On Thursday evening, the IDF announced the cancellation of the traditional annual Hillula of Rav Shimon bar Yochai in Meron on Lag Ba’Omer.
The IDF said, “In accordance with an assessment of the situation in the IDF and in coordination with the relevant bodies, it was decided to cancel the festivities on Meron, between the dates of May 24 and 27, 2024. This, in accordance with the powers stipulated in the Civil Defense Law…”

It is with great sadness that Matzav.comreports the petirah of the Biala Rebbe, Rav Betzalel Simcha Menachem Bentzion Rabinowitz zt”l. He was 89.
In recent months, the Rebbe had dealt with several hospitalizations. He passed away this morning.
Born in Siedlce, Poland, on 8 Adar I, 5695/1935, the Rebbe was the youngest son of the Chelkas Yehoshua of Biala. His mother, Rebbetzin Chana Fesha, hailed from a prominent Biala Chassidic family in Voldova.

Agudath Israel of America is deeply troubled by the White House’s unprecedented decision to cease supplying certain arms to a country’s whose security the President has reiterated his ironclad commitment to, especially amidst Israel’s multifront war against its mortal enemies.
Nor is this arms embargo limited to large bombs, but, according to sources, could include smart bombs designed to hit targets with precision and artillery – in other words exactly the tools an army needs to fight while limiting civilian casualties.

WATCH:

Following a concerning situation involving a Shul in Harford County, Maryland, Agudah Maryland’s advocacy efforts have resulted in a crucial legislative change to safeguard Shabbos observance in Maryland.
Last April, Agudah Maryland received a call from the rabbi of a shul in Harford County, reporting that local building officials had mandated the installation of motion sensors on all light fixtures as per regulations outlined in the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC). Such a requirement would obviously present severe Shabbos-observance issues, as the act of entering any room in the building would activate the lighting (via a Psik Reisha) and thus be a serious violation of Shabbos.

It is with great sadness that Matzav.com reports the petirah of Rav Michael Haber zt”l, rov of Congregation Tiferes Shaul.
Rav Haber was a noted rav and marbitz Torah in the Sefardic community in Brooklyn and Deal, impacting thousands of people is so many ways.
He is survived by his wife, Mrs. Molly Haber; his siblings, Harry Haber and Sylvia Shababo; his children, Rabbi Joey Haber, Rabbi Shaul Haber, Rabbi Yaakov Haber, Rabbi Moshe Haber, Rabbi David Haber, Mrs. Chani Shelby, Mrs. Simi Mizrahi, Mrs. Nechama Srour, and Mrs. Rivka Nakash.
The levayah is being held this morning at Magen David on 67th Street in Brooklyn.

A meeting in Lakewood, NJ today of roshei yeshiva was focused on a fresh set of measures to combat the escalating challenges in the realm of shidduchim faced by bnos Yisroel.
At the forefront of this initiative are senior American roshei yeshiva, including Rav Shlomo Feivel Schustal, rosh yeshiva of Yeshiva Tiferes Yerachmiel of Lakewood; Rav Elya Chaim Swerdloff, rosh yeshiva of Yeshiva Gedolah of Paterson; Rav Elya Ber Wachtfogel, rosh yeshiva of Yeshiva Gedolah of South Fallsburg; Rav Mordechai Dick, rosh yeshiva of Yeshiva Heichal HaTorah of Monsey; and Rav Mendel Slomovits, rosh yeshiva of Yeshiva Toras Chaim of Lakewood.

A Jewish businessman with triple Israeli, Canadian and Russian citizenship was killed in the Alexandria region of northern Egypt, according to Arabic media reports on Tuesday.
Saudi Arabia’s Al-Arabiya news website reported that local authorities were investigating the incident as a case of murder. In addition, the Israeli Foreign Ministry was looking into the incident, Ynet said.
The slain businessman, identified as Ziv Kipper, reportedly owned a vegetable factory in Egypt for nearly 10 years and entered the country using his Canadian passport.

The Israeli Defense Forces revealed on Sunday that three soldiers lost their lives in a mortar onslaught at the Kerem Shalom Crossing along the Gaza border earlier in the day.
The fallen soldiers have been identified as SSgt. Ruben Marc Mordechai Assouline, 19, hailing from Raanana; SSgt. Ido Testa, 19, from Yerushalayim; and SSgt. Tal Shavit, 21, from Kfar Hagiladi.
Assouline and Testa served in the Shaked Battalion within the Givati Brigade, while Shavit was part of the 931st Battalion within the Nachal Brigade.
In addition to the fatalities, eleven soldiers sustained injuries from the barrage and were transported for medical attention at the Soroka Medical Center in Be’er Sheva.

A rare Gemarah printed before World War II and found unscathed in a historic Munich beer hall after the Holocaust was given to the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum on Wednesday by the family of President Isaac Herzog.
The Gemarah Pesachim has been in the family’s possession for the last eight decades; it will be permanently displayed at the museum in Yerushalayim.
The book was discovered amid many other religious artifacts in the Bürgerbräukeller beer hall in Munich in 1945 and was entrusted to Rabbi Yitzhak Halevi Herzog (1888-1959), grandfather of the current president of Israel. The rabbi was the chief Ashkenazic rabbi of Eretz Israel and a prominent religious leader during the pre-state period.