zaterdag, september 30, 2006
Day of Atonement
Yom Kipur - Day of Atonement...
Tonight at sunset starts the most holy and solemn day in Jewish religion - Yom Kipur, the day jews show repentance and reconciliation. Everything will close in the country except for emergency services and the roads will be empty from traffic. Children will bring out their bycicles and ride the roads freely - except for one or other ambulance on an emergency pick-up assignment. (which is very dangerous btw... every year children get hurt by unexpected vehicles). Hundreds and hundreds of children riding their bycicles taking over the highways. So sweet :)
The whole of the country will breath an atmosphere that you won't find here any other day of the year. Very special - very impressive - very, very quite (and that's the oxymoron in Israel, at least where I live - in a city's center). Synagogues will be filled with praying people - on seats reserved weeks in advance at a handsome price. They'll be praying the "shlichot" (forgiveness prayers) and start with "Kol Nidrei" (Armaic for All Vows).... And of course: they'll fast.
For me, fasting represents the "main theme" of this day since I think it's terribly difficult to fast for 25 hours - which of course means no drinking as well.. and even before I understood the meaning of Yom Kipur had to undergo the horrids of fasting which keeps my mind concentrated on only fluids, LOL.
This long introduction because today I read an interesting article in Yedioth Ahronot.
See? That's what I like about Judaism: its focus on the respect human live deserves, no matter how one wish to reach this conclusion, either because it is written in the Torah and you dully follow the rules therein or because you take a directive out of it like this and contribute it to God's wishes - to respect the creatures He created because by respecting those creatures (humans) you are paying the highest form of respect to God (the latter is my personal interpretation).
It got me thinking about the "collective punishments" against the Palestinians - "each live is equivalent to a whole world" - is the opposite of collective punishment -
It seems both are contradictionary to regarding saving one live as saving the whole world...
I think "Israel" needs to stand still for one moment this Yom Kipur and reflect. Maybe go back to these roots. Since I got the feeling that human life is not taken within the guidelines of the teachings of the Torah, the roots of Judaism (and, in my eyes, Israel's right of existence) - which I do so admire and feel "one" with.
"Enemies want to destroy us" - It's a valid conclusion. I know, I see... But... if and whenever possible "enemies" should be separated in Israel's reactions to prevent their awful mission from the rest. One live is equivalent to a whole world, and if that thought would be used in Israel's defense I think, personally, that Israel would stand a better chance, public opinion-wise but far more importantly: moral-wise - to overcome the hate its existence seems to have created....
For further reading on Yom Kipur and the Torah portion I am talking about above:
http://www.jew-jews-judaism.com/rec/3-Yom-Kippur-Day-of-Atonement/
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3309206,00.html
Gmar Chatima Tova
Tse.
Tonight at sunset starts the most holy and solemn day in Jewish religion - Yom Kipur, the day jews show repentance and reconciliation. Everything will close in the country except for emergency services and the roads will be empty from traffic. Children will bring out their bycicles and ride the roads freely - except for one or other ambulance on an emergency pick-up assignment. (which is very dangerous btw... every year children get hurt by unexpected vehicles). Hundreds and hundreds of children riding their bycicles taking over the highways. So sweet :)
The whole of the country will breath an atmosphere that you won't find here any other day of the year. Very special - very impressive - very, very quite (and that's the oxymoron in Israel, at least where I live - in a city's center). Synagogues will be filled with praying people - on seats reserved weeks in advance at a handsome price. They'll be praying the "shlichot" (forgiveness prayers) and start with "Kol Nidrei" (Armaic for All Vows).... And of course: they'll fast.
For me, fasting represents the "main theme" of this day since I think it's terribly difficult to fast for 25 hours - which of course means no drinking as well.. and even before I understood the meaning of Yom Kipur had to undergo the horrids of fasting which keeps my mind concentrated on only fluids, LOL.
This long introduction because today I read an interesting article in Yedioth Ahronot.
Dvar Torah
Torah Portion: Ha'azinu (listen)
On Shabbat Shuva, with Yom Kippur approaching, it is fitting that we focus upon this thought: Human life is a supreme value...
See? That's what I like about Judaism: its focus on the respect human live deserves, no matter how one wish to reach this conclusion, either because it is written in the Torah and you dully follow the rules therein or because you take a directive out of it like this and contribute it to God's wishes - to respect the creatures He created because by respecting those creatures (humans) you are paying the highest form of respect to God (the latter is my personal interpretation).
Although there are no unequivocal answers to all the questions that we face, there can be no doubt that the sanctity of life is a supreme value. The classical source for this is the Mishna Sanhedrin (4:5)And then:
Therefore man was created singly, to teach you that whoever destroys a single soul of Israel, Scripture accounts it as if he had destroyed a whole world; and whoever saves one soul of Israel, Scripture accounts it as if he had saved a whole world.
Of course, the words “of Israel” do not appear in the manuscripts (after all, Adam was not “of Israel”), inasmuch as this mishna conveys a universal message
The life of any person is equivalent to a “whole world.”
