170602
2nd
June 2017
Shabbat
Shalom! I hope you are well and not too disturbed by all the various news
reports.
If you
are surprised by the about turn on moving the Embassy to Jerusalem then
you have a very short memory! At least this time it is deferred by 6 months
rather than vetoed. If you remember Zvi and I were in the House when the vote
was taken- the 104th Congress Bill 1322 "The Jerusalem Embassy
Act" enacted on November 8th 1995. It passed the Senate by
93-5, passed Congress 374-37 and was enacted by the 10 day rule which is when
the President fails to sign or veto within a 10 day period. In other words the
democratically elected bodies overwhelmingly passed it but all Presidents
"vetoed" it. Why? It was said that in general they were piqued that
the House ignored the Foreign Policy of the United States. Ergo, the State
Department didn't approve. Sounds like an extreme case of "Yes
Minister" to me. https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/104/s1322
Canon
Andrew White loves ice-cream. In fact he loves anything sweet but
especially ice-cream. He used to take children from his congregation at St
Georges Church in central Baghdad for ice-cream at the very best ice-cream
parlour in the entire area……… but two days ago ISIS blew up the parlour he used
to take the children, killing up to 40 people and maiming many more. The area
is, or was, predominantly Christian. Such tragedy. In fact the Christian
community in the Middle East is slowly disappearing, subject to very real
ethnic cleansing. Bethlehem, for example. Bethlehem, the Holy Christian
City, site of the Nativity, was a Christian city, now has just 5% Christians
and life for them is tough. Our friend Boutrus called us the other day –
Boutrus is a house painter, a devout Christian, who cannot manage to earn a
crust in Bethlehem and crosses into Israel every day where he is welcomed. His
knowledge of Hebrew and Israeli history are unparalleled. Boutrus called
because his son is getting married and he cannot afford to give him a wedding.
Oh that we were rich and could help him. His is the plight of those left in
Bethlehem…….Horrific.
On
Shevuot religious people stay up all night praying and debating the real meaning
of the festival and of life. I know it is a "mitzvah" a right to do
that all-nighter, but I can tell them the true meaning of Shevuot in two words.
Tikkun Olam. The receiving of the Torah, of course, including the rules of
kashrut (kosher food) are the basis but the meaning, the true meaning, is definitely
to leave the world a better place than you found it. I believe that in we are
pretty good at obeying that principle. In general we give to charity, always
beyond the prescribed tithe; build universities and hospitals; are deeply
involved in medical research; surprisingly expert in agriculture; innovators in
water preservation, purification and desalination; we are great songwriters,
poets and artists; and of course philosophers – oh yes we are great
philosophers – which I believe comes from the sharpened mind of the Torah
student. We in Israel also give that knowledge freely to the world – to make it
a better place. MASHAV is a governmental body within the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs whose sole task is to help, not financially but with projects tailored
to each country's needs http://mfa.gov.il/MFA/mashav/Latest_News/Pages/default.aspx
and of course the myriad of NGO's which reach out in time of need. So perhaps
we have learned about Tikkun Olam, the lesson of Shevuot, through osmosis, absorption
through our forefathers – I don't know but it is worth noting that we reach out
even to those countries that do not recognise our existence.
I
try hard to understand how so many countries have swung left – Canada and
France in particular – when the pundits say that logic should take the vote
right in response to the horrific terror attacks around the world and the
general threat of ISIS. The latest shock is the UK. Theresa May was doing well
on the popularity scale and Jeremy Corbyn was a source of both fear and disparagement,
his policies (other than the social aspect) off the map left. He openly
castigated Israel although it is not in his manifesto, he stated that both
Hezb-Allah and Hamas are his friends, indeed he has taken the Labour party to
lengths that are very distressing and just about as far as Harold Wilson as one
can get, yet, despite all that, he is climbing the polls! How? Why? How can a
friend of ISIS climb the polls despite the horrific Manchester bombing? I am
confused and disturbed…………. But equally disturbed and worried that Israelis are
moving further right. I haven't decided if it is simply demographics of what.
