and have tragically killed several people in Israel. The vast majority of Iran's missiles have been shot down. Some damage done is far from the level of destruction that is being claimed and depicted.

Now, I dont really get what the point of making these claims is. Israel is still functioning. If Netanyahu is dead (he isn't) we would elect another Prime Minister. the IDF is still being led to destroy Iranian targets, whether it is being led by netanyahu or by someone else (it is being led by Netanyahu)..  what is the point of these claims and in what way do those making them benefit? Are they simply trying to paint a false narrative to their followers?

So why is this history repeating itself?

In all of Israel's wars, going back to 1948, the enemy Arab countries told their people they were destroying Israel and Israel was losing and would be wiped off the map. What was their endgame?  just to keep their people motivated? Their lies were their downfall. They suffer to this day for believing those lies, and they continue to believe those lies even today. 

History does repeat itself, even in a different playing field.

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On this topic, INN brings a psak from Rav Dovid Fendel, Rosh Yeshiva of the Yeshiva Hesder Sderot, after being asked by some soldiers what to do in such a situation, would they be able to be in the vehicle when the hummer driver is a female or if a female paramedic is assigned to their armored vehicle, etc..

Rav Fendel, with other rabbonim of the yeshiva, said that the Rama is lenient about yichud in certain situations (specifically 1 woman with 3 men present) but in today's reality it would be difficult to rely on this - the Ramas leniency is when the people involved are kosher and not "prutzim" but today we are all exposed to inappropriate content online so it would be difficult to meet the standards of kosher for this leniency to apply.

Additionally, the reality of the situation is that other problems also exist, such as being in the vehicle for long periods of time would lead to violation prohibitions of looking at women, joking and talking with women and inappropriate thoughts. 

The rabbonim said that from what they have been told by many soldiers in these situations, being in these situations of a crowded and cramped military vehicle and how at times it can be difficult to avoid even physical contact, among the other problems already mentioned. Therefore, Rav Fendel and the rabbonim have pasked for their soldiers to avoid these situations. A soldier caught in such a situation should complain to his commander and to the IDF Rabbinate to not allow such yichud. EVen in times of war this is a problem as in times of war and great distress, more safeguarding of the holiness of the camp is warranted..

Similarly, Srugim brings a similar psak from Rav Aviner, though not form a yichud perspective, makng it slightly different than Rav Fendel's psak.

Rav Aviner was asked about the same situation - 3 religious soldiers serving in a hummer with a female soldier as a paramedic or driver, what should they do?

Rav Aviner responded that this is not allowed but not really from a yichud perspective. The issue of yichud does not really apply. The issue really is one of "gas libo" - when people are familiar and confortable with each ther after spending time together and experiencing experiences together (such as in an army vehicle possibly experiencing some harrowing circumstances).

The problem here is less yichud and more the issues of looking at women, talking and joking with women. When serving many hours of the day together in a ttight army vehicle, these situations would be unavoidable.

Practically speaking, Rav Aviner said this situation should be stopped right away. Religious soldiers cannot let themselves be in such a situation. They should request to not serve with a female paramedic/driver. If the commanders ignore these requests, the soldiers should respond saying these instructions are in contradiction to the terms of the shared service agreement. If the commanders continue to force them to serve like this, they should refuse to serve, even at the price of being thrown in the brig.

If this situation is made permanent, the soldiers should be told to not induct to those units and more.

  -- Defense Minister Yisrael Katz

whoa, that's a serious statement... I hope he weighed his words.. we will probably see the Cenks and Tuckers scream now about Israel occupying Lebanon...

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I know it should be cauldon int he title, not kauldron, but the k works better for this...

That image and experience may soon be extinct and go the way of the dodo bird.

The Eida Hachareidis kashrut organization has decided that it is a serious kashrus problem to have these pots sittig around unsupervised for so long. Until the pot gets picked up someone might use it for who knows what in an unsupervised kitchen... and then the pot eventually gets picked up and the next yerushalmi kugel is made in it and who knows what the kiddush goers the next shabbos might be consuming traces of, along with the possibly unkosher kugel.

They say they have been working on solutions to this problem for years but have never come up with anything practical. Recently a solution was found and the Eida has let all its yerushalmi kugel suppliers know that a special disposable aluminum pot has been produced that can replace the original kugel pot and as of Shavuos of this year they must all stop using their regular pots for yerushalmi kuger and only use the new disposable pot.

According to Behadrei, some fellow named Aharon Moshe Kubichek put a lot of effort and investment into it and finally figured ut how to make a disposable pot that would be able to replace the original yerushalmi kugel pot and allow the kugel to cook properly. 

