RSS
God’s ‘Rebuke’ in This Week’s Torah Portion
A Torah scroll. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.
A major part of the double Torah portion we read this week (which ends the Book of Vayikra) is what is called the Tochecha, which translates as “the rebuke.”
Here are some selections from Chapter 26.
If you follow My laws and faithfully observe My commandments, I will grant your rains in their season, so that the earth shall yield its produce …you shall eat your fill of bread … I will grant peace in the land … You shall give chase to your enemies … I will be ever present in your midst. I will be your God, and you shall be My people.
But if you disobey Me and remain hostile to Me, I will send misery and diseases … and discipline you sevenfold for your sins. You shall eat the flesh of your sons and your daughters … I will lay your cities in ruin and make your sanctuaries desolate, I will make the land desolate, so that your enemies will settle in it … And I will scatter you among the nations, and Your land shall become a desolation and your cities a ruin.
In some synagogues, the custom is to read it very quickly in a soft tone — as if to tiptoe through the painful stuff, as quickly as possible.
On the one hand, it seems so out of touch with the way we think today. Life rarely works out so simply — and we are often not rewarded or penalized in the name of true justice. And yet, it is surprising how accurate it has been in describing the rise and the fall of the Jewish people.
One way of looking at this is to say that thanks to archaeology and the large amount of information that we have accumulated over the years about the culture, language, and literature of Mesopotamia, we can see how this sort of blessing and curse — promise and threat — was universal.
Whenever monarchs came to power, they would open their reign with a demand for loyalty. In exchange, they would promise protection, wealth, health, happiness, safe borders, and all good things that the monarch was committed to providing. At the same time, they would warn the people that if they betrayed the monarch, they would suffer from invasion, death, slavery, sickness, and oppression. Sometimes it worked, and sometimes it didn’t. But it was a way of keeping the people in line.
This part of the Torah is another example of how external culture and attitudes provide a background to the Torah. Everybody at that time would have expected promises from rulers, while as we now know, politicians often do not keep them.
But there’s another way of looking at this — perhaps more psychologically. Perhaps we should read these Biblical formal declarations as words of promise and rebuke intertwined. Designed to give us a feeling that there is some power we can feel that cares about us — who wants to help us, but also wants to prevent us from going off track and making the wrong decisions. And it’s this push and pull that we needed in ancient times — and today.
The author is a writer and rabbi, currently based in New York.
The post God’s ‘Rebuke’ in This Week’s Torah Portion first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
Trump Says Israel Will Have to Decide on Next Steps in Gaza, Pledges More Aid
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 8, 2025. Photo: Kevin Lamarque via Reuters Connect.
US President Donald Trump said on Sunday Israel would have to make a decision on next steps in Gaza, adding that he did not know what would happen after the collapse of ceasefire and hostage-release negotiations with the Hamas terrorist group.
Trump underscored the importance of securing the release of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, saying they had suddenly “hardened” up on the issue, and said the US would provide more aid to the war-torn Palestinian enclave.
“They don’t want to give them back, and so Israel is going to have to make a decision,” Trump told reporters at the start of a meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at his golf property in Turnberry, Scotland.
“I know what I’d do, but I don’t think it’s appropriate that I say it. But Israel is going to have to make a decision,” he said, while also claiming, without evidence, that Hamas members were stealing food coming into Gaza and selling it.
Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu both appeared on Friday to abandon Gaza ceasefire negotiations with Hamas, saying it had become clear that the Palestinian group did not want a deal.
Netanyahu said Israel was now mulling “alternative” options to achieve its goals of bringing its hostages home from Gaza and ending Hamas rule in the enclave.
Trump said he believed Hamas leaders would now be “hunted down,” telling reporters: “Hamas really didn’t want to make a deal. I think they want to die. And it’s very bad. And it got to be to a point where you’re going to have to finish the job.”
US TO PROVIDE MORE AID, TRUMP SAYS
Trump on Sunday said the US would provide more humanitarian aid to Gaza, where concerns are mounting about the worsening hunger, but wanted other countries to participate as well. He said he would discuss the issue with von der Leyen.
“We’re giving a lot of money, a lot of food, a lot of everything,” he said. “If we weren’t there, I think people would have starved, frankly. They would have starved, and it’s not like they’re eating well.”
He said he had spoken with Netanyahu and discussed a number of issues, including Iran. He said and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer would also discuss Israel when they meet at Trump’s golf property in Turnberry on Monday.
Trump also noted said the United States was not acknowledged for earlier food aid for Gaza.
“No other country gave anything,” he said, calling out European countries in particular. “It makes you feel a little bad when you do that and, you know, you have other countries not giving anything… Nobody gave but us. And nobody said, Gee, thank you very much. And it would be nice to have at least a thank you.”
The post Trump Says Israel Will Have to Decide on Next Steps in Gaza, Pledges More Aid first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
Israel Announces Daily Pauses in Gaza Fighting as Aid Airdrops Begin
Palestinians carry aid supplies that entered Gaza through Israel, in Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip, July 27, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Israel on Sunday announced a halt in military operations for 10 hours a day in parts of Gaza and new aid corridors as Jordan and the United Arab Emirates airdropped supplies into the enclave, where images of starving Palestinians have alarmed the world.
