This week’s “Zupnik” roundup says a certain Hasidic court is in turmoil over its rebbe’s health, but the name remains under a gag order. The report says senior figures are keeping medical details hidden even from close associates, while worried followers are trying to piece together what is happening. It also rules out Gur, Belz, and Vizhnitz, and says the broader story is still under court-imposed secrecy.
The column also says a major reshuffle is brewing in the entourage of one member of the Council of Torah Sages. After the original leak caused anger, including from the rebbetzin, the court is now trying to calm tensions. For now, only the gabbais of the main beit midrash will be replaced, with the rebbe’s own gabbais to be changed later in a lower-profile move.
Among the week’s other revelations, a well-known Haredi businessman recently missed work after feeling unwell, but has started recovering after surgery by leading doctors. A newly appointed city rabbi from a prominent family has lost many kilograms, though his new frock coat makes it less noticeable. A Haredi public-relations firm that works for a mayor from a Haredi party was offered tempting work with a new party running against the mayor’s parent party, but refused to avoid harming its relationship with the mayor’s camp.
The gossip page then surveys a packed social and political circuit, including meetings involving Benny Gantz, Moshe Gafni, Aryeh Deri, Yeshi Cohen, Ouri Maklev, Yitzhak Goldknopf, Itzik Ohanah, Orel Buso, Isaac Herzog, Nir Barkat, Itamar Ben Gvir, Gideon Sa’ar, and other public figures at weddings, Torah events, hospital visits, political talks, and media appearances in Israel, New York, Miami, and elsewhere. It also notes several performances and appearances by singers and rabbis, including Moti Steinmetz, Avraham Fried, Mordechai Ben David, Yigal Cohen, and others, and closes with the week’s five most-read stories on Kikar, led by the F-35 grounding report.
