Yesterday it seemed so strange that there were lots of death announcements of rabbis from the YU Alumni email. Then my neighbor passed away, and now a friend wrote that Moshe Kohn, the Jerusalem Post columnist passed away.
I guess wh need their help.
Tuesday, March 08, 2005
Warm Rain
warm rain
like teardrops
falling from the sky
the heavens cry
for a gentle man
Sidney Simons
who suddenly
passed away
last night
as he prayed
to G-d
G-d took him
Baruch Dayan Ha'emet
Sidney, za"l, and his wonderful wife, Sophie, moved to Shiloh just a few years ago. At an age when most of their peers move into "retirement homes," they made new lives in Shiloh. They were not retiring. They fixed up a new home, planted a magnificent, enviable garden and initiated social and community activities.
We all pray that Sophie will remain here with us in good health for many years to come.
like teardrops
falling from the sky
the heavens cry
for a gentle man
Sidney Simons
who suddenly
passed away
last night
as he prayed
to G-d
G-d took him
Baruch Dayan Ha'emet
Sidney, za"l, and his wonderful wife, Sophie, moved to Shiloh just a few years ago. At an age when most of their peers move into "retirement homes," they made new lives in Shiloh. They were not retiring. They fixed up a new home, planted a magnificent, enviable garden and initiated social and community activities.
We all pray that Sophie will remain here with us in good health for many years to come.
Baruch Dayan Ha'emet
With great sorrow we mourn the passing of our neighbor and friend,
Shimon Sydney Simons, who passed away suddenly earlier tonight.
We wish heartfelt condolences to Sophie and their whole family.
For funeral details, please contact the Shiloh office.
Monday, March 07, 2005
bli neder! finishing last week's Kohelet, Ecclesiastes
The previous ended on a very depressing note, that if people put all their energies in the wrong things, like total materialism, they haven't contributed to the world, so it would have had been better if they hadn't lived at all, unless I misundertood what Nissan said...
We're in Kohelet 7, line 3
What's "ka'as?" anger?
In first Kings 1, 6
We see the results of how David raised his kids. They rebeled against him, raped, were a royal disgrace. He didn't discipline them. Only Shlomo was kept away by Batsheva. They weren't part of the royal life..
One shouldn't be afraid to be strict and struggle with your kids when raising them. Like child birth is best with strong contractions, and they hurt. Raising kids properly demands strength and discipline.
As we were finishing, someone asked how G-d could have given us so much rain this year considering how bad Am Yisrael has been. Shouldn't we be praying for rain?
I answered that we have enough rain, because there are more important things to pray for, considering politics, security the spiritual state of our People. Rain, "geshem" is "gashmi" materialism, and G-d doesn't want us to waste our prayers on the material, there are more important spiritual and national matters.
Tomorrow, b'ezrat Hashem, I'll learn more...
May we be worthy of Redemption!
We're in Kohelet 7, line 3
What's "ka'as?" anger?
In first Kings 1, 6
We see the results of how David raised his kids. They rebeled against him, raped, were a royal disgrace. He didn't discipline them. Only Shlomo was kept away by Batsheva. They weren't part of the royal life..
One shouldn't be afraid to be strict and struggle with your kids when raising them. Like child birth is best with strong contractions, and they hurt. Raising kids properly demands strength and discipline.
As we were finishing, someone asked how G-d could have given us so much rain this year considering how bad Am Yisrael has been. Shouldn't we be praying for rain?
I answered that we have enough rain, because there are more important things to pray for, considering politics, security the spiritual state of our People. Rain, "geshem" is "gashmi" materialism, and G-d doesn't want us to waste our prayers on the material, there are more important spiritual and national matters.
Tomorrow, b'ezrat Hashem, I'll learn more...
May we be worthy of Redemption!
weather reports
Living in Shiloh, I may consider it "the center of the world," and I can even easily convince people how central we are on the Israeli map, but when it comes to weather reports, we have to calculate. We're not Jerusalem; neither are we Ariel, which is sometimes on official Israeli lists.
