200731
Shabbat
Shalom, Happy Lammas and Holy Eid-el Adha!
You
know what Shabbat is although this is a special Shabbat after the
spiritual cleansing of the 9th of Av, Lammas is the Christian
Festival of Bread (tomorrow) when many Christians eat popcorn and bake bread,
and Eid-el Adha the joyous festival of sacrifice which marks the end of
the Hajj. I wish you spiritual honesty and religious freedom.
It's only when we are united that our voices
become too loud to ignore
I want
to begin with a good news bad news situation! Firstly, well done Canada!
The Canadian Jewish community, together with wonderful non-Jewish supporters,
successfully took on the Canadian education system and had anti-Israel video
material removed from the Canadian school curriculum. It was swift action and a
united community who fought back with great success.
The bad
news is that a similar battle is being fought in California, with the support
of some 150 Jewish organisations, but the process of gathering the support is
lengthy and less effective as the element of surprise is lost. I'm sorry if I
step on any toes but the biggest difference is the solidarity of the Canadian
community. There are no anti-Israel voices to be heard among them – no politics
involved. The community just stepped up and did what it had to.
Iris
Borman,
a reader, sent me an article from Algemeiner about who is taking over from Bari
Weiss. His name is Max Strasser, he's Jewish so they can't be
accused of anti-Semitism, but a deeply anti-Israel apologist. There have always been, and sadly always will
be, Jewish revisionists among the so-called intelligentsia. I have never worked
out why they deny Israel, whether it is complacency or the need to "fit
in" to their chosen social group. I find them sad.
https://www.algemeiner.com/2020/07/23/meet-max-strasser-israel-critic-on-ascent-at-post-bari-weiss-new-york-times/
Daniel Pearl was a
journalist and intellectual yet his last words before he was beheaded were: My mother is Jewish.
My father is Jewish. I am a Jew.”
In Hebrew there are two words that sound very similar,
some would say that the meaning is similar but they are worlds apart. One is Sovlanut
– tolerance, the other is Salchanut - forgiveness. One means to
accept the other under all circumstances, the other is to forgive but not
forget. I feel that too many have forgotten.
Here in Israel many people
are angry. Angry at the
mismanagement of the Corona situation, angry at being home too long, angry that
they quite probably won't have jobs to go back to and the government is not
reviving the economy, in other words the same fear that most of the Western
countries face. The difference is that it has become very personal, not
surprising because our current Prime Minister made it all about himself, put
himself at the helm, and while the majority of demonstrators are non-violent,
those who have taken it upon themselves to support Bibi, especially a group of
Betar supporters called "La Familia" have waged in ready for a fight.
Here in Israel we aren't use to it! Our enemies are outside Israel not within.
Their actions strike fear in the hearts of the ordinary Joe who wants to
exercise his right to demonstrate, people across the social and religious
spectrum, but they are afraid. Such a shame.
On Monday we had the
most talked-about non-event
in Israeli military history. Well maybe it is an exaggeration to say nothing
happened, but it really was a strange situation that had all the military
experts racing up to the northern border after the fact! In short, Hezb-Allah
decided to avenge the killing of one of their most militant leaders by "I
don't know who" and simultaneously launched a missile at Israel while a
group of their fighters infiltrated through the Har Dov area into Israel.
However, they were unaware of Israeli women-power. A 19 year old
"titspatanit" or visual scout, noticed the infiltration, alerted our
troops and they were sent back to Lebanon with their tails between their legs.
Israel decided not to elevate the tension and let the infiltrators go without
injury. As I said, a non-event thanks to a 19 year old IDF soldier. We do not
know if Hezb-Allah intends breaking their silence of many years, but the
feeling is that although they are aching for revenge they recognise that
Lebanon has enough problems right now. It isn't easy being a neighbour of
Syria.
Rabbi Jeremy Rosen reminisced this week over his many years of
visiting or living in Jerusalem and the "other side" of the religious
communities here. I loved it and found is so pertinent to yesterday – the 9th
of Av – which reminded us that lack of sovlanut of understanding the other,
brought about tragedies of enormous proportion. http://jeremyrosen.com/2020/07/jerusalem-reborn.html
Israelis have
rediscovered this incredible country. Israel is tiny, I mean really tiny, but has a varied climate
and phenomenal flora and fauna, nature reserves, brooks and rills, to say
nothing of the Biblical and historical sites. Since the travel ban B&B's in
the north and south are filled and hotels all over the country are at 90%
capacity and more. The hospitality industry has overcome the restrictions of
Covid and provide a wonderful alternative to "chutz l'aaretz" that oh
so Israeli wanderlust.
