WHAT'S THE DATE AND WHERE ARE MY CLOTHES?

   Amongst the most minor problems caused by this war is my rather funny lack of knowledge in certainty as to where I am - which state, which city, which country. What is the date and am I missing appointments? As a matter of fact, where are the locations of these appointments? Worse, my clothes are now in various widely separated locations, and I have no clue as to what is where, and what is contained within the suitcases at the various locations - wherever they are. In fact, I do not even know how many pieces of luggage are out there, waiting for pickup to final destination. Or when that will take place. 

I hope soon. The sooner the better for that will indicate a changed status in the world. Hopefully one of peace, at least one capable of lasting more than a few weeks and without the incidents of terrorism round the world using as false reasoning the outbreak of hostilities in the Middle East as permission for excused and "understood" crimes against humanity. Hence, they receive a pass from the nations of the world immersed in the same hatred roiling within the attacker. They spend more airtime and print time on the beast rather than on the attacked, the targeted. Upside down world indeed. With nary a correction of path in sight.

 It is worth noting that the wars that are constantly raging around this world are generally not accompanied by terrorist activities that take place around the world. Most of the violence is confined to the area in question. Whether it is a dispute between Thailand and Cambodia, about a 9th century temple. Or Ethiopia and Eritrea. Or Somalia and the numerous countries with which it finds itself in conflict. Apparently, the only area of unease, which is accompanied by around the world terrorism is a conflict in the Middle East. Between Israel and any of the multitudinous nations preferring to see it gone. Wiped out of the memory bank of humanity. Most frustrating is the fact that when these terrorist attack activities take place, they are often excused, 'justified' due to something Israel did or did not do. It matters not. Apparently, violence against Jews round the world is okay, calling forth weak condemnation, if indeed any at all. In many cases it is either ignored or questioned as to being a 'hate crime'!  It is a losing battle from the get-go to combat this contagious, venomous ever ongoing, unjustified condoned JewHatred.

While we are on the topic of hate and hate motivated actions, those powered by irrational fears exaggerated beyond any and all connection to reality and are manned by those with no sense of differentiation between right and wrong. with evil conniving minds and dark souls. They shout over all the other voices of society and body politic and convince others to follow their lead, moves which are always of negative manner for individuals and nations as a whole.  Inevitably it revolves around calls for violence, shouts of hate and the resultant violence as words are put into action. 

Despite the rather chaotic situation in nations of the world and within individuals, or perhaps because of it, certain thoughts and evaluations are coming more to the fore. People are being pushed to the wall, having to make difficult decisions. Hopefully, the decisions made will come down on the proper side of the line. Choosing morality over immorality. Of beliefs and dreams that unite rather than separate and divide with disastrous results. 

 Sheer simple, plain decency rather than the nastiness seemingly growing at rapid pace with no braking in sight. Will mankind see its way through yet another tense and most dangerous situation or will they lose this time around and condemn all to a fate such as that we should not ever have to contemplate.  But what else is one to think when a newspaper publishes an article detailing all that should be done, put in place, before a war situation, including supplies and precautions.  

Personally, I feel as if I am being ripped and pulled and pushed in conflicting directions. I cannot believe that I am the only one to feel this concern, this confusion, this inner conflict. This ever-present worry and anxiety as to the future awaiting all of us. Not so much for me. I am way down on the down slope of life, but for the little ones. For the young. What world are we bequeathing to them? What is the legacy we are to leave behind? 

Has anyone out there in positions of leadership thought these matters all the way through?  Followed the threads to their unavoidable conclusions should we G-d forbid remain on this most dangerous path? There must be millions who must also have similar conflicting thoughts and ideas and principles running through their heads, challenging all.  

Much of the angst in my life arises from two points. One is the Land, the State of Israel. my native ancestral homeland. The other is America. Also, my native-born homeland. By birth, by upbringing, by pride, as a child I never saw any dichotomy, any space between the two. Growing older I began to see space between but never to the point of worry or to be greatly concerned with whatever was the current state of affairs in both countries.     

Now I do. With great concern and fear. A great deal   of air between. Though I believe sincerely and deeply in the eventual coming of the Messiah and a better world to follow, I am definitely motivated to keep the present edition of the world intact, going in the right direction, still capable of and willing to right the wrongs, and keep the world on an even keel supportive of a good and fair life for all. We used to think this was the right thing to do and though highly difficult at times to see our way through, we took it upon us as a responsibility and a duty. One that we owed to humanity and to G-d. 

This was true of and for both nations.  Until things changed. And shifted. And flew in the wrong direction. We lost our way and are having a great deal of trouble as we seek the way back, to an even keel. It is as if all winds, be we on the seas or in the air or treading the ground, seemed to have turned on us and presented no more tail winds, only rough headwinds beating us back at every turn we take.  

There is much more to write on this topic. Much more to say. Much more to think about. But to continue today is not an optimum thing to do, at least not for me. I will continue this tomorrow. In the meanwhile, I hope to clarify my thoughts with more precision and definition. Not easy to do in these matters as it harps back to the yesterdays we lived, through the tumultuous todays we are living, and into the tomorrows left so up in the air. 

WHAT IS LEFT TO SAY?

  Day after day. Night after night. Week after week. Century after century. It's the same damn thing over and over and over again. What is it? It is in constant repetition. Seemingly echoing endlessly down the years of humanity. It is the apparent need, a lust for hate and its manifestation in as many ways as one can think of. It is not difficult. Apparently, humanity is quite open to that nasty emotion and its even nastier manifestations of it. It allows them to let loose all the dogs of war contained within their own selves and then be praised for it.

Hate. It seems to be impervious to all that is thrown against it. Education. Appeals to emotion. Appeals to the better side of humanity, though that is indeed at times extremely difficult to find. Nothing seems to help. Even when one generation is open to if not eliminating, at least weakening its hold on people and the many ways in which it works its way into the heart of society. 

These airs of hate, these rivers of Hate are stronger each time they manage to break through the surface blocking them. The defense against this poisonous defect within Man seems to weaken each time it is called upon. The enemies of hate are the demeaned, debased, deemed outliers of society with intent to destroy the population. Definitely, Enemies of the Nation, hence subject to ostracism, limitations of rights, if any at all and finally a brutal never-ending separation from society inevitably leading to inhumane conditions and finally, death.       

 Even more frightening is the sad fact that we never seem to eliminate all the spokesmen of Hate. Always, crumbs are left behind, and these crumbs manage to find nourishment, grow in strength until once again the world is inundated with all the negativity, all the fright, all the danger that comes with Hate. The next generation rising to power rejects any progress made by the older generation, as it gloms onto the emotions, the liberating feel when cut loose from all restraints. 

It becomes part and parcel of Hate and draws more defective and/or weak souls into its inescapable eddy of Hate encouragement ramped up to levels never before achieved. Conditions grow worse for those subject to, targeted by this malicious and malignant Hate, and society finds itself falling apart at the seams, even those who are apparently invincible. Conditions grow worse and worse, for nothing permanent, nothing steady and secure can be built upon such negativity, such gross inhumanity.   Sanity seems to desert mankind. 

And we prove once again that if we do not learn, do not take to heart the lessons of the past, of history already lived, then we will repeat those mistakes. With even greater zeal. And worse consequences. Going above and beyond any that has come before. And at ever faster pace. More frightening is the fact that the behavior of these new Haters does not only copy those who went before, those whose poison remains on the ground. They cherry pick of and from the worst of their behaviors. They are indeed learning from history. But they are adapting the   fatal errors that were made. Instead of discarding them, they enhance them, adopting and adapting them with vigor and bloody enthusiasm.

Nor does this hate remain static. It is contagious. It has a horrible history of overstaying its welcome. Even as the practitioners of Hate discover the truth of the ugliness and harm of what they have been espousing, the hatred, its practices and consequences, its threats are too well integrated and intertwined with the rest of society. It requires great patience and determination to unweave those threads. To regenerate a new fabric of foundational basis. Neither is the Hate ever fully retrieved.   History validates that statement.

Will we ever learn how to reject that which harms us? Will we ever internalize the fact that temporary relief of whatever concerns one has, via hate, via evil, via violence will never solve the issues. In fact, indeed, this will make the situation worse than ever. It will take a long time, if at all possible, to return to some stage of normal or what is deemed normal. A stage where decency has a chance of survival. And even more than that. A society where hate does not get inhaled with every breath one takes. Where sanity has a chance to reappear and take its proper place in the evolution of mankind.   

