INTRODUCTORY NOTE

By Joshua Hammerman

As we enter 2003 and prepare for the inevitable next round in the War on Terror, we don’t know what awaits us, but we do intuit that the fateful events about to take place will change the course of history. Aside from the streets of Baghdad, nowhere are these pending events stirring more anxiety than on the home front, where the constant fear of terrorism has become a fact of life. And nowhere is that more apparent than in the New York area and in Israel. To an extent, the entire world has become “the front” these days, but New York and Israel have taken their place at the front of the front.

For the past several years, my sister Lisa has lived in the small settlement of Mitzpeh Yericho, on a hillside overlooking Jericho. She is on the West Bank, very close to the Jordan River, and therefore at the front of the Israeli front -- that sandy, blurry boundary where the rest of the world meets the Arab world, where civilization began and could conceivably end. You can read more about her home at the yeshuv’s (a less tainted word than “settlement”) Web site: http://www.geocities.com/m_yericho/index.html. Jericho has been eerily quiet throughout the past two stormy years; it is the only major Palestinian town not currently under control of Israeli forces. Not coincidentally, it is also the P.A.’s only land outlet to Jordan and the greater Arab world. Like its neighbor, my sister’s settlement has also been (I hesitate to say) eerily quiet. I worry for her constantly – but no less than she worries for me.

Lisa and I are at opposite ends of the philosophical spectrum on a wide variety of issues in Jewish life, although on matters of terror and security those differences have narrowed considerably. One of Yasser Arafat’s great accomplishments, in fact, is that he’s been able to bring the Orthodox right-wing settler and her brother the Conservative American rabbi together, on that subject at least. Geographically we have also lived worlds apart, and that has contributed to our diverse stances. You just look at the world in a different way when you gaze out your window and see the mountain where Moses died and then peer down upon the ancient city where Joshua “fit de battle.”

Right now the non-biblical Joshua and his sister Lisa are both fighting the same battle, in Jericho and in the New York suburb of Stamford, CT (home page: http://www.cityofstamford.org/, and my congregation is at www.tbe.org, where you can read my weekly Shabbat-O-Gram newsletter), as are the rest of us. It’s a battle to keep our families safe and ourselves sane, to sort out right from wrong and good from evil, around the world and in our hearts. And it’s a battle to bring the entirety of the global Jewish family together, no matter where we live or where we believe this will all end.

To that end, these e-mails are being sent, in love, from one corner of “the front” to the other.

As you read these, keep in mind that they appear chronologically from top to bottom and that new e-mails will be added as they are sent. Naturally they are being edited to take out all the embarrassing personal stuff, and I am adding explanatory notes in italics.

Joshua Hammerman

From: Rabbi Joshua Hammerman

To: 'box_kite@bezeqint.net'

Sent: Tuesday, December 31, 2002 1:44 AM

Subject: Happy belated!

Dear Lisa

OK, so I was immersed in daylong meditation and missed your birthday.  Or would you believe I was chasing Crosby (our dog) around the house so he could get used to the new invisible fence we had installed?  Or would you believe that I was involved in an important sting operation to arrest the leaders of KAOS?

"Sorry about that..."

So I hope your b-day was especially nice and that Sylvester Day will be too (when do we get to have Tweety Day?)

Love Josh and the gang.

PS

Just thinking... as things heat up over in Iraq I would love to hear your perspectives via e-mail and maybe make our exchanges available to the congregation online. Sound do-able? I believe the first attack is scheduled for around my birthday, but I haven't checked with W lately.

Love

JJ

Dec. 31, 2002

bs"d

Dear JJ and family;

Thanks for bday wishes; it seems that between Asher (her husband) and me, we stretch out the season quite a bit; his birthday is either Vav Teveth, or 7 January, so it was, and it shall be, as it were.

I think that we are going to go to Ein Gedi spa for a morning, to celebrate. Actually, it was a very laid back day, as Luz (Lisa’s teenage daughter) is under the weather, and now Gonzalo (her foster son) is home with his throat, and I am also cookin something, so I think that I will be staying home from work, too. 

Hope all are well there.

Does it bother you if Asher gets in on the correspondence? I know he has things to share, too. I would of course be happy to share with you how things are from our perspective. You need to keep in mind that we don't represent any mainstream thought, and even within the village there are only a few who are like minded about many issues.

First of all, we have anticipated this for a long time. Gog and maGog, in Biblical pronunciation would have been Geoge and maGeoge. So the Jr and Sr Bushes are mentioned in the prophecy, and most of us see the Jr as going in to finish unfinished business. Unfortunately for the western world, the prophecies also indicate that Ishmael will be victorious over Esav (Rome and Europe). Luckily, with G-d's help, Israel will be victorious over all. This is why we have been begging our loved ones to get over here, even though this looks like a mad thing to do; let it be the one act of complete faith in G-d that you do!

(note – these apocalyptic prophecies are found in Ezekiel, chapters 38-39 and comprise the haftarah of the Shabbat of Sukkoth)

Regarding preparations, we all updated our gasmask kits a few weeks before the mad rush began; however, we have yet to complete all the bureaucracy in order to get Rodrigo (another foster son), who is asthmatic, a special mask with pump support for breathing. Meanwhile, he has a regular one. The kids in school are getting instruction on how to use them (they were all tiny or unborn in '91). We have a reinforced concrete room with steel doors and windows (the contractor "forgot" to put in a special sealed window, since it costs quite a lot, so we have a regular window, which we can easily seal). For today, the room functions as the boys' room, but we always have our emergency stuff in there. Asher says that he doesn't see chemical weapons as much of a threat, since most of them clear out within a short span of time out here.

Our biggest concern is not actual attack, since we saw in '91 that any missiles were sent where there is a large Jewish population, and a small Arab one, meaning primarily up the coast between TA and Haifa. They are unlikely to attack a village so close to Yeriho, being primarily Arab, which is just below us. We are much more concerned with disruptions in supplies. So we have about 3 months' worth of rice and beans in sealed canisters, and every soda bottle we finish gets rinsed out and filled with filtered water. We now have quite a pile, inside the house, and up against the outside fence; maybe hundreds of bottles. We also began stocking up on kerosene for heat, and we plan on putting up a barrel of fuel for the car. I am so grateful that Asher is a farmer as well as an engineer who understands chemistry. He has some amazing survival skills. We have 4 large canisters of natural gas. It bothers us that our neighbors are, for the most part, indifferent. When we suggest that they do the same thing, it bothers us that they say they will simply come knocking on our door if they are without.

