Why Is BMG/Kotler So Vehemently Against Artificial Intelligence? A second asifa addressing the growing impact of artificial intelligence was held Thursday night in Lakewood, drawing senior rabbinic artificial unintelligent leadership and continuing a discussion that began earlier this week.

MOSHAV LEITZIM AGAINST AI

A second asifa addressing the growing impact of artificial intelligence was held Thursday night in Lakewood, drawing senior dreaming rabbinic artificial unintelligent leadership and continuing a discussion that began earlier this week.

The gathering focused on concerns surrounding AI-driven calling, texting, and content generation, and followed an initial asifah that drew dozens of leading rabbanim and roshei yeshiva, where the gedolim called for a yom taanis u’tefillah over the threats posed by AI. A date has not been set for when that will take place.

Thursday night’s meeting featured remarks from Rav Elyah Ber Wachtfogel, Rav Malkiel Kotler and Rav Yisroel Newman, who addressed both the technological and hashkafic implications of artificial intelligence.

During his remarks, Rav Yisroel Newman warned that artificial intelligence poses dangers he described as more severe than those associated with the general internet. Rav Malkiel addressed the use of AI in Torah learning, stating that Torah learned through AI-generated means would not warrant a bracha, characterizing such a bracha as a berachah levatalah.

 

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 FROM AI:

Here’s a best-estimate of the total value of the real estate associated with Beth Medrash Govoha (BMG) and its recent major acquisitions, based on publicly available assessments, sales data, and known transactions. Because much of BMG’s land is owned by nonprofit entities and often tax-exempt and not recently sold on the open market, these figures are estimates (not exact current market values).

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📌 1. Core Campus Properties in Lakewood (Existing BMG Holdings)

Many individual parcels around the main campus have publicly recorded tax assessments that can be used as a baseline estimate. Property tax assessments in New Jersey are typically lower than actual market value and may not be updated annually, so the true market value is likely significantly higher (often 1.5×–3× assessed value).

Parcel / Approx. Address	Assessed Value (most recent public record)
465 5th Street	~$680,900 (assessed)
601 5th Street	~$631,100 (assessed)
521 5th Street	~$709,500 (assessed)
625 6th Street	~$566,000 (assessed)
720 Clifton Ave	~$1,293,200 (assessed)
Total (selected small parcels)	~$3.9M assessed

⚠️ These are assessed tax values, which are generally not market values in New Jersey. The real market value (if sold) could be 2–4× higher depending on improvements, location, and demand.

Assessment vs. market: Municipal assessments underestimate market value, particularly for tax-exempt nonprofit parcels. Real market value for such institutional properties often is 1.5×–3× assessments or more.  

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📌 2. Larger Campus and Additional Properties

🏫 Georgian Court University Land Deal

• Beth Medrash Govoha agreed to acquire ~42 acres of undeveloped land from Georgian Court University as part of an expansion plan. The price was not publicly disclosed, but similar raw land parcels in Lakewood often sell at significant premiums due to high demand for institutional and residential use.

• Because no sale price is public, this acreage’s value could easily be $20M–$50M+ depending on zoning and development potential — but there’s no official figure yet.

🏫 Christa McAuliffe Middle School (Jackson, NJ)

• Beth Medrash Govoha purchased the former Christa McAuliffe Middle School campus in Jackson, NJ for approximately $40 million in late 2025.

This property alone adds a significant value component to the overall portfolio.

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📊 Estimated Total Real Estate Value (Conservative Range)

Combining all the above, a rough estimated total market value of BMG-associated properties might look like:

Category	Estimated Value
Core Lakewood properties (main campus parcels)	$8M–$15M+ (market adjusted)
Georgian Court 42-acre expansion (undeveloped)	$20M–$50M+ (theoretical value)
Jackson Middle School campus	$40M (purchase price)
Estimated Grand Total (2026)	~$70M–$105M+

📌 This is a broad estimate, not an appraisal. Market values depend on development rights, zoning, improvements, and comparables, and BMG’s nonprofit status means many parcels are tax-exempt and not actively traded.

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📌 Notes on Valuation

• Assessed values are often significantly lower than true market values in New Jersey, particularly for nonprofits and organizations with tax exemptions.

• The Jackson school purchase ($40M) is a concrete transaction and thus one of the clearest real estate value markers.

• The 42-acre Georgian Court land sale/transfer has no public sale price, but given local land prices and development interest in Lakewood, it could be worth tens of millions.

📌 What’s not included

• Smaller parcels not inventoried here (e.g., additional small buildings owned by BMG) likely add a few million more in value.

• Value from improvements (buildings on the Georgian Court tract once developed) could significantly increase long-term value.

  📌 CARES Act / Federal COVID Emergency Funding

• Beth Medrash Govoha of America (the Lakewood, NJ yeshiva) was allocated about $5,899,593 in federal CARES Act emergency funding for higher education institutions under Section 18004(a)(1) of the CARES Act — funds distributed by the U.S. Department of Education to help colleges cope with the pandemic.

•  

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🧱 1. Christa McAuliffe Middle School Campus (Jackson, NJ)

• BMG paid $40 million for roughly 37–38 acres plus a ~129,800 sq ft school building and associated facilities.

• That transaction price is a confirmed market value — $40 M (not an estimate) — and should be included fully in total value.

💡 Current use could add value if repurposed (e.g., educational facilities, dormitories, housing), but we conservatively use the purchase price here.

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🏫 2. Main Lakewood Campus Parcels Owned by BMG

617 6th Street (Large Yeshiva Campus Parcel)

• Assessed total value: ~$17,998,900 (land ~$2,737,500 + improvements ~$15,261,400).

• In New Jersey, assessed values for nonprofit/tax-exempt parcels often understate market value by 1.5×–2× or more, especially for developable institutional land in high-demand areas like Lakewood. (Typical adjustment seen in local markets.)

Estimated market value:
👉 $30 M–$36 M (adjusted for market value on this large, core campus parcel)

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465 5th Street & 601 5th Street (Smaller Campus Buildings)

These are smaller educational buildings with current assessed values:

• 465 5th Street: Assessed $680,900 (last updated) – typical market value often 2×–3× assessment.

