Turn, Turn, Turn

 

9^th May 2025

 

Shabbat Shalom dear friends.

 

Yesterday was a very important day, a new Pope was elected after just 2 days of conclave. A new Pope, an American who grew up in Chicago and spent much of his adult life in Peru, Pope Leo XIV, has the ability and opportunity to influence the world to take a better path.

 

On May the 13^th 1939 a ship set sail from Hamburg for Cuba. This was no cruise however, the ship, the St Louis, sister ship to the Milwaukee, carried 937 Jewish passengers escaping the impending horror of Nazi Germany. The refugees first tried to disembark in Cuba but were denied permission to land. After Cuba, the captain, Gustav Schröder, went to the United States and Canada, trying to find a nation to take the Jews in, but both nations refused. He finally returned the ship to Europe, where various countries, including the United Kingdom, Belgium, the Netherlands and France, accepted some refugees. British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain agreed to take 288 but those who went to countries later overtaken by the Reich were killed.

 

Victory in Europe Day, VE Day is a major event in the United Kingdom. May the 8^th 1945 represents the end of World War 2 in Europe, after 6 long years of fighting, of many major cities being reduced to rubble by the German War Machine. Food rationing from 1939 yet the morale of Brits went far beyond the British stoicism, the natural sang froid, Britain had a great leader in Winston Churchill, who not only fought the Germans but led the people sustaining their morale. Even the wartime songs that people sang while in the London Underground which served as bomb shelters ranged from Vera Lynn to very rude, humorous lampoons.  Today, as we face a world that has no clear direction, that has lost its moral compass, the dignity with which this day is honoured brings back a time long gone, a time when victory in Europe meant just that, the victory over a cruel, racist, killing machine. A midday Big Ben tolled and a 2 minute silence was held before a service at Westminster Abbey. Traditions and gratitude we must never lose.

 

Five days ago a Houthi missile hit the slip road of Ben Gurion Airport. Now please remember that the Houthis are guilty of murder and piracy on the high seas and are no friend to the West, but I was fascinated to see how the even was reported in the West. Reuters – Missile fired by Yemen’s non-aligned Houthis lands near Tel Aviv’s airport. CNN – Israel fails to intercept a Houthi missile.. BBC - Netanyahu vows response……. All reporting the same event but the bias is clear. It was very disturbing but the purpose is barely reported. The purpose is to destroy Israel’s economy. One of our major sources of income is tourism and the natural response to a hypersonic missile (that’s why we didn’t stop it) hitting close to the airport is for all the foreign airlines to cease flying to Israel!

 

In fact one of my lovely readers from Melbourne, the delightful Helen (Helsie) Brustman worried about the PR concerning our government when I may criticise our leaders. However I feel that if I didn’t tell you the whole truth then I would be letting you down. This is an incredible country with fabulous people of all faiths; a country where 300% of those asked to defend us (miluimniks) came forward to fight after the 7th of October; this is a country of volunteers, all in all a deeply caring society for all our noise. But the sad fact is that we are also a rudderless society at the moment. Our hearts ache for the hostages that remain in diabolical conditions; our hearts ache for the families of those hostages and for those who came home after hundreds of days; for the families of soldiers who volunteer to go back time and again when we are uncertain as to the value of risking even more young lives, and so the list goes on. What is incredible is that Israeli determination that life must go on. Restaurants, cinemas, theatres, beaches, hotels are all full of Israelis!!! We understand that we must express ourselves by demonstrating, be it in Hostage Square to show our loyalty to the families or by acting as if all is normal even when we know it isn’t.

 

Perhaps the most divisive aspect of this government is that they are not forcing all members of Israeli society to defend Israel leaving the burden of fighting force weighing heavily on men and women who leave their families, businesses and studies for months on end. The honour of living in a democracy, a true democracy means that rights demand responsibility, taking responsibility for everyone not just ones own particular sector; all sectors, not just Haredi, not just Moslem, all sectors. One member of the Likud party that has stood firm on this is Yuli Edelstein, chair of the Knesset foreign affairs and defence committee, who insists that a real conscription law is one that applies to every community. When rockets fall they don't distinguish between Christian, Jew, Druze, Arab. It's irrelevant what your head covering, hijab, or shtreimel, or what colour your kippa, and our defence must apply the same.

 

The first and foremost Jewish law is Pikuach nefesh, the Jewish law that says that to save one soul is to save a world. 

 

I am not going to comment just to state a fact. President Biden demanded recognition of Israel as a condition of agreeing to nuclear Saudi Arabia. President Trump just agreed to a nuclear Saudi Arabia without rationalization of relations with Israel.

 

Abdul Rauf Azhar, the Pakistani Al Qaeda-affiliated terrorist who beheaded American Jewish journalist Daniel Pearl on camera in 2002, has been killed by Indian forces. 23 years after his killing, Daniel Pearl has finally been avenged! ”My name is Daniel Pearl. I'm a Jewish-American from Encino, California, USA/ My father's Jewish, my mother's Jewish, I'm Jewish. My family follows Judaism.” 

This is Israel and there is always good news. After winning many medals in the European acrobatic gymnastics we proved that our brains are just as agile. Six Israeli high school students represented Israel at the Baltic Olympiad in Informatics in Poland, a computer science competition for high school students. Every single member of the Israeli team won a medal: 4 gold medal winners - including Daniel Zwebner who won the overall gold for the entire competition.