Even when lives are unavoidably lost in war, we must guard against the complacency . . .This got me thinking about the "defense" of Israel lately and more specifically the last Lebanon war. So many civilians were killed - and although I'm not an army person so I wouldn't know whether that could have been prevented -
It got me thinking about the "collective punishments" against the Palestinians - "each live is equivalent to a whole world" - is the opposite of collective punishment -
It seems both are contradictionary to regarding saving one live as saving the whole world...
I think "Israel" needs to stand still for one moment this Yom Kipur and reflect. Maybe go back to these roots. Since I got the feeling that human life is not taken within the guidelines of the teachings of the Torah, the roots of Judaism (and, in my eyes, Israel's right of existence) - which I do so admire and feel "one" with.
"Enemies want to destroy us" - It's a valid conclusion. I know, I see... But... if and whenever possible "enemies" should be separated in Israel's reactions to prevent their awful mission from the rest. One live is equivalent to a whole world, and if that thought would be used in Israel's defense I think, personally, that Israel would stand a better chance, public opinion-wise but far more importantly: moral-wise - to overcome the hate its existence seems to have created....
For further reading on Yom Kipur and the Torah portion I am talking about above:
http://www.jew-jews-judaism.com/rec/3-Yom-Kippur-Day-of-Atonement/
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3309206,00.html
Gmar Chatima Tova
Tse.
vrijdag, september 15, 2006
Lebanese??
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3304257,00.html
Whahaah?? How can one complain about separation by one group of the population if this gets governmental approval? Read this whole article, and please, anybody, tell me how this can be rhymed into ONE country, ONE people, ONE army?
I'm shocked...
I also have a question for anyone kind enough to explain this to me please:
Do Sunni muslims also believe in the Imam Mahdi resurrection, as the Shia's do? And, the conditions (unrest in the world) to make this gonna happen? Or is this typically a Shia version of the Islam?
Tse.
'Hizbullah youths' train in terrorism'
Thousands of children, teens prepare for apocalyptic battle against 'evil'
[. . . ]
"Hizbullah wants to create a new generation of operatives for its own ranks who will take part in its violent campaign against Israel," the report states.
[. . . ]
Hizbullah's Mahdi Scouts was established by the terror group in 1982 and operates under the jurisdiction of the Lebanese Ministry of Education. According to the Center for Special Studies, the Scouts have about 42,000 Lebanese males and females between the ages of 8-16 organized into 499 groups.
Whahaah?? How can one complain about separation by one group of the population if this gets governmental approval? Read this whole article, and please, anybody, tell me how this can be rhymed into ONE country, ONE people, ONE army?
I'm shocked...
I also have a question for anyone kind enough to explain this to me please:
Do Sunni muslims also believe in the Imam Mahdi resurrection, as the Shia's do? And, the conditions (unrest in the world) to make this gonna happen? Or is this typically a Shia version of the Islam?
Tse.
zondag, september 10, 2006
Gotcha :)
I've been tagged by my dear friend Fadi at Fairy Tales:
http://fk450.jeeran.com/
so, here it comes, LOL:
1- Do you like the look and the contents of your blog?
The look could be better but the contents I like (duh!!!) - meaning that I like the way those subjects are addressed, not the subjects themselves - since almost all of them are expressions of human suffering because that bothers me the most (and is unexplicable to me) ...
2- Does your family know about your blog?
They know I've got "A" blog, but since they're not into the virtual experience, they hardly seen it.
3- Can you tell your friends about your blog? Do you consider it a private thing?
No, I haven't told my friends about my blog. I could, if I wanted to - but I don't want to. I like to keep some niches "for me alone".
4- Do you just read the blogs of those who comment on your blog? or you try to discover new blogs?
You wouldn't wanna know LOL - I'm "all over the place" - like I'm on a discovery-trip - never seem to get enough of it.
5- Did your blog positively affect your mind? Give an example.
Most certainly: yes. For me it has brought down walls that instinctively existed behind generalizations MSM gets you into consciencely or unconsciencely. I am very positively affected that I can comment on someone's blog in Saudia or Iran and find that out there are people with whom I've got things in common. It's a wonderful experience.
6- What does the number of visitors to your blog mean? Do you use a traffic counter?
I once had one. But it dissappeared when I changed the template and I have no idea how to get it back...
7- Did you imagine how other bloggers look like?
Look like externally: vaguely. But characterlike: yes.....
8- Do you think blogging have any real benefit?
Yes. I'm convinced. Somehow, slowly, major concepts are gonna be changed by it. "People who are people who are.... " will in the end have more sympathy and understanding for each-other than for patterns they've been born or grown into and were laid out by the society that surrounds them.
9- Do you think that the blogsphere is a stand alone community separated from the real world?
No. The things you read there, or communicate through it, you carry with you into "the real world". At least, I do.
10- Do some political blogs scare you? Do you avoid them.
No & no. As long as they're written by people and not by "professionals" representing institutions; those I do avoid not because they scare me but they don't interest me.
11- Do you think that criticizing your blog is useful?
Hahaha... yep. I'd welcome that. But I think my blog is not that popular that anybody could be bothered to spend the energy doing it, LOL.
12- Have you ever thought about what happen to your blog in case you died.
