Rabbi Mike Rothbaum

NYTimes story: Slurs Filled a Chat Created by a Republican Party Official in Florida After the secretary of the Miami-Dade County Republican Party created the chat for college students, it devolved into slurs against Black and Jewish people.

Now a second young Republican group chat that's descended into grotesque antisemitism and racism. Any response from ADL? Federations? Conference of Presidents?

Or are they too busy sifting through Mamdani's garbage?

ProPublica story: After Trump Officials Cut Food Aid to Kenya, Children Starved to Death

When we cried over the destruction of USAID, we were told "it's all fraud and waste."

Administration officials laughed: "no one died."

Of course people are dying.

Every day.

Never forget what these ghouls did.

Never let them get away with calling themselves "pro-life."

Not even for a second.

The number of people who have told me about anti-Black racism at Harvard is pretty stunning.

Six adults. Five children.

John Africa
Rhonda Africa
Theresa Africa
Frank Africa
Conrad Africa
Tree Africa
Delisha Africa
Netta Africa
Little Phil Africa
Tomaso Africa
Raymond Africa

(ps... I know some of these posts have weird image boxes attached to them... not sure why... there's nothing in them...)

At the end of Brachot, a tractate about prayer, our sages finish with peace:

R. Elazar said that R. Hanina said: Torah scholars increase peace in the world. (Brachot 64a)

If you hear teachers extolling war, ask yourself: are they true scholars?

"TORAH SCHOLARS INCREASE PEACE IN THE WORLD."

End.

“God has hung the earth upon restraint (“belimah”) (Job 26:7). R. Ilai said: The world endures only on the account of one who restrains (“bolem”) himself during strife.

(Chullin 89a)

THE RABBIS AREN'T IMPRESSED WITH WARRIORS. SHOWING RESTRAINT IS THE HOLY PATH

Don't go out on Shabbat carrying a sword/bow/spear... the sages said: they are an accusation against him (cf Isaiah 2:4) “They shall beat their swords into plowshares, spears into pruninghooks... neither shall they learn war anymore.” (Shabbat 63b)

RABBIS ARE UPSET NOT WITH SHABBAT, BUT WITH WAR

What About Now?

[The mitzvah of military conquest was] of a singular nature. It referred to the time of Joshua only, where the master of the prophets [Moses] himself expressed an explicit command.

(Rabbi Shaul Yisraeli, 20th C. Belarus/Palestine/Israel)

THERE ARE NO MORE COMMANDED WARS

[In the case of possible war against idolators] the matter was given over to the Sanhedrin to examine the moral condition of the idolators... not all [idolatrous] phenomena are alike.

(R. Avraham Kook, first Chief Rabbi of Palestine/Israel, Iggerot haR’ayah 1:140)

YOU DON'T MAKE WAR WITHOUT VOTING

How Do We Go to War?

Don't make war against ANYONE until 1st calling to them for peace, whether Permitted War or Obligatory War, as it says: When you come to a city to make war... call out to it for peace (Dt. 20:10)

(Rambam, Mishnah Torah, Laws of Kings and Their Wars 6:1)

PEACE IS ALWAYS FIRST

According to Maimonides . . . one is not allowed to make war against those who had previously fulfilled the seven commandments.

(R, Avraham Yeshayahu Karelitz, Chazon Ish, 20th C. Belarus, on Rambam's Laws of Kings et. al. 5:1)

It is a positive commandment to annihilate the seven nations [of Canaan] as [Deuteronomy 20:17] states: You shall utterly destroy them . . . [But] the memory of them has ALREADY BEEN OBLITERATED.

(Rambam, Mishnah Torah, Laws of Kings and Their Wars 5:4)

About Amalek:

Sennacherib king of Assyria mixed up the nations and confused their lineage, exiling them from their place. Egyptians now in the land of Egypt now are different people, as are the Edomites in Edom. (Rambam, Mishnah Torah, Laws of Prohibited Marriage 12:25)

WE DONT KNOW WHO AMALEK IS

Second, one can fight a Permitted War, war fought against another people in order to expand the borders of Israel or to increase [the king's] greatness and reputation. (Rambam, Mishnah Torah, Laws of Kings and Their Wars 5:1)

Notice: "can," not should. And nothing about if it hurts the king's rep.

What Kind of Enemy? To What End?

A king shouldn't start war unless it's an Obligatory War. And what's an Obligatory War? This is war against the 7 nations (cf Deut. 7:1), war against Amalek, or to assist Israel from trouble (cf Num. 10:9).