 

I am often asked why I came to live in Israel. For me it is a given, but for some others, including some Israelis, it is a logical question. Actually I am asked that particular question less and less as our world become more and more hostile, but I digress. Why did I choose to live here? Well, it all started on a Jewish Agency trip in July-August 1963. We toured, learned, worked on Kibbutz, saw Israel for the first time. I had heard all about Israel from my parents and watched my Father’s 16mm film of their trip in 1953; I had listened avidly to my Habonim leaders (madrichim) both Norman Berg z”l and Andrew Stone (aka Lord Stone of Blackheath) in my home city of Cardiff in South Wales and then when my parents decided to send me on my first “tour” I grabbed at the chance. Somehow, I fell in love with a very different Israel, a much simpler Israel, an unsophisticated Israel, but full of warm, welcoming people. For many years my love affair with this gorgeous country was limited to twice yearly visits with three children, time spent almost exclusively with my then husband’s family, but that special place in my heart never left me.

 

Life was good in the UK, both volunteering and then working with organisations that related to Israel, but that special yearning, that sense of coming home never left me. So I did it! I came home and that is the answer to all of the questions. I came home. This is a complex society, a warm, welcoming society, a noisy and argumentative society, a deeply curious society that is brilliant at solving practical situations, opinionated to a fault like one big very annoying family. We do not have a simple life, our neighbouring countries have only one aim, to throw us off our ancient land; to deny the bible or biblical rights. I seriously wouldn’t want to live anywhere else. Obviously there are many more personal reasons that I do not need to talk about but here I am!

 

Zvi is sitting in the Botanical Gardens with his parliament, his group of friends who discuss and try to solve the problems of our world, which is a bit easier than the problems in Israel! When he gets home I’ll take him out onto the veranda, I love to inspect every plant daily and I need to show him the apples on the ridiculously small apple tree. There must be 20! They are Anna, my favourite variety since I can’t get Cox’s Orange Pippins they became a close second best. We will bring in Shabbat and Zvi will recite the blessing over the wine in his beautiful bass baritone and we will relax, it’s Shabbat.

 

Tomorrow we will celebrate Yonatan’s 11^th birthday and then, when dusk falls we will start another week. Everyone we meet with say Shevua Tov, have a good week, hopefully an uneventful week

 

And so to music.

 

Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach was famous for his gentle religious songs but even more for the niggun (song without words. Here he combines the two. Shabbat Shalom and blessed. https://youtu.be/9QIOy6UQAuk?si=Ci4Q0aVVSwZPGC3T

 

Yaacov Shwekey and IDF soldier Shlomo Lipman

If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget its skill!
Let my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth, if I do not remember you,

if I do not set Jerusalem above my highest joy! 

https://youtu.be/fAFWMQnrU9E?si=T0JQEcW8fX1CuVff

 

Biblical quotes are so often proven true for today. Turn Turn Turn, https://youtu.be/eiprqeaydik?si=l25ZYOYu8eCuMwKH

 

And so to Shabbat. Almost here. We will look over to the view of Jerusalem in the distance, slowly turning pink, orange and red as the setting sun changes the glistening white buildings to Jerusalem of Gold. Wherever you are, whatever you are doing, irrespective of the direction of your prayers, you pray to Jerusalem.

 

Be safe, be well, be strong, together we can face up to any threat.

 

With love

Sheila

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

 

Fire, Beacons and Song

 

1^st of May, 2025

 

Shabbat Shalom

 

As the sun sets on the horizon, Yom HaAtzmaut, Israel’s Independence Day, is drawing to a close. 77 years and we have built, planted, grown, brought in, helped, fed, initiated, innovated, tended and been a light unto nations despite still fighting our war of independence; we really are an example of how to build a fine, democratic nation, despite the multiple wolves at the door. What the 78^th year holds we can only pray that it will be better than the last year.

 

As we left Yom HaShoah behind us, mourned our losses on Yom haZikaron (Remembrance Day) and entered Independence Day with so much hope, but no, we had to cancel all the celebrations because the first responders, fire brigade and police were tied up fighting bush fires all over the country, although centered in the areas on the way to Jerusalem. Bush fires that all started simultaneously.  Simultaneous spontaneous combustion? Sadly, we are not that naive and it is a situation that repeats itself time and again, always when there is a heatwave and high winds. At least 26 arson suspects have been arrested.

 

The celebrations that took place had a sombre side, an inner sadness that was hard to hide while 59 hostages, alive and not, remain in Hamas hands. The beacon lighters both celebrated freedom while echoing the plea for the return of their friends, the only people who can possibly understand what they went through. Something about the need to celebrate brought me to Anne Frank. This quote feels so relevant to everything that has happened.

 

“We’re surrounded by darkness and danger, and in our desperate search for a way out we keep bumping into each other. We look at the fighting down below and the peace and beauty up above. In the meantime, we’ve been cut off by the dark mass of clouds, so that we can go neither up nor down. It looms before us like an impenetrable wall, trying to crush us, but not yet able to. I can only cry out and implore, “Oh, ring, ring, open wide and let us out!”

