Solidarity

Full moon over
East Jerusalem

There was a brief moment of sunshine this morning but the clouds soon came to overcast the sky. It's been chilly ... below 10 degrees during the day and nights fall to 4 degrees. However whenever the clouds disperse during the night there is a wonderful sight of the full moon. I managed to take a beautiful photo of it just over East Jerusalem.

2 seminarians are doing a short study program here in Jerusalem. They are from Melbourne which sends each year 2 seminarians abroad for experience and formation. These 2 seminarians came to acquaint themselves with our libraries and, like the last group that came, I brought them out to dinner and we had a great chat, catching up with news of the former group.

Healthwise the shoulder is less painful as the medicine pads seem to help reduce the inflammation. The sciatica is still bothering me though ... I can't sit for longer than 20 minutes as the pain becomes acute. That becomes a problem when I have to travel to Netanya for Mass ... the journey takes almost 2 hours.

Santa Claus with phylacteries

The Christmas season is in the air and some secular jews are not averse in joining in the celebrations. Here's a picture circulating in social media of a jew dressed as Santa Claus but stopping to wear the phylacteries in order to pray. I'm not sure what the ultra-orthodox would say about that.

The bombing that killed 26 Coptic christians in Cairo has shocked all the christians in the region. We thought that some form of normalcy has returned to Egypt but obviously we were wrong. Now even Israel is aware of its moral responsibility to protect its own minorities and those in the surrounding region because of tis own experience during the last World War and also because of its distinctive calling by God to be a light unto the gentiles. http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/The-bombing-at-St-Marks-Cathedral-Why-Israelis-should-care-475408

In fact Jews from around the world are planning to do something to show solidarity to the syrians caught in the massacre at Aleppo. To quote the organizers ... "Citing the Jewish commandment, “Lo tuchal lehitalem” (Deuteronomy 23:2), which means “You must not remain indifferent,” organizers called for a show of solidarity with victims of the Aleppo violence. “Indifference – to human suffering, to hatred and to genocide – contradicts everything that Judaism holds sacred,” they said. “Regardless of your opinion on the politics behind the conflict, the reality is that children and innocent civilians are being killed in a war waged by others.”  http://www.jpost.com/Diaspora/Jews-around-the-world-speak-up-for-Aleppo-evoking-never-again-mantra-475542