3 Treats in 1: HH #406 Blogpost = Holy Happiness!!!

B'SD

18 Iyar, 5773

It's a special day as I celebrate

1) a lovely trip to Shilo last week, 

2) Pesakh Sheni/The Second Passover, 

3) the start-date anniversary of the Mon/מן aka 
 Manna from heaven 

that began to fall for the newly freed 
hungry Israelites 

trekking to the Promised Land from Egypt 

and 

4) the fun festivities of Lag B'Omer.

I'm sharing the fun with the Haveil Havalim blogpost group (I've done this before) and you.

About that Shilo trip: I belong to a Facebook group of women from all over Israel's map. Our skin colors, accents and life experiences are diverse but our friendships are united and strong. Every few months we share a get-together called a face-to-face (f2f in facebook language). This past Tuesday we shared lunch and spiritual insights in Shilo, site of the long-ago Tabernacle.

Here's a photo of me praying on the archaeological site, protected from wind and sun with a wide-brimmed hat and scarf to protect my skin and eyes.

Bracha Barbara Goldman provided the ladies with the text for a prayer: Baruch Ata Hashem Elokeinu melech Ha'Olam Meitziv G'vul Almana. In the Artscroll siddur it appears under "Blessings over phenomena and events", and says, "upon seeing a destroyed synagogue that has been restored to its previous grandeur", and literally translates "Who sets a limit for a widow". It is based on the gemarra Brachot 58/2, which uses as its source a verse in Mishlei 15:25. There is a shiur in Hebrew prepared by Rav Yair Hiller on the subject.

What would an HH blogpost be without
 Batya Medad's take on that 
Facebook Friends in Shilo visit, eh? 

You can contact the tourist authority for 
scheduling Shilo visits with tour guides 
(awesome experience for families & large groups) 
at http://telshilo.org.il/en/

I ate some matza and said a few pertinent prayers 
the next day on Pesakh Sheni. 
Ruti Mizrachi explains what it's about, 
that life can be a do-over in some respects, 
at Once Again, with Feeling!

I can't show you a picture of the Mon/מן aka Manna from heaven but I can let you know that I felt some excitement on Friday last week. It was the 16th of Iyar, the anniversary of when the all-nourishment no-waste food that tasted as one wished, began to fall. I recite the Biblical passage about it daily. It's a way of asking GOD for the blessing of having one's needs met with ease.

As for Lag B'Omer (today!), that's a fun, spiritual day filled with not 1 but 2 day's worth of...

• Bonfires supervised by safety-minded adults, 

 

Toy bows and arrows to remind us of the rainbow-filled sky that illustrated GOD's promise never to destroy the world with a flood again plus the human need to pray, 

A celebration of the END of a plague that decimated the numbers of Rabbi Akiva's students long ago, and...

FIRST haircuts for little boys whose parents preserve the chalaka custom. Check out this no-cost item for the occasion from http://theboldedge.com/free-upsheren-printables-gifts/

SERIOUS SAFETY ALERT for Lag B'Omer: Child Predators!

Need to know more? Jacob Richman shares Educational websites about Lag Ba'Omer. 

Ladies, make this MORE of a yom tov for yourselves with Rabanit Yemima's comments on Lag B'Omer!

It's been a time of holy happiness. Hat tip: GOD ;^ D

While we're thinking about arrows, here's my zinger of an OP-ED to kneseteers who promise to protect Israel, then endanger it. "Emor m'at v'asay harbay, MKs. Find your spines. Stick to the program GOD gave us. Got it?"

Batya Medad hits a bullseye with Those - Moving -- Red --- Lines.

YAY! Sharon Altshul reminds us to Keep Jerusalem Green and Accessible.

Moving on to other HH stuff, Brian Wallace shares his joy over the OU's 4th Annual Job and Relocation Fair. Batya Medad wants Jews to relocate to the only Jewish home HaShem (GOD) told us to live in, and asks How About Relocating to Israel?

Coming up on the Jewish Calendar: Yummy Shavuot. 

But uh-oh, Haveil Havalim founder Esser Agarot compares and contrasts admirable historical figure and convert to Judaism Rut (Ruth, for non-Hebrew-speakers) to MK Ruth Calderon, who clearly does not rate high on his gracious behavior of worldview scale (nor on the scale of several other critics).

And what would the world of Judaism be without more controversy? Esser Agorot opines about the Battle of All Time aka Torah and it's Doubtful "Democratic" Adherents.

Headline-making individuals and the rest of us can do some apropos introspection (please do) with Reformism is NOT Judaism.

While we're thinking of Torah and its decency/GOD-centric values (ahem, me-centric reformists), let's see what Batya Medad and Paula Stern have to say about...

 Sorry, Not all Mothers are the Same 

and 

 What Did YOU Do the Night Before, respectively. 

sigh-h-h...

Let's get back to the feel-good stuff, by visiting Meira Josephy's Mitzvot Unplugged!

I have to sign off, now. 

I'm heading to southern Israel with friends delivering United with Israel's above-ground bomb shelters for kindergartens in Netivot (did the Boston Marathon Massacre clue you in to the capricious, unpredictable and evil nature of islamic violence, yet? NONE of it is Israel's fault. Islam is about dominance). We'll enjoy

• A farm tour/presentation at Moshav Tifrach by Torah scholar/Talmid Chocham/Farmer Reb Shmuel Rappaport (Rav Moshe Feinstein's great-grandson)
• A Lag B'Omer picnic 
• Planting Fruit Trees (hands on) at Moshav Tifrach's orchard

I'm doing it all despite an enduring (and decreasing) disability most people never detect. I use necessary coping skills and a nurtured sense of optimism.

Want to know how that's possible?

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You can fill your life with fun despite setbacks.

