Looking Forward to 5778

A version of this was also posted on Israel Blogger as New Jewish Year, 5778, Reflections.

In just a couple of days the Jewish People will be celebrating a new Jewish Year, 5778. It occurs just as the summer is coming to an end. Every year at this time, we hear how the Kineret aka Sea of Galilee is lower than ever before in history.

Kineret aka Sea of Galilee at Sunset, mid-winter

All but the trees and well-watered plants have dried out. We live with fear of wildfires, whether lit by carelessness or Arab terrorists. It's definitely a time of the year when drought and starvation seem to be our future, Gd forbid. But davka now, when prices of local agriculture is highest, summer fruit and vegetables are hard to find and most expensive, we make great feasts to celebrate a new year.

It reminds me of the fact that we start our new day at night. That is how Gd commands us.

The Jewish Calendar and Jewish Day require a faith in Gd that darkness will become light, and rains will fall. And also to survive uncontrollable personal difficulties and troubles, we all must learn how to see the good, thank Gd and trust that we can and will survive.

With all the imperfections of the State of Israel, when I take a good look and compare today with the past, I see amazing improvements. Actually, it's good not to be satisfied with today, because that makes us strive to make it all even better. But we must never give up.

May Gd bless us all, individually and as a People in the Jewish Year 5778.

Planned Post Seems Embarrassingly Trivial

I was all set to post about the fact that I just noticed that not only had my blogroll disappeared a few months ago, but apparently my list of book reviews had also taken a hike. Or "blogger" ate them. I wanted to find the link to one of the reviews, and suddenly I couldn't find the list.

The past few months I've been trying to replace or remake my list of blogs, which is hard work. If I don't get it as complete as it once was, it's not a tragedy. There's always a dynamic in blog rolls. They change. But there's no way I can reproduce, remember all the books I've reviewed.

And while thinking of exactly what to write about it I was on Facebook and saw the post and pictures about the artist  Yoram Raanan's loss of decades of work in the aishtafada, the terrorist arson attack.

Facebook

Facebook

And as difficult as the fire has been for some people, families and communities, there has also been a great miracle. So far, bli eyin haraa, no lives were lost directly due to the fire. There are fires that kill and main, and while the terrorists who are responsible for this aishtafada have destroyed property, so far, bli eyin haraa, they haven't killed anyone.

And I stopped myself from writing that the destruction of Raanan's pictures is like a death, because no matter how unpleasant and painful, it isn't like a death. Sometimes we use the work "death" too easily.

Gd made a great miracle here in the Holy Land.

Camera's Missing*, but Compared to What Others have Lost...

This morning the big yellow sun called to me for a picture. I went to get my camera, and it wasn't there. So I tried all sorts of the usual hideouts, and I couldn't find my red Canon IXUS 145 😕😟.

Believe me, I'm not the type to lose and misplace things. I checked every possible place.  It's not the end of the world, really. I still have my phone, bli eyin haraa, not to tempt the evil eye... and the camera may show up, of course.

But even more important to remember is that over the past few days many Israeli homes have burnt to a crisp or sustained so much damage, that something like a camera is just history and one of the most easily replaceable items of the horrendous amount lost.

Mateh Binyamin, Benjamin County website

Mateh Binyamin, Benjamin County website

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May Gd quickly send rain to put out the flames, and may those flames turn on the terrorist arsonists who lit them.

*PS I did find my camera. I suddenly remembered that I had put it with my phone, on the shelf over my bed. Prior to that I had remembered that it was around right before Shabbat and that it was in a place not usually placed. May Gd help those with real problems!