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Hi again!
 
Hi again!
  
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It was a productive week -- I released my company's first shipping product (and now feel much less stress, thank you).  We went for a "teacher conference" night at Sarah's school, and she is doing well academically.  We gave our plants a little water and they started taking over the house.  And this shabbat we will have, B"H, guests staying with us (seminary girls).
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This week the country was in the throes of {{wiki|Lag BaOmer}} -- an essentially made-up holiday.  Preparations actually started before Pesach -- with marauding bands of kids taking any wood that wasn't nailed down (and some that was) for the traditional bonfires.  We went out for a walk on Lag BaOmer night to see what was going on.  There were bonfires all around our area, including right behind our house -- so we didn't have to go far.  The sheer quantity of combustibles brought by people is alarming.  So is the [http://ourshiputzim.blogspot.com/2009/05/smoked-tuna-and-other-er-delicacies.html quantity of food] prepared by the celebrants.  I guess inside every Israeli is a pyromaniac awaiting release.  The aftermath was disgusting -- all sorts of food debris and smoldering fires left over the following morning.
  
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Unfortunately, Sarah was sick at the beginning of the week, and missed school because of it.  Then she got better -- but yesterday developed a fever.  So today we went to the doctor and found out she has {{wiki|strep throat}}! Not a great way to start off shabbat, but at least she's got antibiotics now and should be better, God willing, by Monday or so.
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Unfortunately, the "{{wiki2|Pope_Benedict_XVI|pope}}" graced us (Israel, not us personally) with a visit this past week.  So traffic in Jerusalem was terrible, the bus lines were rearranged, and parts of the city were sealed off from public access -- all to accommodate a priest of idol-worship and former {{wiki|Hitler Youth}} member, who has not seemed to set aside his anti-Semitic early training and attitudes. I [http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/131376 have not yet encountered one Israeli] who was happy about this visit (based on my informal surveys conducted during my daily bus-rides to and from work).
  
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Daniela will be coming back for the summer, B"H, in two weeks. An obligatory part of travelling back and forth from the US is bringing "stuff" that is hard to get here.  I'm seriously thinking about having her bring back [http://www.amazon.com/Star-Interactive-Astromech-Droid-Robot/dp/B001E95SQ2 our very own 'droid]...
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Sarah has recovered from her bout with strep-throat, B"H!  She also seems to have very good luck... before ''pesach'' she had taken out books from the local library, to be returned just after ''pesach''.  But up until today (a or so month later), she hadn't gone to return them.  So today we prevailed on her to make the arduous journey and return the books -- and pay whatever the fines were.  When she got there, they told her she doesn't have to pay a fine, because ''it was her first time''. Mighty nice of them!
  
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One of my weekly study-partners is also an occasional blog-writer.  His [http://alittlebiteast.blogspot.com/2009/05/primordial-blob-meets-bochrim.html last installment] was particularly interesting to me, and I concur with much of what he says.  But I would like to elaborate a bit on the {{wiki|Ptolemy}} vs. {{wiki|Copernicus}} issue.  It is not precisely true that Copernicus was right (that the Earth orbits the Sun) and Ptolemy was wrong (that the Sun orbits the Earth).  Neither is really correct, as they both orbit the combined center-of-gravity of the solar system (which itself orbits the center-of-gravity of the Milky Way galaxy, and so on ...).  From a practical standpoint (as {{wiki|Einstein}}'s {{wiki|theory of relativity}} makes clear), it makes no difference whether one chooses the Sun as the stationary frame of reference, or instead chooses the Earth.  For day-to-day needs, it is just as useful to follow Ptolemy as Copernicus, and for some purposes easier to have a stationary Earth.
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Next week is Daniela's last week of the school-year, and we wish her lots of success in her finals.  She plays in a chamber ensemble on Tuesdays, so anyone in the New York area -- drop her a line (until end of this coming week, that is...) and she'll tell you when and where they play.
  
