Our Chai Aliyah Anniversary

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Today is the 1^st of May and at the end of this month, my husband, son and I will celebrate our 18^th year of Aliyah. Our Chai anniversary.

Chai (חי) is a Hebrew word and symbol that means “life.” It is spelled with the Hebrew letters chet (ח) and yud (י). Because it means “life,” the Chai is consequently a symbol that captures an important aspect of Judaism.

According to the gematria, which is a mystical tradition that assigns a numerological value to Hebrew letters, the letters chet (ח) and yud (י) add up to the number 18. The chet has a value of 8 and the yud has a value of 10.  

Chai is a popular root word in Hebrew names. Chaya, derived from chai is a popular female name in Hebrew, and Chaim is the male version. The biblical Eve's name is חַוָּה Chava in Hebrew, also derived from the same root chai.

Eighteen years ago on May 29, 1994 we boarded EL AL at Toronto International Airport, with 12 pieces of luggage, mostly boxes to come home. In those days you were allowed three pieces of luggage plus one carry on.

As EL AL was approaching Ben Gurion Airport, the loud speaker went on and music filled the plane. Ha’venu Shalom Aleichem was playing over and over and I was crying, so happy to be home and to be reunited with the rest of our family, our two married daughters and three little Sabra grandchildren. Baruch Hashem today we have been blessed with thirteen grandchildren. Our oldest grandson is a chayal in the IDF.

Our daughters had come to Israel a year and a half apart, as seminary students, fell in love with the country, and decided to remain and make Israel their home. 

The girls met their Israeli husbands and settled down. Both only wanted to get married in Israel and so we made two Israeli weddings.

Living in Israel is not easy. It takes time to adjust to the Israeli way of life. Most things you need to do, medical appointments…you are invited to see the doctor, banking, shopping etc. are not done the way they are done in your old country. Food is different. Your eating habits will change. Red tape is unbelievable. Patience is the rule of thumb.

Israel is rich in Jewish history.  You can tour and visit the many places that are mentioned in the Torah. Israel has the bluest sky and its national flower, Callanit is a beautiful red wild flower.

Israelis love to drink mud Turkish coffee, our favorite expression, no matter the situation is “yehieh beseder” [it will be okay].

Politics is the most popular discussion, every citizen and non citizen has an opinion how to run the government and army. And of course all kids play soccer or football as it is known here and basketball. 

Israel is in the news everyday. We are just a small country surrounded by enemies who want to see our destruction. I fear for my country. Our precious homeland has known many wars in our short 64 years of Independence. Israel must double its population. We must always be the majority. We have room for every Jew. Aliyah is the only answer.

Making Aliyah is a major decision, one that can not be made on ‘one leg’. It affects the entire family young and old.

For our family, living in Israel is an honor and privilege. We are living in our Jewish homeland and full filling our dreams. This is truly ‘life’. May we celebrate many more ‘Chai’ anniversaries.

Until next time…...feel free to comment and share.

Miriam   

Please have a look at my recipe blog 'From Miriam's Kitchen'

http://miriamsrecipes.blogspot.com/                 

A Strange Feeling...............

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Living in the Israel’s South, we hear booms and aircraft on a daily bases. Some booms are from the IDF practicing at a base near by, some booms are the grad missiles that the terrorist from Gaza aim at us to main and kill and other booms are from the IDF defending us.

One day last week……………………

While sitting in my kitchen

Waiting for my student to arrive

A very strange feeling

Came over me.

 

Can’t really describe it

Sort of felt like

Butterflies.

 

The sun was shining

The sky was as blue as blue can get

Not a cloud to be seen

And gently the wind blew.

Then it happened again

Those butterflies

Floating around

And around and around.

Is there a message

To be told?

Is the siren about to wail?

The unusual quiet was deafening.

My front door vibrated

A great big rattle

No jets in the sky

What can it be?

Is my imagination

Running away

With me?

 

Now two minutes later

The quiet is broken

Boom!

 

So goes life

For us citizens

Who live

In Israel’s South.

Until nest time. Feel free to comment and share..............

Miriam
Personal Note:   Please have a look at my blog Oh, Those Golden Years. Are They Really Golden? in The Times of Israel  
http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/oh-those-golden-years-are-they-really-golden/      

Words of Wisdom……….

