MAKING WAR, NOT LOVE

  For shame, Ron. Making war on a mouse?! Even though the mouse is controlled by humans, that mouse has become a standard, a beloved icon, a figure for children to hug, for people to enjoy. That mouse attracts visitors to the state from around the state, the country and the world. It is the Make a Wish or Dream Come True for so many ill children. Sure, no argument - it could be run better, fairer, yet that can be said about most industries and entertainment venues. Perhaps to a greater amount, more so, that is so applicable to the current governor and political party of Florida. However, the magic of that mouse is clear, apparent on the faces of visitors to his home, as the magic truly does make itself known. Despite the commercialization. Despite the fee gouging. Despite the crowds. So - how about a peace treaty, or is it that making war, rather than love is your way of life. Methinks that is so.

Disney was clever in their 'staying alive' move, 

" in an unusual legal maneuver that largely grants the company continued control over the district in perpetuity, or until "21 years after the death of the last survivor of the descendants of King Charles III, king of England."

Good old boy Ron is now maneuvering to interfere again. The inevitable plan is there for all to see - if they do not make themselves willfully, willingly blind. And can you not see the inevitable. Good for Ron with Disney is good for Ron with all industry. Even as he gains fascistic control over the lives of Floridians in his ruthless campaign to limit, even eliminate, their rights: censorship, meddling with the educational system and its content, wreaking havoc on historical truth and impetus, a fierce war on voting rights, and on and on. So too is his plan and path for control over all industry within the state. 

Woe upon the citizens who will pay the highway robbery fees and taxes, breathe the contaminated air, be negated as the war on LGBTQ+ intensifies, as people of all genders and ages lose control over their own medical decisions, not even owning their own bodies. But hey, what the hell - his lust for power, his constant itch to attain and retain control over all is so manifestly more important than other concerns. Feeding the hungry, housing the homeless, rescuing the elderly living on old, fixed incomes, unable to buy food or medicine as their insurance bill triples. 

Paving the green areas, clearcutting the trees in the name of more taxes, as the Florida we love disappears under concrete and rows and rows and rows of identical, cheaply constructed residential and business housing, with most of these supposed homes empty much of the year unless rented out to visitors - yes, to visit that dear little mouse that Ron so obsessively hates. And by the way, Ron, so many of those homes in the massive, ugly developments are owned by huge conglomerates, hotel chains, etc. as part of their money-making portfolios. As huge tracts of business condos are polluting the environment while previous tracts continue to remain vacant or under occupied. But evidently Ron likes another cartoon figure - Bob the Builder, whose motto is 'Build we must." Why not make war on the builders after obscene profits and to hell with the quality of life, never mind the buildings and their astronomical prices rather than warring with the mouse?

This movement of greed, lust for control, unfair business policies, reckless disregard for the wishes of Floridians, declaring war on huge tracts of blessedly undeveloped land, diminishing the watersheds and agricultural preserves with pathetic excuses for "swap" jobs is so wrong, so terrible, so un-American, is so inimical to the good life for people. Other than for the uber wealthy and/or uber powerful who march along leaving a trail behind that equals the destructive nature of Sherman's march to the sea.

There are so many other areas which need interference as they have deteriorated in quality and accessibility. Why do we have homeless living in areas where there remains coverage via trees? Why are so many begging along the corners of major roads, even women with children. Why are so many going without medical care, inadequate care at best, with hospitals deteriorating, fees skyrocketing, and doctors disappearing or charging concierge rates. Go pay for that when more doctors or more extensive care is needed! But I guess the taxpayers of Florida have you covered, so "what, me worry"?

This whole country, this once determined, proud democracy, a role model for the world, imperfect as it was, is now at the tipping point. Do we remain a democracy? Do we welcome in the new generations of hopeful immigrants? Do we insist on turning back the clock to the rotten 'good' old days of restrictions on women, children disposable, not worthy of care even as we force women to have them, of rampant civil rights offenses and limitations, of Jim Crow laws for all, of growing violent antisemitism and a growing population of the uneducated or miseducated, patently indoctrinated? And always with their six shooters with them.

The other side is much better, more human friendly. When one is not in need of anything, life is good. But for many, there is a growing and even desperate need for aid. The paths of life have become more complicated and many times difficult to access, especially in a continuing manner. Why is it that care for a desperately ill child must visit several states in order to attain proper treatment giving hope to the child and family? Despite the caring nature of the medical personnel involved, despite the wonderful help given to desperate families by volunteers, the drain, the difficulty, the enormous expenses involved - why must that be? Why can we not reorder our priorities and bring life to a better plain, where right, justice, equity are primary?

If you have an answer, please contact me, or better yet, contact Ron, right there in Tallahassee - when he is not campaigning, moving along his fascistic program, wishing so generously to extend it to the entire nation. As far as the mouse, well, we will probably have to mount a rescue mission.

We also ask that we keep the rescue effort alive and well, praying, wishing, hoping, for Yitzy and a complete healing. A desperately ill child becomes the focus of an entire family, the first questions in any conversation being "How is Yitzy? Have you heard anything today? What is next?"

Today, thanks to the aid of so many, the advances of medicine and the ability to access them at present, the tumor has shown some shrinkage. We rejoice even as we know we must be careful and alert. Months of chemo and radiation await. Continued shrinkage and death to that tumor are the goals. In the meanwhile, Yitzy is the bravest person I know. Magnify your reluctance to go back to work on Mondays, or after vacations - and you might get a scintilla of understanding of the heroism of this child and his immediate caregivers - his parents and siblings. The reluctance, the knowledge of what awaits is there, front and center, and despite all instincts otherwise, goes in to face that disconcerting 'atonal music'. That hopefully healing 'atonal music'.

Our world needs help. We are drowning in a sea of hate and violence. We are drowning in a swamp of misplaced emphases and priorities. We have the capacity and capability to be better, and often are. But our world need healing, as do all the people within the population of this planet.

Join in together, hopefully, with open hearts -

 HEAL THE WORLD.

HEAL YITZY!

Yitzchak Elimelech ben Chana Sarah

May he be granted refuah shelaymah bimheyrah beyameinu. 

May he be granted a timely and complete healing.

May Hashem hear all our voices raised in prayer. 

