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When Asked Who He Asks Questions To, NYC Mayor Eric Adams Answers "The Grand Rabbi of Lubavitch" – CrownHeights.info

Posted By on March 21, 2024

Eric Adams is the Mayor of New York City, with a background in the NYPD, focusing on safety, education, and health. In this episode of Living Lchaim, he discusses his upbringing, career, October 7th, antisemitism, and the Jewish communitys ties with NYC. He also fields some interesting questions and gives a very Lubavitch answer.

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When Asked Who He Asks Questions To, NYC Mayor Eric Adams Answers "The Grand Rabbi of Lubavitch" - CrownHeights.info

Relaunch of municipal rabbi bill piques tensions in wartime coalition – The Times of Israel

Posted By on March 21, 2024

The planned reintroduction of a bill funding appointments of new municipal rabbis is ratcheting up tensions in the wartime coalition headed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Erstwhile partners Benny Gantz and Gideon Saar both object to the planned relaunch of the bill from 2023, which was stalled by the war, to appoint hundreds of new city rabbis at a cost of tens of millions of shekels annually, representatives of their parties say.

Zeev Elkin, a member of Gideon Saars New Hope party, has informed coalition whip Ofir Katz of Netanyahus Likud party of the objection, citing an agreement signed by all coalition members to refrain from advancing any legislation without the pre-approval of all coalition parties, Makor Rishon reports. The bills advancement threatens to violate the deals terms, Elkin says.

Gantzs National Unity party also opposes the planned advancement of the Jewish Religious Services Bill, Makor Rishon reports.

The report does not say whether New Hope and National Unity are explicitly threatening to pull out of the wartime coalition, established following Hamass October 7 onslaught.

The bill, submitted in June by Religious Zionism MK Simcha Rothman and Shass Erez Malul, is scheduled to go up for a preliminary discussion and possibly a vote tomorrow at the Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee.

Critics of the bill say it gives Shas excessive power over municipally employed rabbis, because of its influence within the chief rabbinate and its municipal rabbis, who would play an important role in appointing neighborhood rabbis under the new bill.

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Relaunch of municipal rabbi bill piques tensions in wartime coalition - The Times of Israel

Arsonist With Kill Rabbi Tattoo Sentenced to Decades in Prison for Burning Rabbis Home – VINNews

Posted By on March 21, 2024

(New York Jewish Week) An arsonist with a tattoo reading KILL Rabbi Max was sentenced to decades in prison for setting fire to a rabbis home in 2019.

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Matthew Karelefsky, 46, was convicted last month of charges including attempted murder, arson and assault for the crime in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Midwood. On Monday, he received a sentence in Brooklyn Supreme Court of 25 years to life in prison.

The crime occurred on June 13, 2019, when a rabbi at a Midwood yeshiva woke up shortly before 4 a.m. to a fire in his family home. The flames spread to houses on either side of the rabbis property, forcing 13 people to evacuate the buildings. Six people were injured by smoke inhalation, including a 6-week-old infant.

After the fire, K9 investigators found arson implements underneath the rabbis front porch. The items included a Kingsford charcoal bag, a plastic milk carton and empty containers of lighter fluid.

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Video surveillance showed Karelefsky purchasing the items at a neighborhood grocery store the day before the fire and igniting the blaze. Police arrested Karelefsky in New York two days after the fire. Karelefsky was living near Pittsburgh at the time of the incident.

Karelefsky had a tattoo on his forearm that said, Never let go of the HATRED KILL Rabbi Max, the Brooklyn district attorneys office said. The rabbi was not identified in the statement, but was named as Rabbi Jonathan Max in media reports.

Karelefsky claimed that Max had abused him as a child, but did not provide evidence. Max dismissed the allegation, saying he had not known Karelefsky as a child, only meeting him as an adult. Karelefsky began threatening Max when the rabbi supported Karelefskys wife in divorce proceedings, Max said.

Hes a very amiable fellow, Max told the New York Times in 2019. You talk to him, hes the sweetest guy. Theres no anger in me toward him. Hes sick. How can you be angry at disease?

Karelefsky declined to comment to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency at the time of the arson. There do not appear to be any other public accusations of sexual misconduct against Max.

Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said in a statement on Monday that Karelefsky had been brought to justice.

This defendants actions destroyed the homes of several families and put numerous people in harms way, Gonzalez said. I am thankful that there were no life-threatening injuries.

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Arsonist With Kill Rabbi Tattoo Sentenced to Decades in Prison for Burning Rabbis Home - VINNews

Where would the Haredi mass exodus go to? – The Jerusalem Post

Posted By on March 21, 2024

Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef, the chief Sephardi rabbi of Israel, recently threatened a mass exodus of the ultra-Orthodox community if any of its members were conscripted. For those who dont know the inner workings of the Israeli Defense Forces, it mandates two to three years of army service for all 18-year-olds. This has been the reality almost since the birth of the country. But around that time, there was only a small number of ultra-Orthodox citizens, and the decision was made to exempt those individuals from military service.

