By Rabbi Yair Hoffman Introduction and Foundation The evolution of timekeeping devices has presented numerous challenges and considerations within Halacha, with each technological advancement bringing new questions to consider. Much of the following analysis is based upon information in a new article in the Ohalei Shabbos Gilyon 77-78 by Rabbi Yitzchok Rubin shlita and Rabbi Shalom Gelbar shlita. (My thanks to my brother-in-law, Rabbi Avrohom Hirsch, a prominent sofer in Yerushalayim who forwarded it to me). Early Mechanical Watches In the early 16th century, the development of mechanical watches revolutionized personal timekeeping through an intricate system of springs, gears, and the balance wheel.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan dismissed reports today claiming that Hamas’ political bureau had moved its operations to Turkey.
“The reports on the subject are ‘gossip’ that are part of an attempt by the US to pressure Hamas to agree to a deal,” said Fidan.
The claims follow a recent confirmation by an Arab diplomat that prominent members of Hamas’ overseas leadership had relocated from Qatar to Turkey.
However, the diplomat clarified that it is not unusual for Hamas officials abroad to stay in Turkey when they are not engaged in meetings in Doha.
This development comes after the United States requested that Qatar expel Hamas officials from Doha, which has served as a hub for the organization since 2012.

New York City’s congestion pricing plan, a topic of lengthy debate, has now overcome its final federal obstacle and is scheduled to launch on January 5, barring any successful court interventions. The Federal Highway Administration has granted approval, positioning New York as the first city in the United States to adopt such a system.
The program mandates that drivers entering Manhattan below 60th Street pay a toll of $9, which will increase to $12 in 2028 and $15 by 2031. The initiative is expected to bring in $15 billion for the MTA, with the funds earmarked for enhancing public transit and improving accessibility.

Unlike scores of people who scrambled for the blockbuster drugs Ozempic and Wegovy to lose weight in recent years, Danielle Griffin had no trouble getting them. The 38-year-old information technology worker from New Mexico had a prescription. Her pharmacy had the drugs in stock. And her health insurance covered all but $25 to $50 of the monthly cost. For Griffin, the hardest part of using the new drugs wasn’t access. It was finding out that the much-hyped medications didn’t really work for her. “I have been on Wegovy for a year and a half and have only lost 13 pounds,” said Griffin, who watches her diet, drinks plenty of water and exercises regularly. “I’ve done everything right with no success.

Scott Turner, President-elect Donald Trump choice to lead the Department of Housing and Urban Development, is a former NFL player who ran the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council during Trump’s first term. Turner, 52, is the first Black person selected to be a member of the Republican’s Cabinet. Here are some things to know about Turner: From professional football to politics Turner grew up in a Dallas suburb, Richardson, and graduated from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. He was a defensive back and spent nine seasons in the NFL beginning in 1995, playing for the Washington Redskins, San Diego Chargers and Denver Broncos. During offseasons, he worked as an intern then-Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif.

Sens. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and John Boozman (R-Ark.) reintroduced the Anti-BDS Labeling Act, which would require all goods made in the Jewish state to continue to be labeled “made in Israel,” including if they were produced in Judea and Samaria.

(AP) – Health officials on Friday confirmed bird flu in a California child — the fi

The U.S. was reeling from snow and rain on Saturday with a second round of bad weather threatening to disrupt holiday travel ahead of Thanksgiving. A person was found dead in a vehicle submerged in floodwaters in California, which braced for more precipitation while still grappling with flooding and small landslides from a previous storm. And thousands in the Pacific Northwest remained without power after multiple days in the dark. A winter storm warning in California’s Sierra Nevada on Saturday was in effect through Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service’s Sacramento office, with heavy snow expected at higher elevations and wind gusts potentially reaching 55 mph (88 kph).

The North Carolina House of Representatives voted 72-44 on Nov. 19 to reverse Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto of legislation to expand access to private education.
The state Senate approved the override of the veto by a 30-19 vote on Nov. 20.
Rabbi Ari Weisenfeld, associate national director of state relations for Agudath Israel of America, told JNS: “This veto override demonstrates what Agudath Israel is seeing across the country—parents are demanding education options and lawmakers are responding.”
House Bill 10 would increase funding for the state’s Opportunity Scholarship school voucher program by $463.5 million. It passed the state House and Senate largely along party lines in September. Cooper vetoed the bill a week later.

President-elect Donald Trump has selected former White House aide Brooke Rollins to lead the Department of Agriculture in his second administration. Here are some things to know about Trump’s choice and the agency that Rollins would lead if she is confirmed by the Senate. She is a lawyer with agriculture ties — and a strong relationship with Trump Rollins, 52, graduated from Texas A&M University with an undergraduate degree in agricultural development before completing law school at the University of Texas. She served as domestic policy chief during Trump’s first term, a portfolio that included agricultural policy.

