7 Adar 5786
23 February 2026
A Story of Two Jewish Winning Athletes
6 Adar 5786
After mentioning sports yesterday, I found it ironic that two very interesting and contrasting Jewish sports stories have made headlines today - one in America and one in Israel.
[NOTE: Click on the images for links to source.]
1. Jewish hockey star Jack Hughes’ overtime goal propels US to historic gold medal in Olympic hockeyJewish hockey star Jack Hughes scored the game-winning goal Sunday to clinch a gold medal for the US men’s hockey team, its first since 1980.
To be fair, while his mother is Jewish, his father is Catholic. His brothers, Luke and Quinn, also play hockey and Quinn was on the same team that won the gold.
2. Israeli kickboxer beats anti-Israel Turkish foeIsraeli kickboxer Ahavat Hashem Gordon maintained his unbeaten run on Saturday [motza"sh], defeating Turkish fighter Ali Koyuncu, who had taunted him ahead of the clash with a series of anti-Israel posts on social media.
Gordon has seven siblings, and six of them are also Thai boxers. His mother, who was born in Hong Kong, has Thai and Philippine ancestry, converted to Judaism, and married Israeli-American Azriel Gordon, who died four years ago.Gordon’s older brother Ruach Hashem won a silver medal for Israel last year at the Muay Thai World Games in China.
Which one made a Kiddush Hashem? Hint: It wasn't by deed, but by word, i.e. it wasn't what he did, but what he said.
[NOTE: For your interest, the other siblings also have similar names...
עוצמת השם, תשורת השם, אמונת השם, כיבד־יה השם, שמחת השם בליבנו, רוח השם ובן הזקונים ,אהבת השם
(Source)💕 MAZAL TOV TO BOTH 💕
22 February 2026
The War on Kedushah in Holy Yerushalayim
6 Adar 5786
The anti-God, anti-Torah forces at work in our midst from the very beginning have sought to make Holy Jerusalem the equal of Tel Aviv. The City Council said the city should become another hi-tech center and attract more youth and provide entertainment for the non-religious residents.
From the opening of Malcha Mall and Teddy Stadium in the 1990s to the initiation of the first pride parade in 2002 to the transformation of the iconic Machane Yehudah shuk in the mid-2000s*, and the construction of "Towers" across the skyline, the modest and humble holy city has become unrecognizable.
[*Bars began appearing in Jerusalem's Machane Yehuda Market in the mid-2000s, with a significant transformation starting around 2006-2008 as the market shifted from solely a daytime food market to a nightlife hub.]
This "development" is not "progress." It is an all-out attack on kedushah. Sin and gaiva go hand-in-hand. Drawing a line will not help. It does not recognize any border. It allows no limits to its influence. Hashem yerachem!!
A fierce backlash is brewing in Yerushalayim after city officials announced large-scale Purim celebrations slated to take place along Jaffa Street, drawing opposition from residents of nearby chareidi neighborhoods who say the events threaten the kedusha of the city on one of the holiest days of the year.Flyers circulating throughout Yerushalayim on Friday warned of a planned transformation of central streets into scenes of “pritzus and hefkeirus,” accusing the municipality of approving mass mixed gatherings, outdoor bars, and public performances in close proximity to long-established Torahdik neighborhoods.While tens of thousands of frum families will be gathering for seudos and fulfilling the mitzvos of Purim, critics say the city’s program would create a starkly different atmosphere just steps away. According to the announcement, bars are expected to extend operations into public areas along Jaffa Street, with large stages and entertainment venues set up in the heart of the city.Residents of adjacent neighborhoods say tensions have been building for years, describing previous Purim celebrations as chaotic, with intoxicated revelers spilling into quiet residential streets. They argue that what was once limited has now escalated into a far more expansive municipal production.Of particular concern is the reported plan for pedestrian access routes to funnel thousands of attendees through narrow streets bordering chareidi areas. Community leaders warn that this could bring large crowds through “the quiet and holy streets of Yerushalayim shel Maalah,” disrupting families and undermining the kedusha of the day.“We cannot remain silent,” organizers declared. “How can we watch as the holy is swallowed? We will not allow the transformation of Yerushalayim — especially the areas surrounding chareidi neighborhoods — into centers of tumah, rachmana litzlan.”Sources familiar with the developing response say emergency meetings of rabbanim and community askanim are expected in the coming days to determine next steps.Municipal officials have not yet publicly responded to the growing protest, but the issue appears poised to ignite a confrontation between city planners and the chareidi community.(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
It can no longer be that "we" will confine ourselves to our own areas and "they" will determine everything else. The entire camp - the entire Land - is holy and must be liberated from the encroaching tumah in righteousness and in sanctity!!