 

Although the actual ceremony on Mount Herzl didn’t take place, for the reasons outlined above, the dress rehearsal had been filmed two nights previously so after all we got to see Zvi and the choir perform! Sadly we didn’t go to our usual party, a truly magnificent bash at the Lotan’s, partly because I’m not quite ready and partly because most of the roads were closed due to the fires. However, we went to a close friend’s party right here on our estate. It was meant to be most of the choir although many just couldn’t get here or were waiting to know if they need to be evacuated. We kept the television on for the ceremony, so that we wouldn’t miss Zvi, also to enjoy the delicious food laid out on the table, then we sat around and sang beautiful Israeli songs and ended up with “Swing Low Sweet Chariot”, “When the Saints” and Peter Paul and Mary!! There is something special about being with close friends when things look so black.

 

Ronen Bar is an Israeli intelligence officer and the director of the Israeli Security Agency since 13 October 2021. Two days ago he stood before the Israeli people and apologised, took responsibility for everything that happened on October 7^th and the 573 days that followed. His measured words and dignified stance did not hide the pain of knowing that there was failure under his watch.

 

The BBC is the unlikely source of this news item. The most prominent Islamic scholar in Gaza has issued a rare, powerful fatwa condemning Hamas’s 7 October 2023 attack on Israel, which triggered the devastating war in the Palestinian territory. Professor Dr Salman al-Dayah, a former dean of the Faculty of Sharia and Law at the Hamas-affiliated Islamic University of Gaza, is one of the region’s most respected religious authorities, so his legal opinion carries significant weight among Gaza’s two million population, which is predominantly Sunni Muslim.

 

600 Syrian Druze clerics came to Israel to celebrate the festival of Ziyara at the tomb of Nabi Shuaib in the Lower Galilee. The Druze community in Israel welcomed them with open arms. Sadly life for them in Syria, in the land supposedly freed of the despots, is not easy and this week at least five Druze were killed.

 

On Friday night we went to the David’s Citadel Hotel in Jerusalem to meet with a truly amazing group of people from the UIA, the Australian Keren Hayesod. Our hostess, definitely with the mostest, was Michelle Gandel and as we sat at her table we were yet again impressed by the love and understanding of those present with Israel’s situation. We found ourselves deep in conversations, answering such relevant questions that it was a pleasure to be with them. About half way through the evening a young man got up to speak, his name is Levi Simon and he came on Aliya some 9 years ago, served in the IDF and then on October the 8^th immediately volunteered, became a miluimnik, his thriving tourism business fell because he wasn’t there, he was in the field of battle. I promised him that I would put his very impressive website up, he is a tour guide and if he is half as good as a tour guide as he was as a speaker you will be in for a treat. https://www.levisimon.com/  Levi made a very important observation that he learned during his Miluim, we are in a war where one’s enemy has no concept of the Geneva Convention but is an enemy that uses brilliant psychological warfare in the guise of guerrilla warfare. Many of the leaders of Hamas have psychology degrees from Western Universities. 

 

We were delighted to see Anita Simons there too, in fact several lovely old friends. At Michelles encouragement Zvi told the story of his involvement in the struggle for Soviet Jewry way back in 1969 and his famous meeting with Golda. Actually I must admit that my favourite part of the whole experience was the fact that Sheli came with us and obviously, everyone fell in love with her!!!

 

Our distress at the fires, at the cancelled celebrations was apparent, yet this morning, the smell of fire in the air, a tiny Tsufit (sunbird) greeted me, darting to and fro, the morning sun glistening on its iridescent feathers. As I watched him, fascinated by his movements from flower to flower, lemon blossom to orange blossom I chose to think of him as the harbinger of better news and so it was.

 

I received excellent news from our CEO Marcus Sheff….. Impact-se ( www.impact-se.org) has opened an office in Abu Dhabi! Yes you heard me! The office will allow us to work more efficiently with UAE government ministries and partners such as the Mohammed bin Zayed University of the Humanities.

More broadly, the office will make it easier to work with interlocutors in the Arab and Muslim world. Our representative in the office will be Alaa Alshimmari

 

So another eventful week and so to Shabbat, to sadness and celebration, tomorrow the one year anniversary of the sudden passing of our beloved Valeri. We will go to the cemetery and pay our deep respects, hug Ira, Tomer and Sheli and talk about the lovely man that he was and he left us far to soon. So many sweet memories together. Then to change our mood completely, that evening we are with Zvi’s family to celebrate Gili’s 16^th birthday. How strange that life always shows the honey and the sting are inseparable.

And so, inevitably, to music

 

Turn Turn Turn is actually a quote from Ecclesiastes and it is so fitting for our crazy world right now. I love it. Judy Collins and Pete Seeger with a simplicity and naivete of the ‘60s https://youtu.be/n0xzyhoeu1Y?si=9fkuL1ckSB19Vlr_

 

Mishhu, “Someone” is a beautiful song of hope https://youtu.be/YHx9xDAHOIE?si=lpJPTrHJWXQgnoRX

 

Yuval Raphael is a beautiful young woman who was saved on October 7^th because she feigned death while hiding in a shelter, this month she will represent Israel in the Eurovision song Contest with the biggest audience in the world. Good luck Yuval!!! https://youtu.be/Q3BELu4z6-U?si=XcEzsL6V3g54TNw5

 

I wish you a Shabbat Shalom, a weekend of peace and contemplation, a week of good news, we all need it. Shabbat Shalom from Jerusalem, that incredible, spiritual, beautiful, fascinating city that is the centre of our world.