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Several years ago when I lived in Modi’in, I belong to a weekly ladies group from Project Seed [for Torah learning]. My chavruta,[learning partner], a young woman from Kiryat Sefer and I studied the Tehillim. I always had a fascination with its powerful words and after learning it’s deep message, my Tehillim came alive.

 

At one session, the organizer of our group gave us an inspirational, self help book called Keep Smiling by Avraham Tzvi Schwartz.

When I have more on my plate or just feeling down, together with my Tehillim, this book gives me a real pick-up. I have read and reread its words many times, and each time I come away with something else. 

In the introduction the first line says so much. We all have difficult things to do everyday. The common advice in such situations is ‘grit your teeth’ but, there is a better way to handle disturbing and difficult situation. Smile.

 

The introduction goes on to say that Hashem wants our lives to be pleasurable and it is up to us to make it happen. If we think, this situation is a test for me and it will eventually enrich me materially, physically and make me a better person. With this thought it is easier to keep smiling.

 

Smiling is very contagious. A good morning or boker tov with a warm smile can make your family members, co-workers or neighbors start their day by returning the smile and saying "same to you".

For years the discussion of how many muscles does it take to smile or do we use more or less muscles smiling than frowning has made the rounds. The consensus is that the experts agree to disagree.

There are 43 muscles in the face and many say that no one has really come up with a definitive number for how many muscles it takes to smile or frown. Remember one person's smile is another person's smirk. Smiles vary from a wide smile cheek to cheek, a half smile [the smirk] or a short smile to show politeness. And on occasion we even fake a smile.  

And if we use the muscles in our eyes, mouth and forehead to show expression when we smile or frown, once again the number of muscles used changes.

What I really enjoy about my book are the short sayings in a poster form that introduce the chapter or next paragraph. For example in a chapter about taking control of yourself one poster says: To build your personality, you need discipline. Another says: Act with joy and double your strength.

In a chapter about setting goals for yourself one poster says: Give power to your prayers. Have Goals. Another poster suggests having a keyword.

Life is not a bowl of cherries as the saying goes. Everyone has their own package. Trust in Hashem and gain the freedom to love your life is the way my book ends.

Until next time…….feel free to comment and share.

Miriam      

Can You Believe That.............

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Moadim L'Simcha
Can you believe that Pesach is more than half over. Just last Tuesday I was finishing the final jobs to have a kosher for Pesach home. This morning, I started cooking and freezing for the end day and Shabbat.

Seems to me that I am always in the kitchen either cooking, eating [I do a lot of that on Pesach] or washing dishes. The cycle just repeats itself day in and day out.

Now don't get me wrong, I am very thankful that I have who to cook for, but it would be real nice if for just one meal I could sit down, close my eyes, wish for a great meal and viola it appears on my plate.

After I enjoy every mouthful of this delicious meal I clap my hands three times and the dishes wash themselves.

Oh well, It was fun dreaming.....

By the way, dreams sometimes do come true.

Have a great Chag and Shabbat Shalom.

Until next time...feel free to comment and share.
Miriam

P.S. If you are looking for a couple of great non kitniyot recipes, please have a look at my blog 'From Miriam's Kitchen'. I posted recipes for Pesachdik bourkas and chocolate chip cookies.   http://miriamsrecipes.blogspot.com/ 

And What About The Animals.....

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Shavua Tov!

 

Baruch Hashem all day Friday and Shabbat the South was quiet. Residents of the South know this is just a temporary reprieve. How long will it last..a day or two, a week, a month. Who knows…your guess is just as good as my guess.

During this rain of missiles, a segment of Israeli society that the media did not report about are our four legged pets and farm animals.

Living on a Yishuv we have many dogs and cats.  The cats hid under cars and the outside dogs howl. These poor creatures are terrified.

There are residents of the South who have left their homes because of missiles and have unfortunately left their pets behind to fend for themselves.

We have a neighbor who ran away last Moetzie Shabbat and left their beautiful Labrador puppy alone outside.  On Monday, I saw the dog rummaging through the garbage and realized that she had no food.

I brought her a large bowl of dog food and a bowl of water. I never saw a dog eat so quickly.  She was famished. 

My friends who have dogs all say that their pets are suffering and that their behavior during this time is not their norm. Some have stopped eating, they need and want extra attention and others just bark morning, noon and night.

