Israel was Attacked, But Life is Going On, BH

 

Almost two weeks ago Hamas attacked Israel. The Gazan Arab terrorists invaded, attacked, killed, mutilated, captured, decapitated, kidnapped, raped, tortured, burned innocent Israeli civilians, male, female, young old. These civilians were the vast majority of those targeted by the Arabs.

Simultaneously they sent deadly rockets to southern and coastal and central cities including Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. Here in Shiloh, it has been silent, not even a warning siren, bli eyin haraa, but the echoes of these cruel attacks reverberates here very loudly. 

Many of us have family and friends who are victims, and certainly many from Shiloh have been called up to the reserves, to serve in all sorts of capacities, all over the country.

I remember reading that during Israel's War of Independence, the cafes in Tel Aviv were full of food and customers while Jerusalem didn't have water and food. Now, here I am in Holy Shiloh free to take my morning walks and enjoy the quiet. 

I consider myself a "former" news junky, but now I don't listen much. My phone is usually playing Bible Tanach classes mostly from Matan, Torah in Motion and Israel Center OU. 

It's surreal, but my heart is with our soldiers, injured and mourning.

That's life here...

PS I'll be posting more political posts on Shiloh Musings. Just give me a few hours to get started.

Off to Join the Circus, A Book Review

Off to Join the Circus, a novel by Debora Kalb is a wonderfully enjoyable book about a Jewish family from New Jersey. 

The book is broken up into many short chapters, each one voicing the viewpoint of one character, though not written in first person. Considering that I frequently get lost early on trying to remember the various characters when reading a book, I found this format very helpful. 

The book begins with the unexpected reappearance of Adele Pinsky who had run away as a teenager sixty-four 64 years earlier. No one is more shocked and excited by her return than her younger brother Howard, who is celebrating his seventy-fifth 74th birthday when she suddenly calls him up and announces that she's coming for a visit. 

Adele keeps many of her secrets to the end, and she's the only main character who doesn't have a chapter, nary a one. 

Family dynamics among the Pinsky family undergoes understandable changes as they get to know Adele. She also gets to know them and tries to find her place after a two generation absence. Howard even has grandchildren older than he had been when his big sister Adele had suddenly left.

Either the elder Pinskys weren't sure of the where/why Adele had left or they hid the truth from young Howard by saying that she was off to "join the circus," apparently their euphemism for risky adventure.

It didn't take many pages before I was totally caught up with the members of the Pinsky family, their various trials, tribulations and wonderful closeness. They're definitely a family that cares about each other making the sixty-four year absence especially painful.

I could barely put the book down and then was so terribly disappointed when I realized that I had read the very last page... I wanted to read more about the Pinskys. 

Deborah Kalb wrote a fantastic book. Yes, Off to Join the Circus is highly recommended.

Product details

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Loyola College/Apprentice House (July 18, 2023)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 316 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1627204490
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1627204491