By Rabbi Eliyahu Meir Klugman
Yeshiva Ohr Somayach
The actions of *Agam Berger* תחי’ and her mother are something that one witnesses maybe once in a lifetime.
That a mother and a daughter independently begin to keep Shabbos as a result of the daughter being taken into captivity by murderers, without one knowing of the Shmiras Shabbos of the other.
That a mother whose daughter is about to be released after almost 500 days begs Klal Yisrael not to be mechalel Shabbos upon her release.
Who declares that she won’t even travel to see her on Shabbos, so as not to cause chilul Shabbos.
And then Hashem moves around the pieces so that instead of Agam being released on Shabbos, she is released on Thursday and causes no chilul Shabbos.

Dear Matzav Inbox,
I am writing about the glaring hypocrisy that is “Yeshiva Week,” or “Midwinter Vacation.” (The first is the Modox term that somehow has become en vogue. Frankly, it’s weird, because it’s actually “Non-Yeshiva Week,” but whatever.) The level of inconsistency and double standards being displayed is nothing short of infuriating, and it’s time someone called it out.

By Rabbi Pinchos Lipschutz
The world is moving so fast that we can barely keep track of what is going on. After experiencing four years of a weak, ineffective, and incompetent leader who caused the world’s leading country to suffer economically, politically, and morally, last week Hashem brought us a new leader, albeit one with whom we have become familiar.

Dear Matzav Inbox,
As a young frum family, we are finding it increasingly impossible to make ends meet, even as we tighten our belts and cut back on anything that’s not absolutely essential. It’s hard to imagine how anyone in our situation is expected to save or even plan for the future when the day-to-day costs are so overwhelming.

By Rabbi Pinchos Lipschutz
Eretz Yisroel is a nation fraught with disagreements, tragedies, and profound challenges. Since its inception, Israel has faced large and small problems, oscillating between moments of hope and periods of despair. Recently, the situation seems to have deteriorated further. Many of the issues currently confounding the country lack simple solutions, leaving many to search for the root causes of the discord, pain, internal and external conflicts, and the inability to find lasting resolutions.

Dear Matzav Inbox,
It is honestly astounding how the frum community has been swept up in the frenzy of politics, with so many putting all their energy into idolizing President Trump and obsessing over every detail of his actions. Day in and day out, there are conversations and debates about him, as if he is the key to solving our problems, as if his leadership will somehow bring geulah. It’s as if the entire focus of our community has shifted entirely to political matters, and this obsession with the goyishe world of politics has taken over, pushing aside the things that truly matter to us as Yidden.
Frankly, it’s nauseating.
We have fallen off the deep end.
Since when did we forget who we are?

By Professor Alan Dershowitz, The Daily Caller
The decision by the Israeli government to make significant concessions to the Hamas kidnappers should never be called a “deal.” It was an extortion. Would you call it a deal if somebody kidnapped your child and you “agreed” to pay ransom to get her back? Of course not. The kidnapping was a crime. And the extortionate demand was an additional crime.

By Rabbi Pinchos Lipschutz
This week, we begin the study of Seder Shemos, recounting the story of Yaakov’s descendants in Mitzrayim. First, we learn of their subjugation and servitude, followed by their eventual freedom and redemption. Finally, we see how they became a nation at Har Sinai and the construction of the Mishkon.
The era of the avos has ended, and now the era of their children, the Bnei Yisroel, begins. After a rough start, they ultimately rise to the expectations placed upon them and earn the Torah, the mitzvos, and a profound connection to Hashem.

Dear Matzav Inbox,

Communicated by Misaskim
The call came while Simcha was driving his friend Moshe and his wife to a wedding. An unfamiliar number flashed on his screen. It was the chevra kaddisha.
“Are you on speaker?” the man on the other end asked quietly.
“No, I’m not.”
“Tragically, Moshe’s 10-year-old son was killed in an accident. The news is already spreading. Every WhatsApp group has posted it. You have a few seconds to tell the parents before they find out themselves.”
There in the car, Simcha had no choice but to break the devastating news to the parents.
“I already knew,” Moshe said. “Someone posted it on a WhatsApp group I’m in. I just… couldn’t say anything.”
“I also knew,” his wife whispered. “I just got it on my women’s group.”