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. 

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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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