When the ceasefire between Israel and Iran went into effect on Tuesday morning, HaGaon HaRav Yitzchak Zilberstein spoke briefly after serving as the sandak at the bris milah of his great-grandson. Among other things, he said, “Today is a day of transformation. What nissim Hakadosh Baruch Hu did for us! It’s indescribable. All the nations of the world are against us, and Am Yisrael rises like a lion— doesn’t ask any questions—and defies everyone, like a lion that asks no questions.” “This is a very great day. A transformation has occurred—we’re returning to the yeshivos, returning to avodas hakodesh, returning to complete security. Baruch Hashem, we’re on top. They killed all those who needed to be killed, all the reshaim.

Kan News Arab affairs commentator Roi Kais wrote on X on Wednesday that shortly before the outbreak of the war with Iran, a young Chassidish man from New York visited Jewish kehillos in Iran. Kais wrote, “He documented the visit and left the country before the war broke out.” “The young American, who in the meantime does not want to reveal his identity due to the tensions between the two countries, visited markets in Tehran and other cities while traveling with a local ‘guide’ assigned to him by the regime.” “He videoed himself traveling by train with the ‘guide’ while the songs ‘Mi Shebeirach’ for IDF soldiers and HaTikvah were playing in the background.” The Chassid has visited almost 50 countries throughout the world and documents his adventures on Instagram, Arutz Sheva reported.

In a candid interview in Hebrew with Kikar HaShabbat, Shas chairman and War Cabinet member Aryeh Deri offered his firsthand reflections on Israel’s unprecedented military campaign against Iran. Deri described the behind-the-scenes deliberations that preceded the operation, the unexpected successes, and the dramatic moments in the command bunker when the order was given to launch the offensive.
“We paid a heavy price in this war,” Deri acknowledged, referencing the loss of 28 soldiers. “But that number is less than 8% of the minimum estimate we were given before the operation—and not even 3% of the maximum projection. We must recognize the miracles.”

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) responded enthusiastically to the outcome of New York City’s Democratic mayoral primary, hailing Democratic Socialist Zohran Mamdani’s win as an “incredible victory.”
Taking to X, Omar offered her congratulations and applauded New Yorkers for rejecting what she described as the influence of “bigots and corrupt billionaires.” Her post came shortly after Andrew Cuomo, the former New York governor, acknowledged Mamdani’s lead and conceded the race.
“Congratulations @ZohranKMamdani!” Omar wrote. “This is an incredible victory and testament to the people powered campaign you put together. Thank you NYC for not letting the bigots and corrupt billionaires prevail. This victory also belongs to you.”

In a pointed address delivered during a Pirkei Avos shiur this past Shabbos in the central Satmar beis medrash in Kiryas Yoel, the Satmar Rebbe, Rav Aharon Teitelbaum, issued a scathing critique of the recent war in Eretz Yisroel, attributing its outbreak to political calculations rather than genuine security threats.

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte extended a warm and colorful welcome to President Donald Trump during Wednesday’s alliance summit in The Hague, lauding him as “a man of strength,” “a man of peace,” and even “the daddy” who managed to broker a truce between Iran and Israel.
According to SkyNews, Trump likened the recent conflict to a schoolyard brawl, saying, “They fight like hell. You can’t stop them. Let them fight for about two, three minutes. Then it’s easier to stop them.”
Rutte picked up on the analogy, replying with a grin, “Then, daddy has to sometimes use strong language,” in reference to Trump’s colorful remarks during his efforts to enforce the ceasefire, as reported by SkyNews.

Despite ongoing turbulence in Israel and Jewish communities worldwide, thousands of Jews from across the globe are expected to converge on Krakow, Poland, this Friday, Rosh Chodesh Tammuz, for the yahrtzeit of the Maor V’Shemesh, Rav Kalonymus Kalman Epstein ztz”l, one of the early leaders of the Chassidic movement. His kever, located in Krakow’s historic Jewish cemetery, has long been revered as a place of salvation—especially in matters of parnassah.

Dear Editor, I was thrilled to hear about the new initiative endorsed by the Gedolim and Rabbanim Shlit”a: encouraging girls returning from seminary to wait until Shavuos to begin dating, and asking boys to return earlier from Eretz Yisroel to start shidduchim sooner. Why am I so excited? Because I speak from painful experience. Six years ago, my oldest daughter entered the shidduch parsha. Like many other well-meaning, naïve parents, I assumed the traditional Litvish system was still working — that a good girl and a good boy would be redt to each other, go out, and build a bayis ne’eman b’Yisroel. We reached out to shadchanim. We waited. One year passed. Nothing. Two years passed. Still nothing. Can you imagine that pain?

The budget bill championed by President Donald Trump could complicate next year’s tax filing season after the IRS lost one-quarter of its employees through staffing cuts, an independent watchdog reported Wednesday. The IRS workforce has fallen from 102,113 workers to 75,702 over the past year, according to the latest National Taxpayer Advocate report to Congress. The report Wednesday offered the first official numbers on the IRS job losses associated with Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency. Most of the employees took the “fork in the road” resignation offer from DOGE rather than waiting to get laid off.