Hitched to Donald Trump, Republicans in Congress are facing perhaps their biggest loyalty test yet as the administration’s response to the COVID-19 crisis comes under new scrutiny after the president and the First Lady tested positive for the virus just weeks before the November election. So far, the Republicans are standing by Trump. Their Senate majority is seriously at risk and hopes for winning back the House are long gone. But Republicans are reluctant to criticize Trump or provoke his legions of supporters — even if it might jeopardize their political careers. “Full steam ahead,” tweeted the Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell about Trump’s agenda.

A study carried out by three Israel archaeologists publicized this week found a fascinating common denominator among storage jars in Israel over a period of 350 years – all the rims of the jars maintain the diameter of a man’s hand – a tefach. The finding holds true despite drastic changes in the shapes and volumes of storage jars over the centuries. The storage jars all had an inner-rim diameter of 8.85 to 8.97 centimeters, a measurement that corresponds to the width of an average man’s hand. And according to the study, the size of an average man’s hand hasn’t changed in the past 3,000 years, citing 1980 data from the US Army, which found an average dimension of 8.67±0.48 centimeters when measuring male soldiers’ hands for the purpose of ordering gloves.

by Rabbi Yair Hoffman for 5tjt.com There are some fascinating halachos about the Sukkah and its decorations of which some people may be unaware. FORBIDDEN TO BENEFIT FROM Once a Sukkah becomes an “Official Sukkah” it is forbidden to derive other types of benefit from its parts for the entire Sukkos. If the Sukkah fell down, that wood may not be used for other purposes. This is true whether we are discussing the wall panels or the Schach (See SA OC 638:1-2 and Ramah). One may also not benefit from Sukkah decorations throughout Sukkos (See SA 667:1) once the Sukkah has become an “Official Sukkah.” Outside of Israel this means until after Simchas Torah. In Israel it does not include Shmini Atzeres.

President Donald Trump has joined a growing group of world leaders who have been infected with the coronavirus. Some, like Trump, had been accused of not taking the pandemic seriously. A few are now sending Trump their wishes for a speedy recovery. At 74, the U.S. president is the oldest head of state to become infected with the virus, and his age puts him at higher risk of serious complications from COVID-19. BORIS JOHNSON The British prime minister was the first major world leader confirmed to have COVID-19, after facing criticism for downplaying the pandemic. He was moved to intensive care in April after his symptoms dramatically worsened a day after he was hospitalized for what were called routine tests. He was given oxygen but did not need a ventilator, officials said.

With millions of views of his outrageous science and physics videos, Yochanan Ghoori will be releasing an ASTOUNDING PERFORMANCE this Chol Hamoed Sukkos, Monday at 12pm EST Watch as things pop, wizz, bang, and whir as you learn about how the world works – and get thoroughly entertained in the process.  Access to the show is only $10 for an entire family! The show will be available after so you can rewatch it later for 7 days. Check out Yochanan in action and reserve your ticket now! CLICK HERE to purchase access 

How long could I be contagious before a positive virus test? Studies have shown that people may be contagious for about two days before developing COVID-19 symptoms. In fact, right before developing symptoms is when people are likely the most contagious, said Dr. Werner Bischoff, an infectious disease specialist at Wake Forest University. People who never develop symptoms can spread infection, too. That’s a problem because many people would never seek testing unless they developed symptoms or knew they’d been exposed. But there’s a more complicated part to this question: What if someone knows they were exposed but their virus test comes back negative — could they still be contagious? Maybe.

Jerusalem police are preparing for the scenario that numerous groups of Chassidim will violate the Heath Ministry regulations and the regulations of the current lockdown over Sukkos and hold their annual Simchas Beis HaShoeva celebrations in numerous sukkahs that were built around the central buildings of each group. In advance of this possibility, numerous Chassidish Askanim were summoned to Jerusalem police headquarters in the Russian compound and warned not to hold the mass celebrations this year. The police told the askanim that they will be enforcing the ruling of the government, and if necessary will forcibly disperse the celebrations and hand out hefty fines to organizers.

With just a month to go until the election, President Donald Trump had a busy schedule in the week before the coronavirus hit home with him. Trump tweeted early Friday that he and first lady Melania Trump had tested positive for the coronavirus. Typically, it can take four to five days for symptoms to show up after someone is infected with coronavirus. The incubation period can extend up to 14 days, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. SATURDAY —Trump announces the nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court. Two people who attended the Rose Garden ceremony — Utah Sen. Mike Lee and University of Notre Dame president John Jenkins — announce on Friday they have tested positive for the virus.

As the coronavirus infection rate continues to rise Israel, senior medical professionals are seeing more and more cases of Israelis diagnosed with the virus for the second time. “The data is unequivocal by us,” a senior health professional in one of Israel’s Kupot Cholim told B’Chadrei Chareidim. “Just in our Kupah, there are over 30 patients who were recently diagnosed for the second time, even those who didn’t have only mild symptoms the first time. It’s clear that people can contract the virus more than once.” According to the official, Israel’s medical data has great significance on a worldwide scale.

News that the world’s most powerful man was infected with the world’s most notorious disease dominated screens large and small, drawing shock, sympathy and some barbs for President Donald Trump. The outpouring from world leaders and flagging markets Friday left little doubt that Trump’s illness will have global implications — even if they’re still unknown. Trump’s announcement on Twitter that he and first lady Melania Trump tested positive for the coronavirus prompted a multitude of responses on the same platform, as well as others. The positive test reading adds to investors’ worries, especially about its effect on the Nov. 3 election between the Republican president and Democrat Joe Biden. U.S. stock futures and most world markets fell on the news as did the price of oil.