25th
September 2026
14th
Tishrei, 5787
Shabbat
Shalom, Succot Sameach, a Holy Tabernacles.
As
we saw from the quote from Josephus last week, there is nothing new under the
sun. A very wise man, much more recently, summed up our situation and our needs
in words that sound as though he foresaw the world we live in today. This quote
from the Reverend Dr Martin Luther King Jr. reminds us that those who rely on
rigid, conventional diplomacy will rarely find the solutions that are truly
needed. Dr King was a wise man and a true Christian, whose principles were
rooted in Christian teaching and in a deep understanding of the world around
him.
"This
hour in history needs a dedicated circle of transformed nonconformists. Our
planet teeters on the brink of annihilation; dangerous passions of pride,
hatred, and selfishness are enthroned in our lives; and men do reverence before
false gods of nationalism and materialism. The saving of our world from pending
doom will come, not through the complacent adjustment of the conforming
majority, but through the creative maladjustment of a nonconforming
minority."
Yom
Kippur
was fascinating for “only in Israel” reasons. Here on our estate, we had one
kind of prayer service, down the road in the ancient synagogue there was
another, and further up the hill I know of at least three more; all Jewish, all
observing the same Day of Atonement, but each with its own style, music and
traditions. We drove up to our synagogue on the hill and then walked home.
There is no traffic on Yom Kippur, so the world and his family came out to
promenade along the empty main road of Mevasseret. Children of every age were
whizzing around on bicycles, scooters and anything else with wheels, clearly
delighted that, for once, the roads belonged to them. We bumped into wonderful
friends, including Danny Adeno Abebe and his beautiful dog. Danny wrote a
fascinating book about his journey from Gondar in Ethiopia to becoming a major
journalist in Israel, so naturally we stopped for a chat and a hug. Walking
down our steep, winding road with our lovely downstairs neighbours was another
experience altogether. Without cars rushing past us, we could actually walk,
talk and catch up properly, stopping every few minutes whenever we met someone
else we knew. By the time we reached home, our supposedly quiet walk had turned
into a very sociable Yom Kippur promenade!
As
Yom Kippur ends,
even before eating, the first sections of the Succah (Tabernacle) are built.
Alongside the aromas of food to end the fast, the air is filled with the tap
tap tapping of the hammers building the Succah. Perhaps the tradition of
starting the Succah immediately came from the belief that we always need to
have something to look forward to.
Yesterday,
nighttime
here in Israel but daytime in New York the hate machine was working at its
hardest. Whether you love him or dislike him, Benjamin Netanyahu was in the
United Nations representing Israel. The inane demonstration of so many
countries in leaving the plenum showing undeserved contempt, not for Bibi but
for us, for Israelis, for the very fact that we exist. The fake news machine
which is aggressive in expression, containing words with biased and violent
emotions has won in the United Nations, along with Mandani. Again, irrespective
of politics (difficult with the elections looming) Netanyahu is a brilliant
speaker and yesterday was no exception. He spoke of the fake news machine, of
Mandani, Hamas and commented on our technology which has changed the world; however,
calling the Hilltop Youths non-representative hoodlums diminishes their evil
intent and their effect on Israel’s reputation.
One
person
missing from our delegation is our Ambassador to the United States Yechiel
Leiter. The Leiter family lost their eldest son Moshe Yedidiya z”l in the
period after the 7th of October. Early yesterday a car ramming left
their son Neriya critically injured as a Palestinian slammed his car into the
group of soldiers standing. Neriya (meaning the candlelight of the Almighty)
was rushed to Shaare Zedek Hospital, paramedics performing CPR in the ambulance
and he immediately underwent multiple surgeries. Please pray for his recovery.
We
are right in the middle of my least favourite period, wherever I have lived:
elections. They bring out the worst in people; discussions become arguments,
the right attacks the left and the left attacks the right and being somewhere
in the middle doesn’t help either! Perhaps my British upbringing explains my
dislike of extremes, but neither Zvi nor I want to support them. I want
pragmatic politics: a party and a leader capable of bringing change without
hatred, inflammatory rhetoric or careless words that damage Israel at home and
abroad. Even if I cared deeply for Netanyahu, I could not accept the extremists
around him or the damage their rhetoric has caused. There, I’ve said it, my
true feelings before this election and my hope for change.