 

With love

Sheila

 

PS I loved hearing from you all last week!!!

 

 

 

 

 

Shoah, Remembrance and Independence

 

24^th of April, 2025

Yom HaShoah

565 days since the 7^th of October 2023

 

Today Israel commemorated Holocaust Memorial Day. The eerie sound of the two minute siren as Israel came to a standstill. This year commemorating the 80^th year since the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenhau, a Nazi concentration camp and extermination camp in occupied Poland where more than 1 million people were murdered as part of the Nazis' of which 1.2 million were Jews. The "Final Solution" to the Jewish question. The camp was liberated by the Soviet Red Army. The secret held by the Western leaders could no longer be kept, the horrors of that camp was to be repeated in the liberation of Bergen Belsen by the British troops, and so on throughout the Reich.

 

President Herzog gave a moving and important speech at the Yad Vashem ceremony last night. “I call upon you from the bottom of my heart: Let us unite together, the entire House of Israel. Let us turn these days – the Ten Holy Days – from now until Independence Day, into a moment of National responsibility. Let us lower the flames. Let us mend our hearts. While nothing compares to the scale and systematic killing of the Holocaust, it’s impossible to be unmoved by the terrifying testimonies from the heart of the horror on October 7^th and not be shocked by the echoes of that historical catastrophe. Nonetheless, their stories can also be viewed as part of a larger victory for the Jewish people, returned to their land.”

 

Hamas captivity survivor Eli Sharabi, whose wife and two daughters were murdered during the October 7th Hamas massacre, and whose brother was killed in captivity, shares powerful words from Auschwitz on Holocaust Memorial Day.  https://youtu.be/yXQkdOybraA?si=5EWGqkvO8xlaJlbJ

 

We heard the incredible stories of bravery and survival from those who suffered first hand, evidence that is fast disappearing, and from members of the Knesset who stood and told the stories of their families. This is a tragedy that was not only European, North African countries were overcome by the Reich and their Jews inevitably suffered. The Libyan Jews, the Tunisian Jews and more. The bravery of those survivors, their pride in our incredible country, Israel where they rebuilt their lives and repopulated their families, Survivors with grandchildren and great-grandchildren serving in the IDF in this insane war against a barbaric enemy. But wait, think about what I just wrote. Survivors of the Holocaust, the clear intention to wipe Jews off the face of the earth, serving in the Israeli army! The sheer miracle of those few words should bring tears of joy to each and every one of us. As one feisty 95 year old survivor declared ”Let them come at us! We’ve survived worse and look at where we are! We are here in our homeland, standing proud and knowing that our lives are being protected by Jews. (She can be excused for not mentioning the other faiths) Here we are in our HOMELAND!” What a woman, what incredible people they are, those raggedy, hungry, beaten folk who came to Israel and built a new life, a new country, and new generations.

 

The true miracle was seen in the 32^nd European Acrobatic Gymnastics Championships. Try this for starters.

Gold  Ella Ben Zvi and Nurit Luria

Gold Israel Men’s Group

Gold Israel Women’s Group

Gold Ran Aviv and Jonathan Markovich, Juniors

 

Then the DOBRO World Cup, OSIJEK world championship

Gold for Artium Dolgopiat in the ground exercise at the World Cup. Artium, the most decorated Israeli athlete of all time, gave his Olympic Gold to the fund for the Hostages

Gold Polina Grossman kickboxing

Gold Ron Pyatov parallel bars

 

What was the expression “Jews can’t run”? Ha!

 

Volunteering for NGO LeMa’anam (For their Sake), Israeli Arab Doctors, Christian Yosif Boulos and Muslim Fadi Badarna, provide home visits for the now elderly Holocaust Survivors in the wake of October 7^th. “Meeting these people, hearing their stories, and being able to help — even in a small way — is a great privilege. Medicine for me is not just a profession but a way to express solidarity, humanity and hope for a better future for all of us.”

 

Pope Francis, passed away this week after a long illness. Originally from Argentina, he was the first Catholic pontiff from the Americas, and began his career as a Jesuit priest in Argentina and later served as archbishop of Buenos Aires and a cardinal. He knew the Jewish community in Buenos Aires and was present at the Memorial service at the AMIA Jewish Centre after the catastrophic bombing of that place. He also placed a memorial plaque in the Cathedral for Raoul Wallenberg, the Swedish Diplomat who saved many Jews. In his last days he changed direction and expressed dismay at the war in Gaza, but will be remembered as a man of the people.

 

I have a question. Did you notice that I didn’t write last week? By the way, I really love to hear from you, although it’s lovely to hear your delight at receiving my missives when we meet, I’d love to receive your thoughts. Anyway, I was in hospital (for a change), this time in Cardiology, some think because I had never been in that department before!! After a couple of disturbing episodes I went to Shaare Zedek Hospital where they were phenomenal. The ER cubicle was so up to date I thought it would take off! Up in Cardiology they did the final few tests, and immediately took me into surgery to install a pacemaker. Zvi and Sheli were as incredible as always, ensuring my confidence, this time Rachel was poorly with a virus but when she came to the hospital she asked one of the nurses who did the surgery “Oh he is the head of department” How’s that for good luck. Anyway, I’m obviously on my way to recovery with  my new machine, Zvi, Rachel and Sheli are still watching over me and friends visit.

