We toss this about like a Frisbee at a family reunion. And have no idea what it truly means. We act like it means having calm and quiet in life. Which it does. But it means more than that. It means being safe. Having health, tranquility of mind, prosperity, security, rest, friendship, family, belonging, happiness, joy, enthusiasm for life, empathy and consideration for others. It means being whole.

How we view the world affects our being whole. If we view others as manipulative and self-oriented, we lose some of our ability to trust and become less than whole. If we view society as being insensitive and cold, we become reserved and distant and become less than whole. If we see only the consumerist greed and want for self-gratification in others, we become cynical and become less than whole. If we see pride and prejudice in others, we become angry and become less than whole. If we see anger and sadism in others, we become afraid and become less than whole.

And yet, if we see any of these things and do not become angry at them, we lose our sense of compassion and become much less than whole.

Humanity was created in the image of Adonai (Genesis 1: 26, 27). According to Judaic tradition, we are born in original virtue not original sin as much of Christianity teaches. Adonai has given us free will. Again, Judaic tradition says this is because Adonai, being one, being complete, being whole, cannot choose to sin. He is righteous because that is how He must be. And so creation was incomplete. Creation's need for the ability to choose between right and wrong required man having free will. Animals live by instinct and by taught behaviours. Angels, it appears, live by virtue or lack of virtue. Once they have chosen a path, they are always on that path. Humans however can choose different paths at different times. We are, in words which I believe are usually credited to Martin Luther, both saint and sinner.

When we have the ability to choose our path, we make wrong turns, stumble over objects hidden along the way and trespass onto other people's lands. We hurt others, others hurt us and we hurt ourselves. Adonai has given us free will, He has also written His Law upon our hearts (Jeremiah 31: 33). Usually we know when we have hurt another. Sometimes we don't. We feel guilt and seek forgiveness. Sometimes the guilt, the anger at self, the loathing of self or the shame we feel at what has been done to us overwhelms us. Sometimes the anger at what has been done to us changes the way we relate to others. And causes more hurt. Ripples in the pond of humanity.

Some have said “Creation is broken”. Adonai has reached out to us to heal His creation. And, He has given us compassion to reach out to others. To reach out in healing. Some He has gifted with the ability to listen. Some with the ability to empathize. Some to be mediators and to reconcile. And, He has given us all the ability to forgive.

This is the direction of compassion. To heal, to knit the broken bones of relationships, to remove the cancers of abuse and anger, to apply soothing balms to the cuts and gashes of loss. To bring a return to wholeness, to open the eyes of the lame to their new wholeness regardless of what has been lost and to reconcile empty hearts with the abundance of life in the Lord (John 10: 10).

What does the Bible say about healing and wholeness? There is much belief that in the beginning Adonai calmed the chaos. Genesis does not say that. It says “In the beginning Adonai created the heavens and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void, and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Ruach HaKodesh was hovering (or moving gently over or brooding) over the face of the waters” (Genesis 1: 1,2). The idea of calming the chaos comes later. In the beginning, Adonai's Peace was over the waters, creation was well. And then, it got sick. And Adonai sent a counsellor, a Wonderful Counsellor (Isaiah 9: 6), to bring healing. A Counsellor who brought peace during the storm. A Counsellor who brought calm back over the waters.

Deuteronomy 4: 40 tells the Israelites to keep the commandments of the Lord that it may be well with them and they may live long in the land. In Leviticus chapter 25, the Israelites are commanded to leave the land fallow every seventh year and every fiftieth year that the land may have rest and heal. Isaiah and Jeremiah speak of the Lord healing the land and of the years of exile being for the healing of the land. And let us not forget the law of the Shabbat, a day of rest and healing for the spirit. “For those who hope in the Lord shall renew their strength, they will rise up as on wings of an eagle, they will run and never grow weary, they will walk and not be faint” (Isaiah 40:31). In some of the most well-known words of Scripture, Psalm 23 talks of the Shepherd who looks after His flock, giving them rest, restoring their soul, guiding them in righteousness that they may dwell forever in the house of the Lord. Healing is about wholeness, and wholeness is in the Lord.

