Friday, July 24, 2026

Parsha Vaetchanan Part 1, three stories, swords of iron, roaring lion and other news

 

Deuteronomy 3:23 – 5:27

 

Parsha Vaetchanan Part 1

 

 

Moshe began saying hundreds of prayers in order to repent for Meribah so that he could enter the land. He was praying supplications hundreds of times. He was approaching 500 or so and HASHEM told him stop no more. You are not to enter the land.

 

3:23 And I besought the LORD at that time, saying: 24 'O Lord GOD, Thou hast begun to show Thy servant Thy greatness, and Thy strong hand; for what god is there in heaven or on earth, that can do according to Thy works, and according to Thy mighty acts?

 

Just begun? Moshe has been serving HASHEM 41years talking similar as human beings can ‘face to face’ and yet only now he was being to scratch the surface of comprehending HASHEM.

 

25 Let me go over, I pray Thee, and see the good land that is beyond the Jordan, that goodly hill-country, and Lebanon.' 26 But the LORD was wroth with me for your sakes, and hearkened not unto me; and the LORD said unto me: 'Let it suffice thee; speak no more unto Me of this matter. 27 Get thee up into the top of Pisgah, and lift up thine eyes westward, and northward, and southward, and eastward, and behold with thine eyes; for thou shalt not go over this Jordan. 28 But charge Joshua, and encourage him, and strengthen him; for he shall go over before this people, and he shall cause them to inherit the land which thou shalt see.' 29 So we abode in the valley over against Beth-Peor.

 

So as meticulous as Moshe was in praying and following HASHEM, he did not merit to enter the land. I and a whole bunch of people reading this are in the land or have merited to visit the land and we did not manage to observe anywhere near Moshe or his generation. Yet they paved the way for us who barely can try to contemplate what they saw by the sea or the miracles in Mitzrayim (Egypt), the stopping of the Yarden to pass over the river bed in the days of Yoshua or the sun and moon standing still. I guess it shows the merits of these people and the Chessed (DIVINE MERCY) of HASHEM towards us prior to Moshiach.  

 

4:1 And now, O Israel, hearken unto the statutes and unto the ordinances, which I teach you, to do them; that ye may live, and go in and possess the land which the LORD, the God of your fathers, giveth you. 2 Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you.

 

HASHEM has set down the commandments. We are not allowed to make up a new commandment. One has no right to over-ride a commandment. One can put a protective fence around a commandment such as a wife wearing a certain ring or dress during menstruation to remind her and her husband that until Mikvah they are forbidden to each other. However to make a rule that he/she has to move out of the house monthly would be forbidden. [The Reform start saying that the prohibition of eating pork was for health reasons and now has been over-ridden. This Pasuk shows that the Reform statement is nonsense.]

 

3 Your eyes have seen what the LORD did in Baal-Peor; for all the men that followed the Baal of Peor, the LORD thy God hath destroyed them from the midst of thee.

 

See what has become of Idol Worshippers.

 

4 But ye that did cleave unto the LORD your God are alive every one of you this day.

 

Those of you that have observed the commandments are alive today and deserve to enter the land.

 

5 Behold, I have taught you statutes and ordinances, even as the LORD my God commanded me, that ye should do so in the midst of the land whither ye go in to possess it. 6 Observe therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples, that, when they hear all these statutes, shall say: 'Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.' 7 For what great nation is there, that hath God so nigh unto them, as the LORD our God is whensoever we call upon Him? 8 And what great nation is there, that hath statutes and ordinances so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day?

 

You are G-D’s people and have been chosen for greatness. Do not let it go into your head. The next sentence about taking heed is the warning.

 

9 Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes saw, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life; but make them known unto thy children and thy children's children; 10 the day that thou stood before the LORD thy God in Horeb, when the LORD said unto me: 'Assemble Me the people, and I will make them hear My words that they may learn to fear Me all the days that they live upon the earth, and that they may teach their children.' 11 And ye came near and stood under the mountain; and the mountain burned with fire unto the heart of heaven, with darkness, cloud, and thick darkness. 12 And the LORD spoke unto you out of the midst of the fire; ye heard the voice of words, but ye saw no form; only a voice. 13 And He declared unto you His covenant, which He commanded you to perform, even the ten words; and He wrote them upon two tables of stone.

 

The ten sayings were engraved in stones.

 

14 And the LORD commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and ordinances, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go over to possess it. 15 Take ye therefore good heed unto yourselves--for ye saw no manner of form on the day that the LORD spoke unto you in Horeb out of the midst of the fire-- 16 lest ye deal corruptly, and make you a graven image, even the form of any figure, the likeness of male or female, 17 the likeness of any beast that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged fowl that flies in the heaven, 18 the likeness of any thing that creeps on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the water under the earth; 19 and lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou see the sun and the moon and the stars, even all the host of heaven, thou be drawn away and worship them, and serve them, which the LORD thy God hath allotted unto all the peoples under the whole heaven.

 

You should not make an image to worship.

 

20 But you hath the LORD taken and brought forth out of the iron furnace, out of Egypt, to be unto Him a people of inheritance, as ye are this day. 21 Now the LORD was angered with me for your sakes, and swore that I should not go over the Jordan, and that I should not go in unto that good land, which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance; 22 but I must die in this land, I must not go over the Jordan; but ye are to go over, and possess that good land. 23 Take heed unto yourselves, lest ye forget the covenant of the LORD your God, which He made with you, and make you a graven image, even the likeness of any thing which the LORD thy God hath forbidden thee. 24 For the LORD thy God is a devouring fire, a jealous God.

 

I lost out on entering the L-RD by failing to make a big Kiddush HASHEM because of a restless people. But be careful to behave and not make any images of worldly creatures or heavenly visions in order to worship them.

 

25 When thou shalt beget children, and children's children, and ye shall have been long in the land, and shall deal corruptly, and make a graven image, even the form of any thing, and shall do that which is evil in the sight of the LORD thy God, to provoke Him;

 

Keep away from images to worship.

 

26 I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that ye shall soon utterly perish from off the land whereunto ye go over the Jordan to possess it; ye shall not prolong your days upon it, but shall utterly be destroyed.

 

Heaven and Earth. The mystical world of atomic vibrations counts the inanimate with that of plants, animals and intelligent beings that speak. This is one of the concentration items of the Dalet of Echad of the Shema. In Kabbalah, the inanimate can bear witness in the next world.

 

27 And the LORD shall scatter you among the peoples, and ye shall be left few in number among the nations, whither the LORD shall lead you away. 28 And there ye shall serve gods, the work of men's hands, wood and stone, which neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell.

 

One of the punishments that causes being dispersed among the nations is the making of idolatrous images.

 

29 But from thence ye will seek the LORD thy God; and thou shalt find Him, if thou search after Him with all thy heart and with all thy soul. 30 In thy distress, when all these things are come upon thee, in the end of days, thou wilt return to the LORD thy God, and hearken unto His voice; 31 for the LORD thy God is a merciful God; He will not fail thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers which He swore unto them.

 

Even if you are sent into the diaspora as a punishment, if you repent and seek G-D; then in HIS great mercy, HE will find you.

 

32 For ask now of the days past, which were before thee, since the day that God created man upon the earth, and from the one end of heaven unto the other, whether there hath been any such thing as this great thing is, or hath been heard like it? 33 Did ever a people hear the voice of God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as thou hast heard, and live? 34 Or hath God assayed to go and take Him a nation from the midst of another nation, by trials, by signs, and by wonders, and by war, and by a mighty hand, and by an outstretched arm, and by great terrors, according to all that the LORD your God did for you in Egypt before thine eyes?

 

Some of you close to the age of 41 to 60 have witnessed these events or the rest have heard from their parents.

