Baruch Dayan Emet

...And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground. -Bershith {Genesis} 4:10

Baruch dayan emet. I have no words to describe the horror that took place Tuesday morning in Israel. There are no words that can fully express the pain and the sorrow. As men stood to pray to the Most High and were attacked with bullets and axes. What kind of sick mind comes up with such a twisted act?

There are more than 20 children who will now grow up with no father. These children will never get to spend another moment with their fathers. No more birthdays, no more shabbats, no more bed time routines. And the wives. The wives who will never be held by their beloved again. Who have to live with the memory of their husbands being brutally attacked for nothing other than being Jewish. 

My heartaches for these families and for all Israel. 

Please pray for:

Avraham Shmuel ben Sheina

Eytan ben Sara

Chaim Yechiel ben Malka

Shmuel Yeruchem ben Baila

Adonai yishlakh la'hem refuah sheleimah, refuat ha'nefesh urefu'at ha'guf

Lord send to them complete healing, healing of the soul and healing of the body

and for the families of:

Rav Moshe Twersky

Rabbi Avraham Shmuel Goldberg 

Rabbi Kalman Ze’ev Levine 

Rabbi Aryeh Kupinsky 

Zidan Sayif

Ha'makom yenahem etkhem betokh she'ar avelei Tziyon v'Yerushalayim

May the Almighty comfort you among the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem

Don't just sit there, do something.

I don't have an ipad. So when everyone was talking about the Red Alert App I wasn't able to get it. But then I found out about this website that does virtually the same thing.

The first time I heard the alarm go off it was surreal. It caught me totally off guard. In fact another went off just now. There is no way I could get my children out of bed and to a bomb shelter in the next 15 seconds. Not even 30.. there goes another.. In the last hour the alarm has gone off 3 times. And another.. that makes 4.

My heart aches for those in HaEretz. The rushing, the terror, the constant-ness of it all. Can you imagine daily being on guard. Feeling like at any moment you'll need to run for your life?

Right now, baruch HaShem, we are safe and comfortable in the US. But how long can it stay that way if we keep silent? You may feel like me and feel helpless, like there is nothing you can do. But that's not true. You can donate to different funds in Israel or you can take part in the BUYcott. So many at this time are abandoning Israel but you can choose something different.

You can sign up for the Lev HaOlam package project. Where each month you get goods that were produced in Judea and Samaria mailed directly to your doorstep.

Here is a website that lists products that are made in Israel that you can purchase and also where to find them in the US.

You can also donate to organizations like HaYovel, who are going to Israel and putting their hands and feet to work. Not only are they helping agriculturally, they are sending a message that Israel is not alone!

You can make tzedakah boxes with your children, then donate the money to charities that support victims of terror in Israel. I'm in the process of building a list of charities you can donate to....another alert, that makes 5....But in the mean time here is a start:

OneFamily
Magen David Adom

In the time is took for me to write this post there were 5 rockets launched at Israel....make that 6, 7, 8, 9..I kid you not...10, 11, 12, 13, 14.... If this were happening in your city how would you respond?

For Tziyon’s sake I will not be silent,

for Yerushalayim’s sake I will not rest,

until her vindication shines out brightly

and her salvation like a blazing torch.

- Isaiah 62:1

Yisrael

(Sea of Galilea by Jon Arnold)

Today has been one of those days where my heart longs for Israel. To be able to go to the Kotel {Western Wall} and cry out to my Abba. Nothing is wrong, at least not really. I just long to feel connected to Israel. I've been looking at pictures and some are just breath taking. I know that it's not all beautiful. I know that it can be dangerous, and that there is much conflict. But that doesn't change my love for the land and the people. To be able to step foot on the hallowed streets of Jerusalem would be a dream come true. Or getting to watch the sun set on the beaches of Tel Aviv, or walk through the markets smelling spices. There is just so much that speaks to all of my senses. My body is here, but my mind and my heart are in Israel.

And I will bring them out from the people, and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land, and feed them upon the mountains of Israel by the rivers, and in all the inhabited places of the country. Ezekiel 34:13