THE TWIN BRIEF
What the Ben Ish Chai says about dropping your tefillin, the Dow's biggest day since April 2025, oil crashes below $100, and the Oilers host the Ducks tonight. Also: 73 degrees with storms tonight.
Dvar Torah
Oops, I dropped my tefillin
Everybody fumbles something. The Ben Ish Chai covers what happens when the thing you fumble is your tefillin. If they fall out of your hand, the proper move is to fast for one day, that same day. If fasting isn’t realistic, you can “redeem” the fast by giving tzedakah instead.
Plot twist: if they fell while still inside their bag, no fast is needed. Just drop a coin in the tzedakah box. And he adds, from his own responsa Rav Pe’alim, that it doesn’t matter if they fell from less than ten tefachim (about three feet). Even a short drop counts, despite what people commonly think.
Teen takeaway: We treat our phones like they’re precious, with cases and screen protectors. Tefillin deserve way more of that energy. Hold them like they matter, because they do.
Source: Ben Ish Chai, Halachot 1st Year, Parashat Chayei Sarah #18. 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
The day after the Democratic sweep
- Divided government: With Democrats now holding both the House and the Senate, they’ll be able to block bills, open investigations into the administration and shape the budget, including the Pentagon’s (AFP via CNA).
- Trump’s response: He said he accepts the results and is ready to work with Democrats. VP JD Vance blamed the Republican losses partly on the unpopular Iran war (Anadolu, CNA).
- Texas shock: Gina Hinojosa beat Gov. Greg Abbott, ending more than 30 years of Republican governors in Texas (Anadolu).
Tech
Big Tech up, AI chips down
- Microsoft jumped 6.7%, Amazon 6.1% and Apple 5.3%. Investors are betting a Democratic Congress cools the expensive race to build AI data centers (Saxo, Benzinga).
- Nvidia fell 3.2% on worries about tighter AI rules, and Korean chipmakers SK Hynix and Samsung dropped 8–10% overnight. Tesla and SpaceX both slipped more than 3% (Saxo, CNA).
Money
Dow’s best day since April 2025 · Oil plunges
- Wednesday’s close: Dow up 1,569 points (3%) to 53,356, S&P 500 up 1.6% to 7,689, Nasdaq up 1.4%. McDonald’s rose about 6.5% after strong earnings (Anadolu, Benzinga).
- Oil: down more than 8%. Brent is about $94.60 and U.S. crude about $88.60, on bets Washington will push to end the Iran war. That could mean cheaper gas soon (Anadolu).
Sports
Oilers home vs. Anaheim tonight
- Oilers: Back at Rogers Place tonight against the Ducks at 8 PM ET. Edmonton is 11-2-3 with points in five straight. Connor McDavid has a point in all 16 games to start the season and leads the NHL with 31 assists, an NHL-record season-opening assist streak (NHL.com).
- Tuesday recap: The shootout loss in New Jersey ended a 7-0-1 road start. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins set the Oilers record for games played (1,038) and scored in it (NHL.com).
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