Amen. Amen.

NEVER

  Never is a long time - or, conversely, no time at all. It is a concept which, when thought about, is quite difficult to both understand and set into motion. How does one begin "never"? How does one ensure that "never" actually happens, for that would immediately negate its meaning, or intention. Once initiated, well, never then ceases to exist.

Defined in the dictionary as "at no time in the past or future, on no occasion, not ever" as well as "not at all". Can you think of one thing that fits that definition? And if not in the past or future, does that mean that the present is exempt from the "never" idea? Thus, we can postpone the initiation of "never" whenever we wish, when it is in the present? Think about it, its implications, and if your head does not spin, well, you are a better person than I.

Take a look at the 'nevers' in your life. Never have I ever thought there would be yet another time in my life when I stood helpless, afraid, frightened to the depths of my core, my very being, but here I am once again. Never was a very temporary state of being. Once gain I stand by, helpless, unable to do anything to save a life, a life I would give my life for, having to leave that job in the hands of others.

My oldest was almost lost to us several days after birth and continued for several years, and even into adulthood as complications arose, some extremely critical, pushing the envelope of "never". Now we stand by again, watching from the sidelines as yet another 'baby', our youngest grandchild, fights an existential battle, the outcome determined by others, the procedures available, and the mighty chorus of thousands of voices raised in prayer for his recovery. All we can do is add our voices and be supportive. Period. A long time to be unable to undo "never".

Additionally, as a Jew, as a person aware of history, the term and concept of "never" takes on another meaning, again existential in nature. This is the concept of "never again". "Never again means living as a Jew. It means walking around like a proud Jew. It means not cowering in the face of other religions - (or other forces) - that for the moment seem stronger." 

Think about the implications of that paragraph. Never again to walk in fear. Never again to be slaughtered wholesale, 6 million plus individuals, their pasts and futures wiped out. Over and over again. Never again - yet there it was, once again, initiated by a nation deemed to be one of the most civilized ever, replete with culture. Evidently culture did not reach nor affect the idea of hate beyond any ever seen or initiated before. A concept greatly to be abhorred, consigned to the hell where it belongs. Yet there it was - and here it is again.

It matters not the form of the hatred, the murderous intent. It matters not the "cause" of it for such hatred, such murderous intentions have no justification. NEVER. Some look to blame the victims while others decide to be 'evenhanded' and seek blame on both sides of this horrid equation. Both are wrong. The violence, the brutality, the distortions have no justification. Ever. Even the punishments must be by the law, despite all the times that law has been turned against the Jews, justifying actions by those who knew better, yet claimed they were only following the law, obeying orders, like good little boys and girls.

Over one week Israel and all Jews commemorate, mourn and rejoice, shifting emotions literally from one hour to the next. It is a time of tears and mourning, a time for joy along with a dread of the future, and most certainly the present. Never has grown no roots here in this land of milk and honey, and blood. Its history is the real-time, lifetime, proof of the truth of Kohelet, written by King Solomon, wise, which tells us, warns us, and assures us, that there is a time for all beneath the sun and sky. 

So first we commemorate, in tears that never seem to run dry, the Holocaust, when Jews came closest ever to being erased from the face of this earth, to be consigned to one of the ancient nations, defeated and of no further consequence. The entire country, no matter where one is, walking, at home, on highways, at the wail of the siren comes to a dead halt. That same halting is repeated as the nation mourns the loss, of soldiers, civilians, men, women and children, who continue to die as they dare to live, defend and protect the lives of others, the right to live safely, finally in a land of their own. Much blood and sorrow. Many mass burial ceremonies of victims who dared to live as Jews, the grief smothering the very air.

Life goes on as by late afternoon the radios play somewhat less dark national songs, raising the weight of the grief a bit, until finally, as the sun sets, the nation of Israel, proud, determined, celebrates its Independence. 75 years and going strong. No matter what the outside world sees, the nation unites when danger appears, when victims of hate die, again, always, never to be never. But never again certainly has its place here as the new song, Here Forever, proudly proclaims, vows, determined to remain in fact, never ever to change that fact.

Egyptians. Medes. Greece. Romans. Persians. The nations of the world. State and private sponsored hatred and murder. Cossacks. Ukrainian kulaks. Einsatzgruppen. Gas and bullets. USSR. So called Palestinian terror groups. False practitioners of Islam. Self haters. Bishop Fulton Sheen. The KKK. Marjorie Taylor Greene. Jim Jordan. Rashid Tlaib.  The Oath Keepers. The Proud Boys. It matters not the name of the disguise. We will always triumph, at great cost, but then again - we are Jews. We have and will always defeat them.

Am Yisroel Chai. 

The nation, the people of Israel live.

Holocaust (Shoah) Remembrance Day

Yom Hazikaron - the Day of Remembering and Mourning - of soldiers, of Holocaust victims straight off the boat, the victims of hatred, the lives of the slaughtered, the pursued, as they lived and died in Israel.

Independence Day. The name says it all.

And so, we continue to carry our responsibility to live, to worship G-d.

To be a light unto the nations of the world (not always successful at that, are we?)

Until finally we will beat those swords into plowshares and nations shall not raise arms against another. War will never be again.

And all along we continue to strive to

 HEAL THE WORLD.

HEAL YITZY!

Yitzchak Elimelech ben Chana Sarah

May he be granted refuah shelaymah bimheyrah beyameinu. 

May he be granted a timely and complete healing.

May Hashem hear all our voices raised in prayer. 

Amen. Amen.

BLESSED SILENCE

  Many cultures and religions have folk wisdom similarities, including the one which emphasizes the thought that wise people keep their mouths shut until and unless there is good reason for speaking and being quite sure that what is going to be said has merit. Would that the talking heads of politics today, of religion today, had internalized the wisdom of that idea. In fact, they babble and bubble, sending forth thoughts that at best, are simply inane, to the worst effect of suborning people into erroneous thoughts and actions. Worse is the fact that these ridiculous words from openly insane legislators further erodes one's confidence in the ability of our legislators and government officials to resolve issues in competent nonpartisan manner.

