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Israel

L’Shanah Tovah

Happy New Year! Jewish New Year that is. “love” in Hebrew  5772 to be exact.  It starts tonight at sundown with, of course, a festive meal followed by services. L’Shanah Tovah means “for a good year.” L’Shanah Tovah is a shortening of “L’shanah tovah tikatev v’taihatem” and it means “May you be inscribed and sealed for a good year.” pronunciation guide: shanah tovah, like hanna with a sh and tovah with a soft t rhymes with shanah. And finally a link to a very Happy… Read More »L’Shanah Tovah

Israel Trip Photos

We had a great trip to Israel and I finally got the album posted on Flickr. For those of you who aren’t interested enough to see all 100 pictures here are three of my favorites: The Roman Aqueduct at Caesarea.   The Bahai Temple in Haifa Nurit and I near the old city of Jerusalem wall at sunset. What a lucky man I am.

Education Update

“In Canadian Schools, unlike in the United States, they teach a class called “Moral and Religious Education.” Quote is from Rachel Korazim a holocaust educator who spoke to our Israel Tour group in preparation for our visit to Yad Vashem.  The newly rebuilt Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem.  Her talk was brilliant and the memorial is a gut wrenching emotional experience.  

Spiritual Superlatives

Superlatives are claims to the highest, fastest, largest, oldest etc. We have had a joke for many years about a Bronze Buddha.  If you define the group sharply enough anything is the best at something.  I am “Pasadena’s oldest man born in Coventry, England who had a factory in Mexico. On our recent trip to Israel we noticed that most superlatives about spiritual things don’t work with the “est” suffix.  You have to use “most”.  For instance “most spiritual” is correct not “spiritualest”.  “Jewishest” is… Read More »Spiritual Superlatives

Israel One

We are on the Dennis Prager listening tour in Israel for a week or so and it has started very well. One of the benefits of the tour is that it is made up of people who self selected because they agree with Prager’s conservative values and support of a strong Israel. They are also people who will afford to make a trip like this. About 75% are Christians which surprised and delighted us. Today we saw an museum that was a clandestine ammunition factory… Read More »Israel One