Other than that, we mostly deal with our own local issues of terror. We don't deny that there is a threat (unlike a lot of Americans) but we take precautions that we can, and trust that the word of G-d is truth, and that we can feel safe here in our land. The boys reflect the sentiments of a lot of the people here who don't know what it is to live by faith, and they sometimes get into a panic. We have found that the best thing at that point is to review with them our various contingency plans.

Sorry I ran on so much.

Take care, Love you all. Have a happy Tweety, Sylvester.

Dec. 31, 2002

Dear Lisa (and Asher, by all means join in),

It's good that you got some down time at Ein Gedi.  Some of my most refreshing memories of Israel involve long climbs to the top waterfall on a hot summer day, and the taste of Eden at the top.  Last time there someone in my group got some great close-ups of Ibexes (or are they Ibecies?). 

To the matter at hand:  As you know, I am loath to climb on the messianic bandwagon.  Your brother the Conservative rabbi has a somewhat different perspective on a few matters, and we've always lived with that.  Biblical prophecies are often eerily accurate, but I have real problems with the determinism that would be a prerequisite for the prophecies to apply to our times.  If George W is nothing but a stand-in for Gog (or MaGog -- and in his case, Pa-Gog, although W's Ma does wear the pants), then God's role in all this is far too active for my post-Holocaust belief system.  I do share with you, however, a deep feeling that we are all in God's hands right now, and that no one, anywhere, is safe.

I also believe that we will win the war, Gog and Magog notwithstanding, because there is no choice.  But I am very worried about what will happen to Israel in the interim.

I'm glad you are all stocked up on supplies.  Admittedly, there is much denial going on over here.  Americans specialize in putting their head in the sand, but the Europeans are even worse.  A year after Pearl Harbor, America wasn't stewing about trying to gain international support for a counterattack, as they are now.  I am fearful of a mega-attack on the New York area once we begin bombing Iraq, and I do not trust in our security at all.  I don't think my synagogue would be a target, because when they hit here, they go for large, symbolic places -- they try to hit at the heart of American self-image.  But the Indian Point nuclear plant is about 25 miles from here and is an absolute sitting duck along the Hudson.  So we should be stocking up too -- not on supplies, though, but gas in the car, and a map to wherever isn't downwind of Indian Point.

Can you believe we're talking about these things?

Stay in touch.

Love,

Josh

January 2, 2003

bs"d

Dear JJ and all;

Well, you need to know that in our state, we don't plan on jumping from rock to rock looking for ibexes. We plan to soak our bones in Dead Sea pools, and mud our skins with the local gook, and get serene.  Incidentally, we see ibexes almost every morning when we walk with Max (their dog).

Your humorous comment "a deep feeling that we are all in God's hands right now, and that no one, anywhere, is safe" did not escape us! On the other hand, maybe I don't know what a post Holocaust belief system is, so I think you'd better update us. From where we're sitting, we know that putting ourselves in G-d's Hands is probably the safest place to be!

Asher believes that everyone is going to die, one way or the other, but if one is going to go, it is better to be where, and doing what G-d wants. He has seen a lot of people who saved and toiled for their retirement, and that lasted maybe 2 years. Doing what G-d wants means saving for an eternal retirement plan.

So, we started with philosophizing, as promised. Now to the day-to-day stuff:

It seems that we are of late plagued with break-ins. Cars, etc. We wish that this would be enough to call to attention to the "powers that be" how poor our defense line is. Remember that contractor who failed to install a security window? Well, he and the other contractors who developed this neighborhood also forgot to reinstall the security fence that they tore down when they built the neighborhood. If you were to study a map of the terrain ( is this still a hobby of yours?) you would see that we overlook the ancient "Roman" (probably antedating the Roman times by millennia) road that leads to Jericho. Of late, it has become a superhighway for Arab traffic hoping to avoid roadblocks. Do you think it has helped to complain? Two guesses. Recently, the wadi between the road and our backyard has been filled, since they need somewhere to dump the fill that widening the road from Jerusalem has created. Also recently, we have spotted Arabs getting out of their cars on the Roman road and walking over in our direction. Also we have seen them using the path that the dump trucks use to approach the village (it's a small path; only 3 lanes wide at the narrowest). 

We got a call the other night from a near neighbor at around midnight. Some Arabs had been seen getting out of a car on the "path" and were coming in our direction. The husband was afraid to shoot at them, since he knew that, even were he to shoot in the air, he would be spending the next 6 months in jail. This is absurd. We are armed, but our arms are tied behind our backs, and our enemies shoot at us with impunity. In the end, the "security" team came galloping up, making enough noise to chase them off (the term is somewhat of an oxymoron). Asher decided NOT to go out, because they had called the security team, and he was pretty sure that they would wind up shooting him, not the intruders, and Asher is allergic to bullets in the back.

There are some village members trying to raise funds to install a security system, so I'll put in a plug here. I can get back to you about the NPO which is handling the funds; can’t recall offhand. All I can say is; we could use a security fence and surveillance system!!!

Other than that, I am happy to report that all is quiet, and that there has been a lot of blessed rain, so we must be doing something right.

Wishing y'all a rainy Shevat, and a Shabbat shalom!

Love, Lisa, Asher, Luz, Rodrigo, Gonzalo, Max, Pesach, and Sonia the hamster.

Jan 2, 2003

Dear Lisa

We've had lots of rain as well, which over here (though not as acutely) is also good news.  What's not good is the snow that's expected this weekend.  By "post-Holocaust belief system," I simply mean that it is very difficult for many Jews to conceive of an extremely active God, working his/her will in history, and still explain the loss of the 6 million.  To say "God willed and implemented this event" while looking a photo of a German soldier flinging a baby into the flames defies normative standards of belief.  It is possible to meet on the shaky ground Joban ground of "we can't know God's ways," but any other attempt ot explain the Holocaust theologically is fraught with danger.  All of which leaves me extremely reluctant to claim knowledge of God's ways or intents in any area, including ones touched upon by great prophets like Ezekiel.

Day to day stuff:  This series of shadowy intrusions you've been having worries me.  Maybe in the weird world of cyberspace someone will forward this to someone in authority over there so that you'll be able to feel more confident.  And while you are stocking up on supplies, no one over here is really doing anything.  The things we need to prepare for are also shadowy.  We can't prepare because we suspect that whatever will happen, if anything, will be something we haven't even imagined yet.  But we are afraid, no question.  Tens of thousands of people were at Times Square to watch the ball drop.  Secuirity was tight, we were told.  So what did they do?  They sealed shut all the garbage cans.  Mazel tov! "Better safe than sorry," was the quote I heard from the police.  Meanwhile five shady figures are on the loose -- slipped in from Canada, evidently.  One of our friends told me that she saw one of them on New Years Eve at the Stamford train station, boarding a train bound for Grand Central.  She had newspaper in her hand, looked at the photo, and the person standing next to her concurred.  A dead ringer.