How is it that presently indicted criminals were able to blind people at election time, despite clear evidence of criminality, venality and plain old nastiness. How is it that dumb as dumb can be is elected to office where they have a national platform from which to spout their dangerous inanities. For every ridiculous statement there are believers who chant the falsehoods that spew forth from these dangerous idiots. In fact, I have now come to believe that a neutral sanity test is necessary. Testing for mental stability, a modicum of knowledge, a connection to reality, and an ability to distinguish between the real and the so obviously not. If only. If we had that, well, Trump would have been avoided. Boebert would have been muzzled, and Greene, that psycho who sees wandering zombies in the streets of NYC, well, she would have long ago been consigned to the locked wards for people who are deemed capable of harming themselves and others.

To be fair, perhaps it has become more difficult to distinguish the real from the unreal as technology enables strange things to happen. It seems real, even as we know they are not, cannot be. For example - Israel will soon celebrate its diamond anniversary, 75 years of triumph and despair, 75 years of anguish and joy. 75 years of a country which is the only place on earth which always and forever welcomes Jews, provides a refuge for the oppressed, serves as a place for those fleeing persecution and hate, can find a safe landing place and a place where they can flourish. A land of advances in medicine, technology, philosophy, as well as stupidity and the curse of greedy politicians, lusting after power, to the point of detriment for the nation. Yet it is also a land where people come out to protest the wrong, to prevent the wrong from happening.

Next week will see a joining of the various points of this posting. A new song, Here Forever, is to be sung in the voices of Ofra Haza and Zohar Argov. I do not know the words, as the song will debut next week, but one can guess at the encouragement, the defiance, the assurance, the firm commitment and reminder to the world that yes, Israel is Here Forever, despites all attempts to destroy it. It is a throwback to the music of Israel as it once was, replete with songs of love of land, of hopes for peace, for assurance that no, not again, not another Jewish state to be destroyed, not another time of mass massacre of Jews wherever they are. Here Forever is their assurance of safety and permanence. Most amazing - these two singers, well known and beloved, Ofra Haza well known for her rendition of Chai - Life - which said to the world - we are here and will remain so forever. We are alive! Forever, will sing together, alive, on stage, in full voice, visually, auditorily, in their own voices. Hitch - they are long dead, for many, many a year. Yet Israeli ingenuity has created a path for this song to be presented by the two singing in their own voices, real on stage, alive and in full voice. Amazing!! Cannot wait to hear and see this.

The real and the unreal. Borderlines between them grow indistinct at times and we must make the effort to discern those items and know, deep down know what is real, what is not, what is harmless and what is indeed very capable of inflicting harm to a person, a group or a nation. It requires us to know when our dreams might be pursued to realities, but we also must be able to distinguish the dreams from the facts, whether we like the reality or not. Only when we can do so, can we move forward. Only then will we be able to distinguish dreams from nightmares and react and behave accordingly. Only then.

My living nightmare, and more importantly, Yitzy's living nightmare are examples of living nightmares, of a definite reality, yet capable, we hope of being turned from nightmare to damned good dream, to a reality greatly to be desired, striven for, slogged through every and all blockades till we make it happen. The complete healing of a young boy caught in the nasty mesh of a nightmare, ugly, painful and simply awful beyond words adequate to verbalize their reality.

We will not give up on our dream. As Israel celebrates its 75th birthday, in this current manifestation of the Jewish state, as it brings the dream alive and strives to stamp out the clinging nightmarish parts which tag along, we also will celebrate a birthday. There is a knowing, deep within, that says Yitzy will be healed, yes there is great power in the voices and prayers of so many who call for his healing, for him to be restored to his life as it should be. Not a nightmare, but rather a dream of possibilities.

There are times for blessed silence, where silence is, in fact, golden. However, there are times when silence must be punctured, allowing for positive sounds, good vocalization to take place. Such is that time now.

Let us hope and pray for world peace, for Israel to celebrate many, many more birthdays and for Yitzy to get all better. Let us

 HEAL THE WORLD.

HEAL YITZY!

Yitzchak Elimelech ben Chana Sarah

May he be granted refuah shelaymah bimheyrah beyameinu. 

May he be granted a timely and complete healing.

May Hashem hear all our voices raised in prayer. 

Amen. Amen.

"NOT LOSING HOPE"

So states the latest soul caught in a Russian web of treachery, arrested as a 'spy'. Yet another innocent victim caught in a mess not of his/her own making, merely a pawn in a deadly game of chess. Imprisoned, awaiting 'trial' and sentencing, an inevitable ending to his mis-arrest, he bravely states he is "not losing hope". Yes, at some point, he will be ransomed by the USA after they agree to some unbalanced trade. That might take a week, a year, or decades, as other unfortunates have discovered, much to their dismay and the agony of their families. 

However, look around at the rest of the world and wonder if we can keep on hoping, or have we reached yet another point of no return, similar to the environmental cataclysm awaiting us. Have we allowed another life change to overtake, to destroy whatever hope we had, or might still have, that there is time to turn around the existential threat to democracy. Can we still turn aside the retreat into the autocratic past into which too many of the ragged disgraceful remnant of the GOP wish to reside.

Roadblocks proliferate at exponential speed. Soon we will be back to those infamous 'test' questions given to potential Black voters in the segregated South. Soon we will completely disenfranchise college students who vote at their colleges and universities as they tend to vote democratic and Democratic - anathema to that tainted GOP.

Retrogressive bills are passed every day. Abortion access denied, criminalized.  Backward states take on the federal government in attempts to cut off safe alternatives. Rights of women - and their life partners, families, are given no choice at all, in this case or in the world of transgender people. The rights of LGBTQ+ are being shredded, returning to the days of Stonewall. Their marriages unrecognized, their right to be parents denied and even their existence negated as to utter the word gay in too many schools is a major sin! Come to Florida, that not so sunny state under the advancing fascistic thumb of De Santis. We are even banning books, engaging in wholesale censorship - and will we be returning next, with the burning of people to follow, as night follows day, arresting those who displease us, asking for informants and spies to report 'offenders'?  

