THE TWIN BRIEF
A 150-year-old focus hack for davening, Democrats sweep both the House and the Senate, the Nasdaq bounces back, and the Oilers lose a shootout in Newark. Also: another 71-degree day in November.
Dvar Torah
The original focus mode
The Ben Ish Chai, still in his Chayei Sarah tefillin halachot, says something every phone owner will get: while you’re wearing tefillin, don’t let your mind wander off them. The only times you’re excused are while you’re learning Torah and during the Amidah, because then your head is supposed to be fully in that.
Then he shares a life hack some sharp people used, around 150 years before screen-time settings. They wrote the word “תפילין” in big letters on the top and sides of each page of the siddur so it kept catching their eye. His tweak: don’t write in the siddur itself. Use a separate sheet of paper a little bigger than the page and slip it between the pages, so the word peeks out around the edges as a reminder.
Teen takeaway: Even the tzaddikim needed a notification to stay locked in. Build yourself a reminder, whatever works, and let it pull you back when your brain drifts to last night’s game.
Source: Ben Ish Chai, Halachot 1st Year, Parashat Chayei Sarah #17. Hebrew text checked on Sefaria. Written in-house (no Rabbi input this run). Teen reference, not a personal ruling. Ask your rav for your own practice.
World
Democrats take both houses of Congress
- The result: Democrats won control of the House and the Senate, which means they run Congress starting in January. AP calls it a decisive rebuke of the Republicans and President Trump, driven by frustration over high prices, the Iran war and corruption worries.
- The Senate: Democrats flipped 7 seats for about a 54–44 majority, winning in Iowa, Kansas, Maine, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina and Texas, where James Talarico beat Ken Paxton. Kansas hadn’t elected a Democratic senator since 1932 (Ballotpedia, NBC News).
- The House: Still being counted, but Democrats already have well over the 218 seats needed. Democrats also flipped governor races in Texas, Georgia, Nevada, Ohio and Iowa (NBC News, The Guardian).
Tech
Chips bounce back · Apple slips
- Chip stocks rebounded on Election Day after a rough stretch, though the Nasdaq-100 is still about 10% below its high (CNBC).
- Apple fell almost 2% after a disappointing profit-margin forecast and weaker-than-expected iPad sales (CNBC).
Money
Three-day slide ends · Oil keeps easing
- Tuesday’s close: S&P 500 up 0.36% to 7,569, Nasdaq up 0.83%, Dow down 197 points to 51,787, mostly because of Apple (CNBC, MarketWatch).
- Oil: Brent settled around $103.60 and U.S. crude around $96, on hopes for U.S.–Iran talks, though the Strait of Hormuz is still unresolved (CNBC, MarketWatch).
Sports
Oilers lose a shootout in Newark
- Oilers: Devils 4, Oilers 3 in a shootout. Jack Hughes scored twice in 45 seconds for a 3–1 Devils lead before Edmonton fought back to tie it. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, playing in his Oilers-record game, had a goal and an assist. In the shootout, Connor Hellebuyck stopped Draisaitl, Nugent-Hopkins and Kapanen to win his first home start for New Jersey. That ends Edmonton’s three-game win streak, but the Oilers still got a point and are 11-2-3 (AP, NHL.com, ESPN).
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