19th April 2024
11th Nissan, 5784
195 days since October 7th
Tonight we begin Shabbat haGadol, the great Shabbat, directly
before Pesach. We read from Leviticus 14 – 16 and learn all about Elijah whose
role in Judaism and Pesach are fundamental.
Shabbat Shalom to all who care, Shabbat shalom to all who believe
in our ability to survive and thrive once again, just as we did in the story of
Pesach Haggadah (Passover story). Reading the story of the the Children of
Israel’s passage from slavery in Egypt to freedom in our own land will be read in
millions of homes in just three days. Not only Jews will read the story, many
Christians who understand the significance will also read it, although few who
are not Jewish will eat bitter herbs or eggs in salt water!!!
We woke this morning to hear that Israel had retaliated to the colossal
Iranian attack of Saturday night. Oh, I forgot, we didn’t chat since then. OK I’ll
start at the beginning. We had a lovely Shabbat, quiet, eating, walking through
the nature reserve and chatting to neighbours, basically, doing what we love to
do on Shabbat. That evening we watched the news then, what????? Iran was attacking
Israel? Rockets, drones and ballistic missiles literally raining down on us?
How can it be? Then the announcement that the ETA of the missiles etc was
anything from 2 to 8 hours. The tension rose but for some reason I trusted the
IAF to deal with everything, actually, there was nothing we could do but wait
and check the contents of our emergency foodstuffs in the Safe Room. We were on
line with our closest friends all over the world, they seemed to know more than
we did. What’s that? American (USAF) and British (RAF) planes joined the Israel
Air Force to repel and eliminate the various flying objects and keep us safe,
joined in part by the Jordanians and the Saudis, a very important aspect of our
common enemy. Red Alerts (sirens) all over Israel! My fingers were sore from
responding to everyone on WhatsApp. By 02:00 we were exhausted so we did what all
good Israelis who have seen many wars do, we went to sleep. 700 varied lethal
flying objects sent from a huge and powerful country to eliminate a tiny
country deemed as an enemy. Why enemy? Because the Jews dared to return to an
abandoned corner of what they see as an Islamic Empire. Imagine if any other
country were to launch 700 missiles on another, they would be flattened out of
existence in the retaliation!
The most ironic aspect to this situation is the Russia/Iran
alliance – the Putin/Khameini alliance. The godless allied with the religious
fanatics is surely the epitome of diplomatic irony!
Apparently, the response was not huge, nothing compared to the
attack, but hit a specific target near Isfahan. Of course, Ben Gvir was very disappointed,
called the retaliation “dardeleh” which means minimal in Hebrew slang, but
thank heaven he doesn’t make decisions on such things.
Not everything is bad news however.
The United States, the Biden Administration, has made
the decision to withhold over $400 million from UNWRA based primarily on
Impact-se’s reports. We warned about the hate education that ultimately created
the atmosphere for October 7th years ago and our reports are the
basis for the consideration for most Western countries. Please watch our
exceptional CEO Marcus Sheff explain on i24 news. https://youtu.be/IryivohMkY4?si=Zr1JT9b-vOI-QNwp
Finally and at last, Minouche Shafik, President of Columbia
University, has reached even her limit. A large pro-Palestinian (anti-Israel) demonstration/sit
in on the front lawns of the University was dispersed by NYPD who arrested over
100 demonstrators. Soon after answering questions at a Congressional Committee,
where she prevaricated before finally admitting that the anti-Semitism on
campus was beyond control, Shafik ordered the police to break up the
demonstration. For your curiosity as to who this woman is……. Baroness Nemat
Talaat Shafik, is an Egyptian, British, American aristocrat who also served on
the British government. Her understanding of American students is, to say the
least, scant.
Israel is, of course, known for her innovation and innovators in
almost every field. The man most praised this week is Dr. Daniel Gold. Brigadier
General (res) Daniel Gold, inventor of the Iron Dome. In
fact, not just this week, not just this month, not just this year but the years
of constant bombardment from Gaza, Syria, Lebanon, Yemen…..the list is long,
Daniel Gold saved thousands of Israeli lives. I know that Facebook is the site
for those too old to be bothered with Tik Tok, but it was incredible to see the
outpouring of love and admiration for this brilliant young man.
Seder Tables were set in many countries around the world,
not in homes but in public places. Empty chairs, each place setting in hope for
the return of the hostages. Even the most optimistic amongst us is losing hope.
Realism is creeping in and we understand that our enemy is cornered and like
every cornered rat they react with violence. An interesting point that was
revealed (not verified) on the Israeli Channel
13, not given to false claims, is that Qatar offered to exile the Hamas leaders
living in utter luxury at their expense in their talks for the return of the
hostages and it was not taken seriously by the allies. Such action would mean
that the Qatari demand that we do not eliminate the Hamas leaders on Qatari
soil would no longer be relevant.
