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Ahead, comrades

Forty years ago, in May 1968, an international youth dazzling around and baffling movement left, early in the year, the Pacific Californian coast of Berkeley to spread back to Old Europe and explode with contrasted violence in France, Germany, Italy, Scandinavia, the Netherlands, shaking former Czechoslovakia (resolved on Aug. 24th by a good snap to Alexander Dubcek) and swirled till the Chinese rivers in the form of revolving cultural revolution. In terms of generations, it is normal to consider that it corresponds to something like two generations at a time when baby-booms and birth controls were not really under perfect "management".

Esh: Bonfires

Look where we live! On such a small exiguous territory that thus opens up on width and suddenly turn of, immures and cages in minds and grey cells. Space, room can be terribly limited, compressed: the Jewish soul requires freedom in horizons where the non-believers would suffocate or be tempted by murder.

One of the most striking phenomena of Israeli society today is the way it reflects upon "being" a society. Look at our cities, small villages, agricultural areas, settlements. They are built on the same pattern that allows the securing of a specific system of traditional values that - ultra-Orthodox, pious or secular - needed to be protected from the outside world. Thus, it is right that today's children in Israeli suffer of various traumas (family, social, cultural, violence, fears/pahadim). Either the youth stay put and do not move. Or they discover the world of the Gentiles, often questioned by the fact that Jews abroad are not freely living and affirming their Jewishness. This is something new.

Shetel-Graft

Considering the sixtieth anniversary of the State of Israel, many Arab countries, in particular in the Holy Land and the neighboring States have developed a "counter-celebration" that calls the creation of the State of Israel a "nakbah - catastrophe". There are different and invariant positions in this situation that should be taken into consideration: the political issue, the international context, the spiritual stand and the theological positioning, if any can be sketched out at the moment

Lachatz; a sort of pressure

We are almost in summer. The weather does change and suddenly shifts from high temperatures and the desert wind sharav/hamsin heat to chilly nearly dizzling hours of cloudy atmosphere. This is also Jerusalem. Political life is always on the search of some corruption, rabbis and imams shake hands abroad, the heads of Churches are busy. Some would make an exact appreciation of their faithful or get a better idea of who is with whom as hurricanes passed but winds are not gone to the full. In many respects, the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem has finally one head who is recognized by the three political entities: Kingdom of Jordan, the Palestinian Authority and lately the State of Israel. Theophilos III is like an "acrobat" among the various states and communities. The other head of the Churches are a similar situation, provided that the Holy Land will always be a juicy resourceful country for pilgrims and visitors. None of them really care about the estrangeled situation in Gaza, blockings in the West Bank and the endemic war going-on along the Lebanese border.

Itim: Times - 60 = 120:2 or thousand years

 The logo for the 60^th anniversary of the State of Israel resembles a "six" that develops and rolls like a wheel. Indeed, we are on a tire problem, as "gilgul/galgalim" refer to changes and revolving actions, mutations.

The victims that perished for the State of Israel are counted since that year, i.e. 22,437 killed till now, counted since 1860 and the killing of the Jews in the Old City of Jerusalem.

Iyyar, 5, 5768 - May 8TH, 2008

There are States or countries that are basically small or broken down in "areas, land, regions, laender, cantons, provinces". Will Galilee soon be culturally connected with the Negev? David Ben Gurion had the dream of Israel having her capital in Mamshit (Greek "Mampsit - Memphis"), the ancient Nabataean city with the famous synagogue of Ma'on and the Byzantine church. From there, rabbis were sent to Yavne. The Byzantine monks participated in the Church synods, later in the first councils. Look at a map of the cities. They are all interconnected by strong networks that trace back to the presence of all sorts of invaders, passers-by or settlers from Greece, Persia, Egypt, Mesopotamia, Turkey, Arabia, Ethiopia, Syria, Lebanon, Caucasus. How interesting that the same road circuits have been developed and sophisticated and could of course be used to gather fractured regions and towns into one unique entity of diverse cultures. The railway infrastructures were created by the British to envision a general development of the Middle-East from Caucasus and Turkey down to Akaba. The power of intelligence, cleverness, capacities, "price of excellence" can ruin nations, people and States.

SIN'AH: Hideous can be different

Either we have time or we don't; or we miss time terribly. It is a professional trend: to be overburdened with work, family task, virtual and real contacts, traffic jams. Agendas are full, each of us are like heading and holding the society and a microcosmic part of it that desperately try to find some rest in some gym club. A young family man has recently lost his mother and had to go to the milluim - to serve his periodic time in the army. He enjoys this time of "cheshbon nefesh - meditation" in serving the country, waith his friends and comrades who are compassionate but also oblige him to consider a life that is gone and the life he has to accomplish.

Yiddish has an old talmudic saying: we cannot educate our children the way we have been educated because we belong to a time that is over. We have to bring up our children as if we were anticipating the education of our grandchildren because they will survive us and build the future. Thus, it is not possible to state: 'I have plenty of time" or "I don't have time - I miss time terribly" which may turn to be a good reason not to do what we have to do, while much time could be a sign of how empty our lives can really or supposedly be.

Refuah - Healing

One of the most fundamental actions conducted in the name of faith in God is to assist the sick, the injured, those who suffer in their bodies and souls. It is a strong priority. Since ancient days, the Christian hospices, clinics, hospitals, convents and monasteries have been dedicated to the assistance to the needy and the poor, but also the elderly and the sick and their families. At the present, it must be admitted that the best organized system is the Catholic network even if it faces some difficulties.

The Orthodox Church, present in the Holy Land since the Apostolic times of the Early Church and considered as the Mother of all the Churches, has no permanent elderly home for the pensioners and the retired bishops are hosted by Catholic houses. This is a part of our responsibility, as Orthodox believers to develop a true and authentic system of assistance for the believers. "Anyone says "I love God" but hates his brother is a liar; whoever loves a brother whom he has seen cannot love God Whom he has not seen" (1 John 4:20). The Eastern Orthodox Church of Jerusalem has and will always have ahead of her an immense task to help spirituality all the inhabitants of the Israeli society, Jordan and Palestine. Wounds and scars of war, history, cross-time dramatic situations have hurt and constantly wounds the inhabitants.

Hallelu-Yah : Praising

Times and orders of rules are a bit disturbed: the "drashat Shabbat HaGadol" or homely pronounced for this Shabbat HaGadol was said last week and this week is Shabbat Parshat "Acharey mot - After the death of the two sons of Aaron " that leads to Pesach 5768 at the end of the Shabbat. Leviticus 16:1-18:30 is the weekly portion read in the Sacrificial book of VaYikra, the Levites. It describes the ritual of Yom Kippur and defines in what sense we are called the "saints - qedoshim". This name was given in this portion to those who serve the Lord, later, because of the location of the Temple, referred to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. Paul of Tarsus uses the name when he came back from the diasporas with the money offering and assistance provided by the faithful. During the Byzantine Liturgy, the priest elevates the Bread and says: "Ta Hagia tis Hagiois - the Holy (Gifts) to the Holy (one - haqodesh leqedoshim", parallel to the Song of the Songs.