Over the coming weeks, millions of perfectly innocent, kind Arab Americans (and anyone who looks like one) are going to experience paranoia, American style, in a manner that will dwarf even that which occurred after Sept 11.  We are building up to this.  Yet I see little alternative to lots of suspicion, because the fact is that we are so vulnerable.  We can seal the garbage cans but we can't seal the entire Canadian border!

Love to all,

j

Jan 3

bs"d

Dear JJ and family;

First of all, it was pretty weird for me to see the letters at the site, but kinda cool.

Did that friend call the FBI or anyone? Do people call things in over there? I can’t tell you how many disasters are averted here, because everyone, children included, are so aware and finely tuned. Even yesterday, an alert man was able to disable a terrorist who broke into his house before the "readiness team" (the literal translation of kitat konenuth, security team) finally killed him. This is the scenario we fear the most over here, too.

As for your post-Holocaust concept, I can't buy it, if only because it places on G-d what isn't G-d's, and makes humans divine imitators. We were, in our theology, given "free choice". Guess what? This means that the Nazi who threw babies into the fire pays. He may not know it, yet. But this was HIS choice, not G-ds (it is a mystery, but not a big one, if you know that G-d put us in a temporal universe, so that the future would be clouded for us), and as such, he is culpable.

I know that something widely practiced in the US, is twelve-step groups. I happen to have had some miraculous recovery from overeating and debting as a result of practicing an OA and a DA program (so much for anonymity). And what is stunningly shown to every recovering addict is that G-d is up close, personal, and highly involved in everything that we do. I think Asher has a take on the "holocaust" thing, so I won't write in his stead. I will just say that too many folk around you have seen that G-d is right there, to ask questions about where G-d was. There are no lacunae in the omnipotent. Sometimes (when I wish I was chowing down something really chocolaty) I wish that wasn't true. I know better now.

Asher and I made up a list of things we are going to need in the shelter room. I plan on tidying up in there today, so that everything will fit in. I guess we will have to buy the ubiquitous plastic sheeting after all. Hate it. We will be going shopping over the next few days. Surprisingly this all has a very calming effect on the boys, who seem relieved that we take steps to secure the household. I just wish it would affect some of their other behavior; one of them is really a handful, and is not taking to this fostering situation too well. Any one out there who is thinking of doing this most amazing and challenging thing, should know that foster children do NOT see you as anything but the enemy for a long long time, no matter how much they have been abused in their biological families! Anyway, I haven't much new to say about the latest attack, since it speaks for itself. My question is; is anybody actually hearing the real message?

The challoth smell done, so I am going downstairs to get them out of the oven.

Have a great shabbath-rosh hodesh!

Love, Lisa, et al

Wednesday, January 8

Dear Lisa

My kids loved the falafel game link you suggested.  It really reminded me of a good old-fashioned falafel stand, especially with the flies.  Onto more serious matters, I heard from Jan Gaines ( a friend and congregant who lives in Netanya) that the economic situation is becoming much more acute.  I am trying various ways to bring the congregation closer to understanding what's going on in Israel right now.  One is that I'm taping the English news from the satellite Israeli network and showing it here on Hebrew School days at a time when parents usually congregate and schmooze.  

I've been loving the Israeli Network at home. Last night I came home following a board meeting and for some (needed) entertainment, I watched the first series of campaign commercials of the various parties. I'm really getting a feeling of living through the elections. Shas really needs to get a marketing guy and juice up their ads a bit. It was interesting to hear Sharansky speaking Hebrew with his thick Russian accent (I usually hear him in English). Labor's focus on the security fence seems misplaced as long as they continue to be the only people in the world willing to negotiate with Arafat. I think they should design the fence to look like a giant Band-Aid.  Until they change the Arafat part of the platform, it will kill them at the polls. It looks like Shinui will pick up support from labor and Meretz, which I'm sure you're not thrilled about. 

What amazed me about the commercials was a certain normalcy to them, as if to ask, "Mah Nishtanah ha-Election ha-zeh?"  But of course it isn't really business as usual.  Strangely, with Israel in real danger this time, there's less of that urgency seen in the commercials, none of that "vote for us or we're all doomed" feeling, perhaps because Sharon's victory is a foregone conclusion.  Everyone is just jockeying

to be a chief partner in the next government.

Another thing that amazes me is that the Bush administration seems to have hired the same PR people who handle Hasbara (propaganda) for Israel.  They have an open and shut case for pre-emptive war against Iraq, yet somehow a strong anti-war movement has begin to appear. But the troops are shipping out, some allies are beginning to fall into line (even France is sending out those signals).

I think the philosophies regarding God and the Shoah aren't that far apart and are indicative of the very good notion that we can't fully understand the ways of God.  It's a good lead in to the whole deal with this portion and the plagues, as to whether the hardening of the heart was Pharaoh's free choice, God's plan, or both.

That's all for now --except this.  Hi, Mom (since I assume you are reading this, so happy that your children are communicating form such a distance)!

Love,

Josh

bs"d

Jan. 13

Dear JJ and all

I am really glad that the boys liked the falafel game; every single customer, and the guy in the kitchen, were perfect caricatures, in my mind!

Well, I got inspired by you and watched the daily election propaganda for the first time; what a bust! Actually, we know who we want to vote for, and since the supreme court is deciding whether he is a fit candidate, we just are in a holding pattern. I think Israel is one of the only "democracies" that allows its supreme court to judge and also to create legislation; don't you think this is a conflict of interest?  I totally agree with you on the bizarreness of the campaign in the middle of war preparation. I like the bandaid idea, too.