Israel has been facing growing international criticism, which the government rejects, over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, and indirect ceasefire talks in Doha between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas have broken off with no deal in sight.
US President Donald Trump, on a visit to Scotland, said Israel would have to make a decision on its next steps in Gaza, and he did not know what would happen after the collapse of ceasefire and hostage-release negotiations with Hamas.
Military activity will stop from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. (0700-1700 GMT) until further notice in Al-Mawasi, a designated humanitarian area along the coast, in central Deir al-Balah and in Gaza City, to the north.
The military said designated secure routes for convoys delivering food and medicine will also be in place between 6 a.m. and 11 p.m. starting from Sunday.
U.N. aid chief Tom Fletcher said staff would step up efforts to feed the hungry during the pauses in the fighting.
“Our teams on the ground … will do all we can to reach as many starving people as we can in this window,” he said on X.
In their first airdrop in months, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates parachuted 25 tons of aid into Gaza on Sunday, a Jordanian official said, adding that those were not a substitute for delivery by land.
Palestinian health officials in Gaza City said at least 10 people were injured by falling aid boxes.
Work on a UAE project to run a new pipeline that will supply water from a desalination facility in neighboring Egypt to around 600,000 Gazans along the coast would also begin in a few days, the Israeli military said.
On Saturday, a five-month-old baby, Zainab Abu Haleeb, died of malnutrition at Nasser Hospital, health workers said.
“Three months inside the hospital and this is what I get in return, that she is dead,” said her mother, Israa Abu Haleeb, as the baby’s father held their daughter’s body wrapped in a white shroud.
The Egyptian Red Crescent said it was sending more than 100 trucks carrying over 1,200 metric tons of food to southern Gaza on Sunday. Some had been looted in the area of Khan Younis after entering Gaza, residents said.
A group of 25 states including Britain, France and Canada last week said Israel’s denial of aid was unacceptable.
The military’s spokesperson said Israel was committed to international law and monitors the humanitarian situation daily. Brigadier General Effie Defrin said there was no starvation in Gaza, but appeared to acknowledge conditions were critical.
“When we start approaching a problematic line (threshold) then the IDF works to let in humanitarian aid,” he said. “That’s what happened over the weekend.”
Israel cut off aid to Gaza from the start of March to pressure Hamas into giving up dozens of hostages it still holds and reopened it with new restrictions in May.
It says it has been allowing in aid but must prevent it from being diverted by terrorists and blames Hamas for the suffering of Gaza’s people.
HOPE, UNCERTAINTY
Many Gazans expressed some relief at Sunday’s announcement, but said fighting must end.
“People are happy that large amounts of food aid will come into Gaza,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a business owner. “We hope today marks a first step in ending this war that burned everything up.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would continue to allow the entry of humanitarian supplies whether it is fighting or negotiating a ceasefire and vowed to press on with the campaign until “complete victory.”
Hamas said Israel was continuing its military offensive.
“What is happening isn’t a humanitarian truce,” said Hamas official Ali Baraka.
The post Israel Announces Daily Pauses in Gaza Fighting as Aid Airdrops Begin first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
‘Israel Is Doing More for Gaza’s Civilians than Hamas,’ Says IDF Spokesperson
IDF Spokesperson Effie Deffrin. Photo: IDF
i24 News – In a press briefing held Sunday morning, IDF Spokesperson Effie Defrin addressed the latest developments in the Gaza conflict, including the implementation of a tactical humanitarian pause and the delivery of aid into the enclave.
Defrin sharply criticized Hamas, accusing the organization of spreading false claims about widespread famine in Gaza while actively obstructing humanitarian efforts.
“Israel initiated the creation of food distribution centers to prevent famine,” he said. “We are securing four aid centers, facilitating convoys, and permitting international airdrops. These humanitarian pauses are designed to allow civilians access to essential supplies.”
He went on to condemn Hamas for its handling of humanitarian aid. “While Hamas steals aid meant for civilians and hides it in tunnels, it runs a deceitful campaign claiming there’s famine in Gaza. Let’s be clear: there is no famine, and Israel is operating fully within international law.”
Defrin argued that Israel is showing greater concern for the welfare of Gaza’s residents than Hamas itself. “Hamas is deliberately worsening the situation and disrupting the delivery of aid. They’re not just fighting us, they’re fighting their own people.”
In closing, he stated: “Hamas is no longer a point of reference for many in Gaza. The IDF has established aid centers, and civilians are turning to them daily. No country confronted with such a brutal terrorist organization has done more to support the civilian population in enemy territory.”
The remarks come amid intensified international scrutiny of the humanitarian situation in Gaza, with Israel seeking to reinforce its narrative of compliance with international law and contrast its actions with those of Hamas.
The post ‘Israel Is Doing More for Gaza’s Civilians than Hamas,’ Says IDF Spokesperson first appeared on Algemeiner.com.