Passover 5779 has come and gone and now it’s back to reality and to the every day rhythm of life. As I mentioned previously, it’s taking a bit of time to get back into the habit of writing regularly. Lucky for me, over the past year, I’ve been able to vent my spleen to a moderate degree over at The Mark Steyn Club, so I haven’t been completely incommunicado. I really do appreciate Mr. Steyn and the Club staff’s indulgence of my verbiage and odd sense of humour, they are certainly a tolerant and lovely bunch!
Over the past few days I have been ruminating about the miracle that is the Jewish people and Israel. I am often completely humbled by our survival, and it hits me at the oddest and most unpredictable predictable moments. This week though, while Israel was under relentless missile attack, I was thinking once again how terrible it must be to live with burning Jew-hatred as your motivating force of life. It’s pathetic, but it’s enraging because this rage continues to claim more lives-Jewish and non-Jewish.
Last week was Holocaust memorial day in Israel and this evening is the start of the Israeli memorial day for fallen soldiers and victims of terror. Tomorrow, the day of mourning blends seamlessly into the celebrations for Israel’s 71st Independence Day. I feel so grateful for this life, this Jewish life that I am free to live and will continue to share thoughts about Judaism, Israel, politics, morality, philosophy and other things with you going forward.
A number of you wrote to me to tell me that you liked my image of the Sea of Galilee so I thought I would share another Israel photo with you. This is a picture from the Mahane Yehuda market (“the shuk”) in Jerusalem, and this is from my favourite spice seller Moshe.
Did you have a chance to listen to my interview with the great Barbara Kay?
Have a listen and please tell me what you think.
There’s a magic number of downloads of these interviews that I’m aiming for and if I hit that magic number, it could lead to a more regular venture if I’m lucky. And as always, the harder I work, the luckier I get! I still have a bunch of awesome new and interesting interviews to share with you, and I’ll post the second Common Sensei interview next week so stick with me.