We have a sweet eight month old Beagle mix that lives in the house. Patches is traumatized, suffering from anxiety from all the noise. She is terrified of the sirens, booms and helicopters and barks like crazy whenever there is a siren or boom.

She is so afraid of being alone and doesn’t let us out of her sight to a point that she scratches and bangs on the door when we are in the bathroom or taking a shower. All Patches wants is to be patted and  played with all day long.

During this past week, every morning I have woken up to find Patches sleeping in my bed even though her bed is in my room…  She just doesn’t want to be alone. Last night was the first night she slept all night in her bed.

Down the street from us there is a family who raises chickens and ducks. The roosters ‘cockle do a do’ for hours after a boom. The chickens scurry all around the street ‘like a chicken without a head’ bumping into each other or anything in their way. 

I’m not a vet, but I’m sure they are reacting from fear.

Across the street from us is a Moshav that has farm animals. Usually they are very noisy only in the early morning and at dusk. During the day we rarely hear them. This past week, we heard the sheep, goats and cows all day long. They too are suffering from the terror.

Now I don’t know if the booms are causing the cows to produce less milk or the chickens to have less eggs but it wouldn’t surprise me if it does.

Why did I write this posting? Because I would like you to see that every segment of society, men, women, children, the young, the elderly, our pets, farm animals and strays are suffering one way or another from terror. Enough already….this is not the way for any of us to live.

Our elected government has a duty and responsibility to each and every citizen to keep us safe and not live in fear. The time has come for the government to prove they are worthy of being our government and put a stop to any future terror.

Until next time

Miriam

Enough! An Open Letter to our Prime Minister.......

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For more than ten years terror has been the way of life for the residents of the south. The palestinian terrorists who live in Gaza have been attacking us with their kassam and grad missiles. The terrorists fill the missiles with ball bearings, nuts, bolts, screws, washers and many other sharp metal objects to do the most damage.

You must understand that missiles are not firecrackers that make a loud bang. Missiles are weapons that can and do maim and kill.

Since this past Shabbat, we have been under seige once again. Over 150 missiles have been fired at the south. Today and until it calms down, 250,000 children can not go to school. Families have seconds to get to shelter when the in coming missile air raid siren is sounded. 

I personally have had enough!  I sent this e-mail to our prime minister this evening. If you want to write to Mr. Netanyahu his e-mail address is http://www.pmo.gov.il/PMOEng and click contact us...

Shalom Mr. Netanyahu

I am writing to you as a resident of the south, my family lives in Ma’agalim. We, the residents are being held hostage by the kassam and grad missile barrage that is presently being carried out by the Palestinian terrorists who live in Gaza.

 

As a tax paying Israeli citizen, Mr. Prime Minister, I would like to know what you and your government are doing to put a stop to this terror for once and for all.

We have had enough lip service from you…time for real action. We have the best army in the world. Our chayalim and chayalot are very dedicated young men and women. Time to show the arabs what dedicated chayalim who love our country can do.

Know one likes or wants war but sometimes this is the only answer. To the palestinians, dialogue is considered as weakness, they only understand brute force.

You must order Barak to give the order to the IDF to clean up Gaza and not leave until the job is totally finished.  If Barak refuses to send in the troops, fire him! You are the prime minister and not him. The buck stops at your desk.

 

Let me tell you what it is like to live in the south…we are always waiting for the other shoe to drop…. seven of my grandchildren, who also live in Ma’agalim have known so much terror in their young lives.

I couldn’t care less what Obama, Clinton, the U.N. or any other world leader has to say and you shouldn’t either. It is your job to keep us safe. The pals don’t want peace, you know that…they want every piece of Israel with all of us floating in the sea. Time to standup and show them who is boss.

Trusting you will do the right thing and clean up Gaza.

Sincerely yours

Miriam Goodman

Ma’agalim 

The Continuous Reign of Terror in the South................

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The rain had stopped for a few minutes and we took advantage to get Patches, our Jac a Bee puppy, out to do her business.

It was 11:30a.m. Shabbat morning, Avraham had just come in, and we were going to sit down for our Shabbat lunch, when the warning grad missile siren blared…we have fifteen seconds to go to our safe spot in the house.

