Shavua Tov!

I managed to catch up on the Shivivei Or newsletters over Shabbat, BH.

This week’s has a real doozy of a shiur, which I will BH try and translate a lot of. In the meantime, these are some interesting comments from two weeks ago:

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Shiur 7th Cheshvan 5786, (29th October, 2025) to Chochma v’Daat Yeshiva

People say that it’s possible to figure things out without Hashem.

I’ll get along fine without Hashem.

There was one person in Los Angeles who said today, people get along fine without God.

The next day in Los Angeles, there was an earthquake, there was a flood, and everything simply got destroyed. This was exactly two years’ ago, in Los Angeles.

One singer, the biggest one, [said] I sing all day long, it’s good for me, everyone comes to hear me. Do I need God?! I get on fine without God!

She said this publically. The following day, there was an earthquake, half of Los Angeles was destroyed.

People who had a billion-dollar apartment, it became zero, an apartment, penthouse, three storeys, five elevators, two mercedes, a yacht – Los Angeles is next to the sea. And also a private airplane – everything was destroyed.

Not a trace remained. Everything turned into nothing.

So, if a person says I don’t need Hashem – everything he has disappears.

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[Skipping a bunch]

Tomorrow, there will be the atzeret (prayer gathering / Million man march).

This is like travelling to Rabbi Shimon [Bar Yochai]. You can say 10 Tikkun Haklalis there, the kker (main point) is to go there.

A million people need to come, and this will make a big ‘noise’ for the chilonim, because they say, if your Torah is really your whole life, OK, but 90%, their Torah is not their whole life. Everyone works, they hang about, they learn for an hour and then wander around for nine hours.

After that, they sleep for eight hours, at least.

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But, we want for your Torah to really be your life! We want to educate you for this.

[Now] You are bothering us in the middle of our education, now it’s in the middle of the working day, you didn’t seem to be the type who half-works… Each person, the Torah should be their whole life!

We want each child to be able to learn 24 hours. But they say each time:

If your Torah is really your whole life, we agree with that. But the Torah is not your whole life! We see 90% walking around the streets!

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Translated and excerpted from Shivivei Or 431.

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From what I can see, I think the Rav was referring to the singer Taylor Swift.

She was in the middle of the biggest grossing tour ever, apparently, and had a new album out with lyrics like this:

“They shake their heads sayin’, ‘God help her,’/ When I tell ’em he’s my man/ but your good Lord doesn’t lift a finger/ I can fix him, no, really, I can. And only I can.”

But if you have a better candidate, you can let me know in the comments.

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Well, here’s some more ‘circumstantial evidence’:

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And the piece de resistance:

53 views 16 Jan 2025 #PalisadesFire #TaylorSwift #CelebrityNews

Taylor Swift’s Beverly Hills mansion has been destroyed in the devastating Palisades fire, leaving fans heartbroken. The historic property, once a symbol of her success, is now reduced to ashes. Authorities are investigating as the fire continues to rage across the area.