Sorrow and Hope

Dispatch from Jerusalem

Israel Electric Repairing Gaza Power Grids

After Hamas rockets hit the electric power grid placing large swaths of Gaza in darkness, the Israel Electric Corporation (IEC) employees of the Beersheva district, as instructed by the political echelon and authorized by the IDF, began working near the border with the Gaza Strip to repair the power grids that were damaged by rockets

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Israel’s Enemies Speak

Muslims In Gaza “Thousands of fighters above ground and thousands underground have been preparing in silence for the campaign to liberate Palestine. This is a generation which knows no fear. It is the generation of the missile, the tunnel and suicide operations.”  ~Ismail Haniyeh,  senior political leader of Hamas In the West Bank “We might

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Seven Species (Shivat HaMinim) Salad

Grapes The Feast of Tabernacles occurs during the autumn harvest in Israel. The crops are bountiful at this time with ripe fruit and vegetables. This delicious fruit salad recipe incorporates all seven species listed in Deuteronomy 8:7–8: “For the LORD your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water,

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Shmitah—A Vacation for the Land

Jewish man prays in field during Shmitah year – Photo by: Chameleoneye/Shutterstock.com For the last one hundred years, the people of Israel have strived to turn Israel into a veritable Garden of Eden—the Negev and Aravah deserts have blossomed with fruit trees and crops, and millions of trees have been planted on ground once thought

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Who Is ISIS? They’re Worse than Al-Qaeda

In just a few days last June, hundreds of thousands of Iraqis were sent fleeing their hometown and almost a third of the Iraqi Army and Federal Police divisions melted away. These dramatic events weren’t due to an earthquake or an invasion from Iran or Syria—they were due to the Islamic State of Iraq and

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Rocks in Jerusalem

Yom Yerushalayim [Jerusalem Day]—Apparently, on the day that celebrates Jerusalem’s reunification, every National-Religious high school and yeshiva [religious school] feels obligated to visit and make physical contact with the Holy City, as if to confirm that it really is in our hands. My children Ari and Eden were among those who, with their classmates, went

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The Scribe: an Ancient Profession in Today’s World

Recently a friend asked me to send her a mezuzah (Scripture box affixed to a doorway) from Israel. I had decided to buy it at Yad LaKashish, a wonderful organization in Jerusalem that gives elderly citizens the opportunity to work making Judaica and other items in a number of artistic workshops. As I expected, I

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Ingathering “Aseef”

Have you heard of the Feast of Ingathering? It is another, less common name for Sukkot or the Feast of Tabernacles which is described in Exodus 23:14–17: “Three times you shall keep a feast to Me in the year: You shall keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread (you shall eat unleavened bread seven days, as

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SOS Emergency Alert App

The months of June and July [2014] have been full of tragedy and stress in Israel, with the kidnapping and murder of three teenage boys. Israeli police helicopter on patrol Realizing that Israelis were feeling vulnerable and frightened by these unpredictable events—several app developers worked quickly to make products that will help Israelis feel a

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Airplane Fuel from Water and Air

Refueling an airplane Combustible fuels for airplanes are made from hydrocarbons. The starting point can be crude oil, ethanol or natural gas. All current hydrocarbons on the market deplete natural resources, but new research from Israel promises an unlimited fuel source: a hydrocarbon feedstock, made from just water and air. This fuel could be the

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