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July 22 Dear Mr. President: An Open Letter to Barack Hussein ObamaDear Mr. President,
For Zion's sake I will not keep silent, for Jerusalem's sake I will not remain quiet, until her righteousness shines out like the Morning Star and her salvation like a blazing torch.
You are probably unaware of this fact, but today is the first day of the month of Av. The Jewish world is currently in the midst of the Three Weeks - a period of mourning between the Fast of the 17th of Tammuz and the Fast of the 9th of Av. The first of these fasts commemorates the breach made in the defence wall surrounding Jerusalem and the second commemorates the conquest of the city three weeks later and the destruction of the Temple. Jewish tradition associates these dates with both the First and Second Temples - although we learn from II Kings, Chapter 25 that Nebuchadnezzar's armies breached the city wall on the 9th of Tammuz and burned the First Temple to the ground on the 7th of Av in the year 586 B.C.E. Jeremiah confirms the date of 9th Tammuz as the date of the breaching of the city walls by the Babylonians (Chap. 25, v.6-7) but gives the date of the Destruction of the First Temple as the 10th of Av. After the Second Temple was built, the fasts commemorating these tragedies were apparently abolished and were only re-introduced after the Destruction of the Second Temple by the Romans in the year 70 C.E. The Romano-Jewish historian Josephus tells us that the breach in the defence walls was made on the 17th of Tammuz and that from that day, it took the enemy three weeks until the city was reduced to final submission and the Temple was razed to the ground. It no doubt seemed unreasonable to revive a fast on the 9th of Tammuz and in addition, to introduce a fast on the 17th commemorating an identical event hundreds of years later, so the rabbis decreed that both events should be commemorated on the 17th of Tammuz. As far as the discrepancy in the dates given for the Destruction of the First and Second Temples goes, the Talmud suggests that the Babylonians entered the precincts of the Sanctuary on the 7th of Av, started the conflagration on the 9th and that the work of Destruction was completed on the 10th when the Temple actually burned down. Thus, the day when the flames started was chosen to commemorate the event, in fasting and prayer. When, 656 years later, the Second Temple was destroyed by the Roman Titus on the 10th of Av, it was decreed by the rabbis that both catastrophes should be commemorated on the original fast day, the 9th Av.
The Fast of the 9th of Av is the most solemn fast in the Jewish calendar after Yom Kippur. The Destruction of the Temple by the Romans effectively marked the end of independent Jewish statehood in the Land of Israel, which was not to be regained until the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948. The three week period between the two fasts is, as I already stated, a period of mourning known in Hebrew as בין המיצרים (Bein Hameitzarim), literally "between the straits", during which no festivities may be held, marriages may not be solemnised and orthodox Jews also refrain from wearing new clothes, cutting their hair, going to concerts and embrace various other personal restrictions.
Why am I telling you all this, Mr President? After all, I am sure you have no interest whatsoever in Jewish religious customs. You should, however, have an interest in Jewish history, as you presume to dictate the course of that history. You choose to "forget" that during the long Exile in Babylon, between the fall of the First Temple and the Return to Zion in the reign of King Cyrus, we Jews never ceased to mourn our lost city, we hung our harps on the willow trees beside the rivers of Babylon and wept, as we remembered Zion. You ignore (or are ignorant of) the fact that for almost two thousand years, since Titus and his Roman stormtroopers razed the Second Temple to the ground, ploughed over the ruins of Jerusalem, renamed it Aelia Capitolina and bestowed upon Judaea the name Palaestina, we Jews have kept faith with our city and marked the day of its destruction, year after year, with fasting, prayer and the reading of the Book of Lamentations. All this you forget, when you have the temerity to demand that Israel refrain from building in what you term "East" Jerusalem and that Jews be prohibited by the democratically elected government of the Jewish State from living in so-called "Palestinian" areas of our Eternal Capital.
For shame, Mr. President.
For shame. July 13 Who Knows Where the Time Goes - Part 3Well, now it's my turn. I, too, have a birthday - tomorrow, in fact. But I won't tell you how old I am. A lady never reveals her true age and I am nothing if not a lady.
 My Human says Breeding always shows and I have Breeding.
Would you not agree?
 I mean, look at that profile? Doesn't that tell you something?Besides which, if you look at my forehead, you can see the M which, as everyone knows, is the mark of a true Tigger Princess, as She is always telling me.
See?
 Now, to get back to the subject at hand, tomorrow, as I said, is my birthday. I have been given to understand that in France, they celebrate Mon Anniversaire with fireworks and street parties and even military parades. That is, of course, very right and proper although personally, I would prefer something quieter and more intimate, something en famille, as it were. My Human understands this. It took a few years to train her properly but the effort paid off in the end. At my age, (which, as I said, is classified information) you really start to appreciate the importance of the Family Circle. I don't want to go gadding about, nor do I want a big, expensive party with lots of guests I hardly know and don't care about. Just my Human and Possum and Moi.
