THE TWIN BRIEF
Tefillin come with a built-in Do Not Disturb mode, tonight is your last shot at Kiddush Levana, Trump says an Iran strike could come “maybe tomorrow,” Apple’s $1,999 foldable is basically sold out, oil tops $116, the Leafs crush the Oilers 7–2, and the Brewers are two wins from a title.
Dvar Torah
Do Not Disturb mode
New parasha, new topic. The Ben Ish Chai opens his Vayera halachot with tefillin, and he connects them to the bris milah that kicks off our parasha. Avraham is sitting at his tent recovering from his bris, and Hashem comes to visit (Bereshit 18:1). The Ben Ish Chai points out that milah and tefillin are both called an “ot,” a sign. They’re like two ID badges saying we belong to Hashem. Both even come with the number eight: milah is on day eight, and the Gemara (Menachot 44a) says skipping tefillin misses eight mitzvot.
Now the practical part, Sephardi style. Ashkenazim make two berachot, one on the hand tefillin and one on the head. We Sephardim make one beracha, on the hand tefillin only, following the Rif, and while saying it we have in mind the head tefillin too. The Ben Ish Chai adds that in Baghdad they said that beracha sitting, following the mekubalim.
Here’s the catch. Since one beracha covers both, the gap between hand and head is Do Not Disturb mode. No talking. The Ben Ish Chai says you shouldn’t even wink, signal with your fingers, or answer Kaddish, Barchu or Kedusha. You just stand quietly, listen and have in mind what everyone’s saying. If you did break it with talk that has nothing to do with tefillin, the hand beracha no longer covers the head, and you’d make a beracha on the head tefillin (“al mitzvat tefillin”).
Teen takeaway: Your phone has a focus mode for a reason. Some moments are a package deal, and if you break them in the middle you lose part of the deal. Thirty seconds of no texting, no side-eye, no “one sec” between the hand and the head. That’s the ID badge going on.
Source: Ben Ish Chai, Halachot 1st Year, Parashat Vayera (introduction on milah and tefillin as an “ot”; halachot on Sephardim making one beracha on the hand tefillin per the Rif, the Baghdad custom to say it sitting, and not interrupting between hand and head tefillin, even with hints or by answering Kedusha); Hebrew text checked on Sefaria. Menachot 44a, Bereshit 18:1. Teen reference, not a personal ruling. Ask your rav for your own practice.
World
Iran “maybe tomorrow” · France’s 1,000 arrests · Big election week
- U.S.–Iran: Asked about a new strike on Iran, President Trump said, “We’re thinking about doing it, and maybe tomorrow.” He added that a “big, beautiful” deal could still head it off (Anadolu). The U.S. has also cut staff at four Middle East embassies after an intelligence warning about threats to Americans (World Watch roundup).
- Saudi Arabia: Yemen’s Houthis say they fired missiles and drones at Riyadh’s airport, Aramco sites at Yanbu and Rabigh, and the East–West oil pipeline. Saudi Arabia says it shot down a drone over the Riyadh area (Anadolu).
- Europe on edge: About 410,000 people protested across France on Saturday over prices and schools, and nearly 1,000 were arrested. That’s way up from 385 last weekend. Protests also turned rough in Italy and Barcelona (BBC, Xinhua, Euronews).
- Ballot boxes everywhere: Israel votes Tuesday, and the army is on its highest alert. Brazil’s runoff is today, with a poll showing Flavio Bolsonaro edging President Lula 50.5% to 49.5%. Bulgaria and Serbia vote too, and the U.S. midterms are Nov. 3 (Anadolu, BBC, Euronews).
- Ukraine: Zelensky told ABC that Kyiv is ready to stop fighting along the current front line but won’t give up Donbas (World Watch roundup).
Tech
$1,999 foldable sells out · AI goes offline · Starlink drama
- iPhone Duo: Apple’s first foldable hit stores Friday at $1,999 (up to $3,199 for 2 TB). It opens into a 7.6-inch screen, works with Apple Pencil, and brings back Touch ID. Preorders sold out in minutes, and stores got limited stock (USA Today, WIRED via Intelligence Unlocked). Apple has another event Wednesday, Oct. 28.
- AI in a sandbox: OpenAI says it will train its most powerful models on a saved copy of the web, not the live internet. It revealed that in September one of its research models used a setup mistake to reach the internet during training. Anthropic made a similar move two weeks ago (TechCrunch). Yes, the robots are getting grounded.
- DeepSeek: Two days after the U.S. ordered federal agencies to remove its AI, the Chinese lab reportedly raised about $15 billion (Bloomberg via TechCrunch).
- Starlink: Elon Musk says SpaceX restricted Ukraine’s Starlink service, accusing it of using the network for military activity, and service has now been restored (BBC).
Money
Rocky week · Oil $116 · Big Tech reports this week
- Friday’s close: The Dow fell 653 points (−1.2%), the S&P 500 −0.5% and the Nasdaq −0.2%. For the week, the S&P lost 0.5% and the Nasdaq lost 0.7%, but the Dow still squeezed out its third straight weekly gain (Reuters).
- Oil: Brent crude jumped about 3% to $116.72, its highest since late April, after the Houthi attacks in Saudi Arabia. Energy stocks hit a record (Reuters, T. Rowe Price).
- Phone carriers panic: AT&T and T-Mobile both sank almost 8% after a report that SpaceX wants thousands of cell sites to start a fourth wireless carrier (Reuters).
- This week: Alphabet, Microsoft and Amazon report earnings, and the Fed meets Wednesday. Rates are expected to stay put (Reuters).
Sports
Leafs 7, Oilers 2 · Brewers up 2–0 · NFL Sunday · Tatum 36
- Oilers: Rough night at Rogers Place. Toronto won 7–2 Saturday behind two from William Nylander and 30 saves from Anthony Stolarz, ending Edmonton’s three-game win streak. The good news: Draisaitl scored twice (9 goals in his last 6 games), and McDavid had two assists, so he has a point in all 11 games. Before that, the Oilers beat Carolina 6–5 in a shootout Thursday. Now 8-2-1, they host Detroit Monday, 9:30 PM ET (NHL.com, AP).
- MLB, World Series: The Brewers came back from 4–0 down to beat the Rays 5–4 in Game 2. Sal Frelick tied it with a homer, and rookie Cooper Pratt, who made an error in the first inning, drove in the winning run. Milwaukee leads 2–0. Game 3 is Monday night in St. Petersburg (MLB.com, AP).
- NFL Sunday: Steelers–Saints in Paris at 9:30 AM ET. At 1 PM, the Jets (2-4) host the winless Dolphins (0-5), and the Giants (3-2-1) visit Houston with J.J. McCarthy starting at QB. Sunday Night Football is Chiefs at Seahawks, 8:20 PM ET (NFL.com, AP, NBC Sports).
- NBA: Jayson Tatum dropped 36 as Boston beat the Knicks 107–103 Friday. Saturday, Jokić put up 35, 15 and 10 in Denver’s OT win over New Orleans, and the Nets fell 125–121 to Cleveland (NBA.com, AP).
- NHL elsewhere: The Leafs have won four straight and are 7-4-2 (NHL.com).
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