This community has significantly expanded since the late 1940s. However, the exemption law has not been repealed or amended. It has often been a topic of discussion in the Knesset and every time the subject is broached rioting breaks out in different areas of the country.

The issue we now face is a potential war of attrition in the South, coupled with an expansion of the effort in the North. The country faces an existential threat and is in dire need of reinforcements.

There are many in the ultra-Orthodox community who have taken up this call voluntarily. They have joined their non-religious brothers and sisters in arms, and they should be commended for doing so. But the overwhelming majority have not; and to add insult to injury, the recent statements of the Sephardi chief rabbi seem to spit in the faces of our brave soldiers.

The real question is: If this segment of Israels population were to leave, where would they go?

If the countrys conscription was expanded, and the haredi community took Rav Yosefs call to action literally, where would these men and women settle? I realize they live very insular lives, but have they not heard of the rampant, worldwide antisemitism which appears to be increasing? For example, there is a good deal of talk about London being a no-go zone for Jews. The anti-Israel movement is also becoming increasingly violent and more emboldened every day. Do the ultra-Orthodox think theyll be safe in places like that?

Whats apparent in Europe and the majority of the West is that its once again in vogue to openly hate Jews. From common citizens to government representatives, no one is coming to our defense. The streets are overrun with Hamas sympathizers who want nothing more than the Jewish peoples demise.

How does the chief rabbi plan to protect himself and his community abroad? One cant run from our enemies. In fact, Hamas would be ecstatic if all of the citizens of Israel heeded the chief rabbis call and picked up and left. Wed be handing them the country on a silver platter.

Jewish defense is the reason I made aliyah. The most inspiring aspect of our homeland is our ability to protect ourselves and the Jewish people as a whole. Its what we were unable to do for 2,000 years. As frightened as I am of the day my own childrens army service arrives, I also know it will be one of the proudest days of my life.

A common refrain among the haredi community is that studying Torah is a better defense of the Jewish people than picking up a gun. From a theological standpoint, I understand the sentiment. Many of us who dont consider ourselves part of the haredi community do believe that acts such as prayer, learning, and loving-kindness are ways to ensure the well-being of our nation. But its not the only thing that can or should be done.

If God forbid, a family member of my family suffered from an ailment that required an operation, I would ramp up those three religious courses of action in the hopes of a positive outcome. Im sure it would also help alleviate my sense of helplessness. But Im not a surgeon. If the doctor we chose outlined the course of treatment that only entailed prayer, he or she would promptly lose our case and for good reason.

Theres an old joke about a man named Moshe who lived his whole life as a devout Jew. As his days were nearing their end, he prayed to God to win the lottery. When he died penniless, upon meeting his Maker, he beseeched the Almighty, saying, God, I was a frum Jew my whole life, and never asked for anything except this. Why didnt you grant me this one wish? God answered saying, Moishele, why didnt you buy a lottery ticket.

Ours is not a religion of faith alone. We are meant to take action in times of need. Prayer, learning, and good deeds have their place but they are not the only answer to our problems.

And just as the surgeon is meant to perform the necessary operation, able-bodied haredi men and women are meant to serve their country.

Protecting our land and our people is not just a duty, its the greatest honor any one of us can fulfill.

The writer is a rabbi, a wedding officiant, and a mohel who performs britot (ritual circumcisions) and conversions across the world. Based in Efrat, he is the founder of Magen HaBrit, an organization protecting the practice of brit milah and the children who undergo it.

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Where would the Haredi mass exodus go to? - The Jerusalem Post

Kahana urges municipal heads to appoint local rabbis while they still have the chance – The Times of Israel

Posted By on March 21, 2024

Following the postponement of a controversial coalition bill reducing local governments influence over the appointment of municipal rabbis, former Religious Services Minister Matan Kahana (National Unity) urges cities without a rabbi to hurry up and appoint one while they still retain control over the process.

You still have the opportunity to appoint a rabbi under the existing regulations who is suitable for your city, but if you delay, it is very possible that the political alliance between [Finance Minister Bezalel] Smotrich and the ultra-Orthodox parties will bring back the law they tried to pass today, and then they will decide for you who will be your rabbi, over your heads, Kahana says in a video message to the heads of nearly 40 local authorities posted social media.

The bill would have created hundreds of publicly funded jobs for Orthodox rabbis, while giving the Chief Rabbinate of Israel considerable say in the appointment of all new municipal rabbis, reversing changes instituted by Kahana in 2022.

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Kahana urges municipal heads to appoint local rabbis while they still have the chance - The Times of Israel

Former Brooklyn resident gets 25 years for attempted murder, arson after setting fire to Rabbi’s home – 1010 WINS

Posted By on March 21, 2024

NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) -- A 46-year-old man was sentenced to 25 years for intentionally setting fire to the home of a Brooklyn rabbi in 2019, District Attorney Eric Gonzalez announced on Monday.