Deuteronomy 6: 4, 5 the shema, “Shema Yisrael. Adonai Eloheynu. Adonai Echad” “Hear O Israel, the Lord our G-d. The Lord is One”. You shall love the Lord your Adonai with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your strength”. Our Lord, our Adonai is complete. And, when Yeshua refers in Matthew 5: 48 to being perfect as our Abba in heaven is perfect, the Greek word teleios does not mean without flaw, it means complete. Adonai does not expect flawlessness from His children, He expects wholeness, wellness. James 1: 2 to 4 speaks of facing the trials of life and persevering, for in perseverance is growth and maturity in Adonai. In maturity in Adonai is completeness, wholeness.

As in Jeremiah 3: 22 when the Lord is asking the people to return to Him and He will heal their backsliding, the Hebrew word Raphah,, which is translated as heal, means to make whole. And Yeshua, when speaking to someone He has cured, often uses the words “your faith has made you whole”. Yeshua knows that wellness, shalom, involves the whole being. It involves all aspects of self – the physical, mental, emotional, spiritual and communal. For we are all interwoven in Adonai's creation. “If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honoured, every part rejoices with it” (1 Corinthians 12: 26).

We can not be whole if we are not well, but we can be well if we are not whole. For, if we are in unity with Adonai, we are complete. We may be missing a hand, or an eye, or use of our legs or some, if not most, of our “marbles”, but we may be well. I am not whole. There is a huge piece of me missing, probably gone forever, but I am well. It is well, with Adonai, in my soul. Some of Yeshua's healings were of people who were well with Adonai. They were whole in faith, Yeshua made them well in body.

Yeshua did not shun others. He welcomed them. He walked with and talked with the hurting, the outcasts, the undesirables of society. And, He dined with the wealthy and with the righteous. He called the righteous to accountability. He called the hurting to healing. He knew that those who are well do not need the doctor, but those who are ill (Luke 5: 31). And He knew that not everyone who was ill would seek healing. But He also knew that healing is of the Father. And that healing involves the entire being.

Spiritual counseling seeks that path. To unite wellness of spirit, wellness of mind, wellness of emotions, wellness of body and wellness with community. It seeks to bring perfection – completeness – to someone who sees themselves as shattered. It seeks reconciliation, a return not to innocence, but to wholeness. A return to harmony with Adonai. As it was in the beginning, is not now, but ever shall be. A world without end.

— Ron Bennett

Silently Screaming at the Top of Our Lungs

We live in a society of noise. Of constant bedlam. A world where there seems to be no place for quiet. A world of non-stop distractions. Of continuous activity. Of busyness. Of go, go, go.

A world where there is never enough time. Never enough moments to do all that we want to do. Never enough seconds to savour all that we want for our self gratification.

A world without time for others. A world of self.

It is estimated that behind the facade of every fourth marriage there is verbal, physical or sexual abuse.

It is said that one out of every three women will be or has been sexually assaulted or coerced into unwanted sexually activity. Many by their fathers. In the 'safety' of a loving family.

The count of people displaced from their homelands is in the hundreds of millions.

Over one billion people do not have access to clean drinking water.

A child dies every ten seconds from a water related illness.

Every second almost two acres of forest is destroyed.

Every day one hundred and twenty-five species of plants, animals and insects becomes extinct.

"They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead" "and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side" "and he too, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side"
Luke 10: 30b; 31b; 32 (NIV)

"They also will answer "Lord when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison and did not help you?" He will reply "I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me." Matthew 25 : 44, 45 (NIV)

"But he denied it before them all saying "I don't know what you are talking about" " He denied it again with an oath saying "I don't know the man" " Then he began to call down curses upon himself and he swore to them "I don't know the man" Matthew 26 : 70; 72; 74 (NIV)

One of the things that many survivors of rape, childhood sexual abuse, spousal abuse, incest, war and violence say when they speak out against the evil that has been done to them is that they are angry. Angry at the hurt that has been inflicted upon them. Not only by the agressor. Not by God for allowing it. Not by themselves because it happened to them. But by loved ones, by family, by friends, by bystanders, by the church, by society because they looked away. Because they brought no words or actions of caring or comfort. Because they did nothing. Or, even worse, they counselled to 'get on with life'. Or spoke words that seem to blame the victim. Or avoided the survivor because they were uncomfortable and did not know how to deal with being near the person. They turned a blind eye to someone who was/is suffering. They denied another's need. And also thus condoned the actions of the agressor.