The siren was unseemly long and we suspected it was headed for Beer Sheva. We then heard a loud boom! The grad missile landed in the fields of Moshav Sharsheret. Two more missiles landed outside of Beer Sheva. Hamas had once again disturbed our Shabbat.

In the south we are very fortunate to have a silent Shabbat Station. Radio Darom 101.5 FM. Every Friday at 4:05 the radio announcer says Shabbat Shalom and then the station goes off..complete silence. It goes back on a few minutes after Shabbat, Beer Sheva time.

If there are incoming missiles, the station goes on with a siren and announces where the kassams and grad missiles are headed. This time the announcement was Moshav Sharsheret, Netivot and Beer Sheva.

We live in Ma’agalim, a minute from Moshav Sharsheret and 9 kms. from Gaza. Our yishuv was started by many of the children of the moshav. Many families here have parents who still live on the moshav. 

My son-in-law is from the moshav.

The media reported no damage or injuries but this is not quite true.  Yes, there weren’t any physical injuries, but what about the emotional injuries that a siren causes. And the boom…children and the elderly are terrified.

What people who don’t live in the south fail to understand, is that a kassam or grad missile is not just a firecracker being thrown that lands with a boom, it is a deadly weapon that can maime and kill.

Hamas wants to kill each and every man, woman and child. Why you ask? Because we are Jews and live in Israel.  They don’t want peace. They don’t really even want a state. They want the glory of being able to say, we defeated and threw the Jews out of their homeland.

If G-D forbid this would happen, the land of Israel would become another terror state.

Just look what Hamas did with Gush Katif. Thirty odd years ago, this piece of barren land was settled by Israeli citizens who loved the land. They cultivated the land with loving care, built communities, homes, businesses, schools. The Gush was blooming.

Five years ago, close to ten thousand Jews were forcibly removed from their homes and land. We left all the community centers, schools, buildings, and greenhouses. Beautiful and well equipped parks were also left.

The government insisted this action was necessary because it would bring quiet and peace to the south.

Did Hamas take all that they were given and make the lives of their fellow arabs better? Did they stop the terror of shooting rockets? No they turned each and every inch of land into a terror camp.

Us citizens in the South, faced a barrage of rockets. Thousands and thousands of rockets have been aimed and sent to the south.

Hamas terror reigns in the area.  As I write this blog early Monday morning, two more grads have landed in Sdot Negev, my regional council.

Israel and the Negev is our home. Nothing will ever make me pick up and move to a safer area….because no area in Israel is truly safe.

It is the government and IDF’s job to take military action against Hamas and stop the terror once and for all. All we can do is pray that The Hand of Hashem will watch over us and keep us safe.

Until next time. Please feel free to comment and share.

Miriam     

On Moetzi Shabbat...............

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From the time I was a little girl, I can always remember on Moetzi Shabbat, my mother would sit in the corner of the kitchen and recite a tefillah [prayer] in Yiddish and cry. When I would ask her why she was crying, she just answered because……….

Gott Fun Avrohom, [G-D of Avraham] in English, is a very beautiful tefillah that women say three times at the end of Shabbat and just before havdalah.

In this tefillah, the Jewish woman is asking Hashem to bless the members of the family with everything good for the coming week.

May Jewish women continue to pray for their families and may G-d always answer their prayers.

This poem is in memory of my mother a”h whose yartzeit is Erev Pesach.
 
Gott Fun Avrohom
This beautiful prayer
my Mother would say
at the end of Shabbat
so many years ago.

Composed by Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev
in the Yiddish tongue
a language
many Jewish children today do not know.

Several years ago
while checking out a new prayer-book
I came upon my Mother's prayer.

Reading it’s powerful words,
immediately I knew,
these were the words I wanted to say
at the end of Shabbat
and to start the new week.

G-d of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob
protect your people Israel
is the first sentence of this prayer.

The Tefillah (prayer) continues to ask
the holy One, blessed be He,
that the coming week bring
perfect faith, love and attachment
to the Creator, friends and scholars.

We request at the end of the prayer
that the coming week should bring
kindness, good fortune, success,
good health, wealth, honor,
children, life and sustenance
for us and all Israel.

So ladies, don’t delay
when the Shabbat ends,
before we enter the week,
take a few minutes
and recite this prayer three times.

You will see,
you will feel
a special warmth
and a new meaning
to the start of a new week.

