THE TWIN BRIEF
Big week. The US votes in the midterms tomorrow, Iran says it could reopen the Strait of Hormuz in two days (if it gets its way), oil just dropped below $100, and Apple reports its first numbers with a new CEO tonight. In sports: McDavid does Gretzky things again as the Oilers beat the Rangers at MSG, the Bucs win an NFL game without completing a single pass, and Luka drops 45. Plus a Dvar on why the Torah counts years you might want to forget. About a 5–10 minute read. Illustrated edition.
Dvar Torah · Parashat Chayei Sarah
Your Past Can Get a Glow-Up
This week’s parasha opens with a weird way to say someone’s age: “Vayihyu chayei Sarah, me’ah shanah v’esrim shanah v’sheva shanim, shnei chayei Sarah”: Sarah’s life was 100 years, 20 years and 7 years, the years of Sarah’s life (Bereshit 23:1). Why say “life” twice? Why not just “127”?
The Ben Ish Chai, the great Sephardi Torah giant of Baghdad, does the math in his Derashot on Chayei Sarah. The years someone lives in righteousness are the ones that really get called “life.” By tradition, Avraham recognized his Creator at age 48. He was 10 years older than Sarah (he was 100 when Yitzchak was born, she was 90). So Sarah joined him in knowing Hashem at about 38. That leaves 37 years from before.
Now the plot twist: the first word, וַיִּהְיוּ (vayihyu, “and they were”), has a gematria of 37 (6+10+5+10+6). The Torah is saying those 37 years also count as “the life of Sarah.” How? Because later she fixed them. The Ben Ish Chai says she turned them into “solet nekiyah”, pure fine flour, so they ended up equal to all her other years. The whole 127 counts. Think of a corrupted save file that gets restored and upgraded. Nothing is wasted.
Then, “shnei chayei Sarah”: shnei can mean “two.” The Ben Ish Chai says a tzaddik gets two kinds of life: quantity (a lot of years) and quality (what you pack into them). His proof: Rabbi Bun accomplished in 28 years what a veteran student couldn’t do in 100. He reads Mishlei the same way: “ki vi yirbu yamecha”, your days will be multiplied (quality), “v’yosifu lecha shnot chayim”, and years of life will be added (quantity). And when the Torah says Avraham was “ba bayamim”, literally “coming in days” (plural), that’s both kinds too.
Takeaway: two lessons for the price of one. First, your past isn’t locked in. What you do now can upgrade what you did then. Second, don’t just count your days. Make them count. An hour of real learning, real chesed or real effort can outweigh a whole week of scrolling.
Source: Ben Ish Chai, Derashot, Parashat Chayei Sara (on Bereshit 23:1; Hebrew checked on Sefaria). Written in-house for teens, with no Rabbi input. A teen-friendly summary, not a personal halachic ruling.
World
Midterms tomorrow, Iran’s two-day offer, and Gen Z takes to Europe’s streets
US midterms (Tuesday, Nov 3): Every House seat and about a third of the Senate are on the ballot. Republicans hold the House 218–214, and experts quoted by USA Today expect Democrats to have the edge there. Final NYT/Siena polls show Democrats ahead in 5 of 7 close Senate races, with Alaska and Iowa within the margin of error. One late twist: in Michigan, Democratic Rep. Haley Stevens, who lost her party’s Senate primary, endorsed Republican Mike Rogers on Sunday. President Trump makes his closing pitch today. Networks will call races Tuesday night using vote counts from the AP or Decision Desk HQ, often long before every vote is counted.
Iran: Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman said Iran could reopen the Strait of Hormuz within two days, and get back to talks, if the US meets its conditions: end the war on all fronts, unfreeze Iran’s money, lift oil sanctions and end the US naval blockade. Iranian negotiators spent a third straight day in Doha with Qatari mediators on Sunday, and China is sending an envoy to the region. Trump has said the US won’t launch new attacks before the vote, but hasn’t ruled out strikes afterward. Meanwhile Iran’s Revolutionary Guard navy claimed two tankers “exploded” after hitting mines on an “unauthorized route” in the strait.
Europe’s Gen Z protests: Tens of thousands rallied across Germany on Saturday for better schools and lower living costs. In Frankfurt it turned ugly: hooded rioters looted stores and more than 100 police officers were hurt. France had its third straight weekend of protests. In Serbia, tens of thousands marked a year since a train station roof collapse killed 16. Student protests over that disaster helped vote out the longtime president a week ago.
Also: Israel’s election results go to President Herzog on Wednesday, and nobody has 61 seats yet. Ukraine evacuated civilians as a six-day local ceasefire around Oleshky ended.
Tech
Apple’s big night, SpaceX eyes your phone plan, and AI’s price tag gets a reality check
Apple: Apple reports its July–September quarter today at 4:30 PM ET, with a call at 5:00 PM ET. It’s the first earnings call with new CEO John Ternus and CFO Kevan Parekh, and the first look at launch-week sales of the iPhone 18 Pro, plus Apple Watch Series 12, Ultra 4 and AirPods 5. Apple’s guidance points to about $112–114 billion in revenue, up from $102.5 billion a year ago (MacRumors). Palantir also reports tonight.
SpaceX wants into your pocket: The Washington Post reports SpaceX is in talks with EchoStar to either buy Boost Mobile or use its network, a possible path to a US phone service that mixes Starlink satellites with regular cell towers. There’s no deal, price or timeline yet, and using the network may need AT&T and T-Mobile to agree.
