יום שלישי, כ״א אב תשפ״וTuesday, August 4, 2026
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The "Innocence of Muslims" film was a pretext to boost radical Islamists. The media are downplaying this angle, because it suggests that the administration policy toward the Muslim world expressed in the President’s Cairo speech of 2009 is dangerously wrong-headed.
By Tzvi Fishman
Rabbi Kook has good news. If you are a loser, all is not lost. You too can be a winner. You too can succeed. How? Through t’shuva.
Hezbollah now has 60-70,000 rockets, according to Maj.-Gen. (ret) Amos Gilad, a former IDF Spokesperson and Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, who delivered a major speech last week at the World Summit of the International Institute for Counter-Terrorism in Herzliya, Israel, which ended yesterday. "The next war will be aimed against the home front," he said. But Iran, which backs and has been arming Hezbollah may be a greater threat. In a paper from May 2012, Gilad said however that the "the main issue today is how to prevent a nuclear Iran."
By Hadar Sela
Drimia Maritima, or the Sea Squill, is known in Hebrew as Hatzav (from the word Hatzeva; quarrying, hewing or tunnelling) probably due to the ability of its long roots to penetrate cracks in rocks, and even widen them, in order to reach water or damp ground. In Israel, this tall, impressive plant – which flowers right […]
Rabbi Lior Glazer smashed an iPhone with a hammer in a show of protest. Like virtually every other Rav in the very right-wing Charedi world of Bnei Brak, Glazer blames personal tragedies on technology and not the abnormal psychology of the individual. I am beginning to find that the more I see a story like this, the more I just want to fold up my tent, and go home. No matter how much one wants to be Dan L’Kaf Zechus and judge people and their actions favorably, a story like this comes along which makes it extremely difficult to do so.
Abbas is reported worth millions. So why not let him save his own skin, instead of having Israel repeatedly bail the Palestinian Authority out?
With all the bacteria a mouth is known to contain - and the possibility that it might contain bacteria or viruses that are very harmful to a vulnerable 8-day-old child while an adult carrier might not even be aware of it - it is not exactly rocket science to know that putting your mouth on an open wound is not a good idea.
In the past seven years since the Disengagement from Gaza, we have been witness to the conversion of Gush Katif into an armed camp, an arsenal from which some 9,400 rockets and missiles have been fired at the Israeli civilians and communities on the other side of the fence.
Soon after the attacks on American embassies in Egypt and Libya, Presidential hopeful Mitt Romney and his running mate Paul Ryan criticized President Obama for lack a clear and forceful message to the world. Soon after, the administration provided another example of why this was true, with Obama stating that Egypt was neither friend nor foe, while the State Department confirmed that Egypt is indeed an ally.
By Tzvi Fishman
Simply put, to the initiate, the pain that comes with t’shuva is scary. The baal t’shuva is the man of courage. He is the true hero. He is the one prepared to set out on the greatest journey in life.
There are no bloodless victories, but we can choose whether to bleed our enemy or to bleed our hearts. And when our hearts bleed for the enemy, than the blood sooner or later stops being a metaphor and becomes a sticky dark red liquid on the boots of the brave Afghan people, the brave Iraqi people, the brave Libyan people or the brave Syrian people and all the other brave peoples we will set out to save from the hells they make for themselves.
The Western media are not the only ones who fail to see the symbolism of raising al-Qaeda’s banner on 9/11. Our President missed it as well.
By Adam Levick
Randy Scott’s family believed he had died instantly on September 11, 2001. Ten years after the attack, a note thrown out the window of the South Tower shortly after impact was discovered and identified using DNA tests. It was written by Scott minutes before he perished.
The Emes Ve-Emunah blog recently ran an internal poll as to readers religious leanings, here blog author Harry Maryles analyzes the results.
Latma's Rosh Hashanah greetings music video. Enjoy!
On the issue of demographics, the numbers make things quite clear that even before modern Zionism began, the city was Jewish and only Muslim repressive policies artificially kept the numbers of Jews down before the mid-19th century.
By Tzvi Fishman
Only t’shuva can reconnect the sinner with God. Only t’shuva can restore the harmony between a man’s soul and the world. Only t’shuva can wipe away the sins which prevent a man from being a positive contributor to life.
Unwilling to issue an ultimatum, the U.S.will go no further than to repeat that “we will not allow Iran to get a nuclear weapon,” but it will not say — publicly or to Israel — how far it will allow Iran to go.
After Muslims killed thousands of Americans we did everything we could to learn about their religion, to celebrate it and soothe their ruffled feathers.