Until next time...feel free to comment and share.
Miriam                         

Welcoming Shabbos to our Home...........

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Erev Shabbos! For me this is the most beautiful night of the entire week, the time for the four r’s …. reflect, relax, read and rest. I love to watch the flames of my shabbos candles gently flicker, as I wait for Avraham to come home from shul.

The lighting of shabbos candles is of rabbinic origin. [Maimonidies, Hilchot Shabbat 5:1] and it is traditional to light two candles, zohar to remember the Shabbos and shamor to observe the Shabbos.

Remember the Sabbath day to sanctify it-Exodus 20:8

In our family, we have a tradition to light one candle for each member of the family. Baruch Hashem, I light twenty candles.

May we always have bright light!

 

Sitting around the shabbos table singing and welcoming the shabbos and knowing that we are not going to have to gulp down food because there are so many other things to do, is a welcome relief.  No phone, computer, television to disturb the next twenty-five hours. 

We 'welcome' the angels who accompanied Avraham home from shul by singing Sholom Aleichem, (May peace be upon you).

We learn from the Talmud that when you come home from shul [synagogue] on Friday night, you are accompanied by two angels -- a good angel and a bad angel. If the table is beautifully set and there is a peaceful atmosphere in the home, then the good angel says, So may it be next week, and the bad angel is forced to say, Amen -- so may it be! But if the house is a mess (both physically and emotionally), then the bad angel says, So may it be next week, and the good angel is forced to say, Amen!

The song praising the Eishes Chayil of the home is alphabetical, with lines beginning with all 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet. It is a special tribute to the Jewish woman. This song, written by King Solomon, sings the praises of the “woman of valor,” extolling her for her love, work and the light she brings to the Jewish home.

Eishes Chayil is part of Sefer Mishlei, a Sefer of great wisdom. The Rabbis say that the “Eishes Chayil” in its deeper meaning, is speaking about the Torah. 

After standing for kiddush, washing and making hamotsi, our Shabbat meal begins. The food that we have prepared L’kavod Shabbos has a sweet special taste, the taste of Shabbos.

Shabbat Shalom to everyone! May your Shabbos be restful, meaningful and quiet!

Until next time..feel free to comment and pass around.

Miriam  

Out of the Mouth of a Bully...........

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We all know the famous sayings attributed to children……Out of the mouth of babes.... or Kids say the darndest things. Usually, the child is speaking his innocent view or understanding of life situations around him. We all laugh and say very sweet or something to that effect and share the cute comment with our friends and family.

But, what happens when what comes out of a child’s mouth is not cute, but instead hurtful, very hurtful at times.

Taunting or bullying in school, on the bus or on the playground is not new, but today, has come out of the closet so to speak and is a serious problem for today's youths.

Children complain of stomach aches in the morning so that they don't have to go to school. Young teens have been known to commit suicide because they could not handle the bullying. Facing another day for these children was just too painful.

The little children's poem "sticks and stones will hurt my bones but words will never hurt me" is just not true. Words do hurt and the pain can last a lifetime. 

Why am I bringing up this subject. An incident happened last week to one of my grandsons that has upset me very much. 

My grandson Nadav is seven years old, with an infectious smile, a heart of gold and peyos which he has had since he was three years old. Now he had peyos like his big brother.

Nadav is in Kita א [grade 1] in a Torani school and all last summer he couldn't wait for school to start. He was going to school not gan [kindergarten] with his older siblings. He would take the school bus with them and come home and do homework. He was so proud of his new schoolbag and supplies and showed them off.

Last Thursday, Nadav came home from school and after saying hello, his mother looked at him and said "Nadav, where are your peyos?" He replied, "I cut them off in school." Nadav then went on to tell his mother that one boy called him a very vulgar name referring to the peyos and was able to get some of the other boys in the class to join in and continue the bullying. Their teacher was not in class that day as she is off on Thursdays.

I don't know if they dared him to cut them, but Nadav saw no other option than to do so to stop the bullying.  

Devorah sent a SMS to his teacher who called back and wanted more information. She said she would call this boys parents and deal with the problem immediately, which she did. The teacher said said that on Friday she would speak to the entire class about how much words can hurt.

Thursday evening, Nadav cried and wanted his peyos back. Devorah explained to him that they will grow back but it is going to take time. He didn't want to go to school Friday morning, but Devorah convinced him that his teacher will take care of him.

