Mar 10, 2024

Tweet of the Day







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Picture of the Day


Rav Tzvi Kushelevsky, 88 years old, holding his firstborn baby boy this morning

mazel tov!





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mayoral runoff

The mayoral runoff election in several cities around Israel is well underway. Best of luck to all the candidates. 

Whoever wins - just remember you are being elected to serve the people. Work your hardest to do good for the people living under your leadership and authority. 


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leaving Israel

Last night in his weekly Motzei Shabbat shiur, Chief Rabbi Rav Yitzchak Yosef, commented on the Draft Law situation under discussion in Israel right now.

Rav Yosef commented saying, "if they force us to go to the army, we will all leave Israel and go to live abroad in the Diaspora. Without the kollels and yeshivas the State will not continue to exist. The soldiers cannot succeed in battle without our Torah learning. The Torah is what protects us."

This is an old threat/promise/warning. I think it was originally said by Rav Shach back in the day. Rav Yosef saying it is somewhat interesting because Shas has a lot of supporters who do serve in the army.

Nobody, even the most dogmatic people about drafting all Haredim, is saying the yeshivas and kollels would be shut down - there is always a gap in ages and yeshivas can continue to function while some are int he army and others in yeshiva, depending on age and status. So nobody is talking about shutting down yeshivas and kollels, not even Yair Lapid or Avigdor Lieberman.

Why didnt Rav Yosef speak out when it was announced that the hesder yeshiva portion would be cut down with the boys drafted earlier than planned? Their Torah learning isnt valuable? Does Rav Yosef only represent Haredi yeshivas?

I have never understood clearly what it means when they say the Torah protects us and gives the army the ability and power to succeed. How many people need to be learning for that protection? Where was that protection on October 7, with so many tens of thousands in yeshiva and more in kollel?  This has never really been tested. They take credit for the successes of the IDF, but I havent seen any explanation of the failures and disasters in Israel despite all the Torah learning.

Back to the the threat, I dont think it has people quite as worried as he thinks it does. First, where will they all go? People with foreign citizenship can go back to those countries, but where will the tens of thousands of people go en masse who do not hold foreign citizenship? Will those countries agree to fund all those yeshivas and kollels the way Israel does? And second, it is a free world and if some people want to leave thinking they will have it better somewhere else, they are welcome to. Every person can decide where he or she wants to live. I am not sure too many people will care if some leave. And even if they do, many will stay and yeshivas and kollels will continue to operate in Israel.




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Mar 7, 2024

"TIME OUT!" Alan Dershowitz And Mustafa Barghouti Debate Aaron Bushnell and Israel-Hamas (video)








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[EXCLUSIVE] Interview with a SECRET NYC Jewish "TUNNEL" Digger (video)





I love the lapel pin




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And Here's Modi - Episode 103 (Eylon Levy) (video)







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Lenny Solomon Live (video)











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Benny Friedman & Moshe Tischler - Am Yisrael Chai Mashup (video)







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Mar 6, 2024

There is a Milchemet Mitzva going on, but not the one you are thinking of

In Sunday's mayoral runoff election in Bet Shemesh, it seems Shmuel Greenberg, the candidate from Degel Hatorah, has the best odds of winning. The campaign is in high gear as he tries to persuade other political parties and rabbonim to throw their support to him so that most of their followers and adherents will vote Greenberg.

This set of posters in particular is highly offensive and has made it to the national news. Unless Shas throws their support to Aliza Bloch, the numbers arent even close and I am not sure why they are going to such an offensive campaign in its final days...



The posters say - " In a Milchemet mitzva, a mandatory war, everyone has to go out, even a groom from his room and the bride from her chuppa - on Sunday everyone must go out to vote!" etc etc

There is a war going on. A real war. A real milchemet mitzva. The real war is happening down south, and somewhat up north. Thousands of soldiers, and previously hundreds of thousands of soldiers, are serving and have gone to battle. The Haredi community has for the most part not taken part in that milchemet mitzva, finding every excuse why they are to be excused from it. Yes, they did volunteer and donate equipment and make barbecues for soldiers, but that is far from the same thing as going to battle. But for the war in Bet Shemesh to become mayor that is the milchemet mitzva they must all go out for!!??