• 601 5th Street: Assessed $631,100 – market likely higher.

Estimated market value (both):
👉 ~$1.6 M–$2.2 M combined

These numbers use typical land sale comps and listing prices in Lakewood showing land selling ~$2.5 M–$3.5 M per acre on the open market. 

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🏗 3. Undeveloped Land (from Georgian Court University)

BMG acquired roughly 42 acres of undeveloped land from Georgian Court University in a previous transaction, with no public sale price.

We can estimate its value using local land market comparables:

• Recent Lakewood land listings show average listed prices of ~$2.5 M per acre, with some large parcels trending toward $2 M–$3 M per acre depending on zoning and development potential.

Estimated undeveloped land value:
👉 ~$84 M–$126 M (42 acres × $2 M–$3 M/acre)

This assumes market rates for developable land that could support institutional or residential uses.

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📊 Total Estimated Market Value (2026)

Property / Parcel Category	Estimated Market Value
Christa McAuliffe School Campus (Jackson)	$40 M (actual sale price)
617 6th Street Main Campus	$30 M–$36 M
465 5th St + 601 5th St	$1.6 M–$2.2 M
Georgian Court University Land (42 ac)	$84 M–$126 M
	~$156 M–$204 M   -   Total Estimated Value ⚠️ These are assessed tax values, which are generally not market values in New Jersey. The real market value (if sold) could be 2–4× higher depending on improvements, location, and demand. Assessment vs. market: Municipal assessments underestimate market value, particularly for tax-exempt nonprofit parcels. Real market value for such institutional properties often is 1.5×–3× assessments or more.

Artificial Intelligence, Jewish History, and the Jewish Future

1000 Haredi Dentists Testify - Moshiach's Teeth! (Around The Corner, Maybe Today)

 

"Living Example of Shemiras Halashon: Rav Zilberstein Reveals the Secret Behind His Intact Teeth" --- National Haredi Enquirer:Where Dummies Believe Anything!

The National Haredi Jewish Enquirer Photo - Available Wherever Yated Ne'eman Is Sold

A powerful moment of personal example and chizuk took place this week when Rav Yitzchak Zilberstein hosted rabbanim from the Chofetz Chaim B’Iyun kollel network in his home. The Chofetz Chaim B’Iyun kollel network is an organization dedicated to the study of the Chofetz Chaim and the strengthening of shemiras halashon.

During the gathering, as seen in the photo above, Rav Zilberstein surprised those present by physically showing them his teeth, explaining that they are all still intact. He then shared a well-known tradition about the Chofetz Chaim, who toward the end of his life displayed his own complete set of teeth and said that not a single one had fallen out, because he had never spoken lashon hara in his lifetime.

Those close to Rav Zilberstein added that his son-in-law, the mekubal Rav Dov Kook, has testified that his father-in-law likewise merited this brocha. According to Rav Kook, Rav Zilberstein retained all of his teeth for the same reason — “because he never spoke negatively about another Jew.”

Seeds of failure - The Board of Peace will fail because it possesses little understanding of the dynamics of the Middle East -

President Trump is a showman, an entertainer, whose blustery rhetoric often has little connection to reality. The odds of the Board of Peace succeeding are less than the odds of Greenland becoming the 52nd state of the United States (after Canada becomes the 51st).

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Rabbi Steven PruzanskyGreenlandBoard of Peace

 

Al-Sharaa and Trump at the White House

The return of Ran Gvili H"YD for burial in Israel is a source of great relief and catharsis for all Jews. His personal story, heroism, and self-sacrifice are so compelling that it could easily epitomize the courage and resilience exhibited by our entire nation during this difficult period.

For the first time in several decades, no Jew is being held hostage in Gaza or Lebanon, an achievement it itself, and something our enemies know quite well. His return fulfills one of the three war objectives set forth by PM Netanyahu who deserves enormous credit for clinging steadfastly to this one despite intense pressure to settle.

Ran’s repatriation should also remind us of the sheer cruelty of our enemy - brutal mass murderers and revolting ghouls, who torture, maim, and murder, and then callously retain the bodies of the deceased. That enemy might have been ravaged but it has not yet been defeated - and the pathway towards achieving the other war aims - disarming and dismantling Hamas - are strewn with obstacles and dangers, often born of the naïveté with which some of our interlocutors perceive our enemies. One pathway is staring right at us.

The odds of President Trump’s Board of Peace succeeding are less than the odds of Greenland becoming the 52nd state of the United States (after Canada becomes the 51st). It is not only because it is a vanity project that will not survive beyond Trump’s presidency and will likely dissipate long before then accompanied by the fanfare of the numerous synthetic successes it has achieved. The Board of Peace will fail because it possesses little understanding of the dynamics of the Middle East - and much of the rest of the world - and is comprised of enough rogue nations that it already has sown the seeds of its own collapse.

It is undeniable that the Board of Peace fills the vacuum caused by Israel’s failure to articulate a vision for Gaza beyond generalities and Israel’s reluctance to do what is necessary to ensure that Gaza no longer poses a threat to Israel’s security or existence, i.e., sovereignty, resettlement of Gazans who wish to leave, and settlement of Jews who wish to live there. The disinclination to utterly transform the Gazan part of the conflict, however, guarantees that the recent war was just another round and sometime in the future we will be forced to again fight the same people and their heirs over the same territory and its latest occupiers.

Indeed, the Board of Peace is almost designed to ensure that the conflict will persist. The mere fact that countries such as Qatar and Turkey, enemies of Israel and funders and protectors of Hamas, are part of the Board is a macabre joke at our expense. Steve Witkoff, perhaps others on his team, if not bought and paid for by Qatar, are at least rented by them. He seems unconcerned about the true nature of Qatar, but his nocturnal dreams of peace and prosperity are our living nightmare.