Rabbi Zvi Kogan, a Chabad shliach stationed in Abu Dhabi, has been unaccounted for since Thursday, raising concerns among Israeli security agencies that he may have been kidnapped or killed.
In a statement, the Prime Minister’s Office confirmed Rabbi Kogan’s disappearance and revealed that authorities are treating the situation as a potential terrorist act.
The statement also noted that the Mossad has launched an “extensive” investigation into the incident, working in collaboration with security officials in the UAE.
Concurrently, the National Security Council reiterated its long-standing recommendation against non-essential travel to the United Arab Emirates due to security concerns.

Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.), one of Israel’s staunchest defenders in Congress, hinted at a run for higher office on Friday by taking aim at New York Gov. Kathy Hochul.
The Bronx Democrat said that like U.S. President Joe Biden, Hochul could be on the path to electoral defeat.
“Kathy Hochul is the new Joe Biden,” Torres wrote. “She may be in denial about the depth of her vulnerabilities as a Democratic nominee. A Democratic incumbent who is less popular in New York than Donald Trump is in grave danger of losing to a Republican in 2026–an outcome not seen in 30 years.”

The Israel Defense Forces addressed a video released by Hamas this evening, claiming it depicts a living hostage who was previously reported as deceased.
“This evening, the Hamas terrorist organization released footage allegedly showing a hostage who had been killed. We are examining the information, and at this stage, we cannot confirm or refute it,” the IDF stated. “IDF representatives are in contact with her family and are keeping them updated with all available information.”
The statement further condemned Hamas for its continued tactics of psychological warfare, adding, “Hamas continues to engage in psychological terror and act with extreme brutality.”

Jay Bhattacharya, a Stanford University-trained physician and economist, is now the presumptive favorite to be selected by President-elect Donald Trump as the next director of the National Institutes of Health, according to three people who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe private conversations.
Bhattacharya met this week with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and impressed Kennedy with his ideas to overhaul NIH, a nearly $50 billion agency that oversees the nation’s biomedical research, the people said. Bhattacharya has called for shifting the agency’s focus toward funding more innovative research and reducing the influence of some of its longest-serving career officials, among other ideas.

NEW YORK (AP) — Prosecutors in New York dropped charges Friday against a kaffiyeh-wearing, pro-Palestinian protester who was among

President-elect Donald Trump announced today that he has picked Brooke Rollins, a former Trump White House policy adviser, to serve as agriculture secretary.
“It is my Great Honor to nominate Brooke L. Rollins, from the Great State of Texas, to serve as the 33rd United States Secretary of Agriculture,” Trump said in a statement, later adding, “Brooke’s commitment to support the American Farmer, defense of American Food Self-Sufficiency, and the restoration of Agriculture-dependent American Small Towns is second to none.”
Rollins is president and CEO of the America First Policy Institute, a group that has put together proposals for a second Trump term. The institute, which has nonprofit status, was launched in 2021 by a group of Trump administration veterans.

Hamas’s armed wing spokesman, Abu Obeida, claims that a female Israeli hostage was killed during an IDF strike in northern Gaza. In the same statement, Obeida claimed that another female hostage was injured in the attack, though her condition remains unclear. Reports said that the female hostage that was killed, according to Hamas, is Daniella Gilboa. The IDF responded to the claims, stating that it is “currently reviewing the information” but cannot “confirm or refute its authenticity” at this time. “IDF representatives are in contact with her family and are updating them with any information available to us,” the military added.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has strongly denounced the investigation into the alleged theft and leak of classified military documents, calling it a politically motivated “witch hunt” designed to target him and his allies. In a nearly nine-minute video released on social media, Netanyahu expressed outrage at the prosecution’s handling of the case, claiming it is part of a broader campaign to damage him and the political camp he represents. “This reality, in which young people are held like the worst terrorists, handcuffed for days, days in which they are prevented from accessing their lawyers, and violating their basic rights as citizens, shakes me,” Netanyahu said, referring to the detention of his aide Eli Feldstein and an IDF reservist.

The Hamas terror spokesman,  Abu Obeida, claimed over Shabbos that a female hostage was killed in an Israeli strike in northern Gaza, and a second was wounded.
In the message, Obeida claimed: “The danger still threatens the life of another female (prisoner) who was with her,” implying a second hostage was wounded.
The IDF said in a statement: “This evening, the Hamas terrorist organization released footage allegedly showing a hostage who had been killed. We are examining the information, and at this stage, we cannot confirm or refute it.  IDF representatives are in contact with her family and are keeping them updated with all available information.”

Pages