I've just discovered that we can get a little closer. The closest yahoo weather is
Ramalla . But that may not be perfect, if Ramalla is the same as Beit El. Beit El is colder than Shiloh, gets more snow, and it stays frozen and icy much longer.
And my little weatherpixie just shows the sun, no weather report.
G-d willing we'll have enough rain, not just what we deserve.
I've just discovered that we can get a little closer. The closest yahoo weather is
Ramalla . But that may not be perfect, if Ramalla is the same as Beit El. Beit El is colder than Shiloh, gets more snow, and it stays frozen and icy much longer.
And my little weatherpixie just shows the sun, no weather report.
G-d willing we'll have enough rain, not just what we deserve.
Kohelet, Ecclesiastes chapter 7
Try to have a text handy.
Chapter 7
"Tov shem, m'shemen tov."
Better a good name (reputation) than good oil (perfume.) Perfume is very superficial; it masks bad smells. Years ago, when we were on shlichut (doing Zionist youth work) in England, we had a summer camp/seminar in a chateau in the French country-side. I got there a coupld of hours early with the three girls (She'era was a tiny baby), driven my one of the madrichim. I almost puked when I went to the toilet. The wooden floor was saturated with urine smells, worse than an old NYC subway toilet. The staff insisted "no problem" and promptly doused it with some perfumed stuff. And the stink was well-masked.
A good name lasts forever. Good perfume costs lots of money, and a good name is for free. Perfume fades, a name doesn't.
"shemmen"=possesions, like university degrees
"shem"=the inner person
Another reason that the Dovrat Commission's insistance that more university degrees will make a better teacher is wrong. It's superficial. Teaching demands inner strength and knowledge and good instincts. Kids are not predictable. It's not theory.
Whatever you have, you can build on; it depends what you do with it.
2-Death is more important than birth. Even when you have to choose between two events, honor the dead, rather than celebrate. It's better if we do the right things in life.
T'hilim 2, 11 If we worsip G-d with proper respect, "yirah," we'll be able to deal with the troubles.
People forget what is our true purpose in life; especially at smachot, joyous occassions, they get too involved int eh "shemen" instead of in the "shem." At weddings, people sometimes forget that it's to build a new life, and they concentrate on the "gashmi" materialistic end, instead of the spiritual. Weddings are much too expensive. The money should be invested in the young couple, not a few hours of fun. And if the families don't have lots of money, so the wedding should me much simpler. There are ways, and they're much better in the long run and also in the short run.
If people concentrate on the wrong things in life, we go back to the better "nefel,' stillborn than a wasted life.
Chapter 7
"Tov shem, m'shemen tov."
Better a good name (reputation) than good oil (perfume.) Perfume is very superficial; it masks bad smells. Years ago, when we were on shlichut (doing Zionist youth work) in England, we had a summer camp/seminar in a chateau in the French country-side. I got there a coupld of hours early with the three girls (She'era was a tiny baby), driven my one of the madrichim. I almost puked when I went to the toilet. The wooden floor was saturated with urine smells, worse than an old NYC subway toilet. The staff insisted "no problem" and promptly doused it with some perfumed stuff. And the stink was well-masked.
A good name lasts forever. Good perfume costs lots of money, and a good name is for free. Perfume fades, a name doesn't.
"shemmen"=possesions, like university degrees
"shem"=the inner person
Another reason that the Dovrat Commission's insistance that more university degrees will make a better teacher is wrong. It's superficial. Teaching demands inner strength and knowledge and good instincts. Kids are not predictable. It's not theory.
Whatever you have, you can build on; it depends what you do with it.
2-Death is more important than birth. Even when you have to choose between two events, honor the dead, rather than celebrate. It's better if we do the right things in life.
T'hilim 2, 11 If we worsip G-d with proper respect, "yirah," we'll be able to deal with the troubles.
People forget what is our true purpose in life; especially at smachot, joyous occassions, they get too involved int eh "shemen" instead of in the "shem." At weddings, people sometimes forget that it's to build a new life, and they concentrate on the "gashmi" materialistic end, instead of the spiritual. Weddings are much too expensive. The money should be invested in the young couple, not a few hours of fun. And if the families don't have lots of money, so the wedding should me much simpler. There are ways, and they're much better in the long run and also in the short run.
