Dr. Steven Grabiner

Trump quietly ended the risk of the Ukraine-Russia conflict escalating to nuclear war. Now both sides know that waiting for the Big Dog to sort things out is the only rational path. Counting North Korea, Trump has dialed back two nuclear confrontations using nothing but his terrible "character" that I keep hearing about. The Golden Age stuck up on us.

"Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important." -C.S. Lewis

OCTOBER 7, 2023: SHE KNEW SHE WAS GOING TO DIE. Libi Cohen-Meguri, a 22-year-old infantry officer, went to the Nova music festival. She was shot while fleeing the party. At 8:11 a.m., she called her parents and said: “I’ve been shot in the stomach, I’ve been shot in the arm, I’m losing blood. I’m going to die.” Calmly, quietly, she understood; these were the last minutes of her life. She asked her parents to call Tomer, her twin brother, and Maya, her little sister, and said: “I’m going to die. I just want you to listen to me. I love you, Yariv. You’re the best father I could have asked for. Mom, stop screaming. Just listen to me. You are the best mother we could have ever had. Don’t forget to be a good mother to Tomer and Maya after I die. Tomer, how lucky we were to live this life together. I love you. My Maya, never forget—you are the treasure of my life.” When she finished speaking, her parents told her to get out of the car, lie down on the road, and pretend to be dead. With her last bit of strength, she got out of the car and laid down on the road. “Mom, they’re coming to shoot me again,” Libi said after lying down. While her mother listened on the phone, shouts in Arabic could be heard, and then a barrage of gunfire. It didn’t stop. It kept going, until the call was disconnected. And that’s how Libi died—with demonic beasts from the pit of hell standing over her and emptying a full magazine into her body. Libi died with LOVE on her lips: love for life, love for her family, and love for her people. Her memory will forever be a blessing. NEVER FORGET. NEVER FORGIVE. NEVER AGAIN IS NOW. Israel is hunting down every single Palestinian and Hamas terrorist who participated in the October 7th Massacre—to kill them all. They’re living on “borrowed time,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said. Sooner or later, every one of these monsters will be found and eliminated.

A rare personal note. My dear friend Ivo (the dad) has a rare genetic liver disease (PSC) and has, after concerted persuasion from those of us who love him dearly, finally consented to a public appeal for a living donor. Liver donation is quite miraculous in that one can give half and both halves grow back. Fwiw, none of the AI models yet understand how to cure PSC, though I would bet that the next generation of humans will be more lucky. I've never asked for RTs etc before but I think it would help in this case! Link below.

Shikheḥah is the mitzvah of a farmer who forgets a sheaf in the field and leaves it for those in need. The forgetting cannot be intentional, but it may reveal a disposition: when you live with abundance and gratitude, you are less likely to notice the one sheaf you left behind. The Sefer HaChinuch takes it from the second side — that having done the mitzvah, one cultivates a “nefesh tovah” & a “nefesh bracha” - a good, blessed soul. The Alter Rebbe in Likkutei Torah calls it a gift from above - so what the farmer “lost” he is really given. There is real beauty in the mitzvah we learn in this week’s Torah portion — you cannot intend it but you can cultivate the disposition to create it. In a tradition where one is blessed by memory, you are blessed by forgetfulness.

Sometimes, it is best to keep quiet. The Bible and life often remind us that talking too much can cause and create unnecessary trouble. However, God always knows best, and His Word has a few things to say. Check it out and share it with a friend!

Maimonides ranks the two lowest forms of perfection as wealth and bodily perfection. Moral and intellectual perfection are the two highest. I write this from LA, land of cars and gyms. Maimonides wasn’t against either. He just believed they were the basement, not the penthouse.

An easy way to get unstuck is to get up and take a walk. We generate more creative ideas during and after walking outdoors—and even on a treadmill facing a blank wall. Divergent thinking rarely happens when we're tethered to a desk. Moving our bodies frees our minds.