There's Something Terribly Wrong Here!!
6 Adar 5786
"The West" is the culmination of our 2000-year exile. It is Rome and it is destined to fall and be replaced by the Kingdom of Israel. Why are Jews trying to save it?
Sport was a very big thing both for ancient Greece and for ancient Rome. It pains me to hear Jewish sports enthusiasts speak about games with so much interest and excitement. I was a big fan of football in my youth, but that was part of the old life, the one I left behind when I became a Jew. It belongs to the foreign culture. Why do some Jews want to mix it into our Jewish national culture as well?
From the book The End of Days by Rabbi Shmuel Raber:
The Jew’s safety raftThe Jew’s safety raft is supported by three points. The top point is the Holy One, may He be blessed, with whom we are joined by faith and properly observing the Shabbat. The second point is the holy Torah, by means of which we are connected to Hashem through loving and studying it. The third point is the People of Israel who act in accordance with Jewish law and unite to sanctify the Heavenly Name by separating themselves from the airev rav and the gentile culture.
* * *
“During the First World War many came to the Chafetz Chaim and asked him if this is the ‘End of Days’ and the war of Gog and Magog. The Chaftez Chaim answered: ‘After this war there will be a pause and then there will be another war and then another pause. Then, there will be another war and with that war the Mashiach will come…the last war will be the beginning of the redemption, and a Torah-true Jew who is completely separated from the non-Jews will not be subjugated, as we find that in Egypt when two people drank from the same cup, one (an Egyptian) drank blood and the other (an Israelite) drank water. This shows that in fact there is no rule whatsoever over a Jew who is separated entirely from the non-Jews” (Rabbi Aharon Kotler, in the name of the Chafetz Chaim, Leket Reshimot Channukah by Rabbi Noson Wachtofogel, p. 40).
I have a tradition passed down from one to another in the name of Maran HaGaon Rabbi Yehoshua Leib Diskin, z”l, that in the final war before the arrival of Mashiach all of the righteous Jews will be saved. Who are ‘righteous Jews’? Those who are separated from the non-Jews! It does not mean that they must be one of the 36 righteous individuals, rather they must be separated from the ways of the non-Jews and have no contact with their culture! Not with their newspapers, their music and books; to be entirely separated from them. Then Hashem will say: You are Mine and you are under a different authority so no one else will rule over you” (Ibid., p.41)
20 February 2026
"Asu Li Mikdash..."
3 Adar 5786
Erev Shabbat Kodesh
Parashat Terumah
Excerpted from the Stone Edition Chumash Commentary on the parashah...
...a major part of Exodus, which Ramban calls the Book of Redemption, discusses the Tabernacle. He explains that the redemption from Egypt was not complete with the physical departure from the land of Israel's enslavement, nor was it complete even with the giving of the Ten Commandments, even though the Revelation at Sinai was the goal of the Exodus. The Exodus had not achieved its purpose until the heights that the nation had achieved temporarily at Sinai were made a permanent part of existence by means of the Tabernacle, for Ramban shows in his commentary that the Tabernacle, as a whole and in its many parts, was symbolic of the historic experience at Mount Sinai. So, too, it was from the Holy Ark that God spoke to Moses, just as He had spoken to him from atop Mount Sinai, when giving him the Torah.
