Dear Matzav Inbox,
It is often said that “no one truly understands another’s struggles until they’ve walked a mile in their shoes.”
Nowhere is this more true than in the life of a rosh hamossad. Running a school is not just a responsibility. It is an all-consuming mission that eats up every corner of one’s life—mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and physically. Yet, despite the Herculean effort it requires, the rosh hamosad is so often treated as a convenient punching bag for every complaint, grievance, and unmet expectation within the school system.
Let me pull back the curtain for a moment and explore what it truly means to shoulder the leadership of a mosad chinuch.

A recent survey by Rasmussen Reports indicates that Americans under the age of 40 are becoming increasingly less religious.
According to the findings, only 48 percent of younger Americans identify as religious, with just 17 percent describing themselves as “very religious.”
“The number of under-40 adults who are Very Religious has declined from 20 percent two years ago. By comparison, 81 percent of those 65 and older consider themselves religious, including 35 percent who are Very Religious,” the report noted.
The survey also revealed a gender divide, with 61 percent of men identifying as religious compared to 57 percent of women. Women under 40 were the most likely demographic to say they are “not at all religious.”

Speaking nearly two weeks after the U.S. election, Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu delivered sharp criticism of the Biden administration’s decisions and guidance during pivotal moments in Israel’s ongoing conflict with Iran and its proxies.
Addressing the Knesset plenum on Monday, Netanyahu remarked, “The US had reservations and suggested that we not enter Gaza. It had reservations about entering Gaza City, Khan Younis, and, most critically, strongly opposed entry into Rafah.”
American officials had publicly called on Israel to carefully tailor its operations in Rafah to minimize harm to civilians.

The chairman of Degel HaTorah, MK Moshe Gafni, Deputy Minister Uri Maklev, and MK Yaakov Asher met last night with Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu.
The meeting was an attempt to restart the process of formulating the Draft Law following the appointment of the new Defense Minister.
The demand was to advance the law quickly. The representatives primarily sought to understand from the new Defense Minister, Yisroel Katz, where things are headed, given the importance of presenting the security establishment’s position on the law—a goal that was not achieved during Gallant’s tenure.
Katz committed to managing the issue in a professional and collaborative manner.

President Joe Biden appealed to G20 leaders on Monday to ramp up efforts in pressuring Hamas to accept a ceasefire agreement with Israel.
As his term comes to a close, Biden committed to continuing his efforts to secure an agreement before Donald Trump takes office.
“I ask everyone here to increase their pressure on Hamas, which is currently refusing this deal,” Biden stated during his opening remarks at the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro, according to the AFP news agency.
The president reiterated his appeal to Israel to take measures to reduce civilian casualties in the ongoing Gaza conflict, which began following Hamas’ horrific attacks on October 7, 2023.

Sources close to Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu have suggested that he is contemplating the removal of Ronen Bar, the head of the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet), in recent days.
As reported by the Walla news site, this consideration came to light following an incident on Saturday night when illumination bombs were fired near the Prime Minister’s private residence in Caesarea.
Since the incident, Netanyahu has reportedly been discussing the potential dismissal with his inner circle. Some of his advisors are said to be urging him to take swift action. According to these associates, the dismissal would be framed as a response to the security lapse that endangered the Prime Minister and his family.

The IDF is uncovering “large troves” of Russian weaponry in southern Lebanon, providing further evidence that Hezbollah’s military capabilities are heavily bolstered by Russian arms, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal today.
Among the weapons found are Kornet antitank missiles, which were originally supplied by Russia to Syria and later made their way to Lebanon, Arab and Syrian security officials told the Wall Street Journal. Russia maintains its own stockpiles in Syria and also supplies arms to the Syrian military.

A platform widely used by gamers for livestreaming announced updates to its hate speech policy on Friday, explicitly banning the word “Zionist” when used as a veiled insult targeting individuals or groups.
Twitch, an Amazon-owned company with over 240 million active users, implemented the change following growing criticism, including from a prominent lawmaker who recently accused the platform of fostering antisemitism in a letter addressed to its leadership.
In a statement shared on its official blog, Twitch clarified, “We prohibit the use of terms that may not be harmful or abusive in isolation, but can be used as a slur or to denigrate others in certain contexts.”

LISTEN:

https://matzav.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Bitachon4Life-Shiur-1357-Tikvah-Part-152.mp3
​​For more info, email bitachon4life@gmail.com.

LISTEN:

https://matzav.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Stories4Life-Shiur-366-Notice.mp3