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{{bheader|August 22nd|Devar/5768/Ekev}}
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{{bheader|August 29th|Devar/5768/Reeh}}
  
  
 
Hi again!
 
Hi again!
  
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My dear wife has been complaining about a certain pain for years, and the doctors have never been able to help her.  They didn't even find a reason for the pain.  I'm a patient man, but I don't like hearing my wife complain about her pains - so I told her to get to a doctor, and stop complaining to me.  That's what's called ''tough love''.  Anyway, her response was along the lines of, "the doctors won't find anything" (which is, of course, what her experience has been).  So the doctor here in M"A examined her and sent her to a specialist. The specialist heard her tell what the doctors in the US had told her, and he nearly fell off his chair.  "We have some things to teach the Americans", he said.  Now she's got some tests to do, and other specialists to see -- but as our doctor here in M"A said, "It's wrong to have pain.  We're going to keep on until we figure out what it is.".  Score one for the Israeli medical system...
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Daniela has been at [http://www.yu.edu/stern/ Stern College] for a week, almost; and is getting acclimated slowly.  She was a bit shocked at the prices of things in NYC - but we're sure she'll find a way to make it work.  Sarah starts school next week, and is not really looking forward to changing from "vacation" mode to "study" mode.  [[Blog/August 2008/Aug 22nd|Last week]] I mentioned Esther's going to the doctor -- I got so many concerned responses, I feel the need to mention that "it's not serious", so while we thank you for your concern, you really don't need to be worried.
  
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It's a bittersweet week for us.  Daniela is leaving for college in the US (Stern College), and we won't see each other for quite a while.  We know she will be successful and hope she attains her goals by going there. We'll miss you a lot, Daniela!
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Aliyah advice: Israel is ''not'' the USA.  It's not England.  It's not even France!  Try to keep that in mind, when you move here.  You are not just ''moving'', you are ''changing your life'' -- and if you insist on living here as you would in the US, you will be bound to have a disappointing and difficult time.  Yes, you can live the same lifestyle you had in the US -- if you are willing to spend three times as much money to do so. On the other hand, if you live "like an Israeli", you will not only fit in better, you will have an easier time.  More advice next week...
  
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Sarah is starting school next week, but in the meantime has a friend of hers from Seattle visiting us.  Maybe we can convince her to stay in Israel? Maybe...
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The item which prompted the preceding public-service announcement: Osem-brand "Chinese-style soy sauce".  It resembles actual soy-sauce as much as I resemble {{wiki|Michael Jackson}} (Heaven forbid!).  The Osem ketchup is very good, pretty close to "Heinz" brand in the US.  But the soy-sauce is actually revolting.  Going to the store here can be a crap-shoot, when you don't know which brands are "good" or not.  Here's a clue: stick with the middle-eastern kinds of foods -- they're usually very good.  Fake American-style foods are often pretty bad.  And fake Asian foods are even worse. On the other hand, dairy products are excellent, and vegetables and fruits are superb. And some things [http://bogieworks.blogs.com/treppenwitz/2008/08/its-no-trouble.html just have to be experienced].
  
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Trying to have "family togetherness time", the ladies all went to the (separated) beach in Rishon LeTsion, where they all had a good time. Esther got her fill of dipping in the Mediterranean.  The girls got their fill of sand.  Later in the week, I took time off from work and we were ''going'' to go on a tour -- but it got cancelled.  So instead, we went to the Science Museum at the Givat Ram branch of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. If you've been to the Seattle Science Center, it will be quite familiar. Except for being in Hebrew.  And except for there being ''hundreds'' of kids there.
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In an ironic twist of fate, a friend of mine -- whom I first met twenty years ago when I worked at ''Traveling Software'' in Seattle, has [http://claymore4-livinginthesouthwest.blogspot.com/ also moved to the desert].  The Sonoran desert, while we're in the {{wiki2|Judea|Judean desert}}.  We're having real desert weather now -- 40+ degrees, but it's a bit humid so it is really uncomfortable.  It was supposed to cool down... but the weather people here are not better than anywhere else..
  
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This week we did more hardware shopping.  This time, for a ceiling lamp for the kitchen.  Until now we've had one of those (extremely) cheap fixtures which is basically just the light bulb in a socket. Which is ok, but doesn't match the kitchen we spent so much effort to redo. So we go to the hardware store and find something we think is nice (and it was half-price, to boot). Take it home and find the instructions are (literally) in Greek. Only. No English, German or French. Then I come to find out that the hanging mechanism is extremely difficult to make work (I didn't need instructions, even in Greek, to figure that out).  Finally we got it hooked up and working ... and it does look nice in the kitchen!
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As we are led down the left-wing path to peace and prosperity, it appears that {{wiki|thoughtcrime}} is being outlawed in the [http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1219572126927&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull Israeli Defense Forces].  Perhaps the {{wiki|Ministry of Truth}} will install monitoring devices in our homes, next? I don't think [http://www.makor1.co.il/makor/Article.faces;jsessionid=3edb07f230d5b7bc4fa40b8b4ea7a7b1bf595def9534.e34Mc3aTbNiTby0LaxmNbxqRchmMe0?articleId=33900&channel=1&subchannel=5 Rabbi Rozen's comparison] of "Peace Now" to the halachic category of ''mosrim'' (informers) will endear him to MiniTru -- but I don't think he cares, honestly.
  