Is that why we wear our I-Pods? And play the music so loud? And talk like the listener was two blocks away? And glue the cell phones to our ears? And sit bewitched by our tv's? And every computer, every toy has to make noise?

Is that why we can't have silence?

Because if there was silence we might hear.

Hear the screams of the children being raped.

Hear the cries of the battered women.

Hear the moans of the diseased.

Hear the sighs of the oppressed.

Hear the rumbling of the hungry.

Hear the sound of the gunfire in the streets.

Hear the explosions of the bombs.

Hear the shouts of the dispossessed.

Hear the crash of the falling forest.

Hear the howls of the animals being exterminated.

Hear the whispers of the dying.

Hear the voices of the dead.

Echoed in the sounds of silence

— Ron Bennett

Homeless

She is young, twelve maybe. Half-leaning, half-squatting against a wall. She is wearing a light dress, flower print. Her hands are almost crossed in front of her. She is pretty.

Another photo of a pretty young African girl.

And then you see her eyes.

And you know what has been done to her.

Probably more than once. Probably many times.

She is one of the homeless.

She is from Darfur.

One of over two million refugees purged from her homeland. Seeking sanctuary in Chad.

But there is no sanctuary.

Her home, her village has been burned.

The men have been killed.

The women, the girls...maybe it would have been better to have been killed.

But they weren't.

Now, they exist in a sea of tents. Living on aid, when it comes, from the outside world.

Living, fearing, expecting the next rape

And knowing it will come.

For there is a need for firewood. A need for water. And, it is the women and the girls who leave the “safety” of the camps to gather wood and water.

And, the devils riding horses are waiting.

And, even in the camps, there are those who will offer “protection” to women and girls. For a price.

Sexual violence as a weapon of war. As a tool of genocide. As a means to ethnic cleansing.

It attacks not only the dignity, not only the soul of the victim. That alone is cause enough for horror.

It attacks the culture. The family. The existence of the people.

A woman is united with her husband. And her husband only. When another man takes the woman, it is a disgrace to the family. To the tribe. To the people.

A girl is to be pure until she is married. If, for any reason, her choice or against her will, she is not pure when it is time for marriage, it is a disgrace to the family. To the tribe. To the people.

This concept is foreign to us. Western society claims to give the woman the right to her body, her dignity. Many cultures don't. The woman belongs to the father, then the husband, but always the tribe. She is probably safer as an individual under this system because society believes in the purity of union. Does she have the right to choose her husband? Not always. Does she have the right to refuse her husband his right to her after union? No. But, she knows that under normal conditions, only her husband can or will touch her.

Does this make this practice right? Not for me to say.

Do I agree with it? No, I don't. I believe in the right of a woman, of any individual, to have the right to their dignity, the right to make choices, the right to make mistakes, the right to life in safety, the right to be respected and honoured.

But, there are many cultures, many societies where that is not the case.

And, thus, sexual violence, sexual exploitation, sexual control become part of daily life.

Rape becomes a part of warfare, a weapon of warfare. Not just because of individual lust. But because it destroys the foundations of culture.

Or women become property. The father chooses the husband. The husband owns the wife. And he can treat her as he wishes. She can not refuse him. He has the right to her body on demand. He has the right to beat and abuse her. He has the right to share her with his friends. And, she can not refuse.

Or, she can be forced to marry. Either by the decision of her parents, or by the actions of a man. There are cultures where if a man rapes an unmarried girl, she becomes his wife. Or where a rapist can escape prosecution if he agrees to marry the girl for a set period of time, say five years. And, he has full control of her once she becomes his wife. And, she usually is not given the option to say no to the marriage.

And, there are places where it is accepted that the child belongs to the father. His to do with as he pleases.