Think this is over the top? Think again. Take a look oh, some ten, fifteen years ago and then compare to today. What has changed? What unthinkable events have become real, even approved, aided by supposed defenders of the nation. Think of the complicity of Justices of the Supreme Court, now pants baring their oh so ugly rear ends as past offenses come to light. And yet - there they remain, in all their glorified, partisan ignorance and stupidity. Along with those incompetent judges appointed by that alleged traitor and indicted criminal, Trump. There the traitors of the J6 attempted coup live in splendid positions, supported by our tax funds, even as they conspire to destroy America as is or was, as is always meant to be.

These are the same people who wish to undo the social advances we have made, the safety net which catches the food insecure, the mentally ill, the unemployed, those needing medical care, so expensive, those caught in a mess as they attempt to build better lives for their families, as they immigrate to this once welcoming country. Now, the lamp of the Lady of the Harbor grows dimmer, falls lower, day by day.

And I wonder. My grandson, Yitzy, struggles day after day, wondering why this is happening. He grows sad, thinking perhaps it is somehow his fault. He has no appetite to eat, and so fades away day by day. Think of a life where one has no choice but to go every damned day to a place where your body is given treatments that wrack it. Now repeat the next day and the next and the next and on and on.

Hating the work week is not comparable. Sorry, folks. Nor is this easy to explain to a child, even as it is so difficult for an adult to begin to fathom the life changes involved. And yet, what is the choice. So, parents, against every atom in their bodies, take their aching children to a place where more aches, pain, will be inflicted. I admire beyond words the courage of the parents, the determination to follow through and cry later.

Tears are an integral part of life today. I can cry as I watch our country disintegrate, as some actually cheer it on, refusing to see past the trees, to the forest of truth. And I cry when I am told Yitzy is sad and I cannot do anything, nothing, to ameliorate the situation. I cannot take his pain upon me. I have tried and pleaded for that but nope, nothing doing. No toy, no book, no game, can erase that sadness, that bewilderment, the grief that his day for bar mitzvah approaches, yet no party, no public celebration. It will have to wait. We are determined to make it happen and double rejoice at a positive conclusion after 42 weeks of treatment. 

42 weeks!

But we too will not lose hope.

For all that time we ask that you stick by us, with us. Your good intentions, prayers, vibes, whatever, have helped. We know so! Continue to remain with us as we all attempt to -

HEAL THE WORLD.

HEAL YITZY!

Yitzchak Elimelech ben Chana Sarah

May he be granted refuah shelaymah bimheyrah beyameinu. 

May he be granted a timely and complete healing.

May Hashem hear all our voices raised in prayer. 

Amen. Amen.

PITCHFORKS AND HAMMER HANDLES

 I came across this phrase in a book I read over the past few days. "Raining pitchforks and hammer handles." I fell in love with it. So much better, so much more expressive, so more apt for our current situation than other phrases. No dream of cute little puddy tats and doggies floating down to us. No, it is the truth. It is the phrase of the time, when hard, hurtful, sharp things - statements, open hatred, violence, rain down upon us with the killing power of pitchforks and hammer handles. A throwback to more primitive weapons than are used today, yet still quite capable of killing, are they not. Perhaps symbolic also of the primitive level to which we have fallen, reverted to in our spite and anger, in the growing chasms within and without.

Duck as you might under this deluge there is no hiding from it. Be it the new terminology of a world riven with disagreements of deadly content - atmospheric rivers and training storms, global warming and desertification - or the stark growth of violent hatred and primitive emotions and motivations that should long ago have been declared extinct, the sharp points of the pitchforks and the strong, solid handles of the hammers will find you.

One day we will all understand that there are indeed reactions to every action and reactions to the reactions until we have come so far down a foolish and deadly road that we have forgotten why and how we ever stepped onto it and continued down its lanes. We have lost the methodology and the brain power, the will, to escape this dead-end road and so we slog on, growing ever more helpless and hopeless. Is there no way out? No exit ramp?

Perhaps, but they are silting up quickly, losing visibility and access. We indulge in the indulging of the lowest common denominator among us. We champion and cheer on those who urge the purchase of their self-praising books, even as they work so hard to limit the access to all books, seeking to censor any and all which oppose their views. I refer you to DeSantis on that. We elect people such as Cruz who sponsors a bill urging two term limits for senators and then runs for a third term. 

Or we raise haters, dangerous intellectually challenged vicious creeps such as Marjorie Taylor Greene, into seats of power. And we condone sheer dishonesty and incompetence of too many judges, including Clarence Thomas of the Supreme Court who has such a cozy relationship with a right winger whose cases have come before him, or the idiots who backed Trump in his seeking to escape rightful prosecution and the absolutely safe pill for abortion, and all abortion no matter the cause or reason, negating women in the process.

At times this oh so damaged world, these foolish people who do not see they are electing their own enemies truly depresses any thinking person. These are the legislators who demean the name and the position, traitors to their country and their constituents. They strive to limit the right to vote, access to voting, destroy the safety net which allows their constituents to feed their children and get medical care for the family. And still, the people vote for them in their delusions and ignorance.

But that which truly breaks my heart is the call after the holiday to check how Yitzy is, how he reacted to the daily chemo this week, holiday or not. I hear in my son's voice that there is not such good news. I wait, heart beating a mile a minute, pounding away. The good news, the great news, is the doctors are pleased with the response to treatment, some shrinkage, but caution there remains a long, hard slog ahead. Good news from Israel, even as the world cheers on their slaughter, as they bury the third pair of siblings murdered this past month, age 6 to age 21. They are working on a new treatment for solid tumors and are hopeful, very much so. 

However, the next sentence makes me cry, breaks that pounding heart, shatters it into pieces. Yitzy, so brave, so good, is sad, deeply sad, not understanding why this has happened to him, when will it ever end, when can he return to his life?  Why must he always go to chemo, have a strange tube inserted into him, feel nauseous beyond words? 

There is very little to say to console him. My son and I feel helpless, unable to do that which we are supposed to do - protect our kids, keep them safe from harm and hurt, but how so in this case?  No toy or book, or gadget will cheer him up, break down that darkness that descends upon him. Understandingly so. How much can be demanded of or understood by a kid. It is hard enough when we deal with an adult in similar conditions. But a child? How? How?

And so I cry.

And so I hope and pray and beg and plead with the One Above to spare my boy.

I pray for a successful treatment and a speedy one.

And I argue with G-d every single damned day.