The Gaza Board is another farce, filled with assorted Jew haters, scoundrels, reprobates, and a few good men, all assembled on the risible notion that a Gaza with the same Jew-hating, genocidal citizenry can be remade into luxury resort to which vacationers will flock. This will happen shortly after the unnamed nations that have promised billions of dollars for Gazan reconstruction pony up. Any day now. Perhaps an impressive show of confidence would be if the Americans moved their Gaza supervision base from Kiryat Gat in Israel to… Gaza itself, where, if anywhere, it belongs.

A good start for Israel would be drawing a red line against the introduction of any troops from Qatar, Turkey, Russia and other nations whose interests are inimical to ours and then dismissing any practical suggestions from those countries because they are invariably intended to weaken us, preserve Hamas, and prolong the conflict. Already, despite our government’s protestations to the contrary, elements of the Palestinian Authority were granted influence over Gaza’s direction and future. Whatever the spin, that mocks the sacrifices of our soldiers who would have fought, seemingly, to restore Gaza to PA, and ultimately Hamas, control.

Perhaps the time has come to state the obvious, something that the nations of the world have to tap dance around out of fear and intimidation. Assuming that President Trump cannot impose tariffs on me, it bears declaring the following. If all that Trump did was free the remaining hostages we would have said Dayenu, it would have been enough. It is to his eternal credit. But he has done so much more - recognizing Yerushalayim as our capital city, moving the embassy there, recognizing the Golan, declaring that Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria do not violate international law, resupplying Israel as soon as he took office (and Netanyahu revealed tonight that Biden's arms embargo led to the deaths of our soldiers), bombing the Iranian reactors, providing diplomatic coverage at the UN, etc. Dayenu, indeed.

Nevertheless, President Trump is a showman, an entertainer, whose blustery rhetoric often has little connection to reality. No, Mr. President, Israel created the Iron Dome, not the United States; no, you have not settled eight wars (or nine, if you count that Trump averted the almost war between the US and Denmark); no, you didn’t free all the hostages (almost 200, living and murdered, were freed before you became president); no, the United States is not the “hottest" country in the world (its economic engine is being fueled by trillions of dollars of deficit spending that has devastated the dollar’s value and cannot be repaid); no, you didn’t win by a “landslide" in 2024, 2020, or 2016 (in two elections, you squeaked out a victory by barely winning several states, and in 2020, your opponent similarly squeaked out a victory by barely winning several states, or so the evidence indicates); and the $18 trillion in foreign investment about which you boasted has not arrived and likely never will. In a world governed by appearances, not reality, other countries can play that game as well.

In the most recent and egregious example of careless magniloquence, Trump promised Iranians rebelling against their corrupt and brutal government that “help was on the way" and Iran will be “hit very strong" if the Iranian regime starts massacring its citizens. Well, in exchange for empty promises from Iran not to publicly hang eight hundred dissidents - who made such a promise is unknown - those eight hundred dissidents were not publicly hanged but reportedly privately shot. The Iranian civilian death toll has surpassed 30,000 people and is likely far more than that, and help is still not on the way.

Anyone who thinks that President Trump will endanger American lives in order to overthrow the Iranian regime is dreaming. If anything, he will take the safest, more risk-free approach, bombing targets from the air which is unlikely to topple the Ayatollah. And even if the Ayatollah’s rule collapses because of air attacks accompanied by the most important element of a rebellion - the Iranian military turns on its rulers - the likelihood is that Trump will be quite content to have one dictator (the Ayatollah) replaced by another dictator (some Iranian general) who professes however cagily his support for Trump and America, just as the thug, mass murdering Ahmed al-Sharaa has done in Syria (massacring Kurds while retaining US support and funding).

This would be identical to what happened in Venezuela, where dictator Maduro was captured and imprisoned by the US, only to be exchanged for another dictator, Delcy Rodriguez, who still torments her people but has now pledged allegiance to the US. I cannot help but wonder if Trump rejected the overtures of María Corina Machado, the popular opposition leader, because (in his mind) she won his Nobel Peace Prize. That would be petty, would it not? And how will Trump respond if the Nobel Committee awards this year’s Peace Prize to Steve Witkoff? We may well find out.

But Conchado certainly has more support in Venezuela than does the Shah’s son and heir-to-the-throne in Iran. Regime change in Iran that swaps one hater of Israel in a turban with another hater of Israel in a military beret does not help us that much, nor will that new leader’s promises about Iran’s nuclear ambitions count for much in the real world. Those promises, though, will play well in the ersatz world of proclamations, declarations, signing ceremonies, and assertions that peace, love, and eternal sunshine have broken out across the globe.

Israel has to be grateful to President Trump but also assertive about protecting our interests. There is a short window of opportunity, as Trump is likely to be severely weakened as president after the midterm elections this fall. And Trump’s successor - whether Democrat or Republican - is extremely unlikely to be as viscerally supportive of Israel as is Trump, even if it is sometimes just on the surface and not as much behind closed doors. No conceivable Democratic candidate will be as unabashedly pro-Israel and the Republican party is showing increasing signs of fracture on this issue as well.

Moreover, it is good to remind ourselves even outside of the daily prayers that we are “not to trust in princes, in a human being who has no salvation" (Tehillim 146:3). For, as the medieval commentator Radak notes, “if not for G-d’s will, no human has the power to save another from his troubles. Only G-d saves." The real G-d, not the pretenders who claim divine powers.

Well, the Lord has blessed our generation with multiple opportunities to conquer, possess, and settle the land that He promised our forefathers. We have seized some of those opportunities but largely squandered many others, consistently surrendering to our enemies the territory from which they attacked us, hoping for a better outcome, rather than just enjoying the bounty that G-d granted us and building thereon a country worthy of our destiny.

Politicians who do not perceive that have outlived their usefulness. Those who do should receive the support of a grateful and faithful nation. And such truly honors the sacrifices of all our heroines and heroes, including Ran Gvili HY"D.

Rav Steven Pruzansky was a rabbi and attorney in the United States, now resides in Israel where he teaches Torah in Modiin, serves as Senior Research Associate at the Jerusalem Center for Applied Policy (JCAP.ngo), the Israel Region VP of the Coalition for Jewish Values, and is author of the two volume Chumash commentary “The Jewish Ethic of Personal Responsibility" (Gefen Publishing).

