You probably think I'm schizophrenic.  My posts range from cock-eyed optimist to things like this.  So, if you need to be cheered, and you don't want me in a fighting mood, then scroll down to my previous post.

It seems to me I've heard that song before
It's from an old familiar score
I know it well, that melody

Well, maybe Huckabee is sincere, OK, really in favor of Israel, a secure, truly secure Israel, but when I saw that picture of him by the kotel, those lyrics came to my mind.
Something else to remember, Ehud Barak's reign of terror

Is it all a show? 

Every single politician running for US President, Vice President or dreaming of... They all come to Israel and pose at the Kotel.  They recite the mantra of "safe," "secure," "united Jerusalem" and all that the script requires.

The late US President Ronald Reagan, an experienced professional actor stated that he couldn't understand why people had put him down as "just an actor."  He said that he couldn't imagine anyone without acting talent and training doing the job.

So, I'm a cynic.  It just seems to me that push comes to shove, and they're all the same.

And I'm also sick and tired of the patronizing way the world talks to us.  Those NY Times editorials are just too preachy for words.  I wonder if anyone there ever reads reactions like mine.

Our collective memories are much too short, so I decided to take a look at the new Gush Katif Museum.  I was hoping/expecting to get a taste of the beauty which was once Gush Katif, but it's a disappointment. 

Here's an obituary about one of Neve Dekalim's more unique residents.

About memories, it's already ten years since Harel Bin Nun, HaYa"D, of Shiloh, was murdered.  A Sefer Torah was dedicated to his memory in the community his brothers established in his name, Givat Harel.

Something else to remember, Ehud Barak's reign of terror. Defying logic, he's back as head of the Labor Party and he's campaigning to return to power.  Please read this and pass it around.  The wave of Arab terror which began during Barak's rule was unprecedented.  Don't forget, please.

Now, back to my menial tasks here in the eye of the storm.

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.

עם ישראל חי

Am Yisrael Chai

The People of Israel Lives!!

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.

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.