It's not Lag B'omer!

My brother Yitzchak, who many of you met when he was our High Holiday Chazan, is living with his wife and daughter in Ashdod. My sister Chana and her husband and four children live in Ashkelon. 

These two cities, have become border cities and they have been hit in the last week more than any other Israeli city with dozens of rockets almost every day.

My brother Yitzchak shared with us that when the rockets started falling and his daughter Chanale saw flames from the window of her house, she asked her father "are people celebrating Lag B'omer?" (a holiday that is celebrated with bonfire)...

By now Chanale knows that it is not a celebration. She understands that there are evil people who live a few kilometers from her home and their wish is to destroy Jewish lives. A very difficult reality to live with.

In days when our thoughts and prayers are with the people of Israel and the soldiers of the IDF let us remember that their strength comes from our unity, we should increase in the kind of thoughts, talks and actions which will add to our care for one another and our togetherness as a people. 

It is now the appropriate time to commit to a mitzvah in the honour of the people of Israel. Let us not underestimate the power of good! With a single good deed on our part, here and now, we each can contribute toward the victory and safety of OUR brothers and sisters, who are counting on our support!