 

HH-appy Hanuka!

B'SD


25 Kislev, 5773

Today this blog and I are hosting the Haveil Havalim Blog Carnival. Check the date! It's another kind of auspicious day, too.

25 Kislev's a colorful event on 

Jewish calendars:    

The first night and day of

 Chanuka/Hanuka! 

  חֲנֻכָּה   חנכה

 and sometimes spelled חנוכה

The first candle was lit last night.

The holiday comes close to the end of the Kislev month, days before the new month of Tevet begins. Batya Medad addresses the timely situation in her blogpost, aka an invitation for celebration, The Moon is shrinking Again... 

Paula Stern's always sensible Point of View addresses To Palestine from Israel. 

Paula's having More thoughts on Stuck.

Let's light up more brain cells with Paula's illuminating explanation of the History of E1.

Batya Medad's interview with a foreign journalist makes you wonder "Which half of the word GOD doesn't MSM understand?" Read all about it in Jewish Right to the Land of Israel, Historic Perspective.

Now for a 10-shek look at Pseudonistan: A Pseudonymous State!

Tomer Devora Thinks About a LOT.

Keep reading.

Lorelai, the fun and spiritual owner/ operator of Radio Free Nachlaot gives us musical poetry with Morning in Jerusalem.

Marina Shemesh sends you a colorful Bat Galim postcard from home.

Rachel Moore does Mommyhood right, riding the Perfect Wave.   

Considering worldwide insults to the Light Upon the Nations (aka the Jewish People), our ancestral homeland and beloved capital city, Batya Medad’s Political Tit for Tat Plan gets my vote and probably yours, too. 

(Yocheved opining here: I'm still hoping the UN building falls in the Hudson. I wonder if my Hanuka wishes will come true this year. Sorry fishies, you hardly deserve the insult. But the Hudson's muck and the UN's occupants do).

OK, OKAY, here's the correct Peh-appropriate sivivon, sharp-eyed readers (the miracle of Chanuka indeed happened here in the Holy Land, po!). 

History lesson coming up: Who saves Am Yisrael time and again and gets little press for it? WOMEN! Read The Heroines of Hanuka.

Listen in to Rav David Bar-Chayim address (in English) The Gaza War: Why Were Rabbis Silent?

Ever hear of the Aliya Tip Sheet I once produced? Colorful coupon-loaded thing packed with info the average aliya shaliakh would never tell to potential olim (why scare them more than necessary?). 

It held this line "Go before you leave, and carry fresh paks of tissues plus hand sanitizer with you. Israel's public restrooms are too few and very far between. Sanitary conditions therein tend to be iffy, considering the international travel going on around here." 

OKAY, now you're in the mood for the Bus Stop Pisher's Guide to Jerusalem (heck of an intro I gave you, eh, Batya Medad?). 

Getting philosophical, here, I alert you to a GREAT Chanuka-related site by Rabbi Pinchas Winston, and two spiritual alerts:

1) 
Click the cute menorah to learn The History of the Menorah's Oil.

2) At this point in history of Tikun Olam, 

we're at the point of Yesod, 

the spiritual feet of the sefirot 

connected to creation. 

Yesod is about relationships. 

Considering the decades-long 

singles crisis (and too many messed-up

relationships for anyone to count), 

plus its multifaceted dimensions, 

let's zero in on Aviva Blumstein's look at 

Undue Parental Pressure. 

Here's a conversation-starter from Yitzchak Sprung: Lemony Snicket and the Latke that Couldn't Stop Screaming. 

If you know the saying "2 Jews 3 opinions" and ever sat in on a Torah-studies class, you'll appreciate the debates that I'm sure will break out after reading Do Dreams Matter? (share your thoughts with Yitzchak, not me. I'm just the messenger)

What do you think of Rabbi YY's suspicion that Dreams Could be the DVD of Your Life?

Hey! Ever thought of Bend it Like Beckham for Israeli FOOTBALL? (psst - keep the soccer ball off the field UKers. Yalla! We're talkin' Uh-merican football)

You're having a thoughtful Hanuka, huh? Have some fun when you click on this Techno-lit Hanukia.

I'm waiting to see if Syria's chemical weapons stockpile 

blows up all over that country and its Iranian supporters. 

I wonder if the Techno-kids have an app for that... 

or if anybody can count as high as the number of Syrians already dead at the hands of their fellow citizens...

The UN has never condemned that, 

to my knowledge.

Jerusalem's envoy to Vienna proves in an
offhanded way that, frankly, 
Syria's Assad doesn't give a damn 
about morality.

Next time someone impugns "The Jews" 
share this message with them
Jews Have Healthy Hanuka (and yearlong) SHINE!

Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem. GOD knows we need it!

ATTENTION BOOK PUBLISHERS: I'd sent the manuscript for The Comfort Foods Cookbook: Recipes to Calm You Down FAST Without Widening Your Waistline to Dr. Daniel Eisenberg who'd endorsed the EMPOWER Yourself book. I asked for his approbation once again. I received this delightful reply from his wife Janet: 

"Yocheved your chatty style is 

packed with information and 

a pleasure to read. I truly felt you 

cheer leading from my corner! 

A motivated dieter/lifestyle changer 

will enjoy your writing and all that 

you have to offer. It feels like 

you are working on their team."

The manuscript has been praised by medical and mental health professionals, too. 

Contact me with your publishing proposals. And yes, there's a lo-cal latke recipe in the book ;^ D

What about your health or someone else's? Buy the E-book or print edition today for a soothing, brighter look at life and the whole holiday season: Click on the words EMPOWER Yourself to Cope with a Medical (Disability, Convalesence and/or Mental Health) Challenge.

Face Your Medical Problems with Dignity. Face Your Future with Optimism.