Matthew Karelefsky, a former Brooklyn resident, was convicted of first-degree attempted murder, second-degree arson,six counts of second-degree assault, and two counts of fourth-degree arson on Feb. 7.

At approximately 3:50 a.m. on June 13, 2019, a rabbi at a local yeshiva and his wife awoke to a fire in their three-story multi-family home at 1492 East 17thStreet in Midwood, prosecutors said.

The fire spread to homes on either side of the property, causing 13 residents to evacuate. Several people, including a six-week-old infant and two NYPD officers were treated for smoke inhalation.Additionally, one firefighter was treated for bruising suffered while responding to the fire.

Fire Marshals determined the fire at 1492 East 17thStreet was intentionally set and that it spread to the adjacent properties. Investigators also determined the fire began underneath the rabbis front porch, where K9 dogs identified the smell of an accelerant and fire marshals discovered remnants of a Kingsford charcoal bag, charcoal, a plastic milk carton, empty lighter fluid containers, lighter boxes and several rags believed to have been drenched in lighter fluid.

Video surveillance taken from across the street from the victims homes shows Karelefsky setting the fire. Additionally, video surveillance from a Midwood grocery store captured the day before the incident shows the defendant purchasing Kingsford charcoal and matches.

Police arrested Karelefsky in Manhattan on June 15, 2019. At the time of his arrest, he was wearing a pink shirt with a white collara shirt he was seen wearing walking near the victims homes before and after the incident, officials said.

Karelefsky has a tattoo on his forearm that reads, Never let go of the HATRED KILL Rabbi Max. He also wrote numerous social media posts expressing his animosity for and intention to harm the victim, authorities said.

"This defendants actions destroyed the homes of several families and put numerous people in harms way. I am thankful that there were no life-threatening injuries. With todays sentence, this defendant has been brought to justice," DA Gonzalez said.

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Former Brooklyn resident gets 25 years for attempted murder, arson after setting fire to Rabbi's home - 1010 WINS

RABBI DAVID YOSEF: Charedim Should Refrain from Public Purim Celebrations to Avoid Chillul Hashem – VINNews

Posted By on March 21, 2024

ISRAEL (VINnews) Rabbi David Yosef, a leading Sefardi Rav, says that this Purim, due to the war, people should refrain from public celebrations. He said that while people should celebrate privately, public celebrations would convey an appearance that those who are celebrating are not feeling the pain of people who are suffering, and it would thus create a chilul Hashem.

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The Arutz Sheva website quoted Rabbi Yosef saying. We are in a situation where this is adifficult war against our enemies. Every day, we receive more bitter news about fallen soldiers. The situation is not at all easy.

I think that this year it is very important that everyone celebrates Purim in their homes and fulfills the mitzvot of Purim. But when it comes to public celebrations we have to be very careful not to show joy and dance in the streets. Be very wary of this.

He added that the general public sees how the religious people celebrate and are happy on Purim as if Israels pain didnt touch them it doesnt look good. It is a desecration of Hashems name.

Rabbi Yosef pleaded with Roshei Yeshiva and Rabbanim to refrain from public celebration as well, to show a sense of solidarity.

He said, Therefore, I ask also that the Roshey Yeshiva, the Rabbis, and the entire public do everything possible so that Purim this year keeps a low profile. Dont celebrate in public. Everyone in their own home with their family should eat the Purim seudah, send Mishloach Manot to relatives and friends but dont show as if whats going on here has nothing to do with us. We are part of the public. We also feel the terrible pain of whats happening to our soldiers, whats happening to the hostages.

He said, We feel that Hashem is with us in our trouble. It is all of our trouble, we are part of the people who sit in Zion and therefore it is unthinkable that we would celebrate and rejoice as if nothing happened. With Hashems helpon the one hand, we can really fulfill the mitzvot of Purim and on the other hand, feel that we are part of the people of Israels great trouble.

Rav David Yosef is the head of the Yechaveh Daat, the son of Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, and brother of Sefardi Chief Rabbi, Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef.

Last week, VIN reported that Rav Shaul Alter, the Gerrer Rosh Yeshiva, said that people should be bsimcha on Purim, because it is not beneficial for people to refrain from celebration. However it is not clear if he meant to include public celebration, or if he was referring to private celebration, but would agree with Rav Yosef that if it is public it can be misconstrued.

In addition, Rav Alter made it clear that it was a personal decision, and that others would likely have a different opinion, and seemed to suggest that there was not a definitive correct answer.