And now to wonderful, normal, boring, traditional events! Pesach
cleaning! I started late this year, my mind on Iran rather than Exodus, but
somehow, managed quietly to not only catch up but be ahead of myself! The
hardest aspect of the preparations is undoubtedly shopping. Imagine that Sunday
morning, the morning after the night before, when I thought everyone would be
sleeping late after Iran’s bombardment, I went to my less favourite
supermarket, Rami Levi, to stock up on the special Kosher for Passover items I
hadn’t bought previously. I was not alone! Oh boy was I wrong! It wasn’t the
manoeuvering between the multiple trolleys trying to work out which shelves
held the precious items, I actually succeeded, more or less, but then of boy,
then I realised that the long line of people chatting beside their trolleys was
not a social event, it was the queue for the check outs!! It would appear that
many of the cashiers simply hadn’t turned up for work. I seriously thought of abandoning
my shopping and running but, that’s just too anti-social for me, so I stayed
where I was, began chatting to my co-shoppers, discovered that one of them had
worked with Zvi many years ago, two were from Abu Ghosh and virtually everyone
was patient and tolerant of the wait! Perhaps the night before led to a sense
of proportion!
I would love to meet Hussein Jabar, an Israel who
lives in Abu Ghosh. Hussein who works in the Ramada Hotel Jerusalem, becomes a
very wealthy man for just one week every year. The Jerusalem Rabbis trust
Hussein with the task of buying all the Hametz, or not Pesach foodstuffs, every
year and that includes entire businesses too. He signs a document proving that
it all belongs to him then “reneges” on the deal after Passover! Hussein is not
only a very wealthy man for a week, he is also a wonderful, utterly trustworthy
man all year round.
In 1970 Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir was interviewed on
British Thames Television. Her responses, her ability to explain are
outstanding. Oh, that she were here today. https://youtu.be/w3FGvAMvYpc?si=-ASc6tySrKGZhKVJ
The Passover meal, the Seder, is very much a family
affair. We begin with the blessing over a glass of wine, children recite 4
questions, the head of the household responds with the story of our determined
fight for freedom from slavery, we discuss the four sons (I believe the four
generations of dispersion), ten plagues and then food, starting with blessings
over the bitter herbs, mortar, matzo, parsley…… my favourite par tis the
charoset, or mortar representative, for which I follow my grandfather’s (my
beautiful, beloved Zeidy) recipe. Ground almonds, grated apple, a little wine
or grape juice, a little very fine chiffonade of lettuce to represent the
combining, a dash of cinnamon and mix until perfect. Best made a day before. Yum!
After eating hard boiled eggs in salt
water, Never mind about my description, here’s the real thing https://www.chabad.org/holidays/passover/pesach_cdo/aid/1751/jewish/What-Is-a-Seder-Passover-Meal.htm
Why is this night different from all other nights?
Well, this night we will set a place for those who cannot celebrate Passover
this year, we will drink a fifth cup of wine, we will say a prayer for their
return and for their families and for the families of those who can never come
home, the victims of the 7th of October. This night will be
different from so many over the past 80 years. We prayed that we would never
need to say those extra prayers but pray we must. Here I combined the words of
several suggested prayers to express what I feel.
The bitter taste of Maror is on our tongues,
our tears are in the salt water. On this night when we celebrate our freedom we
cannot rejoice until every soul heartlessly held captive is released. Help us, dear
God, to bring them home. Please plant
brotherhood, peace and friendship in everyone’s hearts. Remove jealousy and
baseless hatred, and spread over us the shelter of Your peace; and we should
soon merit to sing before You a new song.”
The songs this week came to me easily. The first is in Hebrew, but
doesn’t need words to understand the pain behind the voices. Based on a song
written after the Yom Kippur war, it is called the Children of the Winter of
1923 Ha Yeladim Shel Horef 1923 https://youtu.be/UV4SxF_cldY?si=ceKb8JTLpNY2hv6V
The next song is taken from the Passover Seder, the lyrics are part
of a prayer that is so appropriate this year “And this (Hashem’s blessings and the Torah) is what kept our fathers and what keeps us surviving. For,
not only one arose and tried to destroy us, rather in every generation they try
to destroy us, and Hashem saves us from their hands.” Sung by Yaakov Shwekey and
Yonatan Razel who arranged the music. https://youtu.be/Y784Uw96Rbs?si=I9iFqbbOQ_rquoU2
The last song may seem inappropriate considering the way things are
in the world today but I refuse to apologise for my choice or my attitude. The
highly irreverent Monty Python writers and performers, so intrinsically British
with a clever and irreverent sense of humour hit the nail right on the head.
Life of Brian, one of my all time favourite films, made fun of all religions
yet managed to make us laugh at ourselves. So here it is, not the original but
Eric Idle singing his heart out to the delight of a huge audience. “Always Look
on the Bright Side of Life” https://youtu.be/JrdEMERq8MA?si=5QD1tnPPOMmi-qAG
I must quote my adored Auntie Lena yet again. In the days when we
all collected autographs, usually family signatures, she always, but always
wrote this blessing “May all your troubles be as thin as Matzah and they will
surely Passover”
May all your troubles be as thin as Matzah, may our hostages come
home and the families who lost their loved ones be consoled. We are a strong people;
history has taught us to hold our heads high and expect better days.
Shabbat Shalom dear wonderful people. Remember the final words of
the Passover Haggadah
Next Year in Jerusalem
With love
Sheila
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