And I ask of you all to continue your good wishes, sending them our way, praying, reading Tehillim, lighting candles, being there for Yitzy and his family.

And so I continue to cry, in the middle of the night and hope that we can 

HEAL THE WORLD.

HEAL YITZY!

Yitzchak Elimelech ben Chana Sarah

May he be granted refuah shelaymah bimheyrah beyameinu. 

May he be granted a timely and complete healing.

May Hashem hear all our voices raised in prayer. 

Amen. Amen.

Read and Weep

 

Maia and Rina and the power of the Jewish soul

We as a society can absorb this horror without turning into people who seek vengeance like our enemies

Another vicious act of terror that shatters the soul. Maia and Rina Dee, a Jewish family from Efrat deliberately targeted and murdered, shot to death in their car during Passover, the holiday of freedom. The mother, Lucy, fighting for her life in a hospital, critically wounded, and two young sisters dead. The photos in the paper, the funeral attended by thousands, the sadness and incomprehension. And yet, this is not abnormal for our lives here in Israel. Unfortunately, tragically, it is part of the rhythm of life here.

So what is there left to say? That we feel sad, hopeless, crushed and shattered. Again.

Twenty-two years ago, my 13- year-old son Koby and his friend Yosef Ish Ran were deliberately targeted by terrorists when they cut school and went hiking in the canyon in our home. They were bludgeoned to death with rocks. Since then, I have witnessed the horror of terror. So many victims:  Dahlia Lemkus from Tekoa, in her 20s, an occupational therapist, run over and stabbed. Elan Ganeles, from Connecticut, here to celebrate a wedding, shot in his car.  Young adults beginning their lives – families left in devastation. 1,420 victims killed by terrorists since 2000. Most recently, Hallel and Yagel Yaniv, two brothers shot in a car. Another set of brothers, Asher Paley, who was 8 years old, and his younger brother Yaakov, killed at a bus stop in Jerusalem. Too many to remember. Too many to name.

And what is the response of the Efrat community to the latest atrocity? Instructions to escort the girls’ bodies to their funeral with flags waving, to come out and show the family that the entire community stands with them. It sounds naïve and innocent. Yet there is something powerful about this response.

Because the Efrat community did the same for us 22 years ago. And as we drove through those people flanking our car on the way to the cemetery, waving flags, it did give us comfort. It almost felt like the power of a sea splitting for us, as the sea parted for the Hebrew people during the Exodus. A hint of redemption. But more basically: someone knew. Someone was there. People cared. We were not alone.

I want to say something about this horror, but it is impossible to say anything new. And that is exactly the point – we are in an ongoing war that seems to never end.

The nation of Israel has crevices in its soul – cracks, fissures, fractures, ruptures. All of us are touched by suffering but the families who lose their loved ones are the ones who carry the greatest pain and are forever changed. Haunted. But not necessarily hardened.

So when Hamas praises the shooting of Maia and Rina Dee, calling it a natural response to the occupation, there’s something so callous, hideous, and cruel about that statement, that we are forced to confront our enemy’s utter lack of humanity.

At the same time, we must recognize and praise the fact that – although we don’t want to and it hurts to do so – we as a society can absorb this horror without turning into people who seek vengeance like our enemies. Of course, we seek justice.  But justice is different than vengeance. In our case, Koby and Yosef’s killers have not been found. But our community has continued to grow and prosper. A new neighborhood was built in response to the boys’ murder. My own family created The Koby Mandell Foundation to help other terror victims. We were able to transform the cruelty of the boys’ murder into kindness that we continue to give to other bereaved families. We still suffer. But we have not turned into monsters.

Other families who have lost loved ones have also turned their pain into constructive acts of kindness, as well as a search for justice. That is the power of the Jewish soul.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Sherri Mandell is co-director of the Koby Mandell Foundation which runs programs for bereaved families in Israel. She is the author of the book "The Road to Resilience: From Chaos to Celebration." Her book, "The Blessing of a Broken Heart," won a National Jewish Book Award in 2004. She can be reached at sherri@kobymandell.org

RELATED TOPICS

• Death and Mourning
• Terrorism

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NO POST UNTIL FRIDAY

 Sorry folks not feeling that well today. Will post again on Friday

NO, NOT RAINDROPS

  No, despite all the wishes and denials, it is most definitely not raindrops running down the face. No, it is those same damned drops that should long ago have been dammed up, ended, its cause eliminated. But, no, on it goes and on it goes and on it goes.

Of late, I have come far too familiar with the need to cry. Generally, it is when I am hit by a tidal wave of surreal disbelief. No, it cannot be true that Yitzy has cancer. It cannot possibly be true, and soon, very soon, cannot be soon enough, I will wake up from this nightmare and all will be well once again. That bright child should be out playing baseball, celebrating holidays with his family, going on vacation trips, wandering the parks and forests of nearby areas, keeping his amazing and impressive bird watching journal.

 No, as much as I wish, as much as I deny the truth, those are not raindrops, but teardrops. These drops will, we pray, so many praying alongside, joining, melding their pleas with ours, will transform into tears of joy when we get the final news of a complete and total never to return report. But until then, we will continue to drip those tears, knowing they are so not raindrops, and wait, wait, wait, for the best news possible. And believe.

Also of late, those not raindrops have been joined with the not raindrops of fear and protest and anger and hopelessness. When, when is enough enough? Have we not faced sufficient over the top displays of ruthless, bloodied hate? Have not enough Jewish children been forced to realize the unbelievable, yet so tragically true? That one is in danger simply due to the fact that one is of Jewish origin. Are those tears flooding the plains of my face ever to go away? 

Am I to cry for the duration of Yitzy's chemo and radiation treatments only to cry anew at the existential danger he faces, he and others of Jewish origin, that to some, too many somes, value them less than trash? That around every corner, every curve in the road, danger lurks. Because they are Jewish, tormented and targeted by a hate and haters who never go away, but wait, hidden in the darkness below until summoned forth once again by the worst aspects of humanity. Because and only because they are Jews. 