Regarding your friend's observation on the economy; Asher has seen this situation coming for a while. I would venture to say that your friend is in the high tech industry, as the picture is pretty gloomy there. We seem to know so many high tech type people who are totally at a loss as to what to do, since all they know is computers. Luckily, I have tenure in my main job, and Asher got a very good contract (thanks to yours truly, who did a lot of the behind the scenes negotiation; in fact, he was instructed by the boss not to let any of his colleagues know what kind of contract he has, or even that he has one!) at a job where they discovered that he is indispensable (they tried to do without him and failed). But neither of us counts on work, or even the currency, being reliable for the long run. We don't hoard money, and are planning alternative uses for surplus money (storing supplies for when we expect embargoes from the west; as it is, ammunition and weapons are embargoed, and many things boycotted by Europe, particularly), since the money, sheqel or dollar, will be less valuable than the paper it is printed on. We are trying to set up the house so that we will be able to feed ourselves; growing our veggies, getting a few chickens and a goat or two for milk. We are working on getting our sewage system, which is a disaster anyway (remember the ol' contractor?), to recycle brown water, so that we can really grow stuff. Asher has some other ideas and inventions which involve alternatives in heating, cooling, transportation and fuel using the knowledge he has acquired over the years while working in the petrochemical industry, as well as high tech, farming, and engineering. We got a tire salesman to actually pay us to clear out the old, punctured tires, and we have quite a collection now, which is serving meanwhile as a barricade so that the guys on the Roman road don't have a clear shot to the house; ultimately, we will be building a supporting wall with tires rammed with earth, and possibly a barn as well; kind of neat, getting paid to take the building materials! (Incidentally, the tires caused quite a stir here in the village; it is another story, however). Basically, we don’t take the economy as a given, and at the same time don't think that a bad income is a reason to leave here. It's just another aspect of the storm clouds that are brewing. Anyway, our nation was always living off the land when we were here before the Diaspora, and so we think that is what our nation ought to be doing now, too. It brings great blessing, and does not contradict having other interests, etc.

A few other people are getting upset about the security here in the village. Apparently one of them was told by a man on the security team that they would back up anyone who had to open fire in self-defense. A few of us feel that that's very nice, but we'd like it in writing; before anything could happen that would warrant opening fire! Which reminds me; we were planning our Dead Sea trip tomorrow, and poor Asher has to work overtime, since there is some kind of big order that has to be filled at the lab. Sigh, I was looking forward to a good soak!  We might make it up by going to the shooting range soon. You should know, it's a lot of fun, target practice! I'm getting pretty good. We are planning to hike around the cave of the columns and go to the springs at Ein Feskha after voting on election day, since it is a holiday; the best part of it all.
It's way late, and Pesach (the cat) is hallucinating, and chasing something all over the house, so I will go check it out; he brained a mouse last week. We were very proud.

Love to all, Lisa.

Dear Lisa,

Things got a little mixed up in the transmission of your last e-mail and I just haven’t had time to respond (we were at our great Shabbaton – some nice pics of your cute not-so-little nephews and are on our web site, as long as you promise not to look at the ones of me), but now I have a few moments to do just that. I also don’t want to slow things down because we are entering a crucial week. As you know, the two of us rarely discuss politics (well, maybe a little), since the last time we agreed on a candidate was when Mike Dukakis came to Dad’s Shiva. But the elections are next week. I’m continually amazed at how Labor is not presenting an alternative that even its own supporters will buy.

But anyway, it looks from here like America will be going it alone re. Iraq, and that things should be done just in time for Purim, just like the last time. There is little panic about it here, just a lot of commotion being made by the anti-war crowd. But the resistance is not resonating, from what I am seeing. There is lots of resentment toward the French and Germans though.

It’s hard to figure out the Jewish community right now. It’s as if we are in a holding pattern while things work themselves out on the global scale. The eerie quiet here matches the relative quiet over there right now (ptu ptu). Several congregants have loved ones in the armed forces who have been called up. Nerves are on edge. The price of gas is climbing and the stock market falling, indicative of the real uncertainty people are feeling. But otherwise, life goes on. And it is very, very cold.

Love to all,

Josh

1/25

Dear JJ and all

We got your letter, finally. Loved the pictures of all of you. Ethan and you celebrate birthdays soon; wow. Is Ethan really only a year from becoming bar mitzvah? I am assuming that that means you will finally make it here to the Kotel. It will be great to show you guys the house (if you come in February, you get to see the leaks that the contractor left-remember him?- we are leaving them until the final verdict on the lawsuit is over, or till Asher gets a little extra time to get up on the roof and fix it up).

Meanwhile, the election campaign is the weirdest I have seen. I predicted, at the end of the last election, that that would be the swan song of the Labor party, and I was right. It is totally bankrupt in all senses of the word. But the fact that most of the people we know have made up their minds (or not), and are totally tuning out the slogans, etc is indicative of the feeling of disenfranchisement and disgust that seems to be dominant here. In reality, there are very few slogans (for a few elections, most of the parties were actually paying someone to compose a jingle for the party. There are barely any this time round), and the ones we have seen are totally devoid of meaning. The bottom line seems to be that most of the grassroots have had it with conciliation, and either want to lay down and die (the left) or fight (the right); the difference being whether they like the religious, are the religious, hate the sefardim, are the sefardim, etc. So, it is like dreamwalking; nobody is really paying attention to the elections (despite the media, which blessedly have little else to do, since somehow the murderers are either lying in wait, or being foiled at their attempts to do their dirtiest).

One good thing; the boys are going to their mom's for election day, and we will get the day off! Maybe that will be the day that we finally get to the Ein Gedi spa. I sure hope that most of Israel does NOT wind up there, too. I really hate crowds. This is definitely not the easiest country to "get away from it all" in. Unless you really like baking in the desert. Which isn't such a bad thing, either; only all I want to do now is to have a good warm mineral soak.

So, the best thing about election day, as I said, is the quiet! I get to miss teaching my 10th graders, who are also "spirited".

We are grateful that our candidate passed muster in the supreme court. We expect a few surprises in the election outcomes. One of them will be the disappearance of the NRP and Sha"s. Another will be a very strong leaning to the right (Shinui is a virulently antireligious party; however, it is also very anti-capitulation to the Arab world of terror and murder, and is expected to do very well), with very little actual middle ground. Another thing is that our satellite service will be having a great film festival so we wont be subjected to all the "shtooyot" (nonsense) of the talking heads.

You mention the French and the German leaving you high and dry, but you forget the English who are at this very moment slopping on the grease so they can slipslide out of the arena, too. Basically, the US is going to have to go it alone, as the European world shows its true colors. It's funny that the Humash is in so many homes in the world (if only in a highly edited version), yet it does not register in the collective European mind that G-d is good to those who are good to G-d's people, and punishes those who are not good to us. I am aware that it is not fashionable in many places to hold a belief in the Creator, but there are enough believers who really ought to say, "whoa!" In fact Asher, who knew no Jews growing up, knew this axiom very well, and it was considered a map for one's conduct with the Jewish nation.

I do go on, as it were.

Time to go on to other things; hope you all have a good week (y'all).

Love, Lisa and all.

