The Eye Doctor and the Painter

He was eager to work in his profession. Fate, however, had other plans for him. His older brother,Bassel, the one expected by all to be their father's successor, died in a car accident, and so, he, Bashar al Assad, the eye doctor, became Syria's notorious president.

He's got them all on his back: Russia, America, Iran, Turkey, Israel, Hezballa. His life is one long, bloody  struggle to survive, using whatever he has, inclusive chemicals .

I'm not sure about  Donald Trump's intentions in the region, but his two younger predecessors Bush and Obama made it clear they wished to carry out what they called  'installing democracy in the Middle East'.  Their actions were set to achieve that by getting rid of the dictators in the region. 

Bush got Saddam of Irak eliminated. 
Obama was more ambitious. His 'Arab Spring ' campaign got Khaddafi of Lybia eliminated,  Mubarak of Egypt put in jail . 
He failed , however, to touch Assad. probably because of  the russians who were there  intimidating whoever sought to approach and harm their protegee.

Anyway, Assad could have been  a good doctor,  a people's eyesight saver . But when Fate intervenes, there's nothing one can do about. 

It somehow reminds me of Hitler, who could have been,  a good painter, and  perhaps, a decent human being. Fate intervened - the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna, refused to accept him for studies as he failed the entrance exam twice.  So, our mediocre painter Adolf  went into politics instead, and the rest is.... History.

Untitled

'prayer sculpture'  in the city garden - Ramat Gan

We're entering a hectic period of time - from end of September till almost end of October.

The great  synagogue- city of Ramat-Gan

It's the period of the jewish High Holidays which includes not only celebrations and good food, but also repentance, prayer, meditation, visits to our departed ones at the cemetery, fasting. Prayers and  visits to the cemetery (to ask for forgiveness and  a good upcoming New Year) can be quite physically and mentally challenging.  I usually need a little vacation afterwards for change of scenery and atmosphere:)
However, there's satisfaction in being able to carry out the above things. 

the old cemetery in the holy city of Safed (Tzefat)

 street corner adjacent to cemetery in city of Ghivataim

I won't be much, if at all, on Blogger during this period, but I hope to have time to think of  topics for new posts, and take adequate pictures to accompany these posts.

Our weather  is still very hot during the day; slightly cooler in the mornings and evenings. The heat doesn't help with the preparations and efforts to catch the spiritual mood. We need rain, but we won't get it until  late autumn - beginning of winter. Honestly, I dread the approaching  of winter, even though our winter is usually short and relatively mild.

at the Prayer Sculpture

'Whatever will be will be', as the song goes. God will take  care of us.   See You!

Sardines and Bread - the russian touch

A few months ago, there was a certain brand of sardines on sale at one of the local supermarkets.

It was a promotional sale - two at the price of one. There were two versions: in oil and in brine. I bought those in brine. Very salty stuff, so I put it in water to eliminate some of its salt, and at the same time I told myself that I won't be buying it any more. Salt, like sugar and oil, definitely has its drawbacks.

 oil version (orange colored ); only two tins available on  shelf

Well, I  did buy it again. ( At present, it's not available on the shelf.  I suppose they'll bring it  in the cold months when people drink hot tea and/or vodka that go well with salty foods ). 
So, what made me buy it again?

I've noticed that  if I put even a small  sardine in my egg and veggies sandwich , it keeps me satiated  for quite a while. That's important if you wish to maintain normal body weight. I checked nutritional values: 21 gram protein per 100 gram sardines; ok! On the other hand, Tuna in brine, has even more protein, and less salt...so, why  buy this particular sardine stuff?

Good question. Well, I never felt that tuna, with all its  popularity as a healthy, low calorie-high protein sandwich filling -  kept  me satiated for long.  Perhaps it's an entirely subjective feeling that has nothing to do with reality. I don't  know. I need some more time to find out the answer.

There are no additives in this product (Ivasi); just sardines, water and lots of salt (350mg). Sardines have one obvious advantage over tuna: the little softened, white bones full of calcium which is said to be beneficial to our bones.

Anyway, for some reason, these  sardines are popular with customers of russian descent (have I mentioned vodka?!)   The owners of the supermarket (actually a chain of supermarkets), are also of russian descent ; that would explain why this product is not found elsewhere.

*

Many of the above customers  also buy bread made of spelt flour . Spelt is considered the wild ancestor of wheat. In the 18th century it was the main food source for the russian peasants. Today, spelt is experiencing  a 'comeback' , an increase in popularity, as russians everywhere are becoming more health-conscious.

 packed sliced loaves of spelt bread on the supermarket's shelves

loaf of spelt bread - the wrapping paper - not eco friendly

Spelt bread is relatively high in protein and thus, of great help to those with dietary intentions, as it serves as a metabolic booster, and gives one a feeling of fullness. Two slices of this quite tasty bread  keep you going for most of the day. If only they would wrap it in an eco-friendly way! 

slices of spelt bread

The non-lazy  among potential consumers can buy the spelt flour package and bake, the real thing, at home.

packages with spelt flour