Chabad Of Poway

     On the last day of Pesach a great tragedy occurred . The Chabad of Poway  which is in San Diego, California was attacked by  an anti-semitic gunman. One woman was murdered and three others were injured. The woman who was murdered specifically went to shul that day to say yizkor for her dearly departed mother. Lori Gilbert- Kaye's  body blocked the killer from mudering the rabbi.
      Meanwhile in the shul there was an military veteran who ran after the murderer and scared him so  he ran out. By miracle the shooter's gun jammed which also prevented him from continuing . Another congregant was an off duty border patrol agent who ran out and shot at the shooter's getaway car. No one should have died that day, but it is miraculous that the  gun jammed.
         After Yom Tov Rabbi Goldstein recounted  with tears what happened at his shul and eulogized his slain friend and congregant. It was such a kiddush Hashem. Chabad of Poway posted Lori Kaye's picture and celebrated her life. The biggest tragedy is that Lori Kaye was such a lovely neshamah and most of us may never have heard of her greatness had such tragedy never happened. We must celebrate inspirational people every day .
         Via facebook I watched some of the funeral at the shul as well as at the cemetery. Truly heartbreaking. Then again , truly amazing that the world is so small that on Facebook I could watch the funeral.
        The best of humanity was displayed in that shul this past shabbos as well as the worst of humanity. I wish it hadn't taken such a tragedy to be virtually introduced to some of the most wonderful people on earth.(The members and rabbi of the Chabad of Poway)
       The Chabad of Poway has some of the kindest and caring  members . May they never know any more pain . May all of Lori Gilbert-Kaye's friends and family be comforted . by the fact that we all miss her . May we never know any more sadness. 

Terror

      I am still in shock about the terror attack at the gay nightclub in Orlando a week ago. I am glad that  it was Shavuot when it happened so I could not listen to Obama's statement or any newscaster's  opinions for a few days.
      I have a few thoughts that I would like to share. I do not think that increased gun control laws would have stopped this attack. Hello. Terrorists have ways of securing guns to do nefarious things. I myself do not own a gun nor do I want to. What if the bouncer at the Pulse club in Orlando had a gun and knew how to use it? Maybe the devastation would not have been as great.
      The funniest reaction I have heard is that the LGBT community is upset that people are making this such a universal tragedy instead of just  an LGBT tragedy. To this I say, " Huh? " Isn't that what they want? Don't they want the whole world to be shocked and saddened because this was a horrible act to happen to people not just that its a horrible act to happen to LGBTs ?
        As for our fearless leader Obama, all I can say is that the snippets I have heard of his reaction is more upsetting than the actions of the terrorist. He still thinks that if we all joins hands and sing "Kumbaya" there will be peace. I guess it works for him because he and Michelle can escape quickly to their secure bunker if necessary. What about the rest of us?
        The terrorist last week was on a no fly list . He was known to be belligerent and apparently he wasn't being watched well enough because this still happened. Its good news bad news. He didn't appear on the terror scene out of the blue, but its rather horrific that no one was able to stop him .
         I do think that the number 49 is significant in this massacre as this shooting happened on the first night of Shavuot. Shavuot is 49 days after Pesach. The Jews had descended to 49 levels of toomah before matan torah. I don't know how to process all of this , but I am sure some rabbi already has. If I bother to look I will probably find one of their guesses.
        I am sending condolences to the friends and families of  those who were murdered in terrorist attack in Orlando. I wish all those who injured in the attack a refuah shelmah. I wish all of us a peaceful world.

Liberalism at its Best

          I have held my tongue for over a year concerning Ferguson and the Black Lives Matter issues. I am a white  and Jewish  so I didn't really think that what I have to say is relevant. Until now.
         Most people aren't aware of the bleeding heart liberal reform rabbi  Susan Talve who is now on a terrorist list. Talve rallied fervently for the black people of Ferguson. She was there for so many black  people after the Michael Brown incident that many owe their lives to her for keeping them safe during all the rallying and rioting. Apparently Talve supports Israel so the pro-palestinian groups who are trying their hardest to connect the dots between Ferguson and palestinians are lashing out at her. The bigger joke is that though Talve is pro-Israel I have a hunch that she is not remotely right wing in her support. Apparently believing Israel has a right to exist is hard core . Demonizing Talve is like a wolf showing his teeth . In other words even though she has been a strong voice in the Black Lives Matter movement it is not appreciated because she is Jewish .
          The group that wants to connect the dots between African Americans and the palestinians is small and unwelcome, but make no mistake they exist.  I find  it so disturbing in light of all the unrest in the world. What black people go through in the United States is NOT equal to anything that is happening to the Palestinians. To compare the two is wrong and very frightening.
         I  have a new respect for Susan Talve now. I just thought she was reliving her hippy roots by rallying in Fergusen, but now that I know that she supports Israel, I know that she is not just trying to be a rabbi for the hood. I may not agree with everything she stands for but I do not think  she deserves to be demonized for being something she is not.