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More Israeli goodness... Sarah says, "confidence is good" -- but there is indeed such a thing as [http://howtobeisraeli.blogspot.com/2009/05/you-are-never-too-old-to-wear-spandex.html too much confidence].  The Israeli equivalent of "The Amazing Race" (called here "The Race for a Million") has Israelis traveling the world and performing feats just like the American version.  Encouragingly, one of the (non-religious) media stars here [http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/131039 refused to show a clip from it] because it shows Israelis eating things forbidden by ''halacha''.
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I was able to make excellent progress on my work project, so hopefully this will translate soon into lots of income for the company, and if they want to give me a bonus, I won't object.  At all.
  
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You Americans who are about to [http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1239710872635&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull make aliyah], take note. We came from the land of latex gloves and {{wiki|Purel}}, to the Land where random people off the street put their hands into the salad-bar.  From a land where people Lysol their toilets, to the Land where some think the street ''is'' the toilet.  From a land where people politely ask "how are you doing" (though they don't care), to the Land where people tell you what you should be doing (because they do care).  From a land where our activities were of little importance, to the Land where we are bringing the ultimate redemption one step closer simply by being here.  There is ''no place better'' for a Jew to be!
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We enjoyed our ''shabbat'' guests last week -- unfortunately, we have none this week.  But that's ok, 'cause the weather has turned really ''sharav''-y and it will probably be hot and uncomfortable this ''shabbat''.  As I'm writing this, I can't even see Jerusalem due to the dust in the air.
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I pass the [http://ilovejerusalem.blogspot.com/2009/04/talitha-kumi.html Talithakumi] landmark in downtown Jerusalem almost every day, and I never knew what "Talithakumi" was supposed to mean.  Now I know, and I hope we ship it back to the [http://www.talithakumi.org/IndexE.html school] and expel them from our country, so we don't have it in the middle of downtown Jerusalem.   I wonder how many of the pedestrians there have any idea they have words from the xtian bible right over their heads?  Or that the organization whose portal that was, doesn't recognize Israel?
 
  
 
You can help [[tsedaka|feed the hungry]] in Israel!
 
You can help [[tsedaka|feed the hungry]] in Israel!
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Shabbat shalom!
 
Shabbat shalom!
  
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Latest revision as of 13:49, 22 May 2009

May 15th (See this week's devar torah)
Send Ron feedback on this blog

Hi again!

This week the country was in the throes of Lag BaOmer -- an essentially made-up holiday. Preparations actually started before Pesach -- with marauding bands of kids taking any wood that wasn't nailed down (and some that was) for the traditional bonfires. We went out for a walk on Lag BaOmer night to see what was going on. There were bonfires all around our area, including right behind our house -- so we didn't have to go far. The sheer quantity of combustibles brought by people is alarming. So is the quantity of food prepared by the celebrants. I guess inside every Israeli is a pyromaniac awaiting release. The aftermath was disgusting -- all sorts of food debris and smoldering fires left over the following morning.

Unfortunately, the "pope" graced us (Israel, not us personally) with a visit this past week. So traffic in Jerusalem was terrible, the bus lines were rearranged, and parts of the city were sealed off from public access -- all to accommodate a priest of idol-worship and former Hitler Youth member, who has not seemed to set aside his anti-Semitic early training and attitudes. I have not yet encountered one Israeli who was happy about this visit (based on my informal surveys conducted during my daily bus-rides to and from work).

Sarah has recovered from her bout with strep-throat, B"H! She also seems to have very good luck... before pesach she had taken out books from the local library, to be returned just after pesach. But up until today (a or so month later), she hadn't gone to return them. So today we prevailed on her to make the arduous journey and return the books -- and pay whatever the fines were. When she got there, they told her she doesn't have to pay a fine, because it was her first time. Mighty nice of them!

Next week is Daniela's last week of the school-year, and we wish her lots of success in her finals. She plays in a chamber ensemble on Tuesdays, so anyone in the New York area -- drop her a line (until end of this coming week, that is...) and she'll tell you when and where they play.

I was able to make excellent progress on my work project, so hopefully this will translate soon into lots of income for the company, and if they want to give me a bonus, I won't object. At all.

We enjoyed our shabbat guests last week -- unfortunately, we have none this week. But that's ok, 'cause the weather has turned really sharav-y and it will probably be hot and uncomfortable this shabbat. As I'm writing this, I can't even see Jerusalem due to the dust in the air.

You can help feed the hungry in Israel!

Until next week,
Shabbat shalom!


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