Grandma's army

Non-Jewish readers are perhaps not aware of the fact that Jews – believers and non-believers alike – are nearing the end of a three-week intensive period of Festivals. They began with the Jewish New Year and since then have run almost the whole gamut of human emotions –introspection, repentance, grief, etc. We have now reached the last festival called Succot which lasts eight days.   It is the only Jewish Festival in which we are commanded to be “happy”. In our prayers, we call it simply “the season of our rejoicing.” Another factor in which this commandment differs from others is the fact that the Torah (Pentateuch) does not elicit any reason. Happiness which is unconditional.   Happiness for the simple fact that we are alive. Another day in which we are given the chance to learn and to develop.   A grateful person is a happier one. To give thanks for everything we have, since nothing should be taken for granted: not family, not children, not parents, not ...

This year Israel celebrated the 70th anniversary of its statehood. Many, and not only Jews, have described the incredible progress and development of Israel during that period as a miracle. Looking at it objectively, it is difficult to see it in any other way. When David Ben-Gurion spoke of Israel as being The Light of the Nations the poor and arid country was barely able to sustain itself, let alone give humanitarian aid to others. Israel started off in the most humble and adverse conditions. With the end of the British mandate and the  establishment of the Jewish State of Israel in 1948 ,  a “war of extinction” was undertaken by all of Israel’s Arab neighbors. Israel’s small population then of just over 800,000 people managed not only to defend itself, but also to even conquer territory beyond the truncated partition lines allocated to it by the United Nations at the time. In addition, this mostly desert state absorbed in its early years hundreds of tho...

The prophet Isaiah said in the 8th century BCE:  “I the Lord have called to you in righteousness, and will take hold of your hand and keep you and present you as the people of the covenant , a  light unto the nations. ” (42:6) “It is too light a thing for you to be My servant, to establish the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the scions of Israel, and I shall submit you as a  light unto the nations , to be My salvation until the end of the earth”. (49:6) In his writings and speeches, Israel’s first Prime Minister  David Ben-Gurion  (1886–1973) emphasized his vision of the state of Israel as a moral and social beacon to the whole world, thereby implementing the vision of the prophets.  The selection of the Menorah  (candelabra) as the Emblem of Israel  was derived from the image of the state of Israel as a  Light Unto the Nations .   The present Prime Minister   Benjamin Netanyahu has referred, more than once to th...

Have just returned from a family visit to London. It was at the tail end of a two month heat wave and drought, and didn’t look like the England I had known. I couldn’t help thinking of the most popular song, or hymn, written by William Blake in 1804, that I still remembered from my school days.   To quote the final verse in this epic poem -   which is considered by many to be the English unofficial national anthem: “I will not cease from Mental Fight, Nor shall my Sword sleep in my hand: Till we have built Jerusalem, In England’s green & pleasant Land.” The phrase "green and pleasant land" has become a common term for an identifiably English landscape and society . The landscape I knew and loved was damp and green. The one which greeted me on arrival was dry and brownish.   As far as “ society ” is concerned, England is certainly a far cry from what it was in Blake’s day. I thought the newspapers would be a refreshing change from the news we get in ...

The dynamics of “grandma’s army” is continuing to thrive, although I have been caught up in other matters in the last few weeks. Last Wednesday another granddaughter joined the Israeli forces - as an army instructor. The   job of army instructors is to train soldiers on every piece of equipment used in army warfare. For example: machine guns, sniper guns, armoured vehicles, mines, every type of missile ,etc. I understand that each instructor is trained to teach a specific type of equipment, both theoretically and in the field. Adi is only 19 years old and some of the soldiers she will be teaching (from the Reserves) will be old enough to be her father. She is at present going through basic training and will then begin to learn   her particular field of instruction.   Adi still has one brother (Memi) in the army, who is now in the process of becoming an officer. He has been serving in the same special unit for one-and-a-half years and still has quite a long way t...

The Koran mentions Mecca and Medina countless times. It never mentions Jerusalem, which is not surprising, since there is no historical evidence to suggest Mohammad ever visited Jerusalem. Muslims today cite a passage in the Koran from which they claim that the two temples vaguely mentioned there are in Mecca and Jerusalem. Never mind the facts, such as that when Jordan controlled East Jerusalem, until 1967 no Arab ever thought to make it significant or endow it with any special importance, or move an Arab capital there. All they did was systematically destroy every synagogue and memorial there, using tombstones for latrines and to pave roads. The Arab Muslims contend there never was a Jewish Temple, only the al-Aqsa mosque. Or that the land of Israel was ever the Jewish homeland. Yet, when illegally excavating an area for another mosque on the site they disposed of tons of earth containing artefacts proving, beyond doubt,   the existence of the Temple.   Archaeo...

The destruction of the First Temple in 586 B.C.E., was the most traumatic and transformative event for the Jewish people to have ever taken place.   According to rabbinic tradition, the Second Temple in 70 C.E. was destroyed by the Romans on the very same day, and this time the Jewish people were exiled from their homeland of Israel. From then on, the Romans promised, it would be known as Palestine . The name was derived from the Philistines, a people conquered by the Jews centuries earlier. It was a way for the Romans to add insult to injury. Another long list of traumatic events suffered by the Jews are believed to have occurred around the same day, quite a few of which have been   historically proved. Since then, from that day to the present time, Jews all over the world have fasted in order to commemorate specific events related to the Destruction. Today, we are almost at the end of the three weeks of mourning preceding the fast known as Tisha b’Av (ninth of the mo...