Since time is a concept that is difficult for young children...on Shabbat morning Nadav said to his mother...."did they start to grow back yet?"

Teachers must be on the look out for the child that has to bully others in order to raise their own self esteem. These children are screaming for help. Parents have to watch for 'friends' that always have to be first or play the game their way and carefully encourage other friendships.

Please feel free to comment and share.

Until next time

Miriam

Mouth Watery Apple Crisp.......

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There is nothing as pleasurable as walking into a house where the smell of freshly baked cakes, cookies and pies are emerging from the kitchen. The aroma gives the house a very warm and inviting feeling.

As a diabetic I am always on the look out for good diabetic recipes especially desserts that I can make for Shabbat and that my family will also enjoy.

A couple of weeks ago I came across an apple crisp recipe that looked just mouth watering and easy to make.  I made it for Shabbat, it was delicious and I would like to share it.

8 or 9 medium size apples [use a mixture of colour and type]

1 cup flour [white or whole wheat]

1/4 cup matza meal

1 cup oatmeal

1/2 cup brown sugar or [brown sugar substitute]

1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 cup oil 

1/4 cup coconut [optional] 

Slice apples [peeling optional] thinly and mix with lemon juice.

Place on the bottom of a 10 1/2in. x 7 in pan.

I used a tin foil pan but a round 10in. pie dish will also work.

Pan will be full but will melt down baking.

Combine all the ingredients together except the oil and  mix well.

Slowly drip the oil onto your mixture until it is moist. [Start with 1/4 cup and increase slowly up to 1/2 cup depending how moist you want it.]

Spread your mixture over the apples evenly.

 

Cover with foil and place in a pre heated oven 350F / 180c and bake for 45 /50 minutes. 30 minutes covered and 15 to 20 minutes uncovered to brown.  When finished remove from oven and covered immediately. Serve room temperature or warm for serving. I put the apple crisp on the pleta after I removed all the food. It was nice and warm by dessert time.

ENJOY! 

Until next time please feel free to comment and pass along.

Miriam   

Winter Gardening............

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I have written many blogs about our beautiful garden. 

After many years of neglect, [we moved in 16 months ago] Avraham and I tackled the land cleaning, [more garbage than you can imagine], weeding, designing our garden and planting.

Our  house is on a half dumun of land with many fruit trees more dead than alive. So we had our work cut out.

By the Summer, the trees were producing some fruit and our garden was blooming beautifully. Truth be told, Avraham did most of the work. He babied the land diligently watering and weeding.

Many neighbours passed to say Kol HaKovad..the garden never looked so beautiful. Then, Baruch Hashem the first rain came and so did the weeds. Once again he weeded and cleaned up everything.  

But we all know what happens after a good rain and then brilliant sunshine....you got it... our weeds are growing and they are very healthy.

Our beautiful garden was a mess.

This morning, Avraham and I donned our work gloves, took out the turiya [hoe] and rake and started the ardent job of weeding down to the roots.

Overhead, very high up, we had the constant companion of helicopters circling Ma'agalim.

Our garden looks better. G-D willing, we will have more rain and the cycle of weeds will be back and Avraham will be out again tending our holy land.

Feel free the pass around
Until next time.......
Miriam

And so Goes the News............

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There are times that I wish I lived in a bubble…. never listening to the news, checking out news sites on the internet or reading the newspaper.

The news all around us is so horrible. Just this morning, I read about a demonstration the haredim organized Moetzi Shabbat protesting that the media is unfair to them.

Baruch Hashem, in Israel, if you have a cause and think your treatment is unfair you have the right to demonstrate. But, and there is a big but….why did they have to come out to the demonstration wearing large yellow stars on their clothes and their children decked out in stripped uniforms of nazi prisoners?

Do they think Israel is nazi Germany?. Do they think that the nazis would have allowed them to demonstrate the unfair treatment Jews were receiving on Hilter’s orders?

       

I wonder how brave these demonstrators would be if they lived during the war and had to really wear the yellow star. Sure they would be singing a different tune.

Shame on them.... what a chillul Hashem to the memory of Jews who were murdered for no other reason than they were Jews.

This nonsense blackened the good name of so many haredi individuals and groups who do so much for the Israeli population.  Zaka, Ezer Mizion, the countless numbers of gemachim and the list goes on.