In this light, the Tabernacle was intended to be the central rallying point of the nation - ringed by the tribes and topped by the cloud of God's Presence - and the place to which every Jew would go with the offerings through which he hoped to elevate himself spiritually. The function of the Tabernacle in the Wilderness was carried forward by the Temple in Jerusalem.
~ SHABBAT SHALOM ~
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Only just saw this (@11 am). Am adding it to point out that HKB"H is not silent on who is blessed and who is cursed. Eretz Yisrael is enjoying an early spring: clear blue skies, mild temperatures, and wildflowers covering the green hillsides. I attended a very beautiful wedding last night - Mazal Tov again to the family!!! What a joyful beginning to the month of joy - Adar!! Well, that is, for the Jews of Eretz Yisrael anyway. B"H!!!
18 February 2026
Still Up To No Good?
2 Adar 5786
IMPORTANT UPDATE on Iran: A former Military Intelligence Chief reportedly said this morning in a live TV interview: "Last week, I had no qualms about flying to the Munich Security Conference. This coming weekend, I would think twice about boarding a plane."
See more: (YWN) REPORT: Prolonged War With Iran Is Imminent, To Be Waged Together With Israel
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Someone close to me mentioned the possibility of Kushner and Witkoff being gilgulim of Datan and Aviram. So, of course, I had to check it out. Aside from just knowing they are bad guys, I really did not know much about the two thorns in the side of Moshe Rabbeinu.
Dathan and Abiram, descendants of Reuben, are mentioned in the Torah in conjunction with Korah’s rebellion. According to Jewish tradition, however, that wasn’t their only rodeo. Midrash and Talmud tell us that their antagonism to Moses began at the very outset of Jewish slavery in Egypt and continued unabated until their premature passing.The Maharal of Prague, Rabbi Judah Lowy, writes that in the fight between good and evil, the warring sides must be balanced. In order to keep things even, when G‑d created great leaders like Moses and Aaron, He chose to fashion equally compelling antagonists. The Midrash confirms that Dathan desired to usurp Moses, and Abiram to usurp Aaron.
Wow! That got my attention. As the Redeemer of Israel, Moshe Rabbeinu was a messiah-like figure. That would make Datan (or Aviram) the anti-messiah to Moshe's Mashiach. It makes me think that if there is a designated counter-balance to Mashiach ben Yosef and Mashiach ben David (remember Armilius separates the two Mashiachs), who better than these two who go all over the world operating as a pair to thwart the geulah shleimah and the coming of Mashiach.
After all, Chazal do say that all of Israel's enemies will return at the End of Days. We can't possibly know for sure, but it does shed an interesting light on these two powerful characters who appear to be deciding the future of the entire Middle East, if not the world itself. In any case, this is a story worth knowing...