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RABBI DAVID YOSEF: Charedim Should Refrain from Public Purim Celebrations to Avoid Chillul Hashem - VINNews

Great Neck recalls Rabbi Wolf on 20th yahrzeit – The Jewish Star

Posted By on March 21, 2024

By Paul E. Brody, MD

The 13th of Adar, erev Purim, marks the 20th yahrzeit of our dear Rabbi Dr. Ephraim R. Wolf, Rav Ephraim Reuven ben Nachum Chaim, ztl. The Modern Orthodox community in Great Neck was shaped by him.

When Rabbi Wolf became the spiritual leader of the Great Neck Synagogue in 1956, the strong denominations on the peninsula were Reform and Conservative. At the time, Orthodoxy was perceived to be outmoded and declining, out of touch with modern society.

Through his force of personality, Rabbi Wolf was able to give a legitimacy to Orthodoxy that Great Neck might otherwise not have had, according to Rabbi Dale Polakoff, who in 1988 succeeded Rabbi Wolf as rabbi of the Great Neck Synagogue.

Rabbi Wolf was devoted with all his heart and soul to our Holy Land. Everyone from Great Neck who traveled to Israel became a shaliach mitzvah, whether they were asked by Rabbi Wolf to deliver tennis balls for underprivileged kids to play with, or letters for posting (with the stamps affixed already), or to take much-needed dental supplies. Rabbi Wolf always referred to his congregants as You beautiful people, and he meant it with all his heart.

The Great Neck community grew rapidly. Rabbi Wolf, with the capable assistance of his wife, Rebbetzin Elaine Wolf, established the North Shore Hebrew Academy and a mikveh (which, in order to gain village approval, was initially referred to as a wading pool) and worked countless hours gaining approval for the Great Neck eiruv. All of these achievements helped shape Great Neck into the bastion of Orthodoxy that it is today, eventually serving as home to the Young Israel of Great Neck as well as to many Sephardic congregations, including Israeli, Persian, and Iraqi synagogues.

In the early days, Rabbi Wolf drove the bus to make sure students got to school. On snowy days, he shoveled snow off sidewalks, recalled Sharon Goldwyn, a congregant and a student at the North Shore Hebrew Academy in its early days, whose parents were among the founders of both the school and the synagogue. When snow got in her boots, Rabbi Wolf went back to her home to make sure that she had dry socks and shoes. She couldnt learn Torah if her feet were wet and cold, Rabbi Wolf told her!

When my wife Drora and I and our family moved to Great Neck in 1993, Rabbi Wolf already had assumed the position of rabbi emeritus of GNS. I observed that both Rabbi and Rebbetzin Wolf would modestly try not to intervene in the daily goings-on of the synagogue, so as not to give the appearance of still running the shul. But one thing that Rabbi Wolf couldnt resist was trying to make newcomers or strangers to the synagogue feel welcome.

On many occasions, Rabbi Wolf would say to me, Paul, youre a friendly guy. Why dont you go over and say Shalom Aleichem to that gentleman over there and make him feel at home! To this day, when somebody comes to the shul whom I do not recognize, I try to follow Rabbi Wolfs sage advice, which invariably gives me the impetus to go over and welcome him. This is just one striking example that exhibited Rabbi Wolfs sensitivity and caring for others.

I used to greet Rabbi Wolf every Shabbos with a jocular Thanks for coming, Rabbi I know its your day off! This always made him chuckle. But in all seriousness, my dear rabbi, thanks for coming!

May Rabbi Wolfs neshamah have an aliyah and may his memory along with that of his wife, Rebbetzin Elaine Wolf, ah be a blessing for us all, his children Shimon and Hennie of Kew Gardens, and Dr. Dahvid and Leah Wolf of Meitar, Israel, and his many grandchildren and great-grandchildren, ken yirbu.

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Great Neck recalls Rabbi Wolf on 20th yahrzeit - The Jewish Star

Dennis Prager and Ben Shapiro Defend Antisemite Candace Owens – The Times of Israel

Posted By on March 21, 2024

Before I address the epic battle Ive had with Americas foremost female antisemite, Candace Owens, over the last few week, first let me share a story.

Every Friday night, we host guests at our Shabbat table and I challenge them with questions. Last weeks was this.

Youre in the Warsaw Ghetto, struggling to survive. June 1942 arrived and youre ordered to Umshlagplazt with your family and the SS tells you to get on the train. You have no idea its going to Treblinka where youll be murdered within a half hour. Rather, youre told that youre being deported to the East to a work camp where youll have food or shelter. Question? Do you get on the train?

Half the guests said, Yes. We have no choice. Theyll kill us otherwise, and our children. The other half said, No, I would resist, even if it meant that Id die on the spot.

My answer: Its a trick question. There are no two options. Both lead to certain death. Rather, the objective was to always stay as far away from the cattle cars as possible. Once youre on the train platform, youre a corpse.

The time for the world to resist was when Hitler first started his campaign of defamation in the 1920s. And then, in the 30s, when he passed the Nuremberg race laws. And then the laws forbidding consumers to buy from Jewish shops. And then cancelling all the Jewish professions, etc. etc., culminating in the Kristallnacht of November 1938 and the start of the Holocaust.