 

35 Unto thee it was shown, that thou might know that the LORD, He is God; there is none else beside Him. 36 Out of heaven He made thee to hear His voice, that He might instruct thee; and upon earth He made thee to see His great fire; and thou didst hear His words out of the midst of the fire. 37 And because He loved thy fathers, and chose their seed after them, and brought thee out with His presence, with His great power, out of Egypt, 38 to drive out nations from before thee greater and mightier than thou, to bring thee in, to give thee their land for an inheritance, as it is this day; 39 know this day, and lay it to thy heart, that the LORD, He is God in heaven above and upon the earth beneath; there is none else. 40 And thou shalt keep His statutes, and His commandments, which I command thee this day, that it may go well with thee, and with thy children after thee, and that thou mayest prolong thy days upon the land, which the LORD thy God giveth thee, for ever.

 

The Asera Dibros ten sayings {10 Commandments} was given to you from a fiery mountain.

 

41 Then Moses separated three cities beyond the Jordan toward the sunrising; 42 that the manslayer might flee thither, that slays his neighbour unawares, and hated him not in time past; and that fleeing unto one of these cities he might live: 43 Bezer in the wilderness, in the table-land, for the Reubenites; and Ramoth in Gilead, for the Gadites; and Golan in Bashan, for the Manassites. 44 And this is the law which Moses set before the children of Israel; 45 these are the testimonies, and the statutes, and the ordinances, which Moses spoke unto the children of Israel, when they came forth out of Egypt; 46 beyond the Jordan, in the valley over against Beth-Peor, in the land of Sihon king of the Amorites, who dwelt at Heshbon, whom Moses and the children of Israel smote, when they came forth out of Egypt; 47 and they took his land in possession, and the land of Og king of Bashan, the two kings of the Amorites, who were beyond the Jordan toward the sunrising; 48 from Aroer, which is on the edge of the valley of Arnon, even unto mount Sion--the same is Hermon-- 49 and all the Arabah beyond the Jordan eastward, even unto the sea of the Arabah, under the slopes of Pisgah.

 

So three cities or refuge were established on Ramat HaGolan and in the upper plains of the Yarden.

 

5:1 And Moses called unto all Israel, and said unto them: Hear, O Israel, the statutes and the ordinances which I speak in your ears this day, that ye may learn them, and observe to do them. 2 The LORD our God made a covenant with us in Horeb. 3 The LORD made not this covenant with our fathers, but with us, even us, who are all of us here alive this day. 4 The LORD spoke with you face to face in the mount out of the midst of the fire-- 5 I stood between the LORD and you at that time, to declare unto you the word of the LORD; for ye were afraid because of the fire, and went not up into the mount--saying:

 

I went up the Mountain and you heard two of the ten sayings and felt your souls would leave you so you sent me to bring down the other 611 Mitzvos.

 

6 I am the LORD thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before Me. 7 Thou shalt not make unto thee a graven image, even any manner of likeness, of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.

 

This was the first saying against making images to worship. 40 or 41 days later, the 3000 rioters made the golden calf.                  

 

8 Thou shalt not bow down unto them, nor serve them; for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the third and upon the fourth generation of them that hate Me, 9 and showing mercy unto the thousandth generation of them that love Me and keep My commandments.

 

Even bowing down to the image of what one think G-D’s essence (the calf) is forbidden.

 

10 Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh His name in vain.

 

No cursing in G-D’s NAME , swearing outside of a Beis Din or using it as if one was mentioning a name of an acquaintance.

 

11 Observe the sabbath day, to keep it holy, as the LORD thy God commanded thee.

 

In Parsha Yisro (Exodus), we are told to “Remember the Shabbos”; here we are told to keep/guard our Shabbos observance.

 

12 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work; 13 but the seventh day is a sabbath unto the LORD thy God, in it thou shalt not do any manner of work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy man-servant, nor thy maid-servant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; that thy man-servant and thy maid-servant may rest as well as thou.

 

There were three types of servants. The first was a non-Jewish slave who was sent to a Mikveh to convert but still a non-Jew before freedom. The second is the Jewish thief or debtor sold for restitution. The last is a person selling himself during a time of famine or his daughter for marriage with a rich man. All these ‘belong’ or depend upon the richer person and serve him. They must rest from Melacha on Shabbos. The same goes for his Ox or donkey (car or tractor).

 

14 And thou shalt remember that thou was a servant in the land of Egypt, and the LORD thy God brought thee out thence by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm; therefore the LORD thy God commanded thee to keep the sabbath day.

 

In case you had a distaste for your slaves/servants not doing Melacha on Shabbos, you must remember that you were in such a state in Mitzrayim before the Exodus and only have your freedom do to HASHEM; therefore keep the Shabbos.

 

15 Honour thy father and thy mother, as the LORD thy God commanded thee; that thy days may be long, and that it may go well with thee, upon the land which the LORD thy God gives thee.

 

If you want to live long, honor your parents and set an example for future generations to honor you.

 

16 Thou shalt not murder.

 

The word is murder and not kill. For one can kill an attacking enemy who wants to take your life or in the name of Beis Din a murderer, somebody who kidnapped and sold into slavery another Jew, a first degree murderer, adulterer, idol worshipper who tries to steal a Jewish Soul, etc.

 

Neither shalt thou commit adultery.

 

This is any married woman and not practiced today with about 800 exceptions a man can have a second wife.

 

Neither shalt thou steal.

 

Stealing is kidnapping a person into slavery.

 

Neither shalt thou bear false witness against thy neighbour.

 

The punishment in the next world is great but in this world,  it is hard to stop.

 

17 Neither shalt thou covet thy neighbour's wife; neither shalt thou desire thy neighbour's house, his field, or his man-servant, or his maid-servant, his ox, or his ass, or any thing that is thy neighbour's.

 

This Mitzvah requires that a man not lust after riches that his neighbor has. One instead should say that the man has been given this from HASHEM and be happy for him.

 

18 These words the LORD spoke unto all your assembly in the mount out of the midst of the fire, of the cloud, and of the thick darkness, with a great voice, and it went on no more. And He wrote them upon two tables of stone, and gave them unto me. 19 And it came to pass, when ye heard the voice out of the midst of the darkness, while the mountain did burn with fire, that ye came near unto me, even all the heads of your tribes, and your elders; 20 and ye said: 'Behold, the LORD our God hath shown us His glory and His greatness, and we have heard His voice out of the midst of the fire; we have seen this day that God doth speak with man, and he live. 21 Now therefore why should we die? for this great fire will consume us; if we hear the voice of the LORD our God any more, then we shall die. 22 For who is there of all flesh, that hath heard the voice of the living God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as we have, and lived?

 

Upon hearing the first two commandments each time their soul departed and they had to be revived by angels. They became sore afraid and asked Moshe to bring them the rest of the commandments.

 

23 Go thou near, and hear all that the LORD our God may say; and thou shalt speak unto us all that the LORD our God may speak unto thee; and we will hear it and do it.' 24 And the LORD heard the voice of your words, when ye spoke unto me; and the LORD said unto me: 'I have heard the voice of the words of this people, which they have spoken unto thee; they have well said all that they have spoken. 25 Oh that they had such a heart as this always, to fear Me, and keep all My commandments, that it might be well with them, and with their children forever! 26 Go say to them: Return ye to your tents. 27 But as for thee, stand thou here by Me, and I will speak unto thee all the commandment, and the statutes, and the ordinances, which thou shalt teach them, that they may do them in the land which I give them to possess it.' 28 Ye shall observe to do therefore as the LORD your God hath commanded you; ye shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. 29 Ye shall walk in all the way which the LORD your God hath commanded you, that ye may live, and that it may be well with you, and that ye may prolong your days in the land which ye shall possess.

 

Due to my own medical issues this week I did not have time to give a quality commentary until Deut. 7:11 this week hopefully next week I shall present it.