Sexual violence as a weapon of terror. As a way of life. It is not just in Darfur.

It is in The Ivory Coast. It is in India. In Pakistan. In Rwanda. In Somalia. In Colombia. In Iran. In Iraq. In Israel. In many republics of the former Soviet Union. In Bosnia. In Turkey. In Central America.

In Canada.

Maybe not on the scale of Darfur. Or the Ivory Coast. Or India. Or Bosnia. Or Iran.

But, it is here.

In spousal abuse. In child pornography. In fathers raping their daughters. Or brothers their sisters.

“Love your neighbour as you wish to be loved. Love allows no harm to its neighbour. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the Law” (Romans 13 : 9b, 10 paraphrase)

“Do unto others as you would have others do unto you”.

“Whatsoever you allow done to the least of these My children you allow done to Me” (Matthew 25: 45, paraphrase)

She is young, twelve maybe. Half-leaning, half-squatting against a wall. She is wearing a light dress, flower print. Her hands are almost crossed in front of her. She is pretty.

She is your neighbour.

— Ron Bennett

Consider the Lilies

I used to work at a Tim Hortons. On an average day, there would be between 1600 and 2000 cars go through the drive through. Most ordering more than one coffee. And probably another 800 people who came into the restaurant, many of whom took their coffees in paper cups. These are just estimates, but are pretty accurate approximations. Based on those figures, and knowing that most drive through customers and a lot of the walk-ins ordered multiple coffees, a conservative estimate of the number of paper coffee cups dispensed through one Tim Hortons every day is 3,800. That's over 26,000 a week. Over 106,000 a month. Over 1,276,000 a year. From one Tim Hortons. And whatever fraction of those that don't end up thrown on the side of the road end up in the landfill. And that's just the paper coffee cups. We won't even consider the hundreds of styrofoam soup bowls, thousands of napkins, hundreds of bags, hundreds of trays, plastic spoons, knives, pop cans, straws, ice cap cups, sandwich wraps and doughnut boxes. Or the coffee packages, meat packages, soup packages, creamer bags, tea bags, plastic gloves and newspapers. Every evening the left-over product is chucked to make way for the "fresh baked". A few hundred doughnuts, several dozen muffins, dozens of bagels, dozens of buns. ,And how much of the product is throw away half eaten? From one Tim Hortons. 3,800 paper cups every day. And how many Tim Hortons, Wendy's, MacDonald's, A & W's, Burger King's, Taco Times, Subways, Mr. Sub's, Arby's, Pizza Huts, Pizza 73's, Domino's, Starbucks, Second Cups, MAC's, 7-11's, ad nauseam are there in Calgary? Not to mention Canada. Or to be mind-boggled by considering the number in the U.S.A.. At least at Tim Hortons the shipping cartons that the prebaked, flash frozen product comes in get recycled.

Every month in National Geographic there's a feature called "Wildlife as Canon Sees It" about an endangered species. And almost every one has a mention of habitat loss as one of the key factors in why the species is endangered. Fish stocks are being depleted by over fishing. And the land is being poisoned by chemical fertilizers to maximize productivity. For the few years that the land remains cultivatable. Chemicals that leech into the aquifers, streams, rivers, lakes and wetlands. Not to mention the toxic soups that run from factories, mining operations and oil production. The rain forest is being culled at an astonishing rate - over one and a half acres disappear every second. 5,400 acres an hour. 129, 600 acres a day. 47,304,000 acres a year. It is estimated that we lose over 125 plant, insect and animal species every day. That's almost 50,000 (fifty thousand) species a year that disappear forever. In the past five hundred years, the estimated aboriginal population of the rain forests has dropped from over ten million to less than two hundred thousand. And where the forests, rain or otherwise, are clear cut or burned away, the soil erodes and is washed into rivers, lakes and the oceans. Which changes the make up of the river deltas, clogging them and promoting the growth of species that choke out the other plants. Upsetting the balance of nature. God's nature.