The tsunami of antisemitism that has been unleashed worldwide since October 7th comes with one principal lesson. Stay as far away from the train as possible. Fight now. Fight just as soon as the defamation starts. To paraphrase Winston Churchill, fight on Twitter (X), fight on Instagram, Fight in Times Square, Fight in the New York Times, Fight on Fox News, Fight on the campuses, and Fight in the streets of your own communities, like Teaneck, New Jersey, which has seen three anti-Israel demonstrations in three weeks. If you dont fight back, youll be slowly pushed to the train. And then its two late.

With that in mind, we at the World Values Network in general, and I as its founder and director in particular, have taken the vow to fight the leading antisemites in America just as soon as they raise their putrid, poisonous heads, none more so over the past few months than Candace Owens, the Republican conservative political pundit who, remarkably, is employed and given her odious platform by Ben Shapiro, a yarmulke-wearing Orthodox Jew who founded the Daily Wire.

The story begins on October 10, 2022. Candace responds to Kanye Wests infamous Tweet that and from here till the end of the column Im quoting directly from West and Owens, so please ignore spelling and punctuation Im going Deathcon 3 on jewish people and says, If you are an honest person, you did not think this tweet was antisemitic. You did not think that he wrote this tweet because he hates or wants to genocide jewish people. This is not the beginning of a holocaust. Watch here.

Thus began a bizarre and obsessive defense of the Hitler-loving Kanye whom even the German footwear giant Adidas immediately canceled.

I should add that in December 2018, Owens famously said, If Hitler just wanted to make Germany great and have things run well ok, fine. Owens says she was simply defending nationalism, as opposed to defending the most evil man that ever lived.

Yet, on November 8, 2022, Candace again defended her best friend Kanyes new antisemitic meltdown, by insisting that loving Hitler does not make you an antisemite. Watch here

Ben Shapiro shockingly defended both her and Kanye, writing, On a personal level, I get Candance defending her friend. He also tweeted that while Wests comments are clearly antisemitic and disturbing, the rappers moves toward pro-life, faith, and family conservatism are encouraging.

Dennis Prager, a dear friend and mentor to me for over 30 years, whose parents lived next to us in Englewood, New Jersey, was instrumental in Candaces rise and may even be said to have discovered her as the rare African-American conservative. When I reached out to him and pleaded to denounce his antisemitic protg, he shocked me by penning a column that actually defended her. He wrote, Candace Owens has now been charged with antisemitism for defending and not condemning her friend West after his antisemitic outbursts. Ideally, she would have. She could have said something like what Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres said about President Ronald Reagan when, during the Cold War, in a show of support for West German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, Reagan visited Bitburg, a World War II German military cemetery where 49 Nazi Waffen-SS soldiers were buried. Peres said, When a friend makes a mistake, he remains a friend but the mistake remains a mistake.

Firstly, was Dennis really comparing Owens to Peres and West to Reagan? Second, is Wests repeated description of Jews as slave masters and parasites merely a mistake? And third, How could Dennis Prager, as world-class Jewish activist, not have foreseen the rest of the story.

Here is how it has unfolded.

On October 7, 2023, Candace Owens refused to condemn the Hamas massacre of 1,200 Jews.

Two days later, on her show, Candace said that she didnt post anything about October 7th because when it comes to this particular issue, I myself have received pressure to post something, which is strange of course because if you follow this show, you know that we follow culture, that we talk about politics as it relates to America, you never see me weigh in on various wars that are happening overseas. Watch here

On October 14, 2023, she found her voice, suddenly tweeting, It should be without saying that if you think it somehow means less when a Palestinian child is murdered, or if it somehow means less when an in Israeli child is murdered, it is likely because the media has transformed you into a monster. Innocent children should be protected. Her equation of Palestinian children dying because Hamas uses them as human shields and the Jewish children burned to death on October 7th was revolting.

On October 15th, Candace went on a rant that the university students who applauded the Hamas massacre, specifically the Harvard students, should not be blacklisted. She tweeted to Megyn Kelly saying, Oh stop it. This is incredibly disingenuous, Megyn. You know that many of those students are not out there because they want babies to be murdered. College kids are stupid. I used to be radically pro-choice. Glad I didnt get put on a conservative black list for wanting babies murdered. Then she engaged in a favorite trope, where she consistently blames Jews for antisemitism. Ill ask the obvious question here. Do people believe that in the future moves like this will increase or decrease feelings of antisemitism? Do you think these students are going to shut down and think wellguess we have to support Israel now? This is a serious question.