 

 

From Pamela Sue S. In the freezing winter of 1943, deep inside a Nazi labor camp in occupied Poland, a young Jewish accountant named Leonid “Leo” Abramov faced a choice that would decide the fate of hundreds.

 

He chose to become invisible.

 

Not by hiding in the shadows, but by making the guards see him as worthless.

Leo was small, quiet, and unassuming. When the SS officers screamed orders during roll call, he deliberately fumbled his wooden clogs, tripped over nothing, and mumbled apologies in broken German. He kept his eyes down, his shoulders slumped, and his hands trembling. The guards laughed at him. They called him “the little mouse” and “the useless Jew who couldn’t even count to ten without crying.”

They stopped watching him.

 

To them, he was too pathetic to be a threat. They were wrong.

 

Every night, while the camp slept, Leo slipped through the darkness like a ghost. Using only his bare hands and stolen scraps of wire, he sabotaged the machinery in the ammunition factory where prisoners were forced to work. He loosened bolts on critical lathes, mixed sand into the lubricating oil, and created tiny cracks in shell casings that would cause them to explode in the faces of German soldiers later on the battlefield. Every failure looked like an accident caused by overworked, starving slaves.

 

But his greatest act was even quieter.

 

The Nazis kept meticulous records of every prisoner who entered the camp—names, ages, hometowns, and the date they were “processed.” When people disappeared into the gas chambers or mass graves, those records were altered or destroyed to hide the scale of the horror. Leo, working in the camp’s administrative office as a lowly clerk because he could read and write, began committing every name to memory.

 

Not just the living. The dead as well.

 

He memorized thousands of entries: full names, birth dates, last known addresses, and the coded symbols that revealed who had been murdered and when. He turned the data into a mental ledger that no guard could ever find or burn.

 

How do you remember thousands of lives without paper or pen in a place where even a scrap of writing meant death?

 

Leo used prayer. Every night he whispered the Kaddish—the Jewish mourning prayer—while mentally inserting each name and detail into the rhythm of the ancient words. The guards heard only a broken man muttering religious nonsense. They mocked him for it. They never realized he was building an archive of evidence that would one day prove the Holocaust to a doubting world.

 

In early 1945, as the Soviet army approached and the camp was being evacuated on a death march, the Nazis decided to release a small group of “non-threatening” prisoners as part of a last-minute propaganda effort to show they were “humane.” Leo was chosen because the guards considered him too stupid and weak to matter.

His fellow prisoners, including resistance leaders who knew what he carried in his head, urged him to go. “Take the names home,” they whispered. “Make sure the world knows we existed.”

 

Leo initially refused—he didn’t want to leave his brothers behind. But they insisted. The list in his mind was worth more than one more life.

 

When he crossed into Allied lines weeks later, emaciated and barely able to walk, Leo began reciting. For days he spoke without stopping, giving names, dates, places, and proof of systematic murder. His testimony, combined with the mental records he had preserved, became some of the earliest and most detailed evidence used at the Nuremberg trials.

 

Because of “the little mouse,” hundreds of families learned the truth about their loved ones. The world received undeniable proof of Nazi crimes that could no longer be denied or hidden.

 

The Nazis thought they were releasing a harmless, broken fool.

 

Instead, they released the one man whose memory could help bring their empire to justice.

 

Leo Abramov never fired a shot. He never led a rebellion. He simply understood that sometimes the greatest resistance is letting your enemy believe you are nothing—while carrying the truth that could destroy them.

 

And somewhere, in the quiet rhythm of an ancient prayer, thousands of names still echo—because one accountant had the courage to be underestimated.

 

 

The Difficult Nine Days of a Chassidic Master by R’ Yerachmiel Tilles

https://ascentofsafed.com/Stories/Stories/5786/1493-44.html

 

 

The 'Nine Days' leading up to Tisha B’Av-which commemorate the destruct-ion of the Holy Temple-weighed heavily, like a dark cloud, over the court of the holy Rabbi Baruch of Mezhibuz, a grandson of the Baal Shem tov, which was usually permeated with an atmosphere of inner joy. Even Yossele, one of the youngest and usually most cheerful of the Chassidim, tried this time to silence the happy melodies he was accustomed to humming while bent over his books in study. Occasionally he would hum without thinking, until his friends reminded him sternly, "Yossele, have you already forgotten what our Rebbe said-that there is to be no singing or joy until the Nine Days are over?"

 

During these nine days of intensified mourning for the loss of the Temple, Rabbi Baruch would not see any of his followers. Rumors spread that each year on these days he sets out on a personal "exile," to feel, firsthand, the bitterness of exile that our ancestors experienced after the destruction-when they were taken en-masse to Rome and sold as slaves.

 

He would typically reappear at his doorway on the eve of Tisha B'Av, ready to read Eichah -- the Book of Lamentations.

 

That year as well, Rabbi Baruch disappeared at the beginning of the Nine Days, and none of his Chassidim saw him leave. The truth is, even had they seen him, they would not have recognized him-because he had disguised himself as a wagon driver, traveling across the country with a wagon and horses. He never used the same disguise twice, ensuring no one could recognize him. This time, he chose to pose as a wagon driver because he felt weak in his legs.

 

As he stood near his wagon, looking every bit the part, a Polish nobleman approached and hired him for a trip to a city about 70 kilometers from Rabbi Baruch's hometown. The disguised Rebbe calculated that he would have just enough time to reach the destination and return before Tisha B'Av, with an extra day in case of delays.

 

Rabbi Baruch set off, the nobleman sitting beside him. He traveled the dusty roads in silence, ignoring the traveler's sharp-tongued remarks. He sighed deeply at the sight of the old horses straining to pull the wagon, and quietly endured the jolts each time the wheels hit a rock or sank into the mud.

 

They spent two nights at roadside inns. Of course, "the wagon driver" did not have a private room like the nobleman; each night he had to sleep on straw in the stable, beside his horse. Then, at the first rays of dawn, he would rise and strap on his tefillin so he could resume the journey while it was still early in the morning.

 

Nothing noteworthy happened on the way there, aside from the usual hardships faced by any wagon driver. But on their first night returning, the nobleman got drunk at the inn where they lodged. Before going to bed, he boasted loudly to anyone who would listen about the successful deal he had made in the city. As is often the case in such situations, there were men nearby who were just waiting for such an opportunity. They were "ready" to deal with the wealthy traveler and "relieve" him of his money.

The next morning, when Rabbi Baruch awoke and roused the nobleman, he had to dress him himself and carry him to the wagon-he was still as drunk as Lot. Shortly after they left the inn, they entered a dense forest, empty of all life at that early hour. As far as the eye could see, there were no people or wagons, as the sun had only just begun to rise.

 

Suddenly, without warning, someone threw a sack over Rabbi Baruch's head. When he regained consciousness, he found himself tied to a tree. Opposite him, the nobleman was also tied to a tree, seemingly unconscious. Were it not for the rope holding him upright, he would have collapsed to the ground.

 

It became clear that bandits had ambushed them, emptied their pockets, and made off with the wagon and horses, which had vanished as if into thin air.

Rabbi Baruch noticed his tefillin lying in the grass-apparently of no interest to the thieves-as well as his small prayer book, without which he would never travel. His heart filled with joy at the sight of the tefillin and siddur, and he thanked G-d for sparing his life.

 

But the troubles were only beginning.

 

With great effort and movement of his entire body, Rabbi Baruch managed to loosen the ropes binding him. He then untied the nobleman, picked up his tefillin, kissed them, and placed them in his double pouch used for travel.

 

As for the nobleman-Rabbi Baruch managed to untie him, but he remained unconscious on the ground, barely clinging to life, his faint pulse the only sign he was still alive.