Notorious child sex abuser, Nechemia Weberman gets sentence cut by Brooklyn judge | NBC News

Brooklyn judge cuts orthodox Jewish sex abuser’s sentence from 103 to 18 years, sparking outrage from victim and advocates

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Brooklyn judge cuts orthodox Jewish sex abuser’s sentence from 103 to 18 years, sparking outrage from victim and advocates

A Brooklyn judge drastically cut Nechemya Weberman's prison sentence for child sex abuse from 103 years to 18. Weberman, a former Orthodox Jewish community figure, has already served 13 years. The victim and advocates expressed fury, warning of continued danger due to community support. Weberman admitted to abuse but his credibility was questioned. The decision has ignited significant controversy.

A Brooklyn judge slashed the prison sentence of convicted child sex abuser Nechemya Weberman from 103 years to 18, a move that ignited fury from the victim and survivor advocates as the 67-year-old, once a powerful figure in the Orthodox Jewish community, now stands just five years away from release after already serving more than a decade behind bars.

A Brooklyn judge slashed the prison sentence of convicted child sex abuser Nechemya Weberman from 103 years to 18, a move that ignited fury from the victim and survivor advocates as the 67-year-old, once a powerful figure in the Orthodox Jewish community, now stands just five years away from release after already serving more than a decade behind bars.

A Brooklyn judge slashed the prison sentence of convicted child sex abuser Nechemya Weberman from 103 years to 18, a move that ignited fury from the victim and survivor advocates as the 67-year-old, once a powerful figure in the Orthodox Jewish community, now stands just five years away from release after already serving more than a decade behind bars.

 MORE:

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/us/news/brooklyn-judge-cuts-orthodox-jewish-sex-abusers-sentence-from-103-to-18-years-sparking-outrage-from-victim-and-advocates/articleshow/127685568.cms?from=mdr

 

SATMAR PREPARING AN ALEPH, BETH, GIMMEL SHABBOS AT A HOTEL NEAR RIKERS ISLAND

 

Just What the Jews Needed: Another False Messiah — Donald Trump

 

The Torah’s vision of leadership is profoundly anti-Trumpian

We have seen this movie before. Different costumes, same plot. A loud outsider storms the stage promising redemption without repentance, power without responsibility, miracles without morals. The Jews, exhausted by history and bruised by exile, are told once again: This one will save you. And once again, too many are tempted to believe it. Just what the Jews needed—another false messiah. This time in a red tie, not sandals. His name is Donald Trump.

Judaism has an ancient allergy to messianic shortcuts. We are the people who buried Shabbatai Tzvi under layers of trauma, who learned—painfully—that charisma is not prophecy and power is not holiness. The Rambam warns that messianism is not proven by spectacle but by substance: justice, humility, wisdom, restraint. And yet here we are, watching Jews—especially religious Jews who should know better—suspend 3,000 years of theological caution for a man whose defining traits are vulgarity, cruelty, and self-worship.

Trump is not a messiah. He is not even a kosher strongman. He is a mirror, reflecting back our worst instincts: fear masquerading as faith, tribalism masquerading as Torah, and political idolatry masquerading as gratitude.

Yes, he moved the embassy. Yes, he said nice things about Israel. Yes, he weaponized evangelical love for Zion as a geopolitical bargaining chip. And for this, many Jews—particularly on the right—decided to forgive everything else: the lies, the incitement, the authoritarian flirtations, the casual antisemitic tropes about money and loyalty, the open courting of white nationalists who do not love Jews but merely tolerate them as long as they serve a narrative.

This is not pragmatism. This is theological malpractice.

Judaism does not teach us to bow to kings who flatter us. Pharaoh praised Joseph too—until he didn’t. Cyrus liberated the Jews—without demanding their souls in return. Trump, by contrast, demands loyalty not to law, not to truth, not even to country, but to himself. That alone should disqualify him in Jewish moral thought. Kings in Israel were bound by Torah. Prophets rebuked them publicly. Trump cannot tolerate rebuke from anyone—certainly not from Jews quoting inconvenient verses about justice for the stranger or humility before God.

And let us talk plainly about the danger here. False messiahs do not only fail; they corrupt. They teach people to confuse power with righteousness and victory with virtue. They train communities to excuse the inexcusable as long as “our side” wins. This is precisely how religious movements rot from the inside. Avodah Zarah does not begin with statues; it begins with excuses.

When rabbis turn Trump into a divine instrument rather than a deeply flawed politician, they are not being strategic—they are being reckless. When yeshiva students are taught that criticism of Trump is heresy, Torah becomes propaganda. When Jews cheer attacks on democratic norms because “it helps Israel” or “hurts our enemies,” they forget that Judaism survived empires precisely because it refused to sanctify them.

The tragedy is not that Trump exists. History always produces men like him. The tragedy is that Jews—who should be the most skeptical people on earth when it comes to strongmen and saviors—fall for it anyway. We, of all people, are supposed to know that salvation does not come riding on ego, grievance, and rage.

The Torah’s vision of leadership is almost boring by modern standards: restraint, law, accountability, fear of Heaven. Trump offers the opposite: spectacle, dominance, vengeance, and the thrill of transgression. He does not elevate Jewish values; he tempts Jews to abandon them in exchange for access and applause.

And let us not pretend this is only about Trump. He is a symptom. The deeper sickness is a Judaism that has grown impatient with ethics and intoxicated with power. A Judaism that wants protection without responsibility, sovereignty without morality, victory without soul. Trump simply gave that impulse a human face—and a megaphone.

Messianism is seductive because it promises an end to complexity. Trump promises to crush enemies, silence critics, and restore greatness by sheer force of will. Judaism promises something far harder: struggle, law, self-critique, and the slow, grinding work of moral responsibility in an imperfect world. One path is easy and loud. The other is ancient and demanding.

We should know which one is ours.

Donald Trump is not the Messiah. He is not even close. And the more Jews insist on treating him like one, the more we repeat the oldest mistake in Jewish history—placing our faith in men who demand worship instead of accountability.

