The IDF on Thursday evening announced the death of another soldier killed in battle in the Shejaiya neighborhood of Gaza City. He was identified as Staff Sgt. Eyal Mimran, H’yd, from Ness Tziona. He served in the 101st Battalion of the Paratroopers Brigade. His death increases the number of soldiers killed in the war in Gaza to 325. The IDF added that a reserve soldier was seriously injured in battle in central Gaza. (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)    

by Rabbi Yair Hoffman for the Sefas Tamim Foundation Professor Martin Seligman from the University of Pennsylvania, Dr. Daniel Kahneman A”H of Hebrew University, Dr. Steven Pinker of Harvard University, Dr.

Following the Kan report on Tuesday evening that State-Attorney State Attorney Amit Aisman asked Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara to launch a criminal probe against National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir for allegedly inciting violence against the residents of Gaza, Walla news reported that probes are being considered against other ministers and MKs as well. One minister is Finance Minister Betzalel Smotrich who was quoted during the hearing at the Hague as saying: “There is no half-work: Rafah, Deir al-Balah, Nuseirat – total destruction. Timcheh es zecheir Amalek m’tachas HaShamayim – there is no place under the Shamayim.” Likud MK Tally Gotliv’s name also came up during the first hearing held in January in the Hague, after she was quoted as having written: “May your village burn!

In light of the various tragedies that have struck Klal Yisroel and the ongoing challenging situation in Eretz Yisroel, Agudas Yisroel of America’s New Jersey office will present a kinnus hisorerus tonight, at 8:30 p.m., at Bais Medrash Lutzk, located at 520 New Egypt Road, Lakewood, NJ. There will be a live video and audio hookup of the event. The call-in number for the audio hookup is 712.432.4305. Divrei hisorerus will be delivered by Rav Aryeh Malkiel Kotler, rosh yeshiva of Beth Medrash Govoha; Rav Uri Deutsch, rov of the Forest Park Shul; and Rav Yitzchok Sorotzkin, rosh yeshiva of Mesivta of Lakewood. All drashos will be delivered in English.

The 932nd Battalion of the Nachal Brigade entered Rafah on Tuesday, where the IDF is currently operating to eliminate terrorists and destroy terror infrastructure. IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi said on Tuesday evening that IDF troops have killed at least 900 terrorists so far in the operation in Rafah. Before entering the terror nest, the soldier gathered together to listen to tekiyas shofar and recite Shema. Hashem should bring all the soldiers back safe and sound. (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

Ivanka Trump, who served as a top White House advisor in her father Donald Trump’s administration, joined podcaster Lex Fridman to discuss a wide variety of issues. During the course of her conversation, Ivanka discussed several core concepts of Judaism, making for an interesting conversation with the Jewish, but irreligious, podcaster. When asked about the hate and vitriol lobbed at her and her family over their immediate association with Donald Trump, Ivanka said: “There’s a concept in Judaism called Lashon Hara, which means evil speech. The idea is that speaking poorly of another is almost the moral equivalent to murder, because you can’t really repair it. You can apologize, but you can’t repair it.

I’m sitting here on a motzei shabbos at 4:00 in the morning. It has been a very brutal shabbos for me and as hard as I tried, I wasn’t able to sleep. I went out for a drive and parked near the ocean. Looking out, watching the extreme darkness over the normally beautiful waters of the ocean, I can’t help but draw a parallel to my current emotional state. On a typical sunny day, I can spend hours gazing at the beautiful ocean. The gorgeous blue waters of the sea mirror the beautiful blue sky. I can listen to the sound of the waves crashing against the shore in perfect symmetry, crashing aloud yet so soft at the same time. As I would look further into the sea, I would see how the sky and the water become one.

A moving event took place on Friday at the office of HaGaon HaRav Yitzchak Zilberstein at his kollel in Holon when a couple from Beit Shemesh and their close relatives excitedly entered his office pushing two strollers. The story began several months ago when an obstetrician informed the couple that the twins the mother was carrying have several defects that pose a risk not only to their lives but to the life of the mother. He told them in no uncertain terms to end the pregnancy. The couple consulted with another doctor, a more senior one, and he also advised them to end the pregnancy. The couple now needed halachic input – they consulted with HaRav Zilberstein, who is an expert in medical halachic issues. The Rav sent them to an even more senior doctor whom he trusts.

This past week, a group of religious officers and senior officers in the Ukrainian military visited the JCC Beit Menachem community center. During the visit, the officers met with Rabbi Yonatan Markovitch, the Chief Rabbi of Kyiv, engaged in conversation, and listened to a lecture on various topics related to Judaism and military life. The officers participating in the meeting, part of their professional training, came from various units of the Ukrainian military, with some holding senior officer ranks. In his lecture, Rabbi Markovitch focused on topics such as Jewish identity during wartime, Jewish values, the spiritual and social challenges faced by Jewish soldiers, and the Jewish perspective on issues relevant to military life and warfare.

In a rare display of cooperation, Palestinian Authority security forces evacuated two Jewish adults from Jenin on Wednesday night, handing them over to Israeli authorities at the Gilboa Crossing. The couple, residents of central Israel, had taken a wrong turn and found themselves in the West Bank city. At a PA checkpoint, they were identified and transferred to the care of the Civil Administration’s coordination unit in Jenin and Israel Police representatives. In a separate operation, Border Police officers and the Haruv Reconnaissance Unit of the Kfir Brigade, operating under the guidance of the Shin Bet, eliminated a terrorist involved in serious terrorist activity.