The Almost Never Mentioned Injuries From Missiles.......

בס''ד

There has been much written about the terror in the south of Israel and residents living under terror. Each and every time there is a report of a kassam, mortar or grad missile, the first question asked. "are there any physical injuries”.

I would like to write about a different type of injury. Not physical or emotional, but ‘injuries’ that are almost never mentioned in the media, the injury to our children’s education and the economy of the south. Today once again there isn’t any school because of rocket fire.

Southern Israeli Parents Begin Week with School Chain Calls...http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/161935   

Let me start by saying keeping residents safe is without a doubt, the number one priority for the Mayors and Rashei Moetza of the South. They have many very difficult decisions to make. One difficult decision is whether or not to close schools. On one hand, in closing schools, we are allowing Hamas to dictate our lives. On the other hand, many children will be at home alone unsupervised or roaming the streets and malls. It is a damn if you do, damn if you don’t decision. 

Children have to go to school on a daily basis. This is something we can all agree on. Routine is very important for their emotional health. They are the future leaders, business and professional citizens of our country. Every missile Hamas shoots at us causes an ‘injury’ to our children’s education, when it is not safe for them to attend school.When the city mayor or regional Rosh Moetza announces schools are closed, we automatically have a domino effect.

Parents of young children can’t go to work. This means that production in the workplace slows down.  It doesn’t matter if parents are professionals, work in an office, factory workers or store employees.  There are mothers who have lost their job because they chosen to stay home with their children. This is an ‘injury’ to their livelihood. What about parents who go to work but hire a babysitter for the day.  The extra expense is something that many young families can not afford. 

When missiles are flying and striking southern communities, people are afraid to go out. They don’t take the bus, run errands, go to appointments, go shopping, in other words daily life stops. Stores rely on customers and sales to stay in business.

When we purchase a product, clothes or groceries the price includes the vat tax that the government collects to help cover essential services that they are responsible for: the military, health care, education and the list goes on. Each ministry receives part of their working budget from the vat tax.  No sales plus no tax revenues, equals the government will be short necessary money to run the country. 

Our country’s economy is hurt when missiles fly. This is another ‘injury’! Just today, 'Sedrot closes its Marketplace'. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/Flash.aspx/254389

One more injury that we don’t hear anything about is the ‘injury’ a kallah [bride] suffers on her wedding day, when rockets are flying everywhere. This is the day she has dreamed about all of her life. Will her wedding be cancelled? Will her guest be too afraid to attend the wedding?

Last year we saw a miracle in Netivot. The chuppa [ceremony] had just finished. The guest, were going into the wedding hall for the reception, when there was a siren. The grad missile landed in the parking lot next to where the chuppa had been set up. Baruch Hashem, 5 minutes earlier and we would have seen a real tragedy.

For sure, there are many very anxious kallot today.

It will take the mind of a Solomon to fully understand why our government has been so reluctant to attack the war on terror head on and why they have chosen to leave over a million Southern residents living in fear, never knowing when and where the next missile will strike.

Last night the IDF did several air strikes deep with in Gaza. They must be allowed to finish the job, even if it means sending ground troops and put an end to the terror permanently! 

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

Miriam        

Israelis Under Attack! Weapons of Choice: Missiles, Firebombs, Boulders and More....

בס''ד
Shavua Tov!

Definition of awareness is knowledge, to be informed. This was my goal when I opened a Facebook group page last week.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/awarenessofthesouth/  

I want to bring an awareness of the plight of Israeli citizens who live in the South of Israel.  What plight you ask....  the firing of thousand of missiles from Gaza into southern Israel cities, moshavim, kibbutzim and yishuvim. 

The other day I read a talkback from a very young and naïve American girl who was answering a southern mother posting about her children’s fears and the inaction of the government. This mother wanted to know why the government has not sent the IDF to clean up Gaza.

This young poster replied “politics may have to come before human life because in the long run, in the big picture-people will be SAFER.”  I want to know if she is for real...     

The responsibility of a government is to protect its citizens. Politics should never come before human life.

Before the expulsion of Israeli tax paying citizens who lived in Gush Katif, there were protests almost on a daily basis encouraging the then government to expel the residents, so there will be ‘peace.’

Where are these protesters today? Why aren’t they protesting for the government to end the terror in the South? As a side note, I will tell you that some of the protesters live in the South and are victims of this terror] but where is the rest of the country? You, who live in Haifa, Tel Aviv, Kfar Saba, and yes even some in Jerusalem....you were so anxious to give away our precious land for peace...only we didn’t get peace, we got an increased amount of terror.

