We Truly Are An òí øåçðé Am Ruchani

The outdoor gardens were full of people, all sorts of people, in all sorts of dress. The "day" didn't belong to just one type.

Even when multiple kite strings got tangled up, and they sure did, the mood stayed friendly and cheerful.

Periodically there were announcements that Mincha minyanim would be forming, so anyone who wanted to pray the Jewish Afternoon Prayer could gather at a specific place. I don't remember that from museum events when my own children were young.

Today religion is more "natural" and unembarrassed. Years ago, men (and women) who wanted to pray would look for an unobtrusive corner, hidden from public view.

This kite, flying high above was made by my granddaughter, in the kite-making workshop. Grandmothers can brag, can't they?

I don't know when the festivities ended, but I'm sure it was difficult for the museum staff to send people home.

òí éùøàì çé

Am Yisrael Chai

The People of Israel Lives!!

That Vision Thing

A leader has vision.

He/She sees it as a possiblity, no, a surity, insurance for the future.

That's one of the elements in charisma.  Arik Sharon had it.  Whether right or wrong, he could get people to obey him.  Begin had it, but then he lost it once he gave Egypt the Sinai.  The Left gloated.  They knew, like when Delila convinced Samson to cut his hair, that Menachem Begin would cease to be the Begin we loved.  Samson's hair later grew in, and he used his renewed strength to destroy his enemies, but sadly, Begin just faded away.

Our Biblical Homeland, liberated during the 1967, Six Days War, is divided in three general areas: The Shomron, Binyamin and Gush Etzion-Hebron.  I live in Shiloh, which is in Binyamin, north of Jerusalem, south of Tapuach and Rechallim.  In Biblical times, Shiloh was our spiritual center, where the Mishkan, Tabernacle, rested for 369 years.  I'm attached to that spirit.

Recently I've had the wonderful opportunity to see the building energy of my neighbors in the north, the Shomron.  Daniella Weiss visited to tell us of how she's inspiring youth, younger than her own children, to continue to build new communities in Judea and Samaria.  And yesterday, I joined Helen Freedman, of AFSI, on a tour led by David Haivri of Tapuach.

We visited Rechallim, rich with children, which must make Rachella Druk, HaYa"D, so proud in Olam Haba.  It is located at the site of her murder by Arab terrorists.  Then we looked at Shechem, Kever Yosef, so near but the Israeli government doesn't allow Jews to visit.  We met the head of the Shomron Regional Council who told us of his impressive plans and programs.  And then we went to Avri Ram's farm in the mountains over Itamar.  It's an oasis of Judaism and Zionism.

Now I pray that we will feast with the Moshiach on Tisha B'Av, instead of fasting.  Baruch Hashem, I feel  leadership from the Shomron.

The Power of Chana

In the Days of the Shoftim, the Judges, it took a woman, Chana, to bring order.  She prayed to G-d in Shiloh for a son who would change the direction of Jewish History.

Her son Shmuel annointed our first two kings.  When Saul failed in the task demanded by G-d, for being a pc centrist, Shmuel looked for a replacement who was as different as different could be.  Saul was tall and impressive-looking, raised to inherit the manor.  David was small, with red hair and unforgettable eyes, the son sent out to work.

So was Shmuel.  His mother raised him with a strong work ethic, and at the youngest age, he was apprenticed to Eli the Priest in Shiloh.  It's not easy for a mother to leave a young child in the hands of others, but Chana knew that her son had a job to do.

And now we have a job to do, too. We pray for a new Shmuel to save our nation and bring it strong Jewish Leadership. Today I was among a group of women at Tel Shiloh.  All of us from different backgrounds, but we feel the power of Shiloh, the same power that Chana felt thousands of years ago.

This coming Wednesday, there will be a demonstration in Paris Square, Jerusalem, 10am, demanding that Olmert Resign Now, immediately and an end to the games our leaders and politicians keep playing.