Benjamin B. Ferencz, aged 103, the last surviving prosecutor at the Nuremberg trials. But the scourge he fought remains alive after him. His particular area of expertise is the Einsatzgruppen, those traveling gangs of murderers, Germans and their local collaborators, who killed in a hail of bullets in what is known as The Holocaust of Bullets. Whose murdering squads killed and buried, dead and alive, hundreds of my father's relatives in 1941, filling the ravines of the land. The ground continues to heave.

The funerals of two sisters, beautiful, full of life and goodness, killed, murdered in yet another Holocaust by Bullets, shot because and only because of hate, of Jews, slaughtered as they lay helpless in their rammed car, as 22 bullets were shot into them by a murdering coward. So their friends sang sadly, eyes and faces dimmed by tears, sang songs of faith, of belief that they were awaiting their friends and families in a better place. Where being Jewish was not a capital offense. Where peace and truth live side by side. As truths are unveiled so clearly that even the blind can and will see the truth.

Today, though, Jews live once again, forever, it seems in a world which does not want them, only their mammoth contributions to mankind, in every field of endeavor through centuries of persecution and death.

Our world needs help. Last night we watched the first of seven episodes concerning endeavors of Varian Fry and his group of brave souls who risked their all in the effort to save Jews, refugees in fear for their lives, no matter their contributions, famous and not famous, simply people. Why? Because  no one else stepped up to do the right thing - so they did. Coincidentally, one grandchild recently wrote a research paper on Fry and his Commitee. Watch it. It is streaming.

Ani ma'amin b'emunah shelaymah

I believe with a full, complete faith.

But, dear Lord, for how long?

For how long will we fear for our children, our future. 

But till when, dear Lord, till when, for how long must we cry those teardrops of blood and agony.

How I, we, so long for the sounds of laughter.

When will we finally be able to 

HEAL THE WORLD.

HEAL YITZY!

Yitzchak Elimelech ben Chana Sarah

May he be granted refuah shelaymah bimheyrah beyameinu. 

May he be granted a timely and complete healing.

May Hashem hear all our voices raised in prayer. 

Amen. Amen.

THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS

  No, not the one we all know from our dear friend Alice, but a looking glass of the future, as someone from several centuries down the road peers through it. Asked to explain what was seen, the response was, well, it is unexplainable. What took place during the first three decades of the 22nd century is totally unbelievable, yet there it is.  Simply put, the most powerful country on earth, special from birth, serving as an example to so many who desired freedom from tyranny and a working democracy, America, went down a bizarro path to authoritarianism, open fascism, and finally self-destruction, taking along the world, the earth itself. 

Forgetting the lessons of history, America turned inward, turning to an outmoded policy under the name of America First, or some such name. It forgot that one cannot isolate on the same globe, that one thing affects another, no remaining aside or immune from the wars and the storms and the winds of hate.

The signs of rot were there, for all to see. The tragedy was that no one was willing to look, to peer into the inevitable failure of the path they had chosen and its dead ending for humanity. Yes, the quality of aspirants of government employment was definitely below par, a distressing trend. However, our structure of government had enough room for checks and balances, surely, enough to ensure the safety of the country, the integrity of its public servants, and do the heavy lifting. For sure, it was widely, tragically, thought, the idiots, the far out there, would not, could not, prevail against good old American common sense.

Along came Donald Trump, the first American President to be impeached twice, escaped consequences, due to the intransigent nature of a tattered and shameful GOP. More of this ilk rose to the top of the garbage heap of government, and the tragic train of events came into play. Openly treasonous, greedy, out for themselves, members of Congress, were voted into office by a confused electorate, unable to sift the truth from the chaff of lies. People with single digit IQs, dirty mouths, no souls and stone hearts, came into office, and our fate was sealed. 

America had lost her way, strayed too far from her foundations to return, to salvage anything from the mess. Fascist legislators and the governor of the first openly fascist state in America, Florida, sealed the fate of the nation, forging the way through brambles and nettles which sapped our strength, our brains, and all dissolved in a miasma of hate, baseless, violent, primitive hate. 

Sealed and settled.

 What could be expected from a governor who waged war against a mouse, one named Mickey, no last name, with dreadful waste of time, money, resources and blood, of the slain soldiers of the governor's private militia, paid for by the mistreated weary electorate.

The rest of the world followed suit. Bastions crumbled, small nation states arose and failed. Lives were cheap, resources slim and disappearing, and hope was a fugitive never to be caught again. 

At last, tired, broken, destroyed by constant explosions of ever more powerful weapons, a broken destroyed beyond repair environment, the world imploded. 

 Earth was no more. It is now studied as a lesson to be learned and taken to heart.

Where was G-d?

Were there not enough good people to avert the dooming of Earth. No chance at all?

Well, put yourself in G-d's place as He looked down upon the mess His creatures had made of His magnificent gift. No, He was tired, very tired, and could not gainsay the inevitable.

 Indeed, a lesson to be learned - before the fable becomes truth.

In the meanwhile, while we wait, work, to see if we can indeed salvage our future, take back the country, return to true values, think of a little boy who celebrated an important Jewish holiday, one espousing freedom, and the responsibilities that come along with it, unable to join in festivities, unable to recite the Ma Nishtanah, an important part of the Seder, the festive meal, and a duty delegated to the youngest at the table. 

How many other kids and adults and teens and the elderly are lying in bed, awaiting aid, awaiting a cure, an alleviation of pain. How many could have been cured if we had money for research and affordable medicine. How many!! But instead we build armaments enough to kill the planet many times over. Or we decimate our stockpile of weapons as another nation fights our proxy war. For a good cause, but could we not have found a better way?

In the meanwhile -  for the sake of all those in need, including my Yitzy, all sick children, all adults needing help let us raise our voices in sincere prayer and let the power of those prayers 

HEAL THE WORLD.

HEAL YITZY!

Yitzchak Elimelech ben Chana Sarah

May he be granted refuah shelaymah bimheyrah beyameinu. 

May he be granted a timely and complete healing.

May Hashem hear all our voices raised in prayer. 

Amen. Amen.

A DAY LATE AND A DOLLAR SHORT

 Actually, I wonder if that adage of the title has a meaningful place any more within the lexicon of adages.  Though we are plagued by countless emails ranging from actual ones to spam and to absolute filth, there actually are no more excuses to be late on or for anything. Too many reminder emails cancel any "I forgot or had no clue". As for the dollar short well, it is more and more difficult to find vendors who will even accept cash! That stash of emergency cash on hand for power outages and disasters will come in handy but till then - keep your cards ready and belong to several pay sites. 