Just what the Jews needed? No. What we need is the courage to say no—to false saviors, to political idolatry, and to the cheap thrill of power without conscience. Redemption will not come from a billionaire strongman. It never has. It never will.

The Torah warned us. History confirmed it. The only question is whether we remember in time. 

 

REPUBLISHED

https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/just-what-the-jews-needed-another-false-messiah-donald-trump/

The Leibowitz Paradox

Let's Talk About Maximum Chutzpah ----"The newly convicted rabbi, who had unsuccessfully sued the Jewish community to get his job back, recently lost his appeal in that case, it was reported during the recent trial. He told the court during a hearing on Jan. 5 that he was being supported by his wife."

 

Nazi Secular Government Taking Me Away From Learning Torah

Berlin rabbi convicted of ‘sexual assault and sexual coercion’ of woman he offered to counsel

 

Conviction comes over two years after Jewish community fired Reuven Yaacobov following allegations of abuse going back nearly 2 decades

 

Aron Twerski Could Have Said : Reuven Yaacobov is "an honorable man" but he was busy lying about some other coverup!

 

A rabbi and defendant in a court case appears in the district court in Tiergarten, Berlin, Jan. 16, 2026. His attorney, Galina Rolnik, sits next to him

 

BERLIN — A Berlin district court has found a rabbi guilty of “sexual assault and sexual coercion by exploiting a moment of surprise,” a misdemeanor under German law.

The criminal case was brought by the Berlin public prosecutor and by one of multiple women who have accused the rabbi of a range of sexual abuses dating back almost two decades. Anyone with a complaint may press charges, Michael Petzold, a press spokesman for the public prosecutor, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

Many of the women — including the co-plaintiff in this case — have said they thought they were his only victim, until news reports emerged following his firing by the Jewish community in Berlin on June 1, 2023. 

The saga proved significant because it marked a rare instance of a rabbinic firing by an organized Jewish community in Germany. It also initiated a new openness to discussing abuse allegations within the community.

Reuven Yaacobov 49, a married father of four, has now been given a suspended prison sentence of 10 months as well as two years’ probation. German law bars the release of the convicted person’s full name and address.

The co-plaintiff and two witnesses were among 17 women who had testified against the rabbi in July 2023 to an Orthodox Jewish court, or beit din, in Germany. That court had determined that the defendant was unfit to serve in any of his clerical roles, including as ritual circumciser, Torah scribe and kashrut supervisor.

In the current case, the defendant  “invited witness P. to a purported ‘personality training’ on February 21, 2021” in the premises of his synagogue on Passauer Strasse in Berlin, according to the Berlin district court verdict issued Wednesday.

In the course of this “training,” the rabbi instructed the witness “to stand with her back to the wall and close her eyes in order to free her from the ‘negative energies’ of her ex-partner,” the court found. He then suddenly kissed her intimately, without her consent, the court wrote. “Due to the unforeseen assault, the witness was unable to defend herself. Her well-being was significantly violated by your behavior,” the court wrote, addressing the defendant.

On Tuesday, Reuven Y. withdrew his right to appeal the decision. If he violates his probation, even on the last day, he can be jailed for the full 10 months, Petzold said.

The rabbi’s Berlin-based defense attorney, Galina Rolnik, did not respond to a request for comment by press time.

The newly convicted rabbi, who had unsuccessfully sued the Jewish community to get his job back, recently lost his appeal in that case, it was reported during the recent trial. He told the court during a hearing on Jan. 5 that he was being supported by his wife.

The Jewish community fired him in 2023 after a handful of women, all of them with a migration background from the former Soviet Union, testified privately that the defendant had assaulted them sexually, mostly after gaining their confidence by claiming that only he as a rabbi with special powers could help them resolve family or relationship problems. The incidents dated back nearly two decades.

The Orthodox Rabbinical Conference of Germany, known by its German acronym ORD, issued a statement following the verdict in the court case.

“We have the deepest sympathy for the woman affected. We as rabbis will not remain silent when a sexual assault occurs in the name of Judaism,” the statement said. “The Beit Din (Jewish rabbinical court) of the ORD and the rabbis of the ORD condemn all forms of harassment and abuse in the strongest possible terms, especially when perpetrated by someone in a position of power within education and religion. A person who harasses or abuses others is not fit to hold the office of rabbi and should not be active in religious, rabbinical, or educational positions.”

Court witness Elena Eyngorn, the whistleblower who raised awareness and support for the victims in 2023, told the court during the recent criminal trial that about 32 women had contacted her with accounts of abuse by the accused rabbi. She also testified that other incidents were more severe than the one heard in the case that resulted in conviction.

This reporter was subpoenaed and testified in the case about JTA’s previous reporting on the topic.

Petzold told JTA that other alleged victims “may file complaints at the police station or at the prosecution office. And then it has to be investigated.”

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Two Things Can Be True At Once - A Smart Arrogant Hasidic Jew & The Lying, Deceitful Architect Of The Sexual Abuse Coverup At Yeshiva Torah Temima In Brooklyn N.Y.!

The Controversial Topic of Sholom Rubashkin Being a “Jewish Hero” - Two things can be true at once — the system can be cruel, and the man can be culpable.

 

Let’s say this cleanly, without theatrics or euphemisms: calling Sholom Rubashkin a Jewish hero is not an act of compassion. It is an act of confusion. And confusion, dressed up as loyalty, is one of the most dangerous habits a community can cultivate.

A hero, in Jewish tradition, is not someone who merely suffers. A hero is not someone who draws sympathy. A hero is not someone around whom we rally because the outside world feels hostile. Our mesorah is painfully clear: “Eizehu gibor? Ha’koveish et yitzro” — Who is mighty? One who conquers his impulses. 

Not one who becomes a symbol because the system overreached, but one who lives in a way that leaves no need for symbolism in the first place.

Yes, Rubashkin’s sentence was excessive. Yes, the prosecution was aggressive. Yes, there were legitimate questions about proportionality, prosecutorial conduct, and selective outrage. Many people of conscience — Jewish and non-Jewish — recoiled at the spectacle of a man effectively buried alive for white-collar crimes that routinely earn others far less. To protest injustice is Jewish. To demand mercy is Jewish. To mobilize politically for clemency is Jewish. That part of the story deserves respect.