No. Que sera, sera....
13- Which blogger had the greatest impression on you?
There is one blogger that I admire for the words he wrote that say exactly what I think ... Charles Malik:
http://inlebanon.blogspot.com/2006/04/comments-on-israellebanon-and-israeli.html
"Not knowing about "them" is the worst crime we can commit.
It invalidates them as humans, as if they don't even matter.
They are Stalin's faceless enemy, the rabid dog, the evil blood suckers whom it is righteous to kill."
14- Which blogger you think is the most similar to you.
Fadi, you gave the answer I feel is right for me as well: all.... everybody's got a little piece of me in them.
15- Name a song you want to listen to?
So much things to say - Bob Marley...
16- Ask five bloggers to answer these question on their blogs?
1. Lisa Goldman (are you reading this Lisa?)
2. Free Cedar
3. Drima
4. Osaid Rasheed (whenever he's got time, LOL)
5. Drew Catt
Tse.
http://fk450.jeeran.com/
so, here it comes, LOL:
1- Do you like the look and the contents of your blog?
The look could be better but the contents I like (duh!!!) - meaning that I like the way those subjects are addressed, not the subjects themselves - since almost all of them are expressions of human suffering because that bothers me the most (and is unexplicable to me) ...
2- Does your family know about your blog?
They know I've got "A" blog, but since they're not into the virtual experience, they hardly seen it.
3- Can you tell your friends about your blog? Do you consider it a private thing?
No, I haven't told my friends about my blog. I could, if I wanted to - but I don't want to. I like to keep some niches "for me alone".
4- Do you just read the blogs of those who comment on your blog? or you try to discover new blogs?
You wouldn't wanna know LOL - I'm "all over the place" - like I'm on a discovery-trip - never seem to get enough of it.
5- Did your blog positively affect your mind? Give an example.
Most certainly: yes. For me it has brought down walls that instinctively existed behind generalizations MSM gets you into consciencely or unconsciencely. I am very positively affected that I can comment on someone's blog in Saudia or Iran and find that out there are people with whom I've got things in common. It's a wonderful experience.
6- What does the number of visitors to your blog mean? Do you use a traffic counter?
I once had one. But it dissappeared when I changed the template and I have no idea how to get it back...
7- Did you imagine how other bloggers look like?
Look like externally: vaguely. But characterlike: yes.....
8- Do you think blogging have any real benefit?
Yes. I'm convinced. Somehow, slowly, major concepts are gonna be changed by it. "People who are people who are.... " will in the end have more sympathy and understanding for each-other than for patterns they've been born or grown into and were laid out by the society that surrounds them.
9- Do you think that the blogsphere is a stand alone community separated from the real world?
No. The things you read there, or communicate through it, you carry with you into "the real world". At least, I do.
10- Do some political blogs scare you? Do you avoid them.
No & no. As long as they're written by people and not by "professionals" representing institutions; those I do avoid not because they scare me but they don't interest me.
11- Do you think that criticizing your blog is useful?
Hahaha... yep. I'd welcome that. But I think my blog is not that popular that anybody could be bothered to spend the energy doing it, LOL.
12- Have you ever thought about what happen to your blog in case you died.
No. Que sera, sera....
13- Which blogger had the greatest impression on you?
There is one blogger that I admire for the words he wrote that say exactly what I think ... Charles Malik:
http://inlebanon.blogspot.com/2006/04/comments-on-israellebanon-and-israeli.html
"Not knowing about "them" is the worst crime we can commit.
It invalidates them as humans, as if they don't even matter.
They are Stalin's faceless enemy, the rabid dog, the evil blood suckers whom it is righteous to kill."
14- Which blogger you think is the most similar to you.
Fadi, you gave the answer I feel is right for me as well: all.... everybody's got a little piece of me in them.
15- Name a song you want to listen to?
So much things to say - Bob Marley...
16- Ask five bloggers to answer these question on their blogs?
1. Lisa Goldman (are you reading this Lisa?)
2. Free Cedar
3. Drima
4. Osaid Rasheed (whenever he's got time, LOL)
5. Drew Catt
Tse.
vrijdag, september 08, 2006
Cry
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3301423,00.html
Father of Or Shahar, killed in Lebanon day before his 21st birthday, eulogizes his son during memorial ceremony.Is the government there for us, or are we here for the government?
"Are you aware of our terrible feeling of guilt as parents who did not succeed in properly safeguarding the one-time gift of life we gave out sweet child from the hands of an arrogant and blocked clumsy authority? The heart explodes!"
My heart cries reading the above... those poor parents... the lost of life of the thing most precious to them while feeling it was for nothing, for a bunch of presumptious stupid idiots who think about prestige first and human lifes afterwards.
The heart of that father explodes, my tears just exploded reading about his pain, seeing the photo of his son (in above link), such a handsome, enjoying life looking boy.... whose life was erased, taken away by the decision of a snob who can keep on sleeping at night in his multi-million dollar home in Jerusalem.... while for these parents- as many, many others- life won't ever be the same anymore and will carry a huge hole in their heart...
How can Olmert still sleep at night?
Tse.
