Yesterday was the twenty third day of the Omer. What is the Omer? It is when we count 49 days from the festival Pesach to the festival of Shavuot. Pesach is the festival of Freedom and Liberation from Eygpt the House of Bondage or Slavery and seven weeks later we celebrate the festival of Weeks Shavuot which is also known as the festival of first fruits of the harvest and people travelled to Jerusalem in the times of the Temple to bring the best and choicest of their harvest in both livestock and farm produce to the Cohenim or Priests to offer to G-D as a means of thanks for the bounty and goodness that the Master of the Universe bestows on us for sustaining us through to another year.
It is one of my favourite festivals but then I am fond nay, enraptured with all the Jewish festivals and holidays. Particularly fond of Shavuot though because of Ruth the Moabite who was the great grandmother of King David.
Sadly Prof. Benzion Natanyahu the father of Bibi the Israeli Prime Minister was nifter yesterday and passed into the next world. It was the day of Gevurah Netzach and roughly translated means Discipline in Endurance. By all accounts, he was quite an amazing gentleman.
Bibi and his brother Ido should receive the comfort of Hashem along with all mourners of Jerusalem and Zion.
Thirdly it is to say that I do hope that the Government of the State of Israel realises that it is time to annex Judea and Samaria NOW. I have been to Israel twice. Once in 1986 I spent a year there mainly on Kibbutzim. In 1994 I made Aliyah and spent a total of seven years there. I returned to Australia in 2000 and intended to be back in Israel within five years.
Sadly it has been twelve long years and I do know that I will get back one day with my son. I spent most of my second sourjourn there in Tel Aviv and taught in Haifa, Rahovot, Sderot (Now they are a great bunch of people - loved them dearly), Jerusalem (also loved my Jerusalem classes) and Tel Aviv.
I know where I eventually want to live in Israel and where I would like my son to live with his family. In the heart of Israel and thus I have a vested interest in Israel both as a Jew and a future home land for my family.
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