If people concentrate on the wrong things in life, we go back to the better "nefel,' stillborn than a wasted life.
getting older
The American government is weighing the possibility to raise the age of retirement again. They're making all sorts of excuses, but the real reason is that my generation took their time in having kids, if they had them at all. Of course, I'm speaking statistically.
I remember in the summer of 1972 we were visiting the states. Our eldest was a toddler, and I was in the beginning of my second pregnancy. In Israel wherever you went you saw babies, toddlers, kids and pregnant women. In New York, it was rare, very rare. I don't remember seeing any pregnant women, until we met some other friends who were visiting from Jerusalem, and we exchanged confidences that we were both expecting. (Those two kids are friends to this day.)
So the American Social Security is stretched, supporting people like my parents, and my peers will have to wait until they're much older to retire. I'm sure nobody thought of that when they were in their twenties and thirties.
I remember in the summer of 1972 we were visiting the states. Our eldest was a toddler, and I was in the beginning of my second pregnancy. In Israel wherever you went you saw babies, toddlers, kids and pregnant women. In New York, it was rare, very rare. I don't remember seeing any pregnant women, until we met some other friends who were visiting from Jerusalem, and we exchanged confidences that we were both expecting. (Those two kids are friends to this day.)
So the American Social Security is stretched, supporting people like my parents, and my peers will have to wait until they're much older to retire. I'm sure nobody thought of that when they were in their twenties and thirties.
Sunday, March 06, 2005
busy fingers
Fellow-blogger moze, nor relation to muse, is off yarn shopping and snow snapping. Great snow pics ; take a gander. She may do some great stuff with her needles, but I'll stick with my "goblen," needlepoint. Even though there are those who think I should start crocheting hats. Then I spoke to someone with absolutely gorgeous ones, all hand-crocheted by herself. Then she told me that she had something like 50, and I decided, that there are advantages to the fact that most of the needlepoints can take even years to complete. Do I really need a few new hats a week?
firefox mozilla thunderbird, all of the above
I sent in a complaint to their "forum." I complained about the delays, how blogspot posts only show hours after being posted. And I also complained that this template comes out all peculiar, with colors blocking the posts, etc.
If any of you have also had problems, please contact them at http://forums.mozillazine.org/index.php
If any of you have also had problems, please contact them at http://forums.mozillazine.org/index.php
simply not simple
First, explorer was making problems this morning, so I went onto firefox, which has made a color mess of this template. I hope this is legible.
And on another track, the almost elderly "happily ever after couple," Prince Charles and "the other woman" are facing more obstacles in their very reasonable quest to finally get married. IMHO, let them get on with their lives already. Her big mistake was decades ago, when she married someone else instead of waiting for him to be ready.
Let them get on with their lives, and let the dead stay buried.
And on another track, the almost elderly "happily ever after couple," Prince Charles and "the other woman" are facing more obstacles in their very reasonable quest to finally get married. IMHO, let them get on with their lives already. Her big mistake was decades ago, when she married someone else instead of waiting for him to be ready.
Let them get on with their lives, and let the dead stay buried.
Saturday, March 05, 2005
continued, more T'hilim, Psalms and hopefully Kohelet, Ecclesiastes
Have text handy, (and still no new baby)
We're still in Psalms 35, 11-12
When everyone else was in trouble, David prayed for them and helped them, and now David's being persecuted. "they repay me with evil"
1st Shmuel (Samuel) 12, 19 people asked Shmuel to pray for them. He said that he hadn't a choice, if not it would be a sin. How much to pray? Until one becomes sick?
13- David writes that he endangered his life for others, praying and worrying. He covered them with his coat, so he got sick from the cold.
For a talmid chacham, Torah scholar one must pray with all one's might.
14- mourning for one's child is the hardest, and David said he was like that for others
15-and they rejoiced when he was limping, in trouble.
