A terrible tragedy happened late Thursday night. As tens of thousands of people were exiting a major prayer gathering at Mt. Meron to celebrate the Lag Ba’Omer festival, a bottleneck was created, a few people slipped and fell, and in a domino cascade hundreds were crushed and trapped. Forty-five people lost their lives that night, including children and teen-agers, and hundreds more were injured.
I was very excited to be able to visit the Samaria Regional Security Center and see for myself how the dedicated staff and volunteers of Samaria are protecting the men, women and children of the area.
Tomorrow night begins Holocaust Remembrance Day. It is a day of mourning, of memory, of identification with the victims of the most heinous crimes in the history of humanity, the brutal murder of 6 million Jews by Nazi Germany.
A report was recently published with updated statistics on population growth in Judea and Samaria. The numbers are so encouraging! There are more than 475,000 people living in Judea and Samaria today, representing a growth of close to 3% in 2020 alone and a 17% growth rate over the last five years.
Each year, Jews all over the world celebrate the holiday of Purim. They celebrate the miracle of salvation as described in the Book of Esther, with special prayers in the synagogue, public readings of Esther, festive meals, gifts of sweet food packages to neighbors and friends and charity to the poor.
But there is a more serious element to the holiday as well – reading and studying the Book of Esther.
My father passed away in September, and I have been saying the mourners’ kaddish once a day since. I have found great comfort in the street service just outside my house. I regularly attend the afternoon service, which begins about 15 minutes before sunset.
More than 2000 years ago, the Maccabees rebelled against the Syrian Greeks and miraculously defeated them, liberating the Jews from pagan rule and re-entering the Sacred Temple in Jerusalem. They immediately set to work, purifying the Temple and renewing the ancient services. But when they tried to light the Menorah, they discovered that there was only enough pure olive oil to last one day.
More than 2000 years ago, the Maccabees rebelled against the Syrian Greeks and miraculously defeated them, liberating the Jews from pagan rule and re-entering the Sacred Temple in Jerusalem. They immediately set to work, purifying the Temple and renewing the ancient services. But when they tried to light the Menorah, they discovered that there was only enough pure olive oil to last one day.
Ted was a big man. He towered above most of the people he met in Israel and his booming voice often dominated the conversation. He loved Israel because he loved G-d and he was determined to follow G-d’s direction and do everything he could to help Israel.
My father was a committed Jew and very active in the Jewish community of Cleveland before moving to Israel more than a decade ago. When we were children, he supported the local Bnei Akiva religious Zionist youth group, ensuring that his children and all our friends had quality activities and meaningful Jewish experiences. He was active in the synagogue, the Jewish school, the Jewish federation. He loved Israel and was always there, ready to help, whenever Israel faced a crisis.