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Hi again!
 
Hi again!
  
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In the rush to get done before Shabbat, last week, we forgot to mention our pre-Purim shopping fun.
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This past motsai-shabbat Sarah and some of her classmates threw a party for one of their friends who was going back to Australia, so she took the bus to Jerusalem where they met in a restaurant and had a fine time.  Finally around 11 at night she called to ask when the bus would return; she took it back and ended up at home around 11:45.  I'm relating this because it shows for one thing, how safe one generally is here.  Back in the USA we would never have allowed her to travel by bus late at night; but here it's normal especially after shabbat.
  
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One of the mitsvot of Purim is giving gifts of food to friends.  We always make up baskets with a few items of food; and this year we decided to do a bit of shopping in "Geula" -- a so-called "ultra-Orthodox" part of Jerusalem.  First problem is that I decided to go there after work, and drive in.  You don't drive in Geula; not if you want to maintain your sanity.  People are ''everywhere'', literally.  In the streets, on the curbs; crossing in front of you.  The streets themselves are very narrow, and there is almost no parking.  But, B"H! I found a parking spot and met up with the rest of my family, who were contentedly clothes-shopping (they came by bus, which is the only sane thing to do).  I had been wanting to do some book-shopping (for ''seforim'', or Jewish books) for some time; but since I made it late, I didn't have time to do much more than a quick trip to a bookstore.  Man, it was great!  I have to go back soon...  Anyway, we did eventually get some stuff for the Purim baskets but we didn't really find what we were looking for.
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More than that, though I think it's indicative of a shift on her part as well - she herself would never have taken a bus at night "back home".  Earlier we got notice that Daniela was accepted to Stern College, which was not a surprise -- but just the other day we got further notice that they are giving her a full scholarship to their honors program, which is a huge surprise and actually makes her attendance there feasible.  Now she has to decide whether or not that's what she really wants to do.  
  
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So, since Esther had been invited to a ''shiur'' (lesson) at one of our friend's houses in Givat Shaul (another "very religious" part of Jerusalem), and since we knew there was an "Alef" supermarket there which is supposed to have low prices, we thought we would go there after the ''shiur''.  We did -- and it was even more crowded than Geula was!  There was literally almost no room to turn a shopping cart -- but the prices were in fact lower than our supermarket in Maaleh Adummim. And the dairy products were all ''chalav yisrael'', which is harder to find here as well. So while it was a successful trip, I don't know if I'll rush to go there again ... it was pretty draining.
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I have been officially promoted at work, though as far as I know there is no extra salary associated with the extra responsibility.  Essentially, in addition to my other tasks I am also going to be the technical contact for our company to our various potential clients. My bosses were pleased with how I have handled the one potential client - as was the client - so they decided to put all such contacts on my shoulders. Now if I can only convince them to put more silver in my pocket...
  
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I think I mentioned before that the banks charge all sorts of fees. Because we don't understand what the fees are, we decided to investigate and get the fee structure from the bank. My accountant (Esther) did the investigation, and informed me that the printout of our bank's fee structure is ''seven pages long''!  They charge for depositing, they charge for withdrawing.  They charge if you use a teller, they charge if you use an ATM. They charge per line-item on the statement, and they charge if you print out your statement!  Basically, it's pretty good to be a bank.
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The saga of the house move continues. This week we contracted with a mover to move the contents of our rental to the house. B"H we should be moving the last week of June. In the meantime, we met with an electrician and a general contractor just today. I'm afraid to find out what their estimates are going to be -- particularly the general contractor who is all excited about replacing the plumbing in the house -- we'll see.
  
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Just FYI: Israel has [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daylight_saving_time_around_the_world#Israel switched to "DST"] (daylight savings time).  This means we are back to a 10-hour difference from the West coast of the USA, for those of you who care (you know who you are!).  It was interesting hearing DST being discussed on the radio.  The "Galei Tsahal" news-person said that DST operates from this Friday through "October 3rd, which is the Friday before Yom Kippur".  The guy from "Radio Kol Chai" said simply that it ends "on Shabbat Shuvah".
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I found a local supplier of soft matsah so I just placed an order.  Anyone interested can ask me this week and I'll give the contact information.
  
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This week we went to a kitchen-design place, and had a kitchen "rough-designed" for the new place (keep in mind, our "new" place is not new -- just new to us -- it needs renovation).  After that, the measurer came out to the new place and measured the existing space.  Next week we'll have to sit with the designer again and do the precise design, now the exact measurements are known.  It will only take them one day to install the kitchen, they say; but they don't hook up plumbing or do electric work or walls or remove the existing kitchen... so we have to have others do those things.  Still and all, it's a whole lot less expensive than the same work in the US.
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A dutch parlimentarian recently released a short movie, [http://web.israelinsider.com/Articles/AntiSemi/12749.htm "Fitna"], which shows verses of Quran interspersed with scenes of muslim terrorist violence.  Needless to say, it has been banned almost everywhere -- even in cyberspace where supposed freedom from tyranny is a byword. "Bye-word" is more like it. Since we need to show more respect for Islam you might enjoy the following video: <youtube v="y9dXGJ2rYdA" />
  
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While we were at the "new house" getting the kitchen area measured, we talked with the current owner and found out a couple interesting things.  First, we are paying almost twice as much as she is for the electric bill.  I knew we were getting screwed over because of the bogus arrangement in our rental, but I didn't think it was as bad as that!  So we can look forward to a lower electric bill, which will be very welcome. The second thing is, the house has a bunch of fruit trees: fig, pomegranate and olive; lemon, {{wiki|clementine}}, plum, {{wiki|kumquat}} and {{wiki|loquat}}.  It also has very nice ornamentals, including a large group of roses bordering the neighbor's house on one side.  I think the garden is the nicest feature of the house, next to the view of Jerusalem.  We are ''really'' looking forward to moving in!  Only now, we ''really'' have to brush up on the laws of tithing and sheviit...
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Ay, there are so many interesting things going on! First, in actual good news, let me recommend anyone interested in my friend Elisheva Barre's new book "Torah for Gentiles" feel free to contact her at shevabar@hotmail.com.  It's an interesting read, and full of information.
  