On October 19th, Candace defended antisemite Kyrie Irving and says that the backlash that he got for sharing a documentary about Jews and black slavery would lead the world to believe that Jews have too much power. Watch here

On October 23, Candace responded to Charlie Kirks tweet about Israel bombing a Greek Orthodox Church and said, Well said, Charlie. I have been disgusted by propagandists pretending a Christian church was not bombed. Later that day she tweeted, Respectfully, if you think its antisemitism to notice that innocent Christians were killed in an IDF bombing then you need to log off of the internet and have your brain examined. Respectfully.

The next day, in response to Florida removing students from Pro-Palestine groups from two college campuses, she tweeted, Ill ask the obvious question here. Do people believe that in the future moves like this will increase or decrease feelings of antisemitism? Do you think these students are going to shut down and think wellguess we have to support Israel now? This is a serious question.

She continued, This is obviously what is going to happen. It will backfire. Its already backfiring. Ive never seen less support for Israel in my life despite virtually everyone agreeing that the terrorist attack was horrific. No one is being honest that hustling foes students groups, banning protests, etc will work only to further sentiments again jewish people.

On November 6th, Owens interviewed a pro-Israel comedian and lied outright when she said that Muslim Israeli citizens are forced to live in certain quarters in Israel. Watch here

On November 11, after a Jewish pro-Israel protester was murdered, Candace tweeted, The pro Israel protester who was horrifically killed was also in Antifa?

On the same day she tweeted, I agree with Queen Ranias assertion that antisemitism is being weaponized in order to silence critics and bully people into compliance. That Charlie Kirk, Elon Musk and Thomas Masie have recently been smeared as antisemites is proof of this charge.

That same day, November 11th, she shocked her Jewish followers when she no government anywhere has a right to commit a genocide, ever. There is no justification for a genocide. I cant believe this even needs to be said or is even considered the least bit controversial. When Dave Rubin responded to her harshly, she responded, In short, if the blanket statement that genocide is wrong upsets you in any way then you need to check yourself. I said exactly what I meant and I wont be backing down or apologizing of further clarifying my statement.

On November 17th she gave a platform to Americas foremost Jewish antisemite, Norman Finkelstein, without anyone to rebut him, as Piers Morgan did with me and Finkelstein in an hour long debate. Watch here.

On February 7, 2024, Candace attacked Bill Maher for not airing Kanye Wests full interview because Maher said it was too antisemitic and he didnt want people to see it. Watch here.

On February 12th she called two Super Bowl commercials about the Israeli hostages propaganda then said, and actually last night, in case you were wondering, while the Super Bowl was on, Netanyahu bombed a refugee camp. Earlier in the video she said abortion clinics are concentration camps and Holocaust museums. Watch here.

Two days later, in her increasing paranoia about murderous Jews that would culminate in her actually saying last week that I, Rabbi Shmuley, am seeking to kill her, she fulminated about monster, Washington, DC Jews who are coming after her. Watch here

On February 23, 2023: Owens, attacking pedophiles and perverts, took aim at a 1930s Jewish sexologist, and suggested world-famous Jews like Sigmund Freud were associated with pedophilia. Watch here

On March 4th, she aired a YouTube video insinuating that Jews run child sex, drugs, and murder rings in Hollywood that killed Michael Jackson, and tried to kill Kanye and P Diddy. She implied that I, Rabbi Shmuley, had a hand in murdering Michael Jackson. I responded by stating that this blood libel would lead to her being bankrupted. And Im serious. Watch here.

A few days later, on March 13th, she implied that I, Rabbi Shmuley might kill her. Watch here

On March 14th Candace blamed Congress TikTok ban on Jews, specifically the ADL, saying, the TikTok ban will lead to more antisemitism whether its right or wrong, what youre gonna have is a scenario where Israel and quote unquote, powerful jews are going to be blamed, if TikTok is banned, please heed my warning on this, that narrative is already building. Watch here.

What Owens specializes in more than anything else in incitement against Jews. I and especially my daughter Rochel Leah Taktuk, who has emerged as the most formidable opponent against Owens in the United States, wake up every morning to thousands of most the vile threats against us by Owens army of Jew-hating trolls.

And while all this has happened, while Owens diabolical hatred of Jews has defamed Jews to the point of possible and serious violence, the silence of Dennis Prager and Ben Shapiro has been deafening. Two committed Jews who love Israel have provided a platform from one of the most virulent antisemites to arise in our time and have nothing to say about it. Through their silence an inaction, they have not only endangered their own communities but have undermined their once serious reputations as champions of their people.

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Happy horses (part 2/2) | Reuven Chaim Klein | The Blogs – The Times of Israel

Posted By on March 21, 2024

Towards the end of the Story of Purim, the Persian king Achashverosh overturned his awful decree against the Jews, sending out messages throughout his kingdom to announce that the Jews had permission to fight back against their enemies. As the Bible reports, and he sent scrolls in the hands of the runners withsusim, the riders of therechesh, theachashtranim, sons of theremachim (Est. 8:10). In Part One of this essay, we focused on the words susandrechesh,which both mean horse. This second installation is dedicated to the wordsachashtranimandremachim,which also seemingly mean horse.After discussing those words, we still have one more matter related to the wordrecheshthat we spoke about last week, and with that we will conclude this two-part essay.