2/2

bs"d

Dear JJ and all

I am not going to wait for you to write; I'll just write anyway. Too much going on, and my memory is too faulty. I am sort of stealing time, since I really do have to get the day moving, but here goes;

First, I am imagining that you are crushed by the news about the Columbia. If only because you have always been a total nut about the space program. And seeing all the writeups you dedicated to Ilan Ramon as the Israeli astronaut, I know that the mission was very important to you. We are also sorry. Somehow, we cant get it out of our minds that it was sabotage. It was too coincidental, etc.

Asher spent quite some time in Nacogdoches, Texas, just before making Aliyah. He was surprised anyone could even pronounce it. His son in law met his daughter there. So we were a bit amused that it is now "on the map," as it were. Actually, Asher says it is the oldest city in America, being founded by an Indian tribe over 500 years ago. It predates Boston, but I am beginning to get it that Texans and Texas are in a league of their own, anyway.

Also in this eventful week were the elections. Unfortunately, our vote went to a party that did not pass the "ahuz ha-hasimah", or "pass percentage", as it is called. One has to have earned a certain percentage to get in, and it includes 2 seats in the knesset. That is why I am sure that the numbers you published are faulty, since nobody got in with just one seat. I wonder where you got them from, since some of the other numbers appear to be off, too. I was also interested to read the commentaries you published, since it is true that what is called a "broad coalition" here, has nothing to do with political spectrum; rather with margin of majority, were things to go to a vote. One coalition had a majority of one, and won one of the most crucial votes around Oslo time, by virtue of a Toyota to the right person. In actual fact, it seems that Sharon is looking to put together a left wing coalition, not because of its numerical majority (it would, indeed, be less than a right wing coalition, without shinui, numerically), but because he would have a hard time buttressing himself against world opinion with a government that serves his people's majority, but not world opinion. The books of Kings , and Chronicles, are full of commentary about the kings of Israel and Yehuda that relied on "prudence" and world opinion, rather than on G-d, and where they brought  their kingdoms. So, we can only pray that he learns to trust in G-d rather than the EU or Bush, who have proven time and again that they cannot be trusted. We are in a very intense time, as the roller coaster ride of redemption comes in to the final stages, and it requires of all of us to be asking ourselves what G-d wants from each of us; our leadership, in particular, will be answerable.

Something that I think you all don't get too much of a feel for over there, is national identity. Rav Kook wrote a lot about this; he commented that the Diaspora Jew saw his spiritual path as an individual one, which makes sense as strangers in a strange land. But here, we are a nation, and as such have a national path. However, it is very difficult to reclaim national memories and sensibilities after 2000 years of disuse. Little by little (too little? too late?) we are reclaiming it, however. It is probably one of the biggest reasons for the large gaps in communication and understanding between Jews in the diaspora, and here. A diaspora Jew is more likely to see things in terms of his own personal spiritual path, whereas the Jews here are more and more likely to see things in a national perspective, and less in terms of one's own personal safety and/or comfort.

We enjoyed Election Day, but STILL didn't get to the Dead Sea (too chilly). It was nice to have a restful day, though.

I think Luz is enjoying the freedom of having a salary and some discretionary money. I wish I could say that she has been learning frugality, but not yet, it appears. On the other hand, she is sticking to it with work, which is a real bonus; and she is working her way up the ranks very quickly, while proving herself very capable in sales as well as managing the girls on the floor during her shift!

Asher is stealing time to work on the car and in the yard, and I am just weary from all the end of semester stuff!

And here it is; Adar 1! How time flies!

Have a great month, and pretty soon Ethan, and then you, will be celebrating birthdays!

Love, Lisa

NOTES ON THE SHUTTLE TRAGEDY 2/3

Two weeks ago at our congregational Shabbaton, I distributed to the group copies of the artwork of that 14 year of Holocaust victim Petr Ginz, the pencil drawing brought into space. I did it as part of the memorial we held to Ilan Mirkov, our Israeli guest who also died tragically, violently, spectacularly, after having touched us all. Two

young men named Ilan, a name that means "tree," who touched out lives at Tu B'Shevat. I talked about the need for all of us to reach for the sky -- like a tree does, like these two Ilans did, and like that young artist of Terezin. Little did I know at the time how apt the comparison would turn out to be, and that the pencil drawing that survived the Holocaust would not survive the burning descent back to earth.

It is a crushing blow. As news began to circulate at services last Shabbat, I tried not to believe it. The reports were not conclusive at first -- and I did not share them with the cantor as she led the Shacharit service. But the shattering truth could not be avoided. So we read the Torah, an act of affirmation since a small Torah scroll was

also destroyed in the catastrophe. And I altered my d'var Torah only slightly, since the topic, as it so often is, was the Jewish notion that life is of infinite value. The specifics related to the portion's discussion of the death penalty, but the portion teemed with other laws constantly reminding us of the life-affirming nature of our faith. One cannot look at the Torah without thinking of that.

Ilan Ramon went into space for all of us -- not just all Israelis, but all Jews. A secular Jew, he nonetheless kept Kosher in space (and last week's portion introduced the concept of Kashrut, again as a life affirming measure -- don't seethe a kid in the life-giving milk of it's mother), he brought mezuzahs with him and he marked the Shabbat with the first intergalactic Kiddush. Other Jews have flown in space before, the first being Judith Resnick, who perished on the Challenger, but none before chose to take Jewish destiny with him; none before chose to represent all of us, and to personify the best that we can be. None before has taken a Torah into space and has so borne the spirit of Torah within him. There was nothing secular about Ilan Ramon.

He asked us all to plant trees in his honor (see last week's Shabbat-O-Gram for details; find it at our Web site, www.tbe.org). We should do that (Barb already has done it from the school and informed the kids of that yesterday). But we need to do more.

We need to care about being Jewish in the manner that he cared. We need to set an example for our children the way he did. We need to be proud the way he was. We need to reach beyond our own selfish needs the way he did. We need to get beyond even the parochial needs of our people the way he brought Israel literally into a wider universe. We need to give a damn.

Some have asked about having a memorial service to the astronauts. Such things are nice, but too often these memorials become vehicles for self-congratulation. We lose sight of what we are memorializing, focusing instead on what a great job we are doing paying this tribute. I believe that the best way to memorialize Ilan Ramon is not to stage a dramatic ceremony, but to do exactly what we did when we heard the news on Shabbat. We stood in silence, we chanted a moving niggun -- and then

we went right on with the celebration (albeit muted) of Shabbat. We read from and discussed the Torah. Our memorial to Ilan and the others was life affirming, just as they were.

Nonetheless, if significant desire is there, I would be happy to arrange for a healing service some day this week. We have been planning to introduce a series of healing services in the very near future. And those who simply wish talk, adults or children, one on one, please know that we are here, ready to share our sorrows, any time.