In EgyptDuring the Egyptian slavery, Dathan and Abiram served as Israelite overseers who had to report each day’s work to Egyptian taskmasters. Many of the overseers were whipped in the Jews’ stead and were ultimately rewarded by being appointed as the first Jewish elders. Dathan and Abiram, however, were less noble; according to the Talmud they were wicked from beginning to end.We are first introduced to the brothers when Moses, who was raised in Pharaoh’s palace, ventured outside to witness his people’s suffering:Moses grew up and went out to his brothers and looked at their burdens, and he saw an Egyptian man striking a Hebrew man of his brothers.According to one opinion in the Midrash, the Hebrew victim was none other that Dathan. The Egyptian had been secretly assuming Dathan’s identity at night to be intimate with his wife. Now that Dathan had found out, the taskmaster intended to kill him. To save the unfortunate man’s life, Moses killed the Egyptian using G‑d’s four-letter name and buried him in the sand.The next day, Moses went out again and saw two Jews arguing. Midrash, once again, identifies Dathan and Abiram as the squabblers.Some commentators posit that the two stories above are connected. They say that Dathan wanted to end his marriage when he found out what the Egyptian had been doing with his wife. His brother Abiram vehemently disagreed and this led to the argument.In the course of their skirmish, Dathan raised his hand to strike his brother, prompting Moses to admonish, “Why would you hit your fellow?!” Our sages teach us that although no blows were dealt, the verse calls Dathan “wicked” for the mere act of lifting his hand with the intent to hit.Dathan and Abiram were not pleased with the meddlesome youth. “Who made you a man, a prince, and a judge over us? Do you plan to slay me as you have slain the Egyptian?” Moses, they fumed, was neither an appointed judge nor a minister with executive power.Intent on having Moses executed, Dathan and Abiram slandered him to Pharaoh. Moses miraculously survived the attempt on his life and escaped to Midian.In this episode, we begin to see the extent of the animosity they felt toward Moses, and the lengths they were willing to go to ensure his complete removal.During the ExodusAccording to Targum Yonathan, when the Jews were finally freed from Egypt, Dathan and Abiram remained behind. We know that they were obsessed with Egypt, evidenced by their descriptions of the country. But according to another tradition, Dathan and Abiram simply didn’t get the memo! Moses had told Pharaoh that the Israelites were departing for a mere three days, but the truth—that they were planning to leave with no return—was spread clandestinely only through the Israelite community. Because Dathan and Abiram were known informants, no one told them the real plan, and they continued to believe that the Exodus was temporary. They decided that this three-day trip wasn’t worth their effort so they stayed behind.An interesting question is borne of this interpretation—when and how did the pair eventually rejoin the Israelites in the desert?According to the Midrash, they joined Pharoah’s chase but defected to the Israelite camp when they saw the sea split.Be’er Mayim Chaim makes the fascinating contention that the sea split a second time just for Dathan and Abiram, to allow them to catch up with the Israelites.Spoiled Manna and Bird FoodThe next time we bump into these characters is when the Jews run out of food in the desert. They complain to Moses and he promises them manna, bread from heaven. G‑d wanted to train the Israelites in the art of faith, so no one was to keep the manna from one day to the next; it would fall daily.Dathan and Abiram, however, did not heed Moses’ warning and kept their portion overnight. The manna became wormy and then spoiled, defying the natural order where food first rots and then the worms come. Why is the order important? G‑d wanted the miracle to be witnessed, and had the manna first become putrid, Dathan and Abiram might have thrown it out.Popular Jewish lore records another episode surrounding Dathan, Abiram, and the manna: That first Friday after the manna began to fall, Moses told the Israelites to gather a double portion for the manna would not fall on the Sabbath. Dathan and Abiram went outside late Friday night and spread out the extra portion of manna they had gathered, hoping the rest of the Israelites would wake up, see the manna, and believe Moses had been wrong. But a miracle occurred to protect Moses’ integrity—birds swooped in and consumed every last morsel of manna before any other Israelites awoke. Some say that this is the source for the custom of feeding the birds on the Sabbath that this Torah portion (Beshalach) is read.During the Incident of the SpiesAs the Israelites neared the Promised Land, Dathan and Abiram sowed doubt in their hearts, once again defying G‑d and His messenger on earth.At the request of the Israelites, Moses sent spies to scour the Holy Land with the simple