Yom Yerushalayim

Today is the 28th day of the Month of Iyar in the Hebrew calendar.  It is Yom Yerushalayim, Jerusalem Day, which commemorates the reunification of the Holy City of Jerusalem in 1967.  The Holy City came back into Jewish hands for the first time in nearly 2000 years.

My wife and I spent Shabbat with some friends in the City and saw some of the festivities last night.  My wife got out before the worst of the traffic and came home so that she could go to work today.  I stayed because I had a meeting scheduled in the Holy City today.  I'm done with that gig but am still here, waiting to meet my son for dinner.

The world cannot hack it when the Holy City of Jerusalem is in Jewish hands.  UNESCO is now trying to deny the Holy City's Jewish past, and would prefer to destroy it than to allow it to remain in Jewish hands.

UNESCO is not in charge.  Obama is not in charge.  The EU is not in charge.  G-d is in charge, running things.  The Holy City will remain in Jewish hands if G-d wants it to (and I do believe that He does). 

אִם אֶשְׁכָּחֵךְ יְרוּשָׁלִָם תִּשְׁכַּח יְמִינִי
תִּדְבַּק לְשׁוֹנִי לְחִכִּי אִם לֹא אֶזְכְּרֵכִי,
אִם לֹא אַעֲלֶה אֶת יְרוּשָׁלִַם עַל רֹאשׁ שִׂמְחָתִי

"I forget thee, O Jerusalem,
Let my right hand forget her cunning.
Let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth,
If I remember thee not;
If I set not Jerusalem
above my chiefest joy.

  -- Psalm 137

Power Corrupts; Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely

We had a wonderful Pesach Seder with some old (and some new) friends in the Holy City of Jerusalem.  For us, it was a celebration of our liberation.

One person who may well be viewing it from a different perspective is former New York State Assembly Speaker Sheldon  Silver (of whom I posted here on 22 January 2015 ) .  He faces sentencing in about 2 weeks for his bribery conviction on bribery charges.

In his heyday, Shelly Silver alone could determine which bills were put up for a vote in the New York State Assembly.  The common street wisdom was that Shelly Silver looked out for the best interests of the religious Jewish community (of which I was a member when I lived in New York State, and of which I remain a member here in Israel), and that if a few pieces of another kind of silver ended up in his pocket, well, that could be overlooked.

I, for one, did not and still do not buy into that line of reasoning.  If anything, Shelly should be held to a higher standard;  it ultimately serves the Jewish community's best interests to have a just and sound-working government.

It therefore is, in a sense, somewhat perplexing that so many letters of support from so many quarters are coming in to beseech Judge Caprioni for leniency when she sentences Shelly.  After all, certain groups in New York and American can thank Shelly for allowing the same-gender marriage bill to pass the New York State Legislature.

Understand that I do not personally concern myself with the living arrangements entered into by consenting adults, but continue to be vehemently opposed to according same-gender arrangements all of the same legal status and benefits on par with one-man-one-woman marriage.  The governmental approval of same-gender marriage has opened the door to the polygamous marriages practiced by many Muslims, and imperils American values.

[And speaking of intimate personal relationships, the U.S. Attorney's office has put forward evidence, for consideration in imposing sentence, of Shelly's alleged extramarital affairs for the purpose of debunking the notion that Shelly Silver is a scrupulous person, bribery conviction notwithstanding (I have not read the evidence, and accordingly, proffer no opinion and place not bets one way or the other as to whether he has or has not been cheating on his wife).

Actually, I sort of do understand why so many have stepped forward to speak up for Shelly Silver.  He has done much for those who have greased his palm, and those who have shmeered him are not ingrates.

THIS Year in Jerusalem

Posting on this Blog from 14 April 2015:  "And while our planned residence is not in direct proximity to the Holy City of Jerusalem, there is a good chance that one or more of our friends there will invite us for the Passover Seder next year.  If so, then the aspiration of Next Year in Jerusalem will become a reality for us."

I am pleased, and most grateful, to report that such seems now to be in the making.  Some old friends of my wife's family, who came to Israel almost 30 years ago, have invited us to stay with them for the first day (which begins at sundown the night before of Pesach (it is celebrated only one day inside the Land of Israel, but that's a whole separate ball of wax).  They live in the Holy City of Jerusalem.

We obviously are looking forward to it.

As mentioned in the posting from last year, "Next Year in Jerusalem" are the concluding words of the Passover Seder meal  ("L'Shana HaBa'a B'Yerushalayim" in Hebrew). 

We will still say "L'Shana HaBa'a B'Yerushalayim" on behalf of those who have yet to physically present themselves in the Holy City of Jerusalem this year, but for us it will be This Year in Jerusalem.

"HaShana HaZot B'Yerushalayim."

Though our seder invite spares me and (mostly) my wife from lots of holiday preparations, there still is much to be done for the entire holiday, inasmuch as the other days we plan to be based out of our apartment, and need to remove all the fermented grain from the premises (including, but not limited to, bread, beer, and whiskey).  Aside from such matters, this week promises to be quite busy, what with some scheduled meetings in Tel Aviv, plus at least one locally in my own town.

