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And I guess it is a good thing. Until now I was not aware there was a halachic discussion about Fantasy Football and that it is such a big issue and debate in the frum community.

I just saw an article in JewishLink in which Rav Haim Jachter relates to some other articles on the issue and himself paskens that people who play Fantasy Football are not technically passul to be an eid, a witness, but such people should not be chosen lechatchila to be a witness.

Rav Jachter refers to recent public positions offered by Rav Yehuda Avner (probably not the aide to several Prime Ministers and auther) and Rav Rothwacs, so it seems to be a hot topic right now for whatever reason.

The issue is really about gambling and addiction, not fantasy football per se, but fantasy football is the manifestation of the gambling addiction that is currently under scrutiny in the frum community.

 Rav Jachter refers to several poskim over the years that have taken strong positions against any form of gambling and the strong addiction that follows such involvement. You can read the articleif that interests you.

Besides for the psak of preferably not taking someone involved in Fantasy Football as a witness, the more interesting conclusion from the article to me is that sports is good clean fun, both competing in sports activities and also ffollowing sports and teams.

I am used to rabbis talking about sports, especially following sports while playing sports has the redeeming factor of health and fitness, as narishkeit, as something to keep the goyim busy and off the streets, as being a big waste of time. In this article he refers to Rav Avner who complains that novody just watches sports nowadays (I do) but people watching sports feel they need to place a bet on the game to make it mroe exciting... and then Rav Jachter himself wanes nostalgic about his growing up enjoying sports with his sister and father and not understanding how his mother did not and calls it a reasonable and often necessary outlet, a happy diversion, but then explains it should not become a sick obsession with people wasting lots of time on especially with fantasy sports that causes them to spend many housr watching games and keeping up with whats going on so they can construct their teams and whatnot...

so the psak is interesting, and the rabbinic nod to sports is refreshing

Zeus, walking in the rain through the streets of NY, found a shtreimel, in the case, in a pile of garbage and leaves. 

Initially Zeus was excited with the treasure he had found. he said he always wanted one of those large fur hats he sees around Brooklyn. Funnily enough he calls it a shnitzel.

His viewers surprise him by telling him these shtreimels cost thousands of dollars. Stunned hearing the value, Zeus decided he would try to find the owner and return it. He found a phone number in the shtreimel case and called to say he found the shmeidel. The owner confirmed it is his shtreimel, not shmeidel, and explained he had been in an Uber a few weeks prior and he stepped out of the car to make a call and then the car drove off. He was unable to find his shtreimel and the Uber driver denied having seen it, btu clerly it had been discovered at some point and discarded.

Zeus said he wants to return it and cleaned it up and then told the owner where to pick it up from. He was verye xcited and emotional to return it. Funnily he says meeting the owner, he was a very sweet fellow, like a sweet elf, whatever that means.

The chassidishe fellow showed up to collect his shtreimel and gave Zeus a bottle of tequila as a gift fo gratitude for his good deed..

source: Matzav, Behadrei

Zeus, not the Greek god, caused a kiddush hashem!

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The rabbonim say that the gedolei yisrael consider it a breach in the guidelines of tzniyus for a woman to drive a car. They never even imagined that the women would go down so many levels backwards and be drivers for public transportation.

The truth is, they say, that even for gentile women it is inappropriate to be such drivers, and the best of them would not lower themselves to take such lowly work, and for sure, how much more so, Haredi women shouldn't. 

They then put out a call for those Haredi women who have already been susceptible and been seduced to take this lowly work to resign immediately and look for jobs more in line with the guidelines of tzniyus and halacha..

source: Behadrei

I can udnerstand them being against Haredi women drivers. They, the rabbis of the more extreme Haredi groups, always were, and driving a bus is much more out there than driving your own car, so it makes sense they would oppose it strongly.

But why is driving a bus such a lowly position? Talk aboutt zniyus and what is or isnt appropriate for a Haredi woman, but why put down all bus drivers and call it such degrading work?

As the expression goes,  .כל עבודה מכבדת את בעליה  - all work dignifies the person doing it. No matter the job, no matter the work, if the person does it with dignity and responsiblity and honesty, it is a dignified work to be done. No need to put down all bus drivers.

While renovating the apartment, a bag of money was found sealed into one of the walls. The money was counted to the grand old sum of 150,000nis. 

There was no mention of the money in the dead brother's will, and the question is now who is the rightful owner of the money. Does the sister inherit it from the brother? Was it hers as owner of the apartment? Is it the avreich's who bought the apartment, which is sold "as is"? maybe the owner of the money had given up on ever finding it, not knowing it was sealed into a wall?  Maybe it has to be returned to her because she could not have given up hope of the money not even knowing it was there? 

The avreich went to the dayan Rav Yehuda Silman to ask what to do with the money.

Rav Silman paskened that he has to return the money to the woman, the previous owner of the house as she did not know about the money when she sold the apartment.

The avreich wated to turn the returning of the money into a kiddush hashem event so he asked the woman to come down to the rabbi's house and held an event there to return the money, inviting several friends. The woman was very emotional hearing the story and also realizing she had inherited money from her brother. Rabbi Silman conducted a "lachayim" with the participants and blessed the avreich with an overflow of blessings in his new house and that his children should follow the path of the Torah.

source: Behadrei

What would you do? I hope I would do the right thing, ask and return it accordingly if that would be the answer given. I wonder if I might not even ask and come up with a logical sevara of why it is is mine or hefker and does not need to be returned. 

Matnat Chaim contacted Guiness to turn this into an official World Record.

Guiness responded that at this time they are not accepting records submitted from this region, neither from Israel or from the Palestinian ruled territories. They hope to be able to restart soon they say.

not sure what they are waiting for - the war has basically ended already. Even most of the airlines have returned to flying their Israel routes...

On a similar note, Eurovision announced recently that it will not ban Israel from participating in the 2026 competition. As a result of that announcement four European countries said they would not compete due to Israel being included - Spain, Netherlands, Ireland, and Slovenia. 

I thought they wanted Israel to end the war. The protests just wanted Israel to end the genocide and then   we could all go back to kumbaya. The war is over, the "genocide" that never happened is over, but they are still boycotting Israel.

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