Miracles

A rocket hits a gas station but does not blow up because they had a tank of benzine which is less likely to blow up than just gas. They were able to cool both tanks quickly so they did not explode. It is truly a miracle.
   Have a good Shabbos. Let there be peace in Israel.  . 

Oseh Shalom Bimromav.....

    Usually the gentiles at work do not really speak about middle east politics. This week was different. One of my co-worker's children was in Israel for  a  Birthright Israel trip and was due to return last night  (he did)
so everybody was looking online and actually had an interest. It is always frustrating when middle east politics are discussed at work because they don't have my perspective as a Jew and I don't always have patience for what they have to say. Many have no clue why anyone would want to visit a country like Israel where war on its shores can be a possibility. They do not understand the Arab Israeli conflict and it can be hard to explain. They do not understand the strong answer  to the Holocaust that Israel is.
     I admit that I am not sure that I want to move to Israel, although I have not completely ruled it out either. I do want to spend time there again. It is a very special place and a very special place to be Jewish, The holidays come alive there. The chumash comes alive there.
      I pray that the war in Israel will stop soon and that peace will prevail.

Code Red Song

This is an amazing song that a kindergarten teacher in Israel made up to help kids cope with the rocket attacks. The kids are so cute. So sad they have to go through this. What an amazing woman to make up this song.

Wedding in Ashdod

     This is obviously quite horrible, but on the other hand quite life affirming. There is a war going on in Israel and yet these people were trying to have a wedding until the rocket showed up. Its really quite moving to see how even despite such conditions people are trying to live their lives.

Ida

     The movie Ida was one of the selections at the Jewish film festival this year. I was not able to see it during the festival due to scheduling conflicts on my part. Recently I walked by Lincoln Plaza Cinemas in Manhattan who were showing the movie and read the review they posted on a billboard outside the theater. The review made it sound like an incredibly boring film. A few weeks later my co-worker said she saw it and recommended it to me. I eventually did see the film.I can't say that I recommend it. The cinematography is breathtaking. Though a recent film it looks like it was filmed in the 1960's. The acting was good, but the film was VERY slow moving. Had I been watching the film at home I would not have finished it.
       Ida was about to take her vows as a nun when she is finally informed that she is really Jewish and that her name is really Ida Lebenstein. She was hidden in the convent during World War II. Though this may be a spoiler, I found the ending to the film rather unsatisfying. Unless you are into slow moving, artsy , foreign films skip it.

 

Happy July 4!

       Happy July Fourth! The world is a mess, but I get the day off of work today so I am happy! Have a good Shabbos as well!

The length of Days

     The eternal question as to why some people are blessed with long lives and others are given shorter is always on my mind in times of tragedy. I think that the only thing to say is that we do not understand Hashem's reasons for things. We have to appreciate the blessings in life that we do receive.
    Sometimes I get angry at others who say that they know why Hashem has done this or that. I suppose if it makes it easier for them to cope it does not bother me, but it bothers me when they want to force their opinion on others because really they do not really know the true reasoning for things , they just know what works for them.
     All I know is that three Jewish boys had their lives extinguished just because they were Jewish. Who knows what they could have accomplished had they lived longer lives. Then again in their short lives they caused some of the most amazing prayer sessions  and achdus that I have ever seen. Something about their kidnapping hit a nerve so deep within Jewish people .  We are still in galus.  May we only have more bracha .May moshiach come speedily in our days.