In case I don't get around to posting before, we wish everyone a Happy and Kosher Passover, including the obligatory "L'Shana HaBa'a B'Yerushalayim"

לשנה הבאה בירושלים

Expatriate Owl to Expatriate

The nest is empty, the upkeep on the property takes up too much or our hours and dollars, and we are busy with our respective schedules and not putting the property (real and chattel) to all the uses we did during the childrearing phase of our marriage.  And the realty taxes here on Long Island promise quite credibly to continue to rise well ahead of the inflation rate.  All this, and recent memories of what we had to do when our parents could no longer safely live in homes where they respectively abided for 40+ years, got me and my wife thinking.  And so, almost three years ago, we made the decision to downsize ourselves on our own schedule and terms, instead of being subjected to the trauma of having the move imposed upon us by circumstances largely beyond our control. 

We then began the process of downsizing and fixing up our house in preparation for sale.  Tag sales, Craig's Listings, private deals, and simple giveaways reduced the volume of our chattel possessions significantly.  And then, last fall, we placed the house on the market, and, after a few false starts, entered into what now appears most strongly to be a viable deal for the sale of our house.  The closing date for the deal has yet to be determined, but is slated for a one-month time window that starts in two weeks; the buyers still have some financing and timing issue details to work out.

When I began this Blog back in 2005, the handle "Expatriate Owl" carried (and continues to carry) certain connotations relating to certain incidents and issues from my personal past.  Those who were familiar with me at the relevant moments appreciate the humor in the name selection; it's one of those "had to have been there to understand it" situations.

A few days ago we finished observing the Passover (Pesach) holiday.  The first two nights (outside the Land of Israel; in Israel it is only the first night) are marked by the Seder meal.  The Seder ritual concludes with the words "Next Year in Jerusalem" ("L'Shana HaBa'a B'Yerushalayim" in Hebrew). 

The name "Expatriate Owl" is now on the verge of acquiring a new and concurrent meaning.  The odds of us eating the Passover Seder meal in the Holy City of Jerusalem next year have, over the past few weeks, markedly increased. 

Our decision to downsize has had paybacks, inasmuch as we, having already begun the process, were quite well situated to jump at some sudden unforeseen developments.  A certain very special e-mail message was received and has now been answered.  Some professional opportunities for both me and my wife, barely if at all imagined or imaginable by us just a few months ago, have now advanced well beyond the pipedream stage and are now in the process of converging together, and come summer (or even sooner), G-d willing, we will be based in Israel for what likely will be an extended period (though we do expect some return visits to the States for either and/or both of us on various future occasions).  

As alluded to in recent postings, we have been quite busy, not only with our current professional issues and with the sale of the house, but with making this transition happen.  Now things promise to get even busier.  The contract of sale for the house needs to be consummated, our goods need to be packed and shipped, and the bureaucracies need to be navigated to do things like making the appropriate employment and visa arrangements.

Our son has already been in Israel for a while, and our desire to close the geography and communications gap with him obviously plays into in the mix.  Indeed, with his boots on the ground there, and the power of attorney document in his hand, he has already begun to make preparations for our arrival.

We look forward to it all with some anxiousness, but certainly with far more excitement and enthusiasm than trepidation.  And understand that this is a trade-off of money for adventure; our household income can be expected to decrease somewhat during our residency abroad (though measures have already begun to significantly reduce the risks of our becoming totally impecunious in the process).

And while our planned residence is not in direct proximity to the Holy City of Jerusalem, there is a good chance that one or more of our friends there will invite us for the Passover Seder next year.  If so, then the aspiration of Next Year in Jerusalem will become a reality for us.

L'Shana HaBa'a B'Yerushalayim!

Easy to Protest

About two hours ago I heard a big commotion.  Some leftist protesters were beating their drums (literally), complaining about homelessness and various other social injustices, in front of Prime Minister Netanyahu's residence, which is just a few blocks away from where we are staying in the Holy City of Jerusalem.

[We are here for a few days on pleasure, and perhaps, a little business.  We, of course, will be visiting our son, who has been here for a while and will likely remain a while longer.  Our trip was very uneventful (which is the way I like it); the most notable aspect of it being that we escaped the supercold temperatures that all of the global warming cultists are now trying to explain their way out of.].

 As the sun was coming up this morning, I did my workout run in the streets of the Holy City of Jerusalem.  I had occasion to encounter a few other runners doing their workouts.  We could do it in safety.  

Of course, there were soldiers and police officers overseeing the whole affair in front of Bibi's house.  And of course they were and are armed.  But it was basically a non-violent protest (albeit more than a bit elevated in decibel level).  Not that I am a particular fan of Bibi Netanyahu, but under the rule of law in the State of Israel, the protesters will not be killed; the nonviolent ones will not be locked up in jail (or if they are, they will be walking in a few hours); there will be no retaliation against them and their families; they will be free to do another protest some other evening.

Let them try a nonviolent protest in Cairo, or Damascus, or Teheran, or Tunis, or Benghazi, or Havana, or, … well, you get the picture.

Greetings to you from the Holy City of Jerusalem!