The purpose of this blog is not to describe the fear that children and elderly are suffering or the physical and emotional injuries suffered each and every time the siren blares or even to describe what a kassam or grad looks like and that it is filled with ball bearings, screws, nails and glass chips to cause the maximum damage and to maim and kill.

And not to tell you that the boulders and firebombs being thrown by arabs at the residents of Yehuda and Shomron can’t maim and kill because they can and do.

The purpose of the posting is to make you aware that over a million southern residents are being held hostage by Hamas and their band of terrorist, firing missiles indiscriminately at southern communities.  They want us to be so terrified to live in the South, that we abandon our land and run away.  Their goal is to inch down from Gaza [Gush Katif] to the south, to the center, to Jerusalem, to Tel Aviv and eventually take over all of Israel.   

My family and I are NOT going anywhere. Israel is our home!

We, in the South need our brothers and sisters in the rest of our country to wake up and protest [the same way you protested the expulsion of Gush Katif] and demand that our government send in the IDF and stop this terror, before you and your families are running to bomb shelters.

You can also post a note directly on Prime Minister Netanyahu’s Facebook page.  https://www.facebook.com/Netanyahu?ref=ts&fref=ts 

The time has come for all of Am Yisrael to be one country..not left or right, religious or secular but united and protect our precious Israel from our enemies... 

Please feel free to comment and share..........

Miriam                  

A Perfect Shabbat.......

בס''ד

Shavua Tov!

On Friday afternoon, as we wished our family and friends Shabbat Shalom and may it be restful and quiet, a little something in me said that we should leave the silent Shabbat Radio Darom on.

Well, I am very pleased to post that we had a perfect Shabbat. The weather was perfect, the birds serenaded us, not a helicopter or jet in the sky, it was quiet and restful and the radio never had to go on. Baruch Hashem!

Shabbat was spent like it is suppose to be... neighbors sitting outside talking, families going for walks and children playing in the park.

Everyone seemed relaxed almost forgetting the 80 odd missiles that were fired at the Negev on Wednesday from Gaza.  

It was a real blessing for the residents of the South to have a restful Shabbat but our government mustn’t sit on its laurels. Everyone knows it is just a matter of time before the next round of missiles hits us.  

0ur government has a responsibility to protect us. Up to now, it has failed its responsibility badly. It has not taken the correct steps to insure that we, residents of the south, Israeli citizens, do not live under the threat of terror. 

Why did our government allow Egypt to dictate the terms of a cease fire? Our government continues to deliver humanitarian aide to the enemy. This aide should have been stopped years ago. Why does Gaza still have electricity and water? We supply these services to them. The water should have been closed and electricity turned off ages ago.  Let the arabs go to the Egyptians for water and electricity.

The quiet today was wonderful. May Hashem guide our government to take to the correct steps to ensure us many more wonderful and safe days, months and years...   

Am Yisrael Chai!

Until next time please feel free to comment and share.

Miriam

Tzeva Adom, Tzeva Adom........

בס''ד
This is my one hundredth posting on Miriam’s Words. I wanted this post to be light and fun. Blogging is a hobby.... Unlike serious bloggers who blog daily, I blog when I have time. I never truly believed I would reach 100 postings....  

But we live in difficult times and I just couldn’t bring myself to post a fun blog.   

Will you please bear with me? I once again have the need to put pen to paper [or for this blog sit down at the computer] and vent my thoughts..

As I have written before, my family and I live in the south of Israel, the Negev. We live in a war zone, never knowing when or where a rocket will explode... 

Children are afraid to play outside, go to school and go to sleep. They are afraid a missile will hit them and they will die or their family will die. The elderly are suffering from fear...fear that they can’t get to the safe room on time. Depression among citizens is very high. Enjoying a Shabbat meal or going for a Shabbat walk is something we can’t take for granted.  A siren can sound at any time.  

The situation is impossible, residents are told not to leave their shelters. Over a million Israeli citizens are held hostage! 

On Sunday, Israel Hayom Newsletter, headline read:

Gaza area residents to stay within 15 seconds of bomb shelters.

On Monday, Arutz 7 posted Eshkol residents allowed to resume routine. 

Why isn’t the government doing something so that the residents of Eshkol or any other Southern community are not stuck in or around their shelters for days?

When will the terror end? When will our government take our plight seriously? Why are they so afraid of world opinion? Relying on the iron dome, sending in the IAF to kill a terror cell or two, bombing a weapons tunnel are all band aids and frankly a little insulting to southern residents.

Aren’t we citizens? We pay taxes. Many have served our country with dignity. The job of the government is to protect its citizens........where is our protection?