When will that be? How strong will it be? Will the population of the world take it to heart? Put it into practice? Fight against the worst of the emotions and traits of mankind. Your guess is as good as mine. Hopefully better. For I have very little, if any at all, of a feeling of optimism. When the papers, all facets of media warn us re the supplies needed to stockpile before the oncoming war; when this is openly spoken of, even praised, my hackles are raised and my spine vibrates with chills of deep fear.  

Will we finally reach the end of the road? Have we already reached it? Will this era, this rise in the temperatures of the world in more ways than one inevitably rise to a full-scale war? Will we finally lose all control and kill the world, kill the future for all? With unrestrained use of the weaponry we have already created, with its capability calculated to deliberately kill over and over again, to kill the already dead. We can leave humanity back in the days when we were no better than the beasts of the field. Perhaps even worse, for animals do not turn on their own kind as often and as cruelly as humans do to one another. 

Certainly, there is something very wrong with us these days. Perhaps it always was there in us. Before us. We expended the better side of humanity onto other creatures, created many protective laws and organizations for them, rightfully so, However, in doing so, we forgot, ignored and denied the need for protection of our fellow human beings. When it came to human beings, we came up short.  Very little restraint in the application of all the negativity. All the harm, all the lies, all that hate. Perpetrated upon our fellow men and perpetuated its existence in our rather highly troubled world.  

There is something seriously wrong with us, or at least with those who deem it appropriate, even godly, to kill without compunction. Who aim   weapons of war against those most unable to combat it. These enemies of mankind attack buildings sacrosanct, as places wherein one worships the God they choose. These malevolent. themes merge into attacks at synagogues wherein 140 young children are playing, or where elderly folks are praying, or there are community services inside. 

Places and people which should be sacrosanct rather than deliberate targets of hate and misplaced anger. All with the harm and the hurt magnified and multiplied when others, haters as well, though not as outspoken, seek high and low for excuses with which to justify these abominable acts conceived and carried out with all intent to do harm - deliberately. 

What have we come to? Is this indeed the final stage for us? We have indeed done much wrong to reach this stage of life approaching death, have we not? Is there a chance to turn it around? Who the hell knows?     

What I do know is that among the Jewish nation there is a growing feeling that this is indeed the time of Gog and Magog, when powerful nations wage a war against the Jewish people. Inevitably, the enemies lose the war, bur before victory there are many battles, many horrific times. However, when the dust settles, revealed before us will be a time of glory. The time we have been waiting for all these many millennia. It will be the time of the Messiah. A time when hate is no more. When we live peacefully in our homeland, long promised, long lost and 'refound' time and again, never lost to us, always in our hearts, our prayers, a founding stone of our beliefs.  

It was thus through our yesterdays.

Thus, it is today. 

As for tomorrow - our hope, our faith, our belief, our knowing - will endow those tomorrows with glory.

AND THE TRUTH SHALL SET YE FREE

  Telling the truth. Speaking the truth. It's probably the best way one can continue to carry on in a cycle of interaction between oneself and another in conversation or in any kind of social transaction.  Telling the truth means or entails one uncomfortable moment possibly but telling lies sparks many such moments. Why? For the truth is the truth.

 Lies mount up. Quickly.  As does, in direct proportion, the difficulty of remembering which lie was shared with which individual and how deep is the hole one has dug for oneself? How much trouble did one just land oneself in? Most important, how does one get out of this very awkward moment in time? At times the answer is one never gets out of it at all. It is always there. It remains in the mind of those who know the truth, heard you tell the lie or watched with great glee as you struggled to clear the red off your face and consign the overwhelming shame down some nearby sewer. And your social stock value? Tanks even more.

There are some professions conducive to the spreading of lies. We all know about the used car salesman doing that. But sometimes we forget that there are others who also tell lies. Unfortunately, many are in one's own family.  Doubly unlucky is one who has a liar as a family member and is also a practicing active politician. In fact, it seems that politics and lying walk in comfortable tandem partnership, hand in hand. Evidently immune to shame and repercussions as they cross the boundaries of truth and wallow in the lies of the other side.  

A smart man once said this about politics and politicians. So very true. Sadly so.

"Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly, and applying the wrong remedies."

Quite correct in understanding the issue and diagnosis; unfortunately, no one has gotten around to the proper remedies and application of such.

Take a look around. Pay attention to the news and the comments made by the individuals enmeshed in that news. Shake your head in disgust when you hear them say one thing which totally and absolutely contradicts what was said yesterday. From the same mouth. It leaves a bad taste in my mouth, yours as well, unless you yourself are the liar or an enabler of his camp.

Consequently, thereupon arises a feeling of despair. If the politicians are the leaders of society. And the leaders are liars. Then what does it leave for us? We believed in the lies dripping so easily from their mouths.  Or have become stupid enough to believe them. Or turned them to our own advantage. Arising now is a feeling of despair. If the politicians are the leaders and the leaders are liars, what does it leave for us? To close our eyes and make believe we believe in the lies? Or are clever enough to turn them to our own advantage? Nothing good here.  

That seems to be the modus operandi of the times we live in. It leaves us hanging out there someplace in the void. Who can we trust? Who can we believe? Who can we turn to for aid and advice in critical moments? In any case, why would we believe? For till now all they have shared with us is the bumper crop of lies, grown afresh every morning and every night and most times in between as well as necessary for their survival.

Soren Kierkegard once stated:

"Life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forwards."

Is there any real possibility? That we can have eyes in the back of our heads and functioning brains with which to interpret what we see? Then to take what we so desperately need from it and apply it to our eyes and brain on the other side of the head? Those which move us forward in positive manner. 

Or are we forever condemned to be Monday morning quarterbacks with little hope and less opportunities of ever bringing the wisdom and the lessons of the past, of our yesterdays, forward, intact, to the turbulent times of today? Thus, ensuring a better tomorrow for all. Is that a real possibility for mankind, after all these centuries of fooling ourselves, persisting in taking the wrong paths, and following the most unworthy people as our leaders?

My optimism, about this possibility is sorely challenged.

Perhaps it might be so when we finally own up to the fact that all our troubles are of our own making. 

We enable those who lie, who are terrible leaders.

 We did this to ourselves. 

All of us, folks. 

All on us.

SO

 ...no. Definitely not. No way. No how. Simply not in any way, shape, manner, or form. It has been tried before. Many times. Some efforts unfortunately more successful than others. But none ever achieve its final goal. More important    is the fact that we have learned some hard lessons. We know that certain things are not the inevitable. Do not have to be accepted in stoic face and an "it will pass" mien. No. It is different now. Very different.

 And it is time for people to understand that. And what it means for those out there who hate the thought of giving it up and moving off to some other place - my preference being the last circle of Hell, forever, and even that would be far less than they deserve. In fact, I do not believe there is enough out there in our world which can in any way be equated with sufficient consequence   for those who encouraged and incited such horrible events and murderous thoughts and deeds in others. To stand against life itself for those not 'like' them and do their best to do the very worst. And be praised for it.

Thus, it is a solid NO. Your misbegotten pathetic and failing teachers, instructors and spewers of hate 'forgot' to teach you the truth of history. They can print all the false books with all the misinformation. With all the words of hate. But they cannot deny the truth of history in any permanent manner. The truth will always out. And when the truth hits those who bought into false theories and histories, it is a blow to their very inner core. May it forever hurt them with pain insurmountable and everlasting.

 Does that last paragraph sound over the top, certainly not emulating the model of forgive and forget? Well, I hope it does. For such is the anger and the bitterness I feel within me towards those whose constant desire is, remains, to initiate murderous, horrific, unimaginable, ungodly scenes of murder so harsh, so huge in design and manifestation, so close to successful attainment of goal, that there are those who cling to the belief, the need, to refute the truth of those very scenes.  

Documented as the truth is, by photos, memoirs, living witnesses, and the words of the perpetrators of the slaughter, there remain the deniers and worse. They are those who know they lie with every breath they take, every step with which they taint the very ground upon which they tread yet persist in trying to glom onto the souls of others foolish, naive, or hating enough, to join in their devilish accursed plans. In such manner do they clear a pathway, many such ways, for the worm of Hate to continue to eat into the very soul, the very psyche of humanity. Generation after generation, all infected, infested with the dregs of humanity, the very worst of it, and all too successful in their desires.