In fact – perhaps it is demographics everywhere.
Zvi's
cousins Billy and Ruth Szapiro just left for London. I think that Zvi
has really given them a fantastic tour of every new thing in Jerusalem. Ha ha,
it is seems like an oxymoron to say "new things in Jerusalem" because
most of the amazing sights and sites are ancient but still fun to go to the new
ones. Last Shabbat, as I told you, I didn't cook. We ate the most delicious
Mexican food prepared by Ruth's sister in law Rosie. Rosie and her husband
Jaime and two boys came in laden with the most amazing delicacies, all my
favourite foods. Rosie is a professional chef and prepares for homes, events,
weddings and bar mitzvas – she's really good! Gosh, I ate too much but it was
worth it to see Zvi's joy at eating "Mexican".
This
week they went to the Childrens Museum on Holon and raved about it. They
were met by a very beautiful young woman who took them by the hand and
explained how she became progressively blind then took them into an area of
total darkness so that they could experience being blind themselves. http://www.childrensmuseum.org.il/eng/pages/childrens_activity/dialogue_in_the_dark.aspx
Yesterday
Zvi took them to the Islamic Museum where there are many exhibits including my
favourite, the horological exhibit http://www.islamicart.co.il/english/template/default.aspx?PageId=41&Preview=1
From there a quick trip to Mahane Yehuda
and home to rest before the big event. Last night was the opening of the Israel
Festival with a huge "Groove Party" concert in the Sultan's Pool.
Happily Rosie and Jaime came too and once there Zvi met up with our Australian
friends Deidre and Keith Beville. Apparently it was spectacular under
the walls of the Old City, very enjoyable but rather nippy!! http://israel-festival.org/en/
Talking
of Australian friends,
the last place I expected to experience Sharia Law is Australia. However
according to this article it is happening. https://www.
Three
important journeys
occurred last night. My sister Doreen flew to see our sister Eddie in Canada
and to meet our new found cousin Frank and his family; Billy and Ruth flew to
London and Josephine and Tom Linden landed in Israel!!! This is so
exciting because I have been nagging her for years to see the phenomenal
changes since her last visit and because I happen to love her! Once I have
finished writing to you and Zvi wakes up we will go to get them from their
hotel and show them the wonders of Mahane Yehuda. I truly am not sure which I
am most excited about – seeing Josephine or going to Mahane Yehuda!!!
The
sheer culinary delights would be "dayenu"
The
colours and aromas "dayenu"
The
characters, bustle and costermongers "dayenu"
The
incredible piles fruits and vegetables "dayenu"
The
freshly baked pitot and challot "dayenu"
The
amazing array of nuts and seeds "dayenu"
The
mountains of spices and herbs of every variety "dayenu"
The
fascinating arts and crafts "dayenu"
And
finally the tastings, coffee shops and restaurants complete the job.
Friday
in Mahane Yehuda
– enough to convince a man to buy a home in Jerusalem eh Andrew?
Almost
Shabbat.
Lecha
Dodi is a prayer said or sung to welcome the bride of Shabbat. It has been set
to every type of music – this is the most recent https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWmcQpzUMHY
In
Judaism, even though some aver that it is a Patriarchal religion, the woman is
revered above all else. In fact there is even a specific blessing said by the
husband before continuing with the rituals and traditions of Shabbat. I am sure
that ardent feminists would find fault with the words but they forget that they
were written in different times. "Woman of Worth" Eshet Chayil, sung
by the Barry sisters https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ilcSZQHhadc
Finally
– just for the heart warming, spirit lifting of this video as a little girl
performs for America's Go Talent and steals the heart of Simon https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bTMJwZNMXJ0
Shabbat
Shalom dear friends, I have to get ready to go to Mahane Yehuda – promise to
tell you all about it next week.
With
love from Jerusalem
Sheila
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