*this is one of my points Also, people, to this day, blame him for his relationship with Batsheva, and he always took responsibility. Even though from my reading of the straight text, she seduced him. Read it and see for yourself.
David's taking responisbiitly is a "yehuda" characteristic, how Yehuda grew after sinning and blamed himself for Tamar's seduction of him, since he didn't marry her off to his third son.
Everyone got so happy whenever he got into trouble, enthusiastic.
16- they tear at him, ripping his skin, like lion cubs. He's surrounded by his enemies.
In Psalms 55 He complains that his enemies were once his friends.
He's talking of Doeg and Achitopphel, how the politicians who were once his good friends, now treat him like enemies.
Sounds too familiar. That's it for now, next time, Kohelet.
We're still in Psalms 35, 11-12
When everyone else was in trouble, David prayed for them and helped them, and now David's being persecuted. "they repay me with evil"
1st Shmuel (Samuel) 12, 19 people asked Shmuel to pray for them. He said that he hadn't a choice, if not it would be a sin. How much to pray? Until one becomes sick?
13- David writes that he endangered his life for others, praying and worrying. He covered them with his coat, so he got sick from the cold.
For a talmid chacham, Torah scholar one must pray with all one's might.
14- mourning for one's child is the hardest, and David said he was like that for others
15-and they rejoiced when he was limping, in trouble.
*this is one of my points Also, people, to this day, blame him for his relationship with Batsheva, and he always took responsibility. Even though from my reading of the straight text, she seduced him. Read it and see for yourself.
David's taking responisbiitly is a "yehuda" characteristic, how Yehuda grew after sinning and blamed himself for Tamar's seduction of him, since he didn't marry her off to his third son.
Everyone got so happy whenever he got into trouble, enthusiastic.
16- they tear at him, ripping his skin, like lion cubs. He's surrounded by his enemies.
In Psalms 55 He complains that his enemies were once his friends.
He's talking of Doeg and Achitopphel, how the politicians who were once his good friends, now treat him like enemies.
Sounds too familiar. That's it for now, next time, Kohelet.
Friday, March 04, 2005
continued T'hilim Kohelet March 1
and as usual, a Bible handy
WE're on Psalms 35, 10
He feels "all the bones" when things are very bad. When we're sick we feel our bones, when we're cold, hungry or injured, too.
David's also referring to when Saul tricked him.
First Samuel 17, 25 Goliath was taunting, threatening the Israelites. Saul offered a prize, his daughter Meirav, to anyone who could kill Goliath. As the world knows, David succeded, and when he arrived at his wedding, he discovered Meirav marrying someone else. That hurt, to the bones.
Saul didn't cheat him of money, he took away the wife.
11- David refers to how Saul brought false witnesses to lie, that he was never promised Meirav. It was a great embarrassment for David.
It was also a great embarrassment to Saul, his warriors and to David's macherdik (bigshot) brothers that little scrawny David killed Goliath.
By taking all this into acount, it's a better come from behind than Rocky!
Now I really must finish preparing for Shabbat, so I'll leave you with the message, that we, David, will win. We'll escape Saul's wrath, and destroy the giant and G-d will bring peace as a reward for our efforts. G-d willing. B'ezrat Hashem!
And Shabbat Shalom
ps if the reference isn't clear read: http://shilohmusings.blogspot.com/2005/02/new-old-ancient-all-same.html
WE're on Psalms 35, 10
He feels "all the bones" when things are very bad. When we're sick we feel our bones, when we're cold, hungry or injured, too.
David's also referring to when Saul tricked him.
First Samuel 17, 25 Goliath was taunting, threatening the Israelites. Saul offered a prize, his daughter Meirav, to anyone who could kill Goliath. As the world knows, David succeded, and when he arrived at his wedding, he discovered Meirav marrying someone else. That hurt, to the bones.
Saul didn't cheat him of money, he took away the wife.
11- David refers to how Saul brought false witnesses to lie, that he was never promised Meirav. It was a great embarrassment for David.
It was also a great embarrassment to Saul, his warriors and to David's macherdik (bigshot) brothers that little scrawny David killed Goliath.