 

Zvi has been rehearsing like crazy because his choir is appearing in the Yom HaAtzmaut (Independence Day) celebrations on Mount Herzl next week. Apparently they held rehearsals, recordings, dress rehearsals and more rehearsals. Exhausting but I’m sure he will be the star he always is. He also had a performance for the Eve of Holocaust Memorial Day involving more rehearsals. Of course with Zvi busy Rachel, Sheli and I could enjoy some very girly movies!

 

Tuesday night a one minute siren will herald the beginning of Remembrance Day, conceivably the most solemn day in the Israeli calendar. The families of the fallen visit the graves of their loved ones and at 11:00 a two minute siren will sound, not the vibrato of the terrifying warning of Houthi missiles, but one long and painful tone, echoing throughout the country. Cars, buses, trains, everyone stops where they stand to honour those who died so that we could be free. It is a day of great solemnity, of remembrance, of the all too recent pain the families of all those who died fighting Hamas, again and Hezb-Allah, the dead of all our many wars, wars we never wanted, wars we couldn’t avoid.

 

The sudden change from deep sadness to great joy takes but a few moments after the changing of the guard on the hill named after Theodore Herzl. Suddenly, the music changes from minor to major key, the lights go on and the dancers come out to celebrate Independence!  Israel is a fine and beautiful lady celebrating her 77^th birthday! It will surely be televised all over the world, try i24 news! Don’t forget, get your binoculars out so that you can pick out Zvi on the centre stage with the choir.

 

And so to music.

 

Bo’I Ima (come Mother) is a Russian folk song adapted to Hebrew the lyrics tell of the deep longing of a child for its mother. It ends with the words, “sit with me until I grow up.” Performed by Holocaust survivor Shoshana Trister & Ivri Lider. In Hebrew and Yiddish https://youtu.be/qetzeHGADes?si=1RFajCCD3F-NsGFm

 

Daniel Weiss’ parents were slaughtered by Hamas barbarians on October 7^th, but he is able to sing, he must sing to prove that he is alive. In this song he goes to his home. I’ll let him speak for himself. https://youtu.be/mcq3dqK0n18?si=-k-c0vxvliDHUr1w

 

The incredible André Rieu & The Platin Tenors performing Exodus Song live in Maastricht.  https://youtu.be/RDkYUfJPjE0?si=Hwbp_ta8jlhfnrFL

Just see the words of the song written by Ernest gold with lyrics by Pat Boone for the movie

 

This land is mine God gave this land to me

This brave and ancient land to me

And when the morning sun Reveals her hills and plains

Then I see a land Where children can run free

So take my hand And walk this land with me

And walk this lovely land with me Though I am just a man

When you are by my side With the help of God I know I can be strong

Though I am just a man

When you are by my side With the help of God I know I can be strong

To make this land our home If I must fight,

I'll fight To make this land our own Until I die, this land is mine

 

With all my love to each and every one of you. Don’t forget to say hello, just a note, I’d love to hear from you.

Shabbat Shalom from our veranda with Jerusalem glistening in the distance

Sheila

 

 

 

 

 

Pesach, the 552nd of October

 

11^th April, 2025

13^th Nissan 5785

552^nd of October

 

 

Shabbat Shalom dear friends, Shabbat Shalom and a peaceful Pesach.

 

“Justice doesn’t always arrive in sweeping gestures or loud declarations. Sometimes, it walks softly into a room and says, “This isn’t right”—and the world begins to shift.

 

Our very special friend Dr Kim Taylor wrote these words which best describe this festival. “This Passover, as we remember Moses' brave "Hineni" at the burning bush, we are reminded that each of us is also called to respond: "Here am I." Just as Moses stood ready to serve God and lead Israel to freedom, we were also invited to stand with courage, faith, and purpose. In every generation, our "Hineni" matters through acts of kindness, compassion, and devotion to our people, our faith, and Israel. May this sacred season inspire us to bring healing where there is pain, courage where there is fear, and hope where there is uncertainty.” 

 

Tomorrow night we will all remember and pray for the 59 Israelis who are still in the dire conditions of Hamas captivity. As we celebrate our freedom we fear for their lives and their families who have an empty chair at their Passover meal.

 

Almost time for Passover and the reading of the story of our Exodus from Egypt – from slavery to freedom. After the blessing over the wine, the youngest child at the table asks four questions beginning with “Why is this night different to all other nights” the entire service responds to this innocent question, in Hebrew and ancient Aramaic. Of course, the children need to be amused in order to hold their attention so there are lots of songs and the children often argue about who will read about the four sons – The Wise, The Questioner, The Wicked and The One who doesn’t know how to ask. What is the purpose of this description of four sons? the four sons actually represent the four generations of assimilation.

