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{{bheader|Oct 30th|Devar/5770/Lech Lecha}}  
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{{bheader|Nov 6th|Devar/5770/Vayera}}  
  
 
Hi again!  
 
Hi again!  
  
'''It is raining right now!'''  B"H!!
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The rain which started last Friday, continued off and on until Tuesday -- a very good start to the rainy season here.  Let's hope and pray it continues!  Right now it's warm, and it's supposed to be "warmer than average" this ''shabbat''.  That's good, since we'll have four (additional) girls staying with us, and having the weather be cold and wet would likely discourage them from leaving the house.  But because the winter is approaching fast, we need to figure out what to do about (1) heating and (2) drying clothes.  Our house got quite cold last winter, and we still haven't figured out the best way of heating it.  A particular problem is the "salon", which is open to the stairwell and the kitchen, so it can't be efficiently heated.  And since we use the sun to dry our clothes, and don't have a dryer, we have problems getting our clothes dried properly in the winter. So... we should probably give some real thought to these topics real soon now.
  
The other day, as I was walking to my office, I encountered the building's janitor, AhmedAs is my usual practice, I exchanged the common pleasantries with himThen I said, "where's the rain?".   He suddenly became animated, and said to me, "We have to ''pray'' for rain! The reason there's no rain is because ''we are not good''!".  This hit me like a ton of bricks!  Not only had we (e.g. Israeli Jews) only started requesting rain in our daily prayers just last week, but I had also just reviewed with someone the ''halachot'' about fasting because of the lack of rain, and how we need to "search our deeds" and repent, in order to be worthy of rainTo have a presumably non-Torah aware Gentile reinforce this to me was very impressiveOnly in Israel!
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As you know already, we belong to a group called [http://www.anywhereinisrael.com/ Anywhere in Israel], which places kids who are studying in yeshivas or seminaries with families for those ''shabbatot'' where they will be outside of the school.  This week we got an email asking for placement for this ''shabbat'', and as usual we said "sure, come on"Later that evening, I got a phone call from the coordinator of the program, who said that the girls who sent that request were from Chabad, and "maybe it wouldn't be a good fit".  Of course, we already knew they were Chabad since they said so on the requestAnyway, I told the coordinator that we didn't mind at all, that we were "friends of Chabad". She was happy and surprised, and said she would get back to us shortly.  In a few minutes she called again, to say that if it wouldn't be ''too'' much trouble, would we be able to take four girls instead of two?  We again answered in the affirmative, and she said she would call back in a few minutes. Then she called back and said that, in fact, there were really ''five'' girls -- at which point I interrupted her and asked if this was related to [http://mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt0118.htm#23 this week's ''parashah''] -- but she ignored that, and said that she already placed three of the girls somewhere else, so we would only have two of the Chabad girls... but would it be possible for us to take in two ''other'' girls?  Of course the answer was "certainly".  So that is how it came about that we have four guests this weekIt should be lively...
  
Last week I spoke a bit about evolution, and what I said led some to believe I am ''anti'' evolutionI just want to clarify that I am ''not'' against evolution per se, but I ''am'' quite certain that as it is currently presented, the theory of evolution is not statistically possible.  Interesting article again, in [http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=mantis-shrimp-polarization Scientific American] about circularly-polarized eyes in certain shrimpI'm thinking that's another difficult piece of the puzzle. More, B"H, next weekI have a lot of material to read through still...
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I mentioned [[Blog/October_2009/Oct_16th|a few weeks ago]] about our Israeli Nobel Laureate in chemistry, and how she was too stupid to keep her mouth shut about matters outside her narrow field of expertiseIt turns out that [http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1256799041091&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull Ada'le] has been a darling of the ultra-far-Left for quite a whileSo that idiotic smile of hers is probably somehow related to the leering grin on [http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1256799094210&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull this numb-nut].   
  
In another Israeli moment:  my cel-phone company called me to "give me a deal".   The lady told me that I could pay another 20 shekels a month and be able to send 50 SMS messagesI told her that I never send SMS messages. She said, "but now you will". So I told her that I was not at all interested in SMSing anyone. So she said, "OK, I have another deal for you that can save you money".  Alright, I'm interested in saving money.  She tells me, "You are spending 40 NIS on average on your phone bill, but you have only 50 minutes of airtimeFor 50 NIS, you will get 120 minutes".  I told her that I don't even use 50 minutes, why would I want to pay more for something I wouldn't even use?  She said, "you can talk more!". I said, "but I don't want to talk more than I already do".  She said, "don't you want to talk to your friends?"To which I said, "not really".  She finally conceded there was little they could do for an anti-socialite such as myself...
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Further proof that Jews are not all that brilliant: another "post-Zionist" [http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703746604574464023091024180.html professor at Tel Aviv University] declares that Jews are really {{wiki|Khazars}}, and therefore don't deserve to live in the Land of IsraelNever mind that [http://www.pnas.org/content/97/12/6769.full the genetic evidence] (which predated his paper by years) shows that in fact, most modern-day Jews are much more closely related to middle-eastern peoples than to any of the host populations among whom they were scatteredNever mind, that -- as I mention in my [[Devar/5770/Vayera|devar-torah this week]] -- anyone who chooses, can ''become'' a JewSo it matters not a bit what the genetic heritage is (except for Levites and Cohanim and the future King Messiah) -- our claim to the Land is ''not'' predicated upon our physical ancestors; nor is our peoplehood a genetic issue.
  