 

Rabbi Baruch could easily have left the man behind and made his way to the nearest settlement. But such a thought never even crossed his mind. He wandered a bit to find water, to wash the man's face and try to revive him.

 

After a few hours, the nobleman began to awaken from his stupor. When he finally came to, he asked Rabbi Baruch in confusion: "What happened? What's going on? Why are we sitting here instead of traveling home in the wagon?"

 

In a quiet voice, imitating a simple, obedient wagon driver, Rabbi Baruch told him what had happened. When he mentioned that they had been robbed, the nobleman sprang up like a man bitten by a snake and cried out, "My money! Where is my money-the ten thousand rubles that were in my pocket?"

 

He shouted and wailed, nearly losing his mind from the grief of losing his fortune. It took Rabbi Baruch quite some time to calm him.

 

Eventually, the nobleman sat on the ground, staring at a single point, as if hoping to find his lost money there. After a while, he began casting suspicious glances at Rabbi Baruch, who paid him no attention-he was deep in prayer.

 

When Rabbi Baruch finished praying, he turned to the nobleman and asked, "Are you strong enough now to walk with me? Perhaps we're not far from the inn, and we can make it back on foot-or at least reach a road or settlement."

 

They began walking slowly, but hadn't gone far when they heard voices-it was a group of hunters passing by. The nobleman's joy knew no bounds when he recognized some of his friends among them. He told them what had happened and added that he suspected the wagon driver of collaborating with the bandits.

 

"How else could the thieves have known I was carrying so much money?" he asked.

"Let's shoot him!" one of the hunters suggested.

 

The leader of the group, an older nobleman, thought otherwise. He proposed, "Let's tie the wagon driver to a tree and wait. If he's one of the thieves, his comrades will come to help him. If not-let G-d help him."

 

"Indeed, G-d will help me," thought Rabbi Baruch.

 

The hunters left him alone in the forest. Night fell. Not a living soul was in the forest, only the pale light of the moon filtered through the thick trees.

 

"It must be midnight," Rabbi Baruch said to himself, seeing the moon directly overhead. With hot tears streaming down his cheeks, he began reciting Tikkun Chatzot, the midnight lament for the destruction of the Temple, something he recited every night.

 

Never had he felt the pain of exile so deeply as he did now, amidst anguish and suffering. It was as though the entire forest echoed his voice as he poured out the Psalms from his broken heart. Strangely, with every verse he recited, hope returned and found a place in his heart.

 

It was as if the trees of the forest had joined together in a great choir mourning the destruction of the Temple, and the moon and stars above were trying to whisper that salvation was drawing near.

 

"Hey, you there-wait a moment!"

 

The low voice that interrupted Rabbi Baruch's prayer belonged to the old nobleman, the leader of the hunters, who had earlier objected to shooting him.

 

Rabbi Baruch turned toward the voice and saw the man approaching, accompanied by a group of others. "I wanted to see what became of you," the nobleman said. "I just couldn't believe you were one of the thieves. Meanwhile, we caught the robbers at the inn where you spent the night. They admitted that our friend had drunkenly revealed how much money he was carrying. So I came back to help you."

 

From the depths of his heart, Rabbi Baruch thanked G-d for the sudden salvation, and expressed appreciation to the old noble as well, for his thoughtfulness.

The old nobleman also gave him a horse, and left one of his servants with orders to escort Rabbi Baruch home.

 

It was late at night when Rabbi Baruch arrived. He found his Chassidim waiting anxiously for him. They had almost resigned themselves to the idea that the Rebbe would not return. Then they heard the sound of horse hooves, and in strode Rabbi Baruch-accompanied by the nobleman's servant.

 

That night, Rabbi Baruch and his Chassidim read the Book of Lamentations and recited the Tisha B'Av dirges with profound emotion, deeper than they had ever experienced before.

 

On the following Shabbat-Shabbat Nachamu, the Sabbath of Consolation-Rabbi Baruch sat with his followers and said:


"Soon God will send us our righteous Messiah,
who will redeem us from exile.
And the darker the night,
the more radiant the dawn will shine."

========================
Source: Adapted and supplemented from a translation of a weekly emailing five years ago of Sipurei Tzadikim.

Why This Week? Tisha B’Av [2026: Wednesday, July 22, sunset - July 23, nightfall.]

Biographical note:
Rabbi Boruch of Mezhibuz [1753 - 18 Kislev, 1811] was the son of R. Yechiel Ashkenazi and Adel, the daughter of the Baal Shem Tov. He moved from Tulchin to assume the Chasidic leadership in Mezhibuz, the town of his holy grandfather. He was one of the pre-eminent Rebbes in the generation of the disciples of the Maggid of Mezritch and had thousands of Chasidim.

 

 

From my cousin Dalit’s Facebook Page:

Major Keren Tendler RIP, my daughter, a first airplane mechanic in the IDF storm helicopters was killed in Lebanon when a missile obtained by Hezbollah terrorists hit her and her friends' storm helicopter after landing forces of paratrooper and medical forces into enemy territory In Lebanon.

 

Before leaving for the last flight into Lebanon, Keren asked her little brother to bring her a knife, so that she could cut veins in case and fall captive. It happened two days before the end of the Second Lebanon War.

 

The rocket hit the helicopter, a few seconds after landing the forces and a few seconds after taking off from the ground. After the hit, the helicopter flashed and crashed completely into some wadi in the territory of Hezbollah. A huge flame lit up southern Lebanon that night as a result of a helicopter explosion. The parachute fighters, some of whom were in the helicopter a few minutes before this, were forced to witness the terrible spectacle and thanks to their mosquito was prevented

Snatching bodies of the helicopter crew. They couldn't find Keren's body

We received the message that a soldier was killed in Lebanon and that her body is currently missing on the night after August 12, 2006. Not only did we lose our Foundation so tragically and suddenly, we were sure that there would no longer be Foundation to bury in the grave Israel.

 

In order to find the remains of Keren Lebanon, fighters of the 669 units and "Shrimp" were sent into Lebanon. Those who assisted them in the search was a commander in chief of the paratrooper brigade that landed in the area and after the war he was also awarded an Infantry Regiment for his heroism. Three days after the Hezbollah helicopter crashed, the remains of the blown corpse of a horn were found underneath a certain part of the helicopter.

 

669 fighters and a kingfisher were forced to hide with body parts of the Whole Day Foundation hidden in Lebanon. I fear that the Hezbollah terrorists are watching over them. Under the patronage of darkness, on the night of August 16, 2006, the enemy territory foundation was brought to Lebanon on a long walk to the border of Israel and to the tomb of Israel by 669 fighters and a kingfisher, accompanied by paratroopers.

It's been 20 years since a liar was killed. Keren, as of today, is an IDF soldier and the only woman killed in battles in Lebanon, on the many wars of Israel in the region.

Over the past months, I've been trying to reach out to those I only could:

Pages with a lot of followers, celebrities and network influencers, in order to write something about Keren. Unfortunately - unsuccessfully.

 

I ask of you: Don't let Keren and memory be thrown into the trash of history.

Keren, two weeks before she was killed in Lebanon, an article in a journal

A letter in which she is painful and sad about soldiers who are killed and appeals to God to please protect the IDF soldiers. It hurts my heart to think that a daughter of mine will forget like it never happened, even if 20 years have passed.

Keren was my only daughter, after which my son and her only brother was born. Keren's dad and I are already pretty old people. Also, Keren's father is struggling these days with Parkinson's disease.

 

The thought that there will be no one to tell and continue to pass on the story of my foundation who was killed for the country of Israel at the age of 26 before she got married and have children of her own - tears my soul and my heart.

I ask you not to let this happen.

On the upcoming Memorial Day that will mark 20 years since the fall of the Lebanon Foundation - tell the story of My daughter, Major Keren Tendler RIP, the first (and only) soldier to fall in Lebanon.

