Yerushalayim Affairs and Heritage Minister Meir Porush of United Torah Judaism penned an urgent missive on Thursday to UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Tor Wennesland, pressing for action to deliver matzah and wine to Israeli captives in the Gaza Strip so they can conduct a Pesach Seder on Monday night.
In a somewhat confused appeal, Porush, seemingly mistaking the UN for the International Committee of the Red Cross, implored Wennesland’s assistance in “supplying an ample quantity of matzah and wine for the 133 hostages,” in case they remain in captivity past leil Pesach.
Porush emphasized the plight of 133 individuals held by Hamas since the violent incident on Simchas Torah.

Rav Meir Mazuz, rosh yeshiva of Yeshiva Kisei Rachamim, shared his thoughts on the Draft Law during a discussion on Wednesday night. He addressed the proposed legislation that would require yeshiva students, previously exempt from military service, to enlist.
Regarding the exemption of Torah learners from enlistment, during an interview with Kol Barama Radio, Rav Mazuz referenced former Prime Minister David Ben Gurion’s decision, noting, “Say that Torah learners are exempted from enlistment and that was Ben Gurion’s idea – he did it so that he would not be worse than Vespasian, who gave us ‘Yavne and her wise men.'”

Angels in Orange contains incredible stories of emunah, hashgachah, miracles and courage as more than 1,700 United Hatzalah volunteers rescued and treated the wounded on Simchas Torah, October 7th, 2023. Bestselling author Rabbi Nachman Seltzer has written their amazing stories of courage and survival with great sensitivity for reader’s feelings. We are inspired and uplifted as we read about their mesiras nefesh, Hashem’s Hashgachah Pratis, the miracles that almost every volunteer saw and experienced, and their selfless caring for their fellow Jews during one of the most dangerous times in Israel’s history.

A rare volume of the Gemara 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 Gemara Pesachim has been in the family’s possession for the last eight decades. It will be permanently displayed at the museum in Yerushalayim.

The volume was discovered amid many other religious artifacts in the Bürgerbräukeller beer hall in Munich in 1945 and was entrusted to Rav Yitzchok Isaac Halevi Herzog (1888-1959), grandfather of the current president of Israel.

In this episode, Rabbi Reinman discusses how the concept of divine intervention in the affairs of the world can be reconciled with the concept of choice and free will.
One of the basic tenets of Classical Judaism is the belief in divine providence. After bringing the world into existence, God continues to guide it toward its ultimate destiny; nothing that transpires in the world can happen contrary to the will of God. At the same time, we believe that people have choice and free will and that they are accountable for the choices they make. How do these seemingly contradictory concepts coexist?

Following a fire that ripped through the Chassidim 110 – Chabad Shul in Pomona, NY, on Wednesday morning, congregants were devastated to discover that all three of the Shul’s Sifrei Torah had been destroyed.
Congregants, with the assistance of Chaveirim volunteers, were finally given access to the Shul located at 34 Northridge Road a few hours after the fire tore through the Shul, destroying the entire building.
They discovered that the Torahs, which had been stored in a metal safe, were tragically unable to withstand the fire.
Neighbors captured the flames on video a little before 6:00 am. The fire quickly spread and engulfed much of the building.
Residents are devastated by the loss of other holy articles as well, such as Tefillin, seforim and more.

it is with great sadness that Matzav.com reports the tragic petirah of Yita Wertzberger a”h of Williamsburg.
Yita was hit by a car at the doner of Wythe Avenue and Wallabout Street today.
Hatzolah paramedics transported Yita to the hospital in critical condition, but she was pronounced dead.
Umacha Hashem dimah me’al kol ponim.
{Matzav.com}

Thousands of bochurim gathered in multiple locations last week to hear divrei hisorerus before the upcoming Pesach bein hazmanim. The gatherings, sponsored by Agudas Yisroel and arranged with the help of dedicated askanim in the respective locations, included close to 3,000 talmidim in Lakewood, 1,000 in Monsey, and a hookup to Montreal, and were directed at bochurim from Bais Medrash and 11th 12th grades.
The asifos, called to prepare bochurim for bein hazmanim in the shadow of the war in Eretz Yisroel, and in light of the threat to bnei yeshiva in Eretz Yisroel, were addressed by many of the Gedolei Yisroel.

cRc Kosher is proud to share with you a new kashering video, demonstrating how to kasher the home kitchen for Pesach and year-round, with special halachic intros from Rabbi Yona Reiss, Av Beis Din, and a cameo appearance by Rabbi Sholem Fishbane, cRc Kashrus Administrator.
WATCH:

00:00 Start
00:07 Intro
01:36 Basics
03:42 Safety
04:34 Silverware
06:05 Pots
08:03 Countertops
11:20 Steamers
15:35 Sinks
19:37 Ovens
21:25 Stovetops
23:40 Microwave
24:31 Conclusion