If people are in need of healing from this tragedy, and the open wound is truly gaping, the best way to heal is to live as both our Ilans lived, to come together as often as we can, to share our sorrows and hopes, and to consume all the Kosher Tang we can find. Just like the astronauts.

Rabbi Joshua Hammerman

2/4

bs"d

Dear Josh

I thank you for sending me a copy of your letter to your congregants. I had a feeling that this would affect you quite deeply.

I only wanted to say a few things. The, that the journalist quoted the "untranslatable" expression, "melach ha-arets"----doesn't that mean "salt of the earth?" it means quite the same thing in English!

There were some interesting things in your letter; is there a connection that in each of the space missions that ended in tragedy there was a Jew? The first Jew; the first Israeli Jew? I would love to chronicle our time through the filters of Kings' or Chronicles' filters. I am sure that they would have a slant on it.

Another thing is that we were reminded of the way body parts are collected and brought to Abu Kabir morgue for identification, and the special troops of highly trained men that go out with rubber gloves and rags, to wipe up all flesh for burial after the bombings. It was satisfying to see that the American bureaus involved in collecting and identifying parts of the bodies were so understanding of the team that arrived from Israel. There is no need to comment on the contrast with the profanity of watching the Amalekis who parade their slain on biers in the street, strutting them out, even if a bit of body falls off the bier once in a while. Or the profanity of adding special "spices" to the bombs so that human flesh will be more deeply ripped up and maimed.

Asher's mom and dad live in Leesville, Louisiana, a straight line between Palestine and Nacogdoches. They described the sound of the falling spacecraft; at first it sounded like a tornado, until they realized that the pitch was staying the same. Then they knew it was something really off the usual. They, and Asher, also saw Skylab fall. Asher says it's something one will never forget.

Gotta go.

Love, Lisa.

2/4

Dear Lisa

I've been swamped so it's been difficult to find time to write.  The pace of events is fast overtaking our ability to react to them, but as you said, it is important to write things down as they occur.  Up until this year, I had kept a journal "religiously" (like daily davvening) since my freshman year in college.  It has been very helpful over the years to look back.  But now I write less frequently in it -- I'm too busy writing everywhere else.  E-mail is partly at fault.  I see over 100 each day, between my own and my rabbinic chat group.

My response to the Shuttle disaster was sent out to the congregation, and I know you saw that too.  I'm reprinting it in "E-mail from the Front." I'm also going to include in the section other e-mails i'm getting from people in Israel.  The front is definitely expanding, from Israel to Palestine, Texas.  While on  one level the shuttle disaster is completely unrelated to the War on Terrorism (it was not an act of terror), there is most definitely a connection in the way Israelis and Americans are feeling about themselves and the world right now.  We are all acting as if a huge cloud hangs over our heads.  Why Jews get in the middle of all these things is a matter for mushc speculation, but if we are to draw a connection between the first space-Jew dying in Challenger, the first space-Israeli dying on Columbia and the fact that all those misguided Jewish seniors thinking they were voting for Lieberman in Palm Beach put Bush in the White House, the only one I can see is that God has a questionable, though quite distinct, sense of humor. So I'm now throwing a big, Texas sized sunset into the background of my e-mails.  A little serenity can't hurt. (I am SO glad, BTW, that I've yet to hear any rabbinic commentary from over there about this being a punishment for landing on Shabbat -- we're making progress on this, I think.  After all, there were mezuzot on board).

I do sense a closeness between Israel and America, a bond that began to be felt after 9/11 that was sealed over the skies of Texas this past weekend.  it will be sealed yet again this month in Iraq.

We followed the elections very closely last week.  It was really thrilling to see the countdown on Israeli TV (we were beamed the broadcast of channel 10) last week, and I loved how the results were flashed onto the facades of two big buildings in Tel Aviv.  ON the eve before the election, Israeli TV ran a cute training tape, a semi-cartoon explaining how and where to vote.  Ethan especially liked that, and he did a report on the election for school.  You'll not be surprised to know that I was pleased by the showing of Shinui, not because I want Israel to be a less Jewish state, but for precisely the opposite reason.  I want Judaism to thrive there, in all it's varieties, as never before.  Israelis all had different reasons for voting for Shinui, but I don't think a hatred of Judaism was one of them, just a hatred of coercion and corruption.  Of course one of Ethan's teachers was shocked and claimed that all Shinui cares about is putting pork on Israeli plates.  I'm not sure the future of Kashrut is being threatened by 15 Knesset seats, but a little less pork in budgetary matters and governmental subsidies is more along the lines of what many are looking for.

Anyway, the countdown to Iraq has truly begun.  We have several congregants now on their way to the front.  Keep on writing, enjoy the warming sun out there, and continue to pray for all of us.

Love, Josh

From Jan Gaines, Netanya, Israel

ISRAEL ON THE BRINK

The skies have turned a sandy white as a haze obscures the heavens today. Israel is in mourning. A sandstorm blowing up from the Arabian desert has covered the city, blotting out our connection between sea and sky and shrinking this tiny country even smaller and more isolated than normal.

All over the country, there is that pervasive feeling of grief and despair. As people ask, "how much more can we take?" Ilan Ramon was our only hero in these desperate days of living on the brink- - - he was proof that there is some good in the world if man can only strive hard and have a bit of luck. Now many feel that our luck has just dissipated.

Before this day, we were busy updating our gas masks, preparing our shelters with water, cots, food- - -all the while reassuring each other that we wouldn't really need them. Israelis do not ever deny reality but at the same time we hang on to HOPE- -like the name of the national anthem

"Hatikvah" just in case things don't turn out as badly as we fear deep down. Before this day the country has been trying to cope with severe unemployment, hunger and homelessness. The European boycott of Israeli goods, the plunge in hi-tech in the States directly affecting our large

hi-tech sector, the complete loss of tourism, all have resulted in the worst unemployment crisis Israel has ever faced. Mothers and grandmothers are making sandwiches for hungry kids at schools, setting up food banks and collecting money to assist families who have no food for the traditional

Shabbat meal.

Before this day, we were busy speculating on the political makeup of the government just elected, all the while knowing that not much will change no matter which parties hold which cabinet positions because our plight is largely not of our own making.

Before this day, we felt ourselves on the brink but still with a foothold of strength anchored in our faith in each other , in "the good guys"- - - and in God.

But after this day, still on the brink of war, economic collapse, feeling the rise of anti-Semitism in so much of the world, we are all asking ourselves, "from whence shall cometh our strength?"