 

Thank you from all my heart, Rivana, Keren's mother. Will any of you agree to share the story of our foundation that fell in Lebanon.

 

669 is a rescue mission and one Shmita year I was almost assigned to an ambulance but I asked to be deferred until Hanukah due to Shmita and was never called back.

 

 

Milestone: Chaim Yavin, 93, News Caster on the first and only TV Station in Israel. https://www.timesofisrael.com/veteran-news-anchor-haim-yavin-israels-mr-television-dies-at-93/

 

Milestone: Professor Shlomo Moshiach, 89, Pioneer in IV Fertilization delivered 40,000 babies. https://www.ynetnews.com/health_science/article/bkda8m6ngl

 

 

Inyanay Diyoma

 

 

July 18th

 

Day 1016 since Oct. 7th Roaring Lion Day 138 start of week 146

 

Shavua Tov a good week to all. At this time of year it is very rare that I write Motzei Shabbos as Shabbos ends at 20:27 here. It takes time to make Havdalah, have the special going away of Queen Shabbos meal and catch up on the news.

 

The news was from Iran and the attack on its neighbors. Iran knocked out some oil production, a desalinization plant and managed to kill two US Servicemen in Yarden with one MIA and four injured. https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/article-902880

 

Khamenei says Trumps signature on MOU is worthless. https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/iran-news/article-902879

 

US refueling planes to park at IAF bases. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/430356

 

https://www.timesofisrael.com/iran-said-to-tell-hezbollah-allies-to-prepare-for-wider-conflict-which-could-rope-in-israel/

 

https://www.timesofisrael.com/us-strikes-iran-for-seventh-night-in-a-row-iranian-forces-launch-retaliatory-attacks/

 

https://www.timesofisrael.com/fires-force-evacuations-in-northern-community-west-bank-settlement/

 

https://www.timesofisrael.com/inspired-by-idf-training-israeli-activist-spearheads-fight-against-global-wildlife-crime/

 

https://www.timesofisrael.com/lebanons-president-departs-for-washington-to-meet-trump/

 

https://www.timesofisrael.com/settler-activists-illegally-cross-into-syria-stay-for-full-day-before-being-nabbed-by-idf/

 

https://www.timesofisrael.com/colombia-and-slovenia-recognized-a-palestinian-state-now-theyre-moving-embassies-to-jlem/

 

https://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-study-finds-antibiotics-can-reverse-salmonella-damage-to-stem-cells-in-mice/

 

https://www.timesofisrael.com/top-hamas-aide-who-held-hostages-during-war-killed-in-strike-on-khan-younis/

 

https://www.timesofisrael.com/settlers-raid-west-bank-village-in-pa-run-area-idf-arriving-on-scene-lets-them-flee/

 

https://www.timesofisrael.com/andy-burnham-poised-to-become-uks-next-prime-minister-after-winning-labour-vote/

 

https://www.timesofisrael.com/stop-destroying-jerusalem-haredim-target-cafe-open-on-shabbat-for-3rd-week-in-a-row/

 

https://www.timesofisrael.com/netanyahu-pushes-off-us-trip-to-late-july-as-lindsey-grahams-funeral-delayed/

 

https://www.timesofisrael.com/why-orthodox-jews-in-the-us-are-pushing-back-against-permanent-daylight-saving-time/

 

July 19th

 

Day 1017 since Oct. 7th Roaring Lion Day 139

 

CENTCOM finishes 8th round of strikes on Iran including IRGC.

https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/iran-news/article-902889

 

More refueling tankers moving into Israel and F-16’s to Yarden. 50,000 CENTCOM troops on alert. https://www.ynetnews.com/article/hkfbkwkvmg

 

Iranian surveillance tower destroyed. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/430340

 

https://www.israelhayom.com/2026/07/18/israel-prepares-for-possible-escalation-with-iran-in-coming-days/

 

https://www.israelhayom.com/2026/07/19/us-iran-escalation-appears-inevitable/

 

https://www.israelhayom.com/2026/07/19/report-mojtaba-khamenei-is-not-in-iran/

 

https://www.timesofisrael.com/uk-founder-of-muslims-against-antisemitism-challenges-coreligionists-to-fight-rising-hate/

 

The Foreign Ministry has identified a disturbing phenomenon it says was virtually unknown on this scale in previous years: Israelis abroad increasingly seeking help after being targeted in antisemitic incidents. https://www.ynetnews.com/travel/article/bjp1crkvfe

 

Israelis attacked in Mongolia. https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/antisemitism/article-902891

 

Hidden cost of weight loss drugs. https://www.ynetnews.com/health_science/article/r1pxbryegx

 

Houthis: Armed men seized the chemical tanker Asana on Friday while it was sailing through the Gulf of Aden off the southern coast of Yemen, according to maritime security sources. The attackers reportedly boarded the vessel and took control of it.

https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/430329

 

Hamas is trying to replace Hezballah. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/430316

 

Mamdani threatens to arrest Netanyahu. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/430353

 

Why Mamdani cannot arrest Netanyahu. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/430374

 

Iran wants to keep Hormuz and keep Israel out of the conflict. https://www.ynetnews.com/opinions-analysis/article/sklyzypezg

 

The IDF and Shin Bet confirmed on Friday that they struck in the Khan Yunis area a day prior and eliminated the terrorist Anas Mahmoud Ahmed Hamdan, a Hamas Company Commander who served as a central figure in the captivity of Israeli hostages in the Gaza Strip and participated in the processes related to their transfer and return to Israel as part of hostage release deals. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/430333

 

The first degree murder of the 19year old by female soldiers.

https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/430331

 

The failure of the IAF on Oct. 7th. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/430334

 

Reservist arrested in Thailand freed. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/430355

 

Supreme Court vs. communications law. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/430376

 

Fearing a massive right wing invasion, the military closes off the Gaza corridor. https://www.timesofisrael.com/military-closes-area-around-gaza-ahead-of-likud-backed-settler-march-into-strip/

 

https://www.israelhayom.com/2026/07/18/israel-weighs-nationwide-6-month-ban-on-private-drones/

 

I could not care less about the MOU – Trump. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/430374

 

A suspected set fire on Shabbos: Yael Shevach, the widow of terror victim Rabbi Raziel Shevach, who was murdered in a 2018 terror attack near Havat Gilad, and mother of six, wrote on social media: "A good week - to those who can allow themselves to. There was a fire. A fire. The house is gone. We're okay. Thank you all for your concern. I have nothing to say. And I have no home." https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/430362

 

Hezballah Terrorist drone cell eliminated. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/430361

 

The area needs a permanent defense alliance. https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-902885

 

July 20th

 

Day 1018 since Oct. 7th Roaring Lion Day 140

 

The Canadian Wildfires and lack of forest management is leading to a lot of pollution in the Northern 48 States still the World Cup (Mondial) was played in NJ with people wearing masks.

