…from the four corners of the Earth

…from the four corners of the Earth

מארבע כנפות הארץ...

At least four times every weekday (not  on Shabbat) in our Jewish prayers, we ask G-d to gather us from the four corners of the earth and return us to our land of Israel. Although I have been saying these words for years, I only recently started to realize that those words are coming true right now. It has been slowly happening over the millennia, but I can actually see it happening now.

Our move to Israel is one personal example of those words being fulfilled. The fulfillment of those words has really been happening on a larger scale during my lifetime. It just really hit home for me this week.

This week Irma and I attended the wedding of a young couple in Jerusalem. The groom is a son of Suzie and Chaim, friends of ours from Denver, who made aliyah about seventeen years ago. They now live in Efrat and we have spent a few happy occasions with them.

The wedding was beautiful – beautiful bride, good food, about 600 people – all the great trappings of a fine, first class wedding. For me, though, all that was overshadowed by the people. Two things really stood out for me.

First, there was Suzie and Chaim’s family. Here was four happy generations, from Suzie’s parents to Suzie and Chaim’s children and grandchildren enjoying this happy event, in Israel, where the three younger generations live in peace and happiness, among the people of Israel. My favorite moment at this event was when generations three and four (kids and grandkids) were performing a program – dancing and singing in honor of the newlyweds. Watching the proud, happy expressions of the grandparents and great grandparents was worth the price of admission. Wow!

But there was more, and it was this “more” that brought it all home to me. Many of the guests were people that I had known back in Denver, two home towns ago for me. Some of these Denver people had made aliyah at a young age and had seen their families – children, grandchildren - grow in Israel. Others made aliyah after they retired – some came to join other family members who had made aliyah.

All around us - at the table, in the room - it was the same story. There were other people who picked up and moved to Israel from America, England and who knows where. Since, arriving here, I’ve met people from all over the world who have moved here; North and South America, Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia and New Zealand – everywhere except Antarctica (haven't met a Jewish penguin, yet).

G-d may work His plan in a timeframe that seems too slow for us to comprehend, but He is working His plan. I am thankful to be here in Israel to see part of it unfolding. I hope to still around when Moshiach finally arrives.

Thank you, Suzie and Chaim for being our friends and inviting us to share in your simcha. May HaShem bless you and all of your family with health, happiness and all the best that this world has to offer and beyond.

Thank You, HaShem, for bringing us back to the land You have given us. May we all merit to see the rebuilding of the Temple and the coming of Moshiach, speedily in our time.

Shabbat Shalom, Y’all
Mel

P.S. I won't use a wedding picture here, because I haven't asked permission. Instead, here is a model of the Holy Temple – which sits on the awe-inspiring rooftop terrace  at Aish HaTorah overlooking the site where the real Temple stood for 1,000 years before being destroyed by the Romans.

Scale Model of the Holy Temple

Dear Hearts and Gentle People

I’ve been remiss* in keeping current with this blog. The main purpose of View from Efrat is to show you a bit about life in Efrat and in Israel.

This week Judaism celebrated Tu B'Shvat, the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Shvat. According to our tradition, Tu B'Shvat is considered the New Year for trees in relation laws about tithing. If you haven’t heard about it, you’re not alone. Most people, including most Jews haven’t heard about it either.

Here in Efrat, as in much of Israel, there are small local celebrations. Irma and I were privileged to be able to participate in two of them.

On Wednesday night, Alissa Fried Harbater, Efrat Aliyah (immigrant) Coordinator and Bob Lang, Head of the Efrat Religious Council hosted a gathering of Efrat’s new olim (immigrants) at Alissa’s house. About twenty people attended. We enjoyed learning more about Tu B'Shvat, while we ate various Israeli fruits and shared recent experiences in Israel.

One of the purposes of that gathering was for us to meet each other and perhaps form new friendships. Of course, as whenever Jews meet for the first time, we played “Jewish geography.”** We’re invited to Shabbat lunch at the home of our new friends from Cleveland. Amazing!

Last night (Thursday), our little synagogue group got together at the local winery/restaurant for a tour and wine tasting in honor of Tu B'Shvat. We again had a beautiful time with friends from Efrat.

Living in Efrat is a very special, happy experience for Irma and me. We’ve never been happier and we each thank HaShem daily, several times a day, for bringing us to this beautiful place.

Often as I walk down the street, I start singing a certain song from my past. Most of you have never heard this song; you’d have to be older than dirt to have heard it (my brother remembers it).

When I was 7 years old (1949 – older than dirt), Mom bought us a record player*** and a couple of musical records. One record was some “brusha, brusha” thing about brushing your teeth. The other one was Dinah Shore singing, “Dear Hearts and Gentle People.” I must have heard it three hundred times. To me, this town of Efrat and this song go together. Take a minute to click on the link and listen. You're in for a treat. They don’t make music like this anymore.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1q5yyiaJV8Y

The quote below is the Biblical source for Tu B'Shvat.

Be well, Y’all
Mel

וְכִי-תָבֹאוּ אֶל-הָאָרֶץ, וּנְטַעְתֶּם כָּל-עֵץ מַאֲכָל..."

"And when ye shall come into the land, and shall have planted all manner of trees for food…" (Vayikra 19:23)

*For those of you who attended unionized schools, remiss basically means being negligent or slow in doing one’s job.

**Not really a game. Whenever Jews meet for the first time it goes like this; “Where are you from?” “Cleveland.” “Oh, Cleveland; I know someone from Cleveland. Do you know Jeff and Barbara Soandso?” “Yes, we lived across the street from them.”

***For those not older than dirt, before MP3 and music CDs (and cassettes and 8 track), music was sold on round vinyl plastic discs called records. In those days they were all 78 rpm. For more information, check Google or some other search engine.

A View from Efrat toward Bethlehem and Jerusalem

Bully Busters

I don’t usually write about religion or religious topics on this blog, because I don’t feel qualified or inclined to discuss religious issues with the world; also, I don’t want to try to change anyone’s belief system to mine. However, the problem of bullies is universal. Zev has suffered and worked with this problem and we can all learn from his experience.


My research says that about 70% of all people have been subjected to bullying. I know that I was, especially from age four to about age 11.

My knowledgeable Christian friends out there (Gill, Manny, Terry, David, Phairis or someone), please comment on this; although Zev’s Breslev viewpoint is to the “right” of mainstream Jewish teaching, I suspect some of your teachings also run somewhat parallel to what he is writing.

Explanations for “strange” words in his article can be found at google.com.

If you have a problem with my adding this information to this blog, please let me know and I will reconsider. Meanwhile, the link to this next article is:

http://www.breslev.co.il/articles/family/health_and_fitness/bully_busters.aspx?id=18091&language=english

Be Well,

Mel

P.S. Forgive me for dancing around the truth in the previous discussion about the victim’s identity. I didn’t feel it was my place to give it away.

Save a Life – Save the World

Our sages say that if you save a person’s life, it is as though you have saved the world. Maybe I can have some kind of effect.

Over one million people commit suicide every year around the world; about 34,000 in the U.S. There are twice as many suicides in the U.S. as homicides. It is a leading cause of death among teenagers and adults under 35. There are an estimated 10 to 20 million non-fatal attempted suicides every year worldwide, about 750,000 in the U.S.

One of the main causes of suicide is depression. Bullying is thought to be one of the main causes of depression in teenagers and young adults and is therefore thought to be one of the top causes of suicide in young people. That could be why some societies consider bullying to be a form of attempted murder. If you are a parent, you should be paying attention.

A friend of mine, Zev Ballen, LCSW, is a psychotherapist and writer living in Israel. An article he wrote on bullying was published on the internet. By a strange coincidence (or common example of “Jewish geography”), I’ve met and have spoken with the wife of the subject of this article. I consider it an important read, not just for Jews, but for anyone who is interested in what’s happening around them. Take a few minutes to read this.

By the way, Zev uses the word Totti. That is a Yiddish word meaning, “my Father.”

Here is the link: http://www.breslev.co.il/articles/family/health_and_fitness/the_emotional_terrorist.aspx?id=18022&language=english

Be well, Y’all

Mel