Tikkun Olam

My daughter as you know has RSD/CRPS in both legs, and is in a wheelchair.  She is not , however, considering a Ketamine coma, and neither am I.  She does want to try a Ketamine infusion, but the doctors she has seen are refusing to do it.  They keep saying she needs to 'force herself to work through the pain.'  How much do they really understand about this disease? We will try to find out if it is possible to do this treatment (the infusion) after we get there next week.  Here is a video of a girl with extremely severe RSD/CRPS who decided to undergo the Ketamine coma treatment.  It is frightening to watch.  Please pray for my daughter...

An Emerita professor of Psychology and Women's Studies at CUNY, Phyllis Chesler is an active feminist and has been extremely outspoken in her pro-Israel stance.  She has written often about the world's obsession with and accusations against Israel, calling it an apartheid state, railing against its 'occupation of Palesinian land' et al. Here she does it again, calling attention to the U.N.'s totally ignoring the plight of Hindu refugees, and drawing a parallel between Jews and Hindus who have both been persecuted and driven out of their holy places throughout history.  In a speech she gave in Pune, India via Skype, she stated: When one tries to talk about Islamic religious and gender apartheid or about Islamic terrorism, one is immediately demonized as an “Islamophobe” and a “racist.” One loses one's reputation as a “good” person. One also loses one's friends and employment possibilities. This has just happened to one of India's true heroes, Dr...

I have been "sick" since Chanukah with my acute nasopharingitis or chronic rhinosinusitis or GERD or whatever the heck this is, having been diagnosed, re-diagnosed, and misdiagnosed by various and sundry doctors, forever!  That is why the word 'sick' is in quotes.  I still, after all these years with the same symptoms, have no idea what this is that I have.  I have had no fever, no muscle aches, and alternately feel weak, tired, and constantly coughing up...well, never mind.  And I'm leaving for Israel in a week.  Just great.  Today I am feeling a bit better, but still coughing up, and losing my voice.  How to teach in that situation? No clue.  I do have a doctor appointment with my new (yes, another doctor) physician on Thursday, but that leaves very little time to get Rxs and rest up before flying. We will be in Israel for six weeks, and probably most of the time we will be helping our daughter, Rambo, with moving to another apartment, if she...

                                                    While in Israel this past summer, I bought Rabbi Trugman's (of Ohr Chadash ) new commentary on the Torah, Orchard of Delights , recently reviewed in the Baltimore Jewish Examiner .  I had already been listening with rapture during Shabbatot at my younger son's home to several divrei Torah , or Torah lessons (literally,"words" of Torah), which he gave over at his Shabbat table from Rabbi Trugman's book.  The manner in which RavTrugman interweves the spiritual and physical filled me with wonderment. His teachings lend credence to physicist and theologian Gerald Schroeder's philosophy manifested in his books (two of which I have read, and a third, God According to God , which ...

This is a bit crazy, posting a blog post about a live webcast, but here is it anyway: Rabbi Avraham Arieh Trugman is giving a shiur (Torah lesson/lecture) right now , right here: http://www.bethereisrael.com/live Live, learn, and expand your minds in 2012!