 

Iran was bombed for the 9th straight night but their threat to Hormuz is worth more to them than parts or all of their infrastructure. The US death toll since the weekend rose to four with the body of the third serviceman found and a fourth was killed trying to dismantle an explosive drone. https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/iran-news/article-903012

https://www.foxnews.com/live-news/us-iran-war-irgc-soldiers-death-retaliatory-strikes-jordan-july-19

 

Tucson shooting with 10 injured. https://www.foxnews.com/us/mass-shooting-rocks-crowded-downtown-tucson-district-leaving-10-wounded

 

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/jd-vance-wife-usha-welcome-fourth-child-reveal-baby-boys-name

 

https://www.timesofisrael.com/idf-fires-interceptors-over-eilat-as-iranian-missiles-target-nearby-aqaba-in-jordan/

 

https://www.timesofisrael.com/ministers-join-settler-activists-on-march-through-closed-military-zone-to-gaza-border/

 

https://www.algemeiner.com/2026/07/17/rep-adam-smith-says-he-was-threatened-by-anti-israel-activists-ahead-of-vote/

 

https://www.algemeiner.com/2026/07/17/colombia-to-withdraw-support-for-south-africas-icj-genocide-case-against-israel-as-ties-with-jerusalem-are-restored/

 

https://www.algemeiner.com/2026/07/17/israel-hosts-lawmakers-from-seven-us-states-for-grand-tour-of-holy-sites-and-jewish-democracy/

 

Explosions were heard in Manama, Bahrain’s capital, following Iranian fire. At the same time, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed that two oil tankers had “exploded” and been put out of operation after attempting to pass through the southern route in the Strait of Hormuz, which Tehran does not authorize. The IRGC alleged that the vessels had been encouraged by the U.S. military to use the route.

https://www.ynetnews.com/article/rytembs4mx

 

Even the rats desert a sinking ship and Gaza Rats going to southern Yisrael. https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-903014

 

Right before Tisha B’Av a massive burnt beam from the year 3338 aka according to archeologists 586 BCE. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/430435

 

Israir announced the addition of three new female pilots to its flight crews as part of an expansion of its pilot roster following the introduction of two Airbus A330 aircraft.

https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/430436 

 

Israeli aviation officials are investigating whether a service vehicle's collision with an Israir aircraft at a London airport last week was more than a routine accident, amid growing suspicions that the incident may have been motivated by nationalist hostility.

https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/430409

 

It is a pity that Charedi Parties are not coordinated. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/430437

 

Hadash and Balad expressed absolute opposition to any recruitment or service programs geared toward the Arab community - whether military or civilian in nature. This includes initiatives introduced under the guise of civic or security programs, as well as those proposed within the framework of the so-called "anti-Netanyahu bloc."

https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/430429

 

Mafia wars in 2 cities. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/430433

 

Female Arab Arsonist caught by drone footage. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/430417 

 

Rahm Emmanuel you can attack Israel as much as you want, BUT … Today’s Democrats will never nominate a Jew. Got that Rahm? You are a Jew…and your Jew-hating leftist Democratic friends will never, ever let you become president.When Shapiro was ruled out as a vice presidential candidate, the reasons given included that the presence of this Jew on the ticket could “inflame the left" because he had not earlier denounced Israel. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/430406

 

https://www.timesofisrael.com/on-lebanese-border-a-village-still-in-hezbollah-crosshairs-prepares-for-comeback/

 

https://www.timesofisrael.com/hungarian-pm-nominates-jewish-chess-grandmaster-judit-polgar-to-serve-as-interim-president/

 

https://www.timesofisrael.com/us-claims-pas-prisoner-payments-reform-a-con-dismissing-audit-that-suggests-otherwise/

 

Netanyahu anything except democratic primaries. https://www.timesofisrael.com/likud-grants-netanyahu-8-slots-on-knesset-list-option-to-nix-primaries-in-wartime/

 

https://www.timesofisrael.com/spain-beats-defending-champion-argentina-1-0-to-win-the-2026-world-cup/

 

https://www.timesofisrael.com/with-ben-gvirs-backing-prison-guards-quietly-branding-domestic-criminals-as-terrorists/

 

https://www.timesofisrael.com/government-document-shows-650-youths-living-in-illegal-west-bank-outposts/

 

https://www.timesofisrael.com/not-greek-to-them-scholars-question-christopher-nolans-the-odyssey/

 

US President Donald Trump said Sunday his new Qatari-gifted Air Force One jet needed to be sent off for a month to be “maxed out,” following questions about the plane’s security features. https://www.timesofisrael.com/trump-says-new-air-force-one-to-be-upgraded-after-security-concerns/

 

https://www.timesofisrael.com/france-commemorates-1942-roundup-of-jews-after-plaque-honoring-rescuers-defaced/

 

Houthis now against Saudi shipping. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/430460/

 

MK Sharen Haskel on Monday called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, and the Minister of Interior to declare New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani persona non grata and permanently bar him from entering the State of Israel. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/430458

 

Attorney Gen. vs. Ben Gvir. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/430440

 

https://www.timesofisrael.com/life-friendly-world-in-first-atmosphere-found-on-earth-like-planet-in-habitable-zone/

 

https://www.timesofisrael.com/tax-authority-freezes-war-compensation-claims-in-bnei-brak-after-attacks-on-staff/

 

Corrupt in tax authority investigation. https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/crime-in-israel/article-903023

 

July 21st

 

Day 1019 since Oct. 7th Roaring Lion Day 141

 

Iran’s nuclear program and centrifuges continues with more enriched Uranium even deeper in the earth. https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/israel-believes-iran-moved-nuclear-centrifuges-into-pickaxe-mountain-d29d21c0?mod=hp_lead_pos2

https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/430490

 

With the approval of the Israel Military Censor: The probably of Israel participating in round three opposite Iran is great. The 10 day ceasefire proposed by Pakistan, Qatar, etc. is going to lead to nowhere. The 100 meter 300 plus feet deep is so great that most likely bunker buster bombs could not penetrate even with precision. It might require bombs and cutting off their air vents or a tactical nuclear device. Right now Israel has no interest in joining in the fray.

 

The US bomb reserve is low after Ukraine and Iran and supplies are needed for Taiwan just in case. I am sure that factories are working over-time on this.

 

Op-Ed: Ron Ben Yishai on why the US has not hit Pickaxe Mountain. https://www.ynetnews.com/opinions-analysis/article/skhjfthezg

 

 https://www.israelhayom.com/2026/07/20/quiet-gulf-initiative-could-reshape-the-course-of-the-war/

 

https://www.timesofisrael.com/trump-vows-to-make-iran-pay-for-killing-soldiers-as-us-official-says-talks-ongoing/

 

https://www.timesofisrael.com/thousands-protest-outside-military-prison-ags-home-over-arrest-of-yeshiva-student/

 

https://www.timesofisrael.com/us-says-lebanese-army-deploying-to-pilot-zones-including-one-idf-will-withdraw-from/

 

https://www.timesofisrael.com/jewish-former-labour-leader-ed-miliband-tapped-as-new-british-foreign-secretary/

 

https://www.algemeiner.com/2026/07/20/trump-says-netanyahu-will-not-be-arrested-in-sharp-rebuke-to-nyc-mayor-mamdani/

 

https://www.algemeiner.com/2026/07/20/ancient-galilee-synagogue-to-open-to-global-public-through-new-us-israel-project/

 

https://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-earmarks-nis-100-million-for-national-quantum-computing-rd-infrastructure/

 

https://www.timesofisrael.com/france-says-iranian-officers-detained-two-of-its-diplomats-physically-abused-one/

 

https://www.timesofisrael.com/west-bank-family-says-idf-order-has-barred-them-from-accessing-their-own-bathroom/

 

https://www.timesofisrael.com/ag-tells-court-efforts-to-stop-ben-gvir-from-undermining-police-independence-have-failed/

 

https://www.timesofisrael.com/linking-spains-world-cup-victory-to-palestine-and-iran-hamas-and-houthis-offer-praise/

 

https://www.timesofisrael.com/80-year-old-man-killed-after-balcony-collapses-in-central-jerusalem/

 

US wraps 10th night of bombing and Iran has not budged. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/430483

 

Eisenkot’s Party continues to surge. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/430486

 

With the help of satellite images from China and Russia, over 100 US Troops injured since July 7th. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/430492

 

UK rising antisemitism. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/430481

 

Idiots from the rightwing were almost hit by a drone in Syria. IDF lookouts identified five suspects at night near the border, not from the Hermon area. The IDF classified the incident as an immediate threat due to fears that it was a terrorist cell attempting to infiltrate Israeli territory. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/430474

