Interesting Posts and Articles #108

1. Zchus Avos has some Chanukkah segulas, and how playing cards and klipos are well-connected. My thoughts on these in separate posts.
   
   
2. Life In Israel on conversations of a secular father with his son, and a religious father with his son, explaining the Maccabim. And a "psak" by Rav Aviner -- who were the Maccabbees?
   
   
3. Kankan Chadash feels compelled to delete most comments from a post on Chabad and "the Rebbe runs the world," but then pulls out some selected comments.
   
   
4. Divrei Chaim continues a discussion of hilchot borer with "Waiter, There's a Fly in My Soup."
   
   
5. Doc's Talk: A Saudi court says no to divorce, because the mother brought the suit, and it should be the daughter, who is not yet of age to do so.
   
   
6. Daas Torah: God erred in India, chas veshalom. This reminds me of the gemara in Bava Basra 16a, where Iyov suggested God confused Iyov with Oyev.
   
   
7. Dung souvenir based on holy phrase, in the BBC. I have a separate post about this.
   
   
8. HaEmtzah on the violence in Bet Shemesh.
   
   
9. Yeranen Yaakov points out this article at Matzav, about Rav Kanievsky via an intermediary correcting the record, about statements attributed to him about bomb shelters on Chanukkah and the price of real estate going down. As I pointed out there in the comments,

   this is a good reminder that such speculation is not just fun and games (and an expression of fervent messianic belief), but has real implications to people on the ground.

10. Mystical Paths on Mishpacha photoshopping a modestly dressed Laura Bush out of a picture, and not making note that they did so.
    
    
11. Dreaming of Moshiach, despite claiming elsewhere that she never claimed to be a prophetess, believes that 2 years ago Sarah Imeinu appeared to her in a dream, and that this was prophecy (for this is what she herself calls it in a post title), and that Sarah Imenu told her that the Messianic war would begin in Gaza; and therefore now believes that this recent assault in Gaza is the beginning of the messianic war.
    
    
12. Meanwhile, here is an interesting post, and discussion thread, about the Gaza assault, over at the Yeshiva World. One person is upset about the "chillul Shabbos," when the truth is that the halacha is that one may fight even over kash veTeven on border towns on Shabbos (and this day was chosen for the element of surprise) -- and that this was a halacha innovated by Chazal about the time of Chanukkah, over against the chassidim who felt that it would not be docheh Shabbos. And someone else cites Rav Kanievsky who said that people would be in bomb shelters on Chanukkah -- except of course that Rav Kanievsky publically issued a denial that he ever said this; and the Zohar which talks about 32 days after the synagogue is destroyed in Mumbai -- except the Zohar does not say this.