Enough already! Time to reenter Gaza to return and repopulate the land with its rightful owners..... Us! The Jewish people!

May the Hand of Hashem continue to protect Am Yisrael!

This is a Grad Missile that landed in Sedot Negev

 

This is the large crater it made.

 

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

Even FaceBook can be Kosher.......

בס''ד

Life is made up of experiences. Some we enjoy very much and other experiences, well we can just live without. Yesterday, I experienced pure pleasure. 

Some background:

Around a year ago, a few English speaking women who are early risers, would log on to Facebook, inviting their friends to join them for a virtual cup of coffee and a chat.

One of the women took the morning chat one step further and created a Facebook secret women’s group called Coffee Talk and posted an invitation to join.

And so new relationships and friendships were formed and our membership grew to thirty three English speaking women who, the majority are olim.  We discovered that our group has olim who are new...two years and veteran olim.... thirty, forty and more years.

During this past summer I was postings with another Coffee Talk member and suggested we have a get together. We invited the other members in our group to post their opinion on the idea. Everyone liked the idea and we started a discussion on when and where.

The date chosen was Oct. 10^th at 10:00a.m. at Café Café in Center One.

Yesterday, I had the privilege to meet ten fascinating women. We did a round table introduction and spoke about ourselves, our families, our aliyah and dreams for the future.

We learned about serious health issues and how these amazing women overcame their “handicaps.” One woman read a beautiful and meaningful poem that she lives by.

Another wanted to celebrate with her friends a Seuda Hodoyah. Her sheer determination to recover from a very serious illness, that the doctors had said would kill her, but instead, her recovery made medical history.  This exceptional woman read a moving and emotional piece that she wrote about her illness and feelings.

We wanted our gathering to be special, not just women getting together to meet and chat.  We decided to end our get together saying Tehillim for people, who for different reasons required prayers.   

The Tehillim was divided up. I am sure that Hashem, seeing eleven women  each saying their section of the Tehillim together with devotion, moved the Heaven. May Hashem grant His Brachot to each person.

And may Hashem also shower the amazing women I met today with Brachot.

Miriam
   
 Post Script: One of the ladies of Coffee Talk manages a fund for needy Brides in Netivot. Please have a look at her link...  http://www.gofundme.com/1cfr8o

The Cook-Off……A Wonderful Lesson in Co-Operation…..

בס''ד

The long summer vacation is over and now all the children are back at school. During vacation time, families did all sorts of activities.  

This blog is dedicated to six of our grandchildren who live in the Negev. They decided to do a very special activity and learned some important and valuable lessons along the way. A great big yashar koach to: Gilad, Nadav, Adi, Neta, Talia and Chen. 

The children asked their mother if they could have a cooking contest. They wanted to prepare dinner. Devorah [their Mother] suggested that it would be better to do it for Shabbat because she would let them use better ingredients [chicken, beef, pareve whip cream…]

The junior cooking team would have to make the Shabbat night meal from the entree to the dessert. Their parents, Devorah and Hagai would be the judges and choose who prepared the best meal.

Devorah set some ground rules: they had to have approval of the menu they chose, they had to use ingredients that were in the house, only the older children could use the stove and they would have to clean up.

The children agreed to the rules and paired up into teams - one older and one younger to each team. They decided the contest would start the following Shabbat. The search was on for recipes. They looked online, in cookbooks and magazines.

The big question was...will Devorah’s kitchen survive? I’m pleased to report it did.

Gilad 14 1/2 and Nadav 6 1/2  were first team. They decided to make: baked tuna and veggies for the entree: The main course was chicken pirgiot, stir fried veggies and rice. And for dessert chocolate mousse. 

Nadav peeled all of the the veggies and broke up the chocolate for the mousse. He also licked the bowl clean from the mousse when it was all done. Gilad made the tuna, the stir fried veggies, the rice, the pirgiot and the mousse.

Devorah only had dairy chocolate in the house and Gilad really wanted to make the mousse so went to the markolet [on the yishuv] and bought pareve chocolate with his own money.

The boys worked very hard together and when they were finished they left the kitchen "clean."  I can attest to the fact that the mousse was delicious.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The following week was Adi 11 ½ and Neta 5.  The girls made bourakas and smoked eggplant with a techina sauce for the entree. The main course was stuffed chicken (with rice and veggies) and baby onions and potatoes placed all around the pan, stir fried veggies and some white rice (for Neta). Desert was a delicious cream roll with real cherry pie filling. Ima helped out a little. 