AI reality check: OpenAI’s new funding round values it at about $1.25 trillion. That’s huge, but below the $1.4 trillion it reportedly hoped for, and investor interest was described as lukewarm. Last week Google and Microsoft lowered their AI spending forecasts. Meanwhile Meta showed off a prototype home robot called “Max”, about 106 pounds and roughly 5 feet tall, with a screen for a face.
Money
Oil slides under $100, stocks try to bounce, and jobs Friday
Oil: Prices fell about 4% early Monday on hopes for US–Iran diplomacy. US crude (WTI) slipped to about $99.77, back under $100, and global Brent to about $108.68 (TipRanks).
Stocks: Futures pointed higher early Monday: Nasdaq 100 up about 0.8%, the S&P 500 and Dow about 0.5%. That’s after a rough week. The Nasdaq fell about 2% after Google and Microsoft cut their AI spending forecasts, and October was its worst month since March 2025, even as the Dow rose nearly 2% for the month.
This week: Earnings from Apple and Palantir (tonight), plus AMD, Pfizer, Uber, McDonald’s, Qualcomm, Arm and more. A factory survey (ISM manufacturing) comes out at 10 AM ET today, and the October jobs report lands Friday, Nov 6, at 8:30 AM ET. Oh, and an election on Tuesday.
Sports · Oilers first
McDavid does Gretzky things at MSG, the Bucs forget how to pass (and win), and Luka goes off
Oilers 4, Rangers 1 (Sun, MSG): Connor McDavid scored 50 seconds in, his 8th career goal in a game’s opening minute, an Oilers record (passing Mark Messier). It was also his 418th career goal, moving him past Glenn Anderson into 4th on the Oilers’ all-time list. Then he assisted on Evan Bouchard’s power-play goal, extending his record of an assist in every game to start the season to 15 straight. He’s the fastest player ever to 30 assists, beating Gretzky’s 16 games in 1984-85, and leads the NHL with 39 points (9 goals, 30 assists).
More heroes: Bouchard had a goal and 2 assists (26 points; only Orr, MacInnis and Potvin also had 25+ as a defenseman in their first 15 games). Colton Dach scored twice, his first career two-goal game. Goalie Matt Tomkins, a 32-year-old Edmonton native, made 28 saves in his Oilers debut. Leon Draisaitl had 2 assists.
Where they stand: Oilers 11-2-2, three straight wins, and a perfect 7-0 on the road. The Rangers (7-7-1) have lost four straight. Next: Tuesday at the Devils.
NFL: Week 8
- Buccaneers 16, Falcons 0: Tampa won with zero completed passes (Baker Mayfield went 0-for-3), the first time a team did that since Buffalo in 1974. They ran for a team-record 324 yards instead: Irving 170, Gainwell 140.
- Lions 19, Vikings 15: Jared Goff hit Jameson Williams for the go-ahead TD with 4:35 left, handing Minnesota its first loss (6-1). Lions LB Jack Campbell was carted off with a neck injury.
- Broncos 28, Chiefs 24: Denver sacked Patrick Mahomes on the final play and sits alone atop the AFC West at 6-2.
- Bills 36, Ravens 10: Josh Allen passed Jim Kelly for the most TD passes in Bills history. Ravens QB Lamar Jackson needs thumb surgery and his season may be over.
- Cardinals 33, Cowboys 30 (OT): a missed extra point, a TD with 6 seconds left, then a 42-yard OT field goal.
- Commanders 27, Eagles 10 (SNF): 27 straight points for Washington. The Eagles (2-6) have lost six in a row. Giants lead the NFC East and visit Philly Sunday.
- Also: Bengals 43, Titans 36 (OT, Joe Burrow 5 TD passes plus the winning run) · Steelers 27, Browns 6 (8 sacks) · Rams 24, Chargers 9 (Chargers 0-7) · Patriots 24, Dolphins 19 · Jaguars 42, Colts 7 · Raiders 38, Jets 33.
- Tonight: Bears (5-2) at Seahawks (4-3), 8:15 PM ET on ESPN/ABC.
NBA
- Lakers 131, Raptors 125: Luka Dončić had 45 points, 15 rebounds, 6 assists and 5 steals, going 8-for-12 from three and 13-for-13 at the line.
- Warriors 124, Clippers 112: with Curry and Green resting, rookie Yaxel Lendeborg scored a career-high 37, the most by a Warriors rookie since Steph’s 42 in 2010.
- Celtics 108, Magic 97: Jayson Tatum scored 32 for Boston’s 5th straight win. Nets 98, Pacers 90: Brooklyn’s first win.
- Tonight: Nets at Knicks (2-4), 7:30 PM ET at MSG. The Knicks have beaten Brooklyn 14 straight times.
MLB: offseason starts now
- Today at 5 PM ET is the deadline for teams to make qualifying offers (one-year, $23.15 million for 2027) to their free agents. After that, free agents can sign anywhere. Players get until Nov 17 to accept or decline.
- The Rays picked up Drew Rasmussen’s $20 million option, and the Padres declined Nick Pivetta’s $14 million option.
Comic: Zero completions
← All Full Issues · Home · Sun Daily Wire (Nov 1) · Fri Weekly Wrap 013 · Last Shabbat Edition (Vayera)