One inevitable fact I have learned after almost 20 years here is that tomorrow will come, as planned, as designed, no matter what I do.
Despite President Obama's assertions at the 9-11 memorial that the fight against terror is only against al Qaeda, it was still good to hear him speaking about the enduring nature of a nation’s memory of its terror victims. Here in Israel, we (the bloggers behind This Ongoing War) waged a campaign for years to require the Jerusalem municipality to remember Jerusalem’s victims of terror.
UNRWA Gaza chief Robert Turner’s “prescription” for saving Gaza’s Palestinians, set out in an article on the Guardian's Comment is Free site, is based on a severe case of historical myopia. For it’s the one word that Mr. Turner neglected to use in his anti-Israel screed that is in fact behind Gaza’s rapidly devolving state: Hamas.
By Tzvi Fishman
When you are sick, do you go to the doctor, or the student of the doctor? So why go to Uman where Rebbe Nachman is buried, when you could go to the cities in Israel where his teachers are buried?
The U.S. reiterated its rejection of Israel's call for "clear red lines." Today, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded, saying those "who refuse to put red lines in front of Iran, don't have a moral right to put a red light in front of Israel." Here is the Prime Minister in his own words - responding to a reporter's question about the State Department's position:
Rabbi Eric H. Yoffie, the former president of the Union of Reform Judaism, has argued that the reform movement should look to Orthodox Judaism for guidance. Harry Maryles argues that this provides an important kiruv opportunity.
New York City is used to tragedy. Terrible things happen here all the time. But New York cannot move on, neither can the country, because the murderers are still on the loose and what happened on September 11 was not an isolated incident, but part of a pattern of attacks taking place in a clash of civilizations. New York, the crossroads of civilizations, is a natural target for the attacks. New York is to the world what Mecca was to Arabia and the new Mohammeds are eager to do to it what Mohammed did to Mecca.
We need to understand that a universalist civilization will not survive a contest with a tribalist one. If we don’t value our civilization, who will?
By Tzvi Fishman
Rabbi Kook explains that this misplacing of priorities between the means and the goal stems from the sin of the earth during the days of Creation. By understanding the depth of this teaching, we can learn to be happy, not only when we finally attain our goals and ideals, but also at every moment of our lives.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton gave an interview stating that the U.S. would not be setting any deadlines for Iran.
By Orat@Muqata
The ancient synagogue in Meron is located on a hill above the grave of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai. Like other Galilean synagogues from the Byzantine era, its entrance faces south, towards Jerusalem. But what makes this synagogue special is a story from its later history.
In two weeks millions of Jews will cry out, "Next Year in Jerusalem" and millions more will cry out, "Vote for Obama." And we shall see whose faith will prevail.
There are many Halachic reasons to disqualify a witness. Owning an iPhone is not one of them.
Students are drawn into psycho-political cyclotrons and are insulated from all other voices. What begins as a concern for human rights is amplified by contact with more and more extreme expressions of anti-Israel ideology.
By Tzvi Fishman
Even if you haven’t yet atoned for all of your sins, Don’t worry! Be Happy! As long as you are sincerely trying, this is what really counts.
By Hadar Sela
In the Judean lowlands, rising above the Elah Valley, lies Tel Azeka (also Azekah) – mentioned numerous times in Biblical texts. Perhaps most famously, it is associated with the story of David and Goliath, which is etched into blocks of stone set by the path up to the top of the Tel, its dramatic ending overlooking the Elah Valley below on one side and views as far as the Mediterranean coast on the other.
Politicians take for granted that education is the road to empowerment and equality. Obama has read poems off his teleprompter about the wonders of education as the only means of ensuring "our" children's future. There is nothing revolutionary about that. Every politician takes it for granted that education means empowerment. But does it really?
By Ted Belman
According to Franklin Lamb in the anti-Israel website Foreign Policy Journal, the pro-Israel Community is all hot and bothered by an alleged new study: It’s a paper entitled “Preparing For A Post Israel Middle East”, an 82-page analysis that concludes that the American national interest in fundamentally at odds with that of Zionist Israel. The authors conclude […]
Rejecting something with knowledge is one thing, but most Jews in the world today have essentially rejected a life of Jewish observance with very little book or experiential knowledge.
But it is even more foolish in my view to not teach the science in the first place. Ignorance is our worst enemy. Because the minute one finds a contradiction to the insistence that only the most literal interpretation of the Torah is acceptable, believers can and often will sadly go the way or Mrs. Brown.
