Out of all biblical holidays Rosh ha-Shana may be the strangest one. It does not belong to the category of shalosh regalim, three pilgrimage holidays, when we are specifically commanded by Gd to commemorate the agricultural and spiritual milestones of the year by going to Jerusalem Temple: שָׁלֹ֣שׁ רְגָלִ֔ים תָּחֹ֥ג לִ֖י בַּשָּׁנָֽה׃ Three times a…
Tag: politics
Back to the “Safety of the Land of the Free”
After I’ve returned from Israel a few days ago, I am still not sure if I can coherently express my feelings. Things that we’ve seen cannot be unseen, words that we heard cannot be unheard. The images of the tiny burned houses of the youth village of Kfar Aza are forever etched into my mind….
On the Road to my Favorite Place in Pain
Tomorrow, I am going to Israel. I have been there in times of joy. I have been there in times of pain when even the taxi drivers thanked visitors not deterred by the suicide bombings. This time it is different. The pain is never easy, but this time, the pain is unbearable. Every account, every…
Still Thinking about Pardes?!
Just some ranting: This year’s program was a bit different. Firstly, it was bigger than the ones I attended before. It was also much more diverse. People came, of course, from the States and England as they always come, but this year there was a relatively large group of youngsters from France, one lady from…
Parshat ha Shavuah Verses Shoftim / שֹׁפְטִים
People think about different things when their minds drift away from the task at hand. Being super busy now at work, I somehow still always manage to find my way to Israel in my mind. And today I am missing it so much it hurts. Maybe one of the reasons is that here, in the…
Parshat ha Shavuah Verses Eikev / עקב
Reading these last parashot of the year, I keep wondering – why did things go wrong after the years of miraculous existence in the desert that should have taught our forefathers all the right things? יב וְהָיָה עֵקֶב תִּשְׁמְעוּן, אֵת הַמִּשְׁפָּטִים הָאֵלֶּה, וּשְׁמַרְתֶּם וַעֲשִׂיתֶם, אֹתָם–וְשָׁמַר יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ לְךָ, אֶת-הַבְּרִית וְאֶת-הַחֶסֶד, אֲשֶׁר נִשְׁבַּע, לַאֲבֹתֶיךָ. 12 And it shall come…
FORGET ABOUT KOREA, REMEMBER HEZBOLLAH and its patron IRAN!
Originally posted on scriptoris:
Whilst the world is understandably distracted by the brinkmanship of the North Korean dictator, it is worth noting that the real threat comes from Iran and its proxies, notably Hezbollah. One might say that is so for Israel, but not so for the US or even Europe. But wait, one matter…
Random Verses
These days it is hard for me to believe that I live in the same county I came to almost 20 years ago. Things happening today bring me back to depressive thoughts. This time not only for myself, but for all of us, or many of us. It seems that I am watching one of…
Noshing Across the Nation 