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Today we heard this story from a not-so-new immigrant: He was convinced to move to a city in the north of Israel shortly after he moved. He was told there was work, and a community. It turns out there was no work, nor much of a community.  He went on lots of job interviews. At one of them, he was told that if he wanted to get a job, he would have to "shave his beard, take off his kippa and work on shabbat". He said, "if that's so, why did I move to Israel?!?".  We were stunned and dismayed to hear such a story,  and I told him not to worry; here in the Jerusalem area they won't make him shave to get a job. Is this really why we left the lands of our Exile?  To have Jews behave like the worst Gentile anti-Semites?
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In further bizarro-world news, our "friend" and "ally" the US is asking for [http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/127337 more goodwill gestures] from us towards the Fakestinians.  Excuse me? Why is the "goodwill" only expected from our side? When have "they" ''ever'' displayed "goodwill"?  Oh, I got it!  When they continue to launch missiles at Sderot even though they declared a cease-fire? No? Oh, wait ... I know! When they [http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/Flash.aspx/152153 attack vehicles with firebombs and metal objects]?  No?  Well, what then? C'mon, they're our ''partners for peace'' for cryin' out loud! The most "goodwill" we should show them is to give them exit-visas for the actual "Fakestinian" homeland -- the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan (where they are not welcome, and whose leaders have no qualms about giving them the ''respect'' they so richly deserve).
  
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This week, I saw the news that the [http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1218710396709&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull OU is going to supervise] kosher slaughter (of chickens) here in Israel.  No offense intended, but "what?".  There are dozens of certifying agencies here, many of whom with much higher standards than the OU (no offense to my good friend here who used to work at the OU).  Who exactly is buying meat in Israel and needs to see an OU stamp?  This hardly seems to me a "growth industry" here.  In fact, because the OU certifies as kosher products containing grain which is "new" (relying on a minority opinion against the mishnah and later codes), I don't buy ''any'' OU certified items with grains unless they also have a "better" hechsher.  Israelis don't know this about the OU (nor that they certify milk products which are not ''halav israel'').
 
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In further kashrut news, [http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/Flash.aspx/151793 Rav Mahpud] (whose hechsher is the only one I know of which requires the slaughterers check the knife according to the Talmud's instructions) has had some sort of medical emergency (it's not clear what).  So please reserve a prayer for Shlomo ben Chamama.
 
  
 
Until next week,<br>
 
Until next week,<br>
 
Shabbat shalom!
 
Shabbat shalom!
  
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{{nav|Blog|Blog|Blog/August 2008/Aug 22nd|Aug 22nd|Blog/September 2008/Sep 5th|Sep 5th}}

Latest revision as of 11:23, 5 September 2008

August 29th (See this week's devar torah)
Send Ron feedback on this blog


Hi again!

Daniela has been at Stern College for a week, almost; and is getting acclimated slowly. She was a bit shocked at the prices of things in NYC - but we're sure she'll find a way to make it work. Sarah starts school next week, and is not really looking forward to changing from "vacation" mode to "study" mode. Last week I mentioned Esther's going to the doctor -- I got so many concerned responses, I feel the need to mention that "it's not serious", so while we thank you for your concern, you really don't need to be worried.

Aliyah advice: Israel is not the USA. It's not England. It's not even France! Try to keep that in mind, when you move here. You are not just moving, you are changing your life -- and if you insist on living here as you would in the US, you will be bound to have a disappointing and difficult time. Yes, you can live the same lifestyle you had in the US -- if you are willing to spend three times as much money to do so. On the other hand, if you live "like an Israeli", you will not only fit in better, you will have an easier time. More advice next week...

The item which prompted the preceding public-service announcement: Osem-brand "Chinese-style soy sauce". It resembles actual soy-sauce as much as I resemble Michael Jackson (Heaven forbid!). The Osem ketchup is very good, pretty close to "Heinz" brand in the US. But the soy-sauce is actually revolting. Going to the store here can be a crap-shoot, when you don't know which brands are "good" or not. Here's a clue: stick with the middle-eastern kinds of foods -- they're usually very good. Fake American-style foods are often pretty bad. And fake Asian foods are even worse. On the other hand, dairy products are excellent, and vegetables and fruits are superb. And some things just have to be experienced.

In an ironic twist of fate, a friend of mine -- whom I first met twenty years ago when I worked at Traveling Software in Seattle, has also moved to the desert. The Sonoran desert, while we're in the Judean desert. We're having real desert weather now -- 40+ degrees, but it's a bit humid so it is really uncomfortable. It was supposed to cool down... but the weather people here are not better than anywhere else..

As we are led down the left-wing path to peace and prosperity, it appears that thoughtcrime is being outlawed in the Israeli Defense Forces. Perhaps the Ministry of Truth will install monitoring devices in our homes, next? I don't think Rabbi Rozen's comparison of "Peace Now" to the halachic category of mosrim (informers) will endear him to MiniTru -- but I don't think he cares, honestly.

In further bizarro-world news, our "friend" and "ally" the US is asking for more goodwill gestures from us towards the Fakestinians. Excuse me? Why is the "goodwill" only expected from our side? When have "they" ever displayed "goodwill"? Oh, I got it! When they continue to launch missiles at Sderot even though they declared a cease-fire? No? Oh, wait ... I know! When they attack vehicles with firebombs and metal objects? No? Well, what then? C'mon, they're our partners for peace for cryin' out loud! The most "goodwill" we should show them is to give them exit-visas for the actual "Fakestinian" homeland -- the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan (where they are not welcome, and whose leaders have no qualms about giving them the respect they so richly deserve).


Until next week,
Shabbat shalom!


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