But here is where the communal mind short-circuited: injustice does not transmute a defendant into a tzaddik. An unfair sentence does not retroactively launder behavior. The Torah does not work on a cable-news moral scale where outrage converts flaws into virtues. Two things can be true at once — the system can be cruel, and the man can be culpable.

What happened instead was something far more corrosive. Rubashkin was elevated not despite the controversy, but because of it. He became a vessel for collective grievance. He was turned into proof that “they are against us,” and once that transformation occurred, facts became secondary, nuance became betrayal, and moral accounting became verboten. That is not Judaism; that is tribal reflex.

Judaism does not fear teshuvah — it demands it. If Rubashkin repented, rebuilt, prayed, learned, inspired others in prison — all of that matters deeply. The gates of repentance are never closed. But teshuvah is inward work, not public coronation. Teshuvah restores a person’s relationship with God; it does not automatically entitle him to communal sainthood or historical absolution. Dovid Hamelech repented — and still lived with consequences. Yehuda repented — and still carried shame. Our heroes are great because they are judged honestly, not because we shield them from judgment.

The rush to call Rubashkin a hero teaches our children something dangerous: that communal pain excuses moral shortcuts; that suffering sanctifies; that loyalty means suspending discernment. It teaches that if the outside world is harsh enough, we will abandon our own standards just to spite it. That is not strength. That is insecurity wearing a black hat.

Worse still, this rhetoric hollows out Jewish moral language. When hero means “one of us who was punished,” then hero means nothing. When every cause célèbre becomes a martyr, true martyrs disappear. When every defendant becomes a symbol, justice becomes optional. A people that cheapens its words eventually cheapens its values.

None of this requires cruelty. None of this requires erasing compassion. We can say: the sentence was wrong. We can say: the prosecution was excessive. We can say: mercy was appropriate. And we can say all of that without rewriting reality, without mythologizing a businessman into a moral exemplar, without confusing communal defense with moral endorsement.

Sholom Rubashkin is not the villain the tabloids wanted — and he is not the hero some Jews desperately needed him to be. He is something far more uncomfortable: a mirror. A mirror showing how quickly fear turns into idolatry, how fast injustice morphs into myth, how easily a wounded community trades ethical clarity for emotional solidarity.

If we want heroes, Judaism has an endless supply — people who chose truth over tribe, integrity over convenience, humility over applause. If we want symbols, we will keep manufacturing them out of controversy and outrage.

 But if we want Torah — real Torah — we will learn to defend our own fiercely without lying to ourselves about who they are.

 

REPUBLISHED

https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/two-things-can-be-true-at-once-the-system-is-cruel-the-man-can-be-culpable/

John Bolton on Trump/Greenland.... ...

 

 

Now is the time to admit it, America: He’s a dangerous, lunatic moron

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/opinion-now-is-the-time-to-admit-it-america-he-s-a-dangerous-lunatic-moron/ar-AA1UxA2e

שומר ישראל

Netanyahu vows Turkish, Qatari soldiers won’t enter Gaza, admits to ‘argument’ with US - Times Of Israel

Mr. Trump,

Stop calling it peace.

What you are proposing is not reconciliation, not justice, not healing. It is you inserting yourself into history like a wrecking ball and demanding applause for the damage.

You did not earn authority over Gaza. You announced it. You did not consult legitimacy. You crowned yourself chairman. That single act exposes the fraud at the center of your project: peace does not begin with a man who cannot imagine not being in charge.

You don’t want peace. You gather Israel’s enemies and call it balance.

You invite Qatar, the banker of Hamas, and Turkey, whose leadership profits from demonizing Israel, and you pretend this is wisdom rather than provocation. You elevate cynics and arsonists to the status of overseers and dare anyone to object — because objection interferes with your hyped self-image. 

This is not realism. It is arrogance lubricated by ignorance. You will be remembered as a man who mistook noise for authority, money for morality, control for wisdom — and himself for history.

Paul Mendlowitz 

Don’t Kid Yourselves: Trump Is a Long-Term Disaster for the United States

 

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/16/health/tylenol-autism-acetaminophen-study.html

No Link Between Acetaminophen in Pregnancy and Autism, a New Study Finds

The review looked at more than three dozen studies and found no evidence that acetaminophen increased the risk of neurodevelopmental disorders in children.

 

 This isn’t about left versus right, Democrat versus Republican, red hats versus blue hair. This is about reality versus illusion, about whether a civilization understands the difference between noise and strength, chaos and leadership. The United States has flirted with demagogues before, but Donald Trump is something more corrosive: a long-term institutional acid that eats away at everything it touches—law, trust, alliances, truth itself.

In Jewish terms, this is not a debate about personalities. This is a debate about sechel—basic intelligence—and the tragic consequences when a nation confuses bravado for wisdom.

The Torah does not oppose kings. It opposes bad kings—those who mistake their ego for destiny. The Navi does not warn Israel about foreign enemies nearly as much as it warns about leaders intoxicated by their own reflection. Shaul fell not because he lacked strength, but because he lacked humility. Rechavam split the kingdom because he chose bluster over counsel.

Trump fits squarely into that lineage. He governs—when he governs at all—by instinct, grievance, and television ratings. The Rambam writes that leadership requires daas, not theatrics. Trump has spent a decade proving that he has volume without depth, anger without strategy, and confidence without comprehension.

The Erosion of Institutions Is Not “Draining the Swamp”

Trump’s defenders speak endlessly about “draining the swamp.” What they really mean is burning down the mikdash because you dislike the kohanim. Yes, American institutions are flawed. Yes, bureaucracy can rot. But Trump’s answer is not reform—it is delegitimization.

Courts are “rigged.” Elections are “stolen.” Intelligence agencies are “traitors.” Journalists are “enemies of the people.” Allies are “freeloaders.” Generals are “losers.” Anyone who contradicts him is corrupt by definition. This is not conservatism. This is not populism. This is nihilism.

