Tikkun Olam

I saw this posted by a friend on Facebook, and would have missed it completely had she not posted it.  It brought tears to my eyes.  I am re-posting it, especially for my daughter, who has raised my beloved grandson to be a wonderful young man, who just had his Bar-Mitzvah.  Oh, and by the way, he has Down Syndrome.  The coach, and both teams--including the opposing one--should be applauded, for their compassion, and inclusiveness.  And thank you, Michal, for raising such a terrific kid!

Haven't posted yet in February, although there was something pretty important weighing on my mind (Ophir ben-Sheetreet's singing), which I might write about later. Meanwhile, there was a serious blizzard in the northeast.  My daughter Toodles lives in New York, which luckily 'dodged the bullet' and did not even break a record (11 inches of snow was recorded in Central Park. Peanuts.).  She did, however, with her cousin's help, build a snowman.  Well, a snow-building.  The Empire State Building, to be exact.  While she was sick. I mean, what else would you do in New York if you're sick? Nathaniel Bloomenstein, eat your heart out!  (You know who you are).

My son did not vote for him, but when he read Yair Lapid's (of Yesh Atid) platform, he thought it sounded reasonable . 'There is a future' The Hebrew Yesh Atid means 'There is a future.' The party's platform is decidedly domestic: Reforming government, seeking affordable housing, improving a "failing" education system, and the biggest hot-button issue, putting an end to the exemption from mandatory military service for ultra-Orthodox Jews who have traditionally been legally allowed to avoid military service in order pursue religious study.  I agree with much of this as well.  Housing in Israel is out of sight: I don't know how the average Israeli can afford to live comfortably--not excessively, but comfortably. I agree that most Hareidi young men should be required to serve in the Israeli army, but that only the most learned, or geniuses-- iluim , if you will, can have that exemption to learn Torah.  I think there's a need for that...

UPDATE: Arlene Kushner wrote about this (hat tip, Daled Amos ). Chances are, well, you know. Remember Stuxnet ...? Why have I not heard more about this story   published on YNet on January 26th:   WND, an American news website affiliated with the Right, reported Friday that a mysterious explosion has destroyed a significant portion of Iran 's Fordo nuclear facility – considered Tehran's most fortified facility. The website alleged that Hamidreza Zakeri, formerly with the Islamic Republic's Ministry of Intelligence and National Security, confirmed that the facility was hit, but the report has not been corroborated by any Western source.   I checked back at World Net Daily , a right-wing website, and this is among what I found:   Sabotage! Key Iranian nuclear facility hit? Source: Explosion destroys much of underground installation Published: 6 days ago by Reza Kahlili   An explosion deep within ...

                                                                         My D.H. and I had a quiet Tu Bishvat (New Year for the Trees, on the 15th of the month of Shevat), just the two of us, at home.  We had invited friends but they politely declined, admonishing me to rest--and they were right.  However, the two of us didn't want to forgo a seder, so we decided to hold our own private little Tu Bishvat seder Friday night.  Just the two of us. My D.H. made roast chicken stuffed with oranges and clemantinas (clementines), which we had with side dishes of couscous, butternut squash and a special salad consistin...

In addition to that of my daughter , San Diego, California has another Israel connection: Israel is helping desalinate San Diego's water supply .  As many of us know, water is a most precious natural resource in the Middle East, and in past years there has been a fairly severe drought, in Israel and other countries in the region, due to lower rainfall.  This winter with its powerful storms of a couple of weeks ago, which brought snow to the higher elevations (I heard from friends who visited me on Shabbat that approximately 6 inches fell in Efrat, where they and my son and his family live) and pounding rain to central Israel, including flooding in Tel Aviv, has gone a long way to ease that drought, and raise the level of the largest body of fresh water in Israel, the Kinneret (Sea of Galilee), almost to it's high water mark. The Middle East is not the only region with severe water problems.  I never expected, however,  that one of those areas would be San Diego: ...

Well, enough about me.  It's a little late, but here Pat Condell wishes everyone a Happy New Year.  You think we'll still need this video next year?  G-d help us...