"So God created man in His own image, in His own image He created them; male and female He created them. And God blessed them, and God said " Be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowls of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth,' Genesis 1 : 27, 28 (KJV)

Replenish and subdue the earth. Not destroy. Not deplete. Not exhaust. Replenish and subdue.

Have dominion over the creatures. Not exterminate. Not exploit. Not genetically engineer. Have dominion over. Rule over.

And rulers are meant to look out for their subjects.

But I'm only one person you say. What can I do to make a difference?

Stop littering.

Cut down on coffee and burgers from fast food places.

Drink tap water. It costs less and is possibly of better quality than bottled water. And you can further filter tap water for less than the cost of bottled water.

Keep a jug of water in the refrigerator. That way, you don't run the tap waiting for the water to get cold.

Walk.

Ride a bike.

Use public transit.

At the least, lets try to get more than one person per vehicle.

Drive a fuel efficient car.

Go grocery shopping when you need something and only buy what you need.

Walk to the grocery store. Buy only what you can easily carry.

Eat before you go grocery shopping. It cuts down on impulse buys of "snack" foods.

Buy an extra package of pasta or soup and drop it in the Food Bank box as you leave the store.

Pick up recyclable cans and bottles as you walk. (and bring them in for the Youth Ministry here at church)

Recycle.

Buy products in easily recyclable containers. (Very few depots exist for plastic containers)

Get and use a composter. It disposes of food waste and if used correctly provides a better alternative to chemical fertilizers.

Do laundry in cold water.

Turn off the tap when brushing your teeth or shaving.

Cut a minute or two off your shower time.

Let God water the lawn.

Hand wash dishes.

Use the dishwasher only when there's a full load.

Use real plates and cups not paper or styrofoam.

Use energy efficient light bulbs.

Turn out lights and turn off the TV when you leave the room.

Check for heat leaks in your home.

Turn the thermometer up in the summer, down in the winter (but not too far)

Wear a sweater or use an extra blanket rather than turning up the heat.

Plan your errands. Learn what's near other stops and run several errands at a time that are in the same area.

Stay home and play board games. It's more fun and costs less than a movie and you get a phenomenal bonus gift - quality time with family and friends.

Make meals a family effort. Get everyone involved in cooking the meal. And cleaning up afterwards.

If you must take one of the umpteen dozen unnecessary 'free' papers whose distribution boxes are currently cluttering the sidewalks, please recycle it.

Better yet, get up a petition to stop the waste of resources that goes into these papers.

How's that for starters?

And I'm sure you can think of many other ways to look after God's creation.

Consider the lilies of the field. Before they're gone.

— Ron Bennett

Yom Hashoah - Holocaust Memorial Day

Ray of Hope Israel – Sidney and Linda Speakman

[Posted May-2-2008]

Dear Friends;

May 1, is " Rememberance day" for the deaths of 6 million Jews in Europe.

Among them were about 1,500,000 children. Can you imagine killing that many children in 4 years? There was said to be about 250,000 Jews who believed in Yeshua. There were also Christians who were willing to pay the price with their lives. They died in the same camps.

Below is a true story during this time of so much suffering. God's mercy was there too. Please take 10 minutes of your time to read this. It will bless you and you will cry with joy.

"THE FENCE"

The sky was gloomy that morning as we waited anxiously. All the men, women and children of Piotrkow's Jewish ghetto had been herded into a square.

Word had gotten around that we were being moved. My father had only recently died from typhus, which had run rampant through the crowded ghetto.

My greatest fear was that our family would be separated.

"Whatever you do," Insider, my eldest brother, whispered to me, "don't tell them your age. Say you're sixteen."

I was tall for a boy of 11, so I could pull it off. That way I might be deemed valuable as a worker. An SS man approached me, boots clicking against the cobblestones. He looked me up and down, then asked my age.

"Sixteen," I said. He directed me to the left, where my three brothers and other healthy young men already stood.

My mother was motioned to the right with the other women, children, sick and elderly people. I whispered to Insider, "Why?" He didn't answer. I ran to Mama's side and said I wanted to stay with her.

"No," she said sternly. "Get away. Don't be a nuisance. Go with your brothers." She had never spoken so harshly before. But I understood. She was protecting me. She loved me so much that, just this once, she pretended not to. It was the last I ever saw of her.