task of reporting on the size and might of the enemy. The news they brought back was bleak, “The people who inhabit the land are mighty and the cities are extremely huge and fortified. We even saw the offspring of giants there!” The spies assured the Israelites that even G‑d could not defeat the Canaanites; “We are doomed to die if we enter Canaan,” they said.The Israelites lamented that entire evening, and when morning came Dathan and Abiram called a gathering. “Appoint us instead of Moses and Aaron and we will take you back to Egypt!” they roared. “We would rather be living slaves than dead freedmen!”Moses and Aaron were devastated by their remarks for they displayed a complete lack of faith in the Almighty. G‑d would look after the Israelites as per His word, they assured the people.G‑d was angry as well. “How long will this people provoke Me? How much longer will they not believe in Me after all the signs I have performed in their midst?”As punishment for their obstinance, the Israelites were doomed to wander the desert for the next 40 years until everyone from that generation had passed. They had lost their right to the land; their children would inherit it instead.Korah’s RebellionThe grossest example of Dathan and Abiram’s hostile attitude is their treatment of Moses during Korah’s rebellion.Korah, son of Izhar, was Moses’ and Aaron’s cousin and a Levite who served in the Tabernacle; he even carried the Ark of the Covenant. For a while, Korah was upset at Moses because he hadn’t been appointed to a distinguished position among the Levites. Those feelings festered among Korah’s small group of cohorts but were never aired publicly because Moses was too popular among the people. After the incident of the spies, people began to lose faith in Moses’ leadership and Korah was ready to launch his coup.He parlayed with his neighbors to the south, the tribe of Reuben, and played to their insecurities, “You’re of the firstborn tribe,” Korah told them. “Shouldn’t you be the priests and the Levites? Why did Moses appoint only his tribesmen?” His gamble paid off; 250 of the greatest Reubenites joined his cause, inspiring the adage, “Woe for the wicked, woe for his neighbor.”Dathan and Abiram, Reubenites themselves, jumped at the opportunity to further antagonize Moses, and became leaders in the mutiny. When Moses no longer felt like he could talk to Korah, he tried to reason with Dathan and Abiram.“Please come to my tent for a meeting,” he pleaded.“Even if you gouged our eyes, we would not meet with you, Moses,” they retorted. “Is it not enough that you have brought us out of Egypt, a prosperous land, to have us die in the desert? You want to exercise authority over us as well!?”These remarks greatly distressed Moses and he prayed that G‑d punish the participants of the rebellion.The next day, Moses warned everyone to stay away from the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram lest they be inadvertently struck. Suddenly, the ground began to open and a huge chasm formed under Korah’s tent. Korah, Dathan, Abiram, their families, and all their belongings began to be pulled toward the hole as if by magnets. And like that... they were gone.That is how the story of the world’s greatest pair of Jewish villains came to an end—in dust and smoke.Why Didn’t They Die?In Parshat Beshalach the Torah says, “And the Israelites left Egypt chamushim.” Rashi first translates chamushim simply—the Israelites were armed in anticipation of attacks in the desert—and then introduces a Midrashic interpretation that relates the word chamushim to chomesh, a fifth. The Midrash records that a whopping 80 percent of the Israelites died in Egypt during the plague of darkness because they did not believe in the promise of redemption; only the remaining fifth (chomesh) merited to be freed.As demonstrated above, Dathan and Abiram—who called Egypt “a land flowing with milk and honey,” an epithet usually reserved for Israel—were at the forefront of the movement to return to Egypt, and even stayed behind when the Israelites escaped! Clearly, they were not supportive of the Exodus; why were they chosen for survival?A few answers are given:Rabbi Asher son of Yechiel, the Rosh, explains that as antagonistic as they were to Moses and the idea of a promised land, they retained the faith that an Exodus was possible, even if undesirable. Those who perished during the plague of darkness denied that redemption could happen at all.Based on the writings of Rabbi Judah Lowy, the Maharal of Prague, we may be able to contend that G‑d kept Dathan and Abiram alive so Moses had worthy antagonists while traveling through the desert. This way, the realms of good and evil could be balanced.Rabbi Yehoshua Leib Diskin (Maharil Diskin) answers that despite all of their flaws, at the end of the day, Dathan and Abiram were among the group of Israelite overseers who got whipped instead of their brothers and sisters. This alone was enough to save them and have the sea split in their honor.
Who Is "Armelius"?
