Hundreds of people packed the Kosel plaza on Monday evening to participate in a special Tefillah service for Achdus of the nation and the safe return of the remaining hostages.
The event took place as thousands lined the streets of the capital to attend the funeral of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, one of six Israeli hostages executed last week by Hamas in Gaza which left Israelis grief-stricken and angry.
The Tefillah, which was led and organized by Tzfas Chief Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu and included the father of a fallen soldier, as well as family members of the hostages, had been planned in advance but took on added significance due to the weekend’s news of their deaths.

It is with great sadness that Matzav.com reports the petirah of Rabbi Yisroel Schenkolewski z”l, a longtime askan and baal chesed in the Lakewood, NJ Torah community, following a protracted illness. He was 80.
Rabbi Schenkolewski was well-known for his significant contributions to chinuch, most notably as the co-founder of Bais Kaila High School, which he established in 1977 alongside Rabbi Shmuel Mayer. The school, named in memory of his daughter, has provided a wonderful chinuch b’derech Yisroel saba to generations of bnos Yisroel.

Rabbi Dr. Eliyahu Rips, a scientist renowned for uncovering hidden “Bible codes” within the Torah passed away at the age of 75, The New York Times reports.
Rabbi Rips was born on December 12, 1948, in Latvia to parents who survived the Holocaust. A mathematical genius, he began his formal education in mathematics at the University of Latvia when he was just 16 years old.
In 1972, Rips emigrated to Israel and later earned his doctorate from Hebrew University in 1975.

With sadness, Matzav.com reports the passing of Chazzan Naftali Herstik z”l at the age of 77.
Born in Salgótarján, Hungary, Chazzan Herstik emigrated with his family to Israel at the age of three. He hailed from a distinguished lineage of chazzanim and displayed his remarkable talent from a young age as a boy chorister and cantorial soloist.

Agudath Israel is devastated beyond words by the heart-wrenching news that Israeli forces have recovered the bodies of six hostages cruelly held by Hamas terrorists in a tunnel beneath the city of Rafah. The hostages were reportedly murdered shortly before the arrival of the Israeli forces.
The hostages have been identified as: Master Sgt. Ori Danilo, Carmel Gat, Alexander Lebanon, Hersh Polin-Goldberg, Almog Sarusi, and Eden Yerushalmi. Hashem yinkom domom.
Our deepest condolences and heartfelt sympathies to the families and friends of these hostages whose lives were tragically cut short in such brutal fashion.

To All the Choshuve Readers at Matzav,
L’maan ha’emes, I just had to sit down and write this letter, hoping you’ll take it to heart. I had the zechus to be your son’s madrich this summer, and let me tell you, he’s a really geshmak kid, full of energy, and baruch Hashem, he had a blast in camp. But like all boys his age, he could sometimes get a little too lebedik, if you know what I mean. But that’s all part of the fun, and we madrichim are here to guide them through it.

[Video below.] At a seudah on Thursday marking the yahrtzeit of the Divrei Yoel of Satmar zt”l, Rav Aharon Teitelbaum of Satmar delivered an important address on the pressing issue of the housing crisis in Kiryas Yoel.
For years, the community has grappled with skyrocketing housing prices, fueled by investors and developers who have been inflating prices, making affordable housing increasingly scarce for local families.
In response to this growing concern, Rav Aharon announced the development of two major housing projects in Kiryas Yoel, each slated to include nearly 1,000 affordable apartments.

In this episode of “Inside the Agudah,” Rabbi Abba Cohen, vice president for government affairs and Washington director and counsel at Agudath Israel of America, sits with Rabbi Yitzchok Hisiger, Agudath Israel’s Director of Torah Initiatives, to discuss his work on behalf of the frum community. Appointed to the Agudah’s fledgling office in Washington D.C. decades ago by Rabbi Moshe Sherer, Rabbi Cohen has distinguished himself as an exemplary and respected advocate for the Jewish community in our nation’s capital.

A 33-year-old Algerian man who for a “long time nursed a hatred towards Jews” and wanted to “support the Palestinian cause” has been charged with attempted murder for an arson attack on a French Shul last weekend, prosecutors said on Wednesday.
A police officer was injured when a gas canister near a burning vehicle exploded after the suspect allegedly set fires around the Beth Yaacov Shul on Shabbos in the Mediterranean resort town of La Grande-Motte.
The suspect, identified by prosecutors only by his initials EHK, fled the scene but was later arrested. He was injured in the thorax, arm and face during the arrest, France’s national counterterrorism prosecutor’s office said in a statement.

All are requested to continue davening for Rav Avrohom Nesanel Zucker, rosh yeshiva of Yeshiva Gedolah Ohr Yisroel of Marine Park, Brooklyn, who is in critical need of rachamei Shomayim.
Rav Zucker’s family related that they are deeply grateful for the countless heartfelt tefillos and zechusim being generated for his recovery. Unfortunately, his medical condition remains critical and he is still in a coma.
Rav Zucker sustained a severe head injury on Sunday and underwent a lengthy surgery.
Please daven for Refoel Avrohom Nesanel ben Masha Liba b’soch sha’ar cholei Yisroel.
{Matzav.com}