Blog/November 2012/Nov 9th

Nov 9th (See this week's devar torah)

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Hi, again!

Wow, just... wow! The most costly US election campaign in history has finally ended, and the citizens of the former Land of the Free have voted for bread and circuses. sic moritur imperium. One Israeli's perspective follows...

Esther has been sincerely trying to quit her job. She told the boss, back in June, that if things didn't change she would be quitting. Things (of course) didn't change, so she gave two months formal notice. In the meantime, the boss has not really looked for a replacement, and has blandished my dear wife with all kinds of incentives to stay -- none of which moved her. She's a tough customer, Esther is! Anyway, after all that, it's still uncertain what her final day of work there will be.

My place of employment is anxious to double the technical staff! The place is a bit crazy, but pays well and is conveniently located near the Jerusalem Central Bus Station (תחנה מרכזית). So if you know anyone who is a strong C/C++ programmer and wants to work in Jerusalem in a mostly Hebrew-speaking environment, get in touch with me, please!

Sarah's just finished her first week of real classes. That is, the first week that's not an "introduction". Her schedule is three (very) full days a week; and to compensate her for only having three full days of classes, she has loads of homework to do during the "free" time. She asks you please pray for the recovery of one of her close friends, Bracha Leah bat Sarah, who has been in the hospital for a week.

Daniela and Jeremy are having to contend with real winter weather now, as well as the aftermath of Sandy and Athena. Jeremy went back to work, as did Daniela; hopefully things are getting back to normal for them.

As I mentioned in the opening paragraph, the US has chosen "bread and circuses". For those of you who don't get the allusion, it refers to the downfall of the Roman empire. The phrase first appeared in Satire X of Juvenal (the Roman author, not some underage person). In short, the Romans in power learned that staying in power was easier to accomplish by "buying the vote" by giving "free stuff" to the populace than it was to act in the best interests of the empire. Thus began the slow descent of Rome, culminating in its sacking by the Vandals. Had the Roman leaders been true to their charge and maintained their army and their citizen's loyalty to the nation and moral compass, they would have repelled the Vandals as well as those who preceded them -- and history would have been quite different.

The character of the US is changing before our very eyes. The population is not moved one iota by the malfeasance of its leaders. Scandals which toppled prior governments barely rate a raised eyebrow amongst today's nation. Caring only for "what my country can do for me" and ignoring the fiscal precipice lurking very near, they have re-elected the least-qualified and least-accomplished President in the history of the United States. It is incredible to me, but even Jimmy Carter was a better President... and he was retired after only one term. Requiescat in pace, America.

The changes not only manifest themselves as fiscal irresponsibility, but also in a general dissolution of society's moral compass -- precisely as in Rome's case. The recent Democratic convention's battle over the insertion of "God" and "Jerusalem" into the platform is indicative of a general turning away from traditional values amongst the populace at large, as is the general approbation for same-sex marriage and the expansion of government supported abortion. I fear for the country of my birth, the former Land of the Free... soon to be the People's Republic of America (a wholly owned subsidiary of the PRC).

To all my friends and family still there: I urge you in the strongest possible language to do as Abraham our forefather did; to leave your home-town and the country of your birth, and make the life-changing journey of aliyah. As the economy of the US inevitably falters and the general malaise increases, anti-Semitism will also inevitably increase (even ignoring the effect a growing Muslim population in the US will have on policies domestic and foreign). We need you here; you need you here! Please come home while it's still relatively easy to do so.

In more pleasant news: I was able to make very significant progress on a somewhat long-term project I'm working on. This is a product which will run on Windows/Linux/Mac OS/X and Android... but it will be a while yet before I have a "beta" version for you to look at. Suffice it to say that I am hoping to turn it into a revenue producer so I don't have to "go to work" any more (and can keep my soon to be unemployed wife company!). If you are interested in investment opportunities and want more information, please contact me.

The sauerkraut we made is now in the 'fridge, probably we should eat it sometime soon and let you know how it turned out. We've also put up the first batch of olives from our trees, and today I picked a second, riper and much bigger batch of olives for processing which we'll get to after shabbat, B"H.

My ḥevruta and his daughter will be joining us for shabbat dinner. On the menu:
homemade ḥallah, ḥumus, baba ghanoush, beet salad, ginger-carrot soup, baked chicken with rosemary potatoes, lamb-fava stew, chicken and red rice, baked cauliflower, deviled eggs, and a mystery dessert (provided by the guests, hence the mystery)

Until next week,
shabbat shalom!

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