Blog/November 2009/Nov 20th

Nov 13th (See this week's devar torah)
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Hi again!

Lots and lots this week; sorry if it's a long blog this time, you don't have to read it all...

First an update about last shabbat. We told you last week that we were going to have four girls as guests, two of whom were Chabad. In fact, it turned out that one of the "non-Chabad" girls' father was in fact Chabad. The fourth girl was from a chassidic family (Kloizenburg, not Chabad). They were lovely girls, and the shabbat was very interesting and pleasant.

Sarah went on her yearly school trip this week, to Eilat. We expected to have a quiet three days, just the two of us... and boy were we wrong! The first day was fine. But on the second day, we got a call from Sarah saying that during one of the hikes, she fell down a ladder. As she was laying, stunned, on the ground -- a rock fell on her head! Apparently, her concerned friends at the top of the ladder accidentally knocked a rock over the edge of the cliff. NOTE: some of the pictures in the following links are a bit alarming! The medic who was with them bandaged her head, but my poor daughter left blood on the rocks of Eilat. As you (may or may not) know, head wounds bleed profusely even if the wound is not large.

Thank God, she was not seriously injured, though she is well and truly scraped up. They ended up taking her to the hospital in Eilat, where her wound was glued shut. We expected her to complain bitterly about her ordeal; but in fact, she said she had a really good time on the trip, even counting what happened to her. All's well that ends well...

Our fruit trees produced some kumquats and lemons. The kumquats are very good, and Sarah and I will be happily snacking on them. The lemons are very juicy, and Esther will be turning them into nice Sephardi foods.

Geek alert: if you want to get me a small token of appreciation, I wouldn't mind a Linux-powered motorcycle. In geek news: nothing to be conCERNed about, but the approximately $5 billion LHC had a run-in with a bird, causing part of the machine to overheat. I would have expected a little more redundancy in critical systems, for that price-tag.

By now you will have heard all about the horrific shooting in Ft. Hood. What I find difficult to digest is how anyone who was not lobotomized can wonder what the motivation of the shooter was! Most especially since he yelled allah-hu-akbar during the shooting. By the way, that phrase means "(our) god is greater (than yours)", and not "God is great" as it is usually rendered. Just in case, you know, you were wondering. There are some in the press who also wonder as I do, but by far the majority of mainstream media have reported that Hasan was deranged (of course he was). This is not the first such, nor will it be the last, jihadi attack on the US. It is time for America to wake up, and soon! Interesting too, that the current Commander-in-Chief did not see fit to visit the site of the shooting, while the previous one did.

If you are wondering what lay ahead for America if she doesn't wake up, listen to Wafa Sultan. Especially you women out there. This is the fate awaiting those who ignore illegal Iranian arms shipments to Hizbollah and general creeping Islamism. At the risk of under-statement, I'll echo Wafa's statement that Islam is the problem. It needs to be dealt with soon, for everyone's sakes.

The Left in Israel is fond of denigrating the "Haredim" as being "leeches", "vermin" and other such fine sentiments. A new economic study helps explain why Haredim are under-represented in the workplace. Imagine, the same Lefties who despise the Haredim also try to avoid hiring them in the first place! I am shocked, I tell you!

I recently found this site, which is run by Orson Scott Card (I am a fan of his writing). An acquaintance of mine posted an article there a number of years ago, explaining what "peace" means to Muslims, as distinguished from what it means to, say, Westerners. An interesting and still timely piece.

And now Esther wants me to post the recipe for "modest radish salad" סלט צנון צנוע, which is really tasty and easy:

• 1 cup coarsely shredded radish (the large Israeli kind, not the small American kind)
• 1 small hot red pepper, chopped fine
• 1/2 cup raw peas (or thawed frozen peas)
• 1/4-1/2 cup whole cashews
• 1/2 cup chopped raw green beans
• 3/4 cup cucumber cut in thick slices
• tehina-soy sauce or tehina salad dressing:

• 2 tbsp mayonnaise
• 5 tbsp raw tehina
• 4 tbsp soy sauce
• 4 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp finely chopped garlic

mix it all together until smooth

Mix it all together with the dressing.

NEWS FLASH: it is raining again!

Until next week,
Shabbat shalom!

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