2/5

bs"d

Dear JJ

I like the cream colored writing paper. serene, as you would say.

I am writing, but you certainly don't have to keep up to the pace of my letters; I just have a bit of time, since Asher let me have the car for the day to do my errands, and I had to get him up to the hitching post by 5:30 am. So now I have an hour to catch up on things; dishes, email, dog walking, till I get the boys out of bed.

You wrote about being a Shinui rooter; I think that a lot of people liked the slogans that appeared; the facts on the ground are, to some extent, what you say-they are quite hawkish regarding our enemies, and seem to be quite liberal on other issues. However, you should probably know a couple of things; Tommy Lapid is a one-man show; there is no other person in the party who has his mouth or popularity. He is also a power hungry man, who takes glee in provoking. He has said some provocative things out of his slurry mouth that monger hate, separatism and intolerance at times when we need voices of tolerance and love. What his constituents believe is something close to "death to dossim (the religious)" which includes me, Asher, and a lot of other people you might prefer not be dead. He also does not correct his constituents who lump all those who observe Shabbath and Kashruth together, which you can imagine to be a high insult to those who serve in the army, go to work, and pay taxes. Some of them even wear black hats and have peyoth. So, what would come over in a sound byte as something you would approve of, has its roots in a deep and murky reality.

In contrast, Rav Kahane was outlawed for things on his political platform that are mainstream slogans today, and sound, in the 1970's, like prophesy. Rav Kahane was also tough on sectors of the Jewish world, and he was vilified. On the other hand, he was very clear that his allegiances are with his brother Jews all over. This is definitely a prejudiced view; on the other hand, I believe he saw that the Jew haters in the world were just biding their time, and that it is crucial to work for national unity and self-love and respect. I don't think you want to publish this; however, you need to understand that, in terms of facts on the ground, Lapid is a clear and imminent danger to Jewish unity and growth. There are many disenfranchised in his constituency, who are more interested in hurting others, than in building a world with the Jewish values you so clearly espouse to your congregation, and would prefer to take us all down, as it were, just so that nobody would have a Jewish identity. I don't think that the reforms the party proposes can be adopted safely, just as I don't believe that red lights are a matter of opinion.

Anyhoo, I hope that things go back to normal for us all, soon. The memorial service yesterday was very moving, and I found myself repeating the psalm in the Hebrew (though I wish the chaplain had practiced a bit more prior to reading it before an Israeli family).

Gottago.

Love you. Lisa

PS: if I dont get to it, "bo bayom", send Ethan a big birthday kiss from me; I hope he has a wonderful day, and last year before he has to take it all on as a grownup!

2/5

Dear Lisa,

Hope all are well. You should know that I am beginning to get some very positive feedback from people about these e-mails. Forgot to tell you the biggest news of the week – Crosby officially became a Hammer-it last week. He’s recovered nicely from the neutering, though his bark has gotten noticeably higher. Meanwhile, last week’s portion, Mishpatim, will be Ethan’s next year, so the Bar Mitzvah countdown is on.

I have no problem including what you just sent, not do I doubt that there are hotheads in the Lapid camp. Racists, even. But I also know that he has seen what Israelis caught a glimpse of at the Houston ceremony yesterday, and it works. It’s called the separation of religion and state.

Yes, the rabbi could have practiced his Hebrew a little more (did you pick up the Boston accent), but I intentionally watched the ceremony on the Israeli Network to see it through Israeli eyes, so to speak. The commentators seemed uncomfortable with the level of religiosity of the event – and positively amazed that it was opened by a rabbi – a rabbi in an American military uniform yet, a rabbi without a beard, a rabbi completely comfortable in this ostensibly Christian country beginning the ceremony in Hebrew, with a Bialik poem. Such is the wonder of America, a nation that can express religiosity openly because even the dominant faith is not allowed to dominate.

I tried to imagine a similar situation in Israel; an accident where innocent Jews and Arabs died together. Would the non-Jewish families be as comforted as Ilan Ramon’s was yesterday (despite the bad pronunciation). Once secular Israelis finished laughing at this rabbi’s accent, I get the feeling they were just a bit envious at an expression of Judaism that was pure hesed, pure kindness, something they are not used to from the politicized religious elite in their own country. I guarantee there will be much less hating of “dossim” when religious coercion ends. It in fact will be the beginning of a new flowering for Orthodoxy. Over here, that’s happening. Where there’s a free marketplace of religious ideas, the Orthodox do very well.

Meanwhile, it’s disingenuous to speak of death threats when the score right now remains 2-0, and it’s not the secularists who killed Emil Grunzweig (a Peace Now activist killed by another Jew in the early ‘80s) and Yitzhak Rabin. I am worried for your life, but it’s not because of Tommy Lapid and Shinui.

When Kahane came to Brookline High School during my teen years, he could have signed me up right then and there. The allure of hatred is very strong, especially when there is some justification for it. But look at the way Ilan Ramon instilled pride in young Jews everywhere – not by hating the enemy (despite his amazing war record) but by showing Israelis, and the Jewish world, a new vision of international advancement. I received an unbelievable e-mail attachment today, a film of Israel taken from space a few days before the disaster. It’s at the NASA web site at http://spaceflight.sc.wip.psiweb.com/gallery/video/shuttle/sts-107/html/fd11.html. In its own way, its every bit as powerful as the video of carnage and terror you sent me last year. And it’s every bit as true.

Somewhere between the two approaches lies the answer. Meanwhile, Tommy Lapid now has to shut up and govern. Othwerwise he’ll go the route of Pat Buchanan and all the other pundits turned pols. If he can’t tame his bullies, he’s just officially peaked. Soon he’ll go the way of Sharansky and Yisrael b’Yerida (his party, Yisrael b’Aliyah, “Isreal in ascent,” just lost 2 of its 4 Knesset seats in last week’s elections, hence I now call Yisrael b’Yerida – “in decline.”) Lapid just may learn to moderate his views, as Ariel Sharon has.

Anyhoo, all else is OK here. Colin Powell’s presentation today at the UN was positively chilling. The Jewish Agency is calling this “Israel Education Month.” Couldn’t have picked a better time for us to turn our hearts eastward.

An early Shabbat Shalom to all

Love,

Josh

February 06

bs"d

Dear Josh

I want to respond to your letter, which I appreciated, in a couple of parts, and then go on to some day to day stuff.

