בנשמה

Since Corona, we were unable to visit new communities and see friends. Today we went to see Merkaz Shapira, which is approximately a 40 minute drive from Beit Shemesh towards Ashkelon. Pre pandemic we had heard of an expansion project, what they call in Israel a "harchava." Our friends in Merkaz Shapira have been living there for 20+ years. Upon entering the community of 500 or so families, a clear yellow fence closes the area off on Shabbat. To the left is Yeshivat Ohr Etzion, a school for boys. We located a pizza shop, another eatery, electric store, a small grocery store (running joke is that it is called Super Hashlamlot instead of its real name). The streets have many round abouts, known as kikars, a large Sephardic shul, one large playground and area for ganim (school aged children). We could not locate the Ashkenazi shul or library, though we were told they have

Only in Israel. 

So here we are, commemorating our 3rd Tisha B'av in Israel. Tisha B'Av is the first of our holidays following our aliyah anniversary so, it always gives me a good opportunity to reflect on things.  As I usually do, I try to cram in as much of Rabbi Weinreb's Kinnot presentation as I can during the course of the day. This year I got in about a third of it, and it included two eulogies for those we have lost this year, one for Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks and the other for Rabbi Abraham Twersky. His overarching theme was that while Tisha B'av may never be an easy day to approach, it also teaches us never to despair.  I started the holiday with a poll on one of my Facebook groups: Are we closer or farther than ever to rebuilding the Beit Hamikdash? Surprisingly, no one answered “farther”! But someone did add the following option: Will we actually build a Beit Hamikdash or is this just being used as a metaphor for hope and endurance? This option got almost as many votes as “cl