My brothers and I were transported in a cattle car to Germany. We arrived at the Buchenwald concentration camp one night weeks later and were led into a crowded barrack. The next day, we were issued uniforms and identification numbers.

"Don't call me Herman anymore." I said to my brothers. "Call me
94983."

I was put to work in the camp's crematorium, loading the dead into a hand-cranked elevator. I, too, felt dead. Hardened, I had become a number.

Soon, my brothers and I were sent to Schlieben, one of Buchenwald's sub-camps near Berlin. One morning I thought I heard my mother's voice.

"Son, she said softly but clearly, "I am sending you an angel." Then I woke up. Just a dream. A beautiful dream. But in this place there could be no angels. There was only work, hunger and fear.

A couple of days later, I was walking around the camp, around the barracks, near the barbed-wire fence where the guards could not easily see. I was alone. On the other side of the fence, I spotted someone; a young girl with light, almost luminous curls. She was half-hidden behind a birch tree. I glanced around to make sure no one saw me. I called to her softly in German.

"Do you have something eat?" She didn't understand. I inched closer to the fence and repeated my question in Polish. She stepped forward. I was thin and gaunt, with rags wrapped around my feet, but the girl looked unafraid.

In her eyes, I saw life. She pulled an apple from her woolen jacket and threw it over the fence. I grabbed the fruit and, as I started to run away, I heard her say faintly, "I'll see you tomorrow."
I returned to the same spot by the fence at the same time every day. She was always there with something for me to eat - a hunk of bread or, better yet, an apple. We didn't dare speak or linger. To be caught would mean death for us both. I didn't know anything about her except that she understood Polish and seemed to me to be just a kind farm girl. What was her name? Why was she risking her life for me? Hope was in such short supply, and this girl on the other side of the fence gave me some, as nourishing in its way as the bread and apples.

Nearly seven months later, my brothers and I were crammed into a coal car and shipped to Theresienstadt camp in Czechoslovakia.

"Don't return," I told the girl that day. "We're leaving."

I turned toward the barracks and didn't look back, didn't even say good-bye to the girl whose name I'd never learned ... the girl with the apples.

We were in Theresienstadt for three months. The war was winding down and Allied forces were closing in, yet my fate seemed sealed. On May 10, 1945, I was scheduled to die in the gas chamber at 10:00 AM.

In the quiet of dawn, I tried to prepare myself. So many times death seemed ready to claim me, but somehow I'd survived. Now, it was over. I thought of my parents. At least, I thought, we will be reunited.

At 8 A.M. there was a commotion. I heard shouts, and saw people running every which way through camp. I caught up with my brothers.

Russian troops had liberated the camp! The gates swung open. Everyone was running, so I did too.

Amazingly, all of my brothers had survived; I'm not sure how. But I knew that the girl with the apples had been the key to my survival. In a place where evil seemed triumphant, one person's goodness had saved my life, had given me hope in a place where there was none. My mother had promised to send me an angel, and the angel had come.

Eventually I made my way to England where I was sponsored by a Jewish charity, put up in a hostel with other boys who had survived the Holocaust and trained in electronics. Then I came to America, where my brother Sam had already moved.

I served in the U. S. Army during the Korean War, and returned to New York City after two years. By August 1957 I'd opened my own electronics repair shop. I was starting to settle in.

One day, my friend Sid who I knew from England called me. "I've got a date. She's got a Polish friend. Let's double date."
A blind date? Nah, that wasn't for me. But Sid kept pestering me, and a few days later we headed up to the Bronx to pick up his date and her friend, Roma. I had to admit, for a blind date this wasn't so bad. Roma was a nurse at a Bronx hospital. She was kind and smart. Beautiful, too, with swirling brown curls and green, almond-shaped eyes that sparkled with life.

The four of us drove out to Coney Island. Roma was easy to talk to, easy to be with. Turned out she was wary of blind dates too! We were both just doing our friends a favor. We took a stroll on the boardwalk, enjoying the salty Atlantic breeze, and then had dinner by the shore. I couldn't remember having a better time.