Not only did the Haredi parties, all around the country, benefit from general low voter turnout because of the war (less interest in municipal elections during a war) while Haredi turnout remained high as it normally is, thus winning higher percentages of seats in city councils.. Not only did they run aggressive campaigns and fought with other Haredi sectors over power and control, while the country is at war. Not only all that but now they are using terminology from war to fight the battle of elections? 

These signs are in poor taste. Very poor taste.



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Mar 5, 2024

Tweet of the Day - Torah Tax

What do you think of this proposal?




Translation:
Avi Mimran (Haredi journalist) tweeted:
Unpopular Opinion: the Haredi political parties need to forego the yeshiva budgets from the government on their own volition. We will establish a system of funding from independent funding in order to support Torah learning.
Every working Haredi will pay a "Torah Tax" and will support an Avreich, this is what we believe in.
The Torah has protected the Jewish people for 3000 years, we are the smallest nation, the most persecuted, and the only one to have survived.
If an Avreich gets a few hundred shekels a month from the State, we can replace the State.
Alongside paying taxes to the State, we will add a Torah tax. We cannot come to terms with the fact that Avreichim give their lives for learning Torah in destitution and that we should abandon that protection they provide.
We need an army to protect the land
We need the Torah to protect the nation.
We have to give the Reservists their due respect, good wages and benefits.
The Haredi parties can sit in Opposition, just like the Arab parties do. Their entire purpose of existence was to protect the funding of the Torah world. From the moment that goal is no longer possible, there is no longer any need to sit in the government.

So what do you think about this?

Regarding his conclusion - they can sit int eh government or not, nothing to do with the funding issue. Even if they go through with the plan as proposed, he didnt seem to suggest shutting the parties down because they are no longer necessary but says they can sit in Opposition. Maybe they should be shut down entirely, according to what he is saying. But even if what he suggests should ever happen, they will still fight to be in government - everyone, every party, wants to keep their hands close to the power and close to the kitty.

Regarding the proposal itself.... my thoughts:
1. how will they decide who has to pay the Torah tax? Obviously anyone who wants to can, but who will it be imposed on?
2. So the working Haredim have to pay full taxes to the government, which surely will not go down just because the Haredi parties forego the funding, and then also have to pay a Haredi tax? And if they cant afford that significant increase?
3. I assume the working wives of Avreichim will also have to pay this tax, considering they are working Haredim? or will only working Haredi men have to pay?
4. Is a few hundred shekels really enough? Avreichim get far more than a few hundred shekels a month - not all of it is directly money. As a matter of fact, most of it is in other benefits such as discounted daycare, discounted property taxes, discounted camps, discounted many other things, subsidies from Bituach Leumi and more. Will this Torah Tax of a few hundred shekels be enough to cover all of that?
5. Will simply creating a kollel fund that people can donate to, especially the gvirim who already support a nice chunk of the Torah community and would presumably continue doing so, not be enough? Add to that the various fundraising projects that are already done by many Roshei Kollel and Roshei Yeshiva along with community askanim and that will surely continue...
6. Would such a plan negatively affect all other forms of tzedaka - Haredi working men paying this tax would likely give far less to everything else such as local poor, local tzedaka funds and all the other issues, if they are giving a nice chunk already to one thing.






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Israel-Hamas War: Norman Finkelstein vs Rabbi Shmuley | Full Debate (video)








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Let's Make Gen-Z Gen-Zionist! (video)








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SILOAM TODAY (Silwan) - From Kidron Valley to Jerusalem Walls National Park. (video)







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Pokeach Ivrim - Nussenzweig, Ilowitz, Schnitzler (video)







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Mar 4, 2024

Picture of the Day



This IDF soldier is spending some downtime in Khan Younis writing a Megillas Esther for the upcoming Purim holiday. That's a megilla I would buy




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