When it comes to the phrase theachashtranim, sons of theremachim, the Talmud (Megillah18a) already comments that we do not know what this means. That comment itself actually implies that wedoknow whatrecheshmeans, hence the above-mentioned commentators offered their respective takes on the meaning ofrechesh. But does the Talmuds comment mean that there is no known way of understandingachashtranimandremachim?

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Rabbeinu Nissim of Gerona (13201380) thinks not. He explains that the Talmud only meant that themassesdo not know what these terms mean, but that theTorah Scholarsdo know, or at least could know, what these words mean (Teshuvot HaRan79, also cited inTeshuvot Rivash390391).

Menachem Ibn Saruk (920970), Yonah Ibn Janach (9901050), and Radak (11601234) all trace the wordachashtranimto the six-letter root ALEPH-CHET-SHIN-TAV-REISH-NUN. Actually, Ibn Janach asserts that the NUN is extraneous to the root, and elsewhere implies that the ALPEH is also extraneous, so for him the real root ofachashtranimis only four or five letters, not six. Ibn Ezra writes in general that four- (quadriliteral) or five- (pentaliteral) letter roots in Hebrew are typically either compound roots comprised of multiple roots fused together, or are loanwords borrowed from a language other than Hebrew. Both of these approaches are taken by various scholars with it comes toachashtranim.

Many commentators explain thatachashtranimrefer to mules that were born from the union of male donkeys and female horses (as opposed to hinnies, which are born to male horses and female donkeys, and are typically weaker beasts). This explanation is offered by Rabbi Saadia Gaon (to Est. 8:10), Ibn Ezra (to Est. 8:10), Radak (Sefer Shorashim, s.v. ), Rabbi Moshe ben Yitzchak Ibn Chalava (to Est. 8:10), and Ralbag (to Est. 8:10). In line with this, Rabbi Yosef Kimchi (11051170) inSefer HaGaluicites Rabbi Saadia Gaon as explaining the etymology ofachashtranimas derived from a portmanteau of the Persian wordachash(big) and the Aramaic wordtrein(two), alluding to the fact that theachashtranimwere large beasts born out of the merger of two species. According to this,achashtranimare not actually horses, but rather half-horses. As an aside, Rabbi Yosef Kimchis son Radak (to I Kgs. 5:8) writes that the wordrechesh(also?) refers to these mules. Indeed, Ibn Janach writes that it is not too farfetched to presume thatachashtranimrefer to the same thing asrechashim.

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Rabbi Tuviah ben Eliezer (an 11thcentury exegete) writes inMidrash Lekach Tov(also known asPesikta Zutrata) thatrecheshmeans horses (like we saw earlier), andachashtranimis an adjective that describes the type of horses in question. He parses the wordachashtranimas related to CHET-SHIN (speed/quickness) and TAV-REISH (spying/scouting), as these animals were able to travel quickly and were used by international spies to scout out other lands. Rabbi Shlomo Pappenheim (17401814) similarly sees the wordachashtranimas a portmanteau of the biliteral CHET-SHIN and TAV-REISH (jumping). According to him, the very name of this animal tells us that its swift abilities stem from its ability tojump(as opposed to its ability torunvery fast). [For more about TAV-REISH as spying, see my earlier essay Spy versus Spy (June 2017).]

Interestingly, Rashi (to Est. 8:10) writesachashtranimare fast-runningcamels. In this case, he is somewhat an outlier because most of the other commentators relate the term to horses (or at least partial horses). Another outlier is Rabbi Ernest Klein (18991983), who writes that the wordachashtranderives from the Old Persian wordkhshathrana/khshathra(dominion, government, province). According to this, the term has nothing to do with horses, mules, camels, or any other animals. It is just a common adjective that tells us thatrechashimin question were government-owned.

As mentioned above, the animals by which Achashveroshs messages were delivered are described as sons of theremachim (Est. 8:10). This is the only instance in the entire Bible in which the wordremachim and indeed the triliteral root REISH-MEM-KAF in general appears. However, the singular form of remachimactually appears in the Mishnah (Kilayim8:5), when ruling that one is allowed to interbreed a horse with aramach.The Jerusalemic Talmud (Kilayim8:4) already makes the connection between the Mishnaic wordramachand the Biblical termremachimmentioned in Esther.

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Maimonides (in his commentary to the Mishnah there) identifies theramachwith a type of frigid horse that one might have thought should be considered a different species than regular horses, when it comes to the prohibition of interbreeding animals. Elsewhere, Maimonides (Laws ofKilayim9:5) writes that theramachis a wild horse (as opposed to asus,which is a domesticated horse). Without explaining why, Rabbi Shlomo Sirilio (14851554) comments that he thinks that theramachis none other than what we call a zebra.