CNN sucks

     I get email updates from CNN . Today is no exception. I realize that they are biased against Israel, but this morning took the cake. They informed me of the terror attack in Israel using "quotation marks" around the words "terror attacks"  as if to say it was not one. I felt like I was punched in the stomach. They were so clearly saying how little they care about Jewish people. It was not as though I did not know this, but it still hurts to read it. I have never been to Har Nof, but I have been to Jerusalem. I am so broken up about what happened in Israel to my Jewish brethren. As for the rest of the world, I am waiting for them to surprise me with respect  and compassion for my people. I won't hold my breath , but I will not give up hope either. Baruch dayan emet for those who were murdered in the terror attack in Israel this morning . Sending love and support to their families. 

sleep

i normally do not have nightmares. last night was a harrowing exception. though i haven't been obsessing about 9/11 lately i managed to have a terrorism nightmare. the scene of the nightmare was union square. several planes landed in union square while elsewhere in manhattan there were beheadings. this nightmare seemed too real. i woke up from the nightmare to find myself silently screaming. it was so-ooo--ooo unsettling. i turned the light on in my room for a little bit and after waking .
it was definitely one of those dreams you would not wish to come true.

9/11

im embarrassed to say that i almost forgot it was 9/11 yesterday and by the time i remembered it was too late to post about it, so im posting about it today. perhaps its a good thing that i forgot to blog about it. perhaps it means some of the pain has gone away. i dont mean to say that i shouldn't be sad that 9/11 happened or that so many were murdered, but i do think that the memory doesnt need to remain a fresh wound.
i did watch some of the memorial ceremony that was held at the wtc site. it still makes me cry. i think that the rainy weather was appropriate.
9/11 was one of the scariest days of my life . though i was in manhattan at the time, b"h i was not in downtown manhattan when it occurred. one could see the smoke from the upper east side where i was at the time. that was bad enough. watching the footage on the television at work was surreal. at first when i saw the second plane hit it did not even register. when the first tower fell i felt like i was punched in the stomach. when i heard about the plane that hit in washington i felt immobile. and of course the final blow was when some kook told me that they thought it was great because now america knows how israel feels, i was ready to kill them on the spot . here i am reeling from the scariest attack on the united states and someone is happy about it. some people just don't get the point. terror attacks should not happen ANYWHERE EVER. and just because a terror attack happend here it doesn't mean that anti-semites will suddenly identify with the israelis.
may the memory of those who perished during 9/11 be a blessing . peace on earth . shalom .

never a dull moment

over shabbos i too heard the urban legend about the cabbie warning people not to go to Manhattan on wednesday. i also heard that others got texts stating this. i do admit that this freaked me out a bit. thing is , it also sounded familiar. alot like the e-mail many received after 9/11 saying they should stay away from malls.

after most extensive research of google and the internet i found my answer on the the yeshiva world news website.i hadnt realized it was a jewish issue. i just thought it was a cabbie issue. here is the link: http://www.theyeshivaworld.com/article.php?p=28140 ,also check out this link:http://www.snopes.com/rumors/warning.aspthere's nothing like insomnia to get the research juices going. i think that we should all be careful because its a crazy world, but i feel alot safer knowing that the fbi knows about this and have investigated it.
i dont think a terror organization would want to warn anyone about a terror attack. i think that they would just act. chas v'shalom.
i wish all peace of mind , safety and an easy fast.

unbearable thoughts

its been a week since the attacks in mumbai and i am still disturbed by it. how it happened to the people of india as well as those murdered in the chabad house. i am also in awe of those firefighters who rescued people from the hotel in the taj mahal, even when they were instructed not to by their superiors. at great risk to their own safety they rescued 3oo people. i am equally in awe of sandra samuel the nanny who saved the baby of the slain chabad rabbi and his wife. equally miraculous is how this baby lived through this at all.

in the new york's jewish week rabbi menachem mendel nemes , a yeshiva teacher in crown heights was quoted as telling his students that" if this group can cause that much destruction in the world, imagine if that size group got together to do good deeds." this my friends is the truth . this is what is wrong with the world. so many pool their energies for evil instead of channeling them toward good. what an incredible world we would live in if only good was channeled instead of evil.

however... all is not lost. hatikvah-hope is in the essence of the jewish people. we must have hope that good will prevail over evil and that there will be total and complete shalom someday soon.... very soon...
as for those freaks of nature who say to the world "maybe now they will understand" when a terror attack happens to someone who isnt jewish "GET OVER YOURSELVES!!" its equally evil to revel in anyone suffering such a brutal attack. one should wish that peope learn compassion for terror victims in a peaceful manner, not by reveling in others misfortunes. i heard frummies say this after 9/11. to me they almost seemed happy. many jewish souls were lost during 9/11, yet they were happy to pontificate their mantra of "maybe now they will understand" . well folks, i surely dont understand. reveling in harm to others just "so they will understand" is childish and definitly not frum.