Monti Fest

Indian sisters in our kitchen

My allergic reaction yesterday was very bad ... but not critical. There were moments when I thought I had to go to hospital ... but slipping in and out of sleep ... I couldn't and didn't have the strength to walk. Stayed in bed all day and night. Ate a lot of fruit though ... I find that helps in soothing my swollen tongue and throat. Well ice cream would have also worked but we don't have any at home and I was not strong enough to walk out to buy some. Anyway I slept most of the time ... the antihistamine I took later made me very sleepy.

Today the Indian community celebrated Monti Fest ... a mix of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel and the birth of Our Lady together with the rice harvest. There was a procession of the statue of the BVM from Damascus Gate to St. Saviour Church in New Gate. I missed it as I had Mass in the Holy Sepulchre and then class with the community from St. Anthony's Church in Jaffa.

Preparing for Mass at the
Holy Sepulchre

A team of 3 Indian sisters from the Nazareth Hospital has come to manage our kitchen and sacristy. The polish Faustina sisters have left because they cannot cope with the mission anymore. These indian sisters are temporary until a stable community from India comes next week to take full charge. Anyway it's a blessing for me because these sisters took care of me when I had my operation in their hospital. They know about my allergies and one was my dietician who still checks to make sure my diabetes and cholesterol is under control.

Water is now at a critical low in Israel ... in fact at its lowest ever point. Still there is no govt. call for water conservation, no punishment for water wastage .... it's just talk. Maybe all that hot air will whip up a hurricane and bring in the rains.

The implosion drama continues as hundreds of US rabbis wrote to the Israeli PM complaining of the stranglehold the ultra-orthodox rabbis have over the govt. and its policies. It is alienating many jews who do not conform to their extreme religious views. But the PM needs these ultra-orthodox to keep him in power so it's unlikely he'll heed the voices of moderate Judaism. Things have actually got quite bad when several days ago the former chief rabbi of Jerusalem called leftwing Israelis "worse than Holocaust deniers" ... which is one of the worst insults and accusations.     http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/1.811271
http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Politics-And-Diplomacy/Jerusalem-municipal-leaders-say-they-regret-voting-for-anti-Reform-chief-rabbi-504553

Yet these same ultra-orthodox rabbis have declared that jews can travel if their lives are endangered by the hurricanes on the Sabbath Day. Well at least that is in keeping with the Mosaic Law ... whereby preserving life takes precedence over the Sabbath Law of no work.  https://www.timesofisrael.com/jews-may-travel-on-shabbat-to-escape-hurricane-haredi-rabbi-says/