Manufacturing this disposable pot, along with importing it, will for now cost 10.5nis per pot, and hopefully in time that price will go down, so all kugel makers must stop using the original pots by Shavuos of this year and make the switch to the disposable pots by then at the latest. In the meantime, the pots already owned can continue to be used and people should continue to follow the guidelines of trying to collect the empty pots as quickly as possible after Shabbos or after the event and to check the pots after use to determine that the pots were not used for anything else and that they were not washed... the type of event, whether it be a shul kiddush, a private simcha, something in a private home, a wedding hall or whatever - the same rules must be followed and anything out of the ordinary should be reported to get guidelines from the Eida team...

I do wonder if the guy they are saying to buy the disposable pots from is a cousin of someone, but good on him for coming up with the solution... I did always wonder how the Eida allowed the pots to just sit around anywhere and everywhere...

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The Palestians, in their statement, lay claim to the entire Temple Mount area as an exclusive Muslim place of worship with support by the UN so any attempt to perform Jewish rituals would be a violation of international law.

I feel like this year of all years anything can happen. With Minister Ben Gvir running the show up there, it is definitely much more of a possibility now than in years past. In years past, for many years already, there have been people who tried to smuggle in a small lamb, but the police have been on top of things and prevent it from happening well before the "smugglers" even get close to Temple Mount. 

It just feels, with everything that has been going on and with Minister Ben Gvir's provocative approach, this year mightbe different...

It will be interesting to see!

Of all years to register on one of those sign up forms for sharing the korban pesach, this year could be the year it is really relevant!

this was from right before the war but I missed it, so here goes...

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According to a report on Behadrei, the Rebbe related a story from his youth having been "tested" by his uncle Rav Yoel Teitelbaum on the very same parsha, Ki Tisa, about the story of the Golden Calf. He relates that his uncle, Rav Yoel, asked him how could it be possible for the nation to have worshipped the Golden Calf? He went on to explain that the Calf was not just a golden statue of a calf, but according to the medrash it had some sort of life force to it and the golden calf danced and did miracles and acted a live, which caused people to believe in it as some sort of deity and worship it. According to Rav Yoel there were three types of people worshipping the golden calf:

1. those who saw the miracles and actually worshipped it as a deity like real avoda zara. 
2. those who did not actually worship it but hugged and kissed it and admired it
3. this third category was most of the people, they were happy internally seeing the calf do amazing and wondrous things 

Everyone needs a kapara for that sin because everyone was involved in some way at some level.

Rav Aharon then took the lesson to today saying that we are standing on the side watching this war with Iran and we are watching the golden calf of today doing amazing and wondrous things - dancing, jumping...some are watching and worshiping the Zionist calf and others are not worrshiping it but are happy or even kissing the Zionist calf. Most of the people, like then, are happy internally about the successes of the Zionist calf and about the great wondrous successes it is having. Even just being happy internally is prohibited. Even those happy about the wonders and successes are following all day and checking the news to see this all and be happy about it. For this they all need a kapara. 

Hashem should give us the wisdom, Rav Aharon prayed, to understand that avoda zara is prohibited even when it does wondrous things. It might dance and make us wonder, but it is still idol worship and is prohibited to kiss it, to worship it and be happy about it. 

------

I always was, and still am, amazed at how, as religious people, and they might be considered super religious people, they can refuse to see God's hand in the formation and continued success of the State of Israel. I truly do not even understand it. EVen if God is behind it that does not mean you have to celebrate and say hallel and wave the blue and white flag and all that. You can still see it as needing improvement. To continue to see it as the work of Satan and not the hand of God behind it though is bewildering.  

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Unless Hamas thinks it knows something nobody else does, it seems to continue picking the losing side... you'd think after the last 2.5 years they would wisen up a bit and choose to back Qatar (Iran has shot missiles and drones at Qatar since the war began), if nothing else, who hosts and funds them, while seeing Iran  being decimated. But no, they choose Iran in a fight that may end Iran as it has been known for the last 47 or so years and will at best likely no longer be able to back Hamas, angering their hosts and currently biggest benefactors.

Qatar let Hamas leadership continue to function and operate on its soil after and despite the October 7th attack and massacre, after and despite the decimation it brought upon Gaza, after and despite the decimation it caused all around the Middle East... but now that they did not condemn the Iranian attack on Qatar (which was not even successful) they have crossed the line and deserve to finally be expelled...

Truth is this announcement they made last night confused me. Back in November of 2024 Qatar also announced they would expel Hamas leadership. The reasons had something to do with refusing a ceasefire agreement, though similarly, that was far from the worst thing they had done so I am not sure of everything why that was the catalyst for being expelled... That being said, if they were already expelled in 2024, how is Qatar expeling them again now in March 2026?

I tried to do a little bit of research about this expeling of Hamas leadership and did not really find much information. We knew then that the intention was for Hamas leadership to relocate to Turkey. There were reports that they actually relocated to Turkey and it was not just an intention. 

