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RABBI'S BLOG

Rabbi Miriam's Blog

"Going on as usual"

9/4/2013

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Late last night I spoke with my dear friend Dalit for two hours. Dalit is a world famous ceramic sculptress who lives near Tzfat in Northern Galilee. She
got home in June of this year after a long trip to Central America. At first, when she heard some muted boom sounds, she did not know what they were. Very quickly she realized that these boom sounds were coming from Syria, just a short air distance away from her home.

She could not believe how life in Israel is going on “as usual” when thousands of people are being killed across the border and the world, again, is silent. At first she was not able to sleep at night, having a really hard time hearing these horrible sounds of bombs falling on women, children, the elderly and those who were not able to leave the area. She was having nightmares of the last war Israel had with the Hezbollah in Lebanon, as the terrorist movement rained shells on half of Israel indiscriminately. Yet, like most things in life, in order to survive the horrific reality of life around us, we create our own imaginary “beautiful world.” A few people even said to her “let them kill one another.” Suddenly, the world she knew collapsed. She was questioning the ethics of people she loved and knew very closely for many years.

This is one of the poems she wrote. By next week, God willing, I will translate her second poem.

HEARING THE BOMBS AND ROCKETS
 Don’t you hear the falling bombs and rockets?
 How can we continue to live our daily serene lives
 When in the background are the sounds of tanks
 Where hundreds and thousands of people die daily
 Men, women and children,
 A short “spit” distance away is... hell.
 
But who cares?
“Let them kill one another,” they say.
There are those in this war who see pure profit
And we are such an ethical nation
Does ethics knows the difference between race and color?
Is there such a thing as double (standard) ethics?

And the sound of the bombs,
that accompany my life for months
Flashes in my mind of ghastly pictures
That are coming closer and closer
And they don’t let my soul rest.
The nervous tension in the air is real.

The hate in the area is mounting
Without boundaries and restrictions
It is endless.
And we, as mere mortals
Are human?
Ahavat Torah of West Los Angeles
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    About Rabbi Miriam

    Rabbi Miriam E. Hamrell MHL, M.Ed., has served as  our religious and spiritual leader at Ahavat Torah Congregation and helped it grow since it was founded in 2003.

    She is loved for being a wise and compassionate leader who brings a remarkable variety of experiences and gifts to her calling as our Rabbi. 

    Rabbi Miriam provides classes throughout the world on Jewish Ethics, the Spiritual and Inner Meaning of Prayer, Holy Days, Torah, Talmud, Mishnah, Conversion to Judaism, and advice on interpersonal relationships.


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  • Ahavat Torah
    • Contact Us >
      • On-line
      • Address & Telephone
      • Directions and Parking
      • RSVP for Events
      • Newsletter Sign Up
    • Our Mission
    • Our Community
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    • Our Cantorial Soloist
    • Our Associate Cantorial Soloist
    • Our Board of Directors
    • Archived Videos
    • Photo Gallery >
      • High Holidays photos 2011/5772
      • Ahavat Torah Community Dinner 2013
      • AT's 11TH Anniversary Fundraiser (2014)
    • AT In the News!
  • Newsletter
    • Newsletter Sign Up
  • Blog
  • Membership
  • Worship
    • High Holidays Services 2020/5581
    • Shabbat
    • Holidays >
      • Pesach
  • Learning
    • Weekly Torah Study
    • Mussar Classes
    • Midrashah
    • Adult Bar/Bat Mitzvah
  • Tikkun Olam
  • Social Activities
    • Annual Gala
    • Book and Movie Clubs
    • Community Dinners
    • Havdallah Hootenanny
    • Salons
  • FUNDRAISING
    • Annual Gala
    • Tribute Cards & Tzedakah
    • JNF Trees
    • Shopping at Ralphs
    • Shopping at Amazon
  • New Videos