Monday, Iranian Parliament Deputy Speaker Ali Nikzad said that Tehran will consider a proposal to withdraw from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. According to him, "The parliament will also examine the international implications of the move."
This move would bring further divisions between Iran and other Arab nations, and draw even more ire from Donald Trump. It seems that Iran was involved in the thwarted attack on an American base in England, and Trump is lowering his bluster but kept repeating (as he did on Monday) that the war with Iran will end soon and that gas prices will go down significantly. Despite what he has said, it looks progressively more likely that the war with Iran will heat up prior to the midterms.
Today is the fourth day of Sukkot, the day of Joseph. Joseph was known for his dreams, but is also considered one of the greatest mystics and tzaddikim in Jewish history. Although repeatedly tempted by Potiphar's wife, he restrains himself. As the vizier in Egypt, he could easily take revenge on his brothers who threw him in the pit and sold him into slavery. But instead, he sees that they have grown as human beings, and forgives them.
Take this day to remember and focus on your dreams: both the sleeping and waking dreams. See how self-restraint would be helpful for you in manifesting those dreams. And personally, I suggest watching the movie Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. It is easily available on YouTube and is a pretty good interpretation of the Torah verses about Joseph, even if it is a bit schmaltzy.
And remember that our sages taught that any dream you have was put there by God, so pursue it passionately and patiently.
May all of our best dreams become manifest, and may the dream of a lasting peace in the Middle East become true in our time.
Chazak u'Baruch
Rabbi Michael Barclay
September 29, 2026
18th of Tishrei, 5787
There was a brief scare late last night when it seemed that a FlyDubai plane heading to Israel had been hijacked. The "hijacking code" came from the plane because of a fight between the pilots. The code then stopped being broadcast, and the plane landed safely in Saudi Arabia.
By 6 a.m. ET, things were clearer as facts became more known, and as of right now, Israel is treating this as a terrorist attack. The co-pilot, who is from Oman, repeatedly stabbed the pilot, with the intent of either crashing the plane or hijacking it in an attempt to commit a September 11-type of event. He was stopped by other crew and passengers breaking into the cockpit, taking control, and safely landing the plane in Saudi Arabia, averting the attempted hijacking.
But while the FlyDubai plane was not ultimately hijacked, each day seems to bring more evidence that New York City, once a great city that has the second-largest Jewish population of any city in the world, has been hijacked by a Jew-hating mayor and is becoming less and less safe for its Jewish population.
On Tuesday, Mayor Zohran Mamdani, for the first time in New York's history, required the city's police department to obtain his prior approval before deploying the unit that handles protests. Never has a New York mayor acted so audaciously, and this means that if a Jew-hating group is protesting outside of a synagogue, the police will not be able to respond without Mamdani's personal prior approval.
Qatar has for years been the home of the worst terrorists in the world, including the leaders of Hamas, Hezbollah, and more. While Israel has spent this time avoiding offending it out of respect for U.S. leadership in both parties, Israel has recently taken off the gloves and has been exposing the Qatari influence and practice of directly and indirectly financing terrorism. On Tuesday night, Qatar's Prime Minister Mohammed al-Thani revealed in an interview with Piers Morgan that he was briefed by the U.S. only half an hour before the campaign in Iran broke out, and how upset and offended he was by that. He added that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is a "war criminal," claimed that "war crimes and genocide are being committed" in the Gaza Strip, and said he rejects the claims of Yamina chairman Naftali Bennett, who called Qatar an "enemy state." Bennett, in response to the interview, called al-Thani "a terrorist in a suit" and said, "We will remove you from Israel and Gaza."
Associated Press reported on Tuesday that Hamas and Islamic Jihad have agreed to form an "unexpected electoral coalition" with former Fatah senior official and adviser to the UAE president Mohammed Dahlan. According to the report, the coalition they will form could threaten the dominance of Palestinian Authority Chairman Abu Mazen, but that would only be the case if the Palestinian Authority actually held elections, which they have not done in over 20 years. What this announcement does achieve is the legitimizing of Hamas as political leaders. Each time the media reports about Hamas making alliances, negotiating politics, etc., it is legitimizing this heinous terrorist group as if it were a normal political organization.
We cannot let any normalization be attached to Hamas, which committed some of the most heinous crimes in human history almost exactly three years ago. I have said the same thing since October 7, and I still stand by the belief that Hamas is the modern incarnation of Amalek, and must be treated in the way that God commanded us to deal with Amalek. Let us NEVER forget the evils they not only performed, but were proud of. May we always remember the horrific videos they proudly filmed; the torture they inflicted on innocent hostages for years; their public vows to repeat the actions of October 7 again and again; and may we always remember the faces of the victims, like the Bibas children.
And may we commit and recommit ourselves to “never again,” making sure that those words are not hollow.
May we always have the personal courage to stand up against evil, to never accept a compromise with that which is truly evil, and to always dedicate ourselves in words and actions to making the world a more righteous place filled with goodness and peace.
Chazak u'Baruch
Rabbi Michael Barclay
September 30, 2026
19th of Tishrei, 5787
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