I cannot seem to find any reports after November of 2024 that say anything about them leaving Turkey and returning to Qatar, so I am wondering when this happened, and what it means to expel Hamas leadership after they were already expelled. Did they ever really leave Qatar? Will they really expel Hamas now or will it be done the way it was done in 2024 with a wink and a nod?

Basically, Qatar saying they will expel Hamas is almost meaningless. Let us know when you actually expel them. And, even if Qatar does expel them, will Qatar contineu to fund them or will the funding also be cut off? If Hamas loses Iran as a sugar daddy because of this war and also loses Qatar, that would be massive. 

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source: TOI

It does not really matter to me who the new head honcho will be - I am sure the Israeli and American forces already have him in their targets, so he (I think we can safely presume it is a he) probably wont be holding the job for as long as his predessor did.....

If not for the Assembly of Experts we would have had to rely on the columns of smoke but we still would have known the successor had been chosen...

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Personally I would not have thought there is even any quesion here. You observe the obligations of Purim according to where you are on the 14th and 15th of adar. Being stuck somewhere does not make a difference.

Rav Bransdorfer thinks otherwise. The rabbi quoted the Shulchan Aruch and Mishna Berura who say that because oen is stuck in another place against his will, he should read megilla and fulfill the other obligations according to the appropriate day of his real place where he intended to be, not where he happens to be stuck. 

So, according to that, someone from Yerushalayim stuck abroad, say in New York, because of the war but had intended to be back home for Purim, should celebrate Purim in New York on the 15th of Adar even though he is in New York and everyone else is celebrating on the 14th. Good luck finding a minyan that will read the megilla on the 15th...

And, someone from New York who got "stuck" in Jerusalem because of the war but had originally intended to be back home by Purim should celebrate in Jerusalem on the 14th even though everyone else there is celebrating on the 15th. In this scenario there is an easy solution to go to a different city for Purim, like Bet Shemesh or Bnei Braq or Efrat or wherever and celebrate on the 14th with everyone else. And then maybe go to Jerusalem to celebrate again on the 15th like the way a lot of yeshiva boys do. 

Rav Bransdorfer says the rule for this is that it depends where you intended to be when you traveled form your house to somewhere else - if you intended to be back home, celebrate as if you are home, and if you intended to be away, celebrate as if you are away. 

Rav Bransdrfer does suggest because of it being a machloket, even though he paskens as above, that one could celebrate on both days to fulfill all opinions and obligations

source: Haredim Yerushalayim

Chief Rabbi Rav Dovid Yosef published instructions and piskei halacha for behavior during Purim in light of the war and ongoing rrocket attacks from Iran... 

To start, Rav Yosef stresses that everyone must adhere to the guidance and rules of Pikud Haoref, the Home Front Command and due to concerns of danger to life, one must not act against that guidance. This takes much higher precedence over any hidur mitzva one might try or want to accomplish for Purim.

One of the biggest concerns and uncertainties is regarding the readig of Megillas Esther. Rav Yosef paskened that while normally we prefer to go to hear the megilla with a big crowd (brov am hadras melech), in a busy shul, this year with the instructions being to not congregate with crowds in unprotected areas due to the level of danger, this year it is preferrable to forgo the big crowds and read the megilla in a safe area such as in a bomb shelter or safe room that can only hold a smaller group. This holds true, he says, even if that means one would read it alone or without a minyan of ten men. 

Rav Yosef did qualify the above by saying that while reading alone is fine, listening to a megilla reading via zoom or over the radio or youtube would not fulfill your obligation.Someone who does not have a kosher megilla and cant get to a safe reading should read it himself from a chumash without a bracha and should also say full hallel without a bracha.

Regarding soldiers in the field who might not be able to get to a megilla reading while on duty or in an active operation, Rav Yosef said soldiers in this situation can be lenient and read the megilla from as early as plag mincha if possible.

If a siren blares while reading the megilla one must immediately stop and go to the safe room or shelter and then continue reading after from the point you stopped at, rather than starting again from the beginning. 

source: Hamechadesh

A question I would like to have heard  something about s what do Israeli agents or pilots flying or operating ni Persia do about megilla reading - should they read on the 14th or 15th of Adar?

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The site of the hit is 4-5 kilometers away from where I live by road, and I would estimate 2.5-3km as the crow flies. It sounded and felt so close and loud, everything shook, though in reality it was a few kilometers, and 2-3 neighborhoods, away.

Be safe out there. 

You’re not gonna believe this latest story. Over the past few years mossad undercover agents infiltrated as doctors and dentists in Iran. The Dentists gave priority to. Key military, and elite Iranian personnel. While doing a routine dental check up, they implanted tracking…

— Israel Now (@neveragainlive1) March 1, 2026

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