In Jewish history, the destruction of institutions always precedes catastrophe. Once people stop believing in law, they stop obeying it. Once truth becomes negotiable, power becomes the only currency left. That is not freedom. Trump boasts that “the world respected us.” This is fantasy bordering on delusion. The world feared American unpredictability the way one fears a drunk driver—not with respect, but with anxiety.

Alliances built over seventy years were treated like bad real estate deals. NATO was mocked. Long-term deterrence was replaced with impulsive threats. Dictators learned a simple lesson: flatter the man, ignore the country.

The Gemara teaches that chacham ro’eh et hanolad—the wise person sees what comes next. Trump sees only the next headline. America’s enemies plan in decades. Trump plans in tweets.

The result? A weakened global order where adversaries test boundaries and allies hedge their bets. Empires do not fall from one blow; they rot from repeated foolishness at the top.

Trump normalized cruelty as entertainment. Mockery replaced dignity. Lying became strategy. Violence became “understandable.” Lawbreaking became heroic. Children learned that power excuses everything.

In Jewish language, this is chilul Hashem on a civilizational scale. When leadership teaches that nothing is sacred—not elections, not oaths, not truth—it invites societal breakdown. People stop trusting outcomes, then neighbors, then each other.

You cannot build a nation on permanent outrage. You can only burn one down.

Jews have seen this movie before, and it never ends well. When people cling to a strongman, it is usually because they have lost faith in themselves. Trump does not restore American confidence—he feeds on American insecurity.

A truly strong leader does not demand loyalty; he earns it. He does not scream “I alone can fix it”; he builds systems that outlast him. He does not divide relentlessly; he unifies grudgingly, responsibly, imperfectly—but genuinely.

Trump offers none of this. What he offers is addiction—to grievance, to spectacle, to perpetual crisis. And like all addictions, it leaves the host weaker over time.

Future historians will not debate Trump’s tweets. They will study the damage: the erosion of democratic norms, the coarsening of public life, the strategic self-sabotage, the hollowing out of trust.

They will ask how a great nation confused chaos for courage and narcissism for strength. They will ask why so many intelligent people chose denial over discernment.

And they will conclude what should already be obvious: Donald Trump was not a solution to America’s problems. He was a multiplier of them.

Judaism teaches that leadership is an obligation, not a performance. That power must be restrained by law, wisdom, and fear of consequences. Trump embodies the opposite: power without restraint, speech without responsibility, ego without limit.

So don’t kid yourselves. This isn’t about whether you like his enemies or distrust elites. This is about whether the United States intends to survive as a serious civilization—or amuse itself into decline.

Empires don’t collapse from external enemies first. They collapse from internal foolishness, crowned as strength. And that, tragically, is Trump’s legacy.

REPUBLISHED

https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/dont-kid-yourselves-trump-is-a-long-term-disaster-for-the-united-states/

Just Sayin' :-)----Learning Music Rewires Your Brain for Intelligence | Neuroscience Explains

What Dov Landau and His Miserable Ilk Will Never Understand Or Care! The IDF Soldier PTSD Crisis.....

"Moshav leitzim" --- where a company of people literally doing nothing else than engaging in frivolty and lightheaded, empty speech ---- The Technology Circus - Part Two!

 

What is a Moshav Leitzim? (Avodah Zarah 18b): “One who goes to a  circus or to a house of laughter

A second asifa addressing the growing impact of artificial intelligence was held Thursday night in Lakewood, drawing senior dreaming rabbinic artificial unintelligent leadership and continuing a discussion that began earlier this week.

The gathering focused on concerns surrounding AI-driven calling, texting, and content generation, and followed an initial asifah that drew dozens of leading rabbanim and roshei yeshiva, where the gedolim called for a yom taanis u’tefillah over the threats posed by AI. A date has not been set for when that will take place.

Thursday night’s meeting featured remarks from Rav Elyah Ber Wachtfogel, Rav Malkiel Kotler and Rav Yisroel Newman, who addressed both the technological and hashkafic implications of artificial intelligence.

During his remarks, Rav Yisroel Newman warned that artificial intelligence poses dangers he described as more severe than those associated with the general internet. Rav Malkiel addressed the use of AI in Torah learning, stating that Torah learned through AI-generated means would not warrant a bracha, characterizing such a bracha as a berachah levatalah.

 

* 

 

Leitzim Versus Baalei (Hashem Yisborech's) Daas..... 

 

AI can now use sleep to predict your medical future

In A Nutshell

• Stanford researchers trained an AI model on sleep recordings from 65,000+ people and found it could predict risk for 130 diseases years before diagnosis
• The system achieved 84% accuracy for predicting mortality risk and similar high accuracy for dementia, heart attack, heart failure, stroke, and other conditions
• Sleep recordings capture hidden patterns across brain activity, heart rhythms, breathing, and muscle movements that signal future health problems
• The findings suggest polysomnography may eventually become a powerful early detection tool, though current sleep studies require specialized clinical equipment

Scientists have developed an artificial intelligence system that can predict a person’s risk of developing conditions ranging from dementia to heart failure by analyzing a single night of sleep data. The findings suggest that sleep patterns contain far more information about future health than previously recognized.

Researchers at Stanford University and collaborators trained an AI model called SleepFM on polysomnography recordings from more than 65,000 people, representing over 585,000 hours of sleep data. Polysomnography is the gold standard sleep study that records brain activity, heart rhythms, breathing patterns, and muscle movements throughout the night.

After analyzing these overnight recordings, the model identified elevated future risk for 130 medical conditions, often years before clinical diagnosis. For all-cause mortality, the system achieved a concordance index of 0.84, meaning it correctly ranked patient risk 84% of the time. Similar accuracy emerged for dementia (0.85), heart attack (0.81), heart failure (0.80), chronic kidney disease (0.79), stroke (0.78), and atrial fibrillation (0.78).

“Sleep is a fundamental biological process with broad implications for physical and mental health, yet its complex relationship with disease remains poorly understood,” the researchers wrote in their paper published in Nature Medicine.