(Rambam, Mishnah Torah, Laws of Kings and Their Wars 5:1)

Since there are Jewish organizations — some of them religious/rabbinic — falling all over themselves to support this cruel and reckless war, let me dust off some of the Jewish religious texts I taught when I was a baby rabbi, during the second Iraq War:

🧵...

And now, my friends, here comes the part that, if you have one, will break your heart. Na’hafoch na’hafoch, it’s all reversed, all turned around and gone berserk. What’s good is bad what’s bad is good, there’s bloodshed where the hero stood. Our people are spared, no one kills any Jews and that, of course, is very good news. If only the story could stop right here, we’d offer thanks, we’d raise a cheer! We’d dance and sing and shout in glee, we’d be just who we hoped we’d be. The Jews of Shushan would fall to their knees with gratitude to the Source of Being. But no, my friends, we’ll have no such luck. As the story unfolds, we think, What the F—??? For there is no G-d in the Book of Esther, no One to thank, so the violence festers. Na’hafoch na’hafoch, it’s all reversed all turned around and gone berserk. What’s good is bad what’s bad is good, there’s bloodshed where the hero stood. The Jews run amok, murdering Persians in place of salvation, now there’s perversion. Seventy- five thousand, five hundred and ten were killed that day, by Jewish men. So when we think, We Jews don’t murder we better try to investigate further The secret places deep in our hearts where hatred lurks, and can tear us apart. Na’hafoch na’hafoch, it’s all reversed all turned around and gone berserk What’s good is bad what’s bad is good, there’s bloodshed where the hero stood.

A meditation on Chapter 9 of the Book of Esther, from my colleague Rabbi Dev Noily.

Tragically this year, even more appropriate and necessary.

George Carlin -- Fussy Eater YouTube video by Frustrated Idealist

Indeed... 1982 is not recent, last I checked.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQCJ...

“The security we profess to seek in foreign adventures we will lose in our decaying cities. The bombs in Vietnam explode at home — they destroy the hopes and possibilities for a decent America.”

(MLK, April 15, 1967)

The great thing about seeing Jews on social media obscenely preen or gloat over the still-warm bodies of innocent civilians is that I know exactly who to unfriend and block.

Post explaining that DSA SF members at the protest were disgusted and horrified by a lone individuals antisemitic remarks, make clear her words came from her alone.

Excellent response from @dsasf.org ... do not be fooled by right-wing hit pieces. Give DSA credit for doing and saying the right things.

It’s another flavor of the same grim pie… white people work hard and hone their craft, while black entertainers/athletes achieve what they do because of supernatural forces: God-given talent, freak of nature, born with it, monster size, magical abilities, possessed by the spirit, natural instincts.

Post sharing an article, "Defeating Antizionism": "Important read. Agree or disagree, Adam Louis-Klein is making a strong case. I suspect those in our community who disagree will do so in their private echo chambers. I encourage those who read this to contend with the ideas put forth."

... as opposed to the same 15 or so Jewish org chairs and donors who act on behalf of the Jewish community, who all go to the same parties, and see each other at the same banquets, and live in the same neighborhood, but who are most certainly NOT in any kind of echo chamber.

Somewhere in this great nation there must be an American patriot who can devise an algorithm to automatically go through every post on Trump's "Truth"Social account, and replace each noun with the word "Epstein."

Post card with a group of clothed men wrestling and smiling: “You construct intricate rituals which allow you to touch the skin of other men.”

Barbara Kruger, 1981

Article headline: Is That Guy Filming You With His Glasses? Here's How to Tell Many people can't recognize a pair of smart glasses. Here's how to know if the glasses are recording you.

Why should we have to know "how to tell?" Why is the onus on the potential victim of harassment?

Where is the morality in a society that says, "this immigrant might hurt us, so let's deport her," while also saying, "this person is using tech in public that might hurt us — you're on your own."

NY Times headline — "Tariff Ruling Has Potential to Disrupt Global Trade" — about SCOTUS ruling prohibiting president from unilaterally imposing tariffs.

Am I crazy to think it would be a political coup for the Dems to immediately propose "tariff refund" checks to all Americans?

NJ Bill A4446 Session 2026 - 2027 Establishes "Fight Unlawful Conduct and Keep Individuals and Communities Empowered Act" [aka "FUCK ICE Act"

10/10. No notes.

Putting the “sad” in “saadia”