I finished another complete learning-cycle of the Rambam's [http://www.mishnetorah.com/en/book.html Mishneh Torah] this week (yesterday, actually).  So I'm feeling energized and excited to widen the scope of my learning.  Anyone with suggestions (especially if you are here in Maaleh Adummim), please feel free to email me.
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In case you were wondering: this week the menu includes a new, "authentic" Hilbe; chicken soup, baked salmon, roasted chicken, the usual selection of ''salatim'', chocolate cake with coconut frosting, meatballsNot necessarily in that order, of course. I hope the girls find something they like.
 
 
Because the weekly Torah reading has to do with Avram leaving home and moving to Israel, our synagogue hosts an "olim (immigrants) shabbat".  We are one of the families who will be having "olim" as guests for tomorrow's meal.  On the menu:
 
* quinoa stuffed vegetables
 
* cauliflower
 
* ''shnitzel''
 
* gingerbread cookies
 
* banana muffins
 
* ''gefilte'' fish
 
* fried eggplant
 
* green teHina, Hilbe, Hummus
 
* vegetable soup
 
* potato ''kugel''
 
(and other ''salads'' -- I don't remember everything being made)You're welcome to join in...
 
  
 
Until next week,<br>
 
Until next week,<br>
 
Shabbat shalom!<br>
 
Shabbat shalom!<br>
  
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Latest revision as of 13:56, 13 November 2009

Nov 6th (See this week's devar torah)
Send Ron feedback on this blog

Hi again!

The rain which started last Friday, continued off and on until Tuesday -- a very good start to the rainy season here. Let's hope and pray it continues! Right now it's warm, and it's supposed to be "warmer than average" this shabbat. That's good, since we'll have four (additional) girls staying with us, and having the weather be cold and wet would likely discourage them from leaving the house. But because the winter is approaching fast, we need to figure out what to do about (1) heating and (2) drying clothes. Our house got quite cold last winter, and we still haven't figured out the best way of heating it. A particular problem is the "salon", which is open to the stairwell and the kitchen, so it can't be efficiently heated. And since we use the sun to dry our clothes, and don't have a dryer, we have problems getting our clothes dried properly in the winter. So... we should probably give some real thought to these topics real soon now.

As you know already, we belong to a group called Anywhere in Israel, which places kids who are studying in yeshivas or seminaries with families for those shabbatot where they will be outside of the school. This week we got an email asking for placement for this shabbat, and as usual we said "sure, come on". Later that evening, I got a phone call from the coordinator of the program, who said that the girls who sent that request were from Chabad, and "maybe it wouldn't be a good fit". Of course, we already knew they were Chabad since they said so on the request. Anyway, I told the coordinator that we didn't mind at all, that we were "friends of Chabad". She was happy and surprised, and said she would get back to us shortly. In a few minutes she called again, to say that if it wouldn't be too much trouble, would we be able to take four girls instead of two? We again answered in the affirmative, and she said she would call back in a few minutes. Then she called back and said that, in fact, there were really five girls -- at which point I interrupted her and asked if this was related to this week's parashah -- but she ignored that, and said that she already placed three of the girls somewhere else, so we would only have two of the Chabad girls... but would it be possible for us to take in two other girls? Of course the answer was "certainly". So that is how it came about that we have four guests this week. It should be lively...

I mentioned a few weeks ago about our Israeli Nobel Laureate in chemistry, and how she was too stupid to keep her mouth shut about matters outside her narrow field of expertise. It turns out that Ada'le has been a darling of the ultra-far-Left for quite a while. So that idiotic smile of hers is probably somehow related to the leering grin on this numb-nut.

Further proof that Jews are not all that brilliant: another "post-Zionist" professor at Tel Aviv University declares that Jews are really Khazars, and therefore don't deserve to live in the Land of Israel. Never mind that the genetic evidence (which predated his paper by years) shows that in fact, most modern-day Jews are much more closely related to middle-eastern peoples than to any of the host populations among whom they were scattered. Never mind, that -- as I mention in my devar-torah this week -- anyone who chooses, can become a Jew. So it matters not a bit what the genetic heritage is (except for Levites and Cohanim and the future King Messiah) -- our claim to the Land is not predicated upon our physical ancestors; nor is our peoplehood a genetic issue.

In case you were wondering: this week the menu includes a new, "authentic" Hilbe; chicken soup, baked salmon, roasted chicken, the usual selection of salatim, chocolate cake with coconut frosting, meatballs. Not necessarily in that order, of course. I hope the girls find something they like.

Until next week,
Shabbat shalom!



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