By taking all this into acount, it's a better come from behind than Rocky!
Now I really must finish preparing for Shabbat, so I'll leave you with the message, that we, David, will win. We'll escape Saul's wrath, and destroy the giant and G-d will bring peace as a reward for our efforts. G-d willing. B'ezrat Hashem!
And Shabbat Shalom
ps if the reference isn't clear read: http://shilohmusings.blogspot.com/2005/02/new-old-ancient-all-same.html
A Different Generation
I've been hearing this from many people, that the younger kids are nothing like the older ones. Even infants choose nowadays. My granddaughter chose which plastic spoons to buy when she was too small to hold them. My eldest (her aunt) was minding her and took her shopping. She gave her a choice of different feeding spoons. Hallelie pointed to one (the most expensive, of course) so my daughter re-arranged the display, but Hallelie kept choosing the same one. Even after my daughter explained to her that the others gave more for the dollar.
Recently Hallelie doesn't like to have her diaper changed, so she gets to choose which diaper. They are decorated with different animals. Not long ago when my daughter (her mother) came home late from work, Hallelie was half asleep. But perked up enough to say: "Oy yoy yoy, pil." Meaning "there are no more elephant (pil in Hebrew) diapers left." That should be her biggest problem and greatest tragedy.
Shabbat Shalom
Recently Hallelie doesn't like to have her diaper changed, so she gets to choose which diaper. They are decorated with different animals. Not long ago when my daughter (her mother) came home late from work, Hallelie was half asleep. But perked up enough to say: "Oy yoy yoy, pil." Meaning "there are no more elephant (pil in Hebrew) diapers left." That should be her biggest problem and greatest tragedy.
Shabbat Shalom
and still waiting
OB2's not yet out. No news and no call to pack and get over, or prepare for a toddler guest.
Didn't sleep well. I had better get into the kitchen and do something useful.
Didn't sleep well. I had better get into the kitchen and do something useful.
Thursday, March 03, 2005
misc.
I'm cooking double chicken this week, including a batch to my hatching daughter.
And I put in an official complaint to blogspot about the problems when using firefox. They recommended firefox to keep out "undesirables." A suspicious comment was found by me on shiloh musings. I had a time deleting it. They said that firefox would be better, though I can't imagine how. I only allow blogspotters to comment. If anyone else has complaints, please write to them, too. I think there's a problem with my template, since the orange sometimes takes over, especially when on firefox. If any of you have experienced such an invasion, please complain to blogspot.
Thanks
And I put in an official complaint to blogspot about the problems when using firefox. They recommended firefox to keep out "undesirables." A suspicious comment was found by me on shiloh musings. I had a time deleting it. They said that firefox would be better, though I can't imagine how. I only allow blogspotters to comment. If anyone else has complaints, please write to them, too. I think there's a problem with my template, since the orange sometimes takes over, especially when on firefox. If any of you have experienced such an invasion, please complain to blogspot.
Thanks
Wednesday, March 02, 2005
March 1 T'hilim Psalms Kohelet Ecclesiastes
Let's see what I can get done tonight. Remember, it helps to have texts handy.
T'hilim 35, 8
David, like us, is waiting for the grand reversal, that his enemies will fall into the trap they planned for him. (G-d willing, please)
9- David says that all he has to do is to trust in G-d, which reminds me of the article in "Voices" magazine, the interview with Rabbi Dr. Tendler.
10- We must put our faith in G-d. Nissan said that it seemed out of sequence. What is David referring to?
What does he mean by "all of his/my limbs?" He's referring to a halachik controversy, what type of filth can keep a person from praying. Is the whole body touching it, just a hand, what about smell/ etc Some say "as long as the mouth is in a clean place."
Sorry, that's it for now; I can hardly think.
T'hilim 35, 8
David, like us, is waiting for the grand reversal, that his enemies will fall into the trap they planned for him. (G-d willing, please)
9- David says that all he has to do is to trust in G-d, which reminds me of the article in "Voices" magazine, the interview with Rabbi Dr. Tendler.