Neta may be only 5 but she can peel veggies faster than any of the other kids. Adi was grossed out when she had to ‘massage’ the chicken with spices. She stuffed the chicken with rice and veggies and made the stir fried veggies. Their Ima helped burn the eggplant and peel it for the entrée. Neta helped make the cream roll and enjoyed licking the batter. Together with their Ima’s help they rolled the cream roll to let it cool. When cooled they opened it, and then filled it with cherry pie filling and whip cream. Then they rolled it up again and covered it with chocolate. The girls worked together and when they were finished they cleaned up.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The last team was, Talia 10 an Chen 8. Being the last team the girls decided to go all out.

They chose a Tunisian veggie pattie called kfita for the entrée. Actually, the " kfita's" were ready in the freezer. Devorah and Hagai make a large batch once a month and freeze them. All the girls had to do was put them in a pan, make a red gravy and bake them. That was the easy part of the meal. 

For the main meal they made "maklubah" (with beef, chicken and rice.) What’s maklubah you ask? Have a look at this link….. http://www.greenprophet.com/2011/10/recipe-maklubah-arabic-upside-down-chicken-rice/ Desert was lemon meringue pie, but not just any meringue pie but one that takes 2 hours to bake the shell.

The girls placed all the veggies on a pan, brushed them with oil and baked them instead of frying. Their Ima cooked the beef in a pressure cooker and together the girls slowly built their tower in a large pot.

Talia made the pie shell and lemon filling and Chen helped with the whip cream topping. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Erev Shabbat when their Ima went to flip the pot there was such suspense in the air. Will the "maklubah" stand like a mountain or come tumbling down? The kids were taking bets on #2.  It stood beautifully!!!

With the contest over…the siblings asked their parents who made the best meal. Devorah and Hagai had no trouble in deciding. There wasn’t anything to think about.

They were all WINNERS. Mazal-Tov to everyone… Saba and I are so proud of each of you. 

A special thank-you to Devorah for taking pictures and filling in the blanks [things I didn’t know] for me.

Until next time…feel free to comment and share

Miriam          

An Evening to Remember.....

בס''ד

Living in the Negev in the South of Israel, I don’t get to Jerusalem very often. At the beginning of the summer, I told my husband that before Rosh Hashana I want to go to the Kotel.

Last night my wish was granted. I had the privilege of visiting Kever Rachel and the Kotel with a group of women from my yishuv and Netivot.

As the fifty seat tour bus made stops picking up the women, my excitement grew.

Visiting Kever Rachel and the Kotel on Rosh Chodesh Elul was so special to me, as it was something that I never did.

Leaving Netivot and travelling down the highway, the women’s chatter went silent and the driver said Tefillah Haderech, the prayer for a safe journey. With one voice all the women answered Amein!

The ride was very pleasant. Approaching Yerushalayim, the night lights of the city, warmed my heart and brought a smile to my face. Yerushalayim Ir HaKodesh, is the most beautiful city anywhere, and it’s ours forever.

The driver gave us a tour of our city. Looking out of the window, I was in awe at how much it had changed since the last time I was in Yerushalayim, sadly a couple of years ago.

Finally we were just outside of Kever Rachel. A chayal [soldier] came into the bus and checked each passenger and under the seats. Security is very tight at the Kever. Getting the okay to enter, you feel like you are entering a prison with the high cement walls topped with barbed wire.

When we made Aliyah 18 years ago, we lived in Gush Etzion. We would take the Egged bus 161 from Jerusalem to the Gush, traveling through Bethlehem. One stop in Bethlehem was at Kever Rachel.  From the bus, you could see the old walls of the Kever. There was no need for security in those days.  It is heart breaking to see how much security the Kever now requires in eighteen short years.

When you enter the Kever, you immediately feel the Holiness. It is so inviting. Mamma Rachel is welcoming you to her home. Women are lined up along her Tomb, crying to their ‘Mamma’ and asking her to intervene with HaKodesh Borchu on their behalf. Whether it is for refu’a Shelayma for a loved one, or to find their bashert, the desire to have children...no matter what your heart is aching over, ‘Mamma Rachel’ is listening. This had to be the most moving experience I had ever encountered.

I found a place to sit and began saying Tehillim, mentioning the names on my list that I was given. May each person be granted their needs.

The atmosphere at the Kever is so special. In one corner, there was a woman who was deep in devotion and making a group request for the sick and infirm. She asked woman who gathered around her to call out names.

Outside, there was another gathering. A young woman was kneading  dough for bread and inviting young woman who were looking for their bashert to make a Bracha on the dough. She very carefully wrapped each ball of dough in foil and said she would burn the dough when she went home.