Other news items today that got my goat. A Quebec City mayor, known for anti-Israel remarks, proclaimed in a television interview that Israel has no right to exist.

A community police unit in Kiryat Gat was burned down Saturday night and so far no one has taken credit for the arson. Wonder if it was a terror act?

Mortars are still landing in the south and over 3,000 illegal aliens mostly Africans infiltrated into Israel via Sinai in December. Why is the border open in Sinai and why aren’t we deporting them?

I have to agree with my friend Yocheved Miriam Russo who commented on one of my Facebook posting “Some days it hardly pays to get up and read the news, y'know?”

We are living in difficult times in Israel.  Our cousins want to destroy us. They send rockets to our cities and towns. Their goal is to kill and injure as many Jews as possible. We have helicopters, drones constantly. It is such a piety that we the Jewish people..Hashem’s chosen people can not get along.

A Jew is a Jew…nobody has stamped on their forehead.. I am left, right, religious, haredi or secular. If you are born to a Jewish mother [or converted according to halacha] you are a Jew. We need, no we must learn to all get along.

It is bad enough that our enemies want to destroy us, let’s not destroy ourselves.

Thank-you for allowing me to sound off.....feel free to comment and pass around.

Have a great week…  

Miriam 

Postscript!

According to an interview the founder of Zaka, Yehuda Meshi-Zahav gave to Israel Radio’s Reshet Bet Radio on Sunday afternoon, the hooligans are from the Neturei Karta sect who are now known as sikrikim.


Meshi-Zahav explained that these people are simply getting away with too much, and they are granted too much media coverage.


To read the entire interview The Yeshiva World 

Ode to the English Language………

בס''ד

For the past twelve years, I have been working from home, tutoring English as a second language [ESL] to Israeli children and running an English enrichment program for native English speakers.

Over the years, my students have shown me that for the most part the level of English that these children learn in school is on the low side, especially in the elementary grades.

I will never understand how or why children are taught to read in English but do not know the names of the letters or comprehend what they read. Many children only learn the sounds each letter makes. When it comes to spelling, forget it…

Now, I’m not talking about young children who are just starting to learn English.

I have some high school students who can read as well as I can, but when I give them a comprehension worksheet, they don’t know where to begin because they didn’t understand the story.

English should be, no must be a priority subject, as English is the language of business in most of the world. And if these kids are going to have a fighting chance to succeed in business, or whatever profession they choose, they need to speak, read and write in English.

I will tell you a personal story. Many years ago, my husband wanted to ask a question to the Rav who lived in our community. He needed to ask the question in English, as his Hebrew at that time, was not good enough.

Now I know this Rav’s father can speak English very well as I have heard him speak many times. We were sure that his son could also. To our surprised he couldn’t. The Rav apologized profusely in Hebrew that he didn’t speak English and told us to call the local Chabad Rav, as he does.

Several weeks later we met the Rav and he told us he was taking English lessons. He said that he never believed learning English was of any use to him, but he sees that he was wrong.

Recently on the English news, I heard this Rav being interviewed and his command of English was quite good. Actually it was very good!    

Now I know that English is a difficult language to learn. With all it’s rules and rules that don’t apply to the rules. The c rule…i before e except after c or the silent k in words such as know, knight and knock…you get the picture. Never mind silent b in climb or silent d in Wednesday, silent g in sign or silent l in talk and the list goes on. The silent e at the end of a word to give the vowel a long sound is very confusing to new readers.

And don’t get me started on plurals and their rules…words ending with ch, sh, and x you have to add es to make it plural..y changes to  i and then add es, but if y follows a vowel you only add s.

To plural the words that end with o you usually just add es, so tomato becomes tomatoes, but be careful because some words that end with o you add only s. One example that comes to mind is patio becomes patios.

And then there are words that change completely...tooth becomes teeth, foot becomes feet and mouse becomes mice. One moose, five moose…it never changes. Same for trout and elk.

Many years ago I came across this wonderful piece. I don’t know who authored it but he/she was certainly quick wit. 

 

English is a strange and fun language.

The bandage was wound around the wound.

The farm was used to produce produce.

The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse.

We must polish the Polish furniture.

The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert.

Since there is no time like the present, he thought
it was time to present the present.

A bass was painted on the head of the bass drum.