 

14th of Nissan 2448 the first Paschal lamb was sacrificed by the Jews in Egypt to be eaten at the first ever Passover Seder as described in Exodus. It was so much more than an act of bravery, the sheep was considered holy by the Egyptians of that time, it was an act of defiance when the Jewish slaves realised they were about to leave Egypt and start their tortuous journey to the Promised Land. When you think about it, each generation has brought its challenges, each generation has brought out the innate racism that defines a persecuted nation; through the Inquisition, the Blood Libel, the expulsion the of Jews of Arab Lands, the Holocaust and the persecution and slaughter of today’s Jews. That is what Passover and the Seder or service of the first night (or nights if you live outside Israel) is all about – remembering our tortured past. This history is described in the beautiful song Vehi Sheamda, which is sung at the Seder table but sadly is true of today. Here it is sung by Daniel Weiss whose parents were killed on October 7^th. https://youtu.be/fY1wgTq9SRM?si=-IO2yL7YzLbBALJZ  The words are simple, the message important, “And this (The Almighty's blessings) is what protected our fathers and what keeps us surviving. For, not only one arose and tried to destroy us, but rather in every generation they try to destroy us, and the Almighty saves us from their hands.”

 

On the 27^th of March 2002, just 3 days before Kinneret Chaya was saved from a horrific bombing in a coffee shop in Tel Aviv, the Park Hotel in Netanya was filled with excited families preparing for the communal Seder held in the hotel when a suicide Hamas bomber came into the foyer and blew himself up causing horrific damage and killing 30 people and injuring more than 120. As the song repeats, there is nothing new about killing Jews, it’s just the names that change.

 

Song is an easy way to hold attention while telling a story, Y-Studs is an acapella singing group who will tell you the story of Pesach in about 4 minutes!! It’s very clever https://youtu.be/hLAAdCC9x5M?si=4_jkxKNSXIfLIdMH

 

Just a small but fascinating fact. 36 times the Torah commands us that we must honour the stranger not oppress them but to live and care for them. 36 times this commandment is repeated. Why? Because we were strangers in Egypt treated cruelly and today we are strangers in many lands.

 

A major part of Passover is the origin of Spring Cleaning! Scrubbing and scouring, brushing and clearing, removing any crumb of leavened products. Best explained by my wonderful friend Rabbi Jeremy Rosen with his usual sense of humour, “Passover 2025, Are We Crazy?” https://www.jwire.com.au/pesach-2025-are-we-crazy/

 

There are many miracles in our history but the greatest miracle is the fact that we are here, we survived and we have a truly magnificent country of our own! Each and every one of these miracles is remembered during the Passover Seder, but even that apparently serious litany of disasters is celebrated in song. This particular one has a special relevance and addition at our table, led by Sheli and I, we make a strange ululating sound at the end of each verse! Anyway, here is Dayenu which has no direct translation but basically means “even that would have been sufficient” In other words, the blessings keep coming https://youtu.be/CZgDNPGZ9Sg?si=_UhoUA3HJnTAhECA

 

Zvi came back from his trip to Rome with his two boys (Amiad and Leor) and two Bat Mitzva grand-daughters (Ella and Ori) and we were just talking about the fact that many of the world’s greatest artists were fascinated by the Passover Seder, or the Last Supper, each depicting the faces of the Apostles in a different manner. Anyway, back to Rome and the Vatican where the artist Raphael’s huge tapestry of the last supper is displayed. Our connection, our mutual ethics, our determination to leave this world better than we find it, is what we must always remember, not our few differences or the language or the direction of our prayers.

 

So, The chicken soup is made, the kneidlach (matzo balls) are in the freezer and I am taking life easy this year and we have ordered much of the food from a local kosher caterer, but still the really traditional aspects are left to me. I have prepared the burnt egg, shank bone (actually a turkey neck!!) and am about to grate the horseradish, preferably out of doors with a double mask and not breathing from the pungent fumes that each morsel exudes! The horseradish represents the bitter times. Next on the list is the Charosis or combining using my family’s recipe. Grated sweet apples, ground almonds, a little wine or grape juice and finely chopped lettuce, a very popular version rather than the very very sweet Sefardi version of chopped dates and nuts. One explanation is that this represents our unity as a people, the cement of a shared belief and tradition – something we really need in our world of strongly expressed opinions and internecine fighting. This afternoon, Sheli and Tomer are coming to help Zvi set up the tables and move the furniture, after all seating 23 people is not always easy. Once the tables are in place my parents Seder plate comes out of its protective covering, Zvi’s parents’ beautiful dinner service comes out of its careful packing and we prepare for the prayers and traditions of generations from both our families. I think that’s what it is all about, tradition, just as Tevye’s song in Fiddler on the Roof. By carrying out the traditions we honour our parents, their parents and all of those who died because they were Jews. We prove that no matter what is thrown at us we survive and thrive.

 

Tomer and Sheli are staying for Shabbat dinner, after all celebrating Shabbat overrides any exhaustion induced by the Passover preparations. We will light the Shabbat candles together, aware of the very special connection of our families and of their parent’s determination to have two pure Israelis who were and are ready to fight for our country and our people, putting their personal wishes aside, knowing that the time will come for them to study and begin their civilian lives. Their parents, Ira and Valeri z”l represent everything that Zvi fought for from his student days until today, the freedom of Jews to come home, home to Israel.