10- We must put our faith in G-d. Nissan said that it seemed out of sequence. What is David referring to?
What does he mean by "all of his/my limbs?" He's referring to a halachik controversy, what type of filth can keep a person from praying. Is the whole body touching it, just a hand, what about smell/ etc Some say "as long as the mouth is in a clean place."
Sorry, that's it for now; I can hardly think.
waiting
Hard to make plans; waiting for my daughter to give birth. I just realized that I haven't even started to put this week's notes on T'hilim and Kohelet. Guess I'm distracted. Haven't invited anyone for Shabat; just planning on cooking.
I'm human.
I'm human.
I tried to send this in the morning.
There was some sort of trouble with my internet this morning, but I saved the message.
Yes, busy busy. Wedding last night. Saw lots of old friends, younger than me, though DovBear thinks that no blogger has passed the age of 50. Shows that he is...probably younger than I am.
Enough for this morning.
Yes, busy busy. Wedding last night. Saw lots of old friends, younger than me, though DovBear thinks that no blogger has passed the age of 50. Shows that he is...probably younger than I am.
Enough for this morning.
Tuesday, March 01, 2005
Guess what? "Noah's" Coming to the Shomron
A Note I got from Sharon Katz:
Guess what?
Our show is coming to Kedumim on Monday, IY"H, March 7th.
A very Zionistic and amazing anonymous donor (I don't even know who he is) donated the entire cost of a "NOAH!" production in Gush Katif and one in the Shomron.
We did the Gush Katif show last week, and as you know, it was phenomenal, B"H.
On Monday, IY"H, we're going up to Kedumim, and the donor is taking care of all our travel expenses, plus the buses from any yishuv in the Shomron or Binyamin.
The tickets are 10 NIS each, and that includes the bus.
It's supposed to be for all the yishuvim there - Kedumim, Har Bracha, Itamar, Yitzhar, Tapuach, Emanuel, etc. etc. etc. - but women from Binyamin can come too.
So, if you have friends or family in any community of the Shomron or Binyamin who would like to come to the Kedumim show on Monday March 7th, please have them call the Matnas of Kedumim for tickets and bus information 09-792-2781.
We are really looking forward to this performance, and since we're traveling all that way, we'd like to have as many women there as possible. We can't wait to greet the women of the Shomron and Binyamin for an evening of music and hope that will truly RAISE their SPIRITS.
So, please pass the word, and let me know if there are any specific folks in any yishuvim that I should contact in order to get the women from that community coming.
Thanks,
Sharon
Sharon Katz
Producer, NOAH! Ride the Wave!
Founder, Raise Your Spirits
http://www.raiseyourspirits.org
Guess what?
Our show is coming to Kedumim on Monday, IY"H, March 7th.
A very Zionistic and amazing anonymous donor (I don't even know who he is) donated the entire cost of a "NOAH!" production in Gush Katif and one in the Shomron.
We did the Gush Katif show last week, and as you know, it was phenomenal, B"H.
On Monday, IY"H, we're going up to Kedumim, and the donor is taking care of all our travel expenses, plus the buses from any yishuv in the Shomron or Binyamin.
The tickets are 10 NIS each, and that includes the bus.
It's supposed to be for all the yishuvim there - Kedumim, Har Bracha, Itamar, Yitzhar, Tapuach, Emanuel, etc. etc. etc. - but women from Binyamin can come too.
So, if you have friends or family in any community of the Shomron or Binyamin who would like to come to the Kedumim show on Monday March 7th, please have them call the Matnas of Kedumim for tickets and bus information 09-792-2781.
We are really looking forward to this performance, and since we're traveling all that way, we'd like to have as many women there as possible. We can't wait to greet the women of the Shomron and Binyamin for an evening of music and hope that will truly RAISE their SPIRITS.
So, please pass the word, and let me know if there are any specific folks in any yishuvim that I should contact in order to get the women from that community coming.
Thanks,
Sharon
Sharon Katz
Producer, NOAH! Ride the Wave!
Founder, Raise Your Spirits
http://www.raiseyourspirits.org
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