By Tzvi Fishman
Dear Friends, the clock is ticking down to Rosh HaShanah. You can hear the shofars blasting all over the world. T’shuva may seem like a towering mountain too high to climb, but it’s really not as hard as you think.
Fein is wrong. The corruption of the Jewish soul did not begin in 1967. It began with the adoption of the idea that surrender is pro-Israel.
Somehow, even though it should be obvious to them that the U.S. is different, they have retained the mindset that it’s OK to cheat “the Goyim” - if they can get away with it. And that is what causes the kind of Chilul HaShem that is happening here. And when the criminal is someone who is otherwise a good person, the Chilul HaShem is even greater.
A strategy of stopping Iran by getting the US to promise to enforce red lines is only a promise; and nations — the US is not alone in this — do not keep promises when doing so is not determined to be in their interest.
By Tzvi Fishman
Today, the “evil thing” in our communities and homes is the onslaught of immodest websites and images on the Internet.
By Tzvi Fishman
The true champions of life are not the basketball players, not the Hollywood stars, not even the Prime Ministers and Presidents. The real heroes are the masters of t’shuva.
My pro-Obama friends tell me that nothing’s changed, that this administration is as pro-Israel as any previous one, Democratic or Republican, and I needn’t fear that a reelected President Obama will punish Israel. With all due respect, they are full of it.
Some might call this Emunah Peshuta – simple belief. Perhaps. But it is not blind belief. I am not a blind believer. However, I can understand why someone would call my belief in the truth of Judaism blind.
By DovBear
G-d blessed Facebook’s CEO with this poignant lesson. Right as we approach the Day of Judgment, followed by times of Repentance, and the final celebration of Atonement, He blesses all of Israel with this lesson as well.
The interesting question is “why did they change it?” A platform is not a binding document; it is intended as a general statement of a party or candidate’s positions. Its planks are generally written to appeal the broadest possible constituencies. Most voters never read platforms or care about them. Is the change is intended to send a message to the leadership of the Muslim nations that Obama has been courting since his 2009 speech in Cairo that he is taking concrete steps to weaken the bond between the U.S. and Israel?
In tough economic times, you make tough economic decisions. Unless you're the Palestinian Authority. Palestinians receive the highest levels of aid per capita, use it to fund terrorists in prison and at the same time rack up high debts, such as their NIS 700 million debt to the Israel Electric Company. The bulk of the aid comes from the U.S. and Europe.
From far away, it may seem surprising that Israelis still continue to seek normal relations with the Arabs with whom we share so many aspects of life. Anyone in doubt about this needs simply to walk into any Israeli hospital.
By Tzvi Fishman
Even people who have tasted all of life’s secular pleasures insist that the experience of t’shuva is the world’s greatest joy.
When it comes to Metzitza B’Peh, we are not discussing a Biblical Commandment, nor are we referring to a Rabbinical enactment from the Gemarah's time. We are referring to a hallowed Minhag from days of yore to use the mouth only.
In "liberal-speak", pundits say that countries don't have allies, they have interests. That's incorrect; political leaders have interests...countries still have allies.
Obama did not have an aspirational candidacy, he had an aspirational brand. A brand that people wanted to be a part of, because it made them feel good about themselves.
After more than 100 years of archeological research in Israel, I'm always surprised there's still so much more to discover. Sadly, today most such discoveries are driven by construction work. The Israeli Antiquities Authority announced today that a 6th century Jewish town was discovered north of Beersheba, during work on the southern extension of Route 6. The […]
I would be opposed to the government legislating against doing MbP. That it is considered so vital by so large a segment of Jewry combined by the low probability of a child ever contracting herpes moves me to oppose it. In this case I do feel that banning the procedure would be an unconstitutional impediment to freedom of religion. But that is not the law being proposed.
In March, President Obama said "when the chips are down, I have Israel’s back," but U.S. actions since have shown otherwise.
By Tzvi Fishman
How can it be that in this clear time of Redemption, when millions of Jews have returned to the Land of Israel from the four corners of the world, in the fulfillment of Biblical prophecy that crises and setbacks like the evacuation of Migron still occur?
By Hadar Sela
Mount Tabor, standing 575 meters above sea level at the eastern end of the Jezreel Valley, is the site of the battle fought by Deborah and Barak against the Canaanite king Sisera, according to the Bible. Now it is the site of two monestaries, with three Bedouin villages nestled at its base.
An increasing number of Orthodox Jews are questioning their faith and educators don't know how to respond.