When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes.

I did not object to the object.

The insurance was invalid for the invalid.

There was a row among the oarsmen how to row.

They were to close to the door to close it.

The wind was to strong to wind the sail.

Upon seeing the tear in the painting I shed a tear.

Let’s face it, English is a funny language.
There is no egg in eggplant,
ham in hamburger, pine or apple in pineapple.
English muffins weren’t invented in England
or french fries in France.
Sweetmeat are candies and sweetbreads which aren’t sweet, is meat.

We take English for granted, but if we really explore we will find that
quicksand can work slowly, boxing rings are square and a guinea pig is 
not from Guinea or a pig.
If the plural of tooth is teeth,
why isn’t the plural of booth beeth?
One goose, two geese, so why not one moose two meese?
If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what do humanitarians eat?

In what language do people recite at a play and play at a recital? 
Ship by truck and send cargo by ship? Park in a driveway and drive on a parkway? Have a nose that runs and feet that smell?
How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same,
while a wise man and a wise guy are opposite.
And why does an alarm go off by going on?

English was invented by people, not computers and it reflects 
the creativity of the human race.
That is why when the stars are out they are visible,
but when the lights are out they are invisible. 
And the last word, why doesn’t ‘Buick’ rhyme with ‘quick’? 

 

I hope you enjoyed this English lesson. 
Please pass along for others to enjoy! 
Feel free to comment.

 

Until next time

Miriam

Little Bird, Little Bird..........

בס''ד

Every morning, for many years, my husband and I have been feeding the birds. These little creatures have come to rely on the crumbs of bread that we leave them. Early each morning, we see them hovering over our back yard waiting for their treats.

The Negev is known for its birds. This area is a bird watchers paradise. There is this beautiful little black, two shades of gray and a touch of white bird with a yellow beak that has been coming to eat for some time.

This morning, as I was looking out of my kitchen window watching the birds eat, I saw my little bird enjoy her share and then fly away with a piece of bread in her beak.

This poem is for her……...

Little Bird, Little Bird

As I look out of my window
A little  bird I  did see

Nibbling on a piece of bread

That was left for her to enjoy.

This beautiful bird

A creation from Hashem

Flapping her wings

As she floats through the air 

With a morsel of bread in her beak

To feed her young.

Mother bird, Mother bird 

What a wonder you are

Hashem has instilled in you

Motherly love and responsibility.

Little bird, little bird 

So perfect in every way

Your colors are so magical

Oh, what a beautiful sight!

Enjoy and pass on!

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Until next time.....

Miriam      

 

Thank-you for the Magical Roller Coaster Ride...............

בס''ד

One day last week, I received an e-mail from a long time friend from Montreal, Phyllis R. She sent me a link to an interview that was on radio station CJAD, a very popular Montreal station. The email said... this posting is for former Montrealers …. all nostalgia buffs out there, you will love this.   

Montreal Memories 

 

Being born and raised in Montreal, I clicked the link and heard an amazing interview between the radio host Aaron Rand and Barry Zbar a former Montrealer now living in Toronto, and who started a Facebook page a year ago, called Montreal Memories. 

Montreal Memories Facebook page 

Barry invited Montrealers and former Montrealers to join his page and enjoy a magical roller coaster ride of days gone bye.

I joined and told my husband to join and sent messages to some of my Montreal friends and family to come and have fun.

And fun it has been! Reminiscing where we went to school, favorite teachers, and not so favorite teachers, popular restaurants and hang outs that aren’t around any more, and pictures galore. Bus tickets that cost 15 cents a ride, Montreal Canadiens our famous hockey team, The Forum and of course Montreal’s Expo 67. What memories! A reunion online……..

 

I posted a note asking how many former Montrealers are now living in Israel. I am happy to report that there are a large contingent of us living all over the country from the North to the South and everywhere in-between. Some have been here 30 plus years.  

Moetzi Shabbat [Saturday night] Avraham and I showed our son, who was born in Ontario in the 80’s, our life as kids and he was fascinated and really taken back. Eli-Chaim said to me, "your life growing up was much easier than when he was a teenager or teens today. Life was so much simpler then. Kids were kids. There wasn’t the pressure that kids have today." I had to agree with him. 

 

Thank-you Phyllis for sending me the e-mail.You made my day!

 

Until next time

Miriam