You too can still go
on a tour of the north or south and of course Jerusalem. Just go on line and
see! There are proper individual guided tours or freebies – and the ones of
Jerusalem are amazing. On the other hand you can take a virtual tour of Herod's
rebuilding of the Temple https://youtu.be/ElAMqb5Jc78
Did you see
"Unorthodox"? Strangely
enough we went straight from Shtissel into Unorthodox on Netflix, one advantage
of the Covid isolation! I found it fascinating because it showed the many sides
of religious life within a particularly closed Jewish sect and the
"escape" of one young woman from those restrictions. It is in no way
anti-Haredi, anti-religion, it just shows her journey. The star, Shira Hass, is
one of the nominees for an Emmy, and starring in the mini-series taught her a
great deal about her Judaism. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0axWwzKkOY
I think
we all moan far too much about just about everything!!! I belong to a Facebook
group called "Brits Living in Israel" which isn't strictly true
because we are all Israelis now but still. Today I found a fabulous story from
a lady I don't even know, and I just had to tell you!!! An only in Israel story...."Last
Sunday I went to Misrad Hapanim (the Interior Ministry) to renew my Israeli
passport. I was informed the passport would be delivered by registered
mail in 14 days. On Wednesday I received an SMS to say my passport was
with the Israel Postal system. Early afternoon yesterday I got a WhatsApp
message from the postman with a photo of the envelope containing my passport
and a printed message stating that due to Covid-19 he cannot deliver the passport
in person so I can message him back and state if I want to pick up at the post
office or write a note and sign it giving permission for him to put the
envelope in my letterbox. I wrote the note and took a photo and sent to
the postman by WhatsApp. At 5pm I received a photo from the postman
showing my letterbox and stating the envelope had been delivered. What a
great service"
Apart
from several Zoom meetings this week has been very quiet. Our most exciting
moment came when Zvi and I collected Yonatan from his afternoon school, called
a "Tsaharon" and sat at home with him to play TAKI! I haven't seen
him, except on Facetime or WhatsApp, for over a month which is more than any
Safta can bear! It really was wonderful and his 6 year old face lit up since we
had time alone with him!
Each evening
Zvi and I go for a walk, appreciating the relatively cool evenings after the
searing 37-40 degree heat of the day. We tend to stay in our neighbourhood,
which is fine. We cross the road and walk through the park opposite, greeting
neighbours as we all pass each other. We walk to the end of the road and round
the roundabout before heading home. The greeting of neighbours made me think.
It is said that one sees the soul through one's eyes, whereas a smile can lie –
with our masks we see only the eyes, do you feel that we see into people's
souls in a way that we would never normally do?
Being
home so much I have really spent time and effort on our veranda. The view is
mine without needing to do a thing but the flowers need tending. It's so hot
that the geraniums need dead-heading almost every day, but the real joy is that
the kumquat tree is blooming and tiny fruits are forming; even more exciting is
that my little lemon tree, given to me by precious friends, has come back to
life and even has flowers promising some super juicy, sweet and sour little
lemons later in the year. The avocado sapling, which I grew from the stone of a
particularly delicious avocado, is thriving and my cherry tomatoes are turning
a glorious bright red – also grown from squeezing the seeds onto the earth.
Even the sweet capsicum plants are flowering! This morning as I sat out on the
verandah, alternately reading the paper and watching the activities of
Jerusalemites, I couldn't help but think to myself how lucky I am.
I
want to dedicate the first song to Tomer. Tomer Silver whose parents became our
family when they arrived on Aliya from Moscow. Tomer's Brit Milah was held in
our living room, his first clear enunciation of "Ma Nishtana" at our
Passover Table, his wonderful discussions debates and downright arguments made
us love him even more. He and his sister Shelly have made us so proud. So
Tomtom, as you go out into the world after completing your IDF service, this is
for you, Mum Ira, Dad Valeri and sister Shelly. Love you arms and legs https://youtu.be/ez1e2VPsRFw
HaGashash
Hachiver
was a brilliant group of satirical actors and singers. This song from 1981 is
still apt. "Ovdim Aleinu" about how governments promise everything
but never fulfil their promises https://youtu.be/rA1su_wvyHg
When
Naomi Shemer heard the Beatles song Let
It Be, it touched her heart. She decided to write "Lu Yehi" which
means Let it Be in Hebrew. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJoZ9R4i-N0
So with
that I can only pray that it will be – if we will just let it be.
Shabbat
Shalom dear friends. Be well, as tough as it is right now it will get better
and we will come out of it with a greater understanding of just what a fabulous
world we live in and how sweet it is to breathe fresh air without a mask.
With
love from Jerusalem
Sheila
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