As the last hour of this wonderful Shabbat is passing by I sit and look out the picture window to the scene outside. It has been a very blustery day with an occasional rain, but it is quiet now.

Immediately as I look out the window I see the large Mimosa tree just beginning to leaf out. As the wind begins to cease, the mourning doves that feed at my window have returned for their evening meal. Beyond the tree that is now filled with many different birds singing their evening songs, I can see a palette of color from the flower garden below. 

Behind the pansies and snapdragons is the vegetable garden. The beds have just been tilled and rich dark soil added. They lay there quietly awaiting the new planting that will happen soon. The trellises above the garden paths are covered with Night Blooming Jasmine just beginning to bloom. As the evenings warm, the night will explode with their intoxicating fragrance. 

As I look beyond the trellises I can see the large herb garden filled with rosemary, sage, lavender, and mint. The lambs are there playing and nibbling freely. Beyond is the back fence that borders the grassy city park. I can hear the sounds of children at play as I watch families returning from the synagogue.

These are the sights and sounds I am blessed with from the roof top accommodations at Hands of Mercy. Although the work week is always filled with much to do, the quiet rest that Shabbat brings is welcomed. I am so blessed with such a beautiful and peaceful place to live. Baruch Hashem! And yet just under the surface of this tranquility is the reality that we live in a place where rockets ravage the people and landscape much too often. 

The week ahead will be a busy one as we prepare for a diaper give away to needy moms. Hands of Mercy were recently blessed with a donation of 5000 diapers and so we are planning a social event for our needy moms and their small children and babies. We will be busy at the start of the week with making gallons of lemonade and homemade ice cream and sorbet. 

The lambs will also need to be bathed and groomed tomorrow so they can be ready for the children to enjoy. As the moms come for their diapers they will also be able to ‘shop’ for clothing for the babies and children from our clothing donations, and then enjoy some ice cream and lemonade as they watch their children interact with the playful lambs. 

I am so very thankful for the faithful prayers and financial support you so graciously provide that helps to allow me to serve here. The service you provide is greatly appreciated. Thank you for allowing His goodness to flow through you. Todah Rabah!

Cease Fire?

Here we go again… yet another cease fire.  The cycle of one-sided adherence continues. The agreed upon cease fire went into affect nearly 10 hours ago. In the first four hours of the so called “cease fire”, more than 20 rockets were fired into Israel by Palestinian terrorists. So what happens now?  Do we return to the prewar normalcy of the one or two rockets a week? One must ask, “What now?” as the outcry of “disproportionate response” ceases and Hamas once again rebuilds their smuggling tunnels for the fresh supply of Grads and Fajr-5 rocket that will be fired once more at Israel. Is this the “state of normalcy everyone insisted on? Do the pleas for, ”maximum restraint” carry on  as the rocket  continue to be fired into Israel? The Home Front Command has issued instructions to keep schools in southern Israel shut on Thursday and stressed that it instructions to residents had not changed. The courageous men and women of the IDF staged and ready on the Gaza border remain and wait. We hope… we pray… we remain ready.