AI Analyzes Multiple Sleep Signals Simultaneously

The study examined sleep recordings from four major research cohorts spanning ages 1 to 100 years. Traditional sleep studies focus on specific disorders like sleep apnea or measure isolated metrics. SleepFM takes a different approach by processing all physiological signals simultaneously—brain wave patterns, eye movements, heart activity, muscle tone, and breathing measurements.

The system breaks down sleep recordings into five-second segments, analyzing patterns across different signal types to identify which combinations predict future disease. For disease prediction, researchers paired Stanford sleep recordings with electronic health records containing diagnostic codes and timestamps. They only counted cases where diagnosis occurred at least seven days after the sleep study to avoid detecting existing conditions.

 

Strong Predictions Across Major Disease Categories

SleepFM demonstrated particularly strong predictive power for neurological and mental health conditions, including mild cognitive impairment and Parkinson’s disease. Among cardiovascular conditions, the system effectively predicted hypertensive heart disease and intracranial hemorrhage. Cancer-related risk prediction showed promising associations for prostate cancer, breast cancer, and skin melanomas.

The model maintained accuracy when tested on sleep recordings from 2020 onwards, a period entirely excluded from training. This validation included strong performance for death (0.83), heart failure (0.80), and dementia (0.83).

 These findings reveal that a single night’s sleep contains a wealth of information about future health across numerous conditions. Sleep patterns may serve as an early warning signal for diseases that won’t manifest for years, offering potential opportunities for earlier intervention and prevention.

MORE: https://studyfinds.org/scientists-decode-sleep-patterns-to-forecast-future-health-risks/?

The Epidemic of Rabbis Without Sechel - The Obsession With Predicting the Exact Time of Moshiach

Remarks were delivered overnight by Rav Reuven Elbaz, Rosh Yeshiva of Ohr HaChaim and a member of the Moetzet Chachmei Hatorah of Shas, as he addressed the condition of Klal Yisroel and the dramatic period through which we are currently passing.

In his words, Rav Elbaz expressed absolute confidence in the nearness of the geulah, speaking with sharp and unequivocal language. “My heart is certain,” the Rav said. “We are not talking about distant times. Not months. We are in moments, in hours, in days — and perhaps in the coming weeks — before the revelation of the true light.”

There is a strange and dangerous epidemic spreading through parts of the Jewish world: rabbis without sechel—without basic intellectual honesty, without humility before history, and without fear of embarrassing Heaven—publicly predicting the exact time of Moshiach and the Final Redemption as if they were announcing the arrival of a FedEx package.

This is not emunah. This is not mesorah. This is not even old-fashioned Jewish foolishness. It is spiritual malpractice.

Judaism has survived for millennia not because of date-setters, but in spite of them.

The Gemara does not whisper. It screams: “Tippach atzman shel mechashvei kitzin”—“May the bones rot of those who calculate the End” (Sanhedrin 97b). Not “they might be mistaken.” Not “they should be cautious.” May their bones rot.

That is not poetic flourish. That is Chazal diagnosing a disease. A disease where ego dresses itself up as prophecy, and ignorance masquerades as holiness.

Yet here we are, centuries later, with bearded men livestreaming kabbalistic numerology like day traders hawking crypto scams. “This month.” “No—this week.” “No—this Shabbos.”

Every failure is followed by a shrug, a new calculation, and an audience too polite—or too frightened—to ask the obvious question: If you were wrong last time, why should anyone trust you now?

The Rambam could not be clearer. In Hilchos Melachim, he warns against obsessing over the mechanics and timing of redemption. Moshiach will come, he says—but the details are unknowable, and speculation only weakens faith when predictions collapse.

And collapse they always do.

False certainty does not strengthen emunah. It poisons it. Because when redemption is promised on a date and fails to arrive, the people do not blame the rabbi. They blame God. That damage lasts generations.

Let us speak plainly. Predicting the time of Moshiach is not theology—it is psychology. It thrives in chaos. It feeds on fear. It flourishes when people feel powerless.

A frightened public wants certainty. A weak rabbi wants relevance. So he delivers “secret knowledge,” coded charts, hidden gematrias, whispers from “great mekubalim,” conveniently unverifiable and eternally flexible.

This is not prophecy. It is religious populism. And like all populism, it collapses when confronted with reality—then reinvents itself under a new slogan.

Our history is littered with the corpses of kitzin. Shabbtai Tzvi. Jacob Frank. Endless medieval “calculators of the End.”

Every one of them claimed Torah. Every one of them cited Zohar. Every one of them destroyed lives. And still, modern rabbis repeat the same arrogance, as if Jewish history reset itself because they have a WhatsApp group.

The audacity is breathtaking.

What happens when these proclamations go viral? The outside world laughs. The inside world fractures. The young walk away.

Judaism begins to look like a doomsday cult rather than a civilization of law, ethics, learning, and restraint. A rabbi who announces exact dates for redemption is not bringing Moshiach closer. He is pushing thoughtful Jews further away.

That is not zeal. That is chilul Hashem with a microphone.

Real Jewish leadership sounds boring to those addicted to drama. It says we do not know the timetable. It says we are commanded to act morally regardless. It says redemption is built through responsibility, not riddles. It says Torah is not a crystal ball.

It says what Chazal said: “Im yavo—achakeh lo.” If he comes, we will be ready. If not, we will still live like Jews.

No hysteria. No countdown clocks. No spiritual gambling.

The bitter irony is that those screaming loudest about Moshiach often ignore the very behaviors Chazal say delay redemption: corruption, dishonesty, cruelty, arrogance, and the silencing of dissent.

You cannot bully the Jewish people into redemption. You cannot frighten them into holiness. And you certainly cannot spreadsheet your way to divine intervention.

Moshiach is not summoned by bravado.

The Jewish people do not need more predictions. We need more sechel. More integrity. More leaders brave enough to say: I don’t know.

Because a rabbi who admits uncertainty may lose followers—but he saves Judaism.

And if Moshiach does arrive tomorrow, he will not ask who guessed the date correctly. He will ask who preserved truth when lies were easier.

 

REPUBLISHED

https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/the-epidemic-of-rabbis-without-sechel/