 

Taking out Jihad terrorists 1. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/430469

Hamas 2. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/430513

 

Funeral of the late Senator Lindsey O. Graham will be held on Tuesday, July 28th in Washington, D.C. and on Wednesday, July 29th in Columbia, South Carolina and Pickens County, South Carolina. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/430520

 

Lebanese Army starts deploying: The Lebanese Armed Forces announced on Tuesday that its troops have begun deploying in the town of Zawtar al-Gharbiyeh in the Nabataea area of southern Lebanon after the IDF withdrew. The LAF called on citizens not to head to the town until the security situation stabilizes, and to adhere to the directives of the deployed military units to preserve their safety. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/430507

 

Syrian authorities announced on Tuesday that they had foiled a second attempt in a week to smuggle weapons from Syria into Lebanon. The ammunition was believed to be destined for Hezbollah. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/430515

 

Barry Levitt, 80, was killed Monday evening when a balcony collapsed onto a bakery in Jerusalem’s Rehavia neighborhood. Levitt was sitting at the establishment with his wife and grandchildren when the structure suddenly collapsed.

https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/430514

 

Rabbi Dov Lando HaGaon Shlita has published a clarification.

"During the yeshiva intersession break, you may encounter people whose way of life differs from ours. You must be careful to avoid engaging in ideological arguments with them. Our worldview is clear to us through the teachings of our revered sages, from whose wisdom we draw. In particular, one must be especially careful not to argue with people who, under the banner of their beliefs, persecute the Torah and those who study it, and who are incapable of understanding or appreciating our outlook, which was the outlook of our great rabbis, including the Avraham Yeshaya Karelitz and Yitzchok Zev Soloveitchik, of blessed memory," Rabbi Lando stated.

He added that his words were completely distorted. "As was proven over the past day, when remarks I made in a private conversation were published, and through ignorant hatred, they approached the remarks in a distorted manner and a lack of understanding.

 

Rabbi Lando's statement follows the publication of a recording from a private conversation in which he is heard saying, "Will it not be so? The decrees come from another source. There are wicked people here - what can be done? There are wicked people, including those who wear knitted kippot. I am referring to those Religious Zionists who insist that people must enlist. I would ask them, according to their own way of thinking - though they have no consistent position at all - if the state sends people, soldiers, for the sake of the country’s honor, and they are killed, is that also permissible? That is outright murder. Therefore, they are inciting murder - that is what they are doing." https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/430504

 

A 68-year-old pedestrian was killed on Tuesday morning after being struck by a manual forklift during the unloading of goods from a truck in Netanya. He was evacuated in critical condition to Laniado Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/430519

 

A six-person subcommittee in the Supreme National Security Council was behind the “on the spot” decisions made while negotiating the now-defunct Memorandum of Understanding with the United States, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told Asriran, admitting that he has never met Iran’s Supreme Leader Mujtaba Khamenei.

https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/iran-news/article-903180

 

He planned to kill Minister Ben Gvir: The Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) and the Northern District Police's Amakim Central Unit have arrested Muhammad Awad, 29, of Nazareth, on suspicion of advancing terrorist activity. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/430517

 

144 boat refugees die. https://www.jpost.com/international/article-903187

 

Newly elected Hamas leader is pro-Iran. https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/article-903070

 

The High Court of Justice on Monday urged several international aid organizations to withdraw petitions challenging Israel’s refusal to register them, signaling that it saw no grounds to intervene in a policy allowing the state to consider security, boycott, and “delegitimization” concerns. https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-903189

 

THE NEXT 7.10: The Palestinian Authority’s buildup of a military force, in violation of the Oslo Accords, presents an unprecedented threat to millions of people living in central Israel, a newly published report penned by Lt.-Col. (res.) Maurice Hirsch, published in the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs, warned.

https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/article-903193

 

July 22nd 

 

Day 1020 since Oct. 7th Roaring Lion Day 142

 

The US has evacuated two bases in Yarden due to the accuracy of the attacks on them while the Iranians did nothing for their own troops.

https://www.timesofisrael.com/iranian-missiles-target-jordan-interception-explosions-boom-over-eilat/

 

Eleventh night of bombing. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/430546

 

https://www.algemeiner.com/2026/07/21/israels-campaign-against-hamass-vast-tunnel-network-continues-during-gaza-ceasefire-kan-reports/

 

https://www.timesofisrael.com/oregon-theater-manager-who-added-the-jews-to-odyssey-marquee-claims-antisemitism-is-exaggerated/

 

https://www.timesofisrael.com/thousands-protest-outside-military-prison-ags-home-over-arrest-of-yeshiva-student/

 

https://www.timesofisrael.com/argentinas-jews-turn-world-cup-soccer-chant-into-call-for-justice-over-amia-bombing/

 

https://www.foxweather.com/weather-news/tropical-storm-bertha-forecast-rain-flood-gulf-southeast

 

https://www.timesofisrael.com/meeting-trump-in-dc-aoun-says-lebanon-will-end-hostility-with-israel-forever/

 

https://www.timesofisrael.com/elections-are-not-a-civil-war-herzog-warns-of-dangerous-violence-on-outset-of-campaign/

 

https://www.timesofisrael.com/report-cabinet-quietly-okayed-plan-to-curb-settler-violence-pm-called-phenomenon-cancer/

 

https://www.timesofisrael.com/report-cabinet-quietly-okayed-plan-to-curb-settler-violence-pm-called-phenomenon-cancer/

 

https://www.timesofisrael.com/us-court-overturns-order-releasing-pro-palestinian-columbia-activist-mohsen-mahdawi/

 

https://www.timesofisrael.com/turkeys-ousted-opposition-leader-says-he-is-forming-new-party-to-take-on-erdogan/

 

https://www.algemeiner.com/2026/07/21/michigan-dem-abdul-el-sayed-dodges-question-on-why-he-feared-offending-khamenei-supporters/

 

https://www.algemeiner.com/2026/07/21/outrage-in-italy-after-anonymous-online-form-urges-public-to-map-jews-and-israelis-across-the-country/

 

https://www.algemeiner.com/2026/07/21/israels-campaign-against-hamass-vast-tunnel-network-continues-during-gaza-ceasefire-kan-reports/

 

Again threatens power plants and bridges. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/430582

 

https://www.timesofisrael.com/trump-claims-us-will-strike-irans-pickaxe-mountain-probably-pretty-soon/

 

July 23rd

 

Tisha B’AV Day 1021 since Oct. 7th Roaring Lion Day 143

 

B1 bombers are now being used. They were not used in Epic Fury. US amassing forces. https://www.ynetnews.com/article/rjjuqwksme#autoplay

 

Ramat Gan and other cities opening up public shelters. For the first Shabbos since Epic Fury, the alert is so high that I have raised my own personal alert. I will have the TV on in the shelter this week and light in the downstairs toilet. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/430623 TV shows area of attack and all clear.