Rabbi Tuviah ben Eliezer (mentioned above) explains that the term sons of theremachimsimply means that whatever animals are being described wereyoung. This explanation is also implied by Rashi (toTaanit23a, see alsoShenot EliyahutoKilyaim8:5 andGilyonei HaShas).Ibn Yachya (to Ext. 8:10) also explicitly claims that sons of theremachimwere small horses.

Alternatively, Rabbi Tuviah explains sons of theremachimas a term used to describe the jockeys who rode the horses. He justifies this understanding by deconstructingremachimas a portmanteau of the roots REISH-MEM (raising/lifting) and MEM-KAF (hitting/whipping). Together, those two roots provide an apt description of how a horse-rider might lift his arm to whip his horse when encouraging it to move faster.

According to those who explainachashtranimas mules born from female horses, the termremachimrefers to those female horses, or mares (see Radak inSefer HaShorashim). There is apparently an Arabic cognate that is similar toremachimthat also means female horse.

When the Bible relates that Hashem created animals on the sixth day of creation, it saysvet habehemah,using the extraneous wordet. Peirush HaRokeach(to Gen. 1:25 and Est. 8:10) explains thatetserves to include the otherwise unmentionedachashtranim. He explains that theseachashtranimare eight-legged animals that run with one set of four legs until they get tired, whereupon they would lift those four legs into their body and lower down the other set of four legs.Peirush HaRokeachalso adds that the wordhaachashtranimingematria(=1014) equals the numeric value of the phraseshel shemonah raglaim(of eight legs).

AlthoughPeirush HaRokeachdoes not explicitly state exactly what sort of animal were theseachashtranim(whether equestrian or otherwise), a similar tradition is recorded by Rabbi Yosef Kara (10651135) in his commentary to Esther, who explains that sons of theremachim refer to flying camels that had eight legs (also noting that they had two sets of four legs, such that when they get tired, they would lift up one set of legs and lower the other). This is similar to Rashi, who likewise explainedachashtranimas camels.

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There is a fascinating tradition that provides us with the personal name of Achashveroshs horse. Both Targum Sheini (to Est. 6:10) andPeirush HaRokeach(to Est. 9:4) write that his horse was named Shifrigaz, or as Rabbi Eliyahu HaBachur (14691549) inMetrugamanvocalizes it, Shfargaz. [My friend Rabbi Yehuda Spitz points out that this tradition regarding the name of Achashveroshs horse differs from what was depicted in C. J. Kramers animated renditionMegillas Lester, wherein the kings horse was named Hangover.]

Rabbi Yaakov Daniel Amash writes that Shifrigaz derives from a portmanteau ofshapir(beautiful) andgaz(transporting, see Rashi to Ps. 90:10). Apparently, Achashveroshs steed was a very beautiful horse in appearance, and the main role of a horse is to transport its rider from place to place. Hence, the name Shifrigaz. Based on his understanding of the Persian language, Dr. Alexander Kohut (18421894) inHaAruch HaShaleimtranslates the name Shifrigaz into German asrothweisses Pferd(literally, the red-white horse).

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Dr. Dan Shapira (a linguist and philologist at Bar Ilan University) wrote to me that he thinks this name for Achashveroshs horse is derived from the Persian wordsshap/shab(black/night-color) andrechesh(horse). In doing so, he assumes the interchangeability of KAF and GIMMEL, as well as SHIN and ZAYIN. Interestingly, Dr. Shapira compared this to a different horse in Persian literature: A famous Persian king named Khosrow Parviz (590-628), who reigned in the early Geonic period, apparently had a horse named Shabdiz, who was said to be the fastest horse in the world. Perhaps the name Shifrigaz associated with Achashveroshs horse is somehow related to or conflated with this later horse.

RABBI REUVEN CHAIM KLEIN is a researcher and editor at the Veromemanu Foundation in Israel. His weekly articles about synonyms in the Hebrew Language appear in the OhrNet and are syndicated by the Jewish Press and Times of Israel. For over a decade, he studied at preimer Haredi Yeshivot, including Yeshiva Gedolah of Los Angeles, Yeshivat Mir in Jerusalem, Beth Medrash Govoha of America. He received rabbinic ordination from multiple rabbinic authorities and holds an MA in Jewish Education from the London School of Jewish Studies/Middlesex Univeristy. Rabbi Klein authored two popular books that were published by Mosaica Press, as well as countless articles and papers published in various journals. He and his wife made Aliyah in 2011 and currently live in the West Bank city of Beitar Illit. Rabbi Klein is a celebrated speaker and is available for hire in research, writing, and translation projects, as well as speaking engagements.

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Happy horses (part 2/2) | Reuven Chaim Klein | The Blogs - The Times of Israel


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