 

I wish you, each and every one of you, a Shabbat Shalom and a peaceful Pesach in the week leading up to Good Friday and the festival of Easter.

 

Just a quick reminder that tonight is Shabbat, Shabbat Shalom https://youtu.be/mCQRyLXx-AQ?si=8SqSbLUEfa1xr3aw

 

With love from Jerusalem, after all our Passover Seder ends with the song “Next Year in Jerusalem” so easy to fulfil that one – just buy a ticket!

 

Sheila

May all your troubles be as thin as matzo and they will surely pass over

 ​4^th April 2025

 

 

Shabbat Shalom, I wish you a peaceful Shabbat with only good surprises

 

I made a promise yesterday!  I promised Rachel that I wouldn’t touch on politics today, just general news and happy events. It’s somewhat difficult but a promise is a promise.

 

There are wonderful, exceptional things that happen here and in the world. Perhaps she is right, perhaps we have to concentrate on those miracles in order to stay sane. For instance – Yarden Bibas, once and always father to Kfir and Ariel who were cruelly kidnapped and killed by Hamas, gathered their toys and chose to donate them to a hospital children’s ward. Gadi Mozes took his two grandchildren to a football match of his favourite team, HaPoel Beersheva. He and the children were taken out onto the field where the crowd and players cheered him. He stood and wept. His determination to rebuild Nir Oz into a thriving agricultural community is legend. Eli Sharabi went on British television and spoke in English of his experiences and of his determination to make a hopeful future; when asked if he hated his captors, he responded that hate is not in his lexicon. These men who suffered unspeakable torture and starvation came out with an emotional strength that is nothing short of miraculous!

 

The stories of former hostages fill our lives, it is the central subject matter of every news cast, the opening words of each hourly broadcast of the latest news begins with “It is now 545 days since October 7^th and 59 hostages are still in captivity” Politics are irrelevant when it comes to our heartbreak, we just want them home.

 

If you were to travel around Israel this Hebrew month of Nissan, you would be greeted with an exceptional sight at most orchards and fields of cherry, apple, indeed any fruit tree! During the month of Nissan, leading up to Passover, the blessing of the flowering fruit trees brings out men in their prayer shawls, walking through the fragrant trees reciting a beautiful blessing. “Blessed are You, Lord our G‑d, King of the universe, Who has made nothing lacking in His world, and created in it goodly creatures and goodly trees to give mankind pleasure.” Isn’t it a beautiful way to thank the Almighty for the goodness of this world?  As I said, there is beauty in this world, it’s well worth finding it rather than concentrating on the chaos which surrounds us.

 

Deni Avidja is an Israeli basketball player. Both his parents were major athletes and this week Deni, who plays for the Portland Trail Blazers, was pronounced best in NBA. I don’t know if it’s because we tend to produce some really tall youngsters or if it is the love of sport in Israel, especially basketball but we have produced some exceptional basketball players over the years. One of our first was Tal Brody, who went on to be a symbol of Israeli sport through his ties with Maccabi World Union. Indeed, the Maccabiah had and has a great deal to do with Israel’s success in sport. Whatever the source - so proud of you Deni!

 

In a 17C building in a lively neighbourhood between rue Saint-Denis and rue Montorgueil an Israeli chef, born and bred in Jerusalem, opened his umpteenth restaurant called Shabour. Assaf Granit is an exceptionally innovative chef and his restaurants are different to the typical, stiff Michelin star restaurants and Shabour received a star just this week!  Yet another source of pride.

 

This ignoring politics thing is much harder than I thought! When I look at what is happening around the world it’s really hard to keep my mind on the better, kinder side of life. It would be remiss of me if I ignored some aspects and the “60 minute” interview with Yarden Bibas. In fact, it isn’t about politics, it is about flaunting the value of human life. Time and time again his captors taunted him with “Don’t worry, you’ll get a better wife and better children” after he learned that his family was dead. They told him they died as a result of Israeli bombing whereas he later learned that his beautiful red-headed boys, babies, were cruelly murdered by their captors. https://youtu.be/9PaNbhKqRmw?si=H1LRbUnLGbYeQgWz

 

Israeli first responder and life saving groups have flown off to Myanmar and Thailand after the horrific earthquake which has taken so many lives.  Our teams, both official and volunteer, are experts in recovering people from fallen buildings and disaster areas, sadly a hard learned ability. The power of nature is beyond anything man is capable of.

 

In a reality check this report from Impact-se. IMPACT-se travelled to Brussels last week to hold the Palestinian Authority (PA) to account after it signed a pledge with the European Union (EU) to reform its hate-filled curriculum. On 14 April, a dialogue between EU and PA officials will assess how the PA is delivering on its promise.   We presented new and damning research to the key EU decision-makers, demonstrating the PA’s refusal to reform. In addition to a detailed chronicle of harmful content in PA textbooks for this school year, our recent report shows that a new, abridged PA curriculum, for Gaza, created after the signing of the agreement with the EU,  encourages Jew-hatred, martyrdom and violence.

