Blog/August 2008/Aug 15th
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August 15th (See this week's devar torah)
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יְרוּשָׁלִַם -- הָרִים, סָבִיב לָהּ - As the mountains are round about Jerusalem… (Psa 125:2)
We went on a trip to Ir David, where the recent archaeological finds from the First Temple period were made. The place is located on the site of the original Jebusite city which King David conquered. When you look around from there, you can see all the mountains around Jerusalem, just as King David described in the above psalm. We had to descend a series of steps to get to Hizkiah's tunnel -- which was dug during King Hizkiah's time to ensure Jerusalem's water supply. The tunnel is full of water -- at times up to our knees -- and narrow. The amazing thing is this kilometer-long tunnel was dug from both ends simultaneously, and met in the middle. Without GPS or modern tunneling equipment.
What King David and his offspring had accomplished stands in stark contrast with our current batch of "leaders", who continue to pursue a fictitious peace with a fictitious people. Though I hate to admit even a grudging respect for the Russian autocrats, at least there is no doubt in anyone's mind what the consequences of messing with them are.
On the home-improvement front: I finally borrowed a tall ladder from our neighbors, and repaired the laundry line. It was unusable because (1) the cable was rusted and (2) vines were wrapped around the pulleys, so the cable could not be pulled. Now I need to get more laundry line, since there wasn't enough for the job in the package I got. Wasn't that exciting news?
More home related issues: each of us has a particular area of responsibility when it comes to getting ready for Shabbat. Esther makes the majority of the food. Daniela often makes dessert. Sarah provides the entertainment. I do the pre-shabbat cleaning at home, which involves mostly sweeping the floor, then passing a "smartut" (wet cloth) over the floor to pick up dust. As I was going up the stairs the other day, I remembered I haven't swept the stairs in a while. Did you realize that dust collects in the corners of the stairs? I didn't really think about it before. So this week Sarah swept the stairs and we got our first pet: a dust-doggy.
The defense forces have started spraying various villains with eau de garbage. Perhaps they should start in the Knesset?
This week we "celebrated" the major fast of Tisha B'Av, a day on which throughout Jewish history has been a day of tragedy. Now a professor has declared that the Holocaust cannot be understood using the "old theology". I beg to differ; and I think the "professor" does not understand Jewish thought or the Torah very well, to reach the conclusions he did. The point of our marking the ninth of Av by fasting is to help bring us to a state of repentance, so we can avoid making the same mistakes in the future. Burying one's head in the sand -- which is exactly what declaring, "We can't understand the Holocaust" is -- brings upon us more and worse destruction. Sorry for the depressing topic...
Sarah would have written a blog contribution this week, but she reports, "My inspiring writing bug, it seems, has left the building. And by the building, I mean my head". Ah, never mind -- she decided she was inspired after all.
Shabbat shalom!
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