Jewish Dispatch

"The ancient Kingdom of Cush was centred in Nubia, principally within the territory of modern Sudan, extending at different periods along the Nile and maintaining connections with the regions farther south and east."—רםי בן זאב

Shabbat Shalom. A gentle reminder that Halakha requires us to safeguard the sanctity of G-D’s Name. The Tetragrammaton should not be used casually or decoratively, particularly in social media images and videos. See Rambam, Hilkhot Yesodei HaTorah 6:1–2, and Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh De’ah 276. We can invoke Hashem’s blessings without displaying His sacred Name in this manner. רםי בן זאב

“President Trump declared that his war against Iran would bring regime change. He was right. He just hadn’t realised it would be his own.”—רםי בן זאב @realDonaldTrump

When the World’s Grief Becomes Our Own The deaths of nine people in the Learjet crash in Florida are heartbreaking. Behind every name is a life, and behind every life are people whose world has changed forever. The scale of their loss is difficult to comprehend. Yet we must also consider what happens when tragedies enter the lives of millions of strangers through an endless stream of news. Today, suffering anywhere can reach us instantly. We are encouraged to watch, listen, react, comment and share. Each repetition invites us to absorb grief that is not our own; each share carries that distress into someone else’s day. Multiply this by the tragedies placed before us daily. How much sorrow, fear and helplessness are we taking into ourselves? What does this leave us able to give to the people who actually depend upon us? We can feel compassion for strangers, pray for those bereaved and help where we can. But compassion does not require us to watch someone’s final moments or repeatedly immerse ourselves in the details of their death. Our Sages teach the importance of guarding our eyes. That principle should also inform how we approach the screens in our hands: we must exercise judgment about what we allow into our minds and hearts. News can inform us. It can also turn suffering into spectacle, presenting repeated exposure as the duty of an informed person. We should question that demand. Before watching or sharing, pause. Does this help anyone? Does it equip me to act? Or am I simply absorbing distress and passing it on? We must be cautious about what we consume and what we place before others. We can care deeply while setting limits. Our attention, our peace of mind and our capacity to care deserve protection. RAMI

"Melakhim I 8:39 places that knowledge with G-D alone. Public admiration cannot supply what human beings do not possess: complete knowledge of another person’s inner life." —רםי בן זאב

A remarkable story from the UK, where a family dog reportedly detected a baby’s racing heartbeat and helped save the child’s life. Perhaps it is no coincidence that the Hebrew word for dog is kelev (כלב). The word can be playfully divided into כ (ke, meaning “like” or “as”) and לב (lev, meaning “heart”). Thus, kelev can be understood poetically as “like a heart.” In Jewish tradition, we write G-D, omitting a letter out of reverence for Hashem. Given the extraordinary loyalty, devotion and love that dogs show us, perhaps we should consider extending a little of that reverence to our four-legged companions. After all, perhaps it is time we started writing D-G. RAMI

Ben should know better. A so-called Orthodox Jewish man, particularly one who engages with the Tanakh more than, shall we say, once a year, ought to understand that gambling is frowned upon in Jewish law, not merely because it produces nothing of tangible value, but because it raises important questions about how wealth is acquired and our responsibilities towards our fellow human beings. The Gemara, in מסכת סנהדרין (Masechet Sanhedrin 24b), discusses the concept of משחק בקוביא (mesachek bekubia), one who gambles, and examines why such conduct is viewed negatively. One of the central concerns is that gambling does not constitute productive economic activity. Rather than creating something of value through labour, enterprise or service, wealth simply changes hands according to chance, with the additional Halakhic concern that the person surrendering the money may not have genuinely consented to the loss in the manner required for a valid transaction. The Gemara also considers whether someone whose livelihood depends entirely upon gambling can be regarded as contributing meaningfully to society. There is a fundamental moral distinction between earning wealth through productive endeavour and acquiring it through another person’s misfortune. For me to “win,” someone else must lose. My gain is dependent upon their loss. And that, surely, is a lesson Ben ought to have learned long ago. RAMI

“Today, however, gambling has been repackaged in a more sophisticated and dangerous form. So-called “predictive markets” such as Polymarket and Kalshi present themselves as tools of forecasting and public intelligence.” jewishdispatch.com/post/bett…

"The mitzvah of ביקור חולים, bikur cholim, visiting the sick, gives this kindness a definite place in Jewish life. A person’s illness places a responsibility upon those around them. We must notice, make time and respond."—רםי בן זאב

"A Jew may choose not to eat meat as a matter of personal dietary preference, provided that this choice is not elevated into a claim that the Torah's permitted foods are inherently forbidden."—רםי בן זאב