We piled back into Sid's car, Roma and I sharing the backseat. As European Jews who had survived the war, we were aware that much had been left unsaid between us. She broached the subject, "Where were you, during the war?" she asked softly.

"The camps," I said, the terrible memories still vivid, the irreparable loss. I had tried to forget. But you can never forget.

She nodded. "My family was hiding on a farm in Germany, not far from Berlin," she told me. "My father knew a priest, and he got us Aryan papers."

I imagined how she must have suffered too, fear, a constant companion. And yet here we were, both survivors, in a new world.
" There was a camp next to the farm." Roma continued. "I saw a boy there and I would throw him apples every day."

What an amazing coincidence that she had helped some other boy. "What did he look like? I asked.

He was tall. Skinny. Hungry. I must have seen him every day for six months."

My heart was racing. I couldn't believe it. This couldn't be.

"Did he tell you one day not to come back because he was leaving Schlieben?"

Roma looked at me in amazement.

"Yes."

"That was me!"

I was ready to burst with joy and awe, flooded with emotions. I couldn't believe it. My angel.

"I'm not letting you go," I said to Roma. And in the back of the car on that blind date, I proposed to her. I didn't want to wait.

"You're crazy!" she said. But she invited me to meet her parents for Shabbat dinner the following week. There was so much I looked forward to learning about Roma, but the most important things
I always knew: her steadfastness, her goodness. For many months, in the worst of circumstances, she had come to the fence and given me hope. Now that I'd found her again, I could never let her go. That day, she said yes, And I kept my word. After nearly 50 years of marriage, two children and three grandchildren, I have never let her go.

Herman Rosenblat,
Miami Beach, Florida.
This is a true story and you can find out more by googling Herman Rosenblat as he was bar mitzvahed at age 75. This story is being made into a movie called "The Fence".

Things permitted to other nations are forbidden to the Jews.

The following article was written by Eric Hoffer on 1968 - over four decades ago. Hoffer, a Christian, was an American social philosopher. He was born in 1902 and died in 1983, after writing nine books and winning the Presidential medal of Freedom. His first book, The True Believer, published in 1951, is widely recognized as a classic.

The Jews are a peculiar people: things permitted to other nations are forbidden to the Jews. Other nations drive out thousands, even millions of people and there is no refugee problem. Russia did it. Poland as well as Czechoslovakia. Turkey threw out a million Greeks, and Algeria a million Frenchman. Indonesia threw out heaven knows how many Chinese - and no one says a word about refugees. But in the case of Israel, the displaced Arabs have become eternal refugees. Everyone insists that Israel must take back every single Arab. Arnold Toynbee calls the displacement of the Arabs an atrocity greater than any committed by the Nazis. Other nations, when victorious on the battlefield, Dictate peace terms. But when Israel is victorious it must sue for peace.
Everyone expects the Jews to be the only real Christians in this world. Other nations, when they are defeated, survive and recover but should Israel be defeated it would be destroyed. Had Nasser triumphed last June he would have wiped Israel off the map, and no one would have lifted a finger to save the Jews. No commitment to the Jews by any government, including our own, is worth the paper it is written on. There is a cry of outrage all over the world when people die in Vietnam or when two Negroes are executed in Rhodesia. But when Hitler slaughtered Jews no one remonstrated with him.
The Swedes, who are ready to break off diplomatic relations with America because of what we do in Vietnam, did not let out a peep when Hitler was slaughtering Jews. They sent Hitler choice iron ore, and ball bearings, and serviced his troop trains to Norway.
The Jews are alone in the world. If Israel survives, it will be solely because of Jewish efforts. And Jewish resources. Yet at this moment Israel is our only reliable and unconditional ally. We can rely more on Israel than Israel can rely on us. And one has only to imagine what would have happened last summer had the Arabs and their Russian backers won the war to realize how vital the survival of Israel is to America and the West in general.
I have a premonition that will not leave me; as it goes with Israel so will it go with all of us. Should Israel perish, the holocaust will be upon us.

With our deepest love;

Sidney and Linda Speakman