 

There is a definite aroma of cleaning materials in the air! That phenomenon known as spring cleaning began with Passover! The frenzy of turning out cupboards, getting out grime, climbing to the tops of kitchen cupboards is happening big time. Passover or Pesach is next week!! Zvi very cleverly flew off to Rome to avoid the work – actually not true, Zvi Leor, Amiad and the two Bat Mitzva girls Ori and Ella are on a combined Bat Mitzva and 80^th birthday trip to Rome. They really are having a wonderful time, seeing all the sights and taking a tour with Natti Hamawi, our dear friend’s son who leads tours of Rome. While he is away is have the joy of having Yosef, Rachel and Sheli sleeping over to watch over me.

 

So back to Pesach and getting things in order for the Seder next week. Thanks to Rachel and Aya yesterday was a flurry of cleaning and changing dishes (Yosef brought all the dishes up from the storeroom last week). Sorry, I didn’t tell you why on earth I would change the dishes, pots and pans, apart from the fact that my parents and grandparents did it. Passover, or Pesach entails eating no leavened goods, not a crumb must be found in the house. Over the centuries, for whatever reason, all utensils, dishes, cutlery and pots are either changed or dipped. What does she mean by dipped? On street corners in every religious area, young boys stand guarding huge cauldrons of boiling water where the everyday utensils etc are dipped for a specific length of time to purify them. It is one way of “doing” Pesach but I’m really not keen on dipping my utensils and dishes in water used by everyone. My very Western answer is to have different sets of everything so that it all feel different. Why different? Well that’s another story.

 

We begin the Seder night with a blessing on the wine and then (traditionally) the youngest member of the family recites the four questions “Ma Nishtana” or Why is this night different from all other nights? We then go on to answer those four questions in Hebrew and Aramaic. Instead of having the song at the end of the missive when you will have forgotten why I put it - here it is now https://youtu.be/RmabziV1LiY?si=SjuphCXMzbqKN3b2

 

When I was a child and we sat around the Seder table, Mummy always kept a full place setting on the sideboard just in case we had an unexpected guest, so that they would not feel that she had to work on their behalf. This year, as last, we ask that everyone keep an empty seat to honour those still in captivity by Hamas. We lay a table with Yellow napkins, yellow anything to represent our greatest prayer, that those few who are still alive come home. The cruelty of their captors, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, it is irrelevant by what name, the cruelty, mental and physical that each hostage underwent and still undergoes, is beyond any belief, any level of normal human behaviour. It is the result of years and years of hate education, which is why I am so involved in Impact-se. Only be changing the way children are taught about others, about those who differ from them in any way, can we see the light at the end of the tunnel, otherwise that light is an express train.

 

Do you want a funny story? So last week a very interesting website appeared on our local WhatsApp group. Beautiful fruit and vegetables grown in the kibbutzim of the south. I went on and marked what I thought I would like, but I am useless at gauging weights and so on. Anyway, the order arrived, unexpectedly (I actually didn’t realise that I’d sent it) The produce was absolutely incredible, fabulous fruits and veggies – but my amounts were insane! Right at the front was an entire carton of strawberries – apparently that’s what 5 kilos of strawberries looks like! I was horrified, what on earth would I do with it all – a week before I need it! I put the strawberries on our WhatsApp group asking if anyone wanted to buy some of the produce. Ilana came round and miracle of miracles, she bought all the strawberries to make jam. A few minutes later she came back “I was about to go grocery shopping so tell me what else you have”! Ilana and Rachel stood in front of our packed fridge and they discussed which fruit and veg Ilana would take! Finally I would up with exactly what I wanted and so did Ilana!!!

 

Gosh I made it to the end with one complaint about our government!

 

I’m back from an appointment with Sheli and for a reward we went for breakfast in a local coffee shop. It was teeming! Luckily Zvi befriended the manager (surprise surprise) and he found us a table. I must say that Sheli’s shakshuka looked amazing and I had the Galilee breakfast, equally delicious. Now I am back with you!

 

Kaddish is the Hebrew prayer for the dead, its words reflecting our pain. Here, surrounded by photographs and names of those who were slaughtered on that Black Sabbath morning and the remaining hostages. Yaacov Shwekey  sings the Kaddish https://youtu.be/4H8Newq1BMc?si=ymQL2swRU-LHKSpK

 

I wrote each week about the almond blossom (shkediot) but now if the time for the mimosa. Every hedgerow, every roadside is bright yellow with the flowing branches of the mimosa trees and bushes. Somehow it is appropriate, after all yellow is the colour of our dreams and prayers for the return of the remaining hostages and perhaps, somehow, incredibly far away, the dream of a peaceful period for Israel. I believe we’ve tried everything, politicians from every side of the political map, but somehow, peace is not what our neighbours want.

 

So what about a song for peace to end? I know that you want a saner world as much as I do.

 

Haveinu Shalom Aleinu, we brought peace among us, is an old song with a wonderful new twist. Listen and see what you think, sung in Hebrew and Arabic, musicians from both communities. https://youtu.be/5d_i2F2LlF8?si=a-91zIBTCpDSRk3Y

 

I wish you a peaceful Shabbat, one in which we all learn to accept the other, the different, whether it is the way they pray, the way they vote or the way the love. Until we learn to talk to each other we can never know each other’s life – we can never walk in the other’s shoes; not a mile and not even an inch.

 

Shabbat Shalom from Jerusalem, beautiful Jerusalem gleaming white in the distance. With love in my heart

Sheila​

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