I clicked on the link and came to a YouTube video called "Dignified Transfer." I watched every second of it. Tears began to fall just as the plane came into view the first time.
Evergreen State College, where Rachel Corrie attended college, is a paradigm of the progressive cause-based model of education and has produced a high number of the anti-Israel International Solidarity Movement's activists.
U.S. taxpayers traveling to the United States with unpaid U.S. tax assessments can be detained at the border, questioned, and flagged for follow-up enforcement. If a taxpayer has an unpaid tax liability and is subject to a resulting Notice of Federal Tax Lien, the IRS may submit identifying taxpayer information to the Treasury Enforcement Communications System (TECS), a database maintained by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
The mysticism of Sephardim and Chasidus seems to be making in-roads. Especially with mainstream rabbinic figures supporting it. I sure hope this is only a passing fad.
Poverty is complicated. So are jobs and wars. Race however is simple. There are bad people and there are good people. The oppressed and the oppressors. And that paradigm, that one talking point that they store up and unleash at every occasion is the sum total of their contribution to every debate under the sun.
By Tzvi Fishman
There is an old aphorism which claims that two things in life are certain: death and taxes. To this, Rabbi Kook would add a third certainty — t’shuva.
Honestly, that message could have been delivered from New York.
Modern Orthodox and Chassidic cultural norms may differ, but members of both communities have a respect for Halachah and desire to serve God.
By Tzvi Fishman
When a man understands that his personal t’shuva advances the redemption process of the world, his motivation to mend his own life is enhanced.
Rabbi Asher Lopatin, who will succeed Rabbi Avi Weiss as head of YCT, is most definitely on the left side of the Orthodox spectrum. Nevertheless he can keep YCT from sliding too far to the left and cross the line of Orthodoxy. YCT founder Rabbi Avi Weiss candidly admitted that he has parted ways with his Rebbe on the approach to these issues. And he has incorporated it into the philosophy of his Yeshiva.
So what actually happened the day Rachel Corrie died? Here's what the judge said.
You have chosen to honor your daughter's memory by taking her side. That's understandable, but it doesn’t validate the ideology that got her killed in order to further its goals of still more death and destruction.
By Tzvi Fishman
Rabbi Kook teaches that t’shuva encompasses man’s physical being, his moral life, religious life, and his highest, most ideal intellectual endeavor. T’shuva is man’s path to wellbeing, to physical and emotional health, as well as his path to the deep self-discovery which connects him to God. T’shuva can happen suddenly, in a burst of illumination […]
Survival of a Jewish state requires both geographical and demographic domination of the area between the river and the sea
When all the bubbles of rhetoric pop, there are still the hard unpleasant realities to deal with.
According to the Egyptian newspaper, Al-Masry Al-Youm, due to negotiations between Egypt and jihadists groups, "Operation Eagle" has been halted, at least temporarily.
Not only could Rachel Corrie have prevented her own death, but Corrie was used by the anti-Israel International Solidarity Movement.
צאנז 111 from bhol on Vimeo. Not being a Chasid of his (or Chasid of any kind) I don’t really know much about the Munkatcher Rebbe. But if he is like most other Chasidic Rebbes, he will have a huge blowout of a wedding next Monday for his grandson - similar to the one in […]
Imagine a Moetzes that included a broader spectrum of rabbinic leaders. And a population of educated Jews that can make a decent living in all fields – including the field of Torah study.
We have become a rationing society. Our industries and our people are literally starving in the midst of plenty. Farmers are kept from farming, factories are kept from producing and businessmen are kept from creating new companies and jobs. This is done in the name of a variety of moral arguments, ranging from caring for the less fortunate to saving the planet. But rhetoric is only the lubricant of power. The real goal of power is always power.
By Tzvi Fishman
Rabbi Kook explains that t’shuva comes about in two distinct formats, either suddenly, or in a gradual, slowly developing fashion. Both of these pathways to t’shuva are readily found in the baal t’shuva world. Some people will tell you how their lives suddenly changed overnight. Others describe their experience as a long, challenging process which unfolded over years. Many factors influence the way in which t’shuva appears.
The Egyptians have never proven themselves to be particularly open or honest in their dealings with Israel. At least four wars have been fought between our countries. Peace is a fragile thing that must be nurtured. It must be built on honest dealings and trust. Moving tanks and anti-aircraft missiles violates not only the agreement, but the trust as well.