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And speaking of moving in, we called a moving company; next week they'll be giving us an estimate. Also, we sent our last "rent check" to the landlord, after adjusting to the new exchange rate (saving us almost 1000 shekels!) and removing the amounts we paid on our deadbeat neighbor's behalf.  We did inform them that from here-on-out, we are not paying anything except our own share. If the electricity gets shut off, so be it.
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Do you remember me talking about [[Blog/February 2008/Feb 22nd|the bridge in Jerusalem]]?  Well the expensive eyesore has developed cracks in the welds!  Just wait till some ''shahid'' detonates him-or-herself next to it...
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The presumed child-abuse scandals involving members of the religious community have been all over the news recently. I don't know whether the accusations are true or not; that's a matter for courts to decide. What I do know, however, is that the despicable and smarmy manner in which the media choose to depict the stories is not good for anyone. And I wonder -- were it not for the uncompromising anti-religious stance of most of the media, would the stories not be reported a bit more moderately? When they describe people as belonging to a cult it automatically prejudices the reader -- which of course is their intent.
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Of course anti-religious stances are nothing new among the media or the rest of the so-called 'elite' here.  Whether lauding the foundation of [http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1206632349683&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull 'Open House'], or permitting [http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/125834 public sale of chamets] during pesach in Jerusalem, our 'elite' surely make known their contempt for the unwashed masses. Too bad the demographics point to a marked drop in the 'elite' and a huge upsurge in the 'unwashed masses'. Up the revolution!
  
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Getting back into the learning curve, I announced to the local Maale Adummim email list that I was starting a ''shiur'' this coming Tuesday, whereby people can improve their Hebrew while learning halachah.  About four or five people showed interest, we'll see how it goes.  Then I found a ''shiur'' for me, in Hebrew, on Wednesday nights.  So now everyone in the family has some sort of organized learning going on, B"H!
 
  
  
 
Shabbat shalom!
 
Shabbat shalom!
  
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{{nav|Blog|Blog|Blog/March 2008/March 28th|Mar 28th|Blog/April 2008/April 11th|Apr 11th}}

Latest revision as of 11:27, 11 April 2008

April 4th (See this week's devar torah)
Send Ron feedback on this blog

Hi again!

This past motsai-shabbat Sarah and some of her classmates threw a party for one of their friends who was going back to Australia, so she took the bus to Jerusalem where they met in a restaurant and had a fine time. Finally around 11 at night she called to ask when the bus would return; she took it back and ended up at home around 11:45. I'm relating this because it shows for one thing, how safe one generally is here. Back in the USA we would never have allowed her to travel by bus late at night; but here it's normal especially after shabbat.

More than that, though I think it's indicative of a shift on her part as well - she herself would never have taken a bus at night "back home". Earlier we got notice that Daniela was accepted to Stern College, which was not a surprise -- but just the other day we got further notice that they are giving her a full scholarship to their honors program, which is a huge surprise and actually makes her attendance there feasible. Now she has to decide whether or not that's what she really wants to do.

I have been officially promoted at work, though as far as I know there is no extra salary associated with the extra responsibility. Essentially, in addition to my other tasks I am also going to be the technical contact for our company to our various potential clients. My bosses were pleased with how I have handled the one potential client - as was the client - so they decided to put all such contacts on my shoulders. Now if I can only convince them to put more silver in my pocket...

The saga of the house move continues. This week we contracted with a mover to move the contents of our rental to the house. B"H we should be moving the last week of June. In the meantime, we met with an electrician and a general contractor just today. I'm afraid to find out what their estimates are going to be -- particularly the general contractor who is all excited about replacing the plumbing in the house -- we'll see.

I found a local supplier of soft matsah so I just placed an order. Anyone interested can ask me this week and I'll give the contact information.

A dutch parlimentarian recently released a short movie, "Fitna", which shows verses of Quran interspersed with scenes of muslim terrorist violence. Needless to say, it has been banned almost everywhere -- even in cyberspace where supposed freedom from tyranny is a byword. "Bye-word" is more like it. Since we need to show more respect for Islam you might enjoy the following video: <youtube v="y9dXGJ2rYdA" />

Ay, there are so many interesting things going on! First, in actual good news, let me recommend anyone interested in my friend Elisheva Barre's new book "Torah for Gentiles" feel free to contact her at shevabar@hotmail.com. It's an interesting read, and full of information.

Do you remember me talking about the bridge in Jerusalem? Well the expensive eyesore has developed cracks in the welds! Just wait till some shahid detonates him-or-herself next to it...

The presumed child-abuse scandals involving members of the religious community have been all over the news recently. I don't know whether the accusations are true or not; that's a matter for courts to decide. What I do know, however, is that the despicable and smarmy manner in which the media choose to depict the stories is not good for anyone. And I wonder -- were it not for the uncompromising anti-religious stance of most of the media, would the stories not be reported a bit more moderately? When they describe people as belonging to a cult it automatically prejudices the reader -- which of course is their intent.

Of course anti-religious stances are nothing new among the media or the rest of the so-called 'elite' here. Whether lauding the foundation of 'Open House', or permitting public sale of chamets during pesach in Jerusalem, our 'elite' surely make known their contempt for the unwashed masses. Too bad the demographics point to a marked drop in the 'elite' and a huge upsurge in the 'unwashed masses'. Up the revolution!


Shabbat shalom!


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