As for the dollar - soon people will consign it to the status of the penny. It will remain on the ground, deemed unworthy of the expenditure of energy to pick it up. In fact, in many stores today the clerk will ask if you wish to roundup and donate the change to one charity or another. Most agree, relieved to be free of the noisy, heavy coins. But I still bend to pick up, for all does accumulate. I can remember when finding a penny or whoa! a larger coin made a kid's day. Why skip that memory. Pick it up, smile at the memory and then donate. Simple. 

Much has changed over the years. I can recall, not so long ago, how I was pressed for time, harried and pressured to be ready for Passover on time. The complications and hassles of being a working mother and wife - ugh!! Do not miss that - for sure. Life changes. Yesterday, as all around scrambled to fulfil their roles in the preparations, I sat there, like a queen, albeit a damaged one, healing from yet another fall, more broken ribs, a bloody black and blue eye, a bum leg, and the aches and pains of the previous fall still hanging around. Oy!! The pleasures of aging. However full disclosure, supervising is lots of fun.

Much has changed. I never thought I would ever see that man indicted on anything and be brought to court for arraignment. I look forward to seeing a replication of that scene, that wee little perp walk, only this time for heavier charges - like treason.  Now that would be nice. A lesson to all -adults and kids alike that no one, absolutely no one is above the law. A lesson we all seem to have missed, been absent that day.

The Democrats won yesterday in Wisconsin but the speech of the loser, though quite skilled in alliteration, evidently, was rank with insults and sore loser status. Handshakes? Being a grown up? Gone with the wind. Our latest crops of wannabe leaders and rulers have much left behind. Morals, values, proper behavior, decency and respect discarded, and nastiness full steam ahead. Trust in our institutions has been heavily eroded. 

But tonight, we will sit at the seder remembering a time when life was awful. We were slaves, fearing for our lives and for our families, subject to physical abuse along with the rest of it all. Then we were freed. And then began the process wherein we remembered and forgot, time and time again. We lost faith and trust in our institutions, were lost in a forest unable to see an end to it. The latest reminder was six million plus reminders, and I hope, truly, that this time around we remember and share those memories with all. A world remembering, recalling, worse times and how we came back from them and perhaps we can do the same again. If we improve our recall. If we dredge up the courage and sense of right and wrong, all of which seems to have been covered over by layers of muck and grime. Then encased in cement to be sure.

This holiday time around, be it Passover, or Ramadan, or Easter, let us remember the truth of these holidays. Not the violence of modern times but the peace and unity which should be clearly seen in true religious observance. Not the violence of the past, greatly erroneously interpreted and perverted, but the ones that preached peace, shared values, strong belief and trust in whatever Power we worship, whatever name given. That is how we honor and commemorate these sacred times.

And for the sake of all those in need, including my Yitzy, all sick children, all adults needing help let us raise our voices in sincere prayer and let the power of those prayers 

HEAL THE WORLD.

HEAL YITZY!

Yitzchak Elimelech ben Chana Sarah

May he be granted refuah shelaymah bimheyrah beyameinu. 

May he be granted a timely and complete healing.

May Hashem hear all our voices raised in prayer. 

Amen. Amen.

Please, a reminder of my own - for the next three days I will not post due to the holidays. Be back on Sunday. Enjoy your holidays, whatever they are. Take the time to catch up with postings that you might have missed.

WHAT'S TO SAY?

  To answer the title question - sometimes a lot and other times the body language will do the job. Sunday evening that dangerous imbecile Greene made several outta' sight statements as to the imagined pedophilic world of the Democrats. This woman is so demented that one wonders if there is any grey cell of sanity left alive in that mostly empty head. 

And yet, and yet .......one also wonders if that head is indeed empty. She has come far from her beginnings, turning so rapidly from semi-sane moron to a most dangerous, powerful persona with McCarthy as her openly declared puppet, and capable of rousing thousands of similarly demented, wrong way thinking supporters. These are the people who have been warned "You're not storming the courthouse." 

Full disclosure, I would rather be in a crowd of protesters at Trump not being mugshot, handcuffed, or told to wait through the process in a cell. To forego these standard procedures is to validate his 'specialness' and he is so not special, other than in the scope, the breadth of his alleged offenses. He is an indicted criminal, accused of felonies, even of treason - and I hope to the heavens that he faces all these charges in courtrooms awaiting their role in history. So, handcuffing -why the hell not? Older, fatter, wounded characters are handcuffed so why not him? 

Alongside Trump should be those guilty of insurrection, of violence against the citizens and residents of this country. Those who open their mouths to spew forth vitriol must be silenced as their speech goes far beyond the concept of free speech. Stahl's shocked face, rolled eyes, moment of silence and a whispered "wow!" actually said it all. No voluminous Wikipedia article necessary.

What's to say? Lots, at the right time and with the right words and a process in motion to repair the damage done and mete out earned consequences.  At times silence is in fact golden, says far more than vocalizations. We must learn to recognize situations, analyze carefully and do the right thing with the correct process. Sadly, over the last decade plus years we have lost that ability or worse, willingly discarded it alongside the crooked path of our travels. Either way - not good and deserving, needing of attention and repair.

What's to say? The prayers necessary and welcomed for Yitzy, for his healing, for other besieged to be healed as well. And alongside the individuals, must be our nation, our world. All desperately need healing.

HEAL THE WORLD.

HEAL YITZY!

Yitzchak Elimelech ben Chana Sarah

May he be granted refuah shelaymah bimheyrah beyameinu. 

May he be granted a timely and complete healing.

May Hashem hear all our voices raised in prayer. 

Amen. Amen.

UH, ANYONE HAVE A MAP?

 Ever have a nightmare where you are lost in a world you do not recognize? Feel the fear as it takes over, no path to take, no aid available and you are up that proverbial creek without a paddle. In fact, you do not even have a canoe or raft or anything that floats. And then you wake up. Gasping, looking around, confused as to how you got here, wherever here is. In the minute or seconds or whatever time length it takes to correctly place you in actual time and space, the fear remains, the heart beating, beating. Next time you have this dream, you think, you had better have a map. 

