THE TWIN BRIEF
Ask before you borrow someone’s tallit, Russia sanctions get paused, China moves to fence in its AI, the Nasdaq has its worst week since June, and McDavid drops five points in Utah.
Dvar Torah
Ask first
This week Avraham tells the king of Sedom he won’t take “so much as a thread or a sandal strap” of what isn’t his (Bereshit 14:23). Fitting, because the Ben Ish Chai’s Year One halachot for Parashat Lech Lecha are all about threads — tzitzit — and a couple of them are about borrowing someone else’s tallit.
Here’s the Sephardi guide in plain English. If you borrow a tallit just to go up for an aliyah (or to the duchan), you don’t make a beracha on it. If you borrow it to actually do the mitzvah of wrapping in tzitzit, it depends: grabbed from the shammash without the owner knowing? No beracha — when there’s a doubt about a beracha, we hold back. Borrowed with the owner’s OK? You may say the beracha, because we assume the owner lent it to you as a kind of gift for the time you’re using it, so it counts as yours. The shul’s own tallitot, set out for anyone who doesn’t have one, you bless on — even for an aliyah. Still, he adds, a person with real yirat Shamayim tries to use his own when he can.
Then the line every teen should hear: “nowadays most people mind when others wear their tzitzit and tefillin.” So a shammash shouldn’t hand out someone’s tefillin without permission unless he knows for sure the owner doesn’t care. And the Ben Ish Chai admits, “I know about myself that I’m one of the people who mind.”
Teen takeaway: “It’s just sitting there” isn’t permission. Tefillin bag on the shelf, a hoodie in the locker room, a charger on a desk — ask first. Avraham wouldn’t take a thread without asking; we can manage a quick “Can I use this?”
Source: Ben Ish Chai, Halachot 1st Year, Parashat Lech Lecha (on borrowing a tallit and on taking others’ tzitzit and tefillin without permission; Sefaria Hebrew text); Bereshit 14:23 (Sefaria). Teen reference, not a personal ruling. Ask your rav for your own practice.
World
Russia sanctions paused · France protests turn violent · Pope back home
- Russia / Ukraine: Late Friday, President Trump waived new U.S. sanctions on Russia — two days before they were set to kick in. Congress had passed the law with big support from both parties, and lawmakers including Republican Sen. Thom Tillis blasted the move. Zelenskyy called it unfortunate and hopes the sanctions can still be revived. Overnight, Russian strikes killed at least four people in Ukraine and hit energy sites, while Ukrainian drones disrupted flights at Moscow airports.
- France: Huge cost-of-living protests — unions and students marching together — turned violent Saturday. Rioters set fire to the historic town hall in Limoges and stormed Marseille’s town hall. President Macron said there is “no room for violence.” Cost-of-living protests also hit Belgium and Portugal.
- Vatican: Pope Leo XIV left the hospital Saturday, four days after surgery to remove a cancerous tumor in his lung. His surgeon says he should recover in about 10 days and is fit to travel to Latin America next month.
- Weather watch: Hurricane Trudy grew to a Category 2 storm (100 mph winds) heading for Mexico’s Pacific coast, and Typhoon Champi became a Category 4 super typhoon moving toward Guam.
Tech
China fences in its AI · A Roadster that flies · AI debt jitters
- China’s AI export plan: Beijing proposed putting 23 AI technologies on its export-control list — including powerful large language models, AI agents, chip designs and computing clusters. Model weights and source code above certain power levels (like models with 2 trillion+ parameters) would need permission to leave the country. Openly published, open-source tech would not be covered. Why it matters: Chinese labs like DeepSeek have been catching up fast, and this is China treating its AI as a strategic asset.
- Tesla Roadster: After nearly nine years of delays, Tesla showed off its next Roadster in Texas. With a SpaceX-built suction fan and cold-gas thrusters, it drove upside down, briefly flew over other Teslas, and hit 0–60 mph in a claimed 0.81 seconds. The catch: the top “Rocket” version is invite-only and not approved for public roads, and production is targeted for 2028.
- AI money worries: Data-center company CoreWeave fell 12% Friday and about 25% in five sessions as investors worried that debt-heavy AI infrastructure firms may not earn enough, fast enough, to pay back loans if borrowing costs rise.
Money
Worst week since June · Oil jumps · Big earnings ahead
- Friday’s close: S&P 500 7,659.44 (−1.09%), Nasdaq 26,140.03 (−2.15%), Dow 52,002.41 (−0.34%). The S&P lost about 2% for the week, erasing the prior week’s record-setting gains; for the market overall it was the worst week since late June.
- Why: A broad tech sell-off (chip stocks slid again) plus oil jumping more than 3% on Middle East supply worries. After this week’s hot inflation reports, traders increasingly expect the Fed to hold rates this month — and some, like Barclays, now see rate hikes in December and January.
- This week: Earnings season heats up — GM and Netflix Tuesday, Tesla and Meta after the close Wednesday, Procter & Gamble Thursday, American Express Friday.
Sports
McDavid’s five-point night · NFL Week 6 · ALCS Game 5 today
- Oilers (6-1-1): Split back-to-back games with Utah. Thursday at home: a 4–2 loss — their first regulation loss of the season — with Clayton Keller scoring twice and Edmonton missing five starting forwards and a defenseman. Saturday in Salt Lake City: a 6–2 win. McDavid had 2 goals and 3 assists, scored 40 seconds in, stretched his season-opening point streak to eight games, and leads the NHL with 23 points (6 G, 17 A). His 17 assists tie Lemieux and Gretzky for the most ever through a season’s first eight games. Draisaitl has goals in three straight, Hyman scored in his return from injury, and Jarry made 26 saves. Edmonton is 5-0-0 on the road. Next: home vs. Minnesota on Tue Oct 20, starting a five-game homestand.
- NFL — it’s Week 6: Thursday, the Broncos beat the Seahawks 17–14 in overtime. Today: Texans vs. Jaguars in London (9:30 AM ET); Jets at Patriots and Saints at Giants (1 PM); Chargers at Chiefs and Bills at Raiders (4:25 PM); Cowboys at Packers on Sunday Night Football (8:20 PM, NBC). Monday night: Commanders at 49ers.
- MLB: The Brewers swept the two-time champion Dodgers, winning Game 4 6–4 on Garrett Mitchell’s go-ahead homer after Shohei Ohtani’s early three-run shot. Milwaukee is in its first World Series since 1982. The ALCS is tied 2–2: the Rays won Game 4 7–3 Saturday (it was rained out Friday) with help from Guardians errors and a Yandy Díaz two-run homer. Game 5 is today ~5 PM ET in Cleveland (TBS); Game 6 is Monday in Tampa Bay.
- NBA: Opening Night is Tue Oct 20 — the Knicks raise their championship banner, then host LeBron, Jaylen Brown and the 76ers (7 PM, NBC/Peacock).
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