By Tzvi Fishman
The expulsion of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden describes man’s existential plight. In effect, the sum of world history is mankind’s journey to return to the Garden. Not only man, but the world itself wants to return to its original state. This yearning is one of the most powerful forces of Creation. Thus the world “roars like a mighty lioness” to return to its original, ideal closeness to God.
The liberal West has its illusions about the enemy. Israel has little room for those illusions. It will act when Washington is too busy fighting itself to focus on restraining it. It will act because it is alone as few other countries on earth are. It will act because it has no real choice but to act. It will act because for it this is not a set of talking points, a diplomatic program or a regional agenda, it is life or death. It will act, because for all its flaws, its survival is on the line.
The truth is that Orthodox Jews are all lumped together as having the same attitudes in life. So that for example a Chasidic Jew in Williamsburg will be treated the same way a Modern Orthodox Jew in Teaneck. They are both seen as Orthodox and their worldviews are more or less seen to be the same: decidedly anti-modern. But this viewpoint doesn't reflect the reality.
The real reason that the Village Voice is dead is because the alternative media is dead and the alternative media is dead because there is nothing for it to be an alternative to. New Yorkers can just as easily read shrill rants about the NYPD in the Daily News, pretentious movie reviews for artsy films at The Onion and leftist denunciations of the War on Terror in the New York Times.
Fact is there is of course nothing wrong with raising standards of religious observance. As long as it is voluntary. But when schools start making new demands along those lines, they completely ignore individual choice. Being Machmir should be an individual choice and not forced upon anyone. These strictrures have nothing to do with basic Halacha. They have to do with image.
We would have three minutes if an attack came from Lebanon. Three minutes to get to shelter - and worry about where everyone else is and if they got to shelter in time. That's if the missiles come from Lebanon. I don't know how much time we'd have if the attack came from Syria or Iran...more, less, who knows.
By Tzvi Fishman
The Gemara teaches that t’shuva existed before the world was created. In a similar vein, Rabbi Kook writes that the spirit of t’shuva hovers over the world and gives it its basic form and the motivation to develop. It is t’shuva which gives the world its direction and its inner energy to constantly progress. The desire to refine the world and to embellish it with beauty and splendor all derive from the spirit of t’shuva.
We have searched and have not yet found a blog, article, published speech or op-ed in her language, Arabic, which criticizes proud terrorist Ahlam Tamimi or her views. So far, not one. If our readers can point us to exceptions, please do. This is deeply shocking. Tamimi's message resonates throughout the Arab and Islamic world. Her views don't even rise to the level of controversial. She's simply a hero, wall to wall.
Obama and Biden are both symbols of the Post-American America. Biden represents the outgoing American administration and Obama represents the incoming Post-American administration. It is vital to make the American administration look weak, foolish and useless so as to affirm the right of the Post-American administration to seize power from it.
These people are no better than the arsonists of who set fires during the '68 riots that followed the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King . Then Mayor Richard J. Daley gave police the green light to police to shoot to kill anyone seen attempting arson. People who throw firebombs into cars are murderers. There is no justification for targeting innocent people. These terrorists ought to be treated accordingly. That no one died yet from that act is a miracle.
By Tzvi Fishman
While t’shuva is normally translated as penitence or repentance, the root of the Hebrew word t’shuva means “return.” T’shuva is a return to the source, to one’s roots, to one’s deepest inner self.
Watch how this woman's face radiates the joy that comes from recounting how the death toll grew steadily in the hour or so that she spent fleeing the scene via public transport, unhindered by the police.
Can you understand the concept that a young mother was happy that her son now had a gas mask? When you can, you'll understand what it is to be Israeli - at least in part.
The slogan under which Obama hopes to win the next four years is "Forward". "Forward" is the quintessential progressive slogan, progressives being people who are so forward-thinking that they want to remake the 21st Century in line with their 19th Century ideas. Progressivism, like so many other flavors of futurism, is so new it's old.
How in heaven's name does a pedophile who is convicted and registered sex offender get a job delivering milk late at night to a summer-camp full of children? Don't they do background checks?
By Tzvi Fishman
The month of Elul is known for being the time of the year most favorable for t’shuva - generally known as penitence or repentance. But t’shuva is much more than feeling bad over the transgressions which we have committed. Rabbi Kook teaches that t’shuva is the force that makes the world go around.
By Tzvi Fishman
If a Jew is thrown into prison and he doesn’t have tefillin, then he can’t perform the mitzvah of putting on tefillin. But the mitzvah of tefillin isn’t cancelled because of this. The very first morning that he gets out of jail, he once again must perform the mitzvah of putting on tefillin
July 31, 2026 
