Blog/August 2007/August 10th - Revision history

Ron: Undo revision 7037 by Ron (Talk)

2010-10-29T10:41:30Z

Undo revision 7037 by Ron (Talk)

Ron at 10:40, 29 October 2010

2010-10-29T10:40:11Z

Ron at 10:28, 30 November 2007

2007-11-30T10:28:11Z

Ron: Blog002 moved to Blog/August 2007/August 10th

2007-10-13T16:21:47Z

Blog002 moved to Blog/August 2007/August 10th

Ron at 10:51, 11 October 2007

2007-10-11T10:51:19Z

Ron: New page: Coming up on our second shabbat in the Holy Land... this week has been one of ups and downs. We've had a chance to see real chesed (kindness) as well as the opposite. I'll share just two...

2007-10-11T10:49:36Z

New page: Coming up on our second shabbat in the Holy Land... this week has been one of ups and downs. We've had a chance to see real chesed (kindness) as well as the opposite. I'll share just two...

New page

Coming up on our second shabbat in the Holy Land... this week has been one of
ups and downs.

We've had a chance to see real chesed (kindness) as well as the opposite. I'll
share just two examples so you can get a feel for this land of polar opposites.

First, the chesed: people we don't know at all, who only knew of us through
mutual friends, asked "what can we do to help?". Since we were a bit vague,
they proceeded to bring us a table, some food and a bed. They invited us for
shabbat dinner (tonight). That being insufficient for them, they literally gave
us their car to use for a couple days. Just a bit ago, they brought over a cake
for shabbat. We are still overawed by their real kindness.

Now, the opposite: we have been unable as yet to get any of Esther's official
paperwork done, because the government agency personnel have messed things up
beyond belief. Not only that, they are unwilling to move even in the slightest
from their official positions to accommodate people. So my wife is still an
"undocumented alien", so to speak. Sunday presumably we will get that part of
things straightened out... but I don't hold out a great deal of hope. However,
she did write the Minister of Absorption to let him know just how she feels
about the process so far.

On the other hand, I was able to get my paperwork straightened out (mostly), and
we were able to convince the bank manager to give us a joint account even
though my wife is undocumented. This week I had a job interview which perhaps
will yield fruit, and we got all the appliances we had ordered (and they do
work). So things are improving. Most importantly, the air conditioning has
been repaired and our internet connection is up and running!

There are ups and downs; some days are easier than others, but all in all we
really have nothing to complain about.

The most overwhelming thing to happen to me this week was being in a bus in our
area, and seeing little children all speaking Hebrew - and all from very
different parts of the world. Black, white and everything in-between - and I
was just overwhelmed with the understanding that the words of our prophets are
coming true (see [http://mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt1129.htm#14 Jeremiah 29:14],
for example). And I wondered that anyone could look at that same scene, and not
understand it that way.

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+'''August 10th 2007'''
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+Coming up on our second shabbat in the Holy Land... this week has been one of
-{{bheader|Oct 29th|Devar/5771/Lech_Lecha}}
+We've had a chance to see real chesed (kindness) as well as the opposite.  I'll
-Hi again!
+First, the chesed:  people we don't know at all, who only knew of us through
-Sorry about the short blog last week; I really did run out of time!  I'll try to do better this time around.  The weather was very nice this week.  I nearly walked out of work.  More medical mayhem.  Everyone working as usual.  Progress and more progress.  God, I love this place!
+Now, the opposite: we have been unable as yet to get any of Esther's official
-Finally, after months of very hot weather, autumn has started to arrive, and this week was very pleasant.  Just so you know (those of you who don't live here, that is), Israel usually experiences ''sharav'' weather bursts (very hot and dry) in October, and sometimes into November -- but their intensity and duration diminish.  Yesterday we had a one-day heat-wave, and today the temperatures are supposed to drop 11C (about 22F) from the previous day!  We may even have some rain.  Now ''that's'' something to look forward to!
+On the other hand, I was able to get my paperwork straightened out (mostly), and
-Work, ah, work.  The stress level has been very high for a while, but this week it hit a ludicrous level.  I was so angry one day I almost quit.  Fortunately, I'm not as prone to sudden decisions as I once was, so I still have a job.  Ultimately we were able to hit our deadlines, and everyone (meaning, 'the bosses') is happy.  I'm not so sure how happy the not-everyone are; I can only vouch for my own situation.
+There are ups and downs; some days are easier than others, but all in all we
-As I was sitting at my desk yesterday trying to work, my vision got blurry -- as if I had looked at the sun.  It didn't go away, and I started getting concerned.  After a while I figured to check my peripheral vision and noticed that while my left eye was fine, my right eye had almost no peripheral vision!  Then I got ''really'' concerned and called the ophthalmologist I had only just seen last week, and also my regular doctor.  Long story short: it went away after half an hour; my doctor thinks it was a "visual migraine", and that there is nothing really to worry about unless it recurs and last more than half an hour. The eye doctor says there's nothing wrong with my eye, and that probably it would be a good idea to get checked out by a neurologist.  In retrospect, it probably would have been a smart thing to go to the emergency room...
+The most overwhelming thing to happen to me this week was being in a bus in our
-Apart from that, all of us were busily ensconced with work. Sarah's job working with the elderly has some very interesting moments.  This week she worked with Holocaust survivors, making sure they were properly enrolled with the various governmental programs designed to assist them.  Daniela finished a paper, and is now a contributor to her school's paper.
+{{blog}}
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← Older revision		Revision as of 10:51, 11 October 2007
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	Coming up on our second shabbat in the Holy Land... this week has been one of		Coming up on our second shabbat in the Holy Land... this week has been one of
	ups and downs.		ups and downs.

← Older revision	Revision as of 16:21, 13 October 2007
(No difference)