However, what if the nightmare is representative of a true reality? What then? Can a map be found? Is there even one in existence? Yes and no, for while it is a certainty that others have had similar realities, no one ever had the exact same reality as yours. We each are individuals, the same, yet different. The question is, which is more powerful -the similarities or the differences?

So today, tomorrow, for months to come, my realities, personal and communal, or social, relating to the world at large, remain mired in a land which does not exist. should not exist. The first, the personal, is a land of fear, of hope, of prayers, of anger. How could this be? Even now, weeks after the initial shock, I scream into the air with anger and confusion. Sweet, golden little boys anticipating bar mitzvah do not get cancer. They don't! It is so unfair! 

And then I stop.  We can never understand the thinking of the One Above, the ordering of the universe according to different rules beyond our comprehension. We can pray, we can organize, we can marvel at the advances science has made -yet not nearly enough, nor soon enough. 

The doctors extend threads of good results, but the only thing that will satisfy me, the true paddle for that missing canoe on that creek, is a complete, total healing. And while we are at it, why not rid the world of this whole damned thing; eradicate it from the world, so no more little boys are forced to be braver than most adults. Furthermore, G-d, while on the topic, explain to me, if You can, why You would even allow such a scourge to exist on Your world. 

Why the hell indeed!!!!! 

The other reality - that of a political climate where abhorrent people such as Marjorie Taylor Greene are given audience, a platform, on which to speak and spew dangerous, vicious inanities, reeking of sulfur, from the hell she wishes upon us.

But I have no time for her today. At this point it is up to people to realize what she is, who she represents, what future she wishes to shatter. She is for another day, for today I have time for family, holiday preparations, thankfulness for a medical field which has persevered in a difficult search for a cure to all forms of this diabolical enemy - cancer. Today is a day to thank the dedicated and caring health professionals and volunteers who make this difficult world just a tad easier to live with. But yes, I confess, that anger remains - along with confusion - and hope - and gratitude to all who have joined us in this fight.

No complete map yet but we are working on one together.

And always, always, remember -

HEAL THE WORLD.

HEAL YITZY!

Yitzchak Elimelech ben Chana Sarah

May he be granted refuah shelaymah bimheyrah beyameinu. 

May he be granted a timely and complete healing.

May Hashem hear all our voices raised in prayer. 

Amen. Amen.

TO CARRY

  The dictionary definition of "to carry" is "to take or support from one place to another". It involves transporting of something, the bearing of something. The noun form is 'carriage', the "act" of carrying or transporting. One can carry actual things, taking up space, having matter, or they can carry ideas, good or bad, some of which contain little of importance, while others can change the world, and in fact, have done so.

One can also carry emotions, love, hate, indifference and anything in between. The content of these particular "carriages' are of great import. Apathy is acquiescence to the lowest common denominator of society, generally the ignorant, those plagued by false beliefs and biases. Silence is to allow evil to succeed. Thus, carrying nothing actually is carrying something. Apathy does have a consequence.

These days I carry with me, wherever I am, whatever my activity, the burden of worry, of love frustrated as little action of consequence on my part is available. Only love in the form of prayers and hopes is available and this 'carriage', this limited act of carrying, is depressing, discouraging, as one can see little immediate physical results of those prayers and hopes, and the applications of harsh chemo and radiation. But that is what we have. 

One seeks to find something, anything which validates the hopes, in hours without nausea, with minuscule shrinking of that blasted tumor, with enjoyment of a book being read to him, and the purchase of the entire series. Best of all, rarest of all, is a face time with that besieged, brave little boy, much changed, yet always, carrying that signature grin on his face and the sweet wave of a hand in lieu of a physical, real-time hug. G-d, but I miss those hugs. I ache for them.

And in moments of contemplation, I wonder why we spare the time for negative carriages. Why do we carry around great big lumps of hate? Why do we transport evil, favoring it, applying it, consuming others with its fierce destructive power. Why do we insist on its continued existence, fighting for it, supporting and carrying it, that which is acidic, eating away at the foundations of a good, righteous, caring society?

Picking up a paper, or checking online headlines is enough to ruin the day. At times it is mindboggling. Tonight, there is a 60 Minute program with an interview of Marjorie Taylor Greene, a psychotic, waste filled bag of hot air, stupidity, menace and trouble afoot. She is a moron. She is a conspiracy ridden fool. That she is a Congresswoman does not bode well for the future of American democracy. She has risen from pariah, in her denial of 9/11 to the position of power behind the throne of McCarthy, Speaker of the House. Shame and woe upon us. Why the Hell are we giving her yet another opportunity to spew her filth, particularly into the ears of those willingly deaf to all other than that which emanates from her twisted tongue, a river of filth, hate, of lies, of clear immediate danger.  

Push has come to shove now. An evil proposal has been made for a 'national guard', in Israel, in reality a private armed force, a la Brown Shirts of Hitler, responsible only to its head. It is the same thing as the evil militias, so not law abiding, of White and other extremist groups. It is as bad as the minimization of the Holocaust by right wing extremists who equate the masses of wedding rings stolen from soon to be murdered Jews to the act of instituting some kind of realistic gun control. Evidently the murdered millions are of little value. Nor are the bodies of children slain by a gun toting killer. Guns? Now that matters! Just ask these people. 

            "Omnia mea mecum porto."

A Latin adage translating to: "All that is mine I carry with me."

It is our choice to believe or reject the rot presented to us by false leaders.

It is our choice to support those so not meant to be arbiters of society.

It is our choice to carry what we do and what we leave behind.

It is our choice and responsibility to carry the good values with us, to transfer their carriage to the next generation.

Push has indeed come to shove. There is no more time for us to dillydally and find excuses for evil, for purveyors of lies and danger, for those who think they are above the law or who wish to pervert the law.

Time to choose what side we are on. 

Who we are.

And always, always, remember -

HEAL THE WORLD.

HEAL YITZY!

Yitzchak Elimelech ben Chana Sarah

May he be granted refuah shelaymah bimheyrah beyameinu. 

May he be granted a timely and complete healing.

May Hashem hear all our voices raised in prayer. 

Amen. Amen.