First, I think that the most important point I was trying to make by bringing up Rav Kahane was missed. I was trying (and obviously not succeeding) to show the stark contrast in the responses within the "establishment" to one provocative politician and another, when the target population is considered weak, and underdog, or the dominant one in the society. It is obvious that in the world of Absolute Truth, one politician or the other is going to be in the Right. But in the world of men, it seems that Right is not the criterion by which one is vilified and outlawed, and the other is crowned and immunified. If it were true that Rav Kahane preached hate, then both men would have to be considered on an even footing, as both would be considered hate mongers; then we have to consider why one garners lots of votes and is promoted as the up and coming power, and the other garners lots of votes and is exposed to indictments and vilifications. The answer that seems to be begging is that Lapid enjoys support from exactly the people who find what Kahane said to be objectionable and threatening.

I would posit that anyone who preaches Unitarianism is not a member of MY church, if you please. Judaism is a remarkably tolerant practice/nation, which strives for progress, not perfection. It is not a practice of pluralism, and this does not make it racist, as you well know; we include in our numbers many peoples, languages, races and colors. So, I cannot accept that a Jewish state can also separate itself from its deepest root connection to its Torah and its Creator. I DEFINITELY can accept our divesting ourselves of the horrendous political corruption, which smears the good name of this nation, and I can include in that the "haredi" politicians, as well as the pork eaters.

One little thing; it is dangerous to assume that Rabin was killed by one lone beany-bopper, when the evidence is extremely inconclusive, and points to people within his own camp who engineered it.

Nuff said. Except that I was surprised to read that you were inspired to hatred of any kind, or found it seductive!

Things here are so busy. I keep thinking that we are, someday, somehow, gonna get a day off to just get away from it all. Instead, we are beginning to become preoccupied with the reality that when America goes to war, Israel gets shafted. Is that the right word? It reminds me of the joke about the edict that went out from the Tsar's palace; All Jews and bicycle riders are to be rounded up and executed.

So, everyone asks, why bicycle riders?????

I guess this is the week we are really really gonna build the chicken coop, and start getting chicks. I think we will be building a pen for a goat at the same time. Hope he gets along with Max. I hear that goats can be great pets, and have interesting personalities. I just hope that he doesn't become the butt of Max's jokes, as it were. Max didn't get neutered; there are too many halachic problems with it, so we just keep him tied up, and act like we're not impressed when he starts to act lovesick. Pesach is another issue, since he is small and has one messed up eye, and keeps getting beaten up by the local toms. So, when we consulted a Rabbi, we were told that it is permissible to neuter an animal if it is because he is in danger of death otherwise. As it is, we still contend with nasty cuts, bites, and abscesses he brings home. Poor Pesach. He's taken to snoozing in Max's doghouse. I think he likes the protection Max provides.

That's it for now. Luz is fine, though I feel like she is fragile in some ways still, but we have some good times lately with her and the boys. She also gets along very well with Asher's sons; kind of a neat extended family!

Yoshi is coming to visit this Shabbat, actually. (Yehoshua, to you)

Happy Birthday, lil' Ethan! Start leynin' mishpatim (learning the Torah chant for the portion of Mishpatim)! It's a great parasha; one of my top 10, in fact!

Love to all,

Lisa and everyone

bs"d

Feb 9

Dear JJ

Quick correction: The goat is going to be a "she" of course! (Hard to get milk from a billy goat...)

The last time that Asher was in Texas was when he was kicked out of Israel. This is a long story, which I hope he'll tell you sometime. Anyway, they were all in Nacogdoches, Texas (heard the name recently?), basically penniless, and trying to survive as Jews in the Bible belt.

One day, they were in the bakery, and surprised to see hallot for sale. This was on a Monday, so they went back the following Friday, to buy some hallah for SHabbath (never mind that there was no hechsher; the steps that a person takes on the way to becoming a ger are usually long and winding- anyway, that's ANOTHER story), and there wasn't any. So, they figured they must have run out, and they returned the next Friday, in hopes of buying some hallah for Shabbat. Well, there wasn't any. So, they asked the baker, if he would be able to make some hallah for Friday. The baker had no idea what they were asking for, but he said that he had a cookbook for specialty breads; why didn't they all take a look? There! That's the bread we're asking for, they said. Oh, that's tchalla bread! Why didn't you say so! But, we make our specialty breads on Mondays; why do you want tchalla bread on Fridays, of all days???

So, JJ, you can get hallah in Nacogdoches, Texas, but the Cains are probably the only ones who ever asked for it on a Friday.

Have a great week! Love, Lisa et al.

2/11/03

Dear Lisa

The government has issued a high alert for a terror attack in the US, once again reminding me that these e-mails from the front go in both directions. Compounding the situation, Jewish targets have been singled out for special concern. I contacted the police before services last weekend to remind them of the situation, although they've been patrolling here diligently ever since we had an anti-Semitic incident of vandalism here several years ago (turned out a Jew did it). I half expected a very small turnout at services morning, with no Bar Mitzvah combined with this homeland security warning, but such was not the case. It was nice to know that people aren't that afraid that they are avoiding their synagogue at a time like this.

Went to Stew Leonards on Sunday and bought several gallons of water, as our government is now recommending we do. I decided to forego the duct tape for now. But the shelves are being cleaned of these things in New York, I know. I was working with a conversion student this morning who is having much trouble understanding why Jews are so hated, except that he now realizes that all Americans are hated just as much. Those from my congregation who work in New York are leaving for work with extreme amounts of anxiety these days.

For the first time, we are seriously contemplating evacuation routes, emergency supplies, and all the things people in Israel do routinely. It makes perfect sense to there to be an attack here before Americans strike Iraq. That's why we're going to be laying low over Feb. vacation, although I am planning to visit Mom and Mark at some point.

We watched the big dog show on TV last night – the standard poodle was a finalist, but, to Crosby’s dismay, lost out to the terrier. It’s probably not worth getting into the issues of why a neutering ban would be in God’s great plan, but I wonder whether, as part of the ban, God might consider including those ridiculous pompom haircuts that the poodles are forced to wear.

Happy Valentine’s Day

Love, Josh

2/12

Dear JJ

Gotta run, but here's a quickie;

I was in the Ace, or Home Store, or something like that, and there was a sale bulletin (the only difference being that there were no prices posted); get your "shelter room" equipment here. They are selling all kinds of paraphernalia to make people feel "safe", like gas mask pumps, porta potties, plastic sheeting, etc. And all at a ripoff price. Of course, the "W" word was not mentioned.

Am I cynical? Why should it bother me that there are people stupid enough to go into overdraught in order to get "the best" protection, and that there are people greedy enough to make fat profits from them!

As for us, we definitely don't take the preparation part lightly. We have put up beans, rice, and water, as I said, since we expect disruptions in supplies, and we have what is absolutely necessary in a s