Blog/May 2012/May 11th
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| May 11th (See this week's devar torah) | Comments or questions? Click here! |
Hi, again!
Never a dull moment in the Land! Last week I told you how Netanyahu was going to bring on early elections. This week, he reached a deal with the largest opposition party, Kadima, and now controls the largest coalition in Israel's history. So: no new elections; and for now, the government will be the first in a very long time to last out its nominal term (assuming, of course, no new crises develop). This will make it very difficult for Nobama to apply pressure on Israel, since the "weak Netanyahu" he was hoping for is turning out to be popular and quite powerful. Let's hope that Netanyahu uses this power for Israeli's good rather than only for his own.
There was some progress in the ongoing preparations for Daniela's wedding this week. We made it to the printer's place (a real printer, not a Judaica store), and settled on the particular variety of bentcher (ברכון) to use. We placed an order, though we didn't yet hear back from them on specifics; that should happen early this coming week. We also acquired flights for Daniela and Jeremy, so they will be coming here B"H for the last day of their sheva berachot. We'll let you know more as things develop...
Work was incredibly intense this past week. I spent several days sweating over a bug which was very difficult to track down (though it was very easy to demonstrate). Finally, when all seemed lost, I managed to fix the problem (and it was a very minor fix). So all's well that ends well! In other work news, I got called in to face the CEO (the one who's yelled at me several times before) and the board, for a "review". At this point, I was thinking I was going to be let-go; and so was pleasantly surprised to be told that the CEO likes the work I'm doing, and that (at some point) I can look forward to a raise. It's an `omer miracle!
Speaking of `omer miracles, this week marked the date called lag be`omer, or the 33rd day of the `omer count. That's a day when (according to the Zohar) Rabbi Shim`on bar Yoḥai died. According to the Talmud, a plague which was killing Rabbi ʿAqiva's students stopped on that day. Unfortunately, it's a day when Jews all over the Land have adopted a pagan practice of lighting bonfires, and still others make a "pilgrimage" to the supposed grave of R' Shim`on bar Yoḥai in Meron. sigh. I think bar Yoḥai would spin in his grave, if he knew what sort of nonsense goes on in his name... but I'm clearly in the minority on this one. At least the air has finally cleared from all the bonfire smoke, and we can enjoy a warm but pleasant shabbat this week.
Daniela is now done with classes, getting ready for graduation (congratulations!). She was given an award for "Excellence in Hebraic Studies", which even came with a cash prize. So congratulations to the almost-graduate, to the almost-newlywed, to our firstborn daughter! We're looking forward to seeing you very soon!
Sarah's working on her applications for school; so far she's looking into schools in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. Her interests lie in the arts, particularly in film and photography ... so she's concentrating on narrowing down the list of schools to apply to. There seem to be quite a few here in the Land!
Oh, and one more `omer miracle: I washed the windows in our salon and in the kitchen, so we can actually see what's outside our house. The roses are particularly pretty! Next week I intend to make another release of Zemanim, incorporating user feedback. More on that next week, IY"H.
One of Sarah's best friends is staying with us this shabbat, her last in the Land for a while. There will also be a couple additional girls over for dinner. We'll fatten them all up with: baked tuna steaks, ratatouille, quinoa stuffed peppers, carrot kugel, salatim, schnitzel, crock-pot chicken, fruit crumble, and pastries.
Until next week,
shabbat shalom!
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