The time had come to leave Kever Rachel and onto the Kotel..or so we thought. I know that I haven’t been to Yerushalayim in awhile, but I do know my way around the city. It seemed to me that the driver had chosen a strange way to go to the Kotel. 

Suddenly, the bus stopped in front of the Mamilla Hotel in David’s City. Part of the hotel is an outdoor magical shopping promenade with fancy stores, expensive cafes and restaurants, music and artwork.

What’s going on, everyone asked? Our organizer said “Surprise! We are going to spend forty-five minutes walking the promenade before we go the Kotel for Selichot.”

Walking this magical promenade just made my evening more exciting. All the stores were opened and at eleven o’clock in the evening, the promenade was alive with a sea of people. We walked; window shopped, and raved at the artwork and table sculptures that lined the walkway.

On our way back to meet the bus, we heard deep voices, singing traditional religious and Israeli songs. The voices belong to a very large unit of IDF chayalim, marching four abreast. The leader, carrying an Israeli flag, was leading his chayalim along the promenade to an entrance that lead to the Kotel.  

Instinctively, everyone went to one side or the other, and watched, clapped and sang along with the chayalim as they marched down the center.  What a fabulous site to see. May The Hand of Hashem always be with our chayalim. 

Lights on the promenade 

On to the Kotel, navigating down some of the narrowest and busiest streets in Jerusalem, we reached our destination. 

Being Rosh Chodesh Elul, the Kotel was packed with men and women who came to say Selichot.  The atmosphere was charging. As I made my way down to the wall, a flood of emotions sent a chill down my back. I was finally at the Kotel. My wish had been granted. Touching the ancient wall, gave me a sense of the privilege I had received.

Selichot started, the davening was beautiful and meaningful, like a large choir who had practiced for hours to greet the King. The shofars were being blown. The sights and sounds that permeated into my brain, will never be forgotten.

From the plaza opposite the wall, units upon units of chayalim were gathering. There were litterly thousand of chayalim. They were having a ceremony. An IDF Rav was speaking and giving a shiur. Israeli flags were everywhere.

When the ceremony was over, a rav lead the chayalim in saying Selichot. It was so special to see. Once again the shofar was being blown. Young hesdar chayalim, haredi chayalim and chiloni chayalim wearing their berets, all davening together, putting left and right issues, religious and non religious issues aside.

I enjoyed watching the young chayalot sitting in the women’s section, busily writing little notes to place in the Kotel walls.

Standing and watching, I was so proud to be a Jew and an Israeli and to be able to witness this sight. 

I have the honor of living in Israel. Yerushalayim Ir HaKodesh is a bus ride away. I know that I won’t wait so long to visit my city again.   

 

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

Miriam   

Epilogue: This morning Yeshiva World News had this article. 
http://www.theyeshivaworld.com/news/General+News/138009/Kever-Rachel-Society-Seeking-a-Knesset-Lobby.html     

And The Birds Were Soaring....

בס''ד

Shavua Tov!

My husband likes to go to the early 5:00 a.m. minyan Shabbat morning and I take advantage of the time by sitting outside davening and watching nature at its best.

The air is cool and comfortable in the early morning. As I made myself comfortable, and daylight was just coming up, a couple of magnificent big, black crows came soaring gracefully across the blue Israeli sky, their wings, flapping with all their might to get to a roof top or a pole to rest.

Reaching their destination, they crow with a cawing sound, calling the rest of the gang. Within seconds a large flock of crows were over head.

On the ground I watched the smaller birds looking for food. Their determination to find food is something special to see. I enjoyed watching Mother bird flying to a tree branch to feed her young who were waiting for her. 

We have some of the tiniest, most beautiful colored birds I have ever seen. Their singing sounds like a fine tuned choir.

And I mustn’t forget to tell you about our woodpeckers.  We have woodpeckers all around our trees. Their pecking sound is something to hear. The Woodpeckers are unique in their appearance, with black stripes across their chest, red or yellow truffle of feather on the top of their head and sharp pointy becks. They are so interesting to watch and interact with other birds.

Sitting outside, sipping on a cup of coffee, I was grateful to be living in our homeland and enjoying Hashem’s handiwork, for only He could have produced nature at its best. Hashem, without a doubt is a master artist. The colors, shapes and sizes He chose for the birds are beyond human imagination

Seven thirty came very quickly. My husband came home from Shul, the cool air was warming up, men were passing my house to go to the next Shabbat minyan and in the background of the singing birds I could hear a helicopter.

Since the IAF doesn’t practice on Shabbat............

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

Miriam