1 Adar 5786
Rosh Chodesh Bet
"The mating of Esau and Ishmael comes through Armelius, angelic prince of the Erev Rav, and it can destroy Israel and the whole world, Heaven help us! The main striving of the Erev Rav is to mate Esau and Ishmael and separate the two Messiahs, and our own main battle is to shatter and rout the power of the Erev Rav, the impurity of evil Armelius, from Israel." (Kol HaTor)
Who do I think Armilius is? The man with the dead, soulless eyes and the robotic affect? The man who rose to international power with only one vote - Donald Trump's - and who has done more to bring Eisav and Yishmael together than anyone else alive???
I'll let the facts speak for themselves and then you can draw your own conclusions...
But first, let's understand what is Armilius...
Armilus (Hebrew: ארמילוס, also spelled Armilos or Armilius) is a figure from medieval Jewish eschatology (end-times traditions). He functions as an anti-messiah or ultimate adversary who rises before the arrival of the true Jewish Messiah.Armilus represents the climactic evil force that tests Israel before the final redemption — the "Jewish Antichrist" in popular comparative terms, though Judaism emphasizes his inevitable downfall at the hands of the true Messiah. (Grok)
Some key points about the Father of the Abraham Accords from Wikipedia:
- American businessman and investor
- Donald Trump's son-in-law
- Trump's senior advisor during his first term
- Real-estate investor in New York City
- Took over father's business (Kushner Companies)
- Purchased The New York Observer
- Started as a Democrat, became Independent, then Republican
- Defacto campaign manager for Trump's first term
- Frequently accused of conflicts of interest
- Followed by concerns of nepotism
- Primary Trump administration participant for the Middle East Peace Process
- Authored the Trump peace plan
- Facilitated talks leading to signing of Abraham Accords
- Leading broker in the US–Mexico–Canada Agreement.
- Founded Affinity Partners, ("a private equity firm that derives most of its funds from the Saudi government's sovereign wealth fund")
- Holds informal advisory role in the second Trump administration ("serving, along with Steve Witkoff, as a key intermediary in diplomatic negotiations regarding the Israel–Hamas war and the Russian invasion of Ukraine")
- January 2026, unveiled a "New Gaza" master plan at the World Economic Forum in Davos
How does an unelected individual come from nowhere to attain the power to shape the destinies of billions of people without their input? But then, there is a lot of that going around these days. Just look at "The Tech Bros". The difference is that this "Jew" is focused on Eretz Yisrael and Am Yisrael and for that, he is going up against HKB"H Himself.
When the full truth comes out, we may finally understand who planned the Simchat Torah Massacre as a means to get us all to this point in time. What could be more anti-Mashiach than that?
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| 666 Fifth Avenue, New York City, New York |
Eleven years after a young Jared Kushner purchased an aging skyscraper that would become an albatross around his family’s neck, and six months before the Kushners would have to cough up the $1.4 billion that was due on the mortgage for 666 Fifth Avenue, a Canadian asset-management company swooped in and agreed to take a 99-year lease on the building, paying a near-century’s worth of rent upfront. The bailout was surprising for a few reasons, chief among them being comments by the Kushners’ previous partner that 666 Fifth “would be worth a lot more if it was just dirt,” plus the fact that the family had spent two years trying to get new partners or financing to no avail. Also, there was the matter of the Qatar Investment Authority being a major investor in the company, Brookfield Asset Management, and Kushner’s support of a Saudi- and U.A.E.-led blockade of Qatar. To some, it sure sounded like a foreign government was trying to influence policy by greasing the president’s son-in-law’s wheels! At the time, Brookfield told reporters that the Qataris “had no knowledge of the deal before its public announcement”—apparently they don’t read The New York Times—and now that the deal has officially gone through, Doha is doubling down, insisting, somewhat curiously, that the government had absolutely nothing to do with the 666 debacle.
~ CHODESH TOV ~
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