Excerpts of shiur from Monday 16th June, 2025

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Now, whoever is in Uman is stuck [because of the war].

They are saying maybe on Wednesday they will open the airport, maybe by Friday, they’ll return already.

There is no need to travel via Egypt.

[People] want to travel via Egypt, this is excessive, because Hamas is waiting there, in Egypt. It’s waiting there, for a few Israelis to come. They really love Israelis…. They are missing them.

So, we advise not to travel from Cairo, to Sinai, via Sharm El Sheikh.

All the roads are blocked, Hamasniks are standing at all the intersections.

[Skipping a bunch]

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[The Rav has been talking about King Shaul, who was killed in battle with the Philistines, who cut his head off, and how his son Yonatan was also killed.]

There was Yonatan.

[The Rav now sings a popular children’s song in Israel, called ‘Yonatan HaKatan’:]

Yonatan HaKatan halach le gan, al ha etz who tipes, efrochim hipes. (Little Yonatan went to gan, climbed up a tree, looking for chicks.)

He was looking for chicks. Did you one time look for chicks? Search for baby chicks?…

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[The Rav now turns to his great-grandchild, Nachman Tzuker]

When you were born, the same day that you were born, I bent over here, the aircon was exactly [overhead], I said the Tikkun HaKlali – 11th of Tammuz, I remember it still today.

Five in the morning you were born.

They said, now, Nachman was born– boom! A disc in my back moved, from all the light, from all the holiness, and this was on the 11th of Tammuz.

Already during the kinnot (of Tisha B’av) I already had terrible pains. And your father went ahead of me [to America], and then I arrived on the 1st of Elul. The 1st of Elul, it was a Friday. Here, let’s bring the pink calendar.

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You were born the 11th of Tammuz, you were born 5760 (2000).

Then, Tisha B’Av was on Thursday, the 11th of Tammuz was on Friday. Yes, it was on Friday morning, five in the morning, one of my discs got dislocated, and by Tisha B’av, I really had [pains].

I went to the doctor, so that he’d give me permission to not go to America, to New York. He said no, you can travel. He disappointed me.

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And then your father [R Nachman Tzuker’s father] went ahead of me, and when I came off the plane it was Tuesday, when I alighted, or Monday.

Your father was already waiting for me in the airport [in America], and with difficulty, I got into the car. I couldn’t bend down to get into the car that was going to take me to the apartment of Heshi Mendel. His daughter vacated her apartment, she left with her seven children, vacated the apartment.

Heshi Mendel – this was at 10th Avenue, he was at 11th Avenue, this was 52nd Street.

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So, we arrived on Monday in the morning, we got to New York.

And we went to the doctor. The doctor said that I should go for a walk, I went for a walk until 7th Avenue, 9th Avenue – everything was Arabs, there. Suddenly, I saw two Jews. I was walking with Raphael Ben Harush, and with another person. Together, we were three.

And they mamash wanted to slaughter us, because it was in honor of the new year….

They wanted to prepare simanim, in honor of Rosh Hashana, they wanted to slaughter us.

We left 9th Avenue in peace – everywhere, there were Arabs. We were between 10th and 11th, in an apartment on 72nd [street]. In the last apartment on 10th Avenue, it was already the border of 11th Avenue. And Heshy Mendel lived a little further up, on 11th Avenue, no. 4, he lived.

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So, I came down from the plane.

At that time, there was someone, Teitelbaum – he was the grandson of Mandelbaum. There is Mandelbaum Gate[1] – he was exactly his grandson. They were all the family of Satmar, Satmar is Teitelbaum. (‘Teitelbaum’ means date tree. Everyone needs to bring some dates, to the next shiur, bring dates.)

At that time, he was called Teitelbaum, he was a Jew aged 91 years old.

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I was in Beit Yisrael – it’s all Jewish hospitals, the managers, Har Sinai.

I was there on Shavuot (5772 – 2012), on Matan Torah, I was at Har Sinai.

And then we went, and it was Beit Yisrael [hospital]. And we came there, and they did x-rays. That’s when I knew what it meant to stab at the fifth rib.[2] There are exactly five lower ribs, to stab at the fifth.

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[The story ends, with the Rav leaving the doctors, to go and visit the above-named Teitelbaum, who pressed on his back a few times, and all the pain left as though it had never existed.]

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[Skipping some about how Yoav murdered Avner because he was the goal ha-dam for his brother Asael, who Avner killed by stabbing him at the fifth rib, when Asael was trying to pursue him. Avner could have killed Yoav in the few seconds when he still had his strength, after Yoav had murdered him, but chose not to.]

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Now, there is a nuke.

Now, they are making a nuke. We said that within two weeks, they could have 15 bombs. So, if they give us one bomb as a present to Shuvu Banim, I will make peace between them and Trump.

Trump said, if you want peace with me – make peace with the Jews!

So, they should give [us] one of the 15 bombs, this is less than terumah (i.e. 10%], this is only 7%.

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Translated from Shivivei Or 414.

FOOTNOTES:

[1] Mandelbaum Gate is in Jerusalem, and used to be the location of the checkpoint between Israel and Jordan. Today, it houses the Chut Shel Chesed Yeshiva.

[2] The Rav is referring to the highly-skilled ability Avner, the army commander of King Shaul, had in combat, where he could accurately stab an opponent at the place of the fifth rib, guaranteeing death.

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I still don’t have internet access, BH back this week.

I hope.