Final Sealing

 

The 25 hours of Fasting  are over.   Hopefully, Fast and Prayer have got me a good final sealing in the Book of Life for the New Year.

The Book of Life contains the fate of every sinner. On the jewish New Year (Rosh Hashana) the fate is inscribed,  ten days later , on the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) it is sealed. Between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur,  people have a chance to change their fate if they repent, pray, ask forgiveness.

Yom Kippur is the most sacred of the jewish holidays. It's also a day of Fear - fear of the finalization of the heavenly verdict passed on Rosh Hashana.  G'mar Chatima Tova! meaning:  a Good Final Sealing , is the customary greeting used among people between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur.

 I believe the Book of Life is part of God's greater book, that of the Creation, its order and rules. Sadly, Man has constantly  violated these rules, in the name of progress and evolution, and we see the result - we live in a scary and unpredictable world.

In  the book of the Creation there are answers and solutions. Man prefers and expects... politicians to offer answers and solve problems.

Of Doctors and Daughters

After retirement, our GP and her husband (also a doctor) moved to another city; sort of a new beginning.
A few years later, the husband died. I happened to come upon the obituary. It said that the deceased was  to be buried  at the cemetery of a city in the north of the country ; the location named was the one where their only daughter lived.

The daughter was a nice girl, but one that made her parents' life a misery. They had plans for her but she strongly disliked school and discipline. Her overall attitude had also isolated them socially, as their circle of friends used to be one of doctors and academics whose children followed in their parents' footsteps.

During her army service the daughter met a russian newcomer; they fell in love and decided to get married. It was not a bad decision. They were both without a profession, but his parents helped and put them on the right track.

In the meantime,  the 'new beginning' for the two doctors was rather one of loneliness. I met them once in the new city and they opened up.  They were each an only child to their parents, and so no siblings and nephews, only some distant cousins. They did keep in touch with their daughter who lived far, but failed to overcome their disappointment in her, so no close relationship.

When I read the obituary, I said to myself that  'frau doctor', the fresh widow, was probably going now to sell the apartment and move near  daughter and her family. The very right thing to do, and it would involve acceptance and reconciliation.
The daughter and son in law  were not perhaps highly educated, but still- good, decent people. That's what she needed in her old age - a good, caring family with grand kids to enjoy.

I felt glad for her, especially that she had once said some very kind words about my father. "He never leaves my office with the back to me; he moves slowly towards the door with his face towards me, out of  respect". Yes, that was him: always kind and respectful.

Dad

Both my parents were fond of their GP  as she spoke their language (rumanian) and shared their mentality. Giving medication was not her first choice. She used to advise her patients  to try  change of diet, leaving a toxic partner or place of work , minimal commuting. In a way she was ahead of her time; in those days the doctor was mainly expected to find the problem and give medication, not suggest how the patient should live his life.

Visitation Dreams

If and when  I happen to dream during my sleep, it's usually about family members that are no longer with us. They talk, sometimes weep, but when I wake up, I don't remember any word, and that unsettles me .  I lit a candle, ask for forgiveness, say a few words in their memory; that calms me down.

These kind of dreams are important to me. They indicate that there's some  sort of connection and communication with the deceased. Things don't end completely with one's passing; the departed  'stay in touch'  somehow.

In my latest dream it was my beloved mother that made her appearance. She talked and cried. Perhaps she was asking me not to skip  my usual pre-High Holidays annual visit to her grave . We live in weird times, with a shutdown  threat upon our heads, so her fear of me not visiting, was not without reason. 

The next day, I put the mask on,  and hurried to the cemetery to be at my parents' graves.
The day after , I went to the cemetery  of  an adjacent city, to visit the graves of my brother and my little  nephew.

These visits last at least an hour, during which  I wash the tombs, lit candles, and say prayers.

A friend of mine, who doesn't have dreams of that sort says I probably think often of them and they feel loved by me, that's why they appear in my dreams trying to communicate.

Well, that's true. I think of them daily, comparing them to the people I encounter. I consider them by far superior in their human qualities.

Berries

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Berries are considered superfood,  for they're packed with nutrients and anti- oxidant elements. We greatly enjoy them in their natural fruit form, in baked goods, in  jams, juices, sauces. Always delicious!

Berries are also widely used in  herbal supplements containing extracts of the active ingredient,  which promise many health benefits such as:immunity/metabolism/energy Boost; anti-aging/anti-inflammation/anti -cancer Fight .

Health stores' staff point at Goji berries, as a  very popular product with potential health benefits, among them ,glucose regulation and eye condition improvement..

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People on meds should beware. Some of these extracts might interfere and/or interact with doctor's prescriptions for blood thinning, diabetes, etc..(Hawthorne's berries and Acai berries, for example, are known to have impact on heart disorders).