What's that you say? Presents?
Well, of course, any little gift will be greatly appreciated
  .Party games? Of course.
I like to play "Catch" - as long as I'm "It".
See how fierce I can be...
 Well, I'm going to go to sleep now. Somehow, that always seems to make my birthday come more quickly. Besides which, I need to conserve my strength. Tomorrow, we're going to PARTY.
See you all domani, when I'll be - oops, almost let slip how old I am.
Good night. Bon nuit. לילה טוב.
 Princess PixieCato
July 04 Who Knows Where the Time Goes? - Part 2On Wednesday (July 1st) I attended my eldest nephew's high school graduation ceremony. I don't know what such ceremonies are like at other high schools - Eitan attends the Experimental High School, which has a very open and unstructured attitude to education - but this was a lovely ceremony, conducted, for the most part, by the graduating students themselves. Tables were set out in the school courtyard, refreshments (of a very high quality) were prepared by the parents and the students put on an artistic programme which started with a belly-dance performed by one of the girls (I jokingly remarked that her father must be having an apoplexy, but it was really all very innocent), progressed to songs performed by a student band and included (how not?) some wickedly funny impersonations of teachers and other staff members. There was also a sketch performed by some of the parents.
Since my sister (Eitan's Mum) has been holding Open House on the eve of Independence Day for Eitan and Tamir's classmates and their parents, for almost as far back as I can remember, you could say I've watched these kids grow up. How amazing then, to find I couldn't seem to recognise them. The boys in shirts and ties (in some cases, even in suits), the girls in makeup and clingy, revealing dresses - why, only yesterday it seemed they would, on principle, wear nothing but torn jeans and scruffy tee-shirts!
Where did eighteen years vanish so quickly? Last month, Eitan got his driving licence (at his first attempt too. Grrrr!) Later this summer, most of his classmates will be starting their military service. Eitan himself has volunteered for a year's National Service as a counsellor in his youth movement before going into the army - this, at a time when more and more young people are draft-dodging. I am so proud of him. We all are. But I feel, somehow, as if I've missed something. It's not that I wasn't there. It's just that I didn't savour each moment of his childhood and adolescence sufficiently. It's like the difference between hearing background music and actually sitting down and listening to, and appreciating, each rich level of harmony. And - I can't deny it - watching those kids on the threshold of their adult lives made me feel so - well, middle-aged.
I went home Wednesday night and cried.
Not for their vanished years.
For my own. Who Knows Where the Time Goes? - Part 1Okay, everybody. Paws up, who knows what day it is today?  That's right! It's the 4th of July!
And who can tell me what is the significance of that momentous date? Right again! It's My Birthday!
 Yes! Today, I am fourteen years old. How Time flies!
My Human saw fit to mark The Event by waking me before 8 o'clock in the morning to sing to me "Happy Birthday To You".
Don't get me wrong. She has quite a nice voice - for a Human, (actually, she has a very nice voice, but it wouldn't do for me to let her get too puffed up in her own esteem by telling her that) - but at my age, one doesn't want to be woken up at such an ungodly hour on a Saturday morning to be sung to. And then, to make matters worse, Pixie was sick on the bed. It's lucky our Human witnessed that, she usually attributes all the vomiting in inconvenient places to Yours Truly.
However, she made up for her faux pas (the Human, I mean) by letting me choose my own breakfast. There was quite a dizzying array of delicacies to choose from. She set out all the tins in a row and asked me which I preferred. How was I to decide? Should I go for the salmon and shrimp? Or maybe the rabbit and turkey? Then, again, would not liver and duck make a suitable Birthday Breakfast? But that would mean foregoing the chicken and turkey... Oh dear, it was enough to make a poor kitty's head spin! In the end, I went for the tuna and cod. I'm not sure that was the best choice and given a little longer, I might have plumped for something else, but as soon as she saw me go back three times to the same tin, she concluded that I had made my choice.
Well, I had, of course...
After breakfast, I curled up next to her, while she stroked and petted me and told me what a beautiful pussycat I am.
She's right.
Looking in that silver glass thingy that stretches from wall to wall in her bedroom, I have to admit, I am a Fine Figure of a Cat. However, when you get to be my age, it's nice to be reassured about that sometimes. And to know that She still loves me, as much as I love her and that in her eyes, I am - and always will be -
Possum the MagnifiCat.
PS. To my millions of friends and admirers in the United States who are celebrating My Birthday with me, I want to say Thank You and have a wonderful day yourselves. I understand you also have something to celebrate.  |
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