 

Russia and China providing satellite images to Iran on American Barracks. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/430543

 

Two Palestinian terrorists stabbed and seriously wounded an Israeli civilian on Thursday while residents were attempting to extinguish a fire near a West Bank farm, the IDF said. https://www.ynetnews.com/article/rjnhjdkrgx

 

https://www.algemeiner.com/2026/07/21/michigan-dem-abdul-el-sayed-dodges-question-on-why-he-feared-offending-khamenei-supporters/

 

https://www.algemeiner.com/2026/07/21/university-of-pittsburgh-releases-light-report-on-campus-antisemitism-which-rejects-ihra-definition/

 

https://www.algemeiner.com/2026/07/21/australian-authorities-unveil-8-3-million-recovery-package-six-months-after-bondi-beach-massacre/

 

https://www.algemeiner.com/2026/07/22/israels-earthquake-relief-mission-in-venezuela-returns-home-after-weeks-of-aid-efforts-and-reconstruction-support/

 

https://www.algemeiner.com/2026/07/22/german-authorities-probe-alleged-anti-israel-attempted-murder-after-man-wearing-israeli-flag-pin-brutally-beaten/

 

https://www.timesofisrael.com/french-jewish-dj-barbara-butch-is-defiant-after-concert-disrupted-by-anti-israel-protesters/

 

https://www.timesofisrael.com/andy-biggs-named-gop-contender-for-arizona-governor-amid-antisemitism-allegations/

 

Mobileye founder Prof. Amnon Shashua announced Thursday that he plans to step down as CEO after 27 years leading the Israeli autonomous-driving technology company. https://www.ynetnews.com/business/article/h1til001rfe

 

Shabbos ends 10 minutes earlier than maximum. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/shabat/

 

Rubio: Iran is begging for a deal but then double deals. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/430629

 

Unbounding love. The fellow who threw away 7 grenades and died on the 8th was from

Havat Gilad. When Kibbutz Nahal Oz heard that his parents home burned down, they

managed to gather money for rebuilding. Two suspects have been released.

https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/430631

 

Ben Gvir goes up Temple Mt. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/430613

 

Former Minister and Ambassador Gilad Erdan is proceeding toward announcing the establishment of a new right-wing party, expected to launch within the next week. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/430605

 

Approximately nine months after being released from Hamas captivity in the Gaza Strip, captivity survivor Bar Kupershtein visited on Wednesday the memorial for the victims of the massacre at the Supernova Music Festival in Reim. This time saying the Shema Prayer with Tephillin. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/430596

 

No legal authority to Mamdani. Like most socialists promises free bus fares, etc. but it is all talk and nothing behind it. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/430547

 

Iran threatens the US. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/430543

 

US President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that he has instructed federal agencies to permit American commercial airlines to operate direct flights to Lebanon. The directive follows a bilateral meeting at the White House with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/430550

 

Netanyahu’s sickening AI against Eisenkot causes poll drop. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/430545

https://www.timesofisrael.com/losing-ground-to-nemesis-eisenkot-a-desperate-netanyahu-plumbs-new-depths/

 

Op-Ed Dr. Chaim Cohen on Charedi and complexity integration into the IDF. 

https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/430482

 

https://www.timesofisrael.com/us-house-passes-defense-bill-including-750-million-for-security-ties-with-israel/

 

https://www.timesofisrael.com/us-confirms-signing-a-nuclear-cooperation-pact-with-saudi-arabia-to-israels-alarm/

 

https://www.timesofisrael.com/lebanese-pm-plants-flag-in-southern-village-hailing-start-of-complete-israeli-withdrawal/

 

https://www.timesofisrael.com/ahmed-fouad-alkhatib-hamas-still-holds-two-million-hostages/

 

https://www.timesofisrael.com/manchester-synagogue-attacker-plotted-to-kill-israelis-at-uk-military-school/

 

https://www.timesofisrael.com/yemens-houthis-hit-tankers-in-red-sea-as-us-strikes-iran-for-12th-consecutive-night/

 

Trumps begins to understand Iran. Regime change in Iran returns to the Trump Agenda. https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/article-903428

 

July 24th  

 

Day 1022 since Oct. 7th Roaring Lion Day 144 end of week 146

 

Modiin opened up their shelters. Tel Aviv has an automatic unlock for shelters when needed. A four year old boy trailed behind his father and is missing for many hours in Ashkelon. Two stabbings in the Shomron yesterday and a drive-by shooting of four this morning near Havat Gilead one dead and three injured. The US is sending in more men and supplies into the area. If the situation remains calm but tense, Netanyahu will travel to the funeral of Lindsey Graham and meet with the President.

 

Aug. 1st the price of gasoline will rise in Israel. https://www.foxnews.com/live-news/iran-war-trump-oil-prices-rising-07-23-26 

 

https://www.israelhayom.com/2026/07/22/idf-peak-alert-iran-war-scenarios-us-strikes/

 

https://www.israelhayom.com/2026/07/23/israeli-officials-we-are-approaching-boiling-point-on-maximum-alert/

 

Iran tells NYT that if Trump expands attacks they will attack Tel Aviv. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/430677

 

Democratic Socialism has all but destroyed Europe, threatens the States and Yisrael.

Op-Ed Diane W. Bederman: https://dianebederman.com/what-we-learn-from-history-is-that-we-do-not-learn-from-history/

 

https://www.foxnews.com/us/suspect-custody-2-men-found-stab-wounds-officials-call-antisemitic-attack

 

https://www.foxnews.com/media/carville-tells-democrats-quit-fighting-voter-id-requirements-warns-polls-75-percent

 

https://www.timesofisrael.com/satellite-images-show-iran-rapidly-rebuilding-sites-hit-by-us-and-israeli-strikes/

 

https://www.timesofisrael.com/trump-says-saudi-civilian-nuclear-pact-is-conditioned-on-normalization-with-israel/

 

https://www.timesofisrael.com/pakistan-army-chief-leveraged-private-oil-venture-with-irgc-head-to-shield-saudi-arabia/

 

https://www.timesofisrael.com/man-seriously-wounded-in-stabbing-near-west-bank-outpost-palestinian-attackers-killed/

 

https://www.timesofisrael.com/malaysia-envoy-summoned-by-us-over-expulsion-of-american-israeli-dual-citizen/

 

https://www.timesofisrael.com/125-countries-to-vote-friday-on-permanent-removal-of-icc-chief-accused-of-sexual-misconduct/

 

https://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-scientists-say-theyve-discovered-a-unique-immune-system-in-sea-anemones/

 

https://www.timesofisrael.com/japanese-red-army-terrorist-behind-deadly-1972-attack-on-israeli-airport-dies-at-78/

 

https://www.timesofisrael.com/hillel-files-then-pulls-legal-brief-backing-harvard-in-antisemitism-fight-with-trump/

 

https://www.timesofisrael.com/french-jewish-dj-sues-after-anti-israel-activists-disrupt-gig-lawyer-says/

 

https://www.timesofisrael.com/iran-hangs-six-accused-of-membership-in-banned-group-as-executions-ramp-up-amid-war/

 

https://www.timesofisrael.com/greece-to-buy-3-billion-achilles-shield-missile-defense-system-from-israel/

 

https://www.algemeiner.com/2026/07/23/jewish-communal-leader-warns-mamdanis-rhetoric-could-incite-further-hostility/

 

https://www.algemeiner.com/2026/07/23/federal-court-delivers-trump-immigration-win-in-case-against-jordanian-pro-hamas-activist/

 

https://www.algemeiner.com/2026/07/23/hillel-international-moves-to-withdraw-brief-supporting-harvard-in-funding-dispute/

 

https://www.israelhayom.com/2026/07/23/israel-eyes-new-targets-more-aggressive-strikes-in-next-iran-campaign/

 

https://www.israelhayom.com/2026/07/23/netanyahus-insistence-offers-a-clear-hint-of-what-lies-ahead/

 

https://www.israelhayom.com/2026/07/23/police-step-up-search-for-missing-4-year-old-yuval-kogan/

 

https://www.israelhayom.com/2026/07/23/jerusalem-and-baku-owe-each-other-loyalty-not-sovereignty/

 

New US Tariffs affect Yisrael. https://www.ynetnews.com/article/ryqskdxhgx

 

Oct. 7th naval terrorist eliminated. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/430638

 

Manhunt continues for the murderer. https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-903540

 

We are approaching an attack on Iran possibly as early as this weekend. https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/iran-news/article-903509

 

 

Have a healthy, peaceful and restful Shabbos,

Rachamim Pauli