Blog/May 2009/May 15th

May 15th (See this week's devar torah)
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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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