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Last week in Daf Yomi, we learned that Rav Ashi stated that the words “vay’hi biymei – and it was in the days of” is “lashon tzaar–painful language.” In his shiur, Rabbi Shalom Rosner brought a beautiful word from the Gra (the Vilna Gaon).

The riots that were unleashed on the cities of America in the summer of 2020 cost our nation billions in damages. The violence occurred in 20 states; and in our own city, 450 businesses were looted, damaged, or destroyed.

The state-imposed nightmare that New Yorkers have been living under is continuing, as Governor Kathy Hochul and her comrades continue to enact greater and greater impositions and decrees on the people who elected her predecessor.  This is not a national issue; rather it’s a local one, as states with Republican governors do not have to fear the authoritarian overreach of their ruling class. After forced masking and vaccination, the question New Yorkers must ask is: How far will they go?

Obviously, Governor Kathy Hochul doesn’t read the Queens Jewish Link, because she just doubled down on Mayor Bill de Blasio’s garbage policy.  Until January 15, 2022, all businesses must require everyone to wear a mask while indoors unless they have a vaccine mandate. Putting aside the insanity of this policy, it actually shines a light on Democrats’ mentality: They think they (and government in general) have G-d-like powers to control anything they want.  

At the beginning of this week’s parshah, we read that “a new king arose in Egypt.” Rashi explains that some say it was literally a new king, while others say he changed his policies. In either case, Egypt was transformed from a country where the ruling authorities respected and treated us well to a land ruled by the first classic antisemite. Pharaoh was the first to incite his population by claiming the Jews were all powerful and disloyal.

Lame duck Mayor Bill de Blasio announced a truly immoral and anti-scientific policy this week, and if the world has any common sense left, it will be ignored until it’s stopped in court. His exit from the Mayor’s Office cannot come fast enough.