It is with great sadness that Matzav.com reports the petirah of habochur Moshe Gafni z”l, son of Rabbi and Mrs. Meir Gafni, the head of the Heichal Yitzchak Beis Midrash in Modi’in Illit. He was 21 years old.
On Erev Shabbos, Moshe went to the sea with his friends and he sadly drowned.
Rescue forces evacuated him to the hospital, where they were forced to pronounce his death.
Moshe was born in Modi’in Illit in 2003 to his father, Rabbi Meir Gafni, and his mother, Shifra Efrat, daughter of Rav Asher Sofer of Bnei Brak.
His petirah has shocked his many acquaintances and friends, and the mispallelim at the Heichal Yitzchak Beis Midrash in Kiryat Sefer.

Canadian Jewish organizations have triumphed in their effort to maintain the legality of the country’s kosher-certified meat preparation.
On Wednesday, Canada’s Federal Court issued an interlocutory injunction against the Canadian Food Inspection Agency to halt the implementation of new guidelines that have disrupted shechita.
Canada’s two top Canadian kosher certifiers—MK Global Kosher Certification Agency and the Kashruth Council of Canada—partnered with the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs and other Jewish leaders.

A new bill aimed at diminishing consumer protections to allow cellphone providers to continue offering restricted plans to the chareidi community has successfully passed its second and third readings in the Knesset with a 60-53 vote. This amendment to the Communications Law legalizes the current practice where carriers offer special subscriptions for the chareidim, marked by distinct digits that identify them as part of these rabbi-approved plans.
These restricted plans are favored by many in the chareidi community who avoid unfiltered internet access. Kosher phones, which lack features like web browsers and messaging apps, come with lower costs as they are used only six days a week.

The Belzer Rebbe made an unusual statement about the vacation habits of some of his chassidim and others. During the summer break, numerous chareidi families travel to Europe, while others choose to vacation in Israel.
For many years, the Belzer Rebbe has spent the summer in a vacation home in Telz-Stone, near Yerushalayim. This year, however, the Rebbe has decided to remain in Yerushalayim, staying in his residence and welcoming more visitors than he has in previous years.
When asked about his decision, he explained that it was inappropriate to go on vacation while soldiers are risking their lives.

The Supreme Court of New Jersey ruled on Wednesday in favor of Rosenbaum Yeshiva of North Jersey, in River Edge, N.J., in a defamation suit brought against the Jewish day school by a rabbi it had fired, citing inappropriate interactions with elementary-age girls under Halacha.
“Religious schools should not have to fear being dragged into court when making decisions that seek to protect children in their care,” stated Laura Wolk Slavis, counsel at Becket, which filed a brief in the case. “The justices ensured that this freedom is upheld for Jews and for people of all faiths across the Garden State.”

Excavations of the Great Synagogue of Vilna, Lithuania, destroyed by the Nazis during the Holocaust, have revealed the floor of the main prayer hall, the Israel Antiquities Authority announced on Thursday. The uncovered sections are decorated with red, black and white flowers.
The unusual dig, which first began last decade, has also uncovered two huge concrete basins under the Shul’s bathhouse and a Mikvah, according to the IAA.
The august Shul, built between 1630-1633, was in continuous use for 300 years until World War II. Constructed in the Renaissance-Baroque style, the large and magnificent Shul was the oldest and most significant building for Lithuanian Jewry.

Israelis are preparing for potential unrest after the army issued draft notices to 1,000 chareidi men this week. This court-ordered action represents the most significant challenge yet to the long-standing exemption of chareidi yeshiva students from military service.
However, in chareidi communities, the young men who received the draft notices show no signs of worry.
Some young men might consider enlisting if the army provided “chareidi-appropriate” frameworks, reflecting a recent Smith Consulting poll presented to the Knesset State Control Committee. In the poll, 59 percent of respondents indicated that tracks allowing them to maintain their lifestyle would positively impact overall enlistment numbers.

MK Yitzchok Pindrus of United Torah Judaism assured that his party will not topple the government. During an interview with Kol Barama Radio, Pindrus urged chareidi yeshiva students to heed the guidance of gedolim and ignore the IDF’s summons for enlistment.
“I do not know a yeshiva student who asks the Knesset committee what to do if someone tells him to desecrate Shabbos. So, too, yeshiva students do not be turn to me or to the Knesset committee on the matter of enlistment,” he stated. “The gedolei Yisroel have instructed not to respond to the summons, and each person needs to do what halacha dictates.”

Senior Rabbanim including Rav Shmuel Eliyahu, Rav Yaakov Ariel and Rav Dov Lior signed a letter published on Monday denouncing the potential hostage deal currently being negotiated.
The proposed deal reportedly is a three stage plan, including the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Gaza strip, the return of Palestinians to their homes in Northern Gaza, and the increased distribution of humanitarian aid in Gaza.
The letter states that Pidyon Shvuyim is: “one of the greatest and most important Mitzvos in the Torah, and it is imperative to save them and return them to their families,”.
However, the letter goes on to say that: “the costs required for the release of the hostages endanger all the citizens of the state,”

On Monday, several prominent rabbis from the right-wing religious Zionist community voiced their opposition to a proposed hostage exchange with Hamas. In an open letter, they argued that any deal involving troop withdrawal from Gaza and swapping captives for Palestinian prisoners would jeopardize Israeli lives.
Among the signatories of the letter were Ramat Gan Chief Rabbi Yaakov Ariel, and influential hardliners such as settler leaders Dov Lior and Elyakim Levanon, as well as Safed Chief Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu. This stance might further complicate efforts within Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu’s coalition to reach an agreement with Hamas if negotiations advance.