We're blessed  here, in Israel, mainly with strawberries, but the season is  short. Most of the other known  berry types (blueberries, blackberries, raspberries etc..) are imported and rather expensive Tiny bottles with berry extracts,  produced by reputable pharma companies, are also expensive, but worth ,perhaps, the money.

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I keep  a  bottle or two of such berry extracts in my cabinet, usually for their anti- inflammatory property. I don't take the capsule or softgel on a regular basis as one would take meds, but whenever I feel a problem and suspect inflammation of some sort. It usually helps.


*web pictures

Coronialism

I've recently come across this new term - coronialism - which refers to the danger of a new order, a new society being established -  based on the restrictions and urgencies caused by the fear of the corona virus, covid-19. 

Personally, I'm not afraid of 'new' and of restrictions. The situation now seems to be close to anarchy in many parts of the world, so, there's great need for regulating factors, imposing law and order on people to get us out of the pandemic. 

It's too soon to pass judgement, draw conclusions, as we're still amid the pandemic. The word  'coronialism',  however, gives us food to thought, especially as it sounds like another -ism  word -colonialism - an historical - geographical process notorious for its oppressive forces.

Most people regard covid-19 as a temporary nuissance that will vanish with the appearance of the right vaccine. Perhaps, (an expert has just offered his belief that by March it'll be over), but its consequences on our economic, social, environmental, and political life will be far- reaching. The world won't be the same. We should better get used to the idea.

In what way will the world change? I don't  know for sure. I only hope it's for the better as we've been living till now in bubbles, in lies, in pretense, in corruption,  beyond our means. So, perhaps coronavirus will bring with it, besides the unfortunate disease and death, also a blessed transformation. We have to believe that.

Uman Pilgrimage

Uman is a town in central Ukraine, on the banks of the Umanka river. 
During the recent decades, the town has become known for the burial place of the 19th century rabbi Nachman of Breslov , founder of the jewish chassidic Breslov movement.

rabbi Nachman's gravesite in Uman *

The annual pilgrimage of  ultra orthodox israeli members of this movement,  to the above gravesite, is not new to me, but I must admit that until now, I've not  been aware of the alarming numbers.   According to the media, about 80 planes carrying thousands of chassidim, are usually booked  for the  Rosh Hashana (jewish New Year) celebrations in Uman.  

pilgrims praying at Umanka river *

Since we've been flagged as a 'red' country, the coronavirus czar has attempted to stop this year's Rosh Hashana  (sept.18) pilgrimage,  warning that it presents serious danger to both Ukraine and Israel. So far, his appeal has only partial success , because of political interference (or non-interference, it  depends on who and  how one looks at it).

single chassid praying by the Umanka river*

No doubt, the ukrainian town gets rich during the 
celebrations at the rabbi's tomb .  Israel gets poorer.
Our PM  is re-elected with the help of the many thousands of  pilgrims' votes, and as a reward, he bestows upon their political parties in the coalition, very generous budgets and rights.

I'm afraid, that even with another PM and a  new coalition , there'll be no way of going back. If you touch these budgets and rights, you might get blood on the streets.

My conclusion - it's the numbers that count. Demography,  not Democracy, is the key to all.
If you ignore demography (in Israel, the orthodox jews, and the arabs are the ones with large families, and their locations - corona red zones), you might find yourself without a country. . Coronavirus pandemic is not all bad,  as it's an eye- opener.

* web pictures

High Holidays Shutdown ?!

We're approaching the High Holiday season which starts with  the Jewish New Year (Rosh Hashana) on Sept. 18-20; goes on with the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) on Sept. 27 -28; next  Sukkot , Simchat Torah -  and ends on Oct.11.

This year it's all going to be different because of coronavirus restrictions on gatherings, both at the synagogues (for worship activities) and at home (family festive meals) .

Things are not looking good on the 'corona' front. It seems that in China and Russia people are afraid of the authorities; here the authorities are afraid of the people (potential voters who oppose restrictions), so nothing is done properly. 

Transparency is  faulty. We know more or less about the 'red' zones, but almost nothing about age of people in confirmed, as well as in hospitalized  cases.
(There was some mention in a newspaper that currently, those aged 20-39 make up over 30% of the confirmed cases).

According to the chief coronavirus coordinator, prof. Gamzu, the decision about a shutdown will be taken by Sept.10.  In the meantime Army recruits will be assisting with performing tests and 'tracing of contact'. 

The whole world is expecting a vaccine. There'll probably  be more than one, by the end of the year, but I tend to agree with the general opinion that it'll take about two years to end the pandemic.

I don't know about other countries, but here,in Israel, even one year might lead to anarchy and even famine.  May God help us!