This
week was busy
for both of us, surprise surprise, but one event really stuck out. It was a
lecture about Kfar Samir and the Atallah family, Christians who fled oppression
by the Bedouin in Lebanon many years ago and created an agricultural village
and a pottery. The grandfather of the current generation, Boutrus (Arabic for
Peter) invited Jewish families who had survived the Shoah to live in the empty
houses (after 1948) and when they had no money to buy food he would lend it to
them without expecting return. The Atallah family and their daughter Katie, are
still there but Haifa has encroached with an industrial area that surrounds
them, but they thrive and the pottery has become sought after. Many of the families and descendants of those who received
the Atalla family’s generosity spoke of their incredible kindness. The Attallas
are now very wealthy and admired members of the Haifa community and their story
has spread far and wide, yet again showing that generosity and kindness pay off
in so many ways. https://haipo.co.il/en/item/303542
Yesterday I went to see Rachel
and the children (not exactly children especially Yosef who is getting married
in November!) After they gave me enough hugs, kisses and “I love yous” to keep
me going until next time, Rachel and I decided to go and get some fruit for the
Festival. Rachel suggested going to a place nearby, not a shop but rather a wholesaler.
Being game for anything we set off to a place that wasn’t even on Waze, Rachel
directing me. We went through Giv’on Hahadasha, a Jewish settlement (yes
settlement can mean ordinary people) through the Arab village of Al Jib on the Biblical
site of the village of Gibeon, into the middle of nowhere surrounded by vines
heavy with fruit. Beginning to lose confidence in my daughter’s instincts I
kept going and suddenly humongous hangars came into sight! At first we were
thrilled to step into the A/C and then looking around us was a vast array of
fruit and vegetables! One area had potatoes, both normal and even peeled in a
specially temperature controlled area; the other end had herbs in an equally
controlled temperature. I leapt upon the huge, firm and perfect onions, both
plain and the purple ones I love. Even though we had everything we needed at
home, we bought more! We even managed to meet Rachel’s lovely friend Kim who
was delighted at the bargain fruit too! The best part of the adventure was the
reasonable bill at the end.
Sunday is going to be a bit
insane but then life without a bit of insanity is boring! I have my chair Tai
Chi in the morning and in the evening we have two events. One is the opening of
a major art exhibition by our neighbour Pamela Silver https://www.pamelasilver.com/ which is
to be held in the exquisite Brigham Young University Campus, which has the most
incredible panorama of the Old City, and the second is the International
Christian Embassy’s Tabernacles event which is simply stupendous and reminds
all 3,000 attendees that you don’t have to be Jewish to love Israel!
What
about tonight? Well, we have some lovely friends coming over to celebrate
Succot. We don’t actually have a succah this year so we decorate the dining
room which opens completely onto the veranda, pushing the doors back to full
opening allowing the glorious breeze of the Jerusalem Hills into the room. To
make time to talk to you today, I already prepared most of the salads and the set
the table yesterday, just a few things to go. Zvi has gone off to meet his
parliament friends, but not in the Botanical Gardens, in the home of Prof
Shimon Shitreet who invites them each year to his Succah. I say his home and
succah but actually I should include his wife Miri.
I
think that’s it, except of course for the music. I am very excited that you
love the music I find.
Let’s
start with a fun song called Livin’ in a Booth by the Fountainheads! https://youtu.be/oXx5Wp3GcSE?si=W5JdcvWY-KGw2gfv
If
you ever wondered what are the traditions and requirements of Succot, this
quirky song explains it all. The Lulav (4 species), Etrog (Citron), sleeping in
the Succah, Everything!! https://youtu.be/gODQ0pgR64Y?si=Zc2cSPh9P3Eim6vy
My
final choice has a very deep meaning for all Israelis, indeed, for good people
everywhere. Vehi Sheamda literally means “He who stood by us.” It is a
Passover song, but its words carry a strength that reaches far beyond the Seder
table:” in every generation enemies rise against us, determined to destroy us,
and the Almighty ensures we survive”. Generation after generation, they come
and go and we are still here. Israel itself is the living proof of those words:
proof that we are a people, that we endured. Daniel Weiss lost both his parents
on Simchat Torah on the 7th of October 2023, when Hamas entered their kibbutz
and slaughtered his parents. The words speak of generations who faced those who
wanted to destroy them. That is why Vehi Sheamda is such a powerful
choice. It is not simply a song about survival. It is a declaration: they
tried to destroy us, but we the Almighty stood for us and we survived. https://youtu.be/fY1wgTq9SRM?si=jpDA3ymi_IZOMIIA
I
want to end with a very important message. I watched Hen Mazzig face off Norman
Finkelstien on Piers Morgan. Finkelstein was morose and bitter, denying his
heritage as the son of Survivors, an Israel denier and Hen Mazzig, a gentle,
honest, proud Jew and proud Israeli succeeding in the debate because he held
his head high. The message is clear no matter what your religion; hold your
head high, be proud of who you are and the Norman Finkelstein’s of this world
will lose their impetus.
Shabbat
Shalom everyone. I can’t wait until our dinner begins and our guests are amazed
by the fabulous kiddush by Zvi. I have heard it for 36 years and it still makes
me so proud.
Sending
much love from our veranda and that unequalled view of Jerusalem on the horizon
Sheila
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