The national-religious Yamina party announced on Sunday that it not joining the national-unity government formed by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Blue and White leader Benny Gantz and is joining the opposition. The Yamina party, led by current Defense Minister Naftali Bennett, Education Minister Rabbi Rafi Peretz, Transportation Minister Bezalel Smotrich and former Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked has been publicly sparring with Netanyahu for days over the distribution of ministerial portfolios.

We, Yanky’s parents, are here pleading for your help. We’re asking you to join the 1000 people who are pledging $102  so we can reach the $102k goal we need for medical expenses to help our Yanky. CLICK HERE TO DONATE NOW Yanky was once a regular child, but at the age of five he fell on his head onto a hard surface, and since then he suffers from brain damage and lives in a wheelchair, with severe epilepsy and muscular dystrophy. He needs to be carried everywhere, he cannot speak and needs constant supervision by a parent, severely limiting their ability to provide parnossa for the other 12 children in the family. The Bituach Leumi only pays for part of Yanky’s care, but he still needs therapists and medications that are not included in the the Israeli National Insurance benefits.

Lag B’omer at Meron. A mokom of kedusha. A time and place where so many of our t’filos are answered. T’filos for parnassah, for shidduchim, for refuos. Every year Ezer Mizion transports the elderly and disabled up to the Tzion at Meron. Every year. Year after year. But not this year. Meron will be quiet this year. Because of covid-19, this year we desperately need yeshuos. But because of covid-19, this year we are unable to go to the Tzion where so many yeshuos have taken place. And so Ezer Mizion is offering the next best thing. If the klal Yisroel cannot go to Meron, we can at least bring their t’filos.

Yeshiva parents will have a seat at the table when Mayor Bill de Blasio’s dedicated task force meets to discuss reopening schools during the coronavirus recovery period, with Agudath Israel of America’s executive vice president Rabbi Chaim Dovid Zwiebel, named to the city’s sector advisory council on education and vocational training. The mayor announced the creation of ten sector advisory councils on May 5th, explaining that they will help the city formulate plans for a gradual return to normal life. Each team will be led by a deputy mayor or a city agency head and will consist of 20 to 40 experts in their respective fields from different parts of the city.

Our holy yeshiva, Yeshivas Toras Chaim in Moscow founded by HaGaon HaRav Moshe Soloveitchik of Zurich ztz”l, enjoys the quiet and secluded setting of one of Moscow’s suburbs. We are now able to say Kaddish and learn Mishnayos for the elevation of the souls of you beloved ones. Since Purim, its talmidim have been in voluntary quarantine. They as well as several families continued learning during bein ha-zmanim and even during the days of Pesach together with avreichim from our kollel. Please CLICK HERE to submit your request for saying Kaddish or learning Mishnayos

According to the Chevra Kadisha in France, at least 1,300 Jews have passed away from the coronavirus, with some sources saying the figure is as high as 2,000, Makor Rishon reported on Friday. The number reflects only the Jews who received a Jewish burial since there are no statistics available on the religion of COVID-19 patients who passed away but did not receive a Jewish burial. Hundreds of Jews who passed away from the coronavirus were flown to Israel for burial, the report said. French Jewry, with about 500,000 Jews, has been the worst hit in Europe from the coronavirus pandemic. According to the tally of 1,300 Jewish fatalities, Jews comprise about 5% of Frances’s 25,897 fatalities from the coronavirus, which reflects a death toll six times that of the general population.

The night before hundreds of thousands of Israeli preschoolers returned to their classrooms on Sunday, Education Ministry Director-General Shmuel Abuav told Channel 13 News that 4th through 6th graders could return to their classrooms in a week and all students within three weeks if there is no significant increase in coronavirus infections in the next week. “We are gradually moving step by step,” Abuav said. “The past week, elementary schools, 11th and 12th grade, special education and at-risk youth programs were opened. We will open the kindergartens and after school programs this week.

Mother’s Day weekend got off to an unseasonably snowy start in the Northeast on Saturday thanks to the polar vortex bringing cold air down from the north. Some higher elevation areas in northern New York and New England reported snowfall accumulations of up to 10 inches, while traces of snow were seen along the coast from Maine to Boston to as far south as Manhattan. John Cannon, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Gray, Maine, said parts of northern New England saw as much as 10 inches of snow and even coastal areas of Maine and New Hampshire got a dusting. There were even reports of flurries in Boston. “We’ve had several inches in many areas in the Northeast. This is a rare May snow event,” he said.

On Friday afternoon, the Orthodox Union and the Rabbinical Council of America issued guidelines to synagogues and communities regarding reopening. This document presents thirteen principles that should guide the decisions and planning of synagogues and communities throughout the country. They focus primarily on the eventual reopening of communal davening. Guidance on other matters will follow. As made clear within the document, the issuance of this guidance does not imply that any reopening should be done at this point. The situation continues to evolve and thus these recommendations and guidelines are formulated based solely on currently available information and advice.

We are all encouraged to see several states ease, or begin talks of easing, the long and difficult quarantine which has successfully slowed the progress of COVID-19. We pray that the trajectory witnessed in several states continue its downward trend until this menace is totally eradicated. Notwithstanding our eagerness to “return to normal,” Agudath Israel of America reminds our constituents that the road to recovery will, and should be, deliberate. Easing restrictions abruptly and without closely monitoring its impact risks forfeiting the gains achieved by enduring this difficult quarantine.