But no more. Know their most desired goal is to eliminate the nation of Israel. To deny it the right to exist, to thrive and prosper. To do all they have been commanded and inspired to do. To follow their history and have faith in their Lord. Knowing He is always here for them, even if the Presence is at times too hidden by the clouds of the errors and trespasses of humanity. But always, He is there and always, we are rescued from the fires of hate and Hell, the gates of which have been opened time and time again. But - NO. MORE.

We have learned well via harsh instruction and experience that there is no point to stoic   acceptance of fate placed upon us by those who hate us. By those filled with bitterness, who wish to wallow in pools of our blood, and hear   the screams of men, women, children, babies, consigned to fates unspeakable. But no more, for the Jewish people wherever they reside have finally internalized the lessons brutally taught to us by those who wish us gone. Who work very hard to make that evil a reality. 

By now we have learned. We are all one. Our parts make up a strong, solid one and we stand back-to-back, shoulder to shoulder, resist in tandem and foil the vile plans of those wishing to perpetrate and perpetuate only murder, pain, bloodshed and terror upon us. Yes, of course there are outliers. In any situation. But they are only outliers and despite the braying of their loud voices, they bear nothing of any permanence. Nothing of any truth. Nothing that will last beyond their very last breath, their names and memories forgotten or left to remain as curses and lessons to be understood. 

Most important is that we now know that there is always a future for us. Always a path through to safety. Always our defender, the Lord Himself. Standing before and behind us. We have learned to know He is there. Even if we cannot see Him at that moment in time. Nor understand the purposes and paths of what we now face and have faced for all time. But we know that we are entitled to defense. We have become proficient in our defense and offense; whatever is needed. Primary, always, is survival of our people. 

And if the other nations weep at their losses, they need to look to themselves. And to the leaders they have chosen and empowered, and it is upon them to do the right thing. But no longer will we stand passively by and accept the rules of others stating that we must submit. NO! "Nevermore", quoth the Raven and "Nevermore" quoth the people of Israel.  

No matter what, we know there is an end to it all.  And so, from the deepest depths of Hell, the   camps and ghettos of the Holocaust, from forests where we were chased, prey for the human animals wishing to kill us, to the dank dark dungeons and tunnels of Hamas and Hezbollah - we have remained strong in our faith. And it has been strong in its support of us. Giving us breath to breathe, to live where there was none. Giving us strength to survive brutal starvation and torture. Even as the world deserted us yet again, we stood firm for we leave no one behind, not alive nor dead and those who attempt to do the worst to us will reap the very crop they have sown.

Thus, while the bombs and missiles and rockets continue to shatter the air above Israel and shrapnel rains down from intercepted missiles of hate, inside the shelters the people do not stand and cry. Do not shout curses into the sky. No. They prepare. They live on and remain in good temperaments despite the constant sound of alarms and sirens. They leave, inside the shelters, musical instruments, toys, candy, bring food to share, get to know new friends and reunite with older ones. 

Religious ceremonies are joyously celebrated, from entry of Shabbat to its leaving, from baby celebrations to bar mitzvahs and even weddings smoothly transferred from hall to shelter, albeit with an additional crowd equally joyous and a blessing for gratitude for having been allowed to reach this moment.

 NO, we will not give in to despair or defeatism. We know well where we are, who we are, and what we must do. The ranks of Israel hold firm and steady, true to their nation and their faith. We are a resilient people. And with the help of the Lord, we have managed to overcome and outlive all who have wished us harm and did their very best to do exactly that. We will continue to do exactly that until all those who wish us harm will be gone or reformed, the nations of the world will finally acknowledge the truth and its reality and permanence.      

We are here. This is our country. G-d given and promised. Always the home to which we returned over the centuries. Always in our prayers and hearts.

We are home and home we will remain. Finally, the dream of every person in the nation. No more climbing into uniforms to defend the nation. No longer a need to do that for there will be no more fighting. Peace will reign. A productive shared peace.   

No more, haters of humanity. You curdle your insides with your own acids. I hope they eat away inside you with pain never ending, at your body and soul. You are unworthy of the gifts of the Lord. You taint and stain the land. God willing, we, along with those nations who know the right thing to do, will   finally, for once and for all, put paid to all this ugliness. Finally, to live in peace and prosperity. To raise humanity rather than lower it ever deeper into the boiling bubbles of hate below.

So it was in much of our yesterdays.

Sadly, too much remains in our todays.

By the grace of God and with the faith and strength of those who believe, our tomorrows will look different. Be different. And remain different.

How do we ensure that happening? 

By standing up with our brethren.

By knowing that from the first to the last of it all,

it is on us.

Only us.    

We carry the burden. 

We carry the keys to a safe, better tomorrow.

Would that we learn already to open the doors with that key.

Past time already.

    

LIFE IS AS IT IS

  ...And we had better learn to accept that statement, with an understanding that if we begin with that as our baseline, we can then move forward in the proper direction.  Face value and baselines are important for balance in life, but equally as important are the immer urgings and the 'knowing' that we must do something constructive to improve those baselines, to be proactive and creative in setting things in motion with the goal to improve the baselines of life for as many as we can.  

At times understanding and acting on those understandings can be difficult, even contradictory.  One often has to see both sides of the coin, weigh those sides, and put the resultant array of possibilities in some kind of priority listing. That list might be provocative, confusing, and certainly challenging, in difficulty, in realistic terms of possibility and in the contradictions and conflicts highlighted. Decision making can have some sharp edges, can often lead to self-doubting. But if we have to walk down a fresh path there must be that first step, difficult as it might be.

It is not an easy thing to do. For it forces one to look inward. To evaluate oneself and one's life's choices. Even given the fact that at times the choice is presented to us and are most definitely not the choices we sought. But life is as it is. And one must work, at least from the start, with the tools at hand. Perhaps we can even create new ones. But present conditions of reality are the pens drawing the parameters of what we hope to achieve. It is what we do from that starting point to the finish line, which speaks to and of the assessment, the weighing of our lives as individuals and as members of society. 

The legacy left behind will either burnish or smear our lives, the memories we leave behind within others. Did we contribute to the task of Tikkun Olam, of fixing this world in ways both large and small. Noticeable and not so much. It is a difficult thing to assess from behind one's own eyeballs. It demands great introspective honesty, a trait not too many of us have, nor exercise for that matter. 

At present, at this stage and age in life, I try to think back and evaluate. What have I done, what have I contributed? What have I enabled others to contribute? I think I am, I hope I am, definitely on the positive side. Certainly not perfect. Far from it. Even in our todays I find it difficult, if not impossible, to reconcile certain tasks, certain thoughts. I flinch inwardly at the difficult task and wonder: Is this hypocrisy? Or is this reality? 

Is this a cost of "doing business”? But is it not necessary sometimes to hold that going out of business sale and then reopening, refreshed and better able to reconcile or come down definitively on one side of the coin and let the chips fall where they may? Is it a choice of the lesser evil or the more qualitative and quantitative good? Is such as choice a Gordian knot, unable to be undone unless one wields an unforgiving sword? Must the choices, the decisions be based solely on facts? At least as I perceive them to be or is emotion able to be added onto the scales where we weigh our choices. Our decisions. And at the proper time, the results. If any. If for the better or the worse. 

To quote a famous American, these are indeed "the times that try men's souls". Women as well. How does one rate one's own values? How does one truly know the level of sacrifice in truth and is it OK to hope that we never reach that challenging level? Never to be so tested? And worse, if tested, to fail! 

How indeed is it possible for anyone, for me in particular, since it is the me that I am responsible to and for, to hold conditions once thought anathema to my very being. And actually, still are. But something else has come into the fray, has contributed its weight. Rather than helping, it simply is complicating the entire manner.

  At the end of this self-examining session of questions and answers where none seems to be found, I find myself even more confused than ever. How can I possibly compare and contrast, juxtapose the two sides of this coin? Both sides of the matter contain life long held beliefs. Deep beliefs. Beliefs which demand that I remain loyal to them. How can these two so different sides actually be aligned in such manner to keep me sane?  Where and how do I weigh in the negatives that would be activated upon championing one side over the other? How can I be sure which positives will outweigh the others, and which will weigh less? Will the positives of the one outweigh the negatives of the other?  

