The Censored Story: A Haredi Author Reveals How a Boy Left the Fold After Forged Documents
An in-depth interview with Rabbi Moshe Gutman about the book shaking up the secular sector | The editor of the "Srugim" website explodes in the studio but struggles to answer a simple question | Do tissues cause cancer, and does pepper contain toxins? A clinical nutritionist comes to alarm you | The first-ever interview with a human AI figure and a segment on the punchline that will make you cry with laughter (Word of the Week) 10 10 0:00 / 57:48
A busy and dramatic week has passed over all of us, and we are heading toward no less turbulent days, so tonight on "Word of the Week," hosted by Moshe Mans, we will deal with everything important, along with touches of humor and information on technology and health. From the enlistment crisis threatening to tear the nation apart, through deep issues in Haredi education, to technologies changing the world, a fascinating mosaic of fascinating information.
The enlistment law and the danger of civil war: "Rioting that got out of control"
Against the backdrop of the heated protests and the arrest of draft evaders, Aryeh Yoeli, editor of the religious-national website "Srugim," sat in the studio for a blunt and direct confrontation. Yoeli refused to use the term "civil war," but did not spare harsh criticism of the conduct of the Haredi sector: "This is rioting that got out of control... It is the Haredim who start this by not enlisting." Yoeli criticized the lack of a swift condemnation from the Haredi mainstream leadership, and issued a serious warning about the future: "I am very afraid this will lead to bloodshed. If just one person had pulled out a pistol in front of Solberg's house, it would have led to things we did not want to see." According to him, if the Haredi public had proposed enlisting thousands of soldiers immediately after the events of Simchat Torah, "all these protests would not have happened."
Development in record time: the interceptor worrying Iran
The secret in the drawer: Rabbi Moishe Gutman opens old wounds in one of the most revealing interviews seen recently. The writer Rabbi Moishe Gutman appeared on the occasion of the release of his new, hefty book, 768 pages, published by Yedioth Books. The book, which exposes to the secular public a glimpse into the world of a Haredi family dealing with a son who leaves the fold, is partly based on painful personal experiences. Gutman revealed how, at age 13, he found in a drawer an envelope containing forged medical documents belonging to his father, intended to secure him an exemption from military service. "It created enormous distrust in my perfect father," he shared candidly. He wanted to incorporate the incident as the motive for the book's protagonist leaving religion, but encountered opposition from secular editors who argued it was "not believable." In addition, Gutman spoke about the agonizing dilemma tearing Haredi families apart, between the father's approach, demanding complete separation from the son who left the path, and the mother, fighting to maintain contact at any cost.
Artificial intelligence, Elon Musk and the robot that will cut your hair
This week, the technology segment hosted a unique figure, a virtual reporter based on artificial intelligence, in the likeness of Elhanan Tuag, whom we know from his regular coverage of technology, law and tabloid news. The review, which at first glance seemed too human for a bot, focused on the meteoric rise of the Chinese company DeepSeek, and on the "Agent K" project, which is expected to bring small, private AI agents directly into our smartphone processors, without the need for an internet connection. It was also revealed that Elon Musk's fear of the uncontrolled vision of Google executives was what led him to establish OpenAI. And if we're already on AI, in the "Punchline" segment with the talented Yossi Chaim Maimon, it emerged that in China there are already robots cutting customers' hair in malls for just 30 shekels. Will it work in Israel? Probably not. Without an old Yated Ne'eman newspaper from 5754 and without the ability to gossip with the machine about the neighbors, hair salons really have no substitute.
Fake news on the plate and politicians on TikTok
Nutrition or illusion? Clinical nutritionist Baruch Rosenstark came to debunk myths in the health segment, and spoke out against the trend of extreme 40-day fasts: "People are looking for magic instead of the simple and boring thing, eat less than you need and move more." In the Knesset chamber, campaign expert Ariel Sherfer analyzed the transformation of public officials into "internet entertainers" in the TikTok and Telegram era. From the statesmanship of the past, we have moved to ridiculous videos and arm-wrestling contests that try hard to present politicians as "cool."
Going viral: from the "helmet paradox" of World War I, which explained why steel helmets actually increased the number of wounded, because soldiers simply stopped dying in the field, to a Breslov Hasid who managed to buy highly mehudar Rabbeinu Tam tefillin at a quarter of the price, with divine assistance.
