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"It is better to take refuge in Adonai than to trust in human beings; better to take refuge in Adonai than to put one's trust in princes." -Tehilah 118:8-9



LONG LIVE ISRAEL!

This week was a momentous one in a number of ways.

We celebrated my Jewish father's birthday. His initials are V.E. because he was born on Victory in Europe day; oddly enough, I was the only one to know what V.E. Day was in my WW2 films class back in college. None of my peers--educated ones at that--knew what V.E. stood for.

Along with about 40 others, I took my turn to speak up and speak out against a proposed zoning ordinance during a public hearing with my city's commissioners. The proposed ordinance would have turned my 326 year old small town into a "smart growth transit village"-- a postmodern term for squishing as many people into as tiny a space as possible, in order to "save the wildlife" (and do G-d knows what else-- as a Jew, I despise ghetto mentality in any form for good reason). Penned by the local bunch of eco-nazis, the ordinance would have plowed over our history, character, and beauty for developers keen on building low income housing, multi-tiered parking garages, and hotels on wetlands. It was a classic case of the few and the powerful looking to make a profit off the weak and the uninformed, and looking to do so in a sneaky matter. When they realized that our small group had caught on and actually read the document, one city planner said, "Uh oh, the rats are out of the bag." (Not kidding.) Needless to say, our grass-roots efforts were nothing short of democracy at work; the public hearing was packed with people I didn't even know, speaking out against the ordinance. Fortunately (and fearfully) the commissioners heard us and responded to the public's outcry, tabling the ordinance for further re-write and review, with citizen input. I'm pretty sure this summer in town will be akin to the summer of Philadelphia, circa 1776. But, Thank G-d free speech still exists in this country, to some extent at least.

Most importantly, this week we celebrated Israel's 60th Birthday. We did so by investigating Olmert's gross corruption, witnessing John McCain (finally) publicly announce that Hamas supports Barack Obama, and watching as the Lebanese PM succumbed to Hizbullah terrorist demands and resigned.

This world is in a weird place. Even in my own small way, in my two minute speech to my commissioners and fellow citizens, I felt as if I were "raging against the dying of the light." We need a perspective change. We need to realize that, as Jews and as believers in Messiah, we are the light, and we aren't dying. Whether it is hearing people applaud when you speak the truth, or watching fireworks over Jerusalem, we need to be aware that we are the winners here-- that being Jewish means we align ourselves with G-d and, in doing so, WE ALWAYS WIN.

We're the winners here. We're the ones doing the right thing. And in that, I rejoice.

Last weekend I happened to pick up a Victorian print I'd had my eye on for a while. It's a close-up of three horses staring at you with the sea in the distance. I don't know why I like it-- I'm generally not into animals or animal prints-- but something about them spoke to me.



After doing a little research, I found out that the print is actually from a famous painting done for Queen Victoria by an artist and horse trainer named J.F. Herring. Ironically, the painting is titled "Pharaoh's Horses"-- hence the oceanic background; these are the horses leading the chariots on the chase after the Hebrews, about to be washed assunder by the waves of the Red Sea. Now, every time I look at them I can see clearly the fear in their eyes: being knowingly led by a cruel master into their demise, and not being able to do anything about it. These were the animals chasing after my ancestors (after me, after all of us really, since we are to feel that we have been personally freed from Egypt) yet the horses are the ones in fear, not us. Because we always win.

Happy Birthday, Israel. We always win!

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posted by Shoshana @ 10:44 AM

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