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| The sun is setting on lower Galilee 2 weeks ago |
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| Driving through Jerusalem last week I took this photo of The Festival of Light |
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| Our Synagogue |
You are invited to join services at our Synagogue any time see details
Cantor - Boaz Pnini |
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 Greetings,
Back in Seattle, it is like lnading on a whole different planet. I always try sitting by the window when landing in Israel or returning to Seattle, the view is spectacular.
Landing in Seattle, it was sunny, and the airplane begun its descending for landing, giving my body the impression of 3 dimensional world. from the height we were flying the area seemed like a garden of Eden. The forests, the steep mountains covered with melting snow, the river meandering down the valley. It is almost the opposite experience of landing in Israel, which is not less spectacular. The first view of the land of Israel, always brings feelings of home and comfort. The familiar coastline, the anticipation of being soon on familiar ground.
I always pay attention to first impressions, and it worries me when the first things I see going out of the airplane in Israel are bank ads, promoting this bank or the other. Was our land being taken by the banks? I am asking myself. Hopefully not.
Boaz Pnini
Bridges 2 Israel
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| Why is this land different to all other lands? |
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| photo by Ori - Haruvit forest where we had a family picnic and singing last Wednesday |
I do not know, really I don't, but I know it is different. sometimes it is worthwhile looking at seemingly unimportant facts and what story they tell. Like the fact of seeing banks ads first thing after landing in Israel.
I love Israel, but one thing that got me irritated was that things do not work, at least not in the way I expected them to work, there is a twist, something you have not expetced to happen, is happening. For example, I had a cell phone and I wanted to pay my money, my hard earned money, yes, so that I may use that phone. so I called the number for that purpose and got an answering machine telling me this is really not a good time to call and would I call on a different time. I waited 2 days until the afformentioned time, nothing, just a ringing tone, no one pick up the phone, "maybe I should try later" I decided.
By that time I decided the virtue of not using a cell phone outweighed using one, especially because the charger stop working, and all the wire wiggling in the world did not change that. I had to follow my brother advice: "If you need a phone, just ask someone" he told me just after I landed in Ben Gurion, "It is a normal thing to do in Israel". Coming from the great northwest that did not sit well with me, but I kept it as a last resort option in case worse comes to worse, and it did, couple of times.
Last Wednesday evening, a day before my last in Israel, the family all planed to meet at Haruvit forest, not far from Jerusalem, for a picnic and singing. After many hours of driving I arrived, but could not see anyone. What I did see was a fallow field full with storks picking up on warms, hovering majestically from one spot to the other, watching that through my car window kept me in a reverie for a while. Then I remembered, I had no idea where is everyone.
I was driving up and down the mountain searching for my missing family who were supposed to come in many cars and from many directions, for no avail. The whole operation was based on cellular availability. Except of the general idea of time and place everything else is sorted out on the go by cellular connections, and I had no cellular and no idea what is going on.
I had no choice but asking someone to use their phone as it was starting to get darker. I found a haredi family spread around by their van and I asked the man if by any chance I can use his cell phone. It was no problem. I dialed my mom and found the details and that everyone is late, or in other words, all is well and normal. Then everyone start appearing at different intervals and from different directions, and an army like operation was on the go until we all found the same picnic ground. The evening turn out to be just heart warming.
But telling you all that was not my intention. I really wanted to tell you how many intricate steps I had to take to get the hot water in the shower, to get the TV to the right channel, to find the right switch for the right light, I wanted to tell you about the guesthouse where I found the router in my room was really the neighbor router. when I was not irritated I thought it was hilarious. We are a start up nation, (click for an interview on that) like the book says, so a lot of things are improvised, or so it seemed from my vantage point.
Good luck on your next Israel adventure
Boaz Pnini
Bridges 2 Israel
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| Still want to help abandoned animals in Israel? |
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| Learn more about "From Violent to Compassion" watch my recent interview with Bibi |
Jamie is a Bar Mitzvah students of mine and is passionate about his Bar Mitzvah project, read below.
Boaz
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Hi everyone!
I'm here to tell you about an important new development with my mitzvah project!
Here's a specific example of the great work Let the Animals Live is doing. I hope you will please donate.
Tomy is a stray that Let the Animals Live is helping. His back legs don't function properly so he needs to get a wheelchair to move around on his own. But this will take about $1,000. Let the Animals Live is about half way to its goal, and I think it would be great it we can help LAL get the rest of the way!
Please view this video to learn more about Tomy and this fundraiser:
Together, we can save Tomy and help him live a full life.
Donations would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks,
Jamie
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| The missing link |
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| Peres speech last week |
last issue I was inspired by Peres speech at the White House and mentioned it. Then I forgot to add the link. Here it is then. Peres speech starts around 14 minutes into the video.
Boaz Pnini
PS. Thank you David for pointing this out to me
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Lake kineret corner
On my recent visit to Israel, I took a dive in the kineret, that was so refreshing. I wish I can be there right now. The fish were plenty, small and large. The water were azure like color, the water temperature warm and then cool when you dive in. A greenish mineral spring was bubbling out of the ground, and then flowing gently into the lake. The lake felt live and well and clean.
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