It is impossible. It is impossible. It is something which demands that I actually take a cleaver to all that I have believed, to all that I have espoused, and then somehow gather the pieces and reformat them into something with which I can live. A new coin which would incorporate all that I hope and pray for, all that I believe. I just don't see that happening. I also don't see how it can continue like this.  My head pounds. My heart beats. I try to think of ways to make this broken coin whole again. In a form I can live with. Justify to those questioning it. Yes, life is as life is, and we have very little to say about it. But the little we can say, must be weighed and carefully judged. And even then ...

If there had been no brave souls in our yesterdays;

if there have not been brave souls who took on the challenge in and of our todays,

where would be the hopes of our tomorrows?  

Not a clue, folks, not a clue.

What I do know is that there are very difficult times with crippling decisions awaiting us, right on top of us, and no one can sit this out. Remember that to say and do nothing in the face of Evil is to abet and enable it, to spew its poison wherever it lives. and its appetite is insatiable.

Remember -

 On. Us.

Only. Always. On. Us.

 

BAD NIGHT

  Sorry, but blog will be posted around 10AM, give or take. Bad night and early morning appts. Not a great combo. Such is life, I guess and others have it far worse. Gotta' be thankful for what we have and what we do not. Think on that and see you a bit later on today. By the way, I just read a terrible weather forecast, another storm, more likely rain but HUGE and can have tornados as well. 

Be safe.

GPS DENIAI

  It seemed there is nothing that man can invent, that man cannot defeat. GPS, that magical tool that has robbed us of our ability to read a map, let alone to fold a map, that has led us to lose our instincts as to where East and West are. North and South, as well as the instinctive knowledge as to where we are heading. 

These days the first thing we do upon entering a car is to enable GPS or Waze, yet another routing adviser. So now the first thing that nations under attack do is to turn off the GPS system and hence the attackers are lost, not knowing up from down and right from left. However, unfortunately. this leaves the Home Army almost as equally in the dark. wandering in the 'wilderness' along with their foes.  

However, one of the most dangerous uses of GPS denial occurs when the system is disabled at airports, leaving pilots flying literally by the seat of their pants. Quite a frightening scenario, for so many younger pilots have learned to depend upon instruments and robotic directions, and when they are gone...  

Think of other pilots in our lives who have been denied GPS or taught to rely on   malfunctioning ones dispensing incorrect, dangerous routes. However, there is one more warning emanating from the fading beeps of another GPS system, quite a critical one too. Perhaps the most important one of our lives. 

We have sadly lost the GPS system for living the right way. for turning away from the wrong. We have, for years now, been following directions and/or commands to take the eminently wrong road and by the time we realize the errors or our ways, if we actually do reach that point, it is too little, too late. and, folks, here we are.

Welcome to the world roaming sans directions in an ever more complicated universe. Pay your money and take your seat to watch the most frightening spectacle ever. Brought to you by the eternal sponsors: Hate and Greed.   

 Anyone reading the news or catching it in varieties of the media, apart from those willfully deaf and blind to the truth of today, would and should have despaired of the world we have created. Indeed, we do not know where we are and refuse to internalize the truth which reveals to us in bold headlines as to exactly how we did arrive here, so distant from what was meant to be, where we are supposed to be rather than at the stations and levels we are at our shameful present. 

In fact, we are at one of several levels, most of which bode no good for us at all. Some are Denial Station, refusing to see that which is playing out before us, at ever faster and more destructive manner. Others are at the Inertia Station, almost paralyzed in their fog and do nothing other than live a shadow life, basically meaningless and noncontributory in any positive manner. 

Others are at the Delighted Station, glorying in the ugly proliferating tide of nastiness and crime and criminals now queuing up for seats in government from top to bottom and back again. The filth, the immorality, the ugliness, flows freely, non-stop and is almost impervious to attempts to slow it down, let alone to halt it. 

Need proof? All over this nation see the sad truth. The convicted felons. cheaters. the immoral perverts. the most prominent convicted felon happily pardoning others of his ilk. The perversion of the structure of our nation, put into play by those in the highest seats of power, all to benefit themselves, their families, their cronies and abettors whose desire for wealth and power are far off any chart of fairness and sanity. This world of fog and obscuring clouds, of persisting denial of truths and embracing of lies, is all meant to deceive and delude. Far too successful for those in yet another station.  

That is the Station of the Concerned. Those who are motivated to effect a change for the better in this woefully embattled nation of ours. It is, unfortunately, lacking in the numbers of people. who must commit to fighting heartbreaking, challenging battles. Battles worthy of the dreams and efforts of many Don Quixotes. There is a growing awareness of the true State of the Union and a corresponding louder rumbling in the towns and cities of this nation. But is it too late? Ate we beyond the point of no return? 

It is said that one must center oneself in order to move forward on an even keel in life. To live a life contributory and productive. To tend to the right, to the good, and stay away from extremes on both the Left and the Right. Extremes forbode no good, and, are in fact, two sides of the same coin.

We can easily see how far we have wandered from the centering so desperately needed both in our personal and national lives. That which was centered both orally and by concrete deeds and actions, in visible format has been hijacked by the extremes who wish to change, to reformat it into their own image. From entryways and porticoes to stairways and surrounding areas. From moderation to excess or wrongful denial. From tradition and history to wild fluctuations, the nation has lost it center, individually and as a nation. 

We have chosen to work with broken GPS. Totally dead or full of misdirection. We need to find those who know how to repair the damage. How to reboot the system in positive manner. And most important, to ensure that such a breakdown is never ever to return. Whatever it takes to avoid that must be put in place. A sense and understanding of the best of traditions and history. Education as to public service and its importance, the respect deserved by those who truly fulfill their responsibilities.   Educate adults as well as children re true patriotism, national pride, along with the values that serve mankind: equity, justice, humanity. Seek the high road rather than the low one.

In our yesterdays there was a slow but steady centering. 

 In our todays we have gotten lost.

For our tomorrows - we are in dire need of correct GPS in working order.

Who will provide that GPS?

It should and must come from within us.

From us.

On us.

Always on us.

A;wys opn us.   

WHY IS IT?

  Why is it that people are stupid. Why is it that they do not take to heart the lessons they should be learning, claim to be learning, and then turn around and dump it, stomp on it and the only lesson learned is that one will, time and time again, discard truths or simply 'unclaim' as unnecessary in the first place, so why go seeking them? Is it because we do not have a strong enough urge to save ourselves, to make a better world for all those upon it? 

Or is it that we constantly think and feel that others are out to get us, hence, we should get them first. But this ugliness should have long ago been discarded, for what have we learned, what have we gained from the seemingly endless wars of humankind. Big or small, worldwide or confined to small areas alone, what is the difference? Was there in fact any difference large enough to demand a war, to desperately need a war to solve the problems faced by life on earth?

It seems that we are too dumb, too stupid, or too vicious in nature to understand that these wars bring upon ourselves only more of the same. Over and over again. In fact, as one scrolls down the centuries, there is nary a time when true peace actually was in place. Even if there were not clearly observed conflicts to the point of war, not to worry, for there it always was and will be, beneath the surface, roiling with the arguments never resolved and perhaps, sadly so, never meant to be resolved. War does much, goes a long way in strengthening the lengths of stay in office of too many despots, creeps, the sagging shameful end of humanity.

These constant times of war, declared or not, barely on the radar of humanity or quite blatant, of disagreements large and small, complicated or simple, suck hope out of the air. It depresses the world to the point where we just about give up, think the worst of ourselves and fall prey to the terrible feeling that we humans are beyond hope. Always there was sniping, arguing and threats and a constant, imaginary but so real noose hanging over us. Waiting to drop down upon our heads.

So foolish, so blind are we that we do not realize nor understand that we need a new plan book. We need to find a natural winner, a hero of clear and clean mind. One who will break a tie, many ties, which ceaselessly entangle us in blood and guts. endless wars of mankind, big or small, between major powers or small states, in actuality and outcome, in severe consequences, there are no differences. Yes, perhaps more lives are lost in one war as opposed to another, or the damage to infrastructure varies as well, but in the end, there is no difference. 

The same flimsy excuses are ginned up to justify. the fighting. The budgets of nations blow up in order to support the fighting. In fact, all those 'critical differences' are generally figments of our imagination, desperately needed to benefit some, but not the majority. We are the enablers of our   own disasters though we are sure to cast the blame on the 'enemy'. We forget that maxim, that warning: “We have met the enemy, and they are us." The truth hurts. And we wish to avoid that hurt. To cancel the truth. We become ever more enmeshed in our own stupidity, so deep, so all-encompassing  that we never learn. 

The good Lord blessed us with functioning minds. Why do we not take advantage of that? Learn from our experience. Be able to separate the right from the wrong, or the good from the bad. Why are we still, in 2026 picking fights with each other. Developing ever more frightening weapons and playing deadly games of chicken which bode no good for anyone, nary a one. Why are we so damn stupid that we do not learn? 

Why do we not develop better ways of thinking, of solving differences? Why can mankind not learn from history that war never solves any problem to a complete, fair and accepted solution. There is always a dangling end. Inevitably, that dangling end or ends, that failure to completely solve the problems inevitably leads to another war and   another and another. A never-ending depressing situation, a state of being with severe absence of hope, squashed optimism and minimal forward thinking. At times, it appears that we are beginning to approach some kind of improvement. but then it generally blows up in our faces. 

The clock is ticking. Our reserves of patience      are being depleted at ever faster rate. Our anger grows apace and still, there is no one to step forward and give us that missing answer, that understanding that has eluded us lo these many millennia. 

Were we always so blockheaded in our thinking and actions?

Looking back at yesterday,

examining today, 

and thinking of tomorrow -

I am afraid so. 

Somewhere along the line we missed the boat.  We found ourselves in a permanent state of confusion and irritation, such that there seems no way through to a solid peace.

Shame on us.

MY BAD!

  So sorry that I have not posted for the past three days. I did not mean for it to happen, but it did. Apparently, writing that I was tired forced me to recognize that I was indeed tired. I needed to take a bit of a sleep vacation. In other words, I indulged myself and slept in. Or took a nap. And thus, somehow my posting of a blog got lost in the shuffle. Today included. I do not want to write something in a rushed manner as there are so many things going on, so many questions to be asked and so many answers to be sought. That behooves me not to write in a hurried manner, but to think about what I have to say, what I wish to say.

 So, for today I will say that tomorrow, sometime in the morning there will be a blog posted. Hopefully it will contain some thought out material. Some questions which need to be answered, and some questions newly raised as to what is going on in this world of ours beset by such problems. In fact, as an aside, I had a "conversation” with Alexa this morning in which the Doomsday Clock was discussed. This inanimate voice of AI actually professed a degree of concern. Not only for myself, but for herself as well. Why has this world become thus. What are we doing with ourselves? And what are we doing to not only our futures, but to the futures of those who are supposed to come after. Those who are to carry this world along, into and with better decisions. Of better events. Of better life for all.

Instead of us concentrating on doing that, we're having to return to modes of thinking and behavior that should have long been wiped off the face of the earth. Why in Springfield do we have a new replication of an underground real time world? Preparing to hide Haitians threatened with deportation as temporary status was denied.   Why are we taking people whose work, whose labor is needed and necessary for our economy to function and throwing them posthaste out of the country? Why are we doing this? At the same time we allow students who entered this country in order to study and are instead calling for "Death to America". To raise trouble. Why are we allowing them to stand there in our streets and call out for death to America? Toss them the hell out. We seem to be pretty good at that lately. So why are these people not being tossed out, kicked out, ejected? This is a question that needs to be asked ever louder, ever stronger, and answers which are solely needed.

Additionally, why are medical schools ceding ground to that insane man RFK Junior. Turning their curriculums inside out in order to appease him and his dangerous protocols. No vaccines. Crazed nutrition demands. Causing hardships for those responsible parents who wish to get their children vaccinated. Against diseases which are once again making their appearances known. Unfortunately. And all due to the insane machinations of RFK Junior. My condolences to his father, now rolling in his grave about his descendant wreaking havoc. Not only upon this nation, but upon the world as a whole.

We have lost our way. In so many ways. We have lost track of what really counts. We spend days arguing about which drug company will dispense GLP-1, and which not. Which company will be deemed the latest Ogre whilst others are allowed to slide by. I am not here to argue whether this is deserved or not, simply to point out that we are not behaving in a fair and equitable manner. To any and all within our purview.

We have so lost our way. We have made enemies of allies and certainly have caused allies that have not yet forsaken us to be quite uneasy in their relationship. Not only uneasy, but queasy. According to Trump, we are allowed to start wars, initiate fighting but not worry about consequences. Interesting way of doing business, is it not? And we wonder why people hate Americans these days. Worse is when we drag other nations into this quagmire, and then shrug our shoulders and say, 'you deal with it'. Not my problem anymore. Not my job. But it is.

 I think it is the job of the world to take us, every nation, every bit of population in this world and shake us by the collar. Hopefully shaking things back into place and understanding of consequences of our behavior. And the truth of the fact that no one will be able to escape these consequences, for we are, like it or not, one planet, one people. Bottom line, one race, for underneath those skin colors, beneath supposedly differing religious beliefs, we are all the same. The same flesh and blood. The same organs. The same dreams. The same hopes. And the same fears. So, what the hell are we doing?

This morning, for a kick, I also asked a question of Alexa, if she thinks that we are the only planet, the only segment of the universe, which has supported life as we know it. Whatever the form or appearance is. I received an emphatic yes. Interesting statement from an AI, along with reasons to support that answer. I am not a particular fan or foe of AI but certainly knowing that we can make use of it and we should make use of it but the right way. Not for the growth of more intolerance, more hatred and more warfare. I am not adept at maneuvering my way through this new world, but I do use what I can. And I do see and understand that we are not making proper use of it. Not at all.

So where do we go from here? Where do we tread? Where do we know that there is land firm beneath our feet? Not waiting to swallow us up. How do we know? How do we ensure the fact that the leaders we have chosen to follow are indeed the ones we should and not the ones we had better cast aside? When will we learn true tolerance? Not tolerance with ifs and ands or buts, but pure undiluted tolerance. An acceptance of the truth of humanity, its similarity. Far more than its differences. A roaring similarity which we have managed to. dampen in sound and consequence.

Will I have the answers to these questions tomorrow? I wish I would. I wish I could. But that is not possible at this point in time. Perhaps a miracle will take place overnight and we will all come to our senses and peace and sense shall reign. Huh. Doubt that, but one can always hope. In any case, G-d willing, sometime tomorrow morning I will be posting a new post. And hopefully you will be there to read it. I beg pardon for having taken these few days off. Unintentionally, but things happen. See you tomorrow. Stay well, stay safe. Stay sane, as we always wished to do.

In our yesterdays.

In our todays.

And in the tomorrows to come.

BECAUSE

  Ever since this past Saturday morning, when we were awakened by a rude noise, neither of us has slept a deep sleep. Through the days and nights that have followed, the noise repeated itself. Signaling a warning to the people of Israel that yet more rockets and missiles were coming their way. Hence, into safety, into the secure room, and stay until told it was safe to leave. At least for a time, a brief time. 

Through the days and nights, when the alarm went off, we knew that somewhere in Israel our friends, our family, were in danger. Even as we worried about them, about the nation, about our home there, we felt pangs of guilt. We were here, relatively safe in this dangerous world of ours, but they were most definitely in harm's way, and I could do nothing to change that. They were the ones who would absorb the consequences of baseless hate, of evil unable to be plumbed to a bottom, so deep and entrenched is it.  

We know that these deranged haters, people who follow the Ayatollah, may his name forever be erased from history, and the evil adherents of Hezbollah are getting what is coming to them.  Both have gotten and are getting more of what they have so clearly asked for. But in the meanwhile, lives of people under siege are vastly and quickly undergoing massive changes. 

No fault of their own, but the challenge is there. How does one live ordinarily in unordinary times? Can we leave the house for shopping? What about the kids? How do we keep them whole and as unaware as possible? How do we live now and for how long will this intolerable situation continue? Most of all, we worry about our loved ones called up once again to serve the nation, to defend it from her enemies.  Are they safe? When will they come home?  

The pressure remains, grows and intensifies, yet the situation must be tolerated for there is no other path forward. At least until we finish with the enemies who have never learned and accepted the facts as they are and the history that backs up those facts. That the people of Israel have returned home to stay. Period.  

What about today? It is Purim. A fast forward from the original Purim to today. When the very same country of today, Persia, became entangled within the evil machinations of a JewHater, that the Jewish people within his empire must be killed. They posed a danger to the emperor and must be eliminated. He fell into the evil words of Haman and great peril now awaited the Jews within the land. 

Only via the courage and understanding of Mordechai and Esther, knowing of their responsibility, knowing that they too were Jews, and would share in the fate of all other Jews, and their faith in the Lord, was the tragedy averted.     Tears turned to rejoicing and celebration of rescue, of permission to defend themselves, and from then on, rather than a day of tears, it is a day of rejoicing and sharing gifts with others.    

And the Jews of Persia fought back, just as the Jews of today, back in their homeland again, fight for their right to have a state of their own, a place   providing a haven for all Jews in need of such. A nation which has contributed much to benefit the world at large.  

Today, we do not worry about fighting back. We are always at the ready to defend our homes and families, our nation. On the land, on the air, on the sea. In the offices of nations round the world. Wherever enemies are found, we remember and we speak out against this baseless hate of centuries. We remember the wars inflicted upon us and we are ready to do what we must to defend ourselves in our own times. Always, to remember.  And so, we do, no matter where our scattered people reside.  The needless hate. Evil machinations that went on. All in service to Evil. And we remember: how we were saved, the courage it took, and the gratitude we owed, always owe to the Lord. Thus, we celebrate, remembering bad and the good. All the people of the Jewish nation, of Am Yisroel.  

Then, inevitably, the question arises. Why is there so much hate? Why so much anti-Semitism? Why are there people who salivate at the thought of wreaking harm and havoc upon Jewish people? Of destroying their infrastructure. Of killing them wherever they stand. Man, woman and child. It makes no matter to them. The answer is "because".  

 Because there is no reason. There's no earthly reason, nor heavenly reason, for that matter for this hatred to continue. Since time immemorial murderous campaigns against us took place.  against the very people who did well for the lands in which they resided and received only smacks for thanks.  Many reasons and underlying causes have been offered. Tomes have been written trying to explain anti Semitism. But that is all a cop out. For there is no reason. It is simply 'because'.  

Evil, vicious hatred, has a self-perpetuating life. But there is no justification for it. There is no justification for anti Semitism. There was no justification for hatred. It is only 'because'.     Hatred should not exist. If we stopped hating each other, we would not have to answer questions of why it was, 'because' and stop. because there is no answer. Because there is no need, no right to demand an answer. Certainly, the targets of this baseless Hate should not be asked the question as to justify why people hate them. There is no rhyme or reason to Hate. There is no rhyme or reason other. than the lust for bloodshed that seems to live within mankind. 

Somewhere, somehow, within a lifetime things become twisted in mind and soul. This perversion of soul causes mankind to turn to constant state of war, to a thirst for bloodshed. We cast aspersions on those we deem different from us and then step it up to welcome that which is always waiting to enter onstage - the perpetrators and perpetuators of war, in full blown ugliness. We justify it by magnifying differences. of actual nonimportance and even manufacture differences if we must. And for what?  Why?

 Because. 

In fact, I think the only place from where you'll get an answer to that why, that contains any sense will be from the Lord Above. Frankly. I am not even sure of that, so confusing is that confounded and accursed need to hate which resides in mankind.  

So even as the festivities of the day go on, there is a taint to it as the darkness of present-day warfare continues. With Hate front and center, alive and unfortunately well. This year we celebrate Purim in shelters. Why and why and why?  

And again - Because.  

 I am tired. So very tired. Physically tired. Because I'm entitled to be tired at my age! But also, tired because I have not slept well, even tonight, with no alerts, but the mind continued to remain alert for them. Toss and turn and stare at the clock.  

I am also tired within my soul. Is there ever going to be an end of this baseless hatred? Not only of the Jewish people, but of all people. It seems nigh unto impossible. I do not think there is more than a token number of those who do not hang on to some Hate within their heart. Why is this the case??   

Because.  

So it has been yesterday. 

So it has continued until today. 

Please let us extinguish it before our tomorrow arrives.

A happy Purim to all. May we know only good and may evil disappear from this earth and from the hearts and souls of humanity.

AND HERE IT IS - AS EXPECTED

  For over a year now, even before Trump was sworn into office again, his statements and behavior were right up there with absurd and 'how dare he'. It was outrageous, but no one seemed to care or even notice other than the few voices shouting into the wind - among whom I was one. His claims and promises and statements grew ever edgier, crossing over the border between sanity and insanity. Many claimed that was simply his persona and not to take it seriously, for surely the law would block it all. We are America, after all. 

Certainly, what he was posing and ranting about were the fragile areas to be found in the nations of the Third World or in countries under fascistic rule, be it of the Left or the Right. Unable or unknowing enough to recognize and adhere to the proper pathways to a stable government. Strict obedience to the law rather than to the whim of the current head of government was not to be found.  But again, surely, this would never happen. 

This was America. We had laws. We have a strong constitution. We have strong traditions to be law abiding citizens. And when we veer too much off that path, we are brought up short by more responsible leaders of the nation and we return to sanity. We are brought back and reminded what it means to be an American. What it means to have American values.  

And yet we went sharply off course. Our body of state train jumped the tracks. Our common sense took a long vacation. Even as his claims became ever more outrageous, openly defiant and violating of the laws which have governed this nation for 250 years, too many of us stood silent. Stood by. Even as his statements were backed up by his actions. no one bucked against it. No matter how absurd his statements and claims were, how clearly exposed were his lies, the tormented twisting of facts, life went on with barely a shiver in its fabric.  

Time and time again he pushed aside restrictions of law. He ignored the traditions of the nation. Trashed them and the strictures contained within the Constitution and its amendments. Not very many seemed to notice. Nor to care. No one spoke up powerfully enough. Strongly enough. Determinately enough. To wake up the people to what was happening to our nation. To do anything about it.

In fact, for the most part, the very opposite occurred. For many, it was a time to close eyes. Not see what was there before their very noses. They failed to follow the threads of life within our America to the inevitable results. Unless we stomp down hard on that runaway train, the inevitable results were clearly visible. The very same results and facts of life we are dealing with at present. And not too well, I might add.  

What did we have? We had the enablers of the GOP who backed up every wrong misstep that he took. Those who even had thoughts of opposing him took the easy way out. When he went to his calls for retribution, when he spouted threats for revenge and worse, evidently the tough here were not so tough and took a sharp turn out the door. There was nothing standing in the way now of that destructive train wreaking disaster after disaster upon the nation. 

And still, the GOP stood silent. Other than those of the extreme MAGA adherents who demanded more and more of the wrong turns. Who sank ever deeper roots into vicious vile JewHatred as they obsessed about the Jewish nation and the land of Israel.

Hope there was none forthcoming from the Democrats. Oh, they mumbled a bit, drooled a bit, but they were too busy. Too busy kowtowing to the misnomered  'progressives'. Those who seemed to have a key to the kingdom that the Dems needed. Who actually were regressive in every meaning, facet, statement, and platform plank. Their platform planks are riddled with hate. And violence. And too many of the Democrats sought a return to power via that dastardly group, even to the point of allowing that ugly crew of women to constantly call out in nasty hate dripping voices and words against Israel and all Jews for that matter.  

The voices of the GOP were silent, full of praise and support. The voices of the Democrats were mumbled, unclear, lacking in power and stamina, rather tremulous. They carried no weight at all. Additionally, there were those in the GOP who are   crazed MAGA adherents, for whom Trump did not go far enough. Or those equally unhinged MAHA adherents who would turn the clock back to quack medicine, who condoned the death of many now and in the future as they opposed, even forbid vaccinations, shuttered labs and medical research, denied climate issues, even as it became more and more hazardous as loud nasty voices called out, reminding all that voiced that America was, is, always will be a "Christian" nation and so where does that leave the rest of us?

So, what is the point of this posting? Is it to excoriate Trump and his previous over running, outstretching of powers that do not belong to him, of action grossly deleterious to the infrastructure of this nation. To the unity of its peoples. No, my point is that despite all that has gone before, with either support quiet or vocal, or silence and refusal to condemn, with weakness and silence when those who should object do not - things have turned uglier, more dangerous. Things are now different.

How many times has this man sent armed forces to nations around the world. Without consulting Congress. How many times has Congress stood by and done nothing? How many times has the Supreme Court given him wide leeway. Excused him from responsibility and consequences.  What is different now? He said yes. He has sent more planes into combat areas without consulting Congress. It didn't seem to bother too many in Congress at the various times that had happened already. Only now. Why now? Think.

But why now? It is because this is a joining in combat with the State of Israel which faces extreme existential peril. A true possibility of extermination at the hands of the crazed religious maniacs and the secular haters and all their allies. Those with homicidal horrid wishes and goals. The Houthi. Hezbollah. Hamas. Islamic Jihad. Terrorists who live within Israel. haters and bigots round the world. 

Israel is used to fighting alone. Is used to the. disdain with which nations of the world speak about Israel. About its legality. It's right to exist. Apparently, its very existence is anathema to the world at large, to provide aid in its battle to remain alive and well, viable, contributing to the world. As much as we are used to fighting alone, it is nice to have company. At this time, that means the USA, Israel's traditional ally, since the time of Truman and his recognition of the State of Israel.   

Apparently, when Israel shows her strength and determination to remain within our land, our ancestral homeland, the world kicks back. They like it better when we are on the defeated weaker side, to be seen as the underdog, to remain as victims.    Apparently, when Israel is victorious, able to overcome great odds, multiple armies, some find that offensive to their preconceived ideas and emotions.   

And that is why, suddenly, there were voices raised, against the sending of weapons and people to work in tandem with Israel. Trump is doing what he's always done. He goes his own way. He pays no never mind to any rule or regulation, to any law that might stand in his way. And he does what he wants to do. What he wills to do no matter what. I don't like when he tramples over our laws and traditions and ignores the Constitution. But in this case Right triumphs. Perhaps it can be called wrong, but he did a wrong thing for the right reason. So why now the uproar missing in other similar moments? Because this is working with the Jewish nation - a major no-no to some, to many.

 Evidently that annoys too many people, including traitors of the Jewish people who deny their own. membership in the tribe. Who choose to condemn their own people in the name of retention of their position. All around the world there are despicable beings who do this. But they are self-defeating poor thinkers along with the rest of their defects.

For those of you who forget that you are Jewish, there will be plenty of people who will remind you. And know that if you turn your back on your people, your people will turn their backs to you. It is a well-known stricture that we learn from childhood. That all of Israel is responsible to watch over the welfare of other Jews. You and your egregiously wrong actions remove yourself from this equation. 

Should the worst, God forbid, ever come to be, you will find yourself in an extremely unfriendly dark world. You will wander alone. Without light, without air, without hope. Seeking that which will not be there. And for all people of the world, know this. It is time. For all of you, all of us, to measure up. To reclaim our responsibilities. The duties placed on all of us. To be human. To treat all as equals. To see that equality. fairness and justice. govern the lands in this world. Not hate. Nor violence. 

 It was so yesterday. 

As it remains today,

And so it appears to have life in our tomorrows.

 Would that we could take the remains of today. and the times of tomorrow and imbue them with   goodness and justice, with the humanity we owe ourselves. 

Why are we so insistent upon remaining foolish and self-defeating?

It is indeed incumbent upon us to answer that question and change its reality.   

WHAT'S TO SAY?

  3:00 AM Saturday morning. An abrasive sound penetrates the sleep. It is the sound of the warning. There is incoming rocket and missile fire. One has 45 seconds at most to get into a security room. A shelter. Simply go far away from a car, lay down and cover your head. Or crush up against a wall. Once again, we are at war. Once again. Waves of planes and waves of opposing rockets and missiles flying. through the once dark skies now lit up by the lights from hell.

45 seconds. To shake oneself from a deep sleep. Orient to where you are and the needs of the moment. Grab your kids. And hope you have remembered to leave water and food in the security room. Some toys for the kids. And close that door. Then to calm one's racing heart and calm the kids - and yourself at the same time. 

Put on a show. Nothing to worry about. Even though the older kids know what all this means. It is not a drill; it is the real thing.  Again. And the little ones sit there confused. Feeling the tension in the air. grabbed out of bed. It does not bode well. They see mother and father. Heads bowed. Sitting tight against each other. And the memories of all  reroot themselves and retrace within the inner vision of all.

Will this seemingly inevitable, unavoidable cycle ever come to a halt? Will we ever reach a time when we can live safely, securely? And have peace. Even if a cold one. What is it that so warps the minds of our self-declared enemies. Who wrote in their charters and constitutions and documents of state as a primary goal to destroy the State of Israel. And then, the rest of Jewry, wherever they reside.

And one wonders. Is this a racial hatred? Is this an ethnic hatred? A religious hatred. A hatred from jealousy? A hatred from embarrassment. How the people of Israel in the harshest circumstances, were able to build. Rebuild. And move forward. Contribute to the world. Nor to resort to threats and terrorism. What is it that so plagues them in the soul that they cannot see their way to peace beneficial to all? Especially themselves. What is it within them? Why does the mother ululate with joy that her child sacrificed himself in the name of hate.

Standing mothering rule number one is to keep one's child out of trouble, out of danger. By word, by voice, by order, by demand, by control. By anything. But these people insist on going against the rule of humanity and send children. Parents. Siblings. Themselves. Into certain harm. Even death. Political and religious evil leaders are fanatic in their hate. They know that as long as they can keep that hate burning, their wrongs perpetrated upon their own people will continue to be unseen, ignored. Thus, their power and its retention, their ostentatious outrageous lifestyles will go unremarked as their people are otherwise engaged.

Thus, once again we are at war. Last time I was there. This time, a week before we were to join with friends and family over there, in celebration and observance of Passover, we are cut off. By oceans. Oceans of water and distance. And oceans of hate.  Once again. We are here. To sit and worry from afar. To remain close to sources of news. And to obsessively check them countless times during the days and night. And we leave our siren and warning apps open. Why? Because it is one way. we can share some of it, a tiny modicum of it, with them, our people of our nation.

What upsets me? What upsets me the most? Not so much the pathetic acidic hate they carry within themselves. It eats them up from the inside out as they destroy themselves. No, what upsets me the most is our own people. People who are easily and equally subjected to random acts of terror. Of stabbings, of car ramming, of truck ramming, of bullets. Of home invasion. With aim and goal to kill as many as possible within.

Why do these people bother me? Because they speak out against their nation. They call upon us to deny our history. Even as we are supposed to adhere to a history of a people that never was Instead of being proud of our history. Of our contributions. Of our survival against the worst odds. Against the most horrendous unspeakable plans waged against us. They deny this. They shame us for remembering who we are. Where we came from. 

How and why, we find ourselves in this land of Israel. Time and again. Always. This ancient ancestral homeland from which we never resigned nor abandoned. and for which we always prayed. Over 3000 years of exile. Always, the Diaspora had in mind and heart a rebuilding, a return. In the full sense of knowing this, always was and always will be our homeland. Deny it as the rest of the world might find it convenient to do so, we know the truth. And we know the history. How we were exiled. How we came back, time and time again.

I don't know what the matter is with these people. I don't know why they think this way, perhaps hoping to escape the fate of the rest of the Jewish people. That is a fallacious manner of thought and history has proven that to be the case. over and over again. Even if they might see themselves as separate, apart from their people, the rest of the world do not see that as the case. Ever. They consign their own people. their own history to a trash can, to shove it over a cliff someplace, or to deny it.

The most amazing thing is that some of these deniers are otherwise intelligent people. Somehow, they have developed a warped sense of the truth of history. Or they have a deep need for denial of self.  A need within to distance themselves from their people. To express hate, contempt, discontent of and from them and claim great gaps between them, never to be bridged. It is these very same people who enable the slaughter to continue, as they encourage the enemy to think that there will be a way in. That they will be able to chisel out that small crack into a gaping hole through which they can come and carry out their worst intentions.

This will not happen. Not ever again. Yes, we can expect constant horror and awful trials in life. Such as October 7. Such as brutality waged against the hostages. With the world keeping silent about it all. As they thrust the truth into deep, dark closets, exchanged for evil lies to be presented before the world, and the world swallows it all.   

What's to say?

The same things we have been saying 

yesterday,

today. 

And most probably tomorrow.

Unless the people on this earth come to a sense of sanity and reality.

And understand

 Am Yisrael Chai.   

The nation, the people. of Israel live.

Lanetzach.

Forever. 

And to remember, for always, that we know we will survive because we have the strongest defender standing by our side.   

    

THE MAP? THE MAP?? WHO'S GOT THE MAP?

  And there you have it. We all have to return to the days of yore when Dora the Explorer burst onto the scene. More truthfully, the screen. And soon we were all singing about maps and knapsacks and how we did it. What exactly did we do? In this series, Dora and her various talking friends managed to actually make everything come out all right. It reassured little kiddies watching, along with parents and grandparents.

It was a good show for kids. Friendly, cooperative people and animated 'things', all working together in harmony, all odd man characters, all insolvable problems, brought into the fold, the issues were reduced to manageable and happy endings. All were able to sing joyously of friendship and cooperation, and all was well with Dora's world and that of the viewer as well. A good deal all around. Particularly so for the company manufacturing all the items that were so critical for the little ones to have. Good clean fun and profit, all in one lovely package.

However, what we missed then was the hidden theme beneath the songs and the smiles. There's a point there for the adults watching along with their little ones. Unfortunately, that point did not seem to make much impact. Hence, the world of the watchers remains in critical need of realization of the message, the search for an answer, and implementation of its understanding and analysis and a working answer to its call, its advice, and a solution forthcoming, so that all might sing happily by program's end. 

What was clearly there, visible in hindsight, eluded. those who were watching. More so the adults. The children bought into the whole gestalt of the program. Cooperation. A little creative thinking. An outstretched friendly hand. A synthesis between. humans and nature, and inevitably, all problems, all dilemmas, were reduced to manageable terms, and able to be solved to the satisfaction of all - the map and knapsack, the adorable, friendly, talking creatures, and Dora and Diego. The knapsack and the map always seemed to have that within which provided a key, a clue or hint, which, when taken up, led to the inevitable joyous ending. 

That understanding, enabling the resolution, neat, clean, and satisfactory all around, all was right with the world, was just a 'tad' irresponsible. It misled the little viewers to think that such behavior was the reality of the world outside their homes and we, the adults, encouraged them to think and believe that falsehood. Rightly so, as who wants to bust the bubble for the little ones, take away their innocence? No one - but at the same time, we, the adults who were watching along, we, the adults who knew better, missed the point. 

 The children imbibed within the mantra of the show, that all was possible, and nothing was insolvable. All it took was a little thinking, lots of smiling, strong friendships and cooperative natures. and nothing could or would stand in the way, resisting the inevitable 'goodness and optimism' of our friendly characters, irresistible to the combination of all the factors. We, the adults watching, bought into it. So cute for the little ones. Such good clean shows. No violence, no bopping anyone on the head. just perfect - and for the little ones it was, but not for us. We blew it. Totally.

We forgot that we lived in reality. A reality much uglier than was presented on the screen. Hands outstretched in friendship are few and far between. Even when come upon, around it lingers a somewhat dimming aura. Distrust. A questioning of the truthfulness of the gesture. And the hand to meet and shake is slow in advance, too often withdrawn before reaching the other. Opportunity lost. Situation possibly even worse than before. 

Furthermore, we forgot, over and over again, continue to do so, that we do not have magic knapsacks which inevitably produce what was needed to resolve the matter at hand. Too often our knapsacks were empty of anything and everything. which could possibly have provided if not a road to solution, at least a direction in which to go. Nor were our knapsacks always pristine and in perfect condition.  

Too often we looked at the ugly, worn-out condition of the knapsacks we carried. and decided that, no, no helpful moment within. No clues. No guidelines. No smiles and laughter emanating from that within awaiting the chance to prove ever so helpful. In fact, are our eyes and ears even attuned to hear those sounds signaling help and hope, or flags frantically being waved before our unseeing eyes? Are we too cynical, too distrustful of the motivations of others - even of ourselves? Hence, we are impervious to that which could lead to a joyous resolution.      

 Too often our eyes and ears are closed to those creative ideas which could lead to peace. Friendship. A world replete with stunning blooms. With sounds of laughter and aromas of peace and cooperation. Of optimism, joy, and faith. Is that in the same category of the impossible dream held within the heart of Don Quixote? Could we prevent the end of our show in implosion and instead coast smoothly to the solution clearly there? All we need do is be open to it. Could we? More importantly and relevant - would we? 

Are we in fact too hardboiled to recognize and accept the opportunity if and when it makes an appearance? Or will we resist it. Too fearful of taking the steps which would lead us in the right direction. At least enable more positive thinking. Better content of our knapsacks. Perhaps even a refurbishing of them. Would that it would be so easy. But the world of adults does not ease the way, not then, not now.  In fact, it is much more difficult. Situational resolution dances far ahead of us. Or behind us. But certainly not alongside us.

Clearly, we are missing some important piece which could possibly clear away the fog obscuring the path we need to find. It is that piece so critical to the resolution of our problems that we must find it, open it, use it, and follow its leads to where we need to go, rather than where we have so erroneously gone, in the wrong direction, in the wake of poor leaders, those posing great danger not only to our physical  selves,  but also dangerous to  our moral beings, our souls.  

Clearly, we have missed the point. Even as we sang along with Dora and friends, with our kids, all in fun, seriously, we do need a map. The map. While we cannot sing that we are the map. We must recognize the importance of having a map. One legible. Easy to read. Able to function in all situations and conditions. Be it online or in hand, as we open and refold along proper lines. As we hear clearly the directions. As we reach the destination desired, the one which allows for the best resolution possible. 

Yes, we need maps. So many and so soon. We need the help and recognition of the Chief Mapmaker. The One who enables the creation and use of good maps. The One who encourages us to find and follow proper leaders, not the ones encouraging division and violence, distrust and mistrust, poor expectations and little hope.

We need a good map. We need free voice to sing of the map we need. The one we can finally absorb and understand and follow. The one that will live in our hearts and souls, lead us along the paths where we must walk, and step forward in faith and hope. 

  Where is that map? Are we deaf to its voice calling out, "I'm the map, I'm the map? To read in true knowledge so that we might indeed achieve that possible resolution, the one that allows for singing, for laughter, for love and trust, for peace.  A positive resolution essential for the smooth functioning of this world. 

That was, in fact, the point. It did not seem to take. We remain in critical need of answers to key questions of each and every show, only this time the shows are real life, not the shows we produce for children. We were introduced to "the map”. The very one which sang joyously. That map which gave forth critical information necessary for the paths to follow and those to avoid.

Perhaps it is not too late for adults to learn. To take the lessons unspoken, but so clearly there, to heart. There are answers out there. There is hope.   But we must know that we must pay attention to our knapsacks. And their conditions, their contents. We must find and cherish those critical maps. The ones   warning us that beyond this point are dangers of such prominence and power that can lead to the end of the world as we know it. Here indeed are the dragons. "Here be dragons". In bold warning print. Be afraid. Be very much so.   

These are frightening times. Extremely so. At present we have two demented souls, in body and heart, yattering at each other. Throwing out challenges. Words calculated to offend and incite. In fact, to be honest. I do not think I have ever been more terrified for the future. This war seems to be wanted, and/or unable to be avoided. Due to the miscalculations of poor leaders and grievous errors   of the electorate allowing for their positions. 

This war, G-d forbid, is one to change the world in such degree and manner that we have never known other than in two times of war. It is devastating in possibilities and goes beyond any comprehension. The scope, the power, the involvement of all on the face of this planet - beyond true understanding.  

It will change the world. Not in any good way. If it even remains livable in circumstances horrid and real, not of the movies where solutions and rescue are at hand. No, this is real, folks. Real devastation and destruction. 

 When the smoke clears and the air is silent, split only by the shrieks of those living. Those wounded. When the planet is devoid of life, devoid of hope. Cries of the tormented, in body and soul.  

What then, people? What then? 

Yesterday.

Today.

Tomorrow.

Forever.

Why can we not get our heads and souls clear and find our map, our knapsack, and fill the world with the hope and happiness of Dora and friends?

Because we cannot or we will not? 

The choice is ours.

It has always been thus.

On us, Folks, on us.

Time is running out. 

Trump and Khomeini

May G-d help us, guide us.