Tikkun Olam

Because I am visiting my grandchildren in a different state on the way to Israel, I don't have the same access to a computer as I would at home. Therefore, wherever I can I plan to plagiarize other peoples' works, heheh - just kidding - I will post interesting items as I receive them, and of course - hakarat ha-tov - give credit where credit is due. This is verbatim from my colleague M . in London. Yes, it's that M. , from double-oh-seven fame. (Ya didn't know I was so well-connected, did ya?) So if you will, assimilate this: "The following are true facts and verified statistics:The Global Islamic population is approximately 1,200,000,000, or 20% of the world population. They have received the following Nobel Prizes: Literature: 1988 - Najib Mahfooz Peace: 1978 - Mohamed Anwar El-Sadat1994 - Yaser Arafat Physics: 1990 - Elias James Corey1999 - Ahmed Zewail Medicine: 1960 - Peter Brian Medawar1998 - Ferid Mourad The Global Jewish population is aproximately 14,000,00...

"It was Rosh Hashanah morning, and the Rabbi noticed little Adam was staring up at the large plaque that hung in the foyer of the synagogue. It was covered with names, and small American flags were mounted on either side of it. The seven-year old had been staring at the plaque for some time, so the Rabbi walked up, stood beside the boy, and said quietly, "Good morning, Adam.""Good morning, Rabbi," replied the youngster, still focused on the plaque. Finally, Adam asks, "Rabbi, what is this? "Well, it's a memorial to all the men and women who died in the service."Soberly, they stood together, staring at the large plaque.Adam's voice was barely audible when he asked: "Rosh Hashanah or Yom Kippur?" (credit to my friend, Miriam Liebe for this little story).

I don't have much time to write 'cause I'm behind in packing and I'm starting to panic!! But I saw a funny video clip and wanted to have everyone rolling on the floor in hysterics (well, at least chuckling; 'cause we have to laugh in order not to cry...), so I am posting this from the site of a crazy guy (nu, he's Jewish. So?). Hat tip to Jack for the author. Just click on the title link to see the clip. Shanah Tovah, and see you in Israel--להתראות!!!

I haven't posted in a while; much has happened and is still going on in my life. Suffice it to say, I have taken a very difficult step, and bought myself a ticket to Israel. Difficult - not emotionally, but practically - because we really can't afford this. I am still not working full-time, but am giving up a once-a-week part-time teaching position to do this. My soul is dying here, and I needed to be elsewhere - where else, but a short visit to my grandkids for Rosh Hashana through the first days of Yom Tov Sukkot, and then on chol ha-mo'ed, to fly to Israel?! I hope during my visit I will be able to meet AbbaGav, Jameel, JCop, WestbankMama, Baka Diary, Joe Settler, and everyone else who blogs from Israel and visits my blog on occasion. I must be crazy (I know my kids think so.) So in that crazy vein, here is a little crazy song about the "wonderful" הפוך situation we have in Israel, from politics to economics to society to ----! Just click on this likudnik link...

My kids are in Israel; Our youngest already called to "send money", so I know that (b'ezrat Hashem) everything is ok! I'm missing them so much; the Chagim are coming up, and we won't have family with us, and we can't afford to go there , so I am feeling a bit pensive, and decided to post these quotable quotes, musings and Great Moral Principles gleaned from various sources (including The Simpsons , a very astute, informative source on our society today) which don't necessarily have anything to do with each other. Credit is given where known. So reflect, ponder, and snicker a little: "Democracy involving Israel and its neighbors is two wolves and a lamb voting on what's for lunch. And the agressor is a heavily armed lamb." Don't know to whom to attribute that to (my husband found the quote), but how true it is. From the JewishVirtualLibrary : "In 1937, a local Arab leader, Auni Bey Abdul-Hadi, told the Peel Commission, which ultimate...