(By Rabbi Yair Hoffman) Centuries ago, Jews were often kidnapped and money had to be raised for their ransom.  The halacha was that it was permitted even on Shabbos, as cited in the Ramah.  The Ramah explains that it is permitted even if there is no actual danger to life, but there is a spiritual danger in that the child will be raised in a non-Jewish religion. There is a current situation that may be analogous to the case mentioned in the Ramah. In order to understand that situation – some background is necessary. The World Zionist Congress is a body of 500 people from Israel and from Jewish communities throughout the world.  These 500 people are elected every five years.  The elections decide the leadership of four main organizations that control the purse strings of much funding.

Singer and composer Yoel Dovid Goldstein release his debut album “B’shir U’renunim” over ten years ago. Since then he and sung and performed at many simchas across the globe. Over the last three years, the music bug has bit him again, and Yoel Dovid felt the time has come to finally release some new music. Since then, he released two singles; Umani three years ago and Hinchalto Torah last Succos (5779). The two singles however were just leading up to this new hit single. “Koh Amar Hashem” is a new dance track composed by Yoel Dovid himself and masterfully produced and arranged by the new House of Music label under the direction of Naftali Schnitzler. This song has the best of both worlds; a little flavor of yesteryear and the pumping dance production of 2020.

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said Thursday that he “should not have used the words I used” when he declared in front of the Supreme Court that two justices would “pay the price” for their decision in an abortion case. Republicans chastised Schumer for the remark and Chief Justice John Roberts in a rare rebuke said the words were “inappropriate” and “dangerous.” Speaking on the Senate floor Thursday, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., called Schumer’s words “astonishingly reckless and completely irresponsible” and said they could have “horrific unintended consequences.” Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, floated the idea of a censure.

The International Air Transport Association says the virus outbreak that began in China could cost airlines as much as $113 billion in lost revenue due to the collapse of air travel. Representatives of the airline industry group said Thursday after a working meeting in Singapore that the industry urgently needs help from governments in waiving some requirements, taxes and fees to alleviate the burden on struggling carriers. “The industry remains very fragile,” Brian Pearce, the IATA’s chief economist, told reporters.

Health officials in New Jersey have announced a second positive case of coronavirus in the state. That update came in a news conference held Thursday afternoon — the day after the first case was announced Wednesday. A presumptive positive case means the sample tested positive at a state lab and has now been sent to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for confirmation. Eight more people are under evaluation and could be tested, officials said. The second presumptive positive case is a person from northern New Jersey and is hospitalized at Englewood Hospital in Englewood, New Jersey. STAY UPDATED WITH BREAKING UPDATES FROM YWN VIA WHATSAPP – SIGN UP NOW Just click on this link, and you will be placed into a group.

In their wildest dreams, no one ever imagined anything like this happening. But just two months after hundreds of thousands worldwide took part in The Siyum, the ranks of lomdei Daf Yomi have swelled by tens of thousands of new recruits, with lomdim of all ages and from all walks of life preparing to celebrate the culmination of Maseches Berachos this coming Shabbos, Parshas Tetzaveh-Zachor, on March 7th. Energized by the momentum of the Siyum HaShas, an unprecedented number of people have joined the daily learning regimen, a contemporary actualization of all that Rav Meir Shapiro foresaw nearly a century ago in Lublin.

It’s a question that is on many people’s minds. What happens to Yeshiva Bochrim, Seminary girls, and other students who will be travelling to Israel with the ongoing Coronavirus quarantine regulations. With Pesach just a few weeks away, many students currently in Eretz Yisroel will be coming home for a few weeks and returning. Hopefully, coronavirus will be a thing of the past by that time, but if things stay the way the are now, they will have to enter a mandatory 14-day quarantine upon their arrival. This does not (yet) apply for visitors arriving from the United States, but that can change at any time.

Join the thousands worldwide who have already experienced breakthroughs in their memory and remember what’s on every blatt in Masechta Berachos. “I am a kollel youngeman from Lakewood who just started doing Daf Yomi for the first time. Zichru has made this learning experience like no other! I can’t even imagine what it would be to do the Daf without Zichru. The clarity that I have gotten of the first perek so for is unreal! I haven’t known the pieces of an entire perek so well before, that in seconds can say over what topics of every single blatt! I highly recommend anyone doing the Daf to join Zichru ASAP!” Reuven M. Lakewood “I have an average memory and have always struggled with chazara methods or the lack thereof.

The struggling British airline Flybe collapsed Thursday amid drops in demand caused by the new coronavirus, leaving passengers stranded and threatening the viability of regional airports across the country. Flybe’s fall highlights the damage that the virus outbreak has had on the airline industry, which has cut back on flights around the world as people avoid flying out of precaution. The British regional airline narrowly avoided bankruptcy in January but had continued to lose money. Unions and opposition politicians attacked both the airline’s owners and Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government for failing to act to save it.

To the Far Rockaway and Nassau County Community, As you all know, COVID-19 (AKA Coronavirus) has now spread to the New York area and many people are concerned. Hatzalah would like to provide some guidance to the community on this important topic: First – please do not panic! Although this virus is contagious, it is usually not life threatening in healthy people. It causes symptoms very similar to the flu, including fever, cough, sneezing, body aches, and weakness. It has a greater effect on the elderly and patients with chronic lung disease. Second – the best treatment